From South China Tiger to NBA King

Chapter 138 Goodbye Zhou Qi, Butterfly Wings Flapping
November 12rd is another new week.

In the evening, the results of the Player of the Week selection were announced, and Irving won the Eastern Conference Player of the Week.

In the three games played last week, Irving's data was more beautiful than Jianghu. Irving scored 30 points against the Cavaliers, 43 points against the Trail Blazers, and 40 points against the Thunder. He averaged 37 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists per game. , Although there are only two wins and one loss, but with such data, it is well deserved to be the best player of the week.

After a hearty exhaustion, the moment of relaxation afterwards becomes particularly attractive, not for anything else, just to reward yourself after paying.

After winning the best player of the week, Irving proposed to treat himself in the team chat, and invite all the players of the team to have a nightclub together.

Jianghu saw the news but did not reply. Owen thought he was busy and called to invite him. At this time, Jianghu was training with Caruso in the team training hall.

After entering the NBA, Jianghu still maintains the habit of regular training. He wants to combine his shooting and dribbling better. Even if the system suddenly disappears one day, he can still gain a foothold in this league with his own skills.

"I don't want to go to the nightclub. There is still a game tomorrow, and the next game is against Houston. They are our biggest opponents in the league. We can't take it lightly."

After answering the phone, Jiang Hu rejected Owen's proposal without even thinking about it.

Owen seems to have forgotten one thing. According to the law of Massachusetts, the age to enter a nightclub needs to be 21 years old. Jianghu's current body is only 19 years old, and he can't even enter the door of the nightclub. What a fart.

"Please, haven't you heard a saying, "Life is bigger than basketball"?? There are games every two days, and the chance for the whole team to be happy is not every day. Come on, come on!!"

"Besides, isn't it Houston? With our recent state, let alone Houston, we are not afraid of the Golden State Warriors. We need to stop and relax for a while, and then face our opponents in a better state!!"

Irving is very excited. This is the first time he has won the Eastern Conference Player of the Week after two and a half years. Excitement is normal.

Jianghu thought about it, and finally decided to reject Owen:
"Houston is really not scary, but I still want to maintain my best form, so I won't go to nightclubs for now!!"

Owen smiled meanly: "Listen to me, we plan to go to the nightclub first, then go to the beach, and go to my private yacht. I have dated many girls, and many of them have said they want to meet you. There are two A very beautiful internet celebrity, and a Victoria's Secret model, are you sure you really won't come?"

Jianghu felt that he could see Owen's complexion through the phone.

"I really want to go, but the game is very important to me, please say sorry to them for me." Jiang Hu turned to look at Caruso who was training with him: "Are you going to the nightclub?"

Caruso shook his head, smiled wryly and said, "I'm not going either, just tell him."

Jiang Hu replied: "Kyrie, I'm sorry, Alex and I will not go, we plan to train all day today."

Owen sighed: "Shet, you don't know how to be fun." Then he hung up the phone decisively.

Hanging up the phone, Jianghu asked with a smile, "Are you sure you won't regret it? With Carey, you don't need to pay the bill, and there are many beauties who are famous online. I think they will be interested in you, a strong white man."

Caruso scratched his head and showed a naive smile: "I really want to go, but you don't go. Is someone with my strength willing to go? I still want to get a big contract."

Caruso is not too stupid, there will be a second time for this kind of thing.

He was afraid that after he became familiar with Irving, it would be difficult to refuse Irving's invitation next time. Irving can go, he is the core of the team, and he doesn't worry about not having a big contract.

I am different, I am just a player with a basic salary, and I still want to get the only contract with an annual salary of tens of millions in my career to guarantee the rest of my life, so I dare not indulge myself casually.

Caruso has always used the rivers and lakes as a benchmark. When the rivers and lakes go out to play, he will go out to play, and when the rivers and lakes come to the team to train, he will follow the team to train.

