บท 325: Chapter 325: Wishing Dong Ge a Speedy Recovery
The remaining three quarters of the game between the Suns and the Rockets...
The fans were no longer focused on the game; they were all concerned about what had happened to Wade Dong.
Wade Dong's sudden departure without any signs was suspicious. Moreover, he hadn't returned after leaving the court.
During halftime, Alvin Gentry didn't come out to explain, leaving everyone worried about Wade Dong's mysterious exit.
"Beep!!!"
The entire game ended with the referee's whistle.
Score: 109:91!!!
The Suns won by 18 points at home against the Heat.
This result wasn't surprising to anyone, but everyone was concerned about Wade Dong's departure.
Game Stats:
Wade Dong: 21 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks.
Kevin Durant: 29 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block.
Stephen Curry: 27 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks.
Lin Hao: 30 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 0 blocks.
...
As soon as the game ended, Lin Hao took out his phone in the locker room and called Wade Dong, but Wade Dong's phone was turned off.
Still worried, Lin Hao went to the Suns' locker room.
At the locker room door, Lin Hao heard laughter coming from inside.
Alvin Gentry was the first to notice Lin Hao at the door and smiled, asking, "Hey, is that you, Lin Hao? What's up?"
Lin Hao said, "Coach Gentry, I came to see Dong Ge."
"Dong Ge?"
Alvin Gentry spoke in broken Chinese, "He left..."
"He left???"
Lin Hao was startled by this.
In China, the phrase 'left' could have many meanings, and the worst interpretation would prompt people to ask, "How can a healthy person just leave like that?"
"Yeah," Gentry explained, "Dong Ge went home to sleep."
Lin Hao was speechless, "..."
Wade Dong's sudden departure after playing only one quarter had everyone worried, and now they were saying he went home to sleep? Lin Hao couldn't accept this explanation.
Gentry, not wanting Lin Hao to misunderstand, added, "Dong Ge wasn't feeling well today."
"Oh."
Lin Hao nodded, "I hope Dong Ge recovers soon. "
"He should be fine after a good sleep."
"???"
...
Post-game press conference.
The first question from the reporters was about Wade Dong's mysterious departure.
Alvin Gentry had already prepared an explanation, telling the media, "Dong Ge just wasn't feeling well. There's no need to worry."
"I believe Dong Ge will be fine soon, and he'll be back on the court for the next game."
In the end, Gentry's expression changed from somber to optimistic as he added this final remark.
This explanation put everyone at ease.
Gentry conveyed two messages: first, that Wade Dong's departure was due to health reasons, and second, that it wasn't a serious issue, and he would be able to play in the next game.
On Mop.com, netizens were also discussing Wade Dong's sudden departure, and the most common comment was, "Hope Dong Ge stays injury-free!"
Of course, some netizens had guessed the truth and joked that the Suns were so weak that Dong Ge got bored and left to take a nap.
These jokes were just for fun, and although they revealed the truth, no one believed them.
...
Before the Christmas Day games, the All-Star voting had already begun.
As per tradition, the All-Star Game head coaches were the coaches of the teams with the best records in the East and West.
However, there was one rule: the coaches couldn't serve consecutive terms. Alvin Gentry had been a head coach last year, so this year's Western Conference All-Star coach was replaced by Mike D'Antoni.
In the All-Star Game, only four players from the Suns made it to the 60-person voting list: Wade Dong, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson.
Both Carter and Tracy McGrady failed to make the 60-person voting list, including the Suns' starting center, Draymond Green, who was also outside the 60-person voting list. It was rare for a top-tier team like the Suns to have only four players in the Western Conference 60-person voting list.
The first round of voting had ended, and Wade Dong was leading by a large margin. He was well on his way to becoming the All-Star ballot leader again this year.
In the first round of voting, LeBron James was second, followed by Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant.
However, in the first round, one player stood out: Huang Yu of the Warriors. He had a total of 370,476 votes, only about 10,000 votes behind Kobe Bryant's 382,375 votes in the Western Conference guard rankings.
The fact that Huang Yu's vote count was so close to Kobe's was due to two reasons: the large number of Chinese fans and Huang Yu's outstanding performance. With an average of 24.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists, Huang Yu ranked seventh on the MVP leaderboard. This was the first time two Chinese players appeared on the MVP leaderboard simultaneously.
The other player was Wade Dong, who had dominated the MVP leaderboard since the beginning of the season.
Wade Dong had left some room for other players this year, as he only signed up for the Slam Dunk Contest at the All-Star Game. He didn't enter the Three-Point Contest or Skills Challenge.
Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson all signed up for the Three-Point Contest, and another highlight of this year's All-Star Game was LeBron James' decision to participate in the Slam Dunk Contest to compete with Wade Dong.
After four rounds of voting, the All-Star Game would begin in mid-February.
With over a month to go before the All-Star Game, many teams were campaigning for their star players, especially the Suns.
The Suns were the most aggressive in campaigning!
However, the team wasn't campaigning for Wade Dong but for Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson.
...
January 1, 2014.
The Suns flew to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves on the road.
This season, the new 'Wolf King' Kevin Love had a breakout, averaging 28.1 points and 12.7 rebounds. He ranked first on the scoring leaderboard and third on the rebounding leaderboard. In previous seasons, Love had even achieved a 30+30 performance in a single game.
Unfortunately, despite effortlessly achieving double-doubles, Love lacked leadership skills, earning him the nickname 'Lord of the Empty Stats' from fans.
The Timberwolves had a decent roster on paper, with players like Kevin Martin and Nikola Peković as scorers and Ricky Rubio, known as the 'Golden Boy'.
With such a lineup, the Timberwolves were only ranked tenth in the Western Conference.
Before Wade Dong entered the league, some media outlets had called Kevin Love the 'NBA's Most Handsome Player'. It was undeniable that Love's good looks had earned him a considerable fan following.
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