The day before the derby, Xu Yong drove Yao Ming to his home for dinner.
Yao Ming hosted him for a banquet during the offseason. As the saying goes, reciprocity is the norm. Now that Yao Ming is in Chicago, he naturally has to play the role of host.
He even specially spent money to hire a Shanghainese chef in Chinatown and prepared a luxurious meal for Yao Ming.
"You are really brave." Yao Ming's first reaction when he entered the house rented by Xu Yong was surprise.
Although he has never been to Chicago, he has played in the NBA for so many years that he must know how chaotic Chicago is.
This is the city center of Chicago. How dare Xu Yong rent this place, and he seems to be living there peacefully?
"It's true that I was robbed, but I'm doing fine now. Maybe it's because I'm a good basketball player?" Xu Yong said with a smile. He didn't mention anything about his brother Ross.
Yao Ming laughed awkwardly after hearing this. This is Xu Yong's personality. But this can be barely explained.
"You are so polite. Do you want me to be gentler tomorrow?" Yao Ming said with a smile while looking at the large table of dishes.
In terms of pure strength, the Rockets are much stronger than the young Bulls.
"I haven't found the opportunity before. This is to thank you for your help last time, when T-mac taught me how to do the pull-up shot." Xu Yong explained.
When Yao Ming heard this, he nodded, but the smile on his face gradually disappeared.
There has been a lot of trouble between McGrady and the Rockets recently.
That’s right, McGrady didn’t listen to Xu Yong’s advice at the beginning, and the “seven-minute viewing time” in history arrived as scheduled.
This matter itself is quite complicated, and is very similar to the historical falling out between Leonard and the Spurs. In essence, the team doctor was unable to diagnose the player's problem, and the player sought surgery from a doctor without authorization, which resulted in the player being unable to be traded, and then the relationship broke down.
The Rockets also used their keyboard skills wisely, giving McGrady seven minutes not only showed other teams that McGrady could still play, but also did not give him time to find his form, while also avoiding the possibility of McGrady getting injured. It can be said that they had calculated everything.
But this actually also means that the countdown to McGrady's departure has begun.
"Where might McGrady go?" Xu Yong asked directly, and after asking, he signaled Yao Ming to start eating.
There is nothing to hide between him and Yao Ming.
And he was curious, too.
In history, McGrady was traded to the Knicks in a three-way deal, in exchange for the 2009 No. 8 pick Jordan Hill, the subject of the trade Kevin Martin, Jeffries to balance the contract, the Knicks' first-round pick swap in 2011, and the 2012 first-round pick with top five protection.
In this trade, the Rockets also sent Landry, a third-year player who averaged 16.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, to the Kings.
This shows that a lean camel is bigger than a horse, and McGrady's trading value is actually not low.
What makes him curious is that it is basically impossible to make such a change with the current McGrady.
First, his appearance changed the trade conference. The Knicks no longer had Hill, and the Rockets had Brooks and Lowry, so they would not want Flynn.
Second, and more importantly, Yao Ming is still here.
At the beginning, McGrady exchanged Hill for the "future", but now, the Rockets definitely want the present more.
"I'm not sure, but it will probably be Detroit," Yao Ming said while eating.
Pistons?
Xu Yong thought about it for a moment.
This is really possible!
In fact, the Pistons were interested in McGrady as early as two years ago. They proposed to trade Billups and Prince for McGrady, but McGrady was still able to play at that time, so the Rockets did not agree.
And in history, McGrady went to the Knicks to finish his contract, and then went to the Pistons as a free agent.
Even the Pistons are in urgent need of a deal to free up financial space, because after signing Ben Gordon with a five-year, $55 million contract in the summer, the team originally hoped that Gordon and Hamilton would partner up in the backcourt, but found that that simply didn't work. As a result, Gordon is playing as a substitute with a contract worth tens of millions, and a trade is imminent.
I just don't know whether the Pistons' trading subject will be Hamilton or Gordon, but no matter which one goes to the Rockets, it will be a reinforcement.
So if it really happens, it would be a good thing for Yao Ming, at least he can continue to pursue the championship.
"The World Cup grouping was announced yesterday." Perhaps because he didn't want to talk about McGrady anymore, Yao Ming continued.
"Who are you in the same group with?" Xu Yong hadn't paid attention to the news in this regard.
Moreover, the information before his rebirth was no longer useful, because at that time the men's basketball team lost to Iran in the Asian Championships, which opened the prelude to the darkest chapter of the men's basketball team. But now they are the champions, the division is different, and the grouping is definitely different.
"The United States, Russia, Australia, Puerto Rico, Ivory Coast."
"The group of death." Xu Yong used a very classic comment.
This grouping was much more difficult than the one he knew.
Especially since they are in the same group with the US team, there is naturally one less spot, and the overall strength of Russia and Australia is definitely stronger than them.
"Well, let's take it one game at a time." Yao Ming nodded.
