55: All-Star starting lineup amidst doubts

On the team's private plane back to Los Angeles, the atmosphere was depressingly heavy.

No one spoke.

The shadow of the crushing defeat loomed over everyone. The players sat in their seats, some with eyes closed to rest, others staring out the window, but their minds were clearly elsewhere.

Lin Feng sat by the window. The clouds outside the porthole were sliced through by the wings, but he couldn't focus on anything.

In his mind, every segment of the game replayed on a loop.

Kawhi Leonard's expressionless face.

Tim Duncan's massive hand that seemed to blot out the sky.

And finally, Gregg Popovich walking past him, giving him that pitying pat.

That gesture was like an invisible needle pricking his dignity.

This wasn't just a physical failure; it was a comprehensive crushing of his basketball philosophy.

Everything he relied on, the skills he took pride in, proved to be so ridiculous and powerless before the San Antonio Spurs' precision war machine.

"Circus."

Popovich's word no longer sounded like contempt, but a cold verdict... The plane landed at Los Angeles International Airport.

The players dragged their exhausted bodies out of the terminal, greeted by media reporters who had been waiting for a long time.

Flashbulbs went off in a blur, and countless microphones were thrust toward them.

"Lin! Do you have any response to Coach Popovich's 'circus theory'?"

"Losing by 25 points—do you think this was caused by your style of play?"

"Some critics say your flashy style is a cancer to the team. What's your take?"

Sharp questions hit Lin Feng one after another.

Expressionless, he walked through the crowd without saying a word, escorted by team security.

Back at his downtown apartment, Lin Feng threw himself heavily onto the sofa.

He turned on the TV; almost every sports channel was discussing last night's game.

ESPN's star commentator, Stephen A. Smith, was roaring at the camera in his signature exaggerated tone.

"I told you so! I told you so! This kind of juggling-act basketball simply doesn't work against playoff-level defense!"

"5-for-22 shooting! 6 turnovers! 5 shots blocked! Are these the stats the second-place All-Star vote-getter should be putting up? This is simply pathetic! Disgraceful!"

In the TNT studio, Charles Barkley also rarely didn't defend Lin Feng.

"I'm disappointed. I thought he would respond in a smarter way, but he didn't."

"He's like a bull charging into a wall. Popovich just stood there and watched him bash his head until it bled."

Kenny Smith sounded like a triumphant prophet.

"It's been proven that flashy juggling is vulnerable before true team basketball."

"Popovich gave the whole league a lesson, an open class titled 'How to Restrict Lin Feng'."

"He's just a stat-padder, a performer who can't win games."

The comments online were even harsher.

"He doesn't deserve the position! He wants to be an All-Star with that kind of play?"

"lin feng rule! If every team defends him like this from now on, he's useless!"

"The biggest cancer on the Lakers, trade him quickly!"

The voices that had previously put him on a pedestal turned into the most vicious curses overnight.

Lin Feng turned off the TV and threw his phone aside.

The whole world was negating him.

Falling from the clouds to the bottom of the valley only took one game, it seemed.

The next day, at the Los Angeles Lakers' practice facility.

The atmosphere was as heavy as it had been on the plane.

The players went through routine shooting drills, but there was almost no communication between them.

Chris Kaman was practicing free throws at the other end of the court. He made no eye contact with Lin Feng the entire time, deliberately avoiding him.

When some role players were in scrimmages, their first instinct upon getting the ball was no longer to look for Lin Feng.

That invisible rift was quietly spreading within the team.

Lin Feng was facing the biggest crisis of trust since entering the NBA.

D'Antoni tried to reunite the team through tactical drills, but the effect was minimal.

Lin Feng remained silent during practice. He just mechanically completed every movement, his eyes hollow.

Nash walked over to him and handed him a bottle of water.

"Don't care about what they say, Lin."

"We all know how great you are. That was just one bad game."

Lin Feng took the water and just nodded, not saying a word.

For the first time, he began to doubt himself.

In the following days, Lin Feng seemed like a different person.

He completely closed himself off, arriving at the practice facility before dawn every day and not leaving until late at night.

He practiced his shooting frantically, over and over again.

He practiced his drives against the air, simulating scenarios against Leonard and Duncan.

Sweat soaked his jersey, but he felt no fatigue.

He just wanted to use this method to combat the confusion and sense of frustration in his heart.

Just as this storm of public opinion sweeping across America reached its peak, the NBA officially announced the results of the second round of All-Star voting.

