January 17, 2006, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, East Coast, United States.

Wachovia Center Arena.

Today's game here is a contest between two declining aristocratic teams, the Philadelphia 76ers, who will host the Houston Rockets from afar.

Both teams have won championships in their history, and both have superstars, and both are veteran teams, so it can be said that the history is very long.

But in recent years, neither team has fared too well.

On the 76ers' side, although the star Allen Iverson scored a career-high 33 points per game, and next to him, Webb, an All-Star interior who has entered a period of decline, also averaged nearly 20 plus 10 per game.

However, apart from these two leaders, the performance of the rest of the players was lackluster.

Andre Iguodala, who is in his second year of career, has improved rapidly, but he doesn't have much of a heads-up skill on the offensive end, and is more often used as a defensive striker and a fast-break arrow.

Kyle Korver, who is now famous, is not the super three-point king, the three-point shooting rate is really high, and he can be regarded as a qualified shooter, but at that time, his defensive performance was indeed below the level, and it was easy to become a breakthrough for the opponent's outside scorer.

Not to mention the rest of the players, Hellam Porter, Salmons, Steven Hunter, Willy Green...... These players are functional players, and they are embarrassed. After reaching the Finals in the 2000-2001 season, the 76ers never regained their former glory and gradually sank into a team on the verge of a rebuild.

"Hey, Chinese kid~"

"YO, Chris!"

Chen Mu was warming up on the field, greeting his teammates who walked by from time to time.

It's been two days since he arrived in Philadelphia, and Chen Mu and most of his teammates have already met in training yesterday.

However, Iverson, who has never liked to participate in training, did not appear yesterday, and the only one in the whole team who still doesn't know Chen Mu is probably this unruly superstar.

In the middle of his thoughts, a small player in pants, a hair accessory, and a very hip-hop dress walked into the stadium, without greeting anyone, wearing huge headphones on his head, as if listening to his favorite hip-hop music.

"Hi Allen, I'm Chen, the team's newly signed power forward, and I'm glad to have the opportunity to work with you."

Chen Mu stepped forward, suppressed the excitement in his heart, and stretched out a hand to Iverson, wanting to shake hands with him.

“YO。”

However, Iverson obviously didn't eat this, just simply raised his eyes and glanced at Chen Mu, then nodded his head as a greeting, did not shake hands with Chen Mu, but lightly slapped his hands in the air, and then Gu Zi stepped aside and began to communicate something with Coach Cheeks.

"Haha, what a star with a lot of personality~"

Chen Mu did not feel embarrassed, in the original timeline, Chen Mu liked Iverson very much, and knew the temper of the shortest scorer in history.

To be recognized by Iverson, you have to play well enough on the pitch!

"Our 76ers team has not been in good shape lately, and the first half of the season has not been outstanding. And the day before yesterday we got the news that the team's starting center Dyrem Potter is temporarily unavailable due to a back injury. With Webb, who has always been injured, we have enough wounded soldiers on the inside. ”

On the sidelines, a local Philadelphia TV commentator analyzed: "Look at the rest of the list, Steven Hunt can barely top one, as for Li Nailong, James Thomas, Michael Bradley...... It's all useless, and it looks like the burden on Aaron is getting heavier and heavier! ”

On the bench on the sidelines, Haitian big man Durham Porter was clearly unavailable in a suit and leather shoes, and next to him, Webb was also dealing with a knee injury with the help of the team doctor.

It can be said that the entire 76 team, the old and old injuries of the interior players, and the first substitute in the power forward position, is actually Matt Barnes, who is only 6 feet 7 inches tall.

"But we also got the good news that yesterday morning the team signed a 10-day contract with free agent Chen from China. Although the player has no ball to play for the time being, he also played a bright game for the Phoenix Suns about a month ago, averaging double-digit rebounds per game! ”

The commentator looked at the player profile and said: "Hopefully, this dynamic power forward can bring some inside help to the team and help Webb share the rebounding pressure." ”

"However, we also noticed that Chen, who is known as the 'Chinese kid' by the fans, is very bad on the offensive end, although he is good at rebounding. In five games with the Suns, the shooting percentage was extremely low and the offensive efficiency was quite poor. There doesn't seem to be any offense other than aerial relays and under-the-basket dunks. ”

"Especially in terms of shooting, Chen Mu not only never showed his mid-range offensive ability, but also from the perspective of his performance on the court, even he seemed to be a little resistant to shooting."

