Zhiba NBA

Chapter 25 (24) Yao Shark War

Yao Ming's brilliant performance of consecutive double-doubles conquered the American media.Sports Illustrated once again put Yao Ming's photo on the cover with the title "Yao Next Year".And ESPN also gave a very high evaluation-an analysis article "Who is the second center in the NBA", which praised Yao Ming as the second center after O'Neal in just 2 months.

The media is like this, and the fans are even more so.Yao Ming led O'Neal all the way in the All-Star Game voting, and he has a great tendency to become the starting center in the Western Conference.

(Small knowledge: The All-Star Game began in 1951. The main purpose is to attract attention by bringing together star players in the league, increase popularity and influence, and ultimately increase player income. In the era of the article, the rule is that fans vote for 1 center, 2 forwards, and 2 guards to become the starters of the All-Star Game.)
Now that Yao Ming has received such high praise and attention, people can't help but start to compare him with O'Neal.The Rockets are the league's No. 20 dark horse, and the Lakers are the defending champions and Triple Crown champions. The meeting between the two is very exciting.In the last game of Fire Lake, O'Neal was absent, Yao Ming scored [-] points for the first time to lead the team to victory, and let Barkley kiss the ass of the donkey.This time O'Neill is here, but it's not that simple.

Yao Ming is also looking forward to the upcoming matchup with O'Neal, but he has to face the current game first:

1月4日新年首战，快节奏的勇士给高大的姚明带来了很多麻烦，最终结果是88:91火箭捍卫主场。勇士的年轻中锋墨菲表现出色得到了23+10，姚明得到了11+17（真实数据）。

In the home game against Timberwolves on the 7th, Billups finally proved his worth against his old club. He hit a quasi-triple double of 14+7+11, and the Rockets defeated their opponents by 8 points.

8日背靠背客战魔术，长途跋涉使得火箭队员开始感到疲惫。大梦照常轮休，姚明首发打了37分钟得到23+11完全打爆了同级生古登，麦迪也贡献了27+5。101:81火箭客场大胜。

10日火箭远征亚特兰大，这也是将要举行全明星赛的场馆。这次火箭连日跋涉的疲劳终于爆发了，尽管麦迪22投14中得到了40分，但其他球员完全失准。89:94老鹰爆冷战胜了火箭。

11日火箭回到主场对阵弱旅掘金，最终仅以85:90险胜对手。结束了这段5天4战3客场的险恶赛程。赛季初火箭赛程比较松散，到了中期赛程密集，疲劳就是球员的大敌了。掘金的年轻巴西中锋内内.希拉里奥表现抢眼得到了14+10。火箭队比卢普斯得到了25+4+6，麦迪也贡献了26+7。

Then the Rockets took the Celtics at home, but were upset by the visiting Suns.Marbury, Marion, Stoudemire and Magloire each scored 20+ points, especially Stoudemire with 24+13 suppressed Yao Ming with 11+7. Ma also showed his strength in front of his old club.The fans in Houston still like Brother Ma very much, and gave him warm applause when he dunked.After the game, Dameng also kindly invited the younger generation Magloire to have dinner.

休息一天后，17日球迷久盼的重头戏来了。28胜9负的火箭主场迎战18胜20负但迎来了奥尼尔回归的完整阵容湖人。尚未开赛，大梦却先语出惊人。

"Let Yao start. The audience wants to see his confrontation with the Sharks." Olajuwon gave this suggestion empathetically: "I'm getting old, so I'll be Yao's substitute in the future." Tang Shuai followed suit and put Yao Ming on the starting lineup.

The starting players from both sides made their appearances, Yao Ming, Wallace, Turkoglu, McGrady, Billups against O'Neal, Walker, Fox, Bryant and Fisher.

At the beginning of the game, O'Neal leaned against Yao Ming on the inside to ask for the ball. After receiving the ball, he took advantage of the opportunity to hit Yao Ming with a big PG, and Yao Ming was no longer the rookie who was bullied by another (Jermaine) O'Neal.He lowered his center of gravity and was not pushed away by Ao Pang. When Ao Pang turned over and made a hook, Yao Ming suddenly raised his hand to meet him.

"Crack!" With a big hat, Yao Ming gave O'Neill a big Chinese hot pot with the first ball!The fans in the audience were all erupted.

"Great!" Parker and other substitute players also applauded Yao Ming one after another.

And Yao Ming didn't slack off. Seeing Billups get the ball, he also started to run wildly.At this time, Dayao hadn't gained weight yet, and his speed was quite good, but Ao Pang couldn't keep up.Yao Ming ran directly to the inside of the Lakers, and when he received the pass, he dunked it. 0:2 The Rockets scored first.Seeing this slam dunk, Dameng laughed loudly and said, "It seems that letting Yao Xianfa is indeed the right choice, the boy didn't let me down!"

Dameng laughed too early, and the surprise was still to come.On the court, Bryant made a three-pointer to overtake the score.The Rockets McGrady missed a jumper and the Lakers regained the ball.O'Neill was eager to save face, and a hook shot took Yao Ming's cap.Yao Ming received a pass from Tracy McGrady and scored with a hook. The Rockets took the lead again 3:4.

The Rockets soldiers on the bench were already laughing happily.Hey, O'Neal, the number one superstar in the league, the MVP of the three consecutive finals, was taught by our rookie today.Here Kobe and Fox made consecutive shots, and the Lakers took the lead again 8:4.

