Jordan Jr. squeezed Howard away again to grab the rebound, and Paul once again advanced to the front court with the ball.

When it came to the frontcourt, a few off-ball blocks, Tang Shuai was replaced by Harden, and Paul immediately stretched out his hand to signal Tang Shuai to fall into the low post single.

Tang Shuai leaned on Harden, unlike all the previous back rounds, Harden didn't seem to defend hard at all, it stands to reason that Harden's power pack is purple and weak, and it is still a little difficult for him to play if he really wants to top up, but in terms of this strength feeling, it seems that Harden is not ready to put too much energy into defense.

The rest of the team quickly pulled away, and Paul followed and gave the ball in.

The rest of the Rockets didn't seem to have any intention of helping defending.

Tang Shuai leaned on Harden, shook to the left, and then turned sharply to the right, so that he didn't expect that Harden would be passed by him like a stake.

Harden's defense is even weaker than it was in the regular season.

After getting rid of the defense, there was an empty space under the basket, and Tang Shuai directly made a simple one-handed slam dunk.

The fans at the scene were instantly excited, and the cheers were one after another.

When Bickerstaff saw this scene, he could only shake his head helplessly, as an interim coach, he had the courage to yell at Beverley, but he didn't have the courage to yell at an absolute core like Harden.

The two sides played for a while, and the Clippers pulled the score wider and wider, and by the time the two sides entered the rotation with more than three minutes left in the first quarter, the team had already led by 17 points at 28-11.

In just over half a quarter, as long as you can understand some balls, you will know that the two sides are not at the same level at all, whether in terms of strength or coaches, they are not on the same level.

After Tang Shuai got off the court, he chatted with Paul with laughter, the strength shown by the Rockets was much worse than he imagined, and he was also in the rare mood to chat to relax his emotions.

Substitutes from both sides come up. At this time, the Rockets played some characteristics.

Although the veteran Terry has a bit of a big mouth, he is still very experienced, and he and Motaiyunas's blocking and dismantling is smooth, although he is old, but the sword is not old, and after coming up, he hit a mid-range and a three-pointer. Narrowed the gap a bit.

However, this is a drop in the bucket, and the Clippers' bench group is not vegetarian, especially after Griffin entered the bench, which enriched the bench tactics at once.

Ismael Smith made a break inside and didn't look at the return pass to Griffin to the free throw line.

Griffin is not Morris, this is his shooting point, although he deliberately reduced his play after returning from injury, but this hand distance is not lost.

It's not a very beautiful pose, but it has a good hit rate.

"Wow". Griffin hit a two-pointer to hold back the Rockets' momentum in chasing points.

However, the Rockets' bench is much more combative than the main team, and at this time, Reaves Jr. grabbed a trace of the Clippers' defensive gap in the offense, and made a small throw to renew the Rockets' score.

At this moment, Tang Shuai stopped chatting with Paul and looked at the field.

That's when he remembered that Reaves Jr. was still in the league, and he was on the Rockets.

After Reeves Jr. was traded, he lost Reeves' protection. There was a lot less playing time, and it was normal for Tang Shuai not to remember for a while.

He then focused his attention on the former crown prince.

He was watching it with fun. After all, it was an interesting thing for him to see the arrogant and domineering prince fall in the past, but looking at it, his opinion has changed somewhat.

Reeves Jr.'s performance during this period was remarkable, daring to fight, and even colliding with Josh Smith, who was a lap older than him, in order to grab a ball. After falling to the ground, he didn't say a word, buried his head and went into defense again.

It seems that without Reeves' protection, he has grown a lot better than before.

The Rockets played hard, but the strength dictated their strength, and even if they came back in the second half and played a small climax, it was not enough to ensure that they could reverse the decline of the game.

120 to 96. The six-man Clippers won the first round of the matchup.

Tang Shuai only played three quarters, played 22 minutes, and contributed 16 points and 3 assists on 7-of-11 shooting in the first playoff game of his career.

The Clippers' best performance was the young Booker, who played 25 minutes and scored a team-high 21 points, especially in garbage time in the fourth quarter, he showed his ability to score 15 points in a single quarter, and through this game, he successfully proved how wise the Clippers were to trade him to the team.

