The Godfather of Basketball

Chapter 54: Honeymoon (Part 2)

Iverson's press was useless, and Karl could go further and use a full-court press, but he didn't choose to do that.

On the one hand, it was because the physical strength of the players was too great, and it was hard to say whether they could last until the last moment. caught up.

In the end, the Nuggets fought to the last moment and scored 61 points with both guns, but the Rockets still blossomed and won the game 121-110, ending their three-game losing streak.

The most eye-catching players in this game are naturally Barea and new aid Blake who played for the first time.

Although Barea was intercepted consecutively by Iverson at the last moment, he still contributed 12 points and 2 steals throughout the game, completing the task of "Amazing Soldiers" excellently.

Although Blake has only 2 assists, his control of the field at the last moment made the fans feel a sense of security that they have never had before.

After the game, two pieces of news broke out at the same time.

Martin suffered a serious injury to his right knee and will undergo surgery and will be out for the season.

The player's injury was originally worthy of sympathy, but another piece of news that broke out immediately made the fans have no sympathy for him.

The video of Martin provoking Tang Tian before the game was also exposed by reporters, which aroused strong protests from Chinese Americans.

The league reacted quickly and issued the biggest ticket of the season to Martin, with a 20-game suspension and a fine of $100,000, starting from the day Martin returned.

This is not just a matter of discrimination, but a problem of behavior. If you provoke and try to do something to the opposing head coach, if you don’t punish them severely, the head coach will probably have to have bodyguards on the court in the future.

The fans cheered after the league's punishment came out, and the morale of the Rockets was also high, which was more enjoyable than beating Martin.

Along with the high morale, the Rockets also ushered in a wave of their honeymoon period.

Blake was mentioned by Tang Tian to start after playing two games. His organization and three-pointers perfectly fit the Rockets.

In his previous life, Blake was called a weakened version of Nash. He was the record holder of 14 assists in a single quarter in the league.

After Alston came back, Tang Tian let him serve as the team's substitute, which greatly improved the depth of the Rockets' bench.

Cole's three-point training has also improved rapidly. The Rockets have a group of perverted shooters. Novak's three-point shooting rate exceeds 50%. Battier, McGrady, Blake, and Hyde are all above 40%. Both Millsap and Alston's shooting percentages were above 35%.

There are 9 people in rotation, except for the two centers, 7 people can shoot three-pointers, and they are all very accurate, which is simply terrifying.

With Yao Ming inside, a group of terrifying three-point shooters outside, and a deep bench, this Rockets team is finally close to the team Tang Tian envisioned to build from the beginning, and as the run-in deepens, the Rockets have also begun A honeymoon period.

In the period before the All-Star Game, the Rockets achieved a proud 22 wins and 3 losses, with a total record of 41 wins and 9 losses, leading the league.

With this record, Tang Tian also received his first award in the NBA.

He won the NBA's best coach in January 2007, and with the Rockets' excellent record, he became the head coach of the All-Star West.

The most happiest thing at this time is the management of the Rockets. Their promotion of Tang Tian as the head coach is the best operation of the season.

During this period, Swift's self-titled debut album "Taylor Swift" was also officially released, and the release date was selected by Tang Tian, ​​January 1, 2007.

It was a blockbuster at the party at the beginning, and later participated in major TV stations to increase its popularity, all of which paved the way for the release of the album.

And because Tang Tian was also the head coach of the NBA, even many NBA players knew the news.

As soon as the album was released, it set off a wave of climax in the United States.

In the first week alone, the sales volume of the album exceeded 100,000 copies, which was double the number Tang Tian knew in his previous life!

The opportunities he bought for Swift made her achievements come earlier and wilder.

The song "Tim.McGraw" almost swept the major newcomer charts in the United States, and it airborne No. 5 directly on the Billboard.200 for the first time. This result has been maintained for a full eight weeks.

The name Taylor Swift instantly became popular all over the United States.

With his sweet voice, pure appearance, fresh melody, and Tang Tian's company's all-out publicity, people are obsessed with this newcomer.

Along with her rising popularity, Swift received invitations to various programs, including singing songs before the NBA All-Star Game.

Because of Tang Tian's relationship, Swift agreed without hesitation.

To this 18-year-old girl, Tang Tian was more important than anything else.

Tang Tian was elected as the head coach of the Western Team, but this time the Rockets were not the only one participating in the All-Star Game.

Novak was invited to participate in the All-Star Three-Point Contest. He also played in the Rookie Game with Millsap and Hyde. In addition, Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming were also selected for the NBA All-Star Game.

It is worth mentioning that Yao Ming was once again elected as the top voter in the NBA All-Star Game, but this is also the time he has the least doubts in the past four years.

This season, he averaged 22.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.1 blocks per game, shooting 52% from the field, making him the undisputed No. 1 center in the NBA.

On February 18, 2007, American time, the NBA All-Star Game kicked off at the Thomas \u0026 Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Returning to the Mark Center, Millsap and Novak were very moved. Half a year ago, under the leadership of Tang Tian, ​​they won the summer league championship in this arena.

Because the main match was two days away, Tang Tian was in a suit and leather shoes, sitting on the sidelines with Yao Mai as a VIP audience.

The first day of the All-Star game is a stage for rookies, the second-year team is shining, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, David Lee, Danny Granger, these future All-Star teams will not Lose to an NBA team.

After the game started, the second-year team was also crushed by strength. The best performer was David Lee from the Knicks.

However, Millsap on the first-year team was also eye-catching. His strength was obviously superior to the others, and he also disturbed the inside line of the second-year team.

In the end, relying on the overall strength, the second-year team beat the first-year team 155 to 121.

David Lee scored 30 points and 11 rebounds on 14 of 14 shots and won the rookie game MVP.

But for the first-year team, Millsap did not give up much. He made 12 of 15 shots and scored 28 points and 14 rebounds.

The other two members of the Rockets also performed well. Hyde scored 15 points on 3-of-6 three-pointers, and Novak also contributed 21 points on 7-of-10 three-pointers.

After the game, Tang Tian also called the two of them to his side to encourage them. Their outstanding performance in the rookie competition greatly improved their self-confidence in the second half of the season.

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