During the formation of Wang Zhizhi's trade, the Rockets played one win and one loss with the Jazz at home and away, and won the Heat again at home, with a record of 37-14. After www.biquge.info Wang Zhizhi came to Hugh, it was a rare three-day rest. Yuan Fei found him for the first time accompanied by Yao Ming. The ancients had a poem: "Other places meet old acquaintances", three Chinese met in Houston on the other side of the ocean, of course, there was joy, Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi, two leading giants of Chinese basketball, hugged each other as soon as they met.

"Dazhi, let me introduce you, this is the chief data analyst of the Rockets, Jason. King. "Yao Ming didn't forget the business, and made an introduction first." He speaks Chinese as well as you and me, and we can talk in Chinese. ”

"Hello, Mr. Wang Zhizhi. I'm also a manager of the team, and we're not just compatriots, we're also working partners. Hopefully you can play hard and contribute enough to the team. Yuan Fei smiled and said, "Of course, the team will never treat you badly." Boss Alexander knows your situation very well, and out of importance, he has communicated with the Basketball Association and wants to go to Beijing to talk about your affairs in person. ”

"Huh?" Wang Zhizhi was extremely surprised.

"If the negotiation goes well, you can continue to play for the national team. The previous conflicts can also be resolved smoothly, and you don't need to have psychological baggage, as long as you work hard with Yao. I hope you can prove that we Chinese can also make a difference in the NBA. ”

"This ...... It's just wonderful. Dazhi spoke awkwardly, and was so excited that he didn't know what to say.

"Dazhi is really as bad at words as the legend." Yuan Fei whispered in Yao Ming's ear.

"Actually...... He's a little shy, but not so serious. He was so happy. Yao Ming explained.

***

Later, Yuanfei realized that the rumor that Wang Zhizhi did not like to communicate was caused by Dazhi's poor English. The Mavericks have only one coach who speaks Chinese, and he is specifically responsible for coaching Dazhi. The Mavericks' tactics are very complicated, and it is difficult for Wang Zhizhi to understand the coach's deployment, so it has been difficult to guarantee the playing time. When the rocket has two Chinese, Yao Ming and Yuan Fei, his situation is much better.

Yao Ming brought with him a translator named Pan Kelun. He lived directly in Yao Ming's home, which helped Yao Ming's English level a lot. Moreover, Yao Ming is more cheerful than Dazhi, and he is more willing to communicate and laugh with his teammates in the locker room, which helps to improve his listening and speaking skills.

On the other hand, Alexander successfully completed his visit to China. The officials of the Basketball Association knew that Yao Ming, the national pride of their side, was in the hands of this old gentleman, and they were also very respectful to Yali. On the issue of Wang Zhizhi, the differences between the two sides are actually not huge. The Basketball Association's decision to expel him came to a certain extent from the pressure of public opinion from the defeat of the Busan Asian Games, since Wang Zhizhi had the idea of admitting his mistakes, and Alexander, a person who could not be offended by the Basketball Association, was willing to mediate in the middle, and it was logical that the problem was resolved.

In this way, the Rockets have the duo of Yao Wang and have completely become the parent team of Chinese fans, and they will definitely not have to worry about the live broadcast ratings in the future; The Basketball Association has received the promise that Yao Wang will continue to play for the national team, and he is more relieved; Wang Zhizhi solved his heart disease and could devote himself to playing; And Chinese fans are even more beneficial, as they will be able to see more Chinese players in the NBA.

***

On Feb. 18, the Rockets came to Staples Arena to face the Lakers. O'Neal was absent again, Yao Ming broke out against Walker, and played a good stat of 24+14+3, but Kobe. Bryant played a god-level game, shooting 19 of 38 from the field and slashing 52+8+7. And Maddie didn't feel good and hit the iron again and again, only 19+9+6 earned. In the end, the Rockets lost to the Lakers in overtime.

The next day, back-to-back away games against the Suns, Big Dream took turns to rest, and Wang Zhizhi made his debut on behalf of the Rockets. He played 19 minutes and scored 13+5, and before the Rockets center Magloyer was not far behind. In the end, the Rockets won 117-98.

On February 21, the Rockets lost to the Mavericks at home after a tough battle, and Nowitzki scored 34+11 on 11-of-20 shooting. The gap between the Rockets and the Mavericks has widened to four and a half games.

The next month the Rockets were up and down, first regrouping and playing a wave of three straight wins, but the Wizards Spurs and Pistons lost another wave of three straight losses, and then another wave of five straight wins.

Among them, in the game on March 14, the Rockets defeated the Bulls by 30 points away. Bang Yanjie. Williams had just five points and one assist, and angry Bulls home fans even threw up a banner saying "We want Yao" to protest against the team's trade of the top pick.

On March 18, there was bad news within the Rockets. Head Coach Rudy. Tomjanovic was diagnosed with bladder cancer and was unable to coach live for the first time in his career. Assistant Coach Larry. Smith took his place on the road with the players. For a while, the team was in chaos, Tang Shuai had a good relationship with the players, and his serious illness made the players feel upset. The house leak happened to rain overnight, and Maddie was added to the injured roster due to a back injury (Maddie did miss part of the season due to a back injury). The Rockets lost back-to-back road games to the SuperSonics and Trail Blazers, with a 46-21 record.

