In the ensuing open training session, the Rockets players were divided into two groups for confrontation training.

For the first time, Gao Dazhuang put on the yellow training shirt representing the substitute lineup, and when he received the yellow training shirt handed by the assistant coach, Gao Dazhuang tried his best to restrain his emotions.

"Are you alright?" Patterson, a good friend of the tall and strong Rockets, walked up to him and asked.

"It's okay, it's just a little unwilling," Gao Dazhuang smiled bitterly.

However, the tall and strong anomaly did not attract the attention of fans, because the focus of the entire Rockets today was James Harden.

Soon the main lineup showed their strength in the confrontation training, Asik's rebounding protection, Jeremy Lin's breakthrough made the fans of the audience let out a burst of exclamations, of course, as the focus of attention, Harden quickly showed his strength, his weird rhythm and smart pace made him attack again and again.

But when the tall and strong man was ready to compete with Harden, Rockets public relations Nelson Lewis walked next to Harden and signaled that Houston reporters were waiting to interview him, and Harden then walked to the sidelines, and immediately more than 20 reporters surrounded him and interviewed Harden.

"What do you think of this deal?" A reporter from the Houston Chronicle was the first to ask.

"It all happened too fast, it happened too fast, that's the situation I was in, we just maximized, we're in Houston now, we're just trying to play well and help the team win" Regarding the trade, Harden said it all came too suddenly.

"What do you think of Team Rocket?" A reporter asked.

"I've come to a good team, there are good young players, we have to work hard, I'm in a good situation, Houston is also a good city, we have to continue to work hard and help the team get better" Harden gave the Rockets a very high opinion and said that he is willing to stay in Houston for a long time and sign a long-term contract with the Rockets "Yes, I am willing to stay here for a long time"

"Do you see any difference from a team that can challenge for a championship to a team that is rebuilding?" A reporter asked,

"It's a different feeling, of course, and that's what I need to deal with, but business is business, everything happens for a reason, and what I do is train hard and help the team win," Harden replied with a smile.

"What do you think of your teammates?" A female reporter interjected and asked.

"There's Gao here, he's the show this year, he's a very strong player, and Jeremy Lin, Lin is crazy, he's a miracle, and Asik, our rebounding monster, and of course we've got a bunch of young players, and it's going to be a young team," Harden responded with a laugh.

"Will you play in the opening game of the season for the Rockets?" The reporters continued to ask.

"Yes, I want to play, I want to be able to help the team get better," Harden replied with a nod.

"Do you feel like you're the leader of the team now?" The correspondent of ESPN raised a sharp topic.

"I've always been a leader in high school, college and the NBA, and that has helped me a lot, and my enthusiasm and shouting on the court, it's all natural, and now, as a leader on the team, I'm going to give more advice to my teammates on the court, and I'm going to make sure I play my game that belongs to me this season," Harden affirmed.

……

Harden left after ten minutes of being interviewed by numerous media outlets, escorted by the Rockets' press officer, but the media immediately surrounded the rest of the Rockets' players, and of course the topic was still James Harden.

"He's a cornerstone player, and everybody sees it, he's just been really good in training as well, he's always been the most dynamic player on the floor, that's what I want, he's a very good player, he's going to surprise everyone this season," Rockets head coach McHale replied truthfully when asked what Harden thinks.

"This deal gives us a glimmer of hope for success," Rockets forward Parsons said when asked what he thought of the deal, "This deal gives us a sense of urgency as a team, it's very exciting, and I'm definitely starting to look forward to making the playoffs, absolutely, absolutely."

When asked if the Rockets could make the playoffs, Rockets center Asik said, "You can ask the rest of the league and they might say we're not playing, but within this team, we feel like we have a chance, especially after the trade we've been strengthened and stronger, and I feel like we have a better chance of making the playoffs than before."

In the new season, Jeremy Lin's backcourt partner will be Harden if there is no accident, although Jeremy Lin said in a low-key manner that he does not dare to guarantee that the Rockets will reach the playoffs, but he admitted that Harden's addition has improved the Rockets' chances of finishing in the top eight in the West, and at the same time, Jeremy Lin praised the wealth that Harden has brought to the Rockets.

"He's always been a very efficient player, he's an easy teammate to work with," Lin replied to reporters' questions, "and the way he plays, the style of play, fits well with the system we're trying our best to execute, which is great"

Of course, the media hasn't forgotten that the tall and strong ones have been doing well in the preseason.

"Gao, what do you think of this transaction?"

"Maybe we're getting more attention after the trade, but of course the team has changed a lot, and as a team we're going to keep improving, we're going to get better."

"Gao, what do you think of Harden?"