He made up his mind in his heart that he had to hold on to the big thick leg of Jianghu. He heard that Battier, Hayes and Alston who were beside Yao Ming could get sneakers from China. Contract, he wanted that too.

He was born at the bottom and knew nothing but defense. If it wasn't for Jianghu's recommendation, he didn't know how long he would be in the Development League.

As for Jiang Hu, apart from age, the most important thing is that he doesn't like the environment of nightclubs, which are noisy and not comfortable at all. If Owen held a pool party at his home, he might go there.

On December 12, the Celtics came to Houston, where today they will challenge the Houston Rockets led by James Harden and Chris Paul.

This season should have been the season in which the Rockets, Harden and Paul achieved results. In any year in history, this team has the strength to compete for the championship.

Throughout the season, they achieved 65 wins and 17 losses. Their offensive efficiency ranked first in the league, their defensive efficiency ranked third in the league, and both offense and defense were extremely strong.

Jianghu remembers: In the original time and space, countless Rockets teams left over from the Yao Ming era crazily supported this Rockets team, hoping that they would win the championship.

In the Hupu NBA zone, before the start of the Western Conference Finals G7 game, the screen is full of posts that give away things as long as the Rockets win.

Some give jerseys, some sneakers, some cash, some cars, and some people even took pictures of their own real estate certificates, claiming that as long as the Rockets enter the finals, they can give away a house.

It's a pity that the strongest Houston Rockets met the strongest Golden State Warriors, so such a team that had great hopes of winning the championship in normal years became one of the strongest uncrowned kings in history.

They have Harden who scores like chopping melons and vegetables, Paul the court commander, Ariza who is outside the iron gate, Capela who eats cakes and is full of oil, Tucker the defensive tough guy, Gordon the best sixth man, and the away game is amazing. Flak Anderson.

But it's useless, their opponent is the Golden State Warriors who have two 27-year-old peak MVPs and a total of 4 All-Stars.

Thin tall long shot king - Kevin Durant.

Let the league enter the small ball era in an all-round way-Stephen Curry.

The strongest 3D pitcher in history-Klay Thompson.

Arc top magician-Draymond Green.

There has never been such a lineup in history. In the 80s, the combination of Curry + Durant + Thompson was equivalent to Larry Bird + Moses Malone with Richmond, and in the 90s it was equivalent to Malone + Barkley Also bring Reggie Miller, which was equivalent to James + Garnett and Ray Allen in the 00s.

However, the 18 Rockets forced the Warriors to enter their game rhythm through unlimited defense changes when the lineup was clearly at an absolute disadvantage. Cole's classic pass and cut were cut to pieces, leaving only the star singles.

In the fifth game of Tianwangshan, if it weren't for Paul's sudden injury, but the injury that came as expected like a curse, it is still hard to predict who will win and who will lose in this series between the Rockets and the Warriors.

If the lack of Iguodala's Warriors is the lack of a forward gate and an up-line ball holder, then what does it mean to lack Paul's Rockets?

It means that the Rockets have lost one of their most important organizers and the best controller on the field.

One of the best defenders on the back line.

The best mid-range shooter on the team.

And, a stability threat on the perimeter.

Will the Rockets miss Paul when they go 27-for-0 from [-]-point range?

There is no doubt that they missed Paul all the time after losing him.

Paul in this period is not the pensioner Paul of the Sun later. Paul, who was born in 1985, is only 32 years old. In this era, most 32-year-old athletes are at the peak of their careers, especially guards like Paul. It is also a stable and demonic age.

People always say that two fists are hard to beat four hands, so the Rockets without Paul are just like what you and I saw, Harden was beaten with two hands by the opponent with four hands.

But today is very unfortunate. The Houston Rockets facing the Celtics are the complete version of the Rockets.

They are all healthy, Harden is in full condition, Paul is healthy, Ariza is a defensive leader, Capela eats cakes with peace of mind, and Zhou Qi is fully guarding the drinking fountain.

