In the Nov. 29 game, most of the Rockets' players looked a little listless. Pen ~ fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info back-to-back is already tiring, and a 30-point fiasco will also torment the nerves of young players. Fortunately, the opponent SuperSonics is not strong, first traded away the old superstar Payton last season, and the new core Ray . Allen has been out of action for a long time due to ankle surgery, and the squad is not challenging enough. The sluggish Rockets were still able to fight their opponents, and as Maddie's superstar show began, the SuperSonics finally surrendered at the end of the game. 95:88 The Rockets won away from home, and Maddie slashed 37+7+8 almost single-handedly overturned the opponent.

On the last day of November, the Rockets did not play, and after training, Big Dream also advocated that his teammates combine work and rest to watch the live broadcast of the two championship favorites, the Lakers and Pacers, in their own homes. The game ended with the Lakers beating their opponent by 22 points at home.

"We Rockets haven't led the league for a long time, and even if we did, it wasn't a regular season champion (the regular season Western Conference champions were the SuperSonics and Spurs during the two-game winning streak). So in the last years of my career, I had the opportunity to finish first in the league, and I cherished that opportunity. Big Dream said affectionately in the familiar African accent of the players.

"Then we have to work hard to make this dream come true for the captain." After Yao Ming finished speaking, he was happy first, he didn't expect that the rocket's record would be so good.

"Now the Pacers and Lakers lead the league with 14 wins and 3 losses, and we are close to the 12-4 Kings with 13 wins and 3 losses." Billups analyzed: "Several other strong teams are not doing well. ”

"Without Mourning, the Nets' poor record is to be expected." Yuan Fei said: "But they only played a bad record of 7 wins and 9 losses, which is really unthinkable, and now let alone thinking about three consecutive Eastern Conference championships, even entering the playoffs has a problem." But we have a Chinese proverb that says a skinny camel is bigger than a horse, and I think the Nets will still make the playoffs. ”

"We're going to play the Pistons at the beginning of December, and they're a worthy opponent as well." Battle, who didn't talk much, also spoke: "The Pistons have just changed the starting point guard a little slowly, and they seem to have found their form recently, with an 11-6 record. ”

"Bus, you better take a look at the opponents in the West first, if the Pistons want to touch us in the playoffs, we will have to go to the finals!" Dazhi smiled and patted the bus on the shoulder. Yuan Fei smiled bitterly when he heard this, it was really the Pistons who dominated the East and reached the finals in 04 in history. It's just that now they are missing the key team brain, Billups, and they don't know if they can regain their glory.

"Rookie, which team do you think deserves our vigilance?" Wallace likes to rely on Bosh the most, and with Bosh he is finally not the little brother of the team.

"I think it's the Timberwolves." Bosh replied earnestly: "Although Wolves have been in the first round for the past few years, they have made a lot of additions this season, and the current 9-8 loss is below expectations. In addition, Garnett is very powerful, and it will be very stressful for me to be in a position with him (in history, I was abused by the old wolf king during the Heat period). ”

"What do you think of Chauncey? You know Wolves better. Maddie said.

"In my experience, a lot of Minnesota fans will be pessimistic that this is going to be another mediocre season." Chauncy smiled, "I think the biggest surprise is the defending champion Spurs, who just lost to the Golden State Warriors, who are poached again, with a record of only 9 wins and 8 losses. They are the top two teams in the West for three years in a row. ”

Curry Sr., who was in charge of the game analysis, said: "Spurs played the Warriors This game, although Arenas scored 19 points against his old club, the Warriors still relied on Van Exel's key three points to kill the Spurs. The Spurs had a really average start to the season, but let's not forget that they overtook the Mavericks at the last minute last season to become first. ”

"Yes, Spurs are the team that eliminated us, they are the defending champions, and they must not be underestimated. What we have to do now is to play hard and try to be the first in the West, and it's better to let the two favorites, the Spurs and the Lakers, meet early, and then we can reap the benefits. Big Dream summed up the conversation.

***

The first game of December was on the 3rd, and the Rockets played the Jazz again at home. The Jazz's new core Kirilenko once again contributed super comprehensive stats of 19+5+7+8 (steals) + 5 (blocks), but Maddy of the Rockets played a jaw-dropping performance.

"51 points! 8 rebounds! 9 assists! Maddy, who was just voted the Western Conference Player of the Month for November, has a strong triple-double and proves himself to be the best candidate! Even the Houston veteran "Big Mouth" Barkley, who is very harsh on the Rockets newcomers, can only bow to Maddie.

(Quick fact: Since the 2001-2002 season, the NBA Player of the Month has been changed from one player per month to one player per month in the East and West, and there are occasional tie awards.) It can almost be said that the best gold content of the month around 01 is a 1-2 relationship. For example, it could be argued that James' 32 Eastern Conference All-Of-the-Month Awards tied Jordan's 16 of the Month. ）

Perhaps it was the award of the month that motivated Maddy, and after the Rockets' 16-point victory over the Jazz, Maddie seemed to have turned on the god-killing mode.

On December 5, the Rockets defeated the Hornets away, and Maddie had 36 points and 10 rebounds.

On the 6th, the Rockets beat the Pistons by 6 points at home, and Maddy contributed 27 points, but he was not the number one contributor. Yao Ming faced the Pistons' weak center Campbell continued to eat the basket, and the Pistons veteran coach Larry Brown sent the best defensive player Big Ben to defend Yao Ming, but Yao Ming used his height advantage to constantly shoot accurate shots. In the end, Yao Ming scored 22 points and 20 rebounds, and double-20 for the first time in his career. Big Ben is only 7+10, and Yao Ming was deflated for the first time.

On the 9th, the Rockets defeated the Trail Blazers by 2 points at home, and Maddy had 37 points and 9 assists.

After a day of rest, the Toyota Center put the defending champions to the test of their toughness defense, with the Rockets scoring just 77 points as a team, and Maddie himself scoring 37 points on 15-of-34 shooting. The Rockets narrowly beat the Spurs by 3 points!

In this wave of Rockets' winning streak, the Pacers couldn't hold up. They were roof leaks that happened to rain overnight. At the beginning of the season, the number one star O'Neal Jr. suffered a knee injury, and the focus of the training was third-year point guard Tinsley (who averaged 9 points and 8 assists per game in his rookie season) and was constantly plagued by back injuries and stopped and stopped. By December starter Ron Brown. Artest was sidelined with back cramps, and the two main substitute defenders Anthony Bush. Johnson and Kenny. Anderson began to rest again with an abdominal strain and pain in his left foot. The injury-plagued Pacers lost to the Trail Blazers and Kings one after another, and it was not easy to maintain the first place in the East.

And the Lakers also lost to the Mavericks, ceding the lead position to the Rockets.

On the 13th, the Rockets came to the Holy City to play against the Spurs, an old neighbor in Texas. This time it was no longer the good fortune of the last game, although Maddy continued to perform strongly and scored another 28 points, but Spurs new signing Arenas scored 18 points and 11 assists, connecting the team's offense. The Spurs had five more points and scored double-doubles, and the Rockets lost to their old rival 83:90.

The end of the six-game winning streak this time did not make the Rockets players as frustrated as the last time. Because the Lakers lost to the Trail Blazers on the same day, the Pacers lost to the Bulls unexpectedly, and the record fell to 18-6. The 18-4 Rockets retained the top spot in the league.