Without Steve Francis, the Rockets still won the game.

Raph Alstom, who started in place of Steve Francis, started his first game and scored an excellent statistic of 15 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal, but the shooting data was not very beautiful, only 6 of 14 shots.

On the Rockets' side, Yao Ming, who scored 25 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block, followed by Boozer, who had 20 points and 16 rebounds.

Ron Artest had a mediocre performance of just 13 points, while Jamal Crawford also scored 12 off the bench.

Therefore, in this game, the Rockets scored another five-man double-double, and the explosion of the interior duo helped the team win the game.

Of course, throughout the course of the game, the interior combination only broke out in the first half, ensuring that the Rockets were not opened up by the Hawks, and then in the second half, it was a wave of all-out outbursts in the third quarter that really determined the Rockets' victory.

In Qiao Hai's opinion, this game proved to a certain extent that even without Steve Francis, this Rockets can play an offensive that Qiao Hai is satisfied with.

……

In the post-match press conference, Qiao Hai chose Ralph Alston to play with him this time.

Because the best of the game is not easy to choose, Yao Ming can be regarded as the best of the game in this game, but Boozer on the other side is not bad.

So, Johi chose a surprise Raf Alston to follow him in the post-match press conference.

However, in the post-match press conference, the focus was not on Ralph Alston's starters, but on why Steve Francis didn't start and why Steve Francis was on the inactive list.

In addition to Steve Francis, there are also Muchinoris and Kenny Thomas in the inactive list.

The first person to ask a question was an ESPN reporter, and Qiao Hai answered directly: "Because Steve and they violated the team's discipline, they were banned from the team for this game." ”

Then, a reporter soon asked: "What discipline did they violate?" ”

Qiao Hai's reaction was also very fast, and he directly refused to answer: "I'm sorry, I have nothing to say." ”

There are also reporters who want to ask, but Qiao Hai will not answer.

In order not to waste time, reporters had to focus their questions elsewhere.

Ralph Alstom's reputation in North America is also very loud, because this product became famous at a young age, and he made a great reputation on the street court when he was young, signed a contract with And1 brand sneakers, and was the first street ball player in history to have a personal brand, and was nicknamed the street ball king.

is such a hegemon on the court, and he can't play at all on the NBA court.

Ralph Alston, who entered the NBA in 1998, has not been able to get much playing time in the parent team Bucks at the time, and the old coach George Karl does not look down on players like Ralph Alston who joined the NBA from the street court, because Alstom's tactical literacy is too poor.

As a result, for several seasons in a row, Ralph Alston sat on the bench with the Bucks.

In this game, Alston finally got the opportunity to prove himself, and in the end, he shot 6 of 14 with 15 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal.

But at least, with the performance of this game, Qiao Hai should be putting Ralph Alston in the regular rotation.

……

With the win against the Hawks, the Rockets' record changed to 18-16, and on the other side, the Suns have not yet started their next game, so the Rockets' record is briefly 0.5 wins ahead of the Suns.

If the Suns lose the next game, the difference will be extended to one, and if the Suns win, the difference will be erased.

Therefore, for the Suns, who have lost streaks of various sorts, the next few games will be crucial.

Of course, Qiao Hai is not the kind of coach who cares about opposing teams, and after completing the catch-up against the Suns, his focus is all on the Rockets themselves.

On January 11, the Rockets returned to their home court against the Denver Nuggets.

In this game, Steve Francis, who returned from suspension, came off the bench and scored 25 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, which can be regarded as regaining his main position again.

And Raf Alstom, who continued to start this game, performed averagely, only getting 2 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists, but such a performance was enough to help him gain a foothold in the rotation lineup.

In the aftermath of the Atlanta Night's No Return Incident, the only sacrifice may have been Muchinoris, whose place was directly taken by Ralph Alstone.

In this game back at home, the Rockets also relied on Steve Francis to break out off the bench, and finally won the game, winning a wave of 7 consecutive wins, and the record rose again, becoming 19-16.

On the other side, the Suns played a game, won the Heat, and finally ended the losing streak, after this victory, the 18-16 Suns are only 0.5 wins behind the Rockets because of one less game.

On January 13, the Rockets continued to play at home.

In this game, the Rockets' opponent is the Celtics, who have a good record this season, with 20 wins and 16 losses ranking in the top eight in the East.

Of course, in fact, from the second half of last season, Celtic's record is not bad.

Counting the time, it was almost after Rick Pitino was fired, Jim O'Brien took over the Celtics, bringing tough defense to this Celtics team, plus the explosion of the twin stars of Paul Pierce and Anthony Walker.

In the second half of last season, Jim O'Brien led the team to a 24-24 50-10 winning record, but ultimately missed the playoffs because Rick Pitino dug a hole too big.

Last season, the Celtics won 49 games, and they were just one win away from 50 games, so many people began to shout: Celtic is finally going to have a resurgence again.

This season, Jim O'Brien continues to lead the team, and the Celtics have continued the tactical style of the previous two seasons - overall defense, relying on the twin stars on offense.

Therefore, this Celtic team still continues the strong team of last season.

In the face of such a strong opponent, the Rockets led by 4 points at halftime, but in the third quarter, the Celtics fought back and directly led the Rockets by 7 points.

In the final showdown, the Rockets broke out again, beating the Celtics 11:0, and finally locked up the victory of the game.

The final score was 101-92, with Steve Francis scoring 26 points, Ron Artest 24, and Yao Ming continuing to be in poor form, scoring only 10 points.

However, the Rockets still relied on the overall suppression of the Celtics from the outside to win the game.

It's an eight-game winning streak!

For the Rockets, after this wave of eight consecutive wins, with a 20-16 record, they are rapidly closing the gap with the top teams!

And in the next battle, the opponent of the Rockets is the Lakers!

This season, the Lakers' life is not easy, because O'Neal is injured and absent, Kobe Bryant is deeply involved in the Eagle County incident, the Lakers have a poor record, and finally after O'Neal returned in December, the Lakers chased wildly, and finally chased to the seventh place in the West.

Like the Rockets, the Lakers have been on a winning streak lately, overtaking the top teams in a frenzy.

Before facing the Rockets, the Lakers had already won four in a row.

Now, they have a 22-14 record, two wins ahead of the Rockets.

In the next game, the Lakers, who are all in the team, want to continue their winning streak, and the Rockets are the same, one wants five wins in a row, and the other wants nine wins in a row.

Whoever dies depends on whose state is hotter!

Qiao Hai held a tactical meeting before the game, and as soon as he started, Qiao Hai said: "The next game will be a very important game, the Lakers are two wins ahead of us, they happen to be the seventh team in the West, we want to overtake them!" Victory must be used to close the gap between us and them. ”

"And the next game is a direct confrontation between us and them, it is a game that can be used as two games, and if we win, the difference between us and them will be reduced to one! And if you lose, the difference will expand to 3 games! ”

"So, we have to win!"