NBA: The man who passed the ball to Yao Ming

"Center Yao Ming."

"Power forward Juwan Howard."

"Small forward McGrady."

"Shooting guard Derek Anderson."

"Point guard Alston."

As Yao Ming predicted, Van Gundy did not put Zhang Jinshui in the starting lineup, but chose Alston, who had just been traded to the Rockets for a month.

Van Gundy continued:

"The Kings finished sixth in the West last year, just one game behind us.

Today is their home court, and it is the opening game of the season. We will definitely encounter a lot of trouble.

I hope everyone is mentally prepared for a tough battle.

Especially you, Zhang Jinshui, the reason why I hid you in the preseason is to let you play a surprise role in this game.

When I send you on the court later, you must play a role for me immediately. "

"No problem, coach." Zhang Jinshui said loudly.

......

Sacramento, 7 p.m. local time, arco arena.

"One! Two! Three! Come on!"

Zhang Jinshui, who put on the No. 86 Rockets jersey, formed a circle with other Rockets players, put their hands together, and shouted loudly.

Then, they filed out of the arena's away locker room.

Yao Ming walked behind Zhang Jinshui, kneaded Zhang Jinshui's shoulders with both hands, and said with a smile: "Jin Shui, relax a bit during the game, everyone will have their first NBA game, it's no big deal."

"I already have experience in two summer league matches, so I shouldn't be nervous." Zhang Jinshui looked up and said with a smile.

Now his heart is beating very fast, and the blood in his body is also flowing at a high speed.

But he knew very well that it wasn't nervousness, but excitement—the excitement of seeing a long-awaited dream about to come true.

"Are you sure? The NBA stadium is not the summer league stadium. You'll know when you get out of the player tunnel."

Yao Ming winked at Zhang Jinshui, pushed him out of the player tunnel together.

Zhang Jinshui originally wanted to open his mouth to ask Yao Ming, what is the difference between the NBA and the summer league.

But as soon as he walked out of the player tunnel, he was immediately stunned by the sight in front of him.

In the stands of all arenas, there were fans wearing blue-purple Kings jerseys everywhere, one after another, together with the blue-purple balloons all over the sky, turning the entire arco arena into a blue-purple ocean.

Seeing the Rockets coming out of the player channel, the chants of "Beat Houston" immediately sounded in the stands.

The huge voices came from all directions in a uniform order, smashing at Zhang Jinshui and the others.

Zhang Jinshui only felt his eardrums buzzing.

He has watched the Rockets' away games on live TV countless times, but he never imagined that the sense of oppression felt as a player on the spot is a hundred times, a thousand times stronger than what he saw on TV.

In comparison, although the two games that Zhang Jinshui experienced in the summer league were full of seats, compared with the current arena, the temperament is simply far worse.

Zhang Jinshui only felt his heart beating non-stop. He was not nervous, but more excitement and longing filled his chest.

This is the NBA arena in his mind, and he can't wait to play.

Under the guidance of the Kings staff, Zhang Jinshui, along with other Rockets players, came to the right side of the middle circle of the field, and lined up shoulder to shoulder.

The Kings players also stood in symmetrical positions on the other side of the court.

As the music sounded, a little black girl who was only 5 or 6 years old walked onto the court and presented a song "hero" for everyone.

Subsequently, the players of the two teams began to warm up for shooting.

As a substitute player, Zhang Jinshui stretched and fed the ball to starting players such as Yao Ming and McGrady.

At the same time, his gaze was still searching the audience behind the Rockets bench, and finally saw Zi Chunlin standing up and waving to him in the seventh and eighth rows.

The nba regular season is not the summer league, and with his position as a rookie, he has no way to help Zi Chunlin get tickets on the sidelines.

Today, Zi Chunlin wore a white turtleneck sweater, with her smooth black hair draped over her shoulders, looking intellectual and beautiful.

After meeting Zhang Jinshui's gaze, she quickly raised her fist and waved it, and said a few words to Zhang Jinshui with her mouth wide open.

Knowing that she was cheering him on, Zhang Jinshui raised his fist with a smile.

As for Zi Qiuli, who was also dancing next to Zi Chunlin, Zhang Jinshui pretended not to see it, and turned his gaze to the side.

Coincidentally, the place he looked at turned out to be the commentary box of sb TV station.

There were three people sitting on it, two of them were his old acquaintances, Big Mouth Barkley and Kenny Smith.

The two were discussing something in full swing, and they didn't notice Zhang Jinshui's gaze.

Zhang Jinshui guessed that the name in their mouths might be a superstar like Yao Ming McGrady, or an All-Star like Mike Bibby Stojakovic, but it would definitely not be Zhang Jinshui.

At 7:29, Yao Mai gathered the Rockets players into a circle and put one hand high together.

"Let's take a win from Sacramento!" Yao Mai shouted in unison.

"Take away a victory!" The other players echoed loudly.

Subsequently, Zhang Jinshui and other teammates returned to the bench, and the main players of both sides took their positions.

As the referee threw the basketball high, Zhang Jinshui's first NBA game officially began.

Today, the starting lineup sent by the Kings is center Brad Miller, power forward Abdur-Rahim, small forward Bunch Wells, shooting guard Peja Stojakovic, point guard Mike Bibby .

In the past summer, the Kings, known as the most gorgeous team in NBA history, encountered a lot of controversy.

Because they sent away the brightest star in the crown - Chris Webber.

Many media predicted that the Kings would start to go downhill.

But this team still has a gorgeous starting lineup.

All-star player White Devil Mike Bibby and three-point shooter Peja Stojakovic both held their breath.

They want to prove to the outside world that as long as they are there, the Kings' splendor will continue.

At the beginning of the game, with the support of the home fans, Mike Bibby first blew the offensive horn for the Kings. He successfully forced Alstom twice in a row, and then gave the ball to Bunch Wells to complete the finish at the basket.

Immediately afterwards, Stojakovic, who is known as the most accurate three-point man in the NBA, easily hit a three-pointer in the open space at the top of the arc, helping the Kings play a wave of 3:7 offensive waves.

Fortunately, after the seven-game battle with the Mavericks last season, the Rockets are now very resilient.

The MM combination took turns to play, Yao Ming used a turning hook inside to help the Rockets stabilize the morale of the team, and McGrady used a symbolic pull-up jumper to help the Rockets chase the score to 4:7.

However, next, the shortcomings of the Rockets' backcourt configuration began to be revealed.

Alston and Anderson were helpless in front of the All-Star backcourt pair of Mike Bibby and Stojakovic.

Especially Alstom.

On the defensive end, he couldn't stop Mike Bibby's breakthrough.

Offensively, after he passed the ball to Yao Ming inside, Mike Bibby didn't even bother him and went back to double-team Yao Ming.

Yao Ming returned the ball to him twice, but he missed a three-pointer once and made a dribble error, which became the node that caused the Rockets' offensive system to stagnate.

Zhang Jinshui watched from the sidelines: Since the offensive state is not good, then pass the ball back to Yao Ming inside, or pass it to McGrady on the weak side!

Alston's current sleepwalking energy is very similar to his previous life.

When the game progressed to the 7th minute, after being broken by Mike Bibby, Alstom hugged the opponent's waist with both hands in order to prevent the opponent from making an empty basket.

While sending Mike Bibby to the free throw line, he also received his second foul in the first quarter.

At this time, the Rockets had fallen behind by 8 points with 18:10.

"Referee, we need a short timeout of 20 seconds." Van Gundy on the sidelines folded his arms, his face frosty, and shouted: "Zhang Jinshui, get ready to play!"