Versatile Point Forward

Chapter 112 The fellow meets fellow
In just his second professional match, Ye Feng became the hero of the city of Portland.The professional arena is the cruelest and purest place, as long as you perform well, you can win the respect of others.And Ye Feng's ultra-long three-pointer undoubtedly made all the Trail Blazers fans worship him. The quasi-triple-double of 25 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists in the game proved the vision of the team's management, especially in the second quarter. In the second half, he led the second team to scramble for points on the field, allowing every fan to see the future of the team.It can be said that the Spurs lost to him alone, which is a great honor for a rookie.

But the excitement of beating the Spurs soon passed, and the Blazers lost consecutive away games to the Suns and Jazz.This is not surprising, the Suns still continue their crazy offense, the combination of Nash and Stoudemire is an unsolvable problem for the remaining 29 teams in the league, not to mention that they still have O'Neal who is still young.The Jazz's new version of "Utah Shuangsha" has gradually matured. The combination of Deron + Boozer seems to be repeating the path that their predecessors Stockton + Malone have traveled. The pick-and-roll is the simplest but also the most effective. The tactics continue to flourish.It is not surprising that the Blazers lost to these two teams.

But the players didn't think so, and everyone was suffocating.Defeating the Spurs in the second game made them think that the team had started to get on the right track. Unexpectedly, they suffered a two-game losing streak immediately after, which knocked them back to their original form.That's when the benefits of a young team kick in, they're just pissed off and eager to win the next game, not frustrated.Ye Feng was also one of the unhappy people. The excitement of winning the Spurs had long been exhausted. Now he only wanted to win a victory for the team.Although his performance during the two-game losing streak was quite good, it was not enough.

After the team flew back to Portland from Salt Lake City, Ye Feng received a strange call just after getting off the plane.He hesitated and pressed the answer button, there was a deep and deep voice on the other end of the phone, and it was actually speaking Chinese!Ye Feng held the phone in a daze, but the voice pierced into his ears: "Hi, Ye Feng, I didn't expect another Chinese to appear in the NBA so soon, I can only say that that guy Duffy did too much secrecy." Alright. The next game will be a duel between us, of course we won't be facing each other, but I don't think you would object to having a meal together before the game, right?"

Ye Feng raised his eyebrows and asked in disbelief: "Brother Yao?" The other end of the phone laughed and said, "That's right, it's me, how about it? Do you have time to have a meal together? Our plane will arrive before noon today Portland." Ye Feng nodded again and again, regardless of the fact that the other party couldn't see his movements, he said loudly: "No problem, as a junior student, I will treat you to this meal. After getting off the plane, I will call you directly. My phone number is fine." The other party agreed with a smile, and hung up the phone without delay.The "beep" busy tone on the phone didn't wake Ye Feng up from the shock, in fact his mind is still blank now.No way, as a Chinese player, it is already a great honor to receive a call from Yao Ming and have dinner together.

Auden, who was sitting next to Ye Feng, couldn't understand Chinese, but he could tell that Ye Feng was in extreme surprise and excitement.He patted Ye Feng on the shoulder and asked, "Ye, what's the matter with you? Is there a girl who wants to date you, and you are too excited?" The strength of Oden's bear's paw was not a joke, Ye Feng felt his shoulder As soon as it hurt, he immediately woke up and listened to Oden's words in his ears.He smiled maliciously and said, "It's true to date, but it's a pity that it's not a date with a girl..." Before he finished speaking, Auden's eyes widened in "horror": "God, do you like men? I have to stay away from you this time!"

Ye Feng scolded angrily: "Get out, is it gay to date the same sex? Can you let me finish my sentence? I'm going to have dinner with a fellow villager with me at noon today. You must have heard of him, and he is also the guy you want tonight." The opposing player." Now Oden's panic was not faked, he lost his voice: "God, do you want to have dinner with Yao? No wonder you laughed so obscenely just now..."

Oden's reaction was completely within Ye Feng's expectations. Even if Yao Ming is not the number one center in the league at this stage, he is definitely one of the top few. Oden alone cannot stand against him.Ye Feng didn't intend to appease Auden, it was good to make the big man nervous, he picked up his mobile phone again and skillfully booked a double seat for noon in the restaurant he often went to, and went directly to ask McMillan for leave.This kind of thing is not uncommon in the NBA. When McMillan heard that he was going to have dinner with Yao Ming, he readily granted him a leave of absence. He just asked to report on time during the training before the game at night.