On March 20, the Spurs and Kings continued to win, beating the Mavericks and Lakers, respectively, to reach a record of 48-19 and 48-21. The two-game losing streak has dropped the Rockets to fourth place in the West.

Even the calm captain Olajuwon began to get anxious. The lads played well at the start of the season and set high expectations for the fans, but by the middle of the season they started to lose, will these youngsters lose confidence? Maddy's injury is not serious, but Tang Shuai's absence can easily make young players lose their spiritual mentor.

Yao Ming, another core player of the Rockets, entered a bottleneck period due to physical problems, commonly known as hitting the rookie wall (this term describes the rookie player playing to a certain point in a sudden sluggish state and difficult to improve). For Yao Ming, who is accustomed to the CBA's loose schedule of 1 to 2 games a week, there are too many situations where the NBA has played consecutive games or even back-to-back away games, and it is difficult to rest well when flying around. At first, he was able to persevere while he was young, but as the season deepened, Yao Ming gradually felt too tired.

Despite all the headwinds, the Rockets still have players who can step up and save the game. In the away game against the Warriors on March 21, although Yao Ming did not adapt to the opponent's fast-paced style of play, he still used his size advantage to cut 23+14. Billups contributed the first triple-double of his Rockets career, hitting 13+11+12, and Jefferson also exploded to score 26 points. The Rockets won 117-107 away from home against the Warriors.

On the 23rd, against the Kings, Maddie had an amazing comeback performance. He hit a quasi-triple-double of 41+10+9, and the Rockets trailed by 13 points in the first three quarters, and Wang Zhizhi, a strange soldier sent in the fourth quarter, broke out, he scored 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting in a single quarter, and Maddie hit a three-point shot in the last second of the game. The final score was 111:109. After the game, the call that Maddie should be named MVP of the regular season once again went viral in the media. The Rockets outperformed the Kings (but remained fourth in the West due to rules). On this day, Tang Shuai officially submitted his resignation report.

On the 24th, back-to-back battles against the Clippers, the big dream Yao Ming took turns to rest. Oku's eye-catching performance in the first game got 16+12, and Wang Zhizhi, who came off the bench, scored 9 points and 6 rebounds against his old club. Maddy, the core of the Rockets, broke out again and scored 38 points, and the Rockets won 108-90 away.

On the 26th, there was another Yao shark duel, and this time O'Neal scored 39 points to completely defeat Yao Ming, who only scored 6 points. Despite Maddy's 34+11+10 triple-double, the Lakers walked away with a win from the Rockets' home court. After the game, manager Dawson announced that head coach Tomjanovic was suspended indefinitely due to health reasons.

***

"Jason, now that Rudy is dead, what should we do?" Alexander was really under pressure this time, and it was about to make the playoffs, but the head coach fell.

"With a change of manager, you have to re-grind, and there is less than a month left until the playoffs. It's better to use an assistant coach to finish the season, whether it's Smith or Curry, it doesn't matter. We played the whole season with Rudy's tactics. As for the new coach, we'll look at it in the offseason. ”

"Hmm!" Alexander nodded, he had thought the same thing. Besides, it costs money to hire a new coach, so it's good to save money.

"It's still difficult for us to win the championship this year, and I think it's more important to let Yao Ming and Maddie rest from now on."

"And what about our rankings?"

"I'll explain it to you." Yuanfei took out a pen and paper and drew a table on the paper.

Team wins/loses

Mavericks 54/17

King 49/22

Spurs 50/20

Rocket 49/22

Timberwolves 45/27

Lakers 41/30

"The Mavericks are five games ahead of us, so it's a big advantage, and the season is almost over, so it's almost impossible for us to catch up with them." Far Flying.

"That's true." Alexander nodded.

"As you know, the West was divided into the Mid-West and the Pacific (this was how the Union was divided at the time). The Kings are the first in the Pacific and must finish in the top two, so they can't shake their position. We're four and a half games ahead of the Timberwolves, and the probability of them trying to catch up with us is also very low, so we don't have to think about it. So in fact, just look at our record with Spurs. Yuan Fei analyzed: "Spurs are one and a half ahead of us, and they have been in good form recently, and they have been winning in a row. We're not in the best shape and it's hard to get ahead of Spurs at the end of the season. It's better to simply let Yao Ming Maddie take a break and adjust to the best state to prepare for the playoffs. In addition......"

"I see!" Alexander interrupted: "At the current standings, we will meet the weakest Timberwolves in the first round in the top six miles in the West, and the Spurs will meet the mighty Lakers in the first round. ”

"That's right, boss! We have a good chance of winning against the Timberwolves, and the Lakers are such a difficult opponent to leave to someone else. ”

"I'll tell Smith to arrange a rotation!"

***

Yao Ming really took a turn off the next day's game against the Spurs. Without Yao Ming's Rockets could not compete against the Spurs Twin Towers, Duncan played a dominant 25+14+8 statistic, and the Rockets lost by 13 points.

For the next period of time, Yao Ming Maddie basically took turns to rest, even Billups and Wallace. Except for Wang Zhizhi, who has less playing time and can still ensure physical fitness, almost everyone has been absent and rested. Fortunately, the Rockets bench is good, and a 4-4 win can be considered passable.

There are only 2 days left before the end of the season, but Yuanfei is starting to frown. He suddenly realized that he had a plan that seemed to be wrong.