"Hey, Steve, did you read the newspaper this morning?" In the Houston Rockets' training hall, Charles Barkley, who was doing physical training, waved a newspaper and shouted at Steve Francis, who was practicing shooting.

"Charles, don't bother me if I'm training well, I felt terrible in the first two games, and if this game is like this, I think the coach will kill me." Francis muttered at Barkley after throwing a wide shot. As this year's star show, the Houston Rockets paid a great price to trade it from the Grizzlies, and Francis is also under tremendous pressure, although he can contribute 11 points, 5 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game in the first two games, but the shooting percentage of 6 of 19 is not flattering, which is the main reason why Francis has been practicing shooting in the past few days.

"We just played a game yesterday and we have another game tonight, so we need to relax, don't we, Steve." Barkley stopped his fitness training and ran to Francis with Olajuwon in his arms. For veterans like Barkley and Olajuwon, the intensive competition is coupled with harsh training, their physical fitness cannot support it at all, Barkley is a little better, for his dream of winning the championship, he is still doing his best to compete and train, but Olajuwon is different, with two championships in hand, there is no desire at all, and he is really old in addition, so Olajuwon's attitude towards the game now is to paddle if he can, and it is exactly like this, Barkley is somewhat dissatisfied with Olajuwon, Originally, he came to hug Olajuwon's thigh, but in the end, he turned into a thigh.

"I'm not like you old guys, I'm in the heat of the year, and I'm going to compete for this year's rookie of the year." Francis quipped. Barkley and Olajuwon are veteran superstars in the league, and for other young players in the team, let alone joking with them, even standing with them is a big deal, and the power accumulated over the past ten years is not covered. Francis is the team's designated successor to Olajuwon, and Olajuwon and Barkley have always taken great care of him or relied on him, which has also developed Francis's habit of giggling in front of the two team bosses.

"It's not big, it's not too small." Hearing Francis call himself an old guy, Barkley was also a little embarrassed, and Barkley wouldn't have taken Francis's jokes to heart in the past, but for some reason, as soon as he heard the three words of the old guy, Barkley felt an inexplicable sadness in his heart, is he really old? Glancing at his increasingly blessed body, Barkley also shook his head and left.

"Hakim, did I say the wrong thing?" Looking at the departing Barkley, Francis looked at Olajuwon on the side like a child who had made a mistake, and asked in a low voice.

"We're all old, maybe this season, maybe next season, we're going to leave the game, but for Charles, his dream is not yet complete, his pursuit is not yet realized, so... Don't take it personally, you are the future of Houston, and it is up to you whether you can help Charles achieve his dreams. Still, you've got to hurry, I'm afraid Charles won't be able to wait too long. Olajuwon patted Francis on the shoulder.

"Definitely, I'm going to bring the championship to Charles, to Houston." Francis clenched his fists and swore in his heart.

"Suffocating Spurs" and "Historic Defense" picked up the sports illustrated newspaper that Barkley threw on the ground, and the headline on the front page was the Spurs who won two consecutive games this season, following the 81-64 victory over the 76ers in the first game, the Spurs defeated the Warriors 93-68 yesterday, limiting the opponent's scoring to less than 70 points for two consecutive games, and Meng Xu, a rookie from the same class as himself, ranked first in the steal ranking with an average of 5 steals per game, and the Sports Illustrated also quoted ABC commentator Michaels's original words, Putting the historic defense, one of the best rookies of the year, these titles are buckled on Meng Xu's head. Francis is also very clear about the urine nature of these media, when you are in power, you can lift you to the sky, and when you don't perform well, you will definitely step on the ground like ****. Even so, seeing Sports Illustrated's praise of Spurs and Meng Xu, Francis is still a little envious, he has been the object of media criticism these days, because of his previous conviction in the draft, and his performance in the first two games was not ideal, the big hat of "the most overrated rookie" in this draft has been buckled on the head by some media, especially the Canadian media, and he can't get rid of it.

"I'm the best rookie this year, Meng Xu, tonight's game, I must beat you. I'm going to show you what a historic defense is and what a historic offense is. After reading the content of the newspaper, Francis's fighting spirit was also stimulated, but Francis did have such confidence, after all, Francis was also the steal king of the entire ACC league during college, and the average number of steals per game and total steals topped the entire ACC league, and he was selected for the best team of the ACC league and the best defensive team, and Meng Xu is just a substitute for Wake Forest, which is at the bottom of the ACC league.

。。。。。。。。。。。

"Ahh Meng Xu, who was taking a nap in the hotel, instantly felt a chill sweeping through his body.

"The host triggers the system to immediately task, whether to check." At this time, Anna's voice appeared in Meng Xu's ears at the right time.

Entering the system space, looking at the new task that appeared on the big screen, Meng Xu's face suddenly darkened,

Upcoming Mission: Francis' Challenge.

Mission Level: B-level, due to a newspaper's praise of the host, Francis's fighting spirit was stimulated, and he wanted to compete with the host.

Mission requirements: In the upcoming game, help the Spurs win against the Rockets while defending Francis so that he does not score more than 10 points.

Reward: Unknown.

Quest Punishment: Location.

"Your sister Francis, where did I offend you?" Meng Xu scolded with a dark face, no wonder he sneezed just now, it must be Francis who said bad things about himself behind his back.

"It's just a B-level mission, and Francis is not Iverson, as long as you play properly, I'm sure you can complete the mission." Looking at Meng Xu with a melancholy face, Anna Little Lori also kept encouraging.

"I'm not worried about this, Popovich only lets me play ten minutes a game, if Francis takes advantage of me when I'm on the court, get a dozen or twenty points, where will I cry."

"It's up to you. Popovich, while stubborn, is not a rigid coach either. ”