Super Basketball Manager

Chapter 34 The Unbreakable Man

The sporadic lights of Lincoln Street ushered in its midnight. Walking through it, Ron stared straight at his feet without blinking his eyelids, clearly in a trance...

The scene just now was still fresh in his memory. Although the guy who chased him was out of breath, he felt like Xiao Heyue chasing Han Xin, smiling happily...

"Young people's footsteps should be more agile, old man!" Carol Dawson waved at Ron.

...

No one has ever praised him so happily, never...

He cited many examples, many celebrities on Wall Street, said some emotional words that Ron half understood...

Dawson suddenly patted Ron's shoulder with earnestness...

"Actually, you still have too little social experience...I know, you like this team, you like basketball..." Dawson's eyes were full of hope: "You know? Some things can't be figured out with your brain..."

"People like to use subconscious senses when looking at certain things. In fact, many surreal problems, if you don't experience them personally, can completely subvert your outlook on life and values..."

"It's like Yao Ming and McGrady... I brought them to Houston with my own hands. No one knows their affairs better than me..."

Ron's eyes widened, and Dawson fell into his memories. He revealed some real things that could make Ron ruin his three views, completely verbatim...

McGrady and Yao Ming really come from two worlds.It will be a matter of time before they forget each other in the rivers and lakes.

Before 08, McGrady felt a little uncomfortable and stopped playing immediately.His reasons are always back pain, back pain, and knee pain, which can only be felt by himself and cannot be explained clearly by others.

The Rockets asked Tracy McGrady for an MRI, which he declined.The Rockets executives became dissatisfied with McGrady and began to consider trading him.

In the "Chicago Tribune" on the day of the game against the Bulls, a Chicago reporter wrote: "People began to doubt McGrady's fighting spirit, and there were more and more rumors. The Rockets found that the team played well without McGrady. The Rockets won back to back."

In those two games, the Rockets had five or more players score in double figures with Tracy McGrady in the lineup, which rarely happens, giving the Rockets even more reason to trade Tracy McGrady.

At the beginning of 08, Tracy McGrady said in private that he was not happy in Houston.

There are some things that outsiders see as doubts, but people around them understand very well.

In another ten days, McGrady was sidelined again.The Rockets have long been used to it, don't care, and even prefer to play without McGrady.

That was the last game in January 2008 against the Warriors.Over the years, it has always been difficult for the Rockets to beat the Warriors.The Warriors play fast, rushing and shooting, and can always expose Yao Ming's shortcomings of insufficient speed to the greatest extent.And the Rockets played well in that game, Yao Ming was only one rebound away from scoring 1+30.

During the public interview, the players’ faces were full of joy. Yao Ming said: “It’s so comfortable to win this game. It’s been a long time since we played so well. Not only because we won, but also because we fought fiercely and united. Everyone worked together to win this game. It feels even better to win this way.”

In the locker room, after the door was closed, a group of Rockets players humiliated Tracy McGrady who was watching the game in Sunny Beach, California.

Someone shouted: "Let him die!"

Someone asked: "He won't smash the TV?"

A year later, in Philadelphia, the Rockets' anti-McGrady sentiment reached a fever pitch.

Because he once broke out a statement here that shocked all Chinese fans, "Yao, I want to isolate you..."

isolated?

In the 2008-09 season, the relationship between McGrady and the Rockets completely broke down. He made the locker room a mess, and his teammates and senior management could no longer bear it.

Who is isolating whom?
McGrady always wanted to sound like a hero.Before the start of the playoffs, he always said this sentence: "Everything is on my shoulders (It-is-on-me). If the team does not perform well and fails to play this round of the playoffs, it is all because of me."

But everyone knows the result of that round of playoffs. McGrady didn't save the team, and he couldn't save himself—he even went to the fishing competition alone before the start.

This line then became a joke, and every time it was mentioned, someone shook their head and laughed secretly.

He wanted to be a big brother, but he couldn't act like a big brother.Hyde has always been well-behaved and doesn't talk much. After coming to the Rockets, he lived cautiously in the locker room.

Maddy said, "He's very obedient. If you tell him to jump off the bridge, he will answer you like this-now?"

But the little brother Hyde went out to eat with McGrady, and the one who paid the bill was always Hyde with a rookie contract.

