In 2003,

January,

1st,

Looking at the numbers on the calendar, Qiao Hai knew that the New Year had arrived.

Although today is the first day of the New Year, the rocket still arranges training, and before Qiao Hai goes out, he thinks about it for a while, takes out his mobile phone, and dials Han Xue's phone while walking towards the garage.

"Hey, old Han, have you received the gift? Surprise? Haha......"

"Surprise you big-headed ghost! Haha, you're a big **! ”

"Doodoo Dot ......"

Qiao Hai held his mobile phone and was stunned for a long time.

"What the hell! Why aren't you happy to give her a gift! ”

It turned out that on Christmas Day, it wasn't until Qiao Hai started delivering gifts that he thought that he had forgotten to prepare a gift for Han Xue.

So, after Christmas, he could only buy a watch and flew it to Vancouver to make up for the Christmas gift.

But Han Xue's reaction made Qiao Hai feel puzzled, and Qiao Hai couldn't figure it out......

In the end, Qiao Hai, who couldn't figure it out, didn't want to think about it, and he decided that next Christmas, he must not forget to prepare a Christmas gift for Han Xue.

Qiao Hai hung up the phone and drove to the training hall at Compaq Center.

In December last year, Qiao Hai's final team record was 5-2, plus Rudy Tomjanovic's team led by 9-14, the Rockets' record finally became 13-16, still less than 50%, and still 3 wins away from the Suns, who are eighth in the West and 16-16.

and tied the SuperSonics, who were originally ninth in the West and are now also 13-16, and finally tied for ninth in the West with the SuperSonics.

For the Rockets, their form began to recover, began to explode, and under the leadership of Qiao Hai, they began to walk on the right path.

The team's daily training, because of the recent two consecutive big wins, the team's morale has increased significantly, and everyone has worked very hard in training, which also saves Qiao Hai a lot of energy, and he can put more energy into other aspects.

In early January, the Rockets will rest until January 4 for their first game of the new year, and this game will be against the Warriors, who are 12-19 in the lottery.

The opponent's record is not good, but the Rockets still can't underestimate this Warriors, because the Warriors just beat the Rockets half a month ago, and Gilbert Arenas's outburst made Rudy Tomjanovich, who was not out of class at the time, lose face.

In the face of this opponent who brought down the former head coach, Qiao Hai also maintained a cautious attitude.

He got a copy of the Warriors' roster, as well as footage of the Warriors' most recent week's games.

This season, the head coach of the Warriors is Eric Musselman, a rookie coach who is just starting his coaching career, and his Warriors have great offense but poor defense.

The Warriors' lineup is not bad, the main line, the outside is Gilbert Arenas, who has improved significantly this season, and the dunk king Jason Richardson, the two forwards are Antoine Jamison and Troy Murphy, and the center is Eric Dampier, who is known as the second center in the West.

Also off the bench are the two point guards of Elboykins and Bob Soula, high-pick center Adonalfoyle and this season's No. 3 rookie Mike Dunleavy.

A good lineup means that the Warriors have a ceiling, and a poor record is purely a pot for the head coach or a poor chemistry on the team.

At the same time, it also means that the occasional outburst of this Warriors team cannot withstand even the strongest team.

Therefore, Qiao Hai must be cautious.

He carefully studied the Warriors' roster and decided to start with defense, and only by doing a good job of defense can victory be secure.

"The main offensive points of this Warriors team are Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson on the perimeter, and Antoine Jamison on the inside, so our defense has to focus on those three points."

The team's tactical meeting, the discussion began.

Qiao Hai's current coaching staff is much worse than before in the Grizzlies, there is no dedicated shooting coach, and the composition of the team is relatively simple, and there is no division of labor.

However, Qiao Hai has decided to summon his old subordinates when the season is over.

For example, Chip Engelland, the shooting coach who is now playing for the San Antonio Spurs, is Qiao Hai's old subordinate who must be recalled, and in the entire league, Qiao Hai can be said to have no better shooting coach than Chip.

Otherwise, Bobo wouldn't have poached Chip as soon as Qiao Hai left the Grizzlies.