However, Tang Shuai knew that a large part of the reason for this was that Booker had been training with him, and he had witnessed Booker's purple three-pack ability value improve little by little.

The Clippers are more blooming, on the other hand, the Rockets are a little lonely, their shooting rate is only 36%, and the core of the team, Harden, is even more out of level under Brewer's close defense, only 5 of his 23 shots in the whole game, and he barely pulled the score to 20 points by making free throws, which is obviously not enough for him to lead the team to win the game.

The Rockets' post-game press conference.

At the beginning of the press conference, the reporter threw the question to Bickerstaff: "Coach J.B, this game can be said that the team has been suppressed at both offensive and defensive ends, is this because of the difference in strength between the two sides?" ”

Bickerstaff didn't even think about it, and said directly: "No, the responsibility for the loss of this game is mine, I will analyze the video carefully when I go back, this game is not a reflection of the strength of the two sides, the Clippers are very good, but I don't think our team is like this, obviously, this is a close coach, we made mistakes in the details and caused us to lose the final game." ”

The reporter took note of Bickerstaff's words, and then turned his attention to Harden: "James, you didn't perform well in this game, is it because Corey (referring to Brewer) is too familiar with you?" ”

Harden looked at the reporter with wide eyes and said, "No, Corey is good defensively, but that's not a reason why I can't play well, I should trust my teammates more and believe that we will bottom out in the next game." Play better games. ”

The reporter nodded in satisfaction this time, and Harden's answer was clearly more practical than Bickerstaff's.

The reporter then turned his attention to Terry: "Jason, you played well tonight, scoring the most 15 points off the bench, but it wasn't enough to help the team win the game, and the Rockets had no hope in this game. Does this mean that there is a gap in strength between the two teams? After all, although the two teams are one place apart in the playoffs, they are more than a dozen games away from winning. ”

Terry's face was obviously a little unhappy, and then he said: "First of all, I'm going to correct a little bit of your mistake, it's ten, not more than ten, and as for what you said, hey, man, the playoffs are a series. Winning or losing a game does not determine the final victory, I have played so many playoffs, I have experienced too much, not to mention far, take last year's playoffs, aren't we the ones who have the last laugh? ”

This was the Rockets' press conference, and neither the head coach nor the team's main players felt that the loss in the first game was a big deal. They are still confident that they can turn things around in the second game. Change the course of the series.

In contrast, the Clippers' post-game press conference was much more bland, and the highlight was Kassel's sentence that "from the first game, the strength of the two sides is not on the same level".

The media always likes to quote things out of context, and this quote from Kassel is excellent fodder.

So after the end of the game between the two sides. The second game has not yet started, and the reports are already spreading.

"Clippers head coach Cassel believes that the Rockets and the Clippers are not at the same level", "Cassel believes that the Rockets and the Clippers are far from each other, and this is a matchup without suspense"......

All sorts of miraculous reports put Kassel and the Clippers on the cusp of public opinion at once.

The intensity of the NBA playoffs is more than one level greater than that of the regular season, but the schedule is anything but easy. Especially in the first round, all of them are played every other day, and then the game is finished, and the next day will be continued.

The players obviously didn't have the time and energy to do other things, and Tang Shuai even turned off his Twitter directly, allowing himself to focus all his attention on the game.

The day after the competition, Kassel took the team to daily training.

"Pout your ass, don't let me see the lazy, the lazy just do it again!" The roar of Kassel echoed through the training hall, and the stern coach's style remained the same.

Tang Shuai took a breath to refocus himself, and at this moment, he suddenly noticed Billups standing aside with a frown, as if something was stuck in his throat, and he wanted to say it but didn't say it.

"Give me a sense of your spirit! Don't think that if you win the first game, the rest of the game will be easy! It's only going to get harder! Kassel's roar echoed through the arena, and for his first playoff coach, he clearly didn't want his players to relax.

He was already the team's assistant coach last season, and he clearly didn't want to go through the darkest of reversals with Reaves in his own hands.

At the end of the morning of high-intensity training, the players sweated profusely, and their bodies reacted more or less.

"The afternoon training will be more relaxed, and everyone will take the time to rest at noon." Kassel said one last word to the players, and then announced that the team was disbanded, and he himself walked towards the coach's office.

Billups hesitated, then chased after him as fast as he could.

