Zhiba NBA

Chapter 118 (110 VII) The Second Big Boss in History
After celebrating two consecutive victories in the away game, the Rockets returned to Houston to rest for a day.Their record has improved to 5 wins and 4 losses, the same record as the Clippers and Lakers, and tied for seventh place in the West.

而今年排在前列的赫然有几匹黑马。上赛季排名西部倒第三，在夏天也没有什么大动作的西雅图超音速队8-1高居联盟榜首，6-1的老牌劲旅马刺紧随其后，No.3则是上赛季的倒第二，6-2的太阳队。再加上之前西部垫底的快船，此时后三名全部杀入了前八，集体逆袭！太阳之后则是7-2的小牛（西南区第二）、6-2的爵士（西北区第二）和4-3的森林狼。

Of course, the season has only just begun, and there are still many opportunities for teams that start poorly.Now there is a team in the East that has had a bad start and is still trying to dominate the league.This is the second team in history with a total salary of over [-] million-the New York Knicks this season.

A few years ago, a total salary of 5000 million was considered a giant. Taking the first year of the post-Jordan era as an example, the Knicks ranked first in the league with a total salary of 5995 million, followed by the Trail Blazers with 5444 million.In recent years, as the salary cap has continued to rise, player wages have also risen. In the 02-03 season, the Portland Trail Blazers became the first team in NBA history with a salary exceeding [-] million yuan. This season, the Knicks followed suit and joined the [-] million yuan club.

The wages are not reduced, the luxury tax is not reduced, and the team owner James Dolan certainly hopes to show some results to see. You must know that this rich team did not even make the playoffs last season.Dolan was envious of the construction work of the Pistons and thought that Dumars was doing a good job, so he boldly used Dumars' teammate and former Pistons superstar Isiah Thomas as the team's operations manager.Thomas vigorously managed, successively introduced young players such as famous stars Marbury, Hardaway and Jamal Crawford, and signed gold medal coach Wilkins.Of course, these operations also caused the team's total wages to continue to increase.

(The smiling assassin Isiah Thomas is only 185cm tall and is one of the most famous small stars in the history of the league. He was also an important contributor to the Pistons' two consecutive championships, and was elected as the FMVP in 90)

Although the signings in the past two years are not small, these operations have not helped the Knicks achieve good results.Thomas has also been criticized repeatedly, for example, this one is criticizing him now.

"Isaiah Thomas has a bad eye for selecting players, which makes this team have too many high-paid players. Compared with them, our championship looks very shabby." Yuan Fei joked before the game: "There are only 4 people with a salary of more than 500 million, and 8 people with a salary of more than 500 million. Our team has only 3 people with an annual salary of more than [-] million. Compared with James Dolan, we are really poor. So I promise to persuade Boss Wang to spend more money to renew everyone's contract."

Everyone couldn't help laughing, and gave Yuan Fei a thumbs up.

"According to our current news, the opponent's number one high-paid player-Alan Houston will not be able to play today." Curry reported.

"But they still have two players worth 500 million yuan and three players worth [-] million yuan in the starting lineup, and there is a sixth man with a level of [-] million yuan sitting on the bench. Don't be intimidated." Yuan Fei continued to tease: "Let them know that money is not everything."

When Yuanfei left the locker room and entered the stadium first, Dawson whispered something in his ear: "It is absolutely impossible to have no money, and players who want to renew their contracts must not be stingy."

"Old man, you actually took the opportunity to mock me!"

***
The three strikers of the Knicks, Nazr Mohammed, Tim Thomas and Kurt Thomas are all strong men with solid skills, and it is a bit bluffing to line up.It's a pity that neither of them is a star player. In front of Yao Ming, their defense is as weak as paper.

As soon as he came up, Yao Ming killed the Quartet, scoring 6 points on 4 of 9 shots in the first quarter.McGrady did not rush to shoot this time, but continued to send assists for his teammates, revitalizing the team's offense.The Rockets also have an outside feel, hitting three-pointers in a row.The Knicks trailed 20 to 30 in a single quarter and have been pulled to double digits.

But the New Yorkers are still somewhat bloody after all. Marbury and Crawford, the backcourt partners, both have good singles ability.Crawford managed to stabilize the situation in singles again and again. Marbury is known as a lone wolf, but today he is no longer "alone" and made good shots for his teammates.Kurt Thomas received his wonderful pass and dunked Jefferson, shocking everyone.At the end of the three quarters, the Knicks were still behind the Rockets 65:78, but the point difference was not out of reach.

At the end of the quarter, Trevor Ariza missed a jumper and Pulzbilla grabbed a rebound.But his pass to Parker was intercepted by Ariza, who had sharp eyes and quick hands. Parker was a step late for fouling. Ariza made a layup and scored a 2+1 score!

Yuan Fei on the sidelines frowned slightly.That's why he wanted Trevor Ariza, a player who is very aggressive on defense and has the potential to be an outside lock and three-point shooter, although his current shooting skills are still rough.

王治郅三分不中，阿里扎助攻哈达威投中3分。71:78末节刚打1分钟，分差瞬间缩小到7分了。

Parker and Przybilla set up a pick-and-roll, and Parker got the chance to miss a 4-pointer.Going back, Marbury assisted Hardaway and scored a three-pointer, only [-] points away!

The Rockets quickly called a timeout, and Lao Tang was also a little anxious, and shouted loudly to the players: "Don't be like the last game against the Eagles, delay the sure-win ball to the end!"

The CTM trio is back in battle.The effect was immediate. Yao Ming hit Muhammad forcefully and made a shot from the basket, stabilizing the situation.

Marbury forced his way inside and barely got on the line and missed a shot.But the active Ariza rushed to grab the offensive rebound, and then passed Hardaway, but still missed.

But McGrady made a dribble error and was intercepted by Hardaway, and Marbury made an easy layup, 76:80.

"Don't mind, play well!" Billups comforted McGrady and turned around to ask for the ball.

"Pass the ball over, I'll take care of it!" McGrady was a little angry, and after receiving the pass, he singled Ariza decisively.The latter fouled and McGrady made 2 free throws.

Ariza was also not afraid of his hands and feet. He caught the ball and forced Jefferson to cause a foul. He also made 2 free throws.

"This second-round rookie is really good. He was not discouraged when he lost points head-on with McGrady. He is very mature. This style of play is smart and courageous." Tang Shuai gave Ariza a high evaluation.

After Yao Ming attracted double-teams, he assisted Bosh to make a successful mid-range shot, and the two sides did not give in at 78:84.

"Play our championship-level defense!" Yao Ming roared.The Rockets did not relax this time. Driven by the defensive center Yao, the outside players ran very fast, completely keeping up with the opponent's offensive rhythm.

Marbury was intercepted by Billups, who scored an easy layup.

Marbury hit again and missed a jumper.

After this wave of high-intensity defense, the point difference finally widened.

Although Marbury and Crawford broke out in the last 2 minutes, the previous 10-point gap was too big. With Crawford hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer, the game ended.

93：98，火箭在主场有惊无险战胜了土豪尼克斯，豪取三连胜。姚明23+11+4，麦迪24+6+8，两位核心终于找回了赢球的感觉。

　Cuban just loves to waste money, and Dolan is simply a waste of money.In those years, Dallas just spent irrationally, and the Knicks simply squandered all kinds of money.

　　Watching the NBA is not just about strong teams winning, it is also quite interesting to watch the stories of these weak teams.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)