When the news arrived, the entire Lakers team was in the tactical meeting room watching footage for the next game.

The assistant coach's phone buzzed. He took a look and froze on the spot.

D'Antoni gave him a dissatisfied look.

"What happened?"

The assistant coach looked up at Lin Feng with an expression that was a mix of shock and absurdity.

"Coach... the second round of All-Star voting results are out."

He paused, his voice a bit dry.

"Lin... is number one in the Western Conference backcourt."

The entire meeting room fell silent.

Everyone's eyes were focused on Lin Feng.

Nick Young was the first to react. He jumped up and shouted in disbelief.

"What? First place? He surpassed Kobe?"

"My god! How is this possible!"

On the official website, the list was incredibly clear.

Western Conference Backcourt Players List.

1st Place: Lin Feng, 998,542 votes.

2nd Place: Kobe Bryant, 950,788 votes.

3rd Place: Chris Paul, 785,441 votes.

After experiencing that humiliating defeat, Lin Feng's vote count hadn't dropped; instead, because of the massive controversy, it had seen explosive growth.

Countless fans who supported him used their votes to launch a counterattack against the critics.

They wanted to use this method to tell the world that they loved Lin Feng's basketball.

This result was like a nuclear bomb, completely detonating the entire public opinion arena.

If the first round's results were just surprising, this time, it was pure madness.

"This is the ultimate insult to the sport of basketball!"

"A player proven unable to bring victory, a selfish performer, is going to stand on the All-Star stage representing the league's highest honor as a starter?"

"The NBA is finished! The fans have voted for a joke!"

"The most 'water' All-Star vote leader in history!"

The massive controversy was like a tsunami, completely submerging Lin Feng.

He became the center of the storm, a collection of contradictions.

The peak of fan popularity, the bottom of professional evaluation.

After practice that day, Lin Feng stayed alone in the empty arena.

He sat on the floor, looking at the basketball in his hand with complex eyes.

Becoming the vote leader didn't bring him a shred of joy; instead, he felt it was incredibly ironic.

Just then, the sound of footsteps came from behind him.

It was Kobe.

He wasn't in his practice gear, just casual clothes, holding a ball.

He walked to Lin Feng's side and also sat down.

"How does it feel? Becoming the All-Star vote leader." Kobe's voice was very calm.

"Like a joke." Lin Feng gave a self-deprecating smile.

Kobe didn't smile. He looked at Lin Feng with sharp eyes.

"So, are you planning to let it be a joke?"

Lin Feng didn't answer.

"Are you planning to listen to those commentators, change your style of play, and become a 'good player' in their eyes?" Kobe continued to ask.

"I don't know." Lin Feng's voice was full of confusion. "What they said is right. I lost, and I lost badly."

"I've lost too."

Kobe said flatly.

"I lost to the Detroit Pistons, I lost to the Boston Celtics. They said I was too selfish, said I couldn't win a championship without Shaq. The whole world was laughing at me."

He tossed the ball in his hand to Lin Feng.

"Do you know what I did afterward?"

Lin Feng looked up at him.

"I went and got two more championships."

Kobe's tone carried no emotion, yet it had the weight of a thousand pounds.

"When you are bright enough, slander and praise will arrive at the same time. What you can do is not try to shut their mouths, but stand on a higher stage and make them shut up themselves."

His gaze fell on the championship banners hanging high above the arena.

"They gave you a stage, a stage the whole world is watching."

"Now, go to Houston, to the All-Star court."

"And win it your way."

...A week later, Houston.

The 2014 NBA All-Star Weekend officially kicked off.

As the biggest topic of this All-Star Game and the newly crowned vote leader, Lin Feng became the focus of all media pursuit from the moment he arrived in Houston.

At the charity gala hosted by the league, he was surrounded by reporters so tightly that not even a drop of water could get through.

"Lin, what do you have to say about the 'most water vote leader' evaluation from the outside?"

"Do you think you are truly more qualified to be a starter than Chris Paul?"

"Will you use your 'circus' style of play again in the All-Star Game?"

Questions shot at him like sharp arrows.

Surrounded by countless flashbulbs and microphones, Lin Feng felt a bit suffocated.

He was just about to open his mouth to respond.

Just then, a clear yet slightly lazy, magnetic female voice came from outside the crowd behind him.

The voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly penetrated all the noise.

"It seems a trapped beast is more attractive than a free one."