The Whip of the God of Basketball

Chris Anderson has been living with Leon since he was suspended for drug possession. Except for Khomeinis' occasional return from Los Angeles, the rest of the time has become a world between him and Leon.

After reflecting for about two weeks in Canada, Anderson returned to the court after five games, but this does not mean that he can start to participate in games normally. The alliance's punishment against him is over, but Leon's punishment against him has just begun.

After returning to the team, Leon and Anderson made a three-part agreement. First, Anderson was required to arrive at the training facility one and a half hours early every morning. Second, he must practice extra after training. Third, he was not allowed to go to bars or nightclubs at night. Leon asked him to maintain a normal and healthy life until the end of the season, and he could do whatever he liked after the season.

Leon does not expect to change Anderson's life. He believes that people's lives and destiny must be controlled by themselves after all. The only ones who can really change Anderson are himself and basketball. Leon only played the role of a guide, helping him correct when he obviously made mistakes. As for the future, it still depends on him.

In short, from the end of 2003 to the beginning of 2004, Anderson lived like an ordinary hard-working player. He went out early and came back late just to participate in training and competitions. The tattoos on his body did not grow any more, his beard was clean, and he gave himself I got a new sleek hairstyle and I look more energetic than before.

In this way, Leon imposed a ten-game suspension on him as punishment within the team. However, the Celtics did not stop their victory because of Anderson's absence. Kevin Garnett's condition has entered his best period since playing with the Spurs. As the Celtics dominate the record list , Garnett's ranking in the MVP rankings also skyrocketed, and he finally firmly held the number one position.

On the night of January 9th, the Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers at home 113:92 with a 21-point advantage. Their winning streak has reached 19 games. If they win another game, they will create a 20-game winning streak. Record, this will be the first consecutive winning streak of more than 20 games since the Los Angeles Lakers' 33-game winning streak in 1972. The last team to reach 19 consecutive victories was the Los Angeles Lakers. They achieved 19 consecutive victories in 2000 and were only one step away from 20 consecutive victories.

At the same time, the 19-game winning streak also broke the Celtics' winning streak in history. They had previously achieved 18 consecutive wins in the 1959-1960 season.

After winning the game against the Cavaliers, the topic of whether the Celtics can create a 20-game winning streak in the next game suddenly became a hot topic in the NBA. This of course also put pressure on the Celtics. Their next game will be Go to the away game, the opponent is the Western Conference powerhouse, the Houston Rockets.

"You can reach 20 consecutive wins in one more game. Is this motivation or pressure for you?" After arriving in Houston on the 10th, Fox-Leon was invited to be interviewed by a sports program on a local TV station in Houston. Related questions were asked.

"It's impossible not to think about this problem. I can only try to let the players face continuous wins correctly. You know, we won't win forever. When you win consecutively, you will think, when will I Will you lose? It's like thinking about when you will win when you lose consecutively. This mentality is wonderful. You imagine the situation when failure comes, and you try your best to avoid failure. I think my players will be correct and rational. Treat everything, after all, we are Celtic." Leon answered the host.

Of course, this is just his rhetoric in front of the media, especially the Houston media. When the game is about to start, he will yell at the players, "If you don't win, you might as well die."

"We know that Yao Ming is now the most popular center in the league, and he is from China; similarly, Wang Zhizhi plays under you. Based on your experience, what is the difference between the two in basketball?" the host asked, which many people were very concerned about. The problem is the comparison between Wang Zhizhi and Yao Ming.

Leon knew that this question was definitely necessary. Now that Houston has become the home team in China due to the arrival of Yao Ming, the local basketball market has also expanded rapidly, and the number of Chinese fans has surged. But Yao Ming is not the first Chinese player to land in the NBA. The first Chinese player to land is Wang Zhizhi, who is currently playing for the Celtics. He has already reached the finals with the Celtics, where he lost to another player. Chinese center Ba-Te - Ba-Te has already won a championship ring.

At this time, Yao Ming is still fighting for the Rockets to enter the playoffs. Before this game, they were ranked fifth in the Western Conference and the playoff situation was excellent. In the Christmas game, they even defeated the Lakers, the strongest player in the Western Conference. Yao Ming scored 18 points and 8 rebounds in the game. This Chinese giant has changed Americans' view of Asian basketball players.

"Yao is a very good inside player. He has many unique characteristics of the Chinese, which makes him look different, but I think this is the key to his success. I see it in Wang They have a lot of similarities. They come from the same country. Many Americans don’t understand these qualities. They think these two guys are not cool or handsome when they play. In fact, they have a unique beauty of basketball. One only knows how to watch dunks and three-pointers. Fans who are divided cannot understand it. Of course, Yao Ming's career will be more successful than Wang's, but I think Wang's gains will be more, after all, he plays for the Celtics." Leon tried his best to objectively evaluate Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi did not forget to praise the Celtics at the end.

He actually had a lot to say in his heart, but he kept it all in his heart. As a person whose soul came from China in his previous life, he knew more about China than all the fans in Houston combined. Moreover, as the game drew closer, he could feel that part of the memory in his mind was about to stir.

……………………

On the evening of January 10th, the entire Celtics team arrived at the Toyota Center early to start their warm-up exercises. This is the new home of the Houston Rockets this season. It was just opened in October 2003 and replaced the previous Compaq Center.

The Rockets' uniform colors, team logo, and floor patterns have also undergone comprehensive changes, restoring the previous classic red and yellow main colors and no longer using the failed navy stripes. The home floor has also been re-introduced in red, and the team logo has changed from a complex cartoon rocket to a simple R letter icon. It can be said that the entire rocket gives people a completely new look.

In comparison, the Celtics' jerseys and colors that have remained unchanged for thousands of years seem a bit old-fashioned, but the entire Celtics seem to be very relaxed and comfortable. Everyone was very relaxed during the warm-up. Pierce even played with Arenas. Horse game.

Only Wang Zhizhi was holding the ball and practicing shooting seriously. He was always like this, more serious, but Leon, who was very observant, could see that Wang Zhizhi's facial expression was more solemn, and it was obvious that he had something on his mind.

After Wang Zhizhi hit a three-pointer from the bottom corner, Leon walked up to Wang Zhizhi and asked, "Are you worried?"

Wang Zhizhi took the ball from Cowens and threw another three-pointer, but this time the ball missed.

"No, it's nothing." Wang Zhizhi replied. He always used Chinese when communicating with Leon.

"Don't coax me. How can I have no idea when playing against Yao Ming? Do I want you to start?" Leon asked again.

"Don't be kidding, everyone still wants to win, so don't rely on me if you lose." Wang Zhizhi said with a smile.

"It didn't work very well for you to deal with Yao Ming last year. You played against him a lot, so you should have some experience." Leon recalled that against the Rockets last year, Wang Zhizhi took advantage of his long range and caused big trouble for Yao Ming on the defensive end.

"That's what I say, but if you want to deal with him, you can't just choose from a hundred ways in your hand." Wang Zhizhi also learned to flatter him, and he did so very well.

Leon also smiled, seeming to be very pleased with this flattery.

Then he patted Wang Zhizhi's arm and said: "No matter in the past, now or in the future, some people will compare you with Yao Ming. This cannot be changed. I think even if your overall evaluation is not as good as him in the end, I still I hope you can perform well in the direct confrontation with him. After all, you are the player I recruited and you cannot embarrass me. "

"Yes, I won't embarrass you."