April 14, 2018 at 9:20 p.m.

Houston, in a sports bar not far from Yang Yiming and Yu Xiaochun's house.

In an inconspicuous booth on the side of the bar, Yang Yiming, Yu Xiaochun, Meritis, Jose, Nina and Eric Gordon sat in a circle around a marble table. The six ordered soda, Diet Coke, mojito, Silver Bullet beer, Long Island iced tea, and a single malt whisky without ice. There are several ultra-thin TV screens above the bar, playing the final three minutes of the Miami Heat's game against the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs.

Ben Simmons hit the inside with his back, attracted the bag and flicked it, and Saric didn't catch the ball when he was supposed to get the ball off the line, but just touched it with his fingertips. The ball slowed down and fell to the perimeter, and JJ Redick saved the ball and hit a three-pointer jumper, drifting and still throwing the ball in. There was a burst of exclamation from the bar, the score was stretched to 123-99, and the game time was only 2 minutes and 12 seconds, and everyone knew that the Philadelphia 76ers were only left with time left to win G1.

1/

"It looks like the home team had a lot of luck today." Yu Xiaochun turned around, took a sip of Diet Coke in a large glass stuffed with ice cubes, and stopped watching the game on TV at all. Because he sat at the outermost edge of the table, at the biggest angle to the TV at the bar, he twisted his neck painfully while watching the game. He rubbed his sour but finally back in place and tried to soothe himself with America's most refreshing iced cola and fried sweet potato fries. The effect is not obvious, but it does help.

In the first three games of the playoffs, the teams with the highest picks made it through. The Warriors and the 76ers won by a large score, and the pair of the Raptors and the Wizards, who were inseparable, also won by 8 points in the end. Thinking of this, Yu Xiaochun added: "I don't know what will happen to the next Pioneer and Pelican, who are you optimistic about?" ”

"Of course, I'm optimistic about the rocket! Don't even ask! Before anyone could answer Yu Xiaochun's question head-on, José Rodriguez had already taken the lead in taking the topic in another direction. He wears a baseball cap with the Rockets R logo today, and is the only guy in the group with a rocket element on him. The Rockets won the first place in the regular season, he was more excited than the players and team staff around him, Jose raised the beer bottle in his hand, and said loudly: "Come, it seems that we haven't officially celebrated yet - let's have a toast and congratulate the Houston Rockets on becoming the first in the league!" ”

"Jose, how many bottles are yours?! Are you not driving today? ”

Meritis kindly reminded.

José already had three empty 355ml bottles of Silver Bullet beer in his hand, and the bottle in his hand looked like it was about to bottom out. But José didn't seem to care, and seeing that Meritis's offer to drink was not answered here, he turned to Eric Gordon: "Mr. Xiaoyu didn't drink today, he can send us all back in my Toyota." Eric, don't you say? Let's have a glass and celebrate your third trip to the playoffs, the most promising. ”

Roundface Deng wore a floral T-shirt and a black sports jacket tonight. He also wore a pair of brown sunglasses to prevent being recognized, so it was not clear how he reacted to the words. But Gordon stroked his bald head, and a smug smile appeared on his lips. He didn't raise his glass to meet Gordon, just took a sip of whiskey. As if enjoying the mellow fruits of victory, he set his glass aside and pointed his finger at José, as if to say, "That's right! ”

Jose saw that no one was as greedy as him, so he killed the remaining half bottle of Silver Bullet Beer, and turned to harass Han Nina outside the basketball goal with great interest: "Nina, you also know a lot of NBA players." Who do you think is in the best shape in this round of the playoffs? ”

"Gordon." Nina replied without hesitation. She shook the Long Island Iced Tea in her hand, the ice cubes stirred the transparent orange-red liquid, Nina took a sip with a tangled green straw, and Gordon on the other side of the table was very cooperative, raising his glass to touch her. Gordon is Nina's first NBA player client other than Yang Yiming, and it is not at all surprising that Gordon has been able to adjust his physical and mental state to the best for the playoffs through a season of hypnotherapy.