After arriving at the restaurant, Ye Feng directly sent the address to Yao Ming by text message, then asked the waiter to bring a cup of warm water, and waited slowly on the seat.About half an hour later, a tall figure walked in from the door of the restaurant. If it wasn't Yao Ming, who else?Ye Feng quickly waved his hand and shouted in Chinese: "Brother Yao, this way!" Yao Ming took a closer look, with a gentle smile on his face, and strode over.But his height has become the focus of the entire restaurant. Some fans who were dining recognized this big man, and hurriedly took out the autograph book from their bags, hoping that Yao Ming could sign for him.

Facing the demands of the fans, Yao Ming is naturally responsive. He is a gentle person. Unless there are too many fans, he can almost say that he will not refuse anyone.Of course, these Blazers fans also recognized Ye Feng, the rookie that the team had just drafted this year, and they also enthusiastically asked Ye Feng to sign his name.Seeing that Yao Ming signed autograph books without hesitation, Ye Feng was naturally not far behind, and this was also of great help to his popularity in Portland.The two moved their pens like flying, and it took a while for the fans to return to their seats.

After the two sat down, Ye Feng quickly handed the menu to Yao Ming, and said with a smile: "Brother Yao, you are a guest from afar, you can order first!" Yao Ming shook his head with a smile and said, "Since I am a guest from afar, Then it's up to you, order it yourself, I'm not familiar with this restaurant, so I probably won't be able to order their signature dishes." Seeing Yao Ming's resolute refusal, Ye Feng was not pretentious, took the menu and ordered After a few more distinctive dishes, the waiter served two cups of coffee, and the two chatted.

Yao Ming opened up the conversation first. He took a sip of his coffee and said, "Xiao Feng, don't you mind if I call you that? Have you watched the BJ Olympics this summer?" I watched every game, maybe because it was at home, I think the team played very well from the inside to the outside, and it was incredible to be able to play back and forth with the United States and Spain! Of course Yao Brother, your performance is indeed the No. [-] center in Asia, maybe you can also be regarded as the No. [-] center in the world? Without you, I really don’t know if the Chinese men’s basketball team can qualify for the group stage!”

Yao Ming waved his hand and said, "Don't talk so much about flattery. Even if I'm covered in iron, how many nails can I drive? I just want to ask, are you interested in representing the Chinese men's basketball team in the 2012 London Olympics?" Ye Feng With a smile, there was no surprised expression at all. When Yao Ming mentioned the BJ Olympics, he knew what was going to happen next.But Ye Feng neither intends to agree nor refuses, because this kind of matter is not up to Yao Ming.He pondered for a moment, and said solemnly: "Brother Yao, to be honest, as a Chinese, I would like to play for the country, but I have to agree with the basketball league to join the team, right? They are so relieved to let me play in the American basketball team Will the players who grew up in the atmosphere join the national team? You must know that I have a different concept from other players.”

The so-called "American basketball atmosphere", Yao Ming naturally heard Ye Feng's implication, but this is determined by China's national conditions.He smiled wryly and said: "You are right, but since you have the heart, I will deal with it for you at that time. You also played in the NBA for four years in 2012. I believe you can bring some good things to the Chinese men's basketball team." The same thing. If it weren't for our relatively lagging news, you might have fought side by side with me this year."

Ye Feng smiled lightly and didn't say anything. He knew that if he wanted to be selected for the national team, the officials of the basketball association still had to discuss it.He didn't intend to continue entangled in this topic, and asked instead: "Brother Yao, you entered the NBA six seasons earlier than me, you can be said to be my senior, how do you survive in the highest level basketball league in the world?" , I think you already have some understanding of your own, can you guide me a little bit? It will also save me from detours."

Seeing Ye Feng's sincere expression, Yao Ming smiled from the bottom of his heart. Of course he is willing to guide his juniors, but he will not take the initiative to say it unless others ask.He thought about it carefully, and said slowly: "In the NBA, the most important thing is balance. In many aspects, you need to find a balance point. Should you pursue status, or unite your teammates? Do you want to score crazy points, or To organize the offense? These are all things that you need to explore slowly in the game. But in many cases, if you don’t fight, you will fight. The things that I have been pursuing hard, including the team's tactical status, including a higher number of years and a large contract, and even the approval of teammates, fans and experts, have all been inadvertently obtained."

(End of this chapter)