Yuanfei's main job is to carefully analyze the team's game data, in addition to the first day's game, there were two other games that attracted Yuanfei's attention. www.biquge.info The powerful defending champion Lakers defeated the Trail Blazers 96-86 in a 96-86 victory, and O'Neal cut 36+11+5. The 76ers, who won the Eastern Conference championship that season, beat the Knicks by 29 points, and Iverson, the son of Philadelphia, contributed 25+6+9.

In the next day's game, the Raptors faced the 76ers who were back-to-back (i.e., 2 days of continuous fighting). The Raptors fielded Carter, Francis, and Mark. Jackson's super three-man lineup. The game ended with Iverson's stunner, 103-104, and the 76ers narrowly won.

On November 2, the third day of the season, the Rockets continued to host the Bucks. At this time, the Bucks consisted of Ray Allen, Cassel, and Robinson as the three "musketeers", and they were the starting trio with the most projection ability in the NBA. And the Rockets also happened to show amazing three-point shooting ability in the first game. The media thought it would be a three-point shootout.

The result was surprising, the Bucks players had no hand at all that day, and the Rockets' Williams exploded, cutting down 28+10+4 star data, plus 25+11+6 Maddy, the Rockets beat the opponent by 22 points.

As in the first game, Tang Shuai encouraged the players and then announced the end of the work. The players left the locker room one after another, and Yuan Fei wanted to comfort Reed, who was not playing well in this game, but was stopped by Tang Shuai.

"Jason, I've wanted to talk to you alone for a long time."

"Mr. Tomjanovich, do you think I'm overdoing it? I'm just here for work, and sometimes it's hard to get a sense of proportion, so please bear with me. Yuanfei still respects Tang Shuai very much, and he is very polite.

"Just call me Rudy."

"You're so much older than me, how can I call you by your name."

"It's okay. The first midfield was set up by my boss, and I was ashamed to be ashamed of it, even though the media credited me with it. Tang Shuai said: "I think the boss's instructions are related to you, right?" ”

"This ......." Yuan Fei felt embarrassed and didn't know how to continue.

"I was very unconvinced when I first saw you, I am an old man in the league, from players to coaches, and I have been seriously injured. I've accomplished a lot, and I just led Team USA to an Olympic gold medal in the summer. I've been through so many ups and downs that I've come to feel that young people are too young to match me in intelligence. ”

"I know that you are one of my most respected coaches."

"But now I think it's nice for a young man like you to join the management team." Tang Shuai said sincerely: "My resume has made me arrogant, and now I find that I still have a lot to learn. It's good that the owner can hire you. ”

"Thank you for the compliment." Yuanfei was flattered, but still expressed his gratitude without humility or arrogance.

"I want to be not only your work partner, but also your friend and even your student. I never imagined I would learn so much from such a young boy. ”

"Mr. Tomjanovich, you are so polite." Yuan Fei felt a little flustered before Tang Shuai's sudden burst of enthusiasm.

"Call me Rudy!"

"Okay, Rudy. We'll be good friends. ”

***

After negotiation with Alexander, Yuanfei decided to let Tang Shuai know the identity of his shareholder.

"I knew there must be something unusual about you being able to enter the team at your age, but I didn't expect to be a shareholder." Tang Shuai shouted regardless of his identity, "But the two bosses, I thought the team could make the playoffs this season, but the bench is too bad." The first time I saw the squad, I wanted to strangle Dawson. ”

"Mr. Dawson could have signed a better bench, but I stopped him and let him sign a few third-rate players to make up the numbers." Yuan Fei said: "My thinking and that of Mr. Dawson is to rot and hoard draft picks, and the team's future talent pool is not a problem. By the way, Mr. Alexander, whether the NBA league is preparing to build a development league, we need to support it strongly, and it is important to have a subordinate team to train new players. ”

"No problem, that's what I planned." Alexander was very pleased with the team's performance in the first two games, "Where will we be at the end of the season? ”

