Chapter 125: The Ultimate Dunk Package (Minus the Tomahawk).
Although it was somewhat expected, Han Sen still faced a lot of skepticism when he was voted as a starter.
After all, his large vote count came largely from his fanbase, which raised questions about the legitimacy of his selection.
During a media interview, Han Sen was inevitably asked about this.
"Do you think the result was unfair?" The reporter's question was direct.
"Yes," Han Sen's response shocked everyone.
As the reporter tried to figure out what he was up to, he continued, clearly upset:
"Why wasn't Zach selected? He's been better than Pau Gasol this season, and Blake Griffin plays for a team at the bottom of the Western Conference. That's what's truly unfair."
Since Rudy Gay's injury, the Grizzlies' performance had dipped, but they were still the fifth seed in the West.
If Han Sen hadn't had outside support, he likely wouldn't have even made the reserves. In other words, for a team ranked fifth in the West to have no All-Star representation — that was the real injustice.
Han Sen wasn't just deflecting the question, though. This season was Zach Randolph's best shot at making the All-Star team, and he'd never been selected before.
Not long after this interview, the criticism of Han Sen's selection started to die down.
It wasn't because of his answer, but because Swift announced on social media that she would be performing during the NBA All-Star halftime show.
This meant that the fans who voted for Han Sen would indeed tune in to watch the game!
Even the NBA's official website shared this news, making Han Sen's selection a subtle promotional win for the league.
After dealing with the reporters, Han Sen stopped worrying about the All-Star game.
His focus remained on his training with Allen.
With Gay out for the season, Han Sen knew he would need to shoulder more of the offensive load, so he had to improve quickly.
The Grizzlies might still be fifth in the West for now, but the Western Conference was so competitive that a losing streak could drop them out of the playoffs entirely.
After practice one day, Han Sen and Tony Allen sat on the sidelines to rest.
Although they hadn't interacted much before, training together had naturally brought them closer.
"Tony, have you ever tried to change your shooting form?" With their friendship growing, Han Sen started to show more concern for Allen's game.
After all, they were both named Allen — but unlike Ray Allen, Tony wasn't exactly a sharpshooter. He could at least try to hit open shots, so the team wouldn't have to play 4-on-5 offensively.
Han Sen had noticed that Allen's shooting form was odd — he brought the ball way behind his head, making it look like he was throwing a shot put.
"I missed my chance," Allen admitted, surprising Han Sen.
"After I tore my knee ligaments in 2007, I knew I wouldn't get back to where I was. I tried to change my form, but it was too late."
"You tore your ligaments?" Han Sen was shocked.
A torn ligament is a devastating injury for any player.
It wasn't something Han Sen knew about — not because he had forgotten, but because players like Tony Allen weren't on his radar much. All he really knew about Allen was that he was an elite defender.
"When I was young, I had no limits. I thought there was some superstar button inside me. Reality hit me hard."
Allen's eyes were full of emotion as he reflected on his career.
Before Jimmy Butler came along, Tony Allen was one of the league's iconic underdog stories.
Struggling academically, he started playing at Butler County Community College before transferring to Oklahoma State University.
In his senior year, he averaged 16 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2.1 steals, leading his team to the Final Four, becoming his own version of Jordan.
But since he lacked ball-handling skills and wasn't tall enough for a shooting guard in the modern game, he never stood out.
If it hadn't been for Doc Rivers, he might not have even been a first-round pick.
Even after being selected by the Celtics in the first round, Rivers primarily used him as a "defensive specialist," and his minutes were limited.
He thought he wouldn't get his shot — until he faced the Lakers. In just 8 minutes against Kobe, he fouled out, almost setting an NBA record for the fastest disqualification. That's when he realized there was no 'superstar button'.
It was after that season, during the summer, that he gave up on his dreams of superstardom and began to focus on training: defense, rebounding, fast breaks. He honed the skills he was good at until they became exceptional.
Then he had his breakout moment — a 30-point game against the Nuggets, followed by six straight games with 20+ points.
Han Sen was surprised. If someone had told him before he traveled back in time that Tony Allen could score 20+ points in six consecutive games, he would have thought they were playing NBA 2K.