'I know he was the sixth man of the season but I don't know him yet, but I think he can definitely help the team move forward, he has Finals experience and that's what we lacked'

"Gao, would you mind giving Harden a bench?"

"This should be a matter for the coach to consider, the main force must rely on strength to fight" Gao Dazhuang thought for a while, dropped such a sentence and left the training hall.

At 7:30 p.m. EST on the 31st, the Houston Rockets challenged the Detroit Pistons away at Auburn Hills Palace Arena, which was also the first game of the new season for the Rockets.

After several trades, the Houston Rockets' roster is somewhat unique because the Rockets are the only team with a "starting five" that is very different from last season's opener.

According to the pre-game group training for the Rockets, the starters were center Asik, power forward Patterson, small forward Parsons, point guard Harden and point guard Jeremy Lin, but their combined career starters were 98 games, the most of which was Sophomore Parsons, who only started 57 games in his rookie season.

Moreover, only four of Houston's current roster players played for the Rockets last season, and the big changes to the roster have made the Rockets the youngest team in the league with an average age of 23, and at the same time, they have also become the league's most inexperienced team for the second consecutive season, with an average of 1.9 seasons in the league.

But with the arrival of James Harden, a lot of things are starting to change, and the league is also looking more at this youth team.

The Rockets arrived in Detroit yesterday, two and a half hours before today's game, the Rockets players came to the Auburn Hills Palace Arena and warmed up before the game, the Rockets' starters, including the two leading players Harden and Jeremy Lin, are practicing with the ball, Jeremy Lin practiced some breakthrough moves, while Harden practiced more mid-to-long range shooting, both of them looked good, and Harden also chatted with Pistons acquaintances on the sidelines.

The tall and strong followed the team's rotation lineup and followed the assistant coach to do warm-up exercises on the sidelines.

Rockets head coach Kevin McHale was interviewed by the Rockets' official radio station as usual.

"Kevin, Harden will start today, right?" A reporter from the official radio station of Team Rocket asked.

"Of course, he's just coming in and he can't do 100 per cent of what I want, but he's a key player for us and I want him to get rid of his baggage and play at his true level," McHale replied in the affirmative.

"What about Jeremy Lin? He seems to have a problem with his knee?" The reporter asked.

"He's getting better with each passing day, and of course he's not fully recovered, but he's worked hard and he's put us at the heart of our organization," McHale gave some credit to Lin.

"What do you think of our back line?" This is the last question from the official radio reporter of Team Rocket.

"Just like our team, very young, very potential, Harden is the best attacker in the league, and Jeremy Lin proved himself last season, our rookie is tall, his breakthrough is fantastic, and of course the other players are working very hard, and I have a lot of confidence in our guard line," McHale replied.

With the referee's whistle, the Houston Rockets' away challenge to the Detroit Pistons officially began, and the "Tanhua Show" Gao Dazhuang also ushered in his first game in the NBA, but at this moment he was sitting in the back row of the bench, looking at the court with a somewhat dull gaze.

The Rockets' starting five are: center Asik, power forward Patterson, small forward Parson, point guard Harden and point guard Jeremy Lin.

The Pistons' starters are: center Monroe, power forward Mark Hill, small forward Prince, point guard Starkey, and point guard Knight.

Asik overpowered Pistons center Monroe with a jump shot, and the Rockets took the lead in attacking.

After Jeremy Lin advanced the ball to the halfcourt, he passed the ball to Harden who followed up behind him, and Harden received the ball near the free throw line and continued to cross and dribble to gradually approach Pistons guard Starkey.

Suddenly, Harden made a few false swings in a row, and took advantage of Starkey's unstable footing, and broke through from its wing with one lunge, and after the breakthrough, Harden quickly entered the Pistons basket and forced a layup by the opponent's center.

"Swipe" Harden's layup wiped the board and rebounded into the net.

"Doo" scored at the same time as the referee's whistle sounded, "defensive foul", Harden's inside breakaway caused a foul by Pistons center Greg Monroe.

2+1, Harden beat the opponent with a 2+1 on his first shot in the Rockets!

Harden stood at the free throw line, patted the ball, took a deep breath, looked at the basket, bent his knees slightly, slowly lifted the ball to the upper right side of his head, and shot.

"Brush" Harden and hit a free throw.

3：0

Harden scored the first point of the new season for the Rockets and also scored the first goal of his Rockets career.

"Oh" The Rockets' bench cheered, and the tall and strong also applauded, but there was an indescribable feeling in his heart.

P: The unit organizes closed rotation training, the time is 2 and a half days, I'm afraid that I won't be able to get on the Internet tomorrow, so I changed 2 chapters today, and I will continue to update after coming back in the afternoon the day after tomorrow.

The NBA won't be smooth sailing, but tall and strong will get up in the mud.