Sometimes, Mutombo can't stand it anymore and rush to pay the bill, even if he came later than everyone else and only had a drink.Even the team staff couldn't stand it, and complained: "He really doesn't look like a leader, let alone the highest salary in the team."

Entering the playoffs, the players have no extra salary, but there will be a playoff bonus; like the players, the staff and caddies have no extra salary, and their income depends on the players donating bonuses.

Every time the playoffs are over, the players will give them part of the bonus. This is a rule and a convention.

For two seasons, McGrady refused to donate.Even the staff can't stand him anymore.

In fact, last season, the Rockets gave him a lot of freedom.He was tired and hurt, so he let him rest; when he wanted to come back, he immediately gave him the game time; he said that there was only one back-to-back game, so he only played one game; in the two games, he chose the easy one, and the coach let him.

But if it goes on like this, the teammates can't take it anymore, the one who gets the most money doesn't work hard, why should they work so hard?
Yao Ming said, "I'll toss a coin later, and then decide whether to play today."

Battier chatted with a familiar reporter: "Didn't you see the slogans raised by the fans? McGrady, why can I go to work on time every day and complete my work, but you can't? This is what I want to ask."

Alston was naughty by nature and didn't care at all. He yelled in the locker room: "I know the opponent's starting lineup, who can tell me, what about our own?"

Beast Artest is even more amazing. He will wait until the last half hour before the game to decide whether he can play-he waits for McGrady to make the decision first.

In the end, even some Houston fans couldn't take it anymore.

When the Rockets play at home, the rebroadcast footage often captures such a fan, sitting very close to the court, wearing a jersey with a changed number.A 1 was added next to the 1 of the No. 3 jersey, and the No. 13 was Weaver. The fans also crossed out McGrady's name with a red cross and replaced it with Weaver's.

Whenever Weaver scored, the fan jumped up, pointed his back in all directions, and yelled, "This is what we want."

They want McGrady to disappear quickly.

On January 09, 1, I went to Philadelphia again.Last year here, the Rockets suffered a disastrous defeat, and Yao Ming was angry at the whole team alone.This time, the contradictions in the locker room all focused on McGrady.

Today may be a better day, or it may be raining in California, McGrady miraculously appeared in Philadelphia's away game...

By the way, I said to Jones, "I won't fight in the next back-to-back game!"

The chartered plane of the Rockets landed slowly at the Philadelphia Airport. The players walked down one by one. Yao Ming and Mutombo did not rush off and chatted on their seats.When Adelman passed by, he asked casually, why didn't he go down?

The two replied in unison: "We won't play the first round of back-to-back." The old man didn't take a steady step and almost stumbled.

On the day of the game, the shooting practice in the morning had just ended, and everyone gathered together, ready to listen to the coach's last few words, and then dispersed. Unexpectedly, McGrady suddenly said: "We will play hard tonight. We played too badly before, like feces. We must not do this again."

After listening to McGrady's words, the others looked at each other and exchanged glances.

As soon as the training was over, everyone got together and whispered: "We? Did he mean us just now? He also has the nerve to talk about us?"

It was not only the veterans who made fun of him, but also the rookies. Landry, who had just joined the team for a short time, laughed and shouted meaningfully and strangely: "Us? Us? Us?"

In the locker room, McGrady has no status.

McGrady also decided to fight against the Rockets. On February 2, when the Rockets were in full swing with the New Jersey Nets, the news that McGrady announced the end of the season appeared on major sports news websites.The Rockets didn't know about this matter. The next day, General Manager Morey accepted an interview and still said that McGrady's injury was not confirmed and he was seeing another doctor in Chicago.

But McGrady’s personal website has already been updated: “I have to end this season.” The Rockets couldn’t hold back anymore, and the reporters joked with the Rockets’ media officer: “Don’t you give him so much money, isn’t it enough to buy a mobile phone?”

The media officer smiled wryly and shook his head. They didn't know how to explain everything about McGrady.

Adelman has always been a nice guy, but this time he was not silent. He only found out what happened to his players after reading the newspapers and TV. He said: "At least we have to sit down and have a good chat and tell the media after we figure out everything. I don't know why he did this, but it's obviously wrong. So far, I haven't talked to him. I don't know his situation. What I know is the same as you know, because I can only read newspapers."

