Zhiba NBA

Chapter 27 (26) Difficult second half

During the period when Wang Zhizhi's deal took shape, the Rockets had one win and one loss against the Jazz at home and away, and then won the Heat at home, with a record of 37-14.After Wang Zhizhi came to Xiucheng, it was a rare three-day rest time.Accompanied by Yao Ming, Yuan Fei found him immediately.There is a poem in the ancients: "Meet an old friend in a foreign land." Of course, there is joy when the three Chinese meet in Houston on the other side of the ocean. Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi, the two leading giants of Chinese basketball, hugged each other as soon as they met.

"Big Zhi, let me introduce you. This is Jason Wang, the chief data analyst of the Rockets." Yao Ming did not forget the business, and made the introduction first. "His Chinese is as good as you and me, we can talk in Chinese."

"Hello, Mr. Wang Zhizhi. I can also be regarded as the manager of the team. In the future, we will not only be compatriots, but also work partners. I hope you can play hard and make enough contributions to the team." Yuan Fei said with a smile: "Of course, the team will never treat you badly. Boss Alexander knows your situation very well. Out of importance, he has already communicated with the Basketball Association and wants to go to BJ to talk about your affairs in person."

"Huh?" Wang Zhizhi was extremely surprised.

"If the negotiation goes well, you can continue to play for the national team. The previous conflicts can also be resolved smoothly, and you don't need to have psychological burdens. You just need to play hard with Yao. I hope you can prove that we Chinese can also play a world in the NBA."

"This...is really great." Dazhi spoke clumsily, so excited that he didn't know what to say.

"Big Zhi is really not good at words like in the legend." Yuan Fei whispered in Yao Ming's ear.

"Actually...he was a bit shy, but not so serious. He must be very happy." Yao Ming explained.

***
It was only later that Yuan Fei realized that the rumor about Wang Zhizhi's lack of communication was caused by Dazhi's poor English.The Mavericks have only one coach who can speak Chinese, and he is responsible for guiding Big Zhi.The tactics of the Mavericks are very complicated, and it is difficult for Wang Zhizhi to understand the coach's deployment, so it has been difficult to guarantee playing time.When the Rockets have two Chinese, Yao Ming and Yuan Fei, his situation is much better.

Yao Ming brought a translator named Pan Kelun.He lived directly in Yao Ming's home, which greatly helped Yao Ming's English level.Moreover, Yao Ming is more cheerful than Dazhi, and he is more willing to exchange and joke with his teammates in the locker room, which helps to improve his listening and speaking skills.

On the other hand, Alexander successfully completed his visit to China.The officials of the Basketball Association knew that Yao Ming, the national pride of their side, was in the hands of this old man, and they also respected Yali.On the issue of Wang Zhizhi, the differences between the two sides are actually not huge.The Basketball Association’s decision to expel him stemmed to a certain extent from the pressure of public opinion after defeating the Busan Asian Games. Since Wang Zhizhi had the idea of ​​admitting his mistakes, and Alexander, a person that the Basketball Association could not offend, was willing to mediate, it was logical that the problem was resolved.

In this way, the Rockets have the Yao Wang duo and have completely become the home team of Chinese fans. There is no need to worry about the live broadcast ratings in the future;

***
2月18日，火箭来到斯台普斯球馆迎战湖人。奥尼尔再度缺席，姚明对位沃克爆发，打出了24+14+3的不错数据，但科比.布莱恩特打出了神级发挥，全场38投19中狂砍52+8+7。而麦迪手感不佳连连打铁，仅有19+9+6进账。最终火箭经过加时赛不敌湖人。

The next day, back-to-back away games against the Suns, Dameng took a break, and Wang Zhizhi made his debut on behalf of the Rockets.He scored 19+13 in 5 minutes, and the center Magloire before the Rockets did not fall behind.In the end, the Rockets won 117 to 98.

2月21日，火箭队主场经过恶战再负小牛队，诺维斯基20投11中得到了34+11。火箭与小牛的战绩差距拉大到了4场半。

In the next month, the state of the Rockets fluctuated. First, they regrouped and played a wave of 3 consecutive victories, but the Wizards Spurs and Pistons lost another wave of 5 consecutive victories, and then another wave of [-] consecutive victories.

其中3月14日的比赛，火箭客场30分大胜公牛。榜眼杰.威廉姆斯只得到了5分1助攻，愤怒的公牛主场球迷甚至打出了“我们要姚”的大横幅抗议球队交易状元签。

On March 3, a bad news came from the Rockets.Head coach Rudy Tomjanovich was diagnosed with bladder cancer and was unable to coach for the first time in his career.Assistant coach Larry Smith took his place temporarily and went away with the players.For a while, the team was in disarray. Tang Shuai had a good relationship with the players. His serious illness made the players distraught.The house leak happened to rain overnight, and McGrady entered the injured player list due to a back injury (historically, McGrady did miss part of the season due to a back injury).The Rockets lost consecutive away games to the Sonics and Trail Blazers, with a record of 18 wins and 46 losses.

