Adding Points, Adding Points!

On January 31st, the well-prepared Spurs dealt a heavy blow to the red-hot Thunder, thoroughly dismantling their "pseudo-five-out" lineup.

Chen Xi, whose shooting touch abandoned him in this game, was tormented by the constant pressure from Danny Green and Ginobili. They loved players with such distinct technical characteristics, where strengths and weaknesses were equally apparent. Combined with a sound defensive strategy, limiting him was incredibly easy.

Chen Xi finished the game 4-of-12 from the field, 1-of-5 from three-point range, and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line for just 11 points, a new career low for the season.

Meanwhile, Leonard completely outplayed Butler on both ends of the court, leaving the Thunder once again in a situation where Westbrook was fighting a solo battle.

When Donovan decided to take Adams out to spread the floor, Popovich, who had thoroughly studied the Thunder, adjusted his strategy in time. He allowed Westbrook into the paint and then left Sabonis open to maintain the team's defensive rotations. This way, even if Westbrook passed the ball out, it wouldn't be an open look most of the time, provided Sabonis could get a decent shooting space.

A pseudo-five-out lineup was still just a pseudo-five-out lineup. Little Sabonis had a shot, but he couldn't yet sustain high volume while maintaining efficiency. His combined three-pointers and long two-pointers were 2-of-9, a clearly inefficient stat line. This also allowed the Spurs' interior defense to double-team Westbrook with even more impunity.

On offense, the Spurs, led by the new trident of Leonard, Aldridge, and Parker, repeatedly broke down the Thunder's defense.

Ultimately, the Thunder lost 90-102, falling by 12 points and ending their away trip with a 1-1 record.

Westbrook once again put up empty stats with 35 points, 11 rebounds, and 14 assists.

On February 1st, playing a back-to-back home game against the Bulls, the Thunder bounced back from their slump, overwhelming their opponents and blowing them out by the third quarter. With only Oladipo and Wade left on the Bulls, they were no match for the Thunder's firepower and surrendered early.

Chen Xi redeemed himself from the previous game's humiliation, unleashing a barrage on the veteran players, shooting 10-of-17 for a explosive 28 points.

After the game, he shamelessly invited Odie out for a meal.

The official announcement of the All-Star reserve list was made.

In the Eastern Conference, Isaiah Thomas, Kyle Lowry, Kemba Walker, John Wall, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Love, and Paul Millsap were selected.

The Western Conference saw Russell Westbrook, Klay Thompson, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, DeMarcus Cousins, Marc Gasol, and DeAndre Jordan selected.

Due to Butler's move to the West, Anthony, who might have otherwise been left out, made his tenth career All-Star appearance. In the West, Hayward was unfortunately squeezed out by JB.

There were naturally other snubs besides Hayward. Dwyane Wade, a 12-time All-Star, and LaMarcus Aldridge, a 5-time All-Star, were both left out this year.

In addition to the traditional veteran stars being left out, there were also many overlooked players among the solid mid-career and younger generations.

The owner of Rip City, Damian Lillard, was once again snubbed from the All-Star game. This season, Lillard is averaging an impressive 26.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists, ranking 8th in the league in scoring. However, he awkwardly became the only player in the league's top ten scorers to miss out on the All-Star game.

Cousin always starts his crazy performances after the All-Star break, as predictable as the Baby-faced Assassin's December constipation period.

Joel Embiid, the new Emperor, who was also highly touted for an All-Star spot, was unfortunately left out. This season, he's averaging 19.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.5 blocks. Moreover, his average playing time is only 25.3 minutes, making his efficiency incredibly high. The Emperor's dominance in the regular season was evident from the start.

Then there's Chen, who this season has been a super rookie scorer averaging 23.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. He even received over 300,000 votes (compared to Jeremy Lin's 100,000+ votes for the Nets this year). However, unlike Westbrook, he lost out due to media and player voting.

The Thunder's trio of disappointed players truly represented the team.

However, Chen Xi was selected for the All-Star Rookie Challenge. As the leader of this rookie class, his 23.2 points per game average left most of his peers, except for the Emperor, far behind, leading American fans to lament, "In the absence of true heroes, youngsters rise to fame."

After his dinner with Odie, Chen Xi returned home, rubbed his hands together, and summoned the System, which had been idle for a long time.

"System, System, time to work."

[Detected Host has completed achievement: Career Total Points surpassed 1000, reward has been sent]

[Detected Host has completed achievement: Selected for All-Star Rookie Challenge, reward has been sent]

[Congratulations to Host for receiving reward: 5 Free Attribute Points, 1 Specific Silver Badge]

[Congratulations to Host for receiving reward: 10 Free Attribute Points, Badge Upgrader (Bronze) * 1]

"Add points, add points! Deep blue, add points!!!"

[Please Host select attribute to add points to]

Chen Xi looked at his meager attribute list and, after a few seconds of thought, made his choice.

"Only 15 points. I'll put 11 into Breakthrough to make a nice round number, and the remaining 4 into Ball Control."

[Attribute points added. Host's current Breakthrough attribute has increased to 85 (72+2+11)]

[Attribute points added. Host's current Ball Control attribute has increased to 70 (Increased to 66 through training)]

"Tsk, still a long way to go. I still need to rely on badges," Chen muttered, frowning as he looked at his still unremarkable stats. Fortunately, his badges were already quite impressive.

"Time to pick badges! Hmm... let's go with Clutch Shooter!"

[Congratulations to Host for obtaining badge: Clutch Shooter (Silver)]

"And then upgrade Volume Shooter to Silver."

[Upgrade complete. Congratulations to Host for obtaining badge: Volume Shooter (Silver)]

"Hehehe..."

Chen Xi rubbed his hands together, looking at his status panel, grinning like a pervert.

[Chen Xi: Physical Talent: Height 196cm; Wingspan 208cm; Weight 91kg

Attribute Panel: Mid-range Shot 79(+1); Three-pointer 100; Free Throw 85(+1) Ball Control 70 ; Passing 63(+1); Breakthrough 85 On-ball Defense 79(+1); Help Defense 57(+1); Rebound 45 Strength 58(+5); Speed 64(+2); Stamina 70(+3) Block 30; Steal 45(+2); Layup 60(+5)]

[Jumping 75(+3) Constitution: 70]

[The values in parentheses are skill gains from training.]

[Badges: Catch and Shoot (Silver), Quick Draw (Silver), Off-Ball Pest (Silver), Spot Shooter (Silver), Volume Shooter (Silver), First Step Master (Silver), Clutch Shooter (Silver), Giant Killer (Bronze), Corner Three Specialist (Bronze), Death Coil (Bronze), Lockdown Defender (Bronze), Dribbling Expert (Bronze), Dodge Finisher (Bronze)]

[Evaluation: Exquisite outside shooting, excellent Breakthrough, competent Defense. A master of both on-ball and off-ball play, an outstanding puzzle piece for a championship team. Go bring your talent to Golden State.]

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