If the Mavericks were a piece of ice before, they are now the hottest pot of fire. How hot are the Dallas Mavericks right now? Even Miami's Big Three had to bend their knees under this group of "cowboys".

Although the Mavericks' excellent record this season has been maintained since the beginning, not many people have paid attention to this Texas powerhouse until they beat the Big Three.

But after the Miami battle with the Heat, everything changed. Now fans all over the world know that in the NBA, in Texas, there is a team that can easily defeat the Big Three by more than ten points. There is a team that is able to sink two strong opponents in a row in back-to-back games, the Spurs and the Heat.

This team doesn't have that rocky No.21 and doesn't wear a red jersey. It's the most inconspicuous of the three Texas heroes, the Dallas Mavericks!

One day after the defeat of the Heat, the Mavericks players who returned to Dallas did not slack off, but continued to work out seemingly never-ending for the rest of the regular season. Coincidentally, today is the official NBA media open day, and whether the coach wants to or not, all NBA teams have to give reporters a period of open practice today.

Unlike usual, there are a lot of reporters who flock to the center arena of the American route today. After playing in the NBA for more than a month, it is the first time for Yiyang to see so many reporters come to interview on the media open day. The defeat of the Miami Heat really made the Mavericks' popularity skyrocket.

During the time period when the media is open, although it is ostensibly open for training, the team generally does not practice any tactics during this time, but just acts in front of the media. Because if the training content is exposed by the media, it will definitely be seized by the opponent in the next game.

Therefore, during this time, the players generally rest in place, and a reporter comes forward to answer a few words. There are no reporters to interview, and they are happy to be idle.

But there is only one exception, and that is Yiyang. The reason is simple, he is not done with today's shooting task. He didn't want his training to be interrupted when others were resting.

"We can see that in training, Yiyang's three-point shooting rate is already very high. Watching him score a string of goals, I really don't want to bother him. Look at the state of this young man, the next game against the Houston Rockets, even without Yao Ming, we don't have to be afraid of not having a Chinese element! Mougins gave a thumbs up to the camera, but didn't bother Yiyang.

Seeing that Mougins was indifferent, other media were also very interested in not stepping forward to interfere with Yiyang's shooting training. After all, if you upset a star, the media will lose more than they gain.

"Look at that stinky boy, he has so much energy." Terry, who was sweating profusely, cast an envious look at Yiyang, thinking that when Terry was his age, he also had inexhaustible energy. But now, having only played one game yesterday, he is struggling to even train.

"You have to be glad that this kid put all his extra energy on the training ground, you didn't seem to love training so much." Kidd, who was sitting next to Terry, cast a disdainful glance at the Jet.

"Hahahaha, so I'm not going to make it up now." Terry said, straightening up and walking over to Yiyang.

Kidd shook his head, it seemed that Terry was preparing to play a shooting duel with Yiyang again.

In the beginning, Yiyang could barely win against Terry. But Terry has won fewer and fewer duels in recent times. It's not because Terry is in a bad state, it's because Yiyang's kid is getting more and more accurate......

At the end of the day's training, Yiyang didn't stay to practice as usual. Instead, he changed into a suit and tie, a scene that left everyone in the Mavericks locker room dumbfounded.

"What are you going to do today? That Italian woman is coming to Dallas again? Even if you go on a date, you don't have to dress so formally. After taking a shower, Terry looked at Yiyang's dress and turned on his own spit mode.

"Maybe people are going to negotiate a business contract, so you're blushing, Jett." Nowitzki also joked with the two, and after the relationship with Yiyang got better and better, Yiyang also found that this German was not as serious as he imagined.

"Yao Ming invited me to dinner today." Yiyang replied coldly, then spread out his hands, signaling his teammates to stop guessing.

"Yao? He's coming to Dallas? Nowitzki was a little surprised, because Yao Ming had been injured again in the game against the Wizards on November 11, and he thought Yao Ming would have returned to China long ago.

"Nonsense, if there is such a good defender in your country suddenly, you will also go to talk to him." Terry seized the opportunity to complete his "revenge" against Nowitzki.

"By the way, you haven't joined your country's national team yet, have you?" Hearing Terry mention the word "country," Nowitzki's mind suddenly jumped from the NBA arena to the international arena.

Typically, international players who land in the NBA make a name for themselves in their home country before they enter the NBA draft. Outside of the United States, only one or two of the best basketball players have what it takes to play in the NBA. This is the case for Nowitzki himself and Nash, or Wang Zhizhi and Yao Ming back then.

But Yiyang is different, his basketball career started in the United States. Before entering the NCAA, the Chinese didn't even know anything about this yellow-skinned guard.

In the world of international players, Yiyang is indeed an uncommon example. As a Chinese, Yiyang has almost no connection with Chinese basketball. And Yao Ming's purpose in coming to Dallas this time should be to connect the two!

"The Chinese national team? I hadn't thought about any of that. The manager told me to go, so I'll go. Yiyang didn't think about it so much, he only knew that it was from the "off-field coach" Bill. A "tactic" laid out by Duffy. Yiyang just executes, and doesn't invest too much personal feelings in it.

