"What did I ever do to him... Uh, I beat him twice! Damn! Petty God of Basketball!"

Zhang Hao, who was in learning mode and practicing the defensive drills from the day in simulated defense training, couldn’t help but start ranting about Jordan again.

With the winning streak at this point, every game for Zhang Hao felt like walking on thin ice—terrified of losing, his mentality plagued by anxiety.

Finally pulling himself out of that anxious mindset, he realized that he had now become a thorn in Jordan’s side!

While he was anxious, the outside world never stopped praising him.

His Lakers team kept winning, with a record of 30 wins and 8 losses, and even the SuperSonics were struggling to keep up!

Just yesterday, on January 17th, when the league released the second round of All-Star voting results, as of January 15th, Mr. Zhang had already surpassed Charles Barkley’s 1.16 million votes with 1.21 million votes, ranking second in the West.

In the entire league, his current votes could place him fourth, with Grant Hill’s 1.43 million votes, Jordan’s 1.39 million votes, and Olajuwon’s 1.25 million votes ahead of him.

Given the current trend, public opinion generally believed he could eventually surpass Olajuwon’s votes and might even replicate Grant Hill’s rookie All-Star voting record.

Just like Grant Hill brought a new group of fans to vote last season, Zhang Hao was creating the same effect in this era of rapidly increasing NBA fans. In just two rounds of about 20 days of voting, he had already surpassed the 1.28 million votes record Grant Hill set for NBA All-Star starting votes last season!

Though it was Grant Hill himself who broke the record, looking at the enthusiasm, it was apparent that Zhang Hao was the reason for the surge in votes.

Because voting for Zhang Hao meant voters had to select others, most voters chose the best or the most popular one in other positions when voting.

Just last night, Zhang Hao received a task prompt before going to bed. When he turned on the TV again, there was a post-match interview of the Bulls after their 15-game winning streak, where Jordan rather candidly stated that the Bulls had not received the respect they deserved and that they were the team in the best form and should be the most popular...

"Shining Mark 2: The Lakers, with special contracted player Zhang Hao, and the Bulls, with Michael Jordan, are both on winning streaks.

Objective: The host needs to guide Zhang Hao to help the Lakers achieve a longer winning streak than the Bulls’ current streak.

Reward: 1 Golden Lottery Draw Opportunity, Special Card: Peak Moment.

Peak Moment (*): The number of games the Lakers’ winning streak exceeds the Bulls’ streak will be the number of games the team with special contracted player Zhang Hao remains in peak form.

Failure Penalty: The number of games the Lakers’ winning streak falls short of the Bulls’ streak will be the number of games the team with special contracted player Zhang Hao experiences a slump."

The buff is both a boon and a bane, and it affects Zhang Hao’s team.

It seemed like Zhang Hao could already anticipate it: "Disappointment after the streak ends, the relaxation thinking the rest is over... All those emotions magnified infinitely..."

"The Bulls are currently on a 15-game winning streak, which means we can’t lose while they are still streaking, and when their streak ends, we have to keep pushing!"

...

...

During the two days off, Zhang Hao immersed himself in intense training and, in his spare time, studied footage of the upcoming opponents.

When Zhang Hao was watching videos with glasses on in the lounge, his teammates felt he really looked like a Little Gentleman—handsome, quietly sitting there, complete with glasses...

Out of curiosity, Jason Williams reached out and poked them... and found out there were no lenses!

"This poser!"

By January 20th, after four days off, the Lakers were at home to face a challenge from the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"The Cavaliers’ heritage isn’t as bleak as future fans might say! They just don’t have a championship, but plenty of NBA teams have none..." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Terrell Brandon, with a rating of 89, averaging 20 points, 6.8 assists, and 1.6 steals, ranks fourth in the league for defensive contribution among all point guards and eighth among guards—a well-rounded, All-Star level point guard.

Besides Terrell Brandon, the Cavaliers have five players whose defensive contributions rank in the top ten for their respective positions.

Under Brandon’s leadership, the Cavaliers currently stand at 25 wins and 14 losses, ranked third in the East, behind the Bulls at 35-5 and the Magic at 31-8, even better than the Pacers with a 25-15 record.

When Zhang Hao thought about the scout report showing the Cavaliers averaging 92.3 points per game and allowing only 88.1 points per game over 39 matches, he felt a headache!

Who matches the Cavaliers for being a gritty team nowadays?

When he was with the Brooklyn Nets, Zhang Hao had played against the Cavaliers. That time, the Nets managed only over 70 points, but because the Cavaliers shot poorly, the Nets won convincingly...

At 7:30 PM, the game between the Lakers and the Cavaliers began.

This time, Zhang Hao wasn’t so lucky. The Cavaliers immediately showcased their league-leading pace control from the start!

The fast breaks failed, and their movements in the half-court set were hindered...

Fortunately, the Lakers’ fiery form didn’t break due to the four-day rest. Van Exel, who had been in explosive form, kept hitting from long-range under tight coverage near the mid-range, scoring 11 points in the first quarter, breaking open the game!