They not only have Paul, but also the "Prince of Cameroon" Luke Mbah a Moute that Rockets fans miss. He is the son of the chief of Cameroon, the basketball leader of "Emperor" Embiid, and the love of Rockets fans.

Although it is not clear why the Rockets fans are so unforgettable about Mbah a Moute, he is indeed in the current Rockets lineup and occupies a stable rotation time.

During the day before the game, Jianghu asked Zhou Qi to meet in Houston, and had a simple meal together to catch up on the past.

When I came to Houston, I naturally wanted to take care of Yao Ming’s business. Jiang Hu still remembers that Yao Ming opened two Chinese restaurants in Houston, called “Yao Restaurant”, where all the chefs came from China, and all the dishes were home-cooked Chinese dishes. .

Jianghu originally planned to go to the "Yao Restaurant" on Westheimer Street, the most prosperous restaurant street in Houston. Teammates Wang Daxiang, Kong Qingling and his wife, Fu Jilin, the owner of 70 Chinese restaurants in Houston, and Yudi, who opened a Sichuan restaurant, jointly opened it.

But when Jianghu and Zhou Qi called, Zhou Qi told him that the "Yao Restaurant" had already closed down.

It is an eternal law that people take tea to cool down, whether it is abroad or at home, it is the same.

When Yao Ming just retired, there was no obvious drop in the business of Yao Restaurant, but as time went on, when Houston’s darlings changed from Yao Ming and McGrady to Harden and Paul, the bonuses Yao Ming gave to Yao Restaurant began to change. Very weak.

Yao Restaurant, which used to be bustling, has become empty. In the fourth year after Yao Ming retired, the Yao Restaurant in the center of Houston has closed down. Only the Yao Restaurant in Chinatown is still struggling to maintain.

Now there is only the last one left in "Yao Restaurant". If I want to choose, I have no choice but to go to the one in Chinatown.

On the day of the game, Jianghu took the team's special plane to Houston, then bid farewell to his teammates at the airport, and took Zhou Qi's car to Houston's Chinatown.

Zhou Qi's car is very low-key. He drives a Lincoln Navigator. According to his introduction: his car has a displacement of 3.5T and a 10AT gearbox, which can burst out 415 horsepower. The most important thing is that the price is only $85000 is required.

For Zhou Qi, who has an annual salary of tens of millions in domestic advertising, choosing a car worth 85000 US dollars is indeed relatively low-key.

"Foreign cars are cheap. My friend bought the same configuration as me in China. It costs 140 million yuan, and an electric pedal of 3 yuan is added."

"Damn, why send it? The electric pedal costs 3?? It's like killing a pig!!"

Zhou Qi started chatting with Jiang Hu endlessly from the airport, and kept introducing his car to Jiang Hu, as well as the fun places in Houston that Yao Ming recommended to him and that he had already been to.

As the only two Chinese players who are still playing in the NBA, although they don't usually have any contact, the connection with the same profession, the same yellow skin, black hair, and the same language is hard to let go.

Therefore, Jianghu did not show any impatience for Zhou Qi's chatter, but instead listened carefully and made serious comments from time to time, which made Zhou Qi feel very useful.

While talking, Jianghu still couldn't help asking about Zhou Qi's recent situation in the team:

"How about it, did Harden and Paul take you to play, did someone bully you?"

Zhou Qi's attitude is also not as hostile as when the two first met:

"Oh, it's okay, it's good, but there are not many opportunities to play, it's annoying!!"

Regarding Jianghu, Zhou Qi's initial emotion was disgust, quite disgusting.

He hated the opponent's sudden appearance and led the Guangdong team to achieve the first 0-3 reversal in the history of professional basketball. He also took away his CBA championship trophy and all the spotlights that should have belonged to him.

But as Jianghu's performance became better day by day, and when he was selected by the NBA as the No. [-] pick, all of Zhou Qi's unhappiness disappeared in an instant, and turned into a five-body cast.

