NBA Building Cardinals

Chapter 29 Yao Mai Combination
"Coach... I can't do it!! Let me go, I... I really can't run anymore." Wallace cried and slumped in the middle of the field with a tired face. I still can't figure it out. ?

Looking at Wallace lying on the ground, Liu Rui's mouth that had been tense all the time also evoked a smile, he was really an interesting guy.

"Come, come, gather, I have something important to announce."

Following Liu Rui's high-five, the players all put down the ball in their hands, and dared to come to this side at the first time. Looking at Wallace lying in the middle of the court, they laughed unabashedly.

"House, since you are smiling so happily, you can run for Gerrard for the remaining 30 laps."

"Ah, no, no, coach, you misunderstood me. I just thought of a joke and couldn't help laughing out loud. It's obviously Robinson, and he laughed the most just now!" House hurriedly hid behind Blazek, you couldn't see me, you couldn't see me...

The funny scene made everyone laugh, and even Wallace, who was lying on the ground, began to gloat over his misfortune.

"Okay, let's get down to business. The preseason is coming to an end. The team currently has 1 win and 2 losses, ranking third from the bottom in the East, only a little better than the Bulls and Bucks behind us."

"But the head of the Bulls is just the second-year rookie Hinrich."

"Of course, the outcome of the preseason is irrelevant. I also see your concentration. Overall, I am very satisfied."

"But you still exposed too many problems. In the next few days, you will train in groups. The insiders will mainly practice how to move the ball quickly, and the strikers will mainly practice how to move the ball to the bottom corner. We will play more like a team and make the opponent feel oppressed at all times."

"And Wallace, you can maintain your playing style, but this is based on the premise of your health. You have exposed the problem of your long-range shooting stability in the battle against the Celtics. This will be your main goal in the next practice. Do you understand?"

"Understood the coach!!" Wallace was always so focused when listening to Liu Rui discussing business.

"Very well. In fact, the main reason for calling everyone is because of the next game, which is our last preseason game. Our opponent is the Houston Rockets."

"The next game we will play at home, and I only have one requirement for this game, only success and no failure!!"

"Even though they are very powerful, they are still reorganized with a big change. There is no reason for you to be inferior to others." Liu Rui stared at the people in front of him, showing a rare dignified expression. In the previous games, Liu Rui always emphasized not caring about the results, but focusing on tactics and running-in.

"That... Coach, if I remember correctly, Yao Ming, the No. [-] pick in Houston, seems to be from the same place as you, and he even supported your remarks on TV not long ago..." Kapono carefully asked the question in his heart.

And this question also spread in the hearts of all players. Even Piccolo, who was sitting on the sidelines, put down the newspaper in his hand and looked at this side with the same expression of doubt.

When facing other teams, you don't care about winning or losing, but facing a team that also has Asian compatriots and openly supports you, you demand that you must win? ?

Could this be the legendary falling in love and killing each other? ?Damn, this young man...

Shaking his head, Bickerstaff looked back, picked up the newspaper next to him and read it with relish. Since the arrival of the little guy Liu Rui, this alliance has really become more and more interesting, and even the newspaper has become more exciting...

"That's right, Yao Ming is indeed my partner. Although we are not familiar with him at the moment, he is definitely a good player."

"But there are some things that I can't explain, and I can't explain them. You just need to know that the best respect for Yao Ming is to beat them fiercely on the field, because we are all Chinese."

"Remember, this battle can only be won, not lost, did you hear that!!"

"Yes!!"

Although everyone in the Bobcats team is confused, it is a long-established habit to resolutely carry out Liu Rui's orders. Even Piccolo often confesses to the players. I believe Liu Rui is right...

As the players practiced, Liu Rui turned around and explained a few words to Little Bickerstaff, walked to the side of the field alone, lowered his head to make changes on the tactical board, and looked at the black notebook at hand from time to time.

In the new season, the Rockets have experienced a major team change. The team completed a big deal with the old cat Mobuli through the original head star "Francis", and Yao Ming's substitute Kevin Cato and the Magic.

This trade also resulted in Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue and Liz Gaines parachuting to Houston.

And through the transaction with the Bulls, Mutombo was acquired, which brought a very experienced insider mentor to Yao Ming, and at the same time further solved the vacancy of the team's insider Cato.

Also dug up the Spurs' free agent "Charlie Ward" in the free market to enhance the team's backcourt firepower.

And as early as last season, after Jeff Van Gundy took over the Rockets as the coach, the increasingly mature Yao Ming teamed up with Francis and Mobley and finally returned to the playoffs after twists and turns.

It's a pity that they were unlucky, and they ran into the Lakers with the "Four Kings" in the first round of the playoffs.

Although the Yao-Sha matchup was eye-catching, it was extremely cruel. The Rockets lost 1-4 in the entire series.

This also made the Rockets realize that changes must be made, so they gritted their teeth and sent away Francis, Mobley and Cato in the summer of 2004.

In exchange for the injury-ridden scoring champion McGrady from the Magic, he wants to rely on the combination of Yao and McGrady to bring new glory to the Rockets.

In the new season, although the Rockets got Mutombo through a 3-for-1 deal, and with Juwan Howard who came with McGrady, the Rockets' internal strength was further improved.

But the problem is that for these two deals, the Rockets have almost used their entire backcourt line. The problem of bench depth will become the biggest nightmare for the Rockets in the new season.

Originally, Sura could slightly fill the vacancy at the point guard position.

But the season has not yet started, and he was injured and left in the preseason game. After being confirmed by the team doctor, he had to return until the end of the year.

Therefore, the Rockets can only use two third-rate guards, Old Ward and the unreusable Tyronn Lue, to play the important role of point guard.

Although the combination of Yao Ming and McGrady balances two scoring points, one inside and one outside, the overall balance of the team is not as good as last season.

Once Yao and Mai are marked or absent, the Rockets will not be able to find anyone who can score, although Jim Jackson can come in handy occasionally.

But at critical moments, especially his poor last shot in last year's narrow loss to the Lakers in Game [-] of last year's playoffs, it speaks volumes.

Others can only meet the requirements of defense.

This is also one of the main reasons why Liu Rui believes that the team has a chance to hunt the Rockets.

It is precisely because the season has not yet started that the Yao-Mai combination has a great reputation, whether it is popularity or strength, so that all teams in the league have not been able to see the hidden dangers of the Rockets for the time being, but this obviously does not include Liu Rui...

(End of this chapter)