"Have fun, man, but don't be soft on tomorrow against the Houston Rockets."

"Don't worry, old Jet, I'm hard!" Yiyang waved his hand, and it was rare to become the first person to leave the court today.

※※※

Yao Ming in the restaurant played with his water glass, and Yiyang, a Chinese player who grew up in an American environment. How to get along with this kind of guy is really nerve-wracking for this Chinese giant.

After retiring, where should Chinese basketball go? Just as a professional player, Yao Ming shouldn't have thought about this. But the sense of responsibility on his body made him unable to put the word "Chinese basketball" out of the matter.

Just as the giant was thinking, there was a knock on the door of the private room of the hotel. The first person to walk in, Yao Ming, was familiar to him, his manager in the United States, one of the members of the "Yao Team". Duffy.

And the kid in the suit and leather shoes behind Duffy is the real protagonist today, Yiyang.

"Hey, I don't think I'll need to introduce you to each other!" Duffy turned sideways, allowing Yao Ming, who was 2.26 meters, and Yiyang, who was 1.93 meters, to stand face to face for the first time.

"How are you, Yiyang!" As an old-timer, Yao Ming did not put on a show, but enthusiastically went up to shake hands with Yiyang.

Yiyang's slender arms and powerful hands made Yao Ming salivate, and it may be difficult to find a defender with such excellent physical conditions all over China.

"Hello Brother Yao, just speak Chinese, I can understand." The cold Yiyang squeezed out a smile at Yao Ming, not that he didn't like Yao Ming, but that Yiyang was like this to strangers. After all, this was only the first time he had met Yao Ming.

Yao Ming heard Yiyang speak fluent Chinese, and immediately smiled. He originally thought that Yiyang, who grew up in the United States, had forgotten how to say Chinese, but the truth was the opposite. Yiyang's Chinese is not only well-spoken, but also very down-to-earth. The title "Brother Yao" is not shouted by Yankees who can speak Chinese. Does this also mean that Yiyang has not "forgotten his roots"?

The dinner went very smoothly after that, and Yao Ming could see that Yiyang was the type who didn't like to talk much. But Yao Ming's unexpected affinity and sense of humor quickly "pried open" Yiyang's mouth.

During this period, the two talked a lot, from China to the United States, from the basketball court to life, and even Yiyang's heavy-duty pickup truck, Yao Ming could talk to him.

At this time, Yiyang realized that Yao Ming was completely different from his taciturn and unsmiling image on the field. He thought it would be an extremely serious meeting, but he didn't expect it to end up being a very relaxing time.

In the end, dinner had been eaten, and Yiyang had a feeling that he was still unfinished. Chatting with Yao Ming is like being with Vignary, and it will never be boring.

"By the way, how are you preparing for tomorrow's game? Although I can't play, the Rockets are just as tough to play against. Yao Ming wiped his mouth and asked casually.

"You're all set." Yiyang didn't boast about Haikou, and simply prevaricated this problem with a single word.

"You've been playing really well in the NBA, and now you're holding two tops in the rookie rankings. In fact, the world of basketball is not just about the NBA. Sometimes, have you ever thought about it......" Yao Ming paused, he actually had no bottom in his heart, after all, Yiyang had never received education and cultivation from Chinese basketball. He may not have much affection for Chinese basketball, but Yao Ming decided to give it a try.

"Have you ever wanted to serve your country?" Yao Ming put away his smile and his expression became serious.

"Serving the country?" Yiyang was also stunned, the four words of serving the country would actually appear in his life. Although Nowitzki had given himself a "preventive shot" before coming to the pounce, Yiyang was still a little surprised when Yao Ming really sent out the invitation. Why the country? Is that the land that I haven't been back to for more than ten years? Yiyang didn't have an answer in his heart, he didn't want to refuse Yao Ming, but he didn't know if he wanted to play for China or not.

"I don't have any plans for this for the time being, but ...... I would seriously consider it. Yiyang didn't beat around the bush with Yao Ming, and he never forgot that he was Chinese. But this kind of thing about the national team, Yiyang naturally never thought about it before. How does the national team work? How are international competitions different from the NBA? Yiyang, who grew up in the basketball environment in the United States, knows nothing about any of this. Faced with something he didn't know anything about, of course Yiyang wouldn't be full of promises.

"Really? Haha, this team, really needs you. You know, the backfield has always been one of our weaknesses. Yao Ming laughed dryly, at least Yiyang didn't directly refuse. This is also good news.

"Alright, you still have a game tomorrow, so it's not too late for you. Rest well and look forward to your excellent performance tomorrow. Yao Ming saw that the time was about the same, so he got up and said goodbye to Yiyang.

Watching the young man's back leave the private room, Yao Ming suddenly felt a sense of relief.

Is the future of Chinese basketball? At least the door wasn't completely closed.

As a fighter, Yao Ming does not plan to retire from the sports scene like others and enjoy a life without worrying about material things. He always wants to do more for Chinese basketball, if not as a player.

President of the Chinese Basketball Association, this is Yao Ming's goal in the future. And he, naturally, also hopes that he has a group of players under him who can play.

"Come with me Yiyang, and with me, create a golden age." The tall Oriental giant, muttering.