Since Wang Yuanfei joined the main Rockets, this is the first time that the team needs to fight for a playoff spot. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 Info recalled that the goals of the 01 and 02 seasons were still bad, and in the 03 season, they easily retained the top four, and in 04 they achieved the first place in the league. And now, the rocket is really on the verge of danger.

The player is also ashamed and brave, Yao Ming took the lead in breaking out. In the home game against the 76ers on December 4, Maddy did not play the previous game, and only scored 17 points on 7-of-23 shooting, and Yao Ming contributed 20+13 to lead the team to a 76-87 victory over the 76ers. 76ers rookie Andre Iguodala only got 1+5+4 and 5 turnovers, and was taught a good lesson by the Rockets.

Then the Rockets won consecutive home games against the underdog Hornets and strong rival Spurs, and then lost to the Mavericks again, with a record of 11 wins and 10 losses, exceeding the 50% win rate. It also surpassed the Jazz, who kept losing, to move up to 11th place in the West.

It is very rare to have a win rate of more than 5% and only rank 11th in the division. The main reason is that the eastern part of the country is particularly weak this year, resulting in a particularly high winning percentage of western teams, and there is a lot of pressure to compete.

Speaking of the particularly weak east, we must first talk about the degeneration of the traditional three powers. It was the Nets who expected it to be the Nets, who weakened the roster after they sold Kittels and Martin, and injured Kidd again. In this case, it is only 6 wins and 14 losses. The Pistons and Pacers only finished 10-10 each, and their downfall came from internal friction, which is also the most notorious incident in NBA history - the Auburn Hills Palace incident.

On Nov. 19, the Pistons' home game against the Pacers ran out of time, and the home Pistons trailed by 15 points with little hope of a comeback. At this time, Ron. Artest and Ben. Wallace got into a physical altercation, and Big Ben pushed Altai, leading to a collective clash between players on both sides. At this time, it was Rashid, who had always been grumpy. Wallace stepped up, and as Big Brother, he separated the conflicting players and stopped the situation from getting worse. Artest was also persuaded to lie down and rest, when suddenly a player threw a drink cup on Artey. This behavior completely angered Artest, who jumped into the stands and beat up an innocent fan (who was mistaken for throwing a cup) by Artey, while several members of the Pacers team joined the team and formed a fight with the fans. After the guards arrived to separate the crowd, the two sides still clashed several times. The entire incident resulted in injuries to nine fans, two of whom were hospitalized.

This incident affected a large number of people, and it was a vicious incident. But what is even more fatal is that because it is a strong dialogue, the game was broadcast live on many media around the world, including China Central Television. After tens of millions of fans around the world tuned in to watch the brawl live, the Auburn Hills Palace brawl suddenly became the hottest topic in the sports world, sparking a flood of bad reviews. President David. Stern was fined an unprecedented amount of money, and Artest, the protagonist of the brawl, was suspended for the entire season, and he lost nearly $5 million in salary for the entire season. The other two players who participated in the brawl were more prominent, Jermaine. O'Neal was suspended for 15 games and was swapped with Harrington before the season to join Stephen of the Pacers. Jackson was banned for 30 games (Jackson was nicknamed the "Martial Saint" by Chinese fans for his outstanding performance in the fight), and although he did not participate in the brawl, Ben was the one who caused the incident. Wallace was suspended for six games, and Pacers guard Anthony Brown. Johnson is suspended for five games. Veteran Reggie. Miller and the Pistons' Bodi Loga, Coleman, and Campbell each received a one-game suspension. Combined, the nine players were suspended for more than 140 games, making it the largest suspension in NBA history. Big Ben also missed the previous game against the Rockets because of this.

In addition to the severe punishment of the players, some of the fans involved in the brawl were also punished. Five fans were banned from the stadium again, including John Brown, who threw a cup at Artest. Green was also sentenced to 30 days in prison by the court. In addition, more than a dozen guards at the Auburn Hills Palace Arena were fired due to poor security measures.

Of course, severe punishment does not mean that the damage can be recovered, and Stern is very busy with it. Kobe's sexual assault last season has taken a big toll on the league's image. You must know that Kobe Bryant is a superstar supported by the league, one of the founders of the Lakers dynasty, and the successor of Jordan after Maddy. Although the prosecution finally withdrew the case due to insufficient evidence, the rumor that the plaintiff was bought by Kobe with money was enough to make Kobe lose face. The following summer, the Dream Six team failed at the Olympics, sparking a question about the NBA's standards. And now, the brawl between the Eastern Conference champions and runners-up has put the league into an even more difficult PR crisis.

As the saying goes, "Blessings are incomparable, but disasters are not one-way", and at this moment, the image of the alliance was hit again. The trouble is still with Kobe, but it's not him, it's his old teammate Malone. Just four days after the Auburn Hills Palace incident, Bryant scored 30 points to help the team win the Lakers' home game against the Bucks on November 23. And Kobe's beloved wife Vanessa also came to the scene to cheer for her husband. Kobe's old teammate Karl. Malone is recovering from an injury and has not yet signed with any team, and he also came to the stadium to watch the game. The two knew each other, so they greeted each other in a friendly way. Vanessa saw Malone dressed as a cowboy and joked, "Cowboy, what prey are you targeting?" And Malone also made a joke: "I'm eyeing a Mexican girl." ”

This inadvertent Q&A annoyed Vanessa, who turned out to be of Mexican descent. After the game, she told Kobe about it, and Kobe Bryant also had a grudge personality. A few days later, when Malone had long forgotten about the incident, Bryant described the incident to the media before the game against the Magic on December 12, which immediately caused an uproar.

For Malone, he wanted to wait until his injury improved to sign with the Lakers again. But Kobe Bryant is the only core of the Lakers right now. When Kobe Bryant said this, he completely sealed the door to his signing. Kobe also understands that the team's lineup this season is impossible to win the championship, and signing the old Malone will not help, it is better to let this obscure old guy leave the Lakers forever.

The two of them got into trouble, and Stern's hair turned gray a few more. Malone has been a much-admired figure in the league for years, the superstar of the '84-90 generation behind Jordan and Big Dream. He privately played the wife of a former teammate, which is devastating for the image of a generation of superstars.

Kobe Bryant's sexual assault, Dream Six, and Auburn Hills Palace have made Stern feel like a thousand pounds, and the Malone incident seems to have become the last straw that broke the camel's back. Stern finally made up his mind and decided to reshape the league in his own way. (To be continued.) )