"I remember that game against the Magic. The commentator called me 'Little D-Wade.'"
Allen's face lit up as he recalled one of the highlights of his career.
But his expression quickly turned pained, likely as he remembered what happened afterward.
In a dead-ball situation, Allen attempted a completely unnecessary dunk, and as a result, he twisted his left knee.
What he thought was a minor injury turned out to be a torn ligament.
While the injury didn't end his career, it severely diminished his athleticism: his lateral quickness, jumping ability, and explosiveness were all drastically reduced.
"I tried to develop a jump shot, but after that, I couldn't jump high or fast. Adjusting my shooting form wouldn't have helped."
So it wasn't that Allen didn't want to develop a jump shot — he simply couldn't anymore, so he had to make defense his specialty.
After finishing practice, Han Sen returned home and opened up his System Space.
Allen's story reminded him a bit of his own — they both had breakout moments, only to suffer injuries.
The difference was that Allen's injury was more severe, and he didn't have the Hater System to exchange for the [Iron Body] talent. He was forced to adapt his game.
That wasn't why Han Sen opened the system, though.
Allen's struggles with developing his shot had given Han Sen an idea.
His mid-range game was on fire against the Spurs, but it had noticeably declined in the games since.
He had assumed that his [Classical Master] talent hadn't reached its peak, limiting his performance.
But now he wondered if his physical attributes were also part of the problem.
A good shooter needs accuracy, but being able to jump high is important too.
If Allen hadn't been injured, or if he had been taller, he might have been able to transform into a 3-and-D player.
The higher the release point, the less likely a shooter is to be contested, making it easier to get off a clean shot.
Aside from tall players like Durant, great mid-range shooters like Jordan, Kobe, and McGrady all had impressive leaping ability.
So, if Han Sen exchanged for a talent that improved his jumping ability, would the [Classical Master] talent perform even better once it peaked?
Han Sen began browsing through the system's available talents.
He had accumulated over 400,000 hater points, close to 500,000.
That wasn't enough for a Tier 1 talent, but it was more than enough for Tier 2.
His eyes quickly landed on a 300,000-point Tier 2 dunking talent.
"The Ultimate Dunk Package (Minus the Tomahawk)."
The name seemed a bit ridiculous, but…
The description made sense.
"Increases jumping ability, hang time, and body flexibility."
Why does LeBron James favor the tomahawk dunk so much?
Because his body flexibility limits his ability to execute more complex dunks.
It's hard to imagine LeBron pulling off a 360-degree between-the-legs dunk.
Han Sen didn't hesitate long before making the purchase.
After redeeming it, for the first time, he had two talents that hadn't yet reached their potential.
He was going to be busy in the coming weeks.
…
While Han Sen was focused on training, the All-Star talk hadn't died down.
In fact, the reason why the criticism against him had lessened wasn't just because Swift would be performing at the All-Star game, but also because someone else was taking the heat for him.
That person was Yao Ming.
Yao had only played five games for the Rockets this season before being sidelined with an injury, averaging 18.2 minutes, 10.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game.
Because he hadn't officially been ruled out for the season, the Rockets still included him on their roster.
As a result, Yao was voted in as the Western Conference's starting center.
Right after he was selected, the Rockets announced that Yao would miss the 2011 All-Star Game.
It was hard not to focus attention on this situation.
Of course, this didn't have much to do with the Grizzlies, until the league recently announced the replacements for injured All-Stars.
Popovich was still recovering from an injury and couldn't coach, so Lakers coach Phil Jackson would take his place.
As for Yao's replacement, it was Thunder's Russell Westbrook.
This decision stirred up a lot of frustration.
While Westbrook had been great this season and deserved to be selected, replacing an injured center with a guard felt like blatant bias against Zach Randolph — a move that didn't even bother to pretend otherwise.
It wasn't hard to understand why though, as Stern had always been strict with players who had a 'history'.
However, when Han Sen heard the news, he immediately took to social media to express his support for Randolph.
"Zach dominates the paint every night. In my mind, he's an All-Star player, and his exclusion is just unacceptable."