As a player selected after the 40th overall pick, Zhou Qi knows very well what kind of talent is needed in order to be selected by the NBA as the No. [-] pick.

Before going abroad to participate in the draft, he thought that his talent was already very good, and he often fantasized that he would be selected by the lottery, become the starting center of a team, or even become the core of a team, to compete with Davis , Cousins ​​​​like the league's top insiders to compete.

But the reality is: since being selected by the Houston Rockets, Zhou Qi has been practicing three-pointers almost every day, but he has only played 6 times since the beginning of the season, and only averaged 6/7 minutes per game.

Unless the team enters garbage time in the final quarter, he normally has no chance to play.

In garbage time, he basically only does one thing on the court, and that is to catch the ball, shoot three-pointers and grab rebounds.

He knows that his three-point shooting is terrible, but he really worked hard, and the results in training are not bad, but in the game, he just can't make it.

Seeing Jianghu's performance, he lost the confidence to complain and worked hard every day.

While talking, the car has arrived in Chinatown.

Parking the car at the door, the two walked into Yao's restaurant talking and laughing.

The business in the store is not bad. It is noon at this time, and there are about 15 tables in the whole hall.

The moment two tall men over 2 meters entered Yao's restaurant, they were recognized by a customer dining inside.

"Damn!!! Jianghu, Zhou Qi!!"

A man with glasses who was eating put down his chopsticks and shouted loudly, and then almost everyone in the restaurant put down their chopsticks and gathered around to ask for autographs and group photos.

Since most of the people present were Chinese compatriots, Jiang Hu and Zhou Qi did not refuse everyone's request for autographs and group photos. It took the two of them a full 15 minutes to sign autographs and group photos with everyone present and arrive at the reserved box.

Zhou Qi smiled and said: "It's not easy, you are so hot now, you have to hide wherever you go, or you won't be able to eat a meal!!"

Jiang Hu shook his head with a smile, but did not speak.

The two sat down, and Zhou Qi was in charge of ordering. He ordered authentic Chinese dishes, including mapo tofu, twice-cooked pork, braised pork, boiled chicken, steamed sea bass and pickled pepper bullfrog.

Seeing that Zhou Qi wanted to continue ordering, Jiang Hu quickly interrupted him with a smile: "Enough, enough, there is enough food for the two of you, and there is still some left."

Zhou Qi's enthusiasm was unstoppable: "Is it enough? It's rare to come here. Let's have more and try them all. The chefs here are all from China, so old and authentic!!"

Jiang Hu hurriedly waved his hands: "Okay, 6 dishes are enough for two people, besides, there are authentic Chinese restaurants opened by Chinese people in Boston, not as greedy as you said!!"

After the food was served, since there was a game tonight and they were both athletes, the two of them ordered some Pu'er tea instead of wine, and chatted while eating tea instead of wine.
The two chatted and laughed, chatting and chatting and began to talk about the situation after entering the NBA.

While talking, Zhou Qi sighed: "I envy you so much, you can become the core of a strong team, unlike me, I don't know when I will return to China."

Zhou Qi's situation has always been clear to the world.

In the Rockets, he tried his best to practice three-pointers, but in the end he was not allowed to make three-pointers, and his body was not strong enough, so he regretted leaving the NBA.

In fact, Zhou Qi, who played in Australia later, played well. His body was a lot stronger than he is now, and his defensive level and offensive level at the basket, not to mention how good he is, it is no problem to start for a weak NBA team. Coupled with his wingspan, he can actually gain a foothold in the NBA.

However, at that time, he had already been smoothed by life and lost the determination to move forward. He felt that it was quite comfortable to get a high salary in Australia or China, and there was no need to take risks in the NBA.

But Zhou Qi in this period is actually very eager to gain a foothold in the NBA, and with his talent, as long as he finds the right direction, hard training is actually enough for him to gain a foothold in the NBA.

