March 18, 2008, 8 p.m. EST.

Toyota Center Houston.

"Once a year, it always feels like I haven't been here in a long time."

Looking at the familiar and unfamiliar venue, Chen Mu sighed with emotion, took off his coat, and prepared to warm up.

Once a year, between the Eastern and Western teams, if they don't meet in the finals, they generally meet once a season away and once at home, twice a year.

Counting up, it has been almost three years since Chen Mu entered the NBA, and the Toyota Center, which should be very familiar to Chen Mu, who was originally counted as half a Rocket fan on the timeline, now seems a little unfamiliar.

In three years, Chen Mu came to the Toyota Center three times, and if he could have been selected in the 2005 draft, Chen Mu was very hopeful of entering the rookie game, and came to the Toyota Center in the 2006 Houston All-Star to get acquainted with it. But Chen Mu didn't get such an opportunity, and this "holy place" in the hearts of Rocket fans in the past was not well familiarized.

On the court, Chen Mugu warmed up by himself, and from time to time raised his eyes to look at the familiar and unfamiliar venue facilities, and couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion.

The Toyota Center, the place that carries the dreams and tears of many rocket fans, is now in front of my eyes, and it is all so real and so palpable.

It's like a dream......!

Thinking about it, Chen Mu inevitably remembered the olive branch that Team Rocket had thrown to him.

Alstom, Maddy, Battier, Chen Mu, Yao Ming, this lineup is so terrible. Even if the Rockets will pay a number of high-quality chips including Battier and Landry in order to get Chen Mu, the Rockets can still keep three All-Stars in the starting lineup.

If all this comes true, maybe this season, Chen Mu will be able to get his own golden ring......!

But as mentioned earlier, Chen Mu and Duffy are very clear that coming to the rocket. It means that Chen Mu will always be the third person next to Yao Mai. Even if Maddie is not the same, but in the minds of Rockets fans, Maddie will still be the dashing scoring champion, Chen Mu wants to take over the scepter of Houston, I don't know how much time it will take.

Perhaps, the arrival of Chen Mu can slow down the loss of Maddie and Yao Ming. When necessary, Chen Mu can work hard with the Rockets and other role players, just like he is in Philadelphia now. And Maddie and Yao Ming can take advantage of this opportunity. Take a good rest from your fragile back and ankles.

But no matter how brilliant the data Chen Mu played when he led the team alone, he was still the third person in the team, which cannot be changed.

It's like Witch and Watsy next to Abdul-Jabbar, with big specs, beautiful stats, FMVP accolades, and maybe the best fast-break finisher of all time...... All the names taken together cannot be compared with the simple words "magician" and "heavenly hook".

If Worthy had led the team from the beginning, worked a bad team, and gradually grew, would he have become a superstar-level all-rounder in the end? Maybe the answer is no, but nothing happened. No one knows the outcome.

It seems to be the Heat in the original timeline, LeBron, Wade, and Bosh behind him are playing health basketball, looking very chic. In fact, when he led the team alone. If you don't go to the Heat, will Bosh contribute 20+10 years in a row and become the first person of the new generation of big forwards? No one can say for sure.

Another example is Spurs. Although the GDP combination each has its own honor, has its own fans, and has its own defenders. But all will say. Duncan is Duncan, Duncan is Duncan wherever he goes, and no matter what team he is on, Duncan will be a superstar.

But Parker and Ginobili, maybe their fans will feel that they will also shine in either system and become superstars. But most people still believe that their success is inseparable from the Spurs' system and Popovich's proper use.

Even if Ginobili is already a Jordan-like presence in the history of Argentine basketball, and even if Parker has become a symbol and symbol of French basketball, this prejudice that cannot be regarded as prejudice will continue to exist until they retire.

And if Chen Mu comes to the Rockets, perhaps, he will also become Worthy next to Mogoo, Bosh next to Jenway, Parker and Ginobili next to Duncan, and become a footnote to history.

This footnote is of course dazzling, but at the same time, it is also forbearant and helpless.

If you can be Durant, why should you be Ibaka?

Belch...... I'd love to be Ibaka......

"Damn, what do you want!"

Chen Mu stretched out his hand and knocked on his head, shook his head and threw all these things out of his mind, and was about to continue to warm up seriously, but a familiar voice sounded beside him.

"What's wrong, headache?"

This voice was very low, like a bass, and there was a sense of resonance when you listened to it, which made Chen Mu's head buzz a little.

"Eat too much beef and get on fire, come to me after the game, I'll get you a few bottles of berberine, my mom will bring me a bunch every season, haha!"

Turn around, raise your eyes, and the tower is in front of you.

"Brother Yao!"

The person in front of him, who else would it be if it wasn't Yao Ming?

"How many times have you said it, calling me Yao Shuai, just calling me Brother sounds weird, as if I was filming a Korean TV series." Yao Ming's witty words continued, and pure Mandarin was quite useful to Chen Mu's ears.

