Four Hundred and Seventy-Four: We Are All All-Stars

October 24, 2012, a few days before the start of the 2012-13 season. The league officially announced that after that, the NBA All-Star Game will cancel the center position and replace it with three forward spots.

The reason for this change is that more and more teams are playing small ball, the center has become difficult to define, and there are not many high-quality big men. Can you tell if Garnett and Duncan, who often play at the 5, are forwards or centers? Does Bosh, who often plays the 5th position, count as a forward or a center? If they count as forwards, where does the league find centers as good as them?

This rule not only removes the center position when the fans vote, but also when the coaches of the 30 teams vote.

As we all know, All-Star starters are voted for by fans. The All-Star bench is selected by the coaches of 30 teams. Coaches can vote for seven people on the shortlist, and under the previous rules, the seven must include two guards, two forwards and one center.

Now, coaches don't have to think about centers. Of the 7 they choose, they only need to include 2 defenders and 3 forwards.

That is to say, after a coach may choose 2 defenders, the other 5 places are given to forward players. There is no doubt that this greatly increases the chances of a frontcourt player, especially a 4, making the All-Star Game.

And Zach. Randolph, just in the All-Star bench candidate list.

The last time Randolph was selected to the All-Star Game was in the 10-11 season. Randolph, who was plagued by injuries last season, suffered a serious decline, and he was no longer young, so many people thought that Randolph's career was about to go downhill.

So much so that most people have ignored Randolph's excellence this season.

But as long as you pay attention a little, it's not difficult to find the brilliance of this fat man.

In the last game, the Grizzlies beat the Magic with 23 points, and Link scored 34 points and 15 rebounds. But under Link, Randolph's 18 points and 8 rebounds were equally impressive.

In the last game, the Grizzlies beat the Lakers with 13 points, Link beat Kobe Bryant with 32 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds. But Randolph's 17 points and 12 rebounds were better than Howard and Gasol combined.

Last season, Randolph's averages were career lows. But this season, he, like Duncan, has fallen instead of rising. Averaged 16.8 points and 11.2 rebounds, Randolph's data is not bad. He is definitely the Grizzlies' second most threatening character besides Link.

In this era of opportunities for frontcourt players,

Randolph believes that he can also be selected for the All-Star team.

Originally, what Anthony Qian said on the talk show was not very popular, but after Randolph commented. Yes, this Heat team reporter is a solid fire.

Some people say that Qian En is talking nonsense. In the NBA, whether a team can win a championship has nothing to do with the number of superstars.

There are also people who support Qian's statement, saying that "the model of single-core leadership has long been outdated, and Nowitzki's Mavericks are the swan song of that era."

However, some people also criticized Randolph, "Who gave that fat man self-confidence?"

Even Pau Gasol, who has proven himself to be impeccable on the defensive end this year, didn't say that he would definitely be an All-Star. Why did Randolph get selected?

On the training ground the next day, Randolph replied to reporters, "I don't have to participate in the All-Star Game, I just don't want people to belittle us. If we beat the Heat this season, then we may be in the postseason. Beat them again in the game! But since he's talking about the number of All-Stars, that's all I can say to him."

Randolph is very serious, and he doesn't go to people on a whim. This guy has a love for Memphis and the Grizzlies that no one else can understand.

After all, it's a place to rejuvenate and earn his respect.

So, Randolph doesn't allow anyone else, no respect for Memphis and the Grizzlies.

Think the Grizzlies have a low number of All-Star players? Just wait and see!

"Zach, why don't we feed you the ball for the next two games." During training in the afternoon, Link walked to Randolph and chatted with the big black bear.

The roster for the NBA All-Star Game was announced in February, and the last two days of January are also the last days to vote. In other words, Randolph has two more chances to canvass for himself.

However, Randolph shook his head, "You are the core of us, Link, I should help you. We can play whatever we want, and I don't have to deliberately brush the data. If those coaches have eyes If so, of course I can be selected.”

Randolph is indeed not very serious most of the time, but this fat man also has his maturity.

Link nodded, the No. 2 on the team with the best record in the league. Like Randolph said, if those coaches aren't blind, they should vote for Randolph.

Under this farce, Zach Randolph has gained unprecedented attention this season. In the past, when it came to the Grizzlies, what people most wanted to see was Link's performance. Randolph? Isn't that what he is?

