December has arrived, and the regular season has been underway for over a month.
The Suns have started the season with a 17-game winning streak, and this streak may continue. The Suns' opponents in the next few games are relatively weak, and as long as there are no major upsets, there is no doubt that they will win the games.
Besides the sun...
Two other teams in the West have the same record, tied for second place: the Spurs and the Rockets, both with a 14-3 record.
This summer, McGrady had a minor conflict with the Magic's management and cried and made a fuss about wanting to be transferred. The Magic's management granted McGrady's wish and traded him to the Rockets for players such as Francis and Mobley.
McGrady ranked second in the league in scoring average for his first two seasons.
If it weren't for Wei Guo... McGrady would probably have two scoring titles by now. But Wei Guo was an almost bug-like presence, so McGrady's trade value is extremely high, after all, this was the era of the 'Big Four Shooting Guards'.
McGrady didn't perform very well when he first joined the Rockets.
In the first ten games, they only scored more than 30 points in three games, averaging just over 20 points per game. However, two other players on the Rockets have emerged: Yao Ming and Gu Tao.
For the Rockets, Yao Ming and Gu Tao are not for sale. The owner is Chinese, so naturally he will support his fellow countrymen first. As long as Gu Tao and Yao Ming do not actively seek trades, the two will most likely play for the Rockets until retirement.
Gu Tao's nickname is "Mathematician," which is related to his university major and also to his playing style.
Gu Tao plays with great precision, every move seemingly calculated. Everyone knows that Gu Tao is destined to become a superstar. Even Kobe invited Gu Tao to train with him during the offseason. It was more of a mutual exchange than a training session. Kobe would teach Gu Tao some offensive techniques, while Gu Tao would tell Kobe how to play more effectively.
Jeff Van Gundy has been appointed as the head coach of the Houston Rockets.
The first thing he did was to put Gu Tao at point guard. This wasn't a particularly bold decision, because Gu Tao was a swingman, which overlapped with McGrady's position.
Gu Tao and McGrady will inevitably have to make a choice...
Van Gundy believes Gu Tao can definitely play point guard well, and might even surprise the league.
Judging from these dozen or so games, Van Gundy's decision was correct. Gu Tao, who averaged 17 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists per game, can be considered an All-Star level point guard.
......
Let's get back to the game between the Rockets and the Spurs.
Starting lineup for this match:
Rockets: Gu Tao, Sura, McGrady, Juwan Howard, Yao Ming
Spurs: Parker, Ginobili, Bowen, Horry, Duncan
At the Rockets' home arena, Wei Guo, who hasn't played a game in the past two days, brought his parents and Britney to cheer on the Rockets.
My former employer...
The audience still has a deep affection for Wei Guo.
When Wei Guo arrived, the audience cheered continuously, and many were so moved that they shed tears. Wei Guo had no choice but to stand up and wave to the audience behind him before the show started.
"mVp!"
"mVp!"
"mVp!"
The audience responded loudly to Wei Guo's salute.
In this arena, this is a moment that belongs solely to Wei Guo. McGrady felt a pang of sadness watching it all... He's been with the Rockets for over a month, yet he's not as popular as this 'veteran' who left the Rockets two seasons ago.
After consulting with the referee and the technical staff, the referee came over and asked Wei Guo to kick off the match.
This not-too-excessive request was directly rejected by Wei Guo.
It's a competition...
Why bother letting him kick off? He's not retired, and tonight he's just an ordinary spectator.
"Beep!!!"
The game began with the sound of the whistle.
Yao Ming and Tim Duncan jumped for the ball, and Duncan passed it to Tony Parker... Yao Ming's success rate in jumping for the ball is not high.
Jump ball success rate is not a very meaningful statistic. Apart from the start of the game, the probability of a jump ball in a game is very low. In recent years, the players with the highest jump ball success rates are O'Neal, followed by Duncan, who are ranked second and third respectively.
The first one is Wei Guo!
Yao Ming, who is nearly 2.3 meters tall, has a jump ball success rate of just over 50%.
Wei Guo pointed to the court and said to his parents, "The key to the Rockets winning this game is whether Yao Ming can limit Duncan's performance. I've seen Yao Ming's stats this season, averaging 20+10, which is a big improvement from his rookie season."
Britney didn't know much about basketball; her eyes were only on Weiguo. She held onto Weiguo's mother's arm with one hand, listening to Weiguo talk and watching the game on the court.
In the league, only Wei Guo is qualified to comment on any player at will.
On the Spurs' first possession, Bowen received a pass, but missed a mid-range shot, and Juwan grabbed the defensive rebound.
Gu Tao organized the attack.
While dribbling, he signaled to his teammates how to move...
He has an extremely high IQ and is a qualified court commander. Physical talent may determine Gu Tao's ceiling, but with his ability, he would have no problem ranking in the top ten in the league during his peak.
The Spurs' defense was as solid as an iron wall!
After receiving a pass from Gu Tao, McGrady faked a shot and then pulled up for a jump shot.
"bang~~~"
McGrady's shot also missed!
The first quarter of the game...
Neither team had a good shooting night, and both teams are good at defense, so their offense was slow.
18:12!!
At the end of the first quarter, the Spurs had only scored 12 points, while the Rockets led by 6 points because they had more free throws than the Spurs.
Duncan went 0-for-3, Yao Ming 1-for-5, McGrady 2-for-7, and Gu Tao 1-for-3. Everyone's shooting percentage was low, especially Duncan... He didn't score a single point in the first quarter. Britney recognized Duncan and said with a coquettish smile, "Honey, is your mouth blessed?"
"Why do you say that?" Wei Guo asked, puzzled.
Britney said, "You said the Rockets want to win the game by limiting Duncan's performance, but I just counted, and it seems like Duncan didn't make a single basket."
"This is the beginning..."
Wei Guo said with a smile, "The Spurs have always been a strong team, and Popovich's coaching ability is also on point. They will be able to adjust quickly."
"You mean... the Spurs will take the lead in the second quarter?"
"I don't know if we can take the lead, but the Spurs will definitely have players step up and score."
"who?"
Wei Guo looked at the Spurs' bench, pointing at it with his finger, "It's like calling out soldiers and generals, riding horses to battle, whoever's called comes with me, and if you don't, you're a little dog..."
The last word fell on Ginobili.
Wei Guo had his answer and told Britney, "Ginobili will step up and score."
Britney, who was already fluent in Chinese, naturally understood what Wei Guo was saying and exclaimed in astonishment, "Isn't this too hasty?"
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