Beijing time on October 28, 2017.

The Houston Rockets continue their road trip to take on the Charlotte Hornets.

On this day five years ago, James Harden joined the Rockets.

1/

"It's been the best five years of my life." James Harden, who had just won and had his first triple-double of the new season, was clearly in a good mood and told the reporters surrounding him in the locker room.

In the just-concluded regular season, the Rockets defeated the Hornets 109-93, and Harden scored 27 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, and his all-round performance deserved to be the best in the game.

"Is there anything you'd like to say to the team?"

"We've been together for five years?" The bearded Harden laughed, "Ah, just kidding. To be honest, I really want to thank the Rockets for giving me a lot of love and playing the best basketball I can play — and I want to thank you for those five years. ”

Overhearing Harden's answer to this interview, Yu Xiaochun, who was in the locker room with Rockets player Yang Yiming, couldn't help but smile. The most ego basketball. To say "five years" is nothing more than a high-sounding statement. What James Harden really likes is probably the Rockets' version of the run-and-gun tactics and the absolute tactical freedom he has been given since last season under Coach D'Antoni.

It's like the Suns when D'Antoni became famous, and James Harden plays the role of Steve Nash on that team.

Strategizing on the field.

It's just him, stronger, more deadly!

Last season's average of 29.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 11.2 assists per game is proof of this!

The Rockets' running and shooting are more reliant on projection from beyond the three-point line than the Suns.

The hit rate can be sluggish, but the number of shots must not be less!

That's what D'Antoni conceived and made possible by James Harden, rocket-like madness.

Although such a three-point run-and-shoot system is still a tactical experiment with unknown results in the eyes of league professionals, and the reviews are mixed, tonight, it undoubtedly worked. In this big victory, although the Hornets still outperformed the Rockets in the number of shots in the whole game, the latter hit 22 shots from beyond the three-point line out of 57 to really kill the suspense of the game.

And 32 three-point attempts in the first half set a new NBA record.

"57 times? Why not 60 times. After the game, Coach D'Antoni, who was asked by reporters on the sidelines, jokingly replied, "We missed a few chances. There may be one or two people who can't shoot a three-pointer, but if the opportunity doesn't come, others will get angry. ”

"But don't you think it's reasonable to have a couple of long-range three-point shots?" It seems that this reporter on the spot is a skeptic.

"But we also made a couple of long-range three-pointers, didn't we?" In response to the reporter's suspicion, the head coach seemed noncommittal, "Scoring is my primary concern, it doesn't matter where you shoot - no one blames Curry, why is your shot so far away from the basket - in my mind, James Harden is a player of the same level as him, he has the right to choose." ”

"So James, so far this season, the Rockets are 5-1 and temporarily ranked first in the West, do you have any prospects for the team's results this year?" Switch back to the locker room, where the reporters surrounding Harden haven't finished their interviews.

"For me, my goal every year is to win." Harden draped the towel over his shoulders, hunched over his legs, and his hands rested on his legs, like a boxer ready to take the stage at any moment.

"I don't think about championships all the time," he continued, "and that's why I came to the Rockets five years ago." That's why CP3 came to the Rockets this summer. And Ryan, Eric, we all came to the Rockets for the championship. There are also young people from China, Zhou and Yang. ”

James Harden is of course talking about Rockets teammates Zhou Qi and Yang Yiming.

"Do you think the Rockets will win the O'Brien Cup in the next five years?" Journalists really like to chase after each other.

"I think..."

Before Harden could say the second half of his sentence, he heard someone shouting out of the way. Before the reporters could react, the crowd around had already opened a passage with one black hand, and the other black hand held a white lumpy object and pounced on Harden!

Syllable.

The lumpy object was slapped firmly on Harden's face, and the black beard suddenly turned into Santa's white beard. He dug open the part that sealed his eyes with his fingers, and his big eyes were dripping and staring, which was very funny.

Cake.

"Surprise not surprise!" The big black hand turned out to be the team's favorite playful Capela.

"Happy 5th Anniversary!" His teammates also crowded up and congratulated Harden amid laughter.

"Happy... Why don't you share it together? The teased Harden pulled a piece of the cake from the collapsed cake on his face, smeared it on the face of Capela, the initiator, and chased after his teammates who congratulated him.

Cake Wars!

There was a lot of buzz in the locker room.

2/

"Do you think the Rockets will win a championship in five years?" The same question, Yu Xiaochun also asked Yang Yiming on the plane to Memphis. They needed to travel overnight to prepare for back-to-back games against the Grizzlies the next day.

"I think so." Yang Yiming's tone was very affirmative. On a late-night flight, the cabin lights were dim, but his eyes were unusually resolute.

"Why?" It's not his professional habits as a sports journalist that are at work, Yu Xiaochun just wants to hear the basis of Yang Yiming's judgment.

"With a team boss like Harden, I think there's a play." Yang Yiming's answer was quite modest in the East, even in the game that just ended, he still continued the highlight performance of the previous game, playing 20 minutes with 19 points and 10 rebounds for the first NBA career double-double.

"Well, and you."

"Yes, and me." Yang Yiming smiled lightly and said, "I'm here for this goal, right?" ”

"Hmm."

Yu Xiaochun turned his head and looked out the window on the other side. The plane was about to land, and beneath the wings, the stars of the city were getting brighter and brighter in a blanket of black. When he was frolicking in the locker room just now, the strange conversation he received on a phone call suddenly became clear.

"Mr. Yu?"

"Who are you?"

"We've seen it, in Sacramento."

"Kalonsky?" The thick Eastern European accent of the other party reminded Yu Xiaochun of that strange meeting.

"II." The other party corrected him on the other end of the phone, "You have to come to Memphis for the next game." ”

"How do you know?" As soon as he spoke, Yu Xiaochun realized that he had asked a stupid question. After all, the other party is a data strategist who studies NBA players!

"You didn't contact me since." Karonsky II on the other end of the phone gave Yu Xiaochun a business card at that time, but he really never replied to the other party, "Then let's meet in Memphis." ”

"Or the stadium?"

"I'll send you the meeting place and time."

"What if I don't want to go." Yu Xiaochun always felt that this Kalonsky II had a crazy eccentric temperament.

"You'll want to come."

"Why?"

"......" probably didn't expect Yu Xiaochun to be so uncooperative, and the other party was silent for a while.

"Why are you so sure I'm going to make the appointment?" Yu Xiaochun asked again. It's all a little too mysterious.

"Because of the interview," Karonsky II said on the phone, seemingly reluctantly, "what if I told you that James Harden was right about winning the championship in five years, but to make it happen, your friend Young, is an essential part of it?" ”

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll send you the time and address of the meeting." Feeling regaining the upper hand, the tone of the person on the other end of the phone became unmistakable again.

"Okay..."Yu Xiaochun, who had just heard this astonishing prediction, seemed to be stunned for a while, and could only subconsciously respond.

"By the way, how did you know my number?!"

Toot toot.

By the time he was able to come back to his senses, the other party had already hung up the phone.

The person who decides whether the Rockets can win the championship is Yang Yiming? Yu Xiaochun silently recited it in his heart.

Is this really just a prophecy?