Junior Basketball says

Chapter 218
The anti-lore Lakers gave the Timberwolves more confidence. They returned to the home court and extended their winning streak to three games. However, the competition in the West is very fierce. With a winning rate of just over 50%, they can only be ranked seventh for the time being. Pretty good for them.

After two home games, the Timberwolves ushered in a wave of speechless five-game streak, which is obviously a severe test.Any NBA player will not like consecutive away games, which means that they will spend most of their time on the plane, and rest and training will not be well guaranteed.The only thing they expect is that the opponent's strength is not so strong, so that they can get more rest time during the game, and the head coach will try to limit the playing time of the main players to prepare for other games.

The first stop of the Timberwolves' five-game streak is Houston, which makes Xu Hao very happy.Before that, he had obtained Yao Ming's phone number from a reporter he was familiar with, and had sent several text messages to each other, but he had never met in real life. Once Xu Hao finally had the opportunity to meet this Chinese basketball legend.

Yao Ming can indeed be said to be the greatest player in the history of Chinese basketball, not even one of them. In 1997, the 17-year-old Yao Ming embarked on the road of professional basketball. In the second year, he was selected for the national team coached by Wang Fei. In the same year, as the main center of the Shanghai team, he won the No.5 CBA League with the team. He averaged 10 points per game in his rookie season. A quasi-double-double in points and 8.3 rebounds.

很快逐渐成熟的姚明成为了CBA赛场的大杀器，2001-02赛季场均能够砍下32.4分、19个篮板和4.8次封盖，投篮命中率高达72.1%。在与八一队的总决赛当中，姚明场均得到41.3分、21个篮板和4.3次封盖，帮助上海得到了队史第一座CBA总冠军奖杯。

Such a giant with outstanding skills won the favor of NBA teams by virtue of his own performance. In the 2002 draft, the Rockets selected Yao Ming with the first overall pick in the first round. He also inherited the team's center tradition.With O'Neal slowly aging, Yao Ming is already recognized as the league's number one center, and he is also not for sale and the absolute inside core of the Rockets.

Xu Hao has never played against Yao Ming, but just watching his game can feel the tremendous pressure he puts on the opponent at the basket. The height of 2.26 meters is almost an unsolvable barrier under the basket. Of course, it is not that there are no players who have successfully challenged, but more people have lost in front of Yao Ming. It is commonplace to eat hats, and even Howard the Warcraft can’t take it to what cheap.

Before boarding the plane, Xu Hao sent a text message to Yao Ming, directly requesting to meet before the match.What Xu Hao didn't expect was that Yao Ming quickly replied to the text message and set the venue at Yao's restaurant in Houston, the night before the game.This made Xu Hao feel flattered, and couldn't help but look forward to this away trip even more.

Minneapolis, where the Timberwolves are located, is not far from Houston. Three hours later, Xu Hao and his flight finally landed at George Bush International Airport in Houston.Houston is much warmer than Minnesota, which is icy and snowy. Xu Hao is also very envious of Yao Ming. It is very comfortable for any player to play in such a place where the seasons are like spring.

Naturally, you have to report to the head coach when you go out to eat with fellow countrymen. In fact, McHale has a good personal relationship with Yao Ming, and he also knows the feelings of Chinese players towards their compatriots, so he readily agreed to Xu Hao's request.Of course, McHale did not forget to tell Xu Hao not to drink too much. If he did not control the amount, it would greatly affect the next day's training.

Thanks to Yao Ming, the attitude of Houstonians towards the Chinese is still very friendly. After Xu Hao reported the address of Yao’s Restaurant, the driver uncle even chatted with him proudly.Now Yao Ming, a Chinese, has become one of the symbols of Houston. Almost everyone in Houston knows the Yao restaurant he opened, and the driver is also familiar with driving.

Yao Restaurant is located at 9755 Westheimer Street, the most prosperous high-end dining street in the XC District of Houston. Its appearance is more western-style, but you can see the big Yao on the wall and the logo written in seal script from a long distance away.There are all kinds of luxury cars parked at the entrance, it can be seen that the business of Yao Restaurant is very good, but most people probably go there for Yao Ming's fame rather than the food.

Xu Hao paid the fare, walked into the lobby of Yao Restaurant, and walked to the box that Yao Ming mentioned in the text message under the guidance of the waiter.Although it was already lunch time, as the owner of Yao Restaurant, it was very easy for Dayao to reserve a box.

After thanking the waiter who led the way, Xu Hao opened the door and walked in. Yao Ming sat on the main seat and looked at him with a smile.Xu Hao hurried forward and stretched out his hands: "Brother Yao, I am very glad to have the opportunity to have dinner with you. I have been famous for you for a long time."

Yao Ming shook hands with him and said with a smile: "I should be the one who said this. I started to pay attention to you when you played in the NCAA. You still have great potential. I also played against the Lakers before." Look, well done!"

Xu Hao smiled shyly: "Brother Yao, don't praise me, you are the vane of our Chinese players. This is only my rookie season, and I still need to learn from you seniors. Mention it."

Yao Ming was very satisfied with Xu Hao's humble attitude. He asked the waiter to start serving the food and prepared to chat while eating.This is Yao Ming's eighth season in the NBA. He has his own philosophy on how to survive in the NBA. In fact, it is still very difficult for a Chinese to gain a foothold in the league, let alone become a top star in the league. , that requires more effort.

However, Yao Ming generously shared his experience with Xu Hao, mainly about how to get along with teammates, how to find the right position in the tactical system, and how to deal with picky reporters. Of course, the topic of serving the country is indispensable.Both of them tacitly did not talk about the game the next night. This is also the quality of a professional player. Friendship is friendship, and the game is the game.

The dinner was a joy for the host and guests, and Xu Hao also learned a lot from Yao Ming, a big brother, which was a very valuable gain for him.For a rookie, there is nothing more valuable than these things. No matter how powerful or talented you are, you must first ensure that you can survive in this league, gain the right to speak, and finally gain room for continued growth.Yao Ming is obviously a very good example. He has achieved what Chinese players have never achieved. He is Xu Hao's role model.

(End of this chapter)