However, in terms of defense, Qiao Hai's coaching staff still has a lot of talents.

Veteran coach Bernie Bixduff excelled on defense, and young Brad Stevens excelled at defending as well.

So, defensively, the coaching staff still has a lot of opinions.

For example, Brad Stevens said: "We have to expand our defense, the Warriors' offense is focused on the perimeter, and there is a lack of penetration, and when the defense is extended, we can more easily limit the opponent's offense." ”

Eventually, Qiao Hai got a comprehensive suggestion.

"Expand defensively, one-on-one with Gilbert Arenas, and complement the defense, for Jason Richardson, let go, and for Antoine Jamison, use Ron Artest to die."

……

Time flew by, and two days later, the Rockets' home game against the Warriors began......

The Warriors' rookie coach Eric Musselman has been questioned, but for the time being, he has no worries about getting out of class, because in the past few seasons, the Warriors have changed coaches one after another, and they can no longer afford another change of coach, so they can only choose to temporarily believe in Eric Musselman.

In this game, Eric Musselman's starting lineup is point guard Gilbert Arenas, scoring guard Jason Richardson, small forward Antoine Jamison, power forward Troy Murphy, and center Eric Dampier.

This lineup is a little deformed, and Qiao Hai can only wish Eric Musselman good luck.

The Rockets' starting five tigers are point guard Steve Francis, scoring guard James Posey, small forward Ron Artest, big forward Chris Anderson, and center Yao Ming.

At the beginning of the game, Yao Ming jumped the ball successfully and dialed back the basketball.

The rocket went on the offensive first.

"Kenny, predict the victory of this game." On the commentary bench, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith discussed the outcome of the match.

Kenny Smith said without any thought: "The Rockets should win this game, their state has improved significantly under the new coach Qiao Hai, 5-2 in the last seven games, and two consecutive wins in the last two games, while the Warriors are in slightly worse shape, 2-3 in the last five games, especially in the last two games, 2 consecutive defeats!" ”

"So, the Warriors should have a three-game losing streak, and the Rockets a three-game winning streak!"

Charles Barkley smiled and jokingly said, "Kenny, don't be so sure, maybe this game will end their winning streak for the Rockets and end their losing streak for the Warriors." ”

Kenny Smith spread his hands, and on the field, the game had already begun.

The Rockets' offense, Ron Artest in frontcourt gave the ball to Francis and then quickly went around to the bottom corner.

On the other side, Yao Ming landed on the left side of the arc, and Francis moved two steps sideways with the ball, appearing on Yao Ming's side, and soon it was a single block.

Steve Francis picked up speed and rushed in, only to be immediately caught in the middle of the Warriors.

On the other side, Yao Ming also took a few steps inside after blocking the dismantling, and soon, he received a pass from Steve Francis.

After receiving the ball, Yao Ming took another step.

Raising his hand from the near frame to get ready for a layup, Eric Dampier rushed over from the side and was a foul.

Beep!

A whistle blew and the referee blew for a foul on Eric Dampier.

"Just 7 seconds into the opening game, Eric Dampier fouled, and China Yao was about to go to the free throw line."

"In the last half a month of games, China's Yao's performance has been getting better and better, scoring consecutive doubles, almost forming an internal and external duo with Steve Francis on the outside, and the recent improvement of the rocket's record comes from the outbreak of China's Yao."

As he spoke, Kenny Smith glanced at Charles Barkley beside him.

Charles Barkley, who kissed the donkey's buttocks, didn't mean to be embarrassed at all, he smiled and nodded, following the topic of Kenny Smith, and continued to praise Yao Ming, whom he didn't like before.

On the court, Yao Ming began to make free throws.

On the first throw, he took aim for a moment and slowly threw it to the basket.

Bang!

After a muffled sound, the first penalty was actually missed!

"Horse-stepping!"

Ron Artest under the basket turned his head and glanced at Yao Ming suspiciously: "Tomatoes? ”

Chris Anderson smiled: "No, it's not a tomato, it's a horse!" ”