After a two-game winning streak on the road, the Rockets returned to Houstony for a day off. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 InfoTheir record improved to 5-4, the same record as the Clippers Lakers and tied for seventh place in the West.

And this year, there are several dark horses at the forefront. The Seattle SuperSonics, who finished third in the West last season and didn't make much of a splash in the summer, topped the league 8-1, followed by the Spurs at 6-1 and the Suns, who finished second from last season, 6-2. Coupled with the Clippers, who were at the bottom of the West before, the last three all entered the top eight at this time, and they collectively counterattacked! The Suns were followed by the Mavericks at 7-2 (second in the Southwest), the Jazz at 6-2 (second in the Northwest) and the Timberwolves at 4-3.

Of course, the season has only just begun, and there are still plenty of opportunities for teams that have started badly. Now there's a team in the East that has had a bad start and is still trying to dominate the league. This is the second team in history to break 100 million in total wages - the New York Knicks this season.

A few years ago, the total salary of 50 million was called a giant, taking the first year of the post-Jordan era as an example, the Knicks' total salary of 59.95 million ranked first in the league, followed by the Trail Blazers 54.44 million, which was also the only two teams in the league that season exceeded half a billion. In recent years, as the salary cap has continued to rise, so have the salaries of players. In the 02-03 season, the Portland Trail Blazers became the first team in NBA history to break 100 million in wages, and this season's Knicks followed suit to join the 100 million yuan club.

The salary is not less, the luxury tax is not less, and the team owner James . Dolan certainly wants to show some results, considering that this local team didn't even make the playoffs last season. Dolan was greedy for the construction of the Pistons and thought that Dumas had done a good job, so he boldly used Dumas's teammate back then, former Piston superstar Isaiah. Thomas is the team's Operations Manager. Thomas has been working hard and has brought in famous stars Marbury, Hardaway and Jamal. A young player like Crawford has signed gold medal coach Wilkins. Of course, these operations have also caused the team's total salary to continue to rise.

(Smiling Assassin Isaiah. At just 185cm, Thomas is one of the most famous small men in league history. He was also an important contributor to the Pistons' two-game winning streak, including being elected as the '90 FMVP)

Despite the fame of the last two years of signings, these operations have not helped the Knicks achieve good results. Thomas has also been criticized many times, for example, by the current one.

"Isaiah. Thomas's eye for selection is terrible, and there are too many high-paid players on this team. Compared to them, our championship also looks shabby. Yuanfei joked before the game: "There are 4 people with a salary of more than 10 million and 8 people with a salary of more than 5 million." There are only 3 people in our team with an annual salary of more than 5 million. and James. Dolan compares, we're really poor. So I promise to persuade Boss Wang to spend more money to renew the contract in the future. ”

Everyone couldn't help laughing and gave a thumbs up to Yuanfei.

"According to our current information, the number one high-paid player of the opponent - Alain. Houston can't play today. Curry reported.

"But they still have 20 million players and three 5 million players in the starting lineup, and there is a 10 million sixth man sitting on the bench. Don't be intimidated. Yuan Fei continued to laugh: "Let them know that money is not everything. ”

When Yuanfei left the locker room and entered the court first, Dawson whispered: "You can't do it without money, and you can't be stingy if you want to renew the contract." ”

"Old man, you actually took the opportunity to sarcastically mock me!"

***

Three of the Knicks' forward players, Nazel. Muhammad, Tim. Thomas and Cott. Thomas is a strong, skilled, and skilled, and it's a bit bluffing to line up. It's a pity that none of them are stars, and in front of Yao Ming, their defense is as weak as paper paste.

As soon as he came up, Yao Ming killed all sides, scoring 9 points on 4-of-6 shooting in the first quarter. Maddie didn't rush to shoot this time, but kept sending assists to his teammates and revitalized the team's offense. The Rockets also have a feel on the outside, and they hit three points in a row. The Knicks trailed 20-30 in the first quarter and have been stretched to a double-digit margin.

But the New Yorkers are still a bit bloody after all, and the backcourt duo of Marbury and Crawford have good individual ability. Crawford won a series of singles to stabilize the situation, and Marbury, known as a lone wolf, was not "alone" today, and continued to make good shots for his teammates. Kurt. Thomas received his clever pass and struck Jefferson, and the skill was shocking. At the end of the third quarter, the Knicks still trailed the Rockets 65-78, but the margin was not out of reach.

The end of the quarter, Trevo. Ariza came up and missed a jumper, and Pulzbira grabbed the rebound. But his pass to Parker was stolen by the quick-eyed Ariza, Parker fouled a little late, Ariza made a layup and scored the ball, 2+1!

Yuan Fei on the sidelines frowned slightly. That's why he wanted Ariza before, a player who is very aggressive defensively and, while his current shooting skills are still rough, has the potential to be an outside lock and three-point shooter.

Wang Zhizhi missed a three-point shot, and Ariza assisted Hardaway to shoot a 3-pointer. At 71:78, just one minute into the final quarter, the difference was instantly reduced to 7 points.

Parker and Potzbilla teamed up to make a pick-and-roll, and Parker got the opportunity to shoot a three-point shot. Marbury assisted Hardaway to hit another three-pointer, and he was only 4 points away!

The Rockets hurriedly called a timeout, and Lao Tang was also a little anxious, and shouted loudly to the players: "Don't drag the winning ball to the end like the last game against the Eagles!" ”

The CTM trio is back in action. The effect was immediate, Yao Ming beat Muhammad strongly, hit the basket, and stabilized the situation.

Marbury forced a strong inside line and barely missed the shot. But the aggressive Ariza rushed to grab the rebound in the frontcourt, and then passed to Hardaway, but still missed.

But Maddy was stealed by Hardaway with a dribbling error, and Marbury made an easy layup, 76:80.

"Don't mind, fight hard!" Billups comforted Maddie and turned to ask for the ball.

"Pass the ball and I'll fix it!" Maddie was a little angry, and after receiving the pass, he singled Ariza. The latter fouled, and Maddie made both free throws.

Ariza was also not afraid to be afraid of his hands, and he caught the ball and forced Jefferson to cause a foul, and also made 2 free throws.

"This second-round rookie is really good, and he is not discouraged when he loses points with Maddie, and he is very mature in mind. This style of play is smart and very courageous. Tang Shuai spoke highly of Ariza.

Yao Ming assisted Bosh to make a shot after attracting the bag, and the two sides did not give in at 78:84.

"Play our championship defense!" Yao Ming yelled. This time, the Rockets did not relax, and under the leadership of the defensive center Da Yao, the outside players ran fast and completely kept up with the opponent's offensive rhythm.

Marbury was stealed by Billups, who scored on an easy layup.

Marbury hit hard again and missed the jumper.

After this wave of high-intensity defense, the point difference finally opened.

Although Marbury and Crawford exploded in the final two minutes, the previous 10-point gap was too great, and the game ended with Crawford's buzzer-beating three-point shot.

At 93:98, the Rockets defeated the local tycoon Knicks at home and won three in a row. Yao Ming 23+11+4, Maddie 24+6+8, the two cores finally found the feeling of winning. (To be continued.) )