"Does the coach have a bias against me?" He Xi Meng stared intently into the coach's deep eyes from the side. "It seems I haven't offended him, have I?"
When the coach joined the Lakers, He Xi Meng had already left the team a season prior, signing with the Spurs.
"Could it be because I'm close with Harris?"
For a moment, He Xi Meng couldn't pinpoint the source of the coach's dissatisfaction. However, it was clear that the coach was deliberately suppressing He Xi Meng's playing time, not wanting him to perform too brilliantly.
It wasn't until the entire crowd began chanting He Xi Meng's name that the coach seemed to realize something and substituted him into the game.
At this point, the score was tied at 104:104.
After He Xi Meng entered the game, he didn't rush to shoot. Instead, he called for a high pick-and-roll from Garnett, drove into the Eastern team's paint, feigned a pass back to Garnett rolling to the basket, and then actually passed to Kobe on the other side...
The Lakers' former twin stars collaborated once again, with Kobe sinking a mid-range jump shot.
He Xi Meng used his playmaking abilities to help the Western team stabilize their footing.
Seeing this, Iverson also drove to the basket, but this time, Iverson didn't opt for a layup. In the previous nine minutes, Iverson had already scored 15 points by utilizing his driving ability!
David Robinson, Malone, Divac, Rasheed Wallace, Garnett... he had driven past all of them. Now it was the Western team's final two big men's turn: Webber and Duncan!
Iverson was going to drive, of course, but he would do so more cautiously.
Therefore, on this play, Iverson sensed trouble and decisively chose to drive and dish, passing the ball to Marbury lurking in the corner!
107:106, Marbury hit the shot, giving the Eastern team their first lead of the game over the Western team.
After making the shot, Marbury suppressed his emotions and quickly backtracked, wary of the Western team's counterattack.
Marbury's position was originally supposed to be McGrady's. However, McGrady's somewhat lazy defensive attitude had displeased Larry Brown, who emphasized defensive requirements. In contrast, Marbury's energized defensive state seemed to align better with Larry Brown's intentions.
Thus, at the crucial final moments of this All-Star Game, McGrady was sidelined by Larry Brown...
A sleepy-eyed McGrady sat next to Ray Allen on the bench, chewing gum, making it impossible to tell if he was angry or indifferent.
It was the Western team's turn to counterattack. The coach's instruction was to give the ball to Kobe to handle...
Yes, as the Lakers' head coach, the coach's preference for Kobe to execute the offense in the final minute was a prerogative of an All-Star head coach: the right to decide to give a certain All-Star more opportunities to shine!
Everyone was an All-Star, and everyone had the ability to make crucial shots. The decision of who would take the critical shot belonged to the head coach!
Whoever was the head coach's perceived MVP would get that opportunity.
Of course, some coaches were more unconventional. For instance, when Popovich was selected as the All-Star head coach, he disliked favoring Spurs All-Stars and preferred to promote players from other teams... he was somewhat of an anomaly.
Other coaches either maintained a fair attitude, allowing the player who performed best in the game to compete for MVP, or they reserved the opportunity for players from their own team.
The coach's approach today was quite straightforward; he wanted to push Kobe to be the MVP of this game... assuming, of course, that the Western team could defeat the Eastern team.
If it weren't for the coach's overwhelming indulgence and his inability to adjust his strategy later, Kobe would have already won the FMVP trophy...
He Xi Meng had no intention of going against the coach. Since the coach wanted to push Kobe, let him have it... He Xi Meng wasn't particularly concerned about the FMVP honor, let alone the AMVP...
On this possession, Kobe lived up to expectations, once again using his fadeaway jumper to overpower Marbury and tie the score at 108:107.
For the Eastern team's crucial possession, Larry Brown unhesitatingly handed it over to Iverson.
Due to his playing style, even if Larry Brown hadn't given the ball to Iverson, Iverson wouldn't have let it fall into anyone else's hands. The only possibility would be Iverson voluntarily giving up the ball... like on this play, where Iverson saw Marbury in a better position during his drive.
Kobe had condensed his defensive position significantly to double-team Iverson with He Xi Meng, creating shooting space for Marbury.
Kobe assumed that for such a critical shot, Iverson wouldn't pass, but Iverson did pass, and he passed it to Marbury again.
Marbury caught the ball and shot, hitting his second consecutive shot!
110:108, Marbury's shot completely stunned the Western team!
No one expected that Iverson would choose to pass at such a critical juncture instead of driving himself. That was unscientific! It didn't fit Iverson's personality!
But Iverson did it. The reason wasn't complicated; it was because before the start of the fourth quarter, when everyone doubted Iverson's ability to lead a comeback, Marbury was the first to stand up and support him...
That's just the kind of person Iverson is! If you respect him, he'll respect you tenfold.
Since Marbury was willing to fight for the "impossible" alongside Iverson when no one else believed in them, Iverson was willing to trust him at the most critical moment and give him the opportunity for glory...
Marbury roared to the sky, ecstatic after hitting two crucial three-pointers in a row.
Frankly, although Marbury was selected for the All-Star Game, he wasn't very happy with the Nets. The Nets' record consistently hovered at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, and Head Coach Scott—yes, the former Lakers player forced into early retirement by the combined pressure of He Xi Meng and Kobe—didn't get along well with Marbury.
Marbury desperately wanted to prove himself on a better platform but remained frustrated and unrecognized.
In this All-Star Game, Marbury desperately wanted an opportunity to showcase his skills. Therefore, he played very hard and finally earned the trust of the Eastern team's head coach, Larry Brown, and the trust of the Eastern team's leader, Iverson!
In such a deciding moment, it would typically be Iverson himself taking the shot, but Iverson entrusted the opportunity to Marbury. This was immense trust...
Now, with only 15 seconds left in the game, if the Eastern team can defend this last possession, they will successfully defeat the Western team and win this year's All-Star Game.