"According to my calculations, excluding unexpected factors such as injuries, if I sign a few good substitutes, I guess I can play eighth or seventh in the West." Yuan Fei said: "But now that Rudy has joined our planning team, the problem is easy to solve. We could have played much worse. To be honest, I think the person I'm most sorry for the bad plan is Rudy, ruining his coaching career stats. ”

"You don't need to think like that, Jason. I've dedicated my whole life to this team and I love the Rockets. As long as the future of the Rockets is bright, it certainly doesn't matter how many more games my team loses. I'm going to make sure I control Maddy's minutes and rest him when it matters most. If he complains, I will bear it myself. Tang Shuai looked at Yuan Fei and smiled, "I can't just let one child work hard, I also have to contribute." Because the first two games were at the beginning of the season, Maddie played an average of 36 minutes per game, which can be regarded as a release of the energy accumulated in the summer vacation. ”

"The initial plan we discussed was to put it in place for two years and accumulate good enough draft picks in '01 and '02. We started playing well in the '02-03 season, and we had a first-round pick from the Raptors that year, and it didn't matter if we were in the pick. Alexander pondered, "By then, Hakim will also retire, just in time to clear the space." With Maddie as the core and a few young players to build the team. ”

"There's a small problem, Hakim seems to want to play for a few more years." Tang Shuai said.

"This Dawson has also talked to me, but I can't do it, so I can only let him go. I know his value, but I can't let a veteran player stay on a high salary for too long and it will affect our development. ”

"Mr. Alexander, there is such a story in our China." Yuan Fei interjected, "In ancient times, there was a rich man who wanted to buy a horse that could run 500 kilometers a day, but he couldn't buy it. I finally found one, but unfortunately, the horse had just fallen ill and died. So he bought the horse's bones with a lot of gold. ”

"What does that mean?" Tang Shuai and Alexander were confused.

"The rich man was a smart man, and he said that many people wanted to buy Maxima, but few people were willing to pay for Maxima's bones. When this story gets out, many people will know that this rich man loves horses so much that he will send good horses to sell to him. Sure enough, he soon bought three thousand-mile horses and fulfilled his wish. ”

"I see." Alexander was also a shrewd businessman and not a fool at all. "You mean, Hakim was a horse when he was young, and now he is the bones of a horse when he is old. All I have to do is pay for Hakim, and other horses will come to me. ”

"You explained it perfectly."

"I'll arrange for Dawson to talk about this work, and I must keep Hakim."

***

Soon Christmas is here and the players enjoy a rare day off.

Yuanfei did not rest, and he was still studying the trend of the Western Conference.

Team wins/loses

Kings 19/7

Jazz 20/8

Lakers 20/9

Trail Blazers 18/10

Sun 16/9

Spurs 17/10

Mavericks 18/11

Supersonic 15/13

Timberwolves 15/13

Nuggets 15/14

Rocket 11/15

Clippers 10/18

Grizzlies 8/19

Warriors 8/19

(Note: At that time, the Hornets were in the East, and there were a total of 14 teams in the West.) The Rockets lost 2 more games than the same period in history due to bad plans)

At this time, Maddie was secretly glad that of the three Eastern teams he almost selected before, the Magic injured Hill early, and the record at this time was a terrible 9-18; The Heat, who aim to win the championship, are also far below expectations, with 14 wins and 14 losses; To make matters worse is the long-standing Bulls, who have a 3-24 record (historically true). Although the Rockets don't have a good record, the age structure of the team is much better than that of the Heat, and the future development prospects are much better, so it's quite comfortable to be the boss here. And the atmosphere in the Rockets team is very good, the young people are average but can train seriously, and the big brother Olajuwon also leads by example and always reminds newcomers. All of this made Maddie think she had made the right choice.

But there is one thing that makes him unhappy, that is, there is too little playing time. Maddie thinks he is at the peak of his fitness in his playing years, and he has no problem playing 40 minutes per game, and now he is only averaging 31 minutes per game. Tang Shuai's explanation is the protection of young players.