"Hey, Josh, go out for a drink and cool off?" Tang Shuai saw the hurried figures of the two coaches, didn't think much about it, wiped the sweat on his forehead, turned his head and said to Smith, after Stephenson left, only two people could say the most.

Smith nodded, "Let's take a shower first." ”

The two men then walked towards the locker room.

When he walked out of the training hall, Tang Shuai happened to see Billups quickly enter the coach's office.

"You say, Chauncey and Sam shouldn't have any problems, right?" Tang Shuai couldn't help but say.

"They? Probably not. Smith was not as meticulous as Tang Shuai's observation, so he shook his head directly and said, "Don't worry, Sam, you don't know yet, he is a very broad-minded person, and there will be no problems between them." ”

"Hopefully." Tang Shuai looked in the direction of the coach's office. I don't know why, he never thought something was going to happen.

"Okay, hurry up and take a shower, didn't you say you were going out for a drink?" Smith pulled Tang Shuai into the locker room.

Spring has started in April, and the temperature has begun to warm up, so you can take a shower after a sweaty training. Feel refreshed physically and mentally.

But when they came out, they found that many people who hadn't gone in to take a shower were standing at the door in a strange way.

"What's wrong?" Tang Shuai saw that Booker was also standing there, so he asked directly.

Booker snapped out and pointed in the direction of the coach's office.

Tang Shuai looked over suspiciously, and then heard the sound of a quarrel.

"Sam and Chauncey...... Got into a fight? Tang Shuai asked suspiciously.

"Don't worry about it, do what you need to do." Pierce said to the team members at the door.

Pierce spoke, and the others didn't linger any longer, and followed them all back to the locker room.

"Paul, Chauncey and Sam, they're all right?" Tang Shuai didn't go back. Instead, he turned to Pierce and asked.

"Maybe it's because of some things in training, so it's better for us not to interfere." After Pierce finished speaking, he went back to the locker room and sat down.

Something about training?

Tang Shuai hesitated, then suddenly walked out of the locker room, and then went to the door of the coach's office.

When I was at the door of the locker room in front, I couldn't hear what the two people were arguing about, but after they got closer to the front, they could hear the content of the argument clearly.

"Sam. It's really too much, and the players keep practicing like this. Like I said earlier, injuries are definitely going to happen, Stephen's injury is happening right in front of our eyes, don't you realize it? Billups's tone was not very good, and it was clear that he had said a lot before, but none of them could change Billups's attitude.

"Chauncey. I know what you said, but it's the playoffs, isn't that what the players are playing all season for? The player's performance on the field is the embodiment of the player's usual training, if you don't train, there is no instinctive muscle reaction on the field. How do you get them to play well? Kassel also retorted unequivocally.

"Sam, you don't understand what I mean, I'm not talking about not training, it's about reducing training appropriately, the playoffs are key, but if a player gets injured at this time, isn't that a bigger damage for them?" Billups insisted on his opinion.

"Chauncey, you underestimate the physical condition of the players, if you had told me this when I first led the team, I would have taken your advice, but now it's different, these players are used to this kind of training intensity, they can't get injured because of the same training." Kassel is confident in the way he trains.

"It's ......," Billups was obviously a little caught up in Kassel's theory, but he immediately retorted, "It's different, you know that the playoffs are different from the regular season, the players' nervousness and physical reactions are not a state at all, and in this high-pressure state, the probability of injuries is definitely exponentially multiplied, so I still recommend canceling the afternoon training and replacing it with tactical analysis in the video conference room." ”

Billups also did not back down, and it could be seen that he came to Cassel definitely not on a whim, but thought about it a lot.

"Don't say it, Chauncey, I'm the manager, I know what the decision I make, I don't want to, I can't let the players go through what they went through last season, you know what I mean?"

"I ......" Billups sighed at the decisive look in Cassel's eyes, then turned and walked out.

Billups opened the door suddenly, turned his head and saw Tang Shuai on the side, didn't say anything, slammed the door hard, and then left the arena quickly.

Tang Shuai shook his head helplessly, and then walked towards the locker room.

After more contact with Prokopio, Tang Shuai became more and more aware of the necessity of scientific training, but as Cassel said in the end, he also did it for the sake of the team, there is no absolute right or wrong in this, the difference is just the starting point.

