At this point, Lin Yi honestly wanted to grab a rocket launcher and blow up TNT headquarters in one shot.
Was Barkley's jinx just a normal jinx? Hell no. Although the man was the No. 1 Knicks' hype man, when his mouth opened, sometimes it could be basically a death sentence..
Could the Knicks survive it?
Apparently not.
...
On the 17th, the Knicks hosted the New Orleans Hornets.
Before tip-off, Gallinari and Lou Williams received their championship rings at Madison Square Garden. The fans gave them a warm round of applause — the kind reserved for those who once helped raise a banner.
This season, Gallinari has been impressive — 20.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists a night, while hitting 40% from three. He was making 2.8 triples per game, and everyone agreed he deserved a spot on the Western Conference All-Star reserves.
Lou Williams wasn't far behind either — 17 points and 3 assists a game. With those two leading the charge, the Hornets were sitting ninth in the West and looked like a legitimate playoff team.
Gallinari had been declared the new Hornet King on Twitter by the fans. Unfortunately for him, he ran into Chris Paul, who was ready to remind everyone how monarchy works.
Midway through the game, Paul got a switch against Gallinari. One sharp crossover later, Danilo was down — both figuratively and literally.
Facing his old team, Paul showed no mercy. If you wanted to make it sound dramatic, it was like he was saying goodbye to New Orleans in his own cold-blooded way.
Gallinari hadn't changed much, though. Before the game, he was already getting along with Knicks rookie Chandler Parsons. Lin Yi even saw him hand Parsons a list of addresses and phone numbers — all familiar night spots from Gallinari's New York days.
Good thing Klay was still recovering at home. Otherwise, Lin Yi was sure the three of them would've ended up in a long philosophical discussion about... nightlife.
During the game, Lin Yi also noticed something unusual — Gallinari's thinning hair seemed to have miraculously grown back. Turkey sure does work wonders.
So naturally, after the game, Lin Yi had to touch it — and somehow that turned into a five-minute conversation about hair care routines.
Final score: Hornets 99, Knicks 108.
After the loss, Gallinari said he regretted not being able to beat his old team, but still gave them credit.
"I hope they keep this up," he said. "As a former Knick and champion, I'm proud of what they're doing."
Two days later, before the Knicks' matchup with the Nets, the All-Star starters for the 2012 Orlando game were announced.
Eastern starters: Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Lin Yi, Dwight Howard.
Western starters: Russel Westbrook, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Yao Ming.
Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul joining the East — and Yao Ming not retiring — had completely rewritten history. Normally, Derrick Rose would've been the East's starting point guard, but Paul's arrival pushed him to the bench. Even Anthony couldn't crack the starting five.
To be fair, Melo's new life as the main man of Cleveland had made him insanely popular. He nearly dethroned LeBron in the voting, losing by just over ten thousand votes.
Lin Yi couldn't help but suspect Stern had a hand in that. With the way nine out of ten fans were James haters these days, there's no way Melo wouldn't have stolen the spot otherwise.
Honestly, he thought it would've been hilarious if Anthony had forced prime LeBron James to watch the All-Star Game from the bench. The mental image alone made Lin Yi shake his head.
After barely holding onto his starter spot, LeBron told the media, "Starter or reserve, it doesn't matter. I will represent."
Of course, fans immediately asked, "If it doesn't matter, why not give Melo his spot?"
James then followed up, saying, "Being an All-Star starter is an honor. Getting selected itself is a recognition of a player's work. The All-Star Game represents the peak of a career."
This season, James's PR situation was tanking faster than the economy. Just recently, after a loss to Dallas, he said he didn't like playing power forward and wanted to move back to small forward.
The problem?
The media turned into something opposite of what he said, painting him as a villain.
Oof
Back to basketball — the Knicks handled the Nets easily on the 19th. Klay returned from injury, but the Barkley curse wasn't done yet.
Another one went down.
Lin Yi literally facepalmed.
This time it was Shaun Livingston.
He twisted his knee mid-game. The MRI confirmed it — out for four to eight weeks.
Not as bad as Billups' injury, but eerily similar to last season.
"Shaun, be honest," Lin Yi joked after the game, "you didn't sign that minimum contract thinking you'd only play half a season again, right?"
Livingston nearly coughed up his hydration drink laughing — then gave Lin Yi a friendly punch to the side.
It wasn't like he wanted to get hurt. But now, even if he healed up fast, the earliest he could return would be near the end of the season.
He looked up helplessly, thinking, So much for perfect attendance… maybe next lifetime.
Lin Yi, meanwhile, couldn't help but feel sad for Livingston. Every time the man seemed to be balling, his knee slams the built-in auto rest button— and forces a shutdown when it gets tired.
He wasn't too worried, though. Livingston's current style didn't rely on explosive athleticism anyway.
What did worry him was that Paul suddenly had no backup point guard left.
"Chris," Lin Yi sighed, "are you cursed or something?"
Paul just stared at him then spread his hands with that classic "what do you want me to do?" look — equal parts helpless and annoyed.
After Livingston went down, D'Antoni didn't hesitate. He decided to activate McGrady and slot him into the rotation as the backup point guard.
So now, the Knicks' backcourt rotation was officially… Paul and McGrady.
Lin Yi stared at the lineup sheet for a moment, then chuckled to himself.
Paul and T-Mac, huh? he thought. If this were five years ago, that combo would've broken the league.
He leaned back on the bench, half amused, half nostalgic. Somehow, the sight of McGrady running the point again felt oddly poetic — like basketball history looping back on itself.
"Who knows," Lin Yi murmured, "maybe it'll actually work."
For a moment, even he had to admit… the Knicks' backcourt looked kind of beautiful.
...
Please do leave a review and powerstones, helps with the book's exposure.
Feel like joining a Patreon for free and subscribing to advanced chapters?
Visit the link:
[email protected]/GRANDMAESTA_30
Change @ to a