On the "Houston Chronicle" that day, reporter Fagan wrote: "Surgery, the end of the season, maybe his days wearing a Rockets jersey will also be over."

It was this year that Yao Ming finally established himself as a leader.This is his seventh year in the Rockets, because of a coincidence, because it happened naturally, and because McGrady and the Rockets drifted away.

It was also this year, after losing the former All-Star with a salary of 2600 million, the Rockets still surmounted all obstacles and passed the hurdle that they had never been able to pass in the first round in the past 7 years. If Yao Ming did not fight too hard in the first game against the Lakers, it is very likely that history will be rewritten...

And what about Maddie?In the form of an inactive player, he finally survived the curse of the first round of his career for the first time.

Many people jokingly pulled up banners, "Thank you T-MAC, thank you for the reimbursement, we don't need to spend money to hire a priest to do the evil spell..."

Dawson clenched his cheeks and said so much in one breath, his throat was a little dry, but he still chose to continue...

"Of course, they were better off..."

Just like everyone else, if you have a job, you will have colleagues to form a team and work together to achieve your goals.But not all colleagues will become friends, in fact, most colleagues will not become friends.

The word colleague simply means the intersection of work.

If you are an NBA fan, or have been concerned about Yao Ming and the Rockets these years, you must have heard many stories about Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.

In many stories, they are described as brothers.Brother's English is Brother, and in the black world, this word is shortened to Bro.

They call each other Bro, but that doesn't mean they're all brothers.In the NBA world, the word Bro is usually used as a salutation, and the most appropriate translation is "brother".

Even two people who have never met before and met for the first time can say the same.Walking on the street and asking for directions: buddy, how can I get to the nearest supermarket?
Yao Ming and McGrady also called each other buddies.The two of them could really get together, it was before 05...

That was when Van Gundy didn't leave.

At that time, Tracy McGrady was just a two-time scoring champion, a vigorous young man...

In many cases, it is often events and the environment that change a person, and it is difficult for a person to influence the environment...

So we will carefully discover that that fat body, and he is still complacent about the status quo, and even uses his bloated body to overload his exercise. In order to teach some newcomers with temporary contracts, he does not hesitate to buckle his waist...

And what about Yao Ming?Even Orientals with a humble and simple style are becoming increasingly unaccustomed to McGrady who has lost his fighting spirit and his lazy style...

The two have forgotten each other for a long time...

Dawson let out a long sigh of relief...

"This is the real Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady as I know them. This is the truth of the whole thing...It is a pity that you have fought so far for a beautiful vision that did not exist..."

It's just that the young man on the opposite side was not as shocked as expected...

Ron raised his head and said clearly, "So what?"

Just a short sentence made Dawson dumbfounded...

"Is their relationship good? What does it have to do with us?" Ron looked at the endless night sky, but his eyes were always bright as before: "I can see Dayao and McGrady win the championship, and my favorite Rockets win the championship. This is my hope...Let me do nothing with you, stay a year a year, tomorrow will come tomorrow, completely shirk the responsibility to the players, and give fate or more ridiculous excuses? Sorry, I would rather leave...and my dream..."

He suddenly opened his mouth in front of the staring Dawson. "I used to be a worthless, destitute person who encountered a mid-life crisis early... You can never imagine that I can dream again, but standing here, how proud I am in my heart..."

"Today I fell from here, and tomorrow I will stand up again..." Ron even blinked with Dawson, joking...

"I remember, Michael Jordan once said: 'I accept failure, but I never accept quitting...' Yeah, from the time I stepped out the door of the Toyota Center, maybe I failed, but...you know what?"

In his extremely deep eyes, there is an amazing passion, "I will never give up..."

He saluted slightly, turned around and left. He hoped that his impulsive actions would at least make them remember... Everyone was begging for perfection, but there was one person who was still full of hope for this season and never gave up...

Looking at the stubborn back, Dawson let out a proud sigh of relief...

"He is a fighter who can never be defeated... Don't worry that he will give up..." Olajuwon who came behind him also smiled happily...

"So what do we do next?"

"Let him rest for a few days first...he is too tired...maybe, he should have a vigorous relationship, I was like this when I was young...that way he can devote himself wholeheartedly...hehe..."

　Bad grades!The author can update ten times a day, with each update not less than 3500 words, fans and friends, please do your best!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)