But today, Randolph is as much in the spotlight as Link. On-site photographers even gave Randolph a close-up before the Grizzlies-Nets game on Jan. 28.

"Zach said he can be selected for the All-Star team, then we will see if he can perform better than the All-Star-level insider Brook Lopez." The taste of ridicule is in it, Lopez may not be selected as an All-Star this year, what is Randolph messing with.

As a result, the Grizzlies dominated the away game and won the game in three quarters. In the end, the score was 101 to 77, and the Nets never scored more than 80!

Deron and Joe Johnson were out of shape today, and Gerald Wallace scored only 1 point in the game. Lopez scored 16 points and 4 rebounds, and was already the best player for the Nets.

However, Randolph easily scored 18 points and 13 rebounds in three quarters. In addition, Randolph also allowed the famous "rebounding idiot" Reggie Evans to account for only 6 rebounds.

As a player who often scored 0 points and 20 rebounds, Reggie Evans' greatest value in the Nets is rebounding, known as the bankrupt version of Rodman. But today, Randolph has made him lose even his only value.

After the game, a reporter asked Randolph how he felt about today's victory. Randolph, who performed well, did not take the opportunity to pretend, nor did he rhetoric, nor did he attack Qian En. Instead, he grinned and pointed at Link, "Go ask him, that guy scored another 30 points today."

The reporter was stunned in the same place. Why did the arrogant Randolph suddenly become so general?

Randolph is just confident that he doesn't have to over-pack himself. Those professional coaches can naturally tell who is the better player.

On Jan. 31, the Grizzlies played their last game of the month. At home, against the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 76ers traded Iguodala, who was unwilling to be the core player, last summer, hoping to re-emerge with Bynum, who was more of a core player. But the 76ers' management didn't count, and Bynum completely released himself as soon as he left the Lakers.

First, Bynum had an unacceptable haircut after he left the Lakers. Subsequently, Bynum's knee injury has not been optimistic, the 76ers have delayed Bynum's comeback time three times. But even so, the 76ers still have hope. As long as Bynum comes back, he is bound to be able to kill the Quartet.

However, Bynum will not honestly recover from his injuries after releasing himself. Bynum's injury worsened after injuring himself during a bowling event. In the end, the 76ers announced that Bynum had to undergo surgery and be out for the season.

This indicates that the super center that the 76ers bought with all their assets has not played a game this season. And next season, it is very likely that the contract will not be renewed...

As a result, the 76ers have struggled this season. They originally had lofty goals, but now there is only one way to go.

So, there is actually no suspense in this game. But unexpectedly, the 76ers gave the Grizzlies a big problem today.

Evan Turner, who has always been dubbed "parallel imports", seemed to be back in college today, scoring 27 points and 7 assists on 12 of 18 shots.

And all-around forward Thaddeus Young also scored 20 points and 7 rebounds today. The 76ers played back and forth with the Grizzlies on the court, which was amazing.

But in the end, the Grizzlies still won 105-100. Link's 30 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists are important, but if it is only by Link, it is actually difficult to reach the sudden outbreak of the 76ers.

It was Randolph who stood up to help Link, fought with Thaddeus Young, and scored 26 points and 12 rebounds. This did not make the 76ers upset.

So far, the Grizzlies' January games are all over. Voting for this year's All-Star bench lineup has officially ended.

After the game, Randolph was sweating on his hips. In fact, this is not the first time Randolph has scored 20+10 data this season, but when people pay attention to him, they are surprised to find that this veteran who has started to "go downhill" can still play this kind of data.

When Link was interviewed after the game, he always had an uncontrollable smile on his face. Today, he works hard, but still feels exhausted. But when he needed it most, it was his teammates who stood up and helped him defend against the enemy's swooping.

It put him in a good mood, and it made him love his teammates even more. Link is proud to be in such a team.

So, when faced with the question "Do you think Randolph can be an All-Star?" Link pondered for a few seconds.

"Chan said we only have one All-Star? I don't see it that way. Because all of us, we're win-makers. All of us, All-Stars."

Link suddenly felt that whether Randolph was selected as an All-Star was no longer so important. Most importantly, Link knew when he needed it most.

Whether it's Randolph, Gasol, Conley, Andre Iguodala or Tony Allen, all of them will stand up and help themselves.

That's enough, it's enough to keep them going.