Yao Ming received another pass from McGrady and made a jump shot.O'Neal couldn't bear it anymore, and reached out for the ball again, this time he chose to throw.As a result, I ate the third big hat!
这次连火箭球员都不敢相信了，不少主场球迷都呆住了。姚明开局3分钟就4投3中得了6分并送出了3记盖帽（史上真实事件）。这位新秀真的要虐杀大鲨鱼不成？
Of course, O'Neal just got off to a slow start, and it's not true that he couldn't beat Yao Ming.Soon he found the feeling and continued to attack.And Yao Ming couldn't confront the powerful O'Neal head-on, and he lost his sight when shooting.At the end of the first half, O'Neal made 10 of 5 shots and scored 11+4+3, while Yao Ming missed 4 shots and still only had 6 points and 3 blocks.Similar to Yao Ming, another superstar of the Lakers, Kobe Bryant, suddenly lost his touch after hitting two three-pointers in a row. Under McGrady's defense, he hit the iron again and again, and scored 2+12+2 on 10 of 7 shots in the first half.McGrady made 7 of 8 shots and scored 5+15+5. The two superstars of Comey were inextricably fighting each other.The score of the two teams is also quite close to 3:47.

The Rockets returned to the locker room, and Yao Ming kept panting heavily.Fighting the shark for nearly 20 minutes took a lot of his energy.This season has only played more than 30 games so far, which is less than half of the regular season, but this is almost equivalent to the amount of games in the CBA for a whole year.For Yao Ming, such a large number of games and intensive schedule made him very uncomfortable.

"I can't do it anymore, I can't take it anymore." It was Wallace who yelled first. "That Samaki Walker is too strong. I couldn't handle him and had to defend Yao. That shark knocked Yao and me into the air!"

"My opinion is that in the third quarter, the small running and bombing lineup, no matter how strong O'Neal is, speed is not his strong point. Use Okur to consume his physical energy, and we will have a decisive battle in the fourth quarter. What do you think?" Tang Shuai has always been a democratic coach. He respects the opinions of the players very much, and is also deeply loved by the players.

"I think it's very good. I'll be the substitute for the inside in the third quarter, so that Yao can rest." Dameng said.

"Leave it to us." Okur was also full of confidence.

"Our internal rotation is indeed a bit weak, Jason." Taking advantage of the players' chatter, Tang Shuai approached Yuanfei and whispered: "It's okay for Magloire and Thomas to go one, but two at a time, the depth of the interior is a little bit lower." This is obviously not suitable for public speaking, otherwise it would be disrespectful to Bryant and Long, two Wannian substitutes.

"I have considered this issue. Please rest assured that I will report to the boss on the suitable candidates and strive for results before the transfer deadline." Yuan Fei seemed confident.

***
"The Rockets often use small ball tactics in the third quarter. Shaq, you have to be careful." The wise old man with a white beard (resembling a KFC sign) who spoke is naturally the current gold medal coach in the NBA.

"Haha, I'm not afraid of their juggling." Big Shark said proudly: "Warriors like to play fast basketball like that, isn't it the same as a bad team? Basketball relies on a super center, the Rockets? Hakeem is old, Yao can't do it!"

"We also need to be prepared. If you don't cope well, go down and rest, and we will decide the outcome in the fourth quarter." Jackson said calmly.

***
At the beginning of the second half, although the Lakers players were prepared under the reminder of Phil Jackson, they were still surprised to see the Rockets.

Okur, Turkoglu, McGrady, Reid and Parker came on stage and stood in front of them.

"McGrady's body is fine for playing small forward, but that Turkish beard should match me? Can he play inside?" Robert Hawley wondered.

But soon the Lakers tasted the pain, because these five players were too strong in long-range shots.McGrady has the strongest attack power and can't let it go. Needless to say, Reed is a sharp shooter. Even Turkoglu and Okur can pull out to shoot three-pointers. O'Neal and Hawley can only defend them.

Turkoglu scored another three-pointer, and the Rockets led by 5 points! "Is there any mistake, how do these guys feel so good?" Holly roared.

"Is it just a good hand feeling?" Yuan Fei sneered on the sidelines and flipped through his data.This season, Turkoglu's three-point shooting percentage is 37.2%, Okur 35.9%, Reed 43.8%, while the league average is 34.9%, and the Rockets are all above average.

McGrady broke through and dunked, causing Fox to foul, 2+1, and the point difference was 8 points!

Although the Rockets can't prevent O'Neal, as long as they attack before the Lakers settle down, the success rate is frighteningly high.Jackson finally couldn't sit still and replaced O'Neal.

Tang Shuai soon replaced Olajuwon and Jefferson, and the battle of the twin towers began again.Another wave of crushing on Samaki Walker.After the Sharks went down, the Lakers' inside height was obviously insufficient.At the end of the third quarter 72:84 the Rockets are already far ahead.

In the fourth quarter, the rested sharks began to show their teeth and claws again, and Yao Ming, who was also in full condition, also went up to meet him.Another fierce battle.

最终湖人104比108不敌火箭。奥尼尔赢了数据输了球，他砍下了31+13+4，科比则打出了22+11+9的准三双。火箭方面麦迪44+11+6。大姚这场完全是高开低走，开局6分3盖帽，结束也只有10分10篮板3盖帽，不过对位奥尼尔打出两双也算不错了。

This is the end of the first Yao Shark battle.

After the game, Yao Ming, who played the full fourth quarter, collapsed in the locker room, almost collapsed.The reporters surrounded him and asked, "Yao, how do you feel?" Yao Ming replied weakly, "I'm still alive..."

(End of this chapter)