Chapter 275 The Second Christmas War
"Luckily I still have games to play." This year's Christmas is going to be alone. At this time, Emperor Wu felt that it would be good to play Christmas games, at least he still has something to do, otherwise he would be so bored that he would go live on his website, which would be really miserable!
But there is no need to pity him at all. This is all his own fault. If he was not so stubborn, there would be no place to go at this time.
The Knicks will play against the Orlando Magic on Christmas. The league has arranged this schedule early in the morning. At that time, the league felt that it would be more gimmick to let the teams in the Eastern Conference semi-finals last season fight on this day. Of course, now it seems that it would be more gimmick to let the Heat and the Knicks fight on Christmas. Many people want to see the Knicks and the Heat collided again, and they all want to see if Wu Huang has such good luck when facing the Big Three again.
On December 25, the league will hold five heavyweight games this day. This is the routine of Christmas battles in previous years. Teams that can be qualified to participate in Christmas battles are the teams that everyone is most concerned about after trading last season or summer, and not everyone can participate.
The Knicks and Magic are scheduled to play in the third game. These two teams will play a role in connecting the past and the future in five games, with the goal of keeping fans from turning TV to other programs after watching the first two games. The Knicks will play a very important role today.
But it can also be seen that the Knicks are not the most popular team in the league for the time being. At least when customizing this schedule, they have not been truly optimistic and highly praised by the league. But this is also normal. Who knows that they will create a magical 26 consecutive wins in the new season, so they did not arrange their game in the first or the last game, which is very normal.
The first game was the Mavericks vs. The Bull and Horse Battle has always been a group of duels that fans are more interested in. The two teams will create sparks of passion every time they fight.
The second game is the Chicago Bulls vs. Oklahoma City Thunder. This is a competition between a group of youth corps. The highlight is Rose + Boozer vs. Durant + Westbrook, which is also a group of games with many highlights.
The third game is the New York Knicks vs. Orlando Magic, which is a continuation of a group last season's playoffs. The bad relationship between Wu Huang and Howard is a major highlight of the game. The first time the "Holy Master" was injured was due to the Warcraft. Their fight could not be without sparks.
The fourth game was the Boston Celtics vs. Denver Nuggets. Originally, this group of contests also had a lot of highlights, but as the Nuggets' record gradually declined, there were constant rumors of in-team trading, and Anthony was even boycotted by Denver fans. This group of contests now seem to have become meaningless.
The last game was naturally the most important showdown in the Christmas game. According to the information before the start of the regular season, the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Miami Heat are naturally qualified to play the finale role. The league is also arranged in this way. At that time, most people thought that this year's finals would be the Lakers vs. Heat, so the Christmas game was a warm-up and preview set up for the finals.
But there are many questions about this idea now. First of all, the Heat's performance is not as strong as everyone imagined. Many fans think that they will become another team after the Lakers F4, which has too many superstars. The Lakers' momentum this year is not as good as the previous two seasons. Their current record is being crushed by the Spurs without anyone's favor, and the odds for winning the championship are also decreasing. At present, the biggest variable is the New York Knicks. Now the gambling group has opened up the handicap that they can break the Bulls' record of 72 wins that year. Because with such a momentum, the Knicks are likely to create 65+ wins, or even 70+ wins.
Eastern Division Ranking
1, New York Knicks (26 wins and 3 losses).
2, Chicago Bulls (22 wins and 7 losses).
3, Boston Celtics (21 wins and 8 losses)
4. Orlando Magic (20 wins and 9 losses).
5, Miami Heat (20 wins and 9 losses).
6, Atlanta Hawks (16 wins and 14 losses).
7, Milwaukee Bucks (15 wins and 15 losses).
8, Philadelphia 76ers (14 wins and 16 losses).
Such a ranking is already very telling. The Heat can't even squeeze into the top four in the East. Now if you want to say that they can make it to the finals, I believe that not many people except themselves will vote for it.
On December 24, the NBA was suspended for one day today, preparing for the upcoming Christmas battle.
Emperor Wu was originally idle at home, so he prepared to train as usual during the day, and then broadcast live at night, and the day was almost over. Unexpectedly, in the afternoon, he welcomed an unexpected guest. Indian girl Ajiali actually came to New York the day before Christmas. It is said that she was preparing to go to Columbia University to study in January next year.