"Actually, this is good, because we don't have too high expectations. As long as we make it to the quarterfinals, that will be a surprise, right?" Xu Yong said.
Yao Ming was stunned for a moment, then he laughed awkwardly.
This is of course the truth, but teams with lower rankings in the group will have to play against teams with higher rankings in other groups. The top 16 to top 8 is the most difficult.
However, given Xu Yong's character, not saying that they could reach the top four was already conservative.
…
The next night, at the United Center in Chicago, the Chinese derby attracted everyone's attention.
Not only was the venue packed with people, but there was also a considerable number of Chinese fans.
In the media seats, the number of TV stations broadcasting the game has reached a "crowded" level.
Because Zhang Weiping and Yang Yi represented CCTV-5, they were assigned a position with a good view, but they also arrived an hour early for fear that their position would be taken by others.
And they also started their warm-up commentary early.
They will naturally mention the Yao-Yi derby, because that game was so classic. Yao Ming had 28 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks, and Yi Jianlian had 19 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block.
But in fact, anyone who watched the game could see that both teams intended to let the two players play more.
Before the players entered the stadium, the scene showed Stern arriving in the audience as scheduled.
There is no need to guess that such a situation will continue to occur tonight.
However, Xu Yong is now averaging 19 points per game. Wouldn't this directly raise expectations by several levels?
Half an hour before the start of the game, players from both teams entered the field one after another.
The first shots on the scene showed Xu Yong and Yao Ming, the two absolute protagonists of the night.
After the warm-up, the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.
The Bulls' regular five: Rose, Xu Yong, Deng, Gibson and Noah.
On the Rockets side, there are Aaron Brooks, Battier, Artest, Scola, and Yao Ming.
Yao Ming passed the ball back to the Rockets' half, and the Chinese derby, also known as the Yao-Xu derby, officially began.
Without McGrady, the Rockets' main attacking point will naturally be Yao Ming.
This season, Yao Ming averaged 18.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. His scoring was the lowest in the past six seasons, but his assists were a career high.
On the one hand, this is because he appeared at the free throw line more often after losing weight. On the other hand, Adelman's Princeton system itself will increase the number of times the center holds the ball, and the assists naturally increase.
At this moment, Yao Ming was at the free throw line. After Artest cut in to attract the defense, he raised his hand and took a mid-range shot.
“Swish!”
Just take action.
Yao Ming's mid-range shot is a skill that Embiid will never be able to learn in his lifetime, and its highlight is that it is incredibly accurate.
Noah's effectiveness in defending Boozer was average at first, and he was at a loss when facing Yao Ming's high shooting point.
"Hey, this shot was played reasonably, which reflects Yao Ming's core position in the team." So Zhang Weiping came to life at the beginning of the game.
The Rockets took the lead, and then Rose held the ball and passed it directly to Xu Yong.
What stands out is the harmony within the team.
This scene made Stern in the stands laugh.
Which joke says that you have to choose between fish and bear's paw? Isn't this a win-win situation for everyone?
Of course, the opportunity is given, but whether Xu Yong can seize it depends on himself.
As an opponent, and the Rockets are also competing for the playoff rankings, it is absolutely impossible for them to let us win.
Even if it was Yao Ming, he would not show any mercy if he had the chance to block Xu Yong.
And the person defending Xu Yong is the defensive master Battier, who was in the second team of defense last season.
Not to mention there is Artest, a sweeping help defender.
Many people overlooked that this was also the most challenging game for Xu Yong since he entered the NBA.
Xu Yong held the ball with one hand, and first used his auxiliary hand to signal Deng to move to the weak-side corner and pull Artest to the far end. Then he dribbled the ball to widen the distance between him and Battier, and then dribbled the ball with his right hand and took a big step with his left foot to the right.
How could Xu Yong not be familiar with Battier?
The inventor of blindfold defense, offensive foul-making machine, and the saying "People with high IQs win basketball games, and people with good physical fitness win track and field competitions."
Battier's strengths are his defensive experience and skills, but his weaknesses are his speed and lateral movement, so Xu Yong will not get too entangled with Battier on static offenses such as back-to-the-basket plays. What he wants is dynamic breakthroughs.
In other words, Battier is the best subject to test the results of his training over the past month.
Battier was very experienced. He kept staring at Xu Yong's movements without leaving the ground. Instead, he turned his hips and half his body to the right. This allowed him to adjust to the best defensive position with the lowest center of gravity.
But at the moment he did this, Xu Yong pulled back his right foot and turned to the left.
Battier was stunned, and then he felt something disappear from his sight.
The fans at the scene were also stunned.
Because just now, they couldn't tell for a moment whether it was Xu Yong or Rose who was breaking through!
“Bang!”
Fortunately, after Xu Yong broke through to the inside, smashed the ball into the basket, and bounced it around the basket, they were able to separate.
Because of Rose, he never hangs on the basket.