Thinking of this, Maddie immediately changed her clothes. Tang Shuai didn't know what kind of crazy thing he smoked, and invited Maddie to his house for lunch. Professional footballers are on the go all day long, isn't it good to spend Christmas with their families? Maddie thought about going to the appointment.

***

"Tracy, welcome to my house." Tang Shuai had a smile on his face, "I also invited Jason and Hakim. You and Hakim are my most important disciples, and Jason is one of my best friends on the Rockets. ”

"Friends?" Maddie secretly wondered in her heart: "You two are almost 40 years apart, do you have a common language?" ”

Several people happily ate turkey and chatted about trivial things in life. Tang Shuai finally turned the topic to Maddie's concern. "Tracy, you're the heart of the future Rockets. Hakim and I are both old, and we will help you establish your prestige as the core of the team before you take over as captain. But I want to know what you think of this team right now. It's not official, it's private, like a conversation between friends. ”

"By the way, praise and praise can be ignored." Olajuwon also said cooperatively. Tang Shuai is his mentor, he is very grateful to Tang Shuai, and of course he will cooperate. And recently, Da Meng heard from his agent that the contract negotiations were going well, and he was in a particularly good mood.

"I guess the management is okay with my performance, right? I'm a little unsure. Maddie hesitated and said, "Coach, can you tell me what the team's top brass think?" ”

"I'll tell you that." Yuanfei finally spoke, "I have a good personal relationship with Mr. Alexander, and I can guarantee that he is very happy with you. I'm the one who advocated a trade with the Raptors, and I can speak for Mr. Alexander, Mr. Dawson, and Rudy on behalf of you 100 percent. I can't represent the players, let Hakim say. ”

"You're the third most talented player I've ever seen." Olajuwon said: "The first two are Michael. Jordan and Shaq. O'neill. You're going to be the greatest superstar in the history of the Rockets, and I'm the second greatest. ”

Maddie smiled shyly, but still listened intently, feeling a warmth in his heart.

"We've already expressed it, it's time to say what you think." Far Flying.

"The team didn't do well and I was the main responsibility as the playmaker." Maddie still reviewed herself first.

"No, I'm the first person responsible." Yuan Fei said: "I advocated the replacement of Francis and the sale of Drew, so there is no good playmaker in the team at all." You can't have done any better as an agency organizer, and that's not your responsibility. As for the team's poor record, it's part of the management's long-term plan, and I can tell you for sure that we have another season ahead of us. The 2002-2003 season was our rise to prominence. For the first year and a half, you'll be the number one star of a bad team. After that, you'll be the core of a dynasty team that wins the championship. ”

"That's what we all agree on." Olajuwon said: "It's not good news for me to be bad at the end of my career. But you're still young. For the sake of your future, for the sake of accumulating strength, it is worth it. ”

"Yes, I understand." Maddie nodded.

"And you can see that we're different from the bad teams of the Bulls and Clippers. We are modest, planned, and never really lose our competitiveness. Tang Shuai said: "In the second half of the season, I will occasionally let you release it and go all out to fight with some strong teams." ”

"That's great!" Maddie still loves basketball, and he wants to win.

"You might feel like you're playing too little? Is there one?" said Tang Shuai.

Maddie scratched her head and smiled, "A little." ”

"This is to protect you, you are the core of our future, and you cannot be injured by excessive fatigue." Yuan Fei said: "And we have to play badly, you play too much will increase our winning rate." I hope you can understand all this, but our goal is the same, which is to win the championship. ”

"I can understand both." Maddie thought for a moment and said, "I still have a little bit of an opinion, about Jason you." ”

"Oh?"

"Thank you for bringing me to Houston from that dead cold foreign place (the Raptors are home in Toronto, Canada), and I hope you can see me as a friend, a friend like the coach."

"Of course!"

Yuanfei's hand and Maddie's big hand were shaken.