Columbia University is one of the five oldest universities in the United States. It is a world-renowned private research university located in Manhattan, New York, USA. Three US presidents, including President *******, graduated from the school and have world-class law schools, business schools, journalism schools, etc., so it is not strange that Shi Shi from India came here to study.
But Emperor Wu always felt something was wrong. Moreover, taking the rich rich father of the Indian girl as a reference, she didn't need to ask herself to help find an apartment. This was obviously an unscrupulous excuse.
Ajiali's purpose of coming is very simple. She said on the phone that she wanted Emperor Wu to help find an apartment. This was purely a little help from friends, but she didn't know where to get the news. She also asked if the apartment Wu had rented in Manhattan before was still there?
This is a bit ambiguous. The lease of the apartment that Emperor Wu did not expire for a few months. He originally sublet the apartment to Xiao Si after moving, but the latter had bought a villa in New Jersey not long ago, so the apartment was empty again and was temporarily uninhabited.
Emperor Wu originally wanted to wait until the lease expired, but now Ajiali obviously wants to take over, so he naturally won't have any objections.
Columbia University is in Manhattan, and the apartment is also in Manhattan. It is reasonable for Ajali to rent an apartment here. Wu Huang met with an Indian girl the day before Christmas and had a meal. Perhaps when Ajali officially went to school in New York next year, the chances of the two of them meeting will increase a lot.
On Christmas Day, Ajiali was preparing to go to Madison Garden to watch his game. Emperor Wu also learned from Indian girls that most Indians are Buddhists or *******. Like Chinese people, they do not regard Christmas as an important festival of the year. It depends entirely on their mood.
An Indian girl also joked with Emperor Wu. She said that there are countless festivals in India, so how many are there? Basically, there are 365 days a year, while Indians celebrate the festival for 366 days.
When Ajiali answered this, Wu Huang seemed a little confused when he first heard it, but when he woke up, he couldn't help but smile.
In India, except for some political festivals, most of the other important festivals are religious festivals. There are more than 120 holidays recognized by India alone every year. Most of them are not only related to religion, but also have a unique traditional celebration method.
However, too many festivals lead to no holiday that is particularly important. Some Indians abroad are unwilling to go to these cumbersome festivals. Just like Agarico doesn’t spend much in India, she doesn’t pay much attention to European and American festivals, so she will come to New York on Christmas when others are going home to reunite.
Emperor Wu happened to take this opportunity to invite Ajiali to dinner again after the Christmas war, so suddenly, he was no longer alone. But the disadvantage is that he and Ajiali had never taken advantage of it after meeting him so many times. However, Emperor Wu could still feel that Indian girls should be interested in him.
On December 25, Christmas, the largest traditional festival in the West, was approaching. Wu Huang's Panda Video announced a few days ago that it will last until the end of the month. All reward income on the website will belong to the anchor himself, which is an event that stimulates the anchors to continue to work hard to broadcast live during Christmas.
In addition, Panda Video has added a function similar to monthly tickets in the summer. The top ten anchors in each live broadcast area will receive a certain cash reward. During Christmas, the monthly ticket reward will be doubled, and the anchor's cash reward will also be doubled.
There are many similar activities on the website. In short, on some large holidays, Panda Video will hold such activities to stimulate traffic and website popularity.
Emperor Wu himself has been following the team to prepare for the night battle since the daytime.
Van Gundy of ABC Radio predicts that the Knicks will win 73 games in the regular season before the game. They are currently 26 wins and 3 losses. The 73 wins this season are no longer just a theoretical possibility. Van Gundy believes that the Knicks' talent is outstanding. "A month ago, I said they can win 73 games. I am a fool, but their talent is really incredible. I think I am likely to become a fool."
In today's game, the media naturally optimistic that the Knicks can defeat the Magic. Not only O'Neal missed the last ten games and finally returned to the team. The Knicks' combat power and recent momentum are indeed much stronger than the Magic.
The Sharks chose to make a comeback in the Christmas game, and they were unwilling to miss the annual big scene. He had played 12 Christmas games before, and this time it will be O'Neal's 13th Christmas Eve. He will also tie the historical appearance record of Christmas games. The previous record was maintained by Shayce and Earl Monroe, and Kobe will also reach this milestone in the later game.
However, many media are not optimistic that O'Neal's comeback can cause trouble for Howard. His ability is undoubtedly the fat man may be the most dominant center in league history. But every player cannot withstand the wasted time, even if he is as strong as O'Neal. This season, O'Neal has completely lost his former prestige and cannot gain any advantage in the confrontation with Howard at the beginning of the season.
