On January 31, the Spurs were ready and waiting, and dealt the red-hot Thunder a crushing blow, ruthlessly dismantling their pseudo five-out lineup.
Chen Xi's shot had gone cold, and the combined pressure from Danny Green and Ginobili had made his night miserable. They loved facing players with such distinct strengths and weaknesses. With a sensible defensive strategy, they were easy to contain.
Chen Xi finished the game shooting 4-for-12 overall, 1-for-5 from three, and 2-for-2 from the line, for just 11 points—his lowest total of the season.
Leonard also thoroughly outmatched Butler on both ends of the floor, leaving the Thunder once again in a situation where Westbrook had to fight alone.
When Donovan chose to take Adams off the floor to open up space, Popovich, who had already studied the Thunder, adjusted his strategy in time. He let Westbrook get into the paint, then left Sabonis open to maintain the team's defensive rotations. That way, even when Westbrook passed the ball out, the receiver usually wouldn't be open—unless Sabonis got a particularly good look.
Pseudo five-out was still just pseudo five-out. Little Sabonis could shoot, but at this point, he couldn't yet maintain his efficiency while carrying a substantial workload. He went 2-for-9 on threes and long twos combined, an undeniably inefficient performance that let the Spurs' bigs swarm Westbrook even more brazenly.
On offense, the Spurs repeatedly tore through the Thunder's defense with their new big three of Leonard, Aldridge, and Parker.
In the end, the Thunder lost 102–90, falling by 12 points and finishing their road trip with one win and one loss.
Westbrook once again put up 35+ points, 11 rebounds, and 14 assists in a losing effort.
On February 1, the Thunder returned home for the second game of a back-to-back against the Bulls and bounced back hard. They blew the game wide open in the third quarter, raining down points in a relentless assault. With only Oladipo and Wade left to carry them, the Bulls couldn't withstand the Thunder's firepower and went down early.
Chen Xi washed away the shame of his previous game by taking it out on the veterans, scoring a whopping 28 points on 10-for-17 shooting.
After the game, he shamelessly went to ask Odie out to dinner.
The league announced the All-Star reserves.
In the Eastern Conference, Isaiah Thomas, Kyle Lowry, Kemba Walker, John Wall, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Love, and Paul Millsap were selected.
In the West, Russell Westbrook, Klay Thompson, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, DeMarcus Cousins, Marc Gasol, and DeAndre Jordan made the cut.
Butler's move to the West had allowed Anthony, who would otherwise have missed out in the East, to make his tenth All-Star appearance. Meanwhile, Hayward was unlucky enough to be edged out by JB in the West.
Hayward wasn't the only notable snub. Twelve-time All-Star Dwyane Wade and five-time All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge both missed out this year.
And it wasn't just the established stars who were left off the roster. Plenty of talented mid-career and young players were snubbed, too.
The pride of Rip City, Damian Lillard, had once again missed the All-Star team. He was averaging an impressive 26.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game this season, good for eighth in the league in scoring. Yet he had somehow become the only player in the top ten who hadn't made the All-Star team.
Cousin always seemed to go on a tear only after the All-Star break. It was as regular as the December slump of that baby-faced guy next door.
The new Emperor, Joel Embiid, who had been widely expected to make the team, was also left out. He was averaging 19.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.5 blocks per game this season, while playing just 25.3 minutes a night. His efficiency was remarkable, and Big Butt had shown his dominance in the regular season from the very start.
Then there was Chen. So far this season, the rookie scoring sensation had averaged 23.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, and at one point had received over 300,000 votes. That was far more than Jeremy Lin's 100,000-plus votes that year. But unlike Westbrook, Chen had lost out in the media and player voting.
The Thunder's three-man snub squad was complete.
Still, Chen Xi had made the All-Star Rookie Challenge. As the leading rookie in this year's class, he was averaging 23.2 points a game and had left almost all of his peers—except Big Butt—far behind. American fans couldn't help but lament, "In an age without heroes, even a nobody can become famous."
After dinner with Odie, Chen Xi returned home, rubbed his hands together, and called up the system that had been idle for ages.
"System, system, time to get to work."
[Host achievement detected: Career Total Points surpassed 1,000. Reward sent.]
[Host achievement detected: Selected for the All-Star Rookie Challenge. Reward sent.]
[Congratulations, host! You have received: 5 Free Attribute Points and 1 Specific Silver Badge.]
[Congratulations, host! You have received: 10 Free Attribute Points and 1 Badge Upgrader (Bronze).]
"Time to add points! Deep Blue, add points!!!"
[Please select the attribute to upgrade.]
Chen Xi looked over his meager attribute list, pondered for a few seconds, and made his choice.
"Just 15 points. Put 11 into Breakthrough to make it a nice round number, then put the remaining 4 into Ball Control."
[Attribute points applied. The host's Breakthrough Attribute has increased to 85] (72+2+11)
[Attribute points applied. The host's Ball Control Attribute has increased to 70] (increased to 66 through training)
"Tsk, still a long way to go. I'll have to rely on badges." Chen frowned at his still-unimpressive stats. At least his badges were looking pretty impressive.
"Time to pick a badge! Hmm... let's go with Volume Shooter!"
[Congratulations, host! You have received the badge: Volume Shooter (Silver).]
"Then upgrade Volume Shooter to silver."
[Upgrade complete. Congratulations, host! You have received the badge: Volume Shooter (Silver).]
"Hehehe..."
Chen Xi rubbed his hands together and grinned at his stats like a pervert.
[Chen Xi:
Physical Talent: Height 196; Wingspan 208; Weight 91 kg
Attribute Panel: Mid-Range 79(+1); Three-Point 100; Free Throw 85(+1)
Ball Control 70; Passing 63(+1); Breakthrough 85
Perimeter Defense 79(+1); Help Defense 57(+1); Rebounding 45
Strength 58(+5); Speed 64(+2); Stamina 70(+3)
Blocks 30; Steals 45(+2); Layup 60(+5)
Vertical Leap 75(+3); Constitution: 70]
[Figures in parentheses indicate improvements gained through training.]
[Badges: Catch and Shoot (Silver), Quick Draw (Silver), Off-Ball Pest (Silver), Spot Shooter (Silver), Volume Shooter (Silver), First Step Master (Silver), Volume Shooter (Silver), Giant Killer (Bronze), Corner Three Specialist (Bronze), Death Coil (Bronze), Lockdown Defender (Bronze), Dribbling Expert (Bronze), Dodge Finisher (Bronze)]
[Evaluation: Masterful perimeter shooting, excellent penetration, and adequate defense. A skilled player who can excel with or without the ball, an outstanding championship-team piece. Take your talents to Golden State.]
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