而3月20日马刺和国王还在继续赢球，他们分别战胜了小牛湖人两大强敌，战绩达到了48胜19负和48胜21负。这波两连败使得火箭排名下滑到西部第四了。

Even the calm captain Olajuwon became anxious.At the beginning of the season, the boys played very well and gave the fans high expectations. In the middle of the season, they started to lose. Will these young people lose confidence?McGrady's injury is not serious, but the absence of Tang Shuai can easily make young players lose their spiritual mentors and get lost.

Another core player of the Rockets, Yao Ming, has entered a bottleneck period due to physical problems, commonly known as hitting the rookie wall (this kind of saying is to describe a rookie player who is suddenly in a sluggish state and difficult to improve at a certain point).For Yao Ming, who is used to the loose schedule of one or two games per week in the CBA, there are too many situations in the NBA where he plays consecutive games and even plays back-to-back away games.At the beginning, he was still able to persevere due to his youth, but as the season progressed, Yao Ming gradually felt too tired physically.

在种种不利因素下，火箭队仍然能有球员站出来拯救比赛。3月21日客战勇士，姚明尽管不适应对方快节奏的打法，仍然利用自己身材优势砍下了23+14。比卢普斯则贡献了火箭生涯的首次三双打出了13+11+12，杰弗森也爆发得到了26分。火箭117比107客场战胜了勇士。

On the 23rd, McGrady had an amazing performance when he came back against the Kings.He hit a quasi-triple-double of 41+10+9. When the Rockets trailed by 13 points in the first three quarters, Wang Zhizhi, the surprise soldier sent in the fourth quarter, exploded. He scored 5 points on 5-for-15 shooting in a single quarter.The final score was 111:109.After the game, the call that McGrady should be awarded the regular season MVP once again spread in the media.The Rockets' record surpassed the Kings (but due to the rules, the ranking is still fourth in the West).On this day, Tang Shuai formally submitted his resignation report.

24日背靠背战快船，大梦姚明轮休。奥库首发表现抢眼得到了16+12，替补出场的王治郅面对老东家得到了9分6篮板。火箭核心麦迪再度爆发得了38分，火箭108:90客场大胜。

26日又一次姚鲨对决，这次奥尼尔得到39分完全打爆了仅得6分的姚明。尽管麦迪打出了34+11+10的三双，但湖人还是从火箭主场带走了一场胜利。赛后道森经理宣布，汤姆贾诺维奇主教练由于健康缘故无限期停职。

***
"Jason, now that Rudy is dying, what should we do?" Alexander was really stressed this time, and the playoffs were coming soon, but the head coach fell down.

"If you change the head coach, you have to re-run. The playoffs are less than a month away. It's better to use an assistant coach to lead the season. Whether Smith or Curry, it doesn't matter. We will continue to use Rudy's tactics to play the entire season. As for the new coach, we will study it in the offseason."

"Yeah!" Alexander nodded, he originally thought about it in the same way.Besides, it costs money to hire a new coach, so it is of course good to save money.

"It is still difficult for us to win the championship this year. I think it is more important for Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady to rest from now on."

"Then what about our ranking?"

"I'll explain it to you." Yuan Fei took out a pen and paper, and drew a table on the paper.

Team wins/losses
Calf 54/17
King 49/22
Spurs 50/20
Rocket 49/22
Timberwolves 45/27
Lakers 41/30
"The Mavericks lead us by 5 games. The advantage is relatively large. The season is coming to an end. It is almost impossible for us to catch up with them." Yuan Fei said.

"Indeed." Alexander nodded.

"As you know, the Western Conference is divided into the Central and Western Division and the Pacific Division (this is how the league was divided at the time). The Kings are No.1 in the Pacific Division and must be in the top two according to regulations, so their position cannot be shaken. We are 4 and a half games ahead of the Timberwolves, and the probability of them catching up with us is very low, so it is basically unnecessary to consider. So in fact, we only need to look at our record with the Spurs." It’s very difficult. It’s better to let Yao Ming and McGrady play and rest, and adjust to the best condition to prepare for the playoffs. In addition…”

"I see!" Alexander interrupted: "According to the current ranking, we will meet the weakest Timberwolves in the first round of the West, and the Spurs will meet the mighty Lakers in the first round."

"That's right boss! We have a good chance of winning against the Timberwolves, and leave such a difficult opponent as the Lakers to others."

"I'll tell Smith to arrange a rest!"

***
Sure enough, Yao Ming took a break from the next day's game against the Spurs.Without Yao Ming, the Rockets couldn't fight against the Spurs twin towers. Duncan played 25+14+8 dominant data, and the Rockets lost by 13 points.

In the next period of time, Yao Ming and McGrady took turns to rest, even Billups and Wallace.Except for Wang Zhizhi, who has less playing time and can guarantee physical fitness, almost everyone on the Rockets team has been absent from the team and rested.Fortunately, the Rockets have a good bench, and a 4 wins and 4 losses can be considered passable.

There are only two days left until the end of the season, but Yuan Fei began to frown.He suddenly found that there seemed to be a problem with one of his plans.

　What went wrong with Jason Wang's plan?Any guesses?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)