The commentator took out Chen Mu's game data and continued to analyze: "In the five games, except for a whistle-blowing shot before the end of the third quarter against the Hawks, Chen did not make a single shot outside the three-second zone. Of course, that shot didn't hit either. ”

"Although we don't know whether Chen has the ability to shoot in the middle of the pitch, but judging from this statistic, I hope you still don't have too much hope. As long as he can grab the rebound for us, it's done. ”

Speaking of this, the commentator smiled bitterly and said: "After all, not all Chinese big men have the surname Yao, haha." ”

On the other side of the court, the Rockets are also warming up, and among the Rockets players, two are very eye-catching.

One is McGrady, a slender guard who wears the No. 1 jersey and is very physically and technically superb.

"Whoosh"

Chen Mu looked up and saw Maddie gliding past the basket like a bird, and made an elegant backhand layup.

This action is just as elegant and deadly as Chen Mu saw from the screen in the original timeline. With this ability to take advantage of super-fast first steps and then break through to the basket with his superior physical fitness and soft touch, Maddie is also ranked in the top five outside the league.

Paired with his terrifying killer pull-and-pull jumper, the sleepy-eyed player could become one of the league's most fearsome assassins at any moment, taking down the head of the enemy in the midst of the hosts.

As for another player who stands out, it is, of course......

"Hmm......??"

Chen Mu looked around and searched the entire stadium, but he didn't find the tall figure.

Just when he was stunned, a deep male voice suddenly sounded behind him.

"Hey, are you Chen Mu......?"

Chen Mu hurriedly turned around, but what he saw at a glance was not the face of the person who came, but a pair of broad shoulders.

"I'll ......!"

Chen Mu couldn't help but exclaim, since he crossed over, he had a height of more than two meters, and Chen Mu had long been accustomed to looking down on most people.

Even on the NBA court, only the centers of both sides are generally taller than him, and the rest of the players, even if they are taller than him, are only a few centimeters, which seems to be no different from normal people.

However, the height of the person who came was very amazing, so that Chen Mu had to look up to see it clearly.

Yao ...... Yao?!! ”

Chen Mu was surprised and delighted, he didn't expect that Yao Ming, who was already an all-star player, would take the initiative to talk to him, and he stammered a little for a while, and he hesitated for a long time before he spoke: "Thank you, thank you, Duffy has helped me a lot!" ”

"Hehe, he's a great agent, that's why I recommend him to you." Yao Ming showed his trademark smile and said with a smile: "Don't look at him who is always in a hurry on weekdays, but when he really does things, he will never be ambiguous." In the words of us Chinese, it is 'reliable'! ”

It is rare to be able to talk to people in Chinese, Chen Mu is very happy, and asked Yao Ming a lot of things about the NBA.

Yao Ming is also very approachable, answering Chen Mu's questions and reminding Chen Mu of various cultural differences and small details that need to be paid attention to.

"By the way, I watched your previous fight."

Yao Ming said: "Your rebounding is great, you only played for ten minutes, and your average rebounds per game are higher than mine." ”

"Haha, it's my job to grab rebounds." Chen Mu said with a smile.

"To tell you the truth, I've also thought about whether to recommend Alexander to bring you to the Rockets, after all, our No. 4 vacancy is a well-known thing, and we really need a rebounder."

Yao Ming continued: "But your offense is really a bit ...... Well, not so good. You know, the current NBA is an offensive era, and it is difficult to survive in this league without a shot. ”

"I watched you train just now, and the level of mid-range shooting seems to be good, I hope you can practice shooting and offense as soon as possible, maybe we really have a chance to become teammates and create a rocket dynasty together......

After saying this, the warm-up time was over, Yao Ming turned around and returned to the Rocket half, and finally said: "A little bit of the game, I hope you can surprise me...... ”

Looking at Yao Ming's departing back, Chen Mu secretly clenched his fists, the corners of his mouth raised slightly, and secretly thought in his heart:

"Yao Ming, don't worry, now I am no longer what I used to be......!"

Half an hour later.

"Huh!"

"It's Yao Ming again! A step-back jumper hit the Rockets to extend their lead to 7 points, and the 76ers called a timeout! ”

Halfway through the first quarter, the Rockets relied on Yao Ming's inside attack after the opening to seize the initiative in the game. On the 76ers' side, although Iverson was unstoppable, the team's scoring point was too single, Webber had a poor hand, and he failed to hit several shots, making the team very passive.

"Chris, take a break."

Head coach Cheeks made a personnel change, replacing Webber and Korver, with Salmons and ......

"Chen, you're on the field!"

"No problem......!"

Chen Mu stood up, high-fived his teammates one by one, and stepped onto the court with his head held high.

On the side of the court, a pair of elf-like shining eyes were staring at Chen Mu thoughtfully.