All-Star Weekend

The NBA officially announced the Players of the Week, starting with the Eastern Conference.

'The Flash' Dwyane Wade from the Miami Heat took the honors in the East, averaging 27.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and an impressive 2.1 steals, leading the Heat to a perfect week with three victories.

While in the West...

Without a doubt, the award went to Carlos of the Phoenix Suns, who averaged 37.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2.5 steals, and 3 blocks, guiding his team to four wins in a row. This marked Carlos's sixth consecutive Player of the Week award.

"Six weeks in a row? As a rookie? That's terrifying!"

"Seriously, other than saying 'awesome' in the crudest terms, I can't find any other words to describe Carlos's strength."

"Amazing! Really amazing!"

"Haha, Carlos, a rookie, dominating the West and sweeping the Western Conference Player of the Week awards for six straight weeks, that's probably going to be a historical record."

"No, no, no, six consecutive Player of the Week awards will go down in history. But it's not over yet. With Carlos's current form, next week will be the same! He's still breaking records!"

"Carlos... amazing! (Voice cracks)"

"Err..." Fans can't help but express their amazement at Carlos's splendid average stats and his ability to lead the team. It seems like the Western Conference Player of the Week has become a regular day of praise for Carlos.

However...

While the fans were joyfully praising Carlos, the league followed up with another announcement: the results of the first round of All-Star voting.

The announcement immediately attracted the attention of nearly all fans and countless players.

Because...

After the Christmas Day games, the next big event that fans and players look forward to is the All-Star Weekend, and the first step towards that is the All-Star voting.

It's a showcase of skill and popularity.

Only the strong earn the right to play in the All-Star Weekend.

And the votes determine everything - fans want to see their favorite players get high vote counts and make it to the All-Star game, and players want to see high numbers next to their names.

It means they have both skill and popularity!

As soon as the first round of voting results was released, fans eagerly shouted: "Hey, hey, hey, who can summarize the results eloquently and in detail?"

"I'll do it, I'm the one with the big... mouth!"

A fan with the ID 'Facing the Wind Pee Ten Meters' volunteered, saying: "Let's talk about the All-Star vote results for the first round. Starting with the East, the current leader is 'Superman' Howard with 336,000 votes.

As the holder of the record for the most votes in history, his popularity and skill are undoubted.

The second place goes to 'King' LeBron James, who garnered 311,000 votes. Last year's vote king, unfortunately, missed out on the Finals.

It's really a pity...

To chase after a championship ring, he went to Miami this summer to form the Heat's 'Big Three'. Although he won over many Heat fans, he also lost many Cavaliers fans.

This may be one of the reasons why, as last year's vote king, he's currently only second.

Even so, 311,000 votes in the East is enough to say that 'King' LeBron is still one of the league's most popular players.

Now...

What he lacks, amidst all the questioning, is a championship ring to silence the doubts.

The third place 'the flash' Wade has 297,000 votes. As the 'second-best shooting guard' in the league, and having just won Eastern Conference Player of the Week, his popularity and skill are no joke.

The fourth place 'Windy City Assassin' Derrick Rose has 264,000 votes. For Rose, who is only in his third NBA season, to break into the fourth spot in an Eastern Conference filled with superstars is a feat.

No need for me to elaborate on Rose's talent and popularity; everyone is clear about it. This year, Rose has been playing the best basketball of his career."

Sure, here is the translation with basketball terminology integrated into the text:

"In the fifth spot, 'Stat' Amar'e Stoudemire racked up 227,000 votes. Despite leaving the Suns, his popularity hasn't waned.

He's holding down the fifth position in the East, demonstrating All-Star starter-level popularity that stands firm.

From sixth to tenth place, respectively: Rondo, Garnett, O'Neal, Allen, and Pierce. Though they are placed sixth to tenth, it's spine-chilling... these five guys are all from the same Celtics squad!"

After id 'Facing the Wind Pee Ten Meters' had summed up the Eastern Conference rankings and vote counts, other fans were eagerly waiting to throw in their comments.

"Man, 'Superman' is still dominant!"

"Are LeBron and Wade going to start together? Heh, looking forward to the 'LeBron-Wade' connection in the All-Star Game."

"Hmph, that traitor LeBron still snagged the second spot in votes, are the fans blind?!"

"It's your eyes that are blind, your whole family's eyes are blind!"

"Wow... Derrick is doing great, in just his third year in the league, he's likely to make the All-Star starting lineup. Impressive, 'Windy City Assassin', keep it up!"

"My man Stat can't lose face!"

"Hey, those Celtics are just too sick, having all five starters in the top ten!"

"Hahaha, those Celtics dudes, they were once the big bosses themselves, so their popularity makes sense. Hey, 'Facing the Wind Pee Ten Meters', quickly give us the Western Conference votes and rankings, I want to see my Kobe!"

"Here it comes!"

After the lively discussion, 'Facing the Wind Pee Ten Meters' continued: "On the Western side, currently sitting on the throne of vote king is Kobe Bryant, with a total of 394,000 votes. As the champion for the past two years and back-to-back Finals MVP, his skill and popularity justify such numbers.

The second place is Kevin Durant, with 254,000 votes. Kevin, hailing from a small market city, commands his scoring machine-like, relentless ability.

He has muscled his way into second place in the West. This tells us that as long as you have the strength, popularity will follow. And in third place... third place... umm... Carlos?!"

'Facing the Wind Pee Ten Meters' read Carlos's name with an uncertain tone, rubbed his eyes, confirmed again, and then continued with a trembling voice:

"Carlos, the center from the Phoenix Suns, as a rookie, has barged into the third spot in the Western All-Star vote tally with 253,000 votes.

Following him from fourth to tenth are: Anthony, Paul, Gustavo Ayon, Pau Gasol, Bynum, Duncan, and Nowitzki!"