"Don't be funny, don't you say it all in China, I'll call you brother, you call me handsome." Chen Mu laughed, as soon as the two friends who had met many times at home and abroad met, the familiar feeling immediately came back: "How are your feet?" ”

"It's hard to say, the team doctor said it's better not to stand up, stress fractures you know. But I'm four-legged now, and I'll have to say hello to you when you're here. Yao Ming said with a smile.

"Take care of your injuries, don't force it, you don't have a chance to win if you're not with us." Chen Mu slapped Yao Ming.

"Just your poor mouth, you know I can't take care of my injuries, the Olympics in the second half of the year." Yao Ming smiled bitterly.

"It's good to leave the Olympics to me and the United Arab Emirates, you are so old, and it is a burden to play." Chen Mu is neither big nor small.

"No, we'll have to speak English when we see you later. Speaking Chinese, my witty words can't compare to you. Yao Ming smiled and patted Chen Mu's shoulder.

"Take care of your crutches, don't fall." Chen Mu smiled.

The two looked at each other for a while, and then Chen Mu stepped forward and gave Yao Ming a deep hug.

"Brother Yao, it's been a hard work."

"Then lose to us, we're going to win 23 in a row."

"No way, we're giant killers, specializing in killing the Pistons, killing the Celtics, and killing the Suns."

"And then inexplicably lost to the Lakers, well done."

"It's your black beauty."

"So let's lose to us, I'm so beautiful in black. How can I go dark if you win? ”

"No, you're almost second in the west, we're only seventh in the east, we need to win more, and you guys will lose all of them...... Well, it doesn't seem like it's going to make the playoffs. ”

"yes, the West is terrible."

"Come to the east."

Chen Mu suddenly turned pale, looked up at Yao Ming and said with a smile: "Come and join forces with me to form the Great Wall of China." ”

Then call Ah Lian and Sun Yue. Set up a table to play mahjong? Yao Ming smiled.

"It's not impossible, we're short of bench pitchers and opposing defenders." Chen Mu was actually thinking about it seriously.

"Make your big dreams in the Spring and Autumn Festival, when the UAE and Sun Yue grow up, my brother's big contract will make your boss cry when he pays the luxury tax." Yao Ming couldn't laugh or cry.

"If you can win the championship. What is the luxury tax~" Chen Mu smiled.

"Don't say more, you warm up, I'll continue to be a disabled person." Yao Ming waved his hand and really almost fell. The nervous hearts of the Rockets staff on the sidelines were about to burst.

"Well, see you later." Chen Mu held Yao Ming and sent him to the seat at the back of the Rockets' bench.

"Fight well. And then lose to us. When he returned, Yao Ming also said.

"Think about it, come to Philadelphia." Chen Mu looked back and smiled: "In Philadelphia, you can only play the playoffs a year, and we will rise in two years." ”

Chen Mu walked away, Yao Ming smiled and shook his head, this junior has reached a peak without being big, small, faceless, and skinless, and it is really difficult to find someone who is more shameless than Chen Mu.

But......

"Philadelphia ......?"

Looking down at his battered feet, Yao Ming fell into deep thought.

If you go to Philadelphia, Lowry, Korver, Iguodala, Chen Mu, and me, this lineup seems to be ...... It's also very attractive.

“YAO，WELOVEYOU！！！”

Behind him, die-hard fans held Yao Ming's large avatar and waved it constantly, looking like they were watching a penguin colony's chat history from a distance, and their eyes were full of rampaging comic emojis.

Still can't do it......

Houston, I have so much to worry about here.

Yao Ming turned around and waved at the fans who knew that he would not be able to play, but still cheered for him, and a warm current flowed in his heart.

A few more years of hard work, huh...... 2010, or 2011!

In 2010, I had a player option, and in 2011, my contract expired.

If by then, the Rockets still haven't improved and have no hope of hitting the championship, maybe ......

"Bang!"

On the court, a loud dunk sound came, which caused Yao Ming to be startled and couldn't help but look up.

"Hahaha, see no??? The left-handed windmill is stress-free! Give money give money give money give money ~"

Carney completed a left-handed windmill dunk and was screaming to his teammates, while Iguodala and others looked helpless, and said that the money was not good after the game, causing Carney to chase Iguodala all over the court.

This team is really young......!

...... only playoff games a year? If I only play half of the regular season, my feet ...... Maybe you can hold on!

In Yao Ming's imagination, the pre-game warm-up was over, and the players of the two teams rested separately and prepared for a tough battle. (To be continued......)

PS: Although I have never been a die-hard Rocket fan, as soon as I wrote this, I still had some tears in my eyes!

Whether you love or not, or even hate the Rockets, you can't deny that this Rockets, together with the teams you and I like, make up our youth!