The afternoon training was still the same, and Billups also returned to the training gym, but he had been gloomy and obviously not in a good mood.

After the training, the players were very tired, and Tang Shuai was ready to drive back to the villa after a simple shower.

However, just after he finished training, Duffy called him and asked him to go back to Anna's villa.

It's not a big deal, it's Duffy who helped him find an endorsement contract.

Same with movie and television stars. It is absolutely impossible to have only one endorsement contract for NBA players, just like Yao Ming at the beginning, he signed 9 endorsement contracts in his first year in the NBA, and the money he earned in a year is definitely not more than the millions of dollars in the champion, but also more than 30 million before and after. Far more than the salary he earns in the NBA, that's how lethal an endorsement contract can be.

And after Tang Shuai became famous, there was a reason why Duffy only let him sign the biggest sneaker contract, because star endorsement will involve his own reputation, if he accidentally endorses a brand that is not so good, then when he is more famous, it will be a black spot.

This is also a decision that Duffy will make when he has full confidence in Tang Shuai, and of course this has also been recognized by Tang Shuai.

However, the spokesperson who came today is not ordinary, on the one hand, because it is from China. Another reason is that its name is China Mobile.

As one of the three major operators in China, China Mobile has the largest subscriber base in China.

Some people may wonder why communication operators will find sports athletes, in fact, it is not surprising at all, operators can be said to be the most widely involved company, basketball fans are naturally a large part of them, just as Yao Ming chose to endorse China Unicom, mobile to find the now hot Tang Shuai, it is completely reasonable.

Tang Shuai drove back to the villa. I soon met with Zhou Guohua, the vice chairman of China Mobile and the vice chairman in charge of the Americas.

"I've already negotiated with Mr. Zhou. You look at the contract. After Tang Shuai and Zhou Guohua said hello, Duffy took out the contract, leaned over his ear and whispered when he gave it, "The last time I signed the shoe contract, I later realized that the year was a little long, so this is a two-year contract." When the time comes, we can consider raising the price again. ”

Tang Shuai couldn't help but smile after listening to what Duffy said, sure enough, experience is slowly accumulated in practice, although it was said that last time it was a five-year contract insisted on by Adidas, but Duffy still learned from it, and Duffy was already very capable. If he can continue to improve, it will definitely be a good thing for him.

He finished reading the contract, 15 million yuan per year, which is larger than the contract that Yao Ming endorsed for Telecom at the beginning, although he took into account the soaring prices, but his current fame is still not comparable to Yao Ming, even if it is Yao Ming in the rookie year, I am afraid that it is not comparable, and the mobile can produce this contract, which has shown that he is quite looking forward to his future.

As Duffy said, if this is a five-year contract, he really doesn't need to sign it, after all, it is RMB, compared with the dollar of Adidas, it is several times worse, and if he signs it, it is really equivalent to a cheap sale, but two years, it is still very cost-effective, after all, Mobile is also the largest telecom operator in China, which can increase his popularity to a large extent.

"No problem." After thinking about it, he put down the contract and said.

"Haha, it's fine." Zhou Guohua directly reached out and shook hands with Tang Shuai.

Duffy has already grasped the other details of the contract, and he doesn't need to look at them one by one, and when Duffy said some key points to him, he then signed his name on the contract, and when he got here, this second endorsement contract will officially take effect.

"You can rest assured, we will definitely promote it well, and I believe it will be a win-win result." When Zhou Guohua said goodbye, he said confidently.

Tang Shuai nodded, he didn't care much, doing business is just a face, how far can he really go, he just needs to wait and see later.

After a day of training, he was already very tired, and he still had a game tomorrow, so he was ready to leave as soon as he signed the contract.

But just as he was about to leave, his phone suddenly rang.

It was Zhu Shan who called.

Looking at these two names, Tang Shuai remembered the face that cried inexplicably at him at that time.

He couldn't help but scratch his head, the last time they met, he promised to go to the Riverside branch to play with her, and he forgot all about it in a blink of an eye.

"Tang Shuai, are you in the villa? I'm going to your door now. As soon as the phone was connected, Zhu Shan's soft voice came.

Tang Shuai couldn't help but scratch his head again, Zhu Shan didn't know about his move, it was so coincidental, he just happened to bump into it when he returned to the villa. (To be continued.) )