The report "Yahoo Sports" is undeniable that O'Neal is indeed old. At the age of 38, he has no speed, strength and bounce as before, and no dominance at the basket of the past. The domineering shark is gone forever. The Christmas War is a small movie, witnessing O'Neal's process from immature to maturity, to reaching the peak, and then gradually decline.
O'Neal participated in the Christmas game for the first time in 1993. Due to Jordan's retirement, O'Neal became the protagonist. He scored 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the team lost with only 2 points. In 1995, O'Neal challenged the ruler Olajuwon, scored 22 points, 18 rebounds and 5 assists, leading the Magic to narrowly win, which marked the change of a generation of inside kings. Later, O'Neal joined Los Angeles and participated in the 1996 Christmas game, easily giving away 26 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists.
From 1999 to 2009, O'Neal's team appeared in the Christmas game 11 consecutive times, with O'Neal missing two games due to injury. In these first nine games, O'Neal scored a double-double in 7 games, and his unjust souls included Duncan, Webber, Wallace and other heroes, and defeated his old enemy Kobe twice. It is worth mentioning that in the 2003 Christmas game, O'Neal and Yao Ming met on a narrow road. Although he scored 22 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks, the Lakers lost to the Rockets, which marked the gradual aging of a generation of inside kings.
However, "Yahoo Sports" did not report that Wu Huang is also moving from immature to maturity, and is also experiencing the aging of the older generation and becoming the king of the new generation!
At 8 o'clock in the evening of Christmas Eve, the third game of "Christmas Battle" will officially begin, and the Bulls and Thunder have just finished the third quarter. Similarly, when the Knicks and Magic matches reach the third quarter, the Celtics and Nuggets matches will also begin.
This is the Christmas game arrangement. It is not the next game after the previous game is finished. Otherwise, five games may have to be played for a whole day.
"We don't need to make a statement to anyone," Wu Huang said before the game. "For me, this is just a game with higher attention than usual. We will show our highest level and win this focus battle. I think these games mean more to our opponents compared to us." He implied that the Magic was chasing, and all teams wanted to defeat them to end the Knicks' winning streak, which means that the Knicks are at the forefront of the league, and the others are challengers and chasers.
Howard teased Wu Huang before the game, "Some people have a very big tone, but he'd better touch the floor of the division finals before talking big. He can't be considered a superstar until then, that's what I think."
Wu Huang's enemies are no longer one or two, and he doesn't know why he has created so many mortal enemies. But it doesn't matter. Howard no longer cares about his eyes now, and this year's Magic is difficult to pose a threat to the Knicks. Yes, it is difficult to say the playoffs to be accurate, but Wu Huang has full confidence in the strength of his team. The Knicks are now in the rising period. Once any team is surpassed by them, it will be difficult to get back the disadvantages. The Magic is just the opposite. The previous few seasons were their rising period, but from this season, they will start to continue to decline, so the gap between the two teams will become farther and farther. What's the point of fear for such an opponent?
Van Gundy and Mark Jackson of abc TV are responsible for commenting on the game. Before the game, Van Bald commented: "With Howard, the Magic have the capital of Xiaoao League. Now it can be said that no matter who other teams exchange, the Magic will shake their heads like rattles. Howard's restraint in the inside is the starting point of all the Magic's tactics. He has been the rebounding champion for three consecutive seasons and two consecutive seasons of blocking champions, which is the best proof. But because of this, if Howard restrains this point, the Magic's entire team is almost paralyzed. But if you encounter a team that has already been configured with teeth in the inside, the Magic's chances of winning are not great. The reason is that Howard is not yet unstoppable, and he is not a 'shark'."
Mark Jackson also said: "Maybe the experience of today's opponent Stodmeier can give Howard some inspiration. As Howard's previous spokesperson for "Warcraft", Xiao S could make a big splash with his body at the beginning of his career. But when he renewed his contract and was seriously injured, Xiao S's playing style changed a lot. The most important thing was to develop a mid-range shot. This is not to say that Howard must also pull to a high mid-range shot, but his playing style at the basket must be improved and perfect. He has been apprenticing to Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon. Howard's progress is still limited. At the same time, he has been entangled with his many years of foul troubles, but he still has not been able to truly overcome it. A core that cannot control fouls in a key battle is incompetent." (~^~)
Chapter completed!