"The Suns have won 13 straight. Another unstoppable winning streak!"
"Hey, the Suns' next opponent is the Timberwolves. After that, their final opponent before All-Star Weekend will be the Magic, led by 'Superman' Howard."
"Ohhh!"
"The Suns against the Magic, Blake Su versus Howard. A super showdown between two of the league's top centers with completely different styles is finally coming?"
"I'm so looking forward to it!"
"Heh, I bought my ticket days ago."
"Me too, me too. I even told my boss a week in advance not to make me work overtime that night.
"I only have one goal.
"To watch the Suns and Magic live, and witness this battle for the title of 'the league's best center.'"
"Yeah. Blake Su, who became the all-time leading vote-getter, has already beaten Howard in popularity. Now he just needs a win to prove himself completely and lock down the title of 'the league's best center.'
"Of course, to be fair, if 'Superman' Howard can defeat Blake Su, then he'll still hold the title of 'the league's best active center' for the time being."
"Hey, hey, with all this talk, have any of you considered how the Timberwolves feel? They're clearly the team playing the Suns next."
"Timberwolves: You people really don't see us as human, do you?!"
"Enough, enough. The NBA just announced the Three-Point Contest lineup. Everyone, come see which players are participating this year!"
Buzz.
As soon as that was said, everyone's attention was instantly pulled over.
A sharp-eyed fan quickly read out the list. "There are six players in total: Durant from the Thunder, Pierce and Ray Allen from the Celtics, Jones from the Heat, and Curry and Blake Su from the Suns."
"Ohhh. Ray Allen, Curry, and Blake Su. Three of the league's top shooters are all joining the Three-Point Contest. Just thinking about it is exciting."
"It's going to be a rainstorm of threes."
"Wait, Blake Su is a center, and he's actually entering the Three-Point Contest? That doesn't seem to have happened in NBA history before. It feels so strange."
"Hahaha!"
"Strange is exactly right. Blake Su is an era-changing center, a different kind of center for the 'small-ball era.' His existence is going to make more and more strange things happen in the league.
"But those strange things might gradually become mainstream."
"That's right. Blake Su, as a center, might lead the league into a new era!"
"..."
Once the Three-Point Contest lineup was released, Blake Su entering as a center immediately opened many fans' eyes.
People echoed one another and commented casually, unaware that some of their offhand remarks would truly become reality in the future.
...
The rosters for each All-Star event were being announced one after another, signaling that the annual All-Star Weekend was almost here.
But the regular season was still going.
After defeating the Spurs and winning their 13th straight game, the Suns' next opponent was the Timberwolves. One was first in the West, while the other was last in the West.
This game was decided from the very beginning, even if it was on the Timberwolves' home court, even in the land of bitter winter.
In the first quarter, when everyone thought Blake Su would still use his unstoppable [Jordan's Post-Up Ability] to score.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Blake Su drilled three after three, each one farther than the last. In less than two minutes, he unleashed an 11 to 0 scoring storm all by himself.
One burst pushed the lead into double digits.
It left the Timberwolves players trembling, as if they had fallen into a nightmare.
In the second quarter, during the bench matchup, George, perhaps because of the coach's encouragement and trust, broke out once again and helped the team continue widening the gap.
By halftime, the Suns were already leading by 19 points. The game had become completely one-sided.
In the second half, after switching sides, the Timberwolves, still wanting to struggle a little because they were at home, began double-teaming Blake Su and strengthening their defense against him.
The result was...
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
With one textbook post-up after another, sometimes attacking and sometimes passing, Blake Su always found the right point and helped the team score.
They could not stop him.
The gap widened even further.
By the end of the third quarter, the Suns had led by as many as 30 points. The game was blown open again, and the final quarter directly became garbage time.
At the commentary desk.
Van Gundy shook his head and smiled. "One team is first in the West, and the other is last in the West. This was an uneven matchup from the start.
"A 30-point lead by the third quarter.
"The Suns might have gone a little too far."
"Heh."
Mike Breen smiled and said, "There's no mercy on the court. Only wins and losses matter. Besides, they probably just wanted to clock out early."
"That's true."
Van Gundy touched his watch, nodded, and said, "Losing was inevitable, but the 'new Wolf King' Love is probably heading for another 20-plus rebounds tonight.
"Even though every one of those rebounds was earned through real effort, with this kind of score difference, fans will probably call him a stat-padder."
"Heh, that really might happen. Against the strongest team in the West, the 'new Wolf King' wanted to help his team win tonight.
"But he just didn't have enough support."
As the two spoke, garbage time quickly passed on the court, and there was no comeback.
With George continuing to shine, the gap did not shrink even in garbage time. In the end, the Suns massacred the Timberwolves on the road by a massive 31 points.
Van Gundy said, "Congratulations to the Suns for taking another win and claiming their 14th straight victory. Next, their matchup with the Magic is surely the showdown countless fans want to see.
"We feel the same.
"So let's look forward to it together."
...
The next day.
As All-Star Weekend drew closer and closer, at 10 a.m., the NBA officially announced the final roster for the Slam Dunk Contest.
A total of four players would participate: the Clippers' "The Blake Show" Griffin, the Raptors' DeRozan, the Thunder's Ibaka, and the Suns' "Monster Rookie" Blake Su.
Blake Su was entering the Slam Dunk Contest too?
Yes.
As soon as the news was confirmed, the fans were overjoyed again. As long as Blake Su was participating in an event, the fans were happy.
They wished, they truly wished Blake Su could enter every single event.
At the same time.
Inside Blake Su's villa, he had just woken up. After seeing the news, he felt a burst of joy. With this, he was confirmed to be participating in four All-Star events.
[Ding!]
At that moment, the System's notification sounded.
[Ding! Host has successfully participated in four All-Star events and completed the All-Star random mission. Reward obtained: [Daiki Aomine Pack].]