After Gao Dazhuang fell into the trade whirlpool, the contradictions within the Rockets team also began to appear in front of the media, but the Rockets are still stumbling forward.

They beat the Timberwolves on the road, then the visiting Wizards and 76ers at home, and the Rockets moved into the top eight in the West.

In this wave of winning streak, Harden, the core of the Rockets, played extremely well, averaging 30.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, and the starting point guard Jeremy Lin has gradually regained the feeling of last season, during the winning streak, Jeremy Lin averaged 17.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 8.6 assists per game, and he was like two at the beginning of the season.

But during the Rockets' winning streak, I don't know whether it was intentional or unintentional, Tall Strong's playing time was compressed, in fact, since Coach McHale's return, Tall and Strong has played less than 28 minutes per game, and Coach McHale has allowed the "Harlem" combination to enjoy more tactics and playing time.

However, as the number one attack point of the second team, Gao Dazhuang still averaged 16.3 points, 4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game in limited playing time.

The winning streak has shared the pressure on the team, and Coach McHale has also been praised by the team's top management, and many fans have even begun to recognize Coach McHale's lineup.

But there are still a lot of media focused on the tall and strong, although the tall and strong chose to remain silent for a period of time, but all kinds of gossip still continue to come out: "Lakers beauty scout Bonnie Gil Laughlin and tall and strong have dinner", "Bulls general manager Foreman secretly meets Rockets executives", "Brooklyn Nets general manager Billy King appears in Houston", and even the Timberwolves main player Loew is also openly recruiting tall and strong in an interview with reporters......

However, after the Rockets' victory over the 76ers, Rockets general manager Morey said in an interview with CNN: "I've talked to Gao and his agent, Mr. Fagan, and I'm not going to seek to trade him, and now the team chemistry is good, we're on the road to victory, and Gao has been playing an important sixth man role in the team."

However, Morey's proud declaration is not over, and the Rockets have suffered a waterloo.

After a series of victories, the Rockets faced a real challenge - the Texas Civil War, but the Rockets' performance was a big disappointment.

The Rockets first lost to the eternal Spurs by 22 points on the road, then lost to the "bitter" Mavericks at home, and then lost to the "aging" Spurs on the road.

The Rockets lost three times in five days to old Texas rivals the Spurs and Mavericks, dropping their winning percentage back to 50% and dropping out of the top eight in the West.

This losing streak has made the Rockets see the gap between themselves and the real strong teams, and the Rockets are weak like a child in front of the old Spurs and Mavericks.

Morris, the Rockets' new main power forward, and Thomas Robinson, the No. 5 pick of the year who just got traded, looked so helpless in the face of All-Star power forwards Duncan and Nowitzki, according to the Houston Chronicle: The two sides are not players of the same grade.

The 37-year-old Duncan averaged 24.5 points, 15 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game against the Rockets, while the "king" Nowitzki was even more ruthless, scoring a season-high 42 points and 8 rebounds and 2 assists against the Rockets.

There are a large number of excellent players at the No. 4 position in the league now, and they have changed the landscape of the league, while the No. 4 position of the Rockets is a colander, and both Morris and Robinson are "rookies".

In fact, the Rockets have never dominated rebounding in games since the start of the season, and the Rockets have lost to their opponents in rebounding comparisons in almost every game, which is a far cry from the situation where Van Gundy regarded rebounding as his life.

Under normal circumstances, the Rockets' interior line is below the league average, except for Asik, who can normally contribute double-digit rebounds per game, whether it is the original Patterson or the current Morris and Robinson.

The Rockets' frequent rotation at the No. 4 position was also McHale's helpless move, and in the second game against the Spurs, the 37-year-old Duncan alone made Morris and Robinson suffer, Morris was fouled five times, and Robinson was directly fouled; In the game against the Mavericks, Nowitzki shot 14-of-20 from the field and shot 70 percent, which showed the Rockets' defensive problems at the No. 4 position.

In this situation, there has been a wave of controversy among Rockets fans, and almost all fans originally disagreed with trading potential rookie Gao Da Zhuang, but now many fans have begun to loosen up, thinking that it would be a good choice to trade a high-energy player for a good No. 4 player.

After another rout to the Spurs, when the general manager of the Rockets was surrounded by reporters asking him a question, Morey's words changed: "You never know what will happen in the future, if there is a suitable trade plan that can help the team, then I will seriously consider it, but I will not actively seek to trade him"

As soon as this remark came out, the media boiled again, and a large number of media began to predict the possibility of a transaction, and many team managers even began to publicly offer tall and strong, and the local media in Houston even photographed the "devil's agent" Fagan frequently dense Rockets high-level pictures.

However, from beginning to end, Gao Dazhuang, who was at the center of the trade vortex, remained silent and did not give any interviews to reporters and media, and all the information about the trade came from Rockets general manager Morey and Gao Dazhuang's agent Fagan.

After a three-game losing streak, the Rockets welcome their next opponent, the New York Knicks.

The New York Knicks descended on the Toyota Center and once again pushed Jeremy Lin into the spotlight, and the reporters who surrounded Lin before the game surpassed Harden and Tall for the first time.

This is the first meeting between the two teams this season, and all Rockets fans have taken a break from trade discussions, wondering: Will Jeremy Lin once again burst into amazing energy when he meets the familiar team that produced "Lin Madness"?

The entanglement between Jeremy Lin and the Knicks is too deep, and if it weren't for the amazing performance of the Knicks, this good student at Harvard University would have become a pastor in a church in the United States.

And this season, Jeremy Lin's performance is average, Jeremy Lin has no form, and the most proud is the New York Knicks, before being poached by the Rockets, the Knicks once said "even if it is $1 billion, I want to sign Jeremy Lin", but in the end, because I was afraid of the luxury tax brought by Jeremy Lin's 15 million salary at the end of the contract, he let go of this wonder boy almost without resistance, so the Knicks also took on a lot of pressure.

In this case, many Knicks players have commented on Jeremy Lin: J.R. Smith said that "many older players are more worthy of this big contract than Jeremy Lin, Raymond Felton is stronger than Jeremy Lin", Tyson Chandler has said that "Jeremy Lin is not capable of running a team", and even Deron Williams, the core of the Nets who has nothing to do with Jeremy Lin, said that "Felton is stronger than Jeremy Lin, and Jeremy Lin has not proven himself".

And, judging from the current situation, the Knicks and the Rockets are not at all the same level of teams, with the Knicks currently sitting in the top of the league with a 16-4 record, while the Rockets are in 10th place in the Western Conference with a 10-10 record.

This game will be a huge test for Jeremy Lin, and Rockets coach McHale firmly supported Jeremy Lin before the game, saying that his performance was better than the stats, "He is definitely the best choice for our team to start".

James Harden, the core of the Rockets, believes that Jeremy Lin puts "too much pressure" on himself, so he gives advice: "He only needs to pay attention to the game itself, whenever he is in the open position, he should shoot, as long as there is an opportunity to attack, don't hesitate." ”

Carmelo Anthony, the core of the Knicks and the league's leading scorer, disagrees: "I don't think Lin has any pressure, he has real pressure in New York, but now the Rockets have players like Harden, Parsons, and Tall and Strong to share a lot of the burden for him."

Before the game, there were also many media interviews with Gao Dazhuang, and when asked about Jeremy Lin's question, Gao Dazhuang said meaningfully: "Jeremy Lin? He doesn't have any problems, he's proven he's a good starter and he's going to lead the Rockets forward."