During games, Han Sen also created more opportunities for Randolph, showing his support for his frontcourt teammate through his actions.
But that wasn't the end of it.
After Han Sen's tweet, Griffin made some comments about him.
"How do you feel about Han Sen saying that both Randolph and he deserved to be All-Stars over you?" a reporter asked Griffin — clearly a loaded question.
"If he weren't Swift's boyfriend, not only would he not be a starter, he wouldn't even be at the All-Star game," Griffin replied, fearless as always.
Many people may have forgotten, but Griffin and Han Sen entered the league in the same year, and Griffin had been compared to Han Sen during summer league because of the infamous 'No. 77' comment from fans.
But now, despite being the No. 1 overall pick, Griffin's spotlight had been completely stolen by Han Sen.
Han Sen's comment about Randolph was purely factual and wasn't aimed at Griffin, but now it had become personal.
Surprisingly, Han Sen didn't get angry over Griffin's blunt remarks. After all, besides the All-Star game, Han Sen would also be participating in the Rookie Challenge.
This brought up a peculiar NBA rule: whether a player is classified as a rookie or a sophomore is based on their actual playing record in the NBA.
If a player didn't play during their rookie season due to injury, they were still considered a rookie, eligible to join the rookie team for the All-Star game and even compete for the Rookie of the Year award.
This rule naturally sparked huge controversy. Even though a player might not have played, they still trained with the team and learned the game, which seemed unfair to other rookies.
But fairness wasn't the issue here — the important thing was that Han Sen was representing the sophomore team, while Griffin represented the rookie team. They would be teammates in the All-Star game, but rivals in the Rookie Challenge.
Time flew, and soon it was February 20th.
The 60th NBA All-Star Game kicked off in Los Angeles.
This was the fifth time Los Angeles had hosted the All-Star Game, surpassing New York as the city with the most All-Star events.
There was no surprise here — hosting in the most glamorous city in America was always profitable.
Han Sen's point was also valid because Griffin's selection was partly influenced by the location.
Even though the Clippers were third from the bottom in the Western Conference, they shared the same arena as the Lakers!
Staples Center — a name that evoked images of the Lakers, but the Clippers also played there, and Griffin was the Clippers' rising star.
So, when Han Sen arrived in Los Angeles, he wasn't exactly warmly received.
Before the All-Star game, there was a celebrity game, and when Han Sen was spotted by the cameras, the Los Angeles crowd gave him a chorus of boos.
Any normal rookie would have been rattled by that.
But Han Sen just smiled and joked about how the boos were too quiet, which only further provoked the Los Angeles fans.
To make matters worse, Han Sen had previously made remarks questioning whether Kobe was still the best player in the league and doubting the Lakers' chances of making the Finals. So he wasn't exactly popular in L.A. to begin with.
Now, having already alienated the fans in Boston, he was working on becoming an even bigger 'villain' in Los Angeles.
After the celebrity game came the Rookie Challenge, both games being held at the same venue.
Usually, these two games were just appetizers for the main All-Star event, but thanks to Han Sen's antics, by the time the Rookie Challenge was about to start, the arena had filled up with many more fans.
These fans weren't suddenly appearing in L.A., of course. The All-Star weekend included a 'Fan Carnival' held outside Staples Center, with various events like shooting contests, dunking activities, height comparisons with players, and meet-and-greets with NBA stars.
So when something interesting happened inside the arena, a quick call and the fans poured in.
Han Sen welcomed the scene.
Last year, the rookie team had beaten the sophomore team, ending the sophomore's seven-year winning streak dating back to 2002.
Was it because that sophomore team was weak?
Clearly not, as the 2008 draft class wasn't lacking talent, with players like Rose, Westbrook, and Love.
If it wasn't that the sophomores were weak, then the rookies must have been strong.
And now, last year's rookie team was this year's sophomore team.
As Han Sen warmed up, he greeted his teammates.
Curry, Harden, DeRozan, Ibaka, Jrue Holiday, Taj Gibson, Brandon Jennings, DeJuan Blair (and Tyreke Evans).
So, who were the rookies?
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone