Zhiba NBA

Chapter 204 (two hundred and three) dare to lose
A relatively loose schedule has passed, and the Rockets have achieved a beautiful winning streak during this schedule, widening the gap with the Pistons and Lakers behind them.But happiness is always short-lived, and then they will usher in a dangerous schedule, playing 9 games in 6 days, including two back-to-backs.

首战战胜活塞后，1月23日他们迎来了背靠背之战的对手雄鹿。新老中锋状元之战以姚明的绝对统治而告终，博古特只得到了10+7，而姚明爆砍29+11+3带领球队17分大胜对手。

Then they returned to the home court and defeated the Bobcats and Timberwolves in a row. The Bobcats had a good record before, but they have been unlucky recently.Okafor sprained his ankle, Wallace injured his left knee, and Paul, who lacked helpers, was unable to support himself. He contributed 21+10 impressive data, but he couldn't prevent the team from losing by 24 points.

So far, the Rockets are halfway through the schedule, and they have achieved a record of 38 wins and 4 losses, temporarily surpassing the Bulls with 72 wins in terms of winning percentage.Unknowingly, they played another wave of 5 consecutive victories.At this time, the morale of the Rockets is high, and many players feel that they can play another climax of 24 consecutive victories.But at this time, Wang Yuanfei was about to control the rhythm for the players, so he took the initiative to interview Adelman.

"Retirement? The next match will be against the mighty Heat, which is a good opportunity for training." Adelman asked puzzled.

"The main reason is that the recent schedule is tighter and the players are more tired." Yuan Fei's reason is impeccable. "Especially after playing the Heat and going to play the Grizzlies back-to-back the next day, don't make the players too tired."

"But this battle against the Heat is almost certain to lose. We might as well prepare to face the Heat seriously, and then take turns against the underdog Grizzlies." Adelman thought for a while and said.

"If we play the Heat seriously but lose due to fatigue, the impact on morale will be greater than if we take a rest. If we take another round of rest, we may lose in a row. Have you considered such a possibility?" Yuan Fei asked rhetorically.

"That... makes sense." Ashuai was silent for a while, and said, "But can the goal of 73 wins be achieved? Did you give up the game just in the middle of the season?"

"We are a team with 24 consecutive victories. As long as we try our best to keep the players healthy, we dare to lose. What's the point of letting go of one or two games? If you are too tired to play this kind of game and cause injuries, the loss outweighs the gain."

"Okay, I'll arrange the rotation now."

"Remember, Yao must rest. Also, cultivate the self-confidence of our rookies."

***
The Heat made several big signings in the summer, and this season is full of ambitions, and they are determined to challenge the Pistons and Rockets.However, due to the large changes in the lineup, the running-in period at the beginning of the season was not smooth.In contrast, the Pistons' starting lineup has not changed, and the lineup has a stable record and a good record, opening up an early lead over the Heat.At this time, the Heat are only 26-18, barely ranked second in the Eastern Conference, which is far from the expectations at the beginning of the season.Because of this, all the generals and soldiers of the Heat suffocated their strength and vowed to kill the Rockets to regain their glory.

But when the list of starting players came out, they were all stupid.The Rockets rested Yao Ming, Reid and Billups, and replaced the three main players at once.

"What does Rocket mean? Look down on us?" Fat Toutuo Walker became angry at once.

"Where's the agreed Yaosha battle?" O'Neill is a nice guy with a good temper, but he's also very unhappy.

"You guys are calm and calm." The relatively calm veteran Payton said: "I don't think the Rockets look down on us, but they feel that they don't have the certainty of winning against us, so they might as well give up."

"Is this plausible? They just beat the Pistons by 21 points a few days ago. How come we are not sure?" Tiehan Mourning retorted.

Everyone argued for a long time, but they didn't reach any conclusions. It was Wade who persuaded everyone.Although there are many big names in this team, most of them are old players.Wade is the youngest among these players, but he is the team's leading star.As soon as Wade opened his mouth, all the old fritters shut their mouths.

"No matter what the Rockets think, if they dare to use this lineup against us, we will blow them up." Wade smiled, "Don't be polite in this game, beat it to death."

The Rockets' starters are Pulzbila, Bosh, Jefferson, Roy and Spanoulis; the Heat are O'Neal, Haslem, Posey, Wade and Payton.The original starting point guard Jason Williams was absent due to a finger injury, and the old and strong Payton entered the starting lineup.

The old guys like the Heat vented their anger, but the young guys like the Rockets played seriously with the attitude of showing themselves.In the beginning, Roy played a little tight against Wade, but Spann was not polite.He is now the starting point guard of the Greek national team. He has seen all kinds of storms when he was playing for the country. If Payton is 10 years younger and can shock him, how can the 37-year-old Payton keep up with Spann's legs?Being held by this younger generation with the ball suddenly fell apart.

Pulzbila couldn't resist O'Neal head-on, but he played very smartly, and simply proposed to use his huge body as a cover for his teammates when attacking.Not to mention Bosh, frequently pulled out to shoot.The behemoth O'Neal at the basket had all his energy but couldn't use it.The Rockets played vigorously, and many balls were simply shot in waves, regardless of whether there were open opportunities. Anyway, there was no pressure to lose this game, and they just wanted to kill happily.When people relax, they tend to shoot more accurately. These guys hit 7 three-pointers in the first quarter, leading the Heat by 4 points.

Not only did Adelman not prevent these players from making wild shots, but he also encouraged them.He took advantage of the timeout and said to Roy: "Brandon, don't let go. McGrady and Reed are not here, you are the Rockets' McGrady. You have to take responsibility and fill the vacancy of McGrady."

Hard-working and honest people, once they go crazy, tend to be crazier than others.Roy didn't show any weakness in the face of Wade, a master defensive player. He swayed from side to side and shot again and again.Adelman saw that this young man was not bad, he knew that he would understand by himself after listening to the coach, and he had a bright future.

Seeing that Roy dribbled the ball to the three-point line, it was a three-point strike.Jefferson was also happy, and found a chance to whisper to Roy: "The head coach asked you to fill the vacancy of McGrady, but he didn't want you to imitate McGrady's movements. Play in your usual way."

After all, the Heat are superior, and their rotation lineup includes former first-line stars such as Mourning and Walker.Although the Rockets are well-known in the league for their deep bench, they rested many people today, and the replaced Varejao and Johnson are not well-known.Relying on the old fritters of the second team, the Heat gradually overtook the score under the leadership of Wade.

The score was overtaken, but it inspired Roy's fighting spirit.He kept carrying the ball and rushed towards the Heat penalty area, constantly breaking through and causing damage and making free throws.Since there is no one to rotate at position 2, Ashuai is also happy to let him play with the ball more. As a result, Roy got much more ball rights than usual, and he also shot frequently without mercy.

After a fierce battle, the Heat finally made 1 of 4 free throws by virtue of Wade's consecutive fouls in the last minute, and they struggled to win the game by 4 points.But no joy of victory can be seen on the faces of the Heat players. They are close to the full lineup and they are almost deflated on the Rockets that lack four stars, making this victory look so pale and ridiculous.

罗伊全场28投12中拿下了生涯新高的31分，另有6篮板6助攻。虽然他得分效率不高，可面对的是联盟顶尖2号位韦德，这种表现对于一个新秀而言足以自傲了。

In the back-to-back games on the second day, the Rockets, who returned as the starter, never gave the Grizzlies any chance. They beat their opponents with a 21-point victory in the away game and started the winning mode again.

As Wang Yuanfei said, a real rich team dares to lose and can afford to lose.The key is to win more games after losing, win until the opponent is afraid, and win until the championship is won.

(End of this chapter)