But Nina is a straightforward person, and a cup of Long Island iced tea almost goes down, and she immediately adds, "Others." The Pelicans' Jrue Holiday is in good shape, his power and skill are in the perfect balance, and he can't wait to start the playoffs. Whether the next game is with him or not, you can take a good look... The Curry you're most concerned about — he's actually ready to play, but Coach Kerr wants to wait until it's safe and doesn't plan to risk it in the first round. As for the players I haven't been in contact with, from what I've seen, LeBron James is also in great shape, he's in the East..."

"Nina, there are more and more players you can name, hahaha!" José, who was drinking to his heart's content, shouted and interrupted Nina's words, but he didn't expect Nina's next sentence to steal the attention of everyone present:

“… But our Dr. Yang has never spoken. He's the one who's in the tightest state. ”

Everyone turned their heads to look at Yang Yiming suddenly, only to realize that before this discussion began, he hadn't said a meaningful word, even the soda and lemon in the cup had barely moved!

2/

Yang Yiming was indeed nervous.

This tension is different from the tension he has had in the past. His first time playing professionally, his first appearance in the NBA, his first All-Star appearance, and he didn't seem to have that kind of nervousness. For the first time, he would cheer himself up and tell himself, "There's nothing to worry about, if you don't perform well, there's the next one; If you don't perform well, at least you can start from the bench adjustment, and at worst, there is the CBA..."

But this time, the feeling is that there is no urgency to retreat.

Take one wrong step and you lose all your feelings.

At the same table, Jose celebrated the first place in the regular season as if celebrating the end of the season, which made Yang Yiming more and more uncomfortable. In his eyes, the truly critical phase has just begun. Isn't it all about a whole season's hard work for the final month? What if the number one in the league can't win the championship, so what if they set more records? Then again, if the playoffs aren't important, why would so many players fight for their heads instead of just going fishing on a beach yacht?

That's why Yang Yiming was nervous.

Meritis put her hand on Yang Yiming's shoulder and patted him lightly to try to comfort him, but he was even more flustered. Basketball and other things in life are very similar to Yang Yiming, although it is challenging, as long as you prepare carefully and distinguish carefully, you can always strategize and succeed. But suddenly, he felt that basketball had become like falling in love, with too much pretension and too much uncertainty.

He had some difficulty concentrating.

On the broadcast of the game just now, Ben Simmons, who is also a rookie this year, almost got a triple-double in his playoff debut, with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 14 assists. Joel Embiid, who sat on the sidelines in a suit and tie to cheer on his teammates, didn't have to worry at all, as his comrades helped him win his first win.

What if I can't do that?

Yang Yiming couldn't help but be worried.

Around him, there seem to be more people who need to rely on him. Eric Gordon counts one, Nene Ariza, Joe Johnson, Derrick Rose, Gerard Green, Luke Bamot. These old guys, their hunger for championships and glory, make them like children who need to be taken care of. How the old guys are desperate for a championship, and Yang Yiming thought to himself, he didn't want to and didn't dare, messed up their dreams.

I'm just a rookie!

Yang Yiming's sober reason told him. The success or failure of the entire Rockets team should not be maintained on him alone, especially when he is only a rookie in the league for a year, especially with superstars like James Harden and Chris Paul, who will put all the championship hopes on his shoulders?

But he still couldn't help but think about it, and couldn't help but be nervous.

Stage fright?

He didn't dare admit these two words himself, but he knew that they were lying in his mind somewhere.

What Yang Yiming didn't know was that while he was carrying out these tangled psychological activities, Nina, who was sitting on the innermost side of the card seat, had quietly changed out and walked behind him. While he was unprepared, Nina gently patted him on the shoulder, three times on the left and three times on the right, and finally her voice came from a seemingly distant place behind her head: "Remember my voice, a chirp." When this voice counts to three, you'll fall asleep, you'll get a complete rest, you'll forget all about it—"

Three

Two

One!