Jianghu thought about it, everyone is compatriots from the same land.The advice should still be advised:

"You should have been practicing three-pointers all the time, and you haven't practiced much strength. I don't think your body shape has changed a lot?"

Zhou Qi nodded affirmatively: "Yes, the agent told me that the Rockets are a team that likes three-pointers. It is not bad for me to practice more three-pointers. I asked the coach, and the coach also said that we can do more. Practice three-pointers, maybe it will be useful for me."

Hearing Zhou Qi's answer, Jianghu couldn't help shaking his head slightly.

This kid went astray without knowing it.

For him, if he wants to gain a foothold in the NBA, the most important thing is not to make three-pointers, but to improve his confrontation ability.

It doesn't need to be very strong, and being able to train to the level of physical strength he later had in Australia is enough for him to become a stable rotation in many teams.

In the current NBA, the degree of internal decay is really not 01:30.

Jianghu looked into Zhou Qi's eyes and asked, "Do you want to know why my performance is getting better and better?"

Zhou Qi didn't expect Jianghu to say this all of a sudden. He paused for a moment, stopped picking up vegetables, and said with a forced smile on his face: "Your talent is better than mine, and you work harder than me. I read the news. , Even on non-competition days, you train for more than 4 hours every day!!"

"But I'm also working hard, I feel useless!!"

"Am I so talented that I don't deserve to play in the NBA at all!!"

As he talked, Zhou Qi lost even interest in eating food. He lowered his chopsticks and leaned on the chair with his shoulders slumped, with a decadent expression on his face.

Seeing Zhou Qi like this, Jianghu couldn't bear it.

Zhou Qi in this period is very confused, no one can point him in the direction, he can only follow the team's arrangement, like a puppet on a string, even if the person who pulls the string is wrong, he can only make mistakes and make mistakes .

Jianghu raised his glass and toasted Zhou Qi: "I didn't mean to show off to you. If I make you unhappy, I will punish myself with a glass."

Zhou Qi waved his hand to indicate that it was all right, Jianghu still drank it all in one gulp.

"The reason why I can have a stable playing time in the NBA is because my weight has risen from 4kg in April to 97kg now, which is what I want to express."

"What I want to say is that if you still want to gain a foothold in the NBA, the top priority is not to practice three-pointers, but to improve your confrontation. You are a center, and the first thing you have to do is to protect the frame and protect the rebound. The ball, the three-pointer should be something you can consider after you have a stable playing time!!"

"As a compatriot, I didn't mean to ridicule you. I also hope that you will get better and better. If I am the only Chinese in the NBA, it would be quite boring."

Hearing Jianghu say this, Zhou Qi realized that he had misunderstood Jianghu just now.

"But what if the agent and the team asked me to practice more three-pointers? How should I refuse??"

This is the biggest problem facing Zhou Qi at present, his own destiny, how he should train, he has no way to decide...

Hearing Zhou Qi's words, the corners of Jianghu's mouth showed disdain: "What is an agent? He still restricts you? Tell him, if you don't train your body and improve your confrontation, you will leave the NBA. It doesn't matter if you want an agent or not." !!"

"There is also the team. The team signed a two-year contract with you. They treat you as a lottery ticket. If you have it, you will have it. If you don't, you won't. They don't value you at all. Can't you see it? Believe it Me, you can practice whatever you want, as long as you are still training, they will not restrict you at all."

Jianghu looked into Zhou Qi's eyes, put down his chopsticks, patted the table and said seriously: "Believe me, if you can gain 8-10kg within a year, there must be a place for you in the NBA. If you don’t have the ball to play, I’ll bring you to our team!!”

Zhou Qi was also bewildered by the prospect described by Jianghu, with a look of excitement, he got up and patted the table:
"Okay, fuck it, I listen to you, gain weight!!"

"I started redesignating the training plan when I went back, and kicked him if the manager disagreed, damn it!!"

(End of this chapter)