NBA: Starting with Jokic template

Chapter 166 Playoffs, start!

The regular season has come to an end.

The Eastern and Western rankings have also been officially released.

The top eight teams in the Eastern Conference (from high to low) are: New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks.

The top eight teams in the Western Conference (from high to low) are: Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets.

The Thunder are ranked first in the Western Conference with a record of 74 wins and 8 losses.

The opponent is the Rockets, who are ranked eighth in the Western Conference and have a record of 45 wins and 37 losses.

The star player is a good brother to several of them.

James Harden.

"How do you say playing against an old teammate?"

In the training hall, Lin Chuan held his cell phone and spoke to Westbrook beside him.

Westbrook wiped his sweat and smiled.

"Whatever you say, of course we should beat them up! That's the only way to show them respect!"

"It's really cruel, but I like it."

A smile appeared on Lin Chuan's lips.

Yes, on the basketball court, the greatest respect is to give your all.

Facing former teammate Harden, he must be beaten. This is the most face-giving approach!

"Then take them down in four games!"

Lin Chuan made his decision casually.

"If we finish the first round sooner, we can rest longer."

…………

The training day was over quickly.

The next day, the Rockets' plane landed and they arrived in Oklahoma.

James Harden walked off the plane wearing a light jacket and carrying a bag containing his equipment.

After leaving the airport, James Harden's pace suddenly slowed down.

Seeing him stop, Jeremy Lin walked over to him and realized that he was staring into the distance in a daze.

"Do you miss this place?"

The sudden voice interrupted Harden's contemplative state. He nodded, and his beard swayed up and down with his head.

"Yeah, after all, this is where I fought for so long..."

One could hear some frustration in Jeremy Lin's tone.

"It's a business alliance after all."

Jeremy Lin actually has the most experience with this kind of thing.

There was a time when I couldn't play ball.

However, he was appointed to the position in a critical moment and successfully withstood the pressure, playing a series of games that were known as Lin Madness.

During the offseason, the Rockets, who had once cut him, offered him a contract again, and he joined the Rockets again.

In the NBA, he has seen the ups and downs of life and best understands the meaning of the term "commercial alliance."

So what if we win the championship?

If the contract is not discussed clearly, it will be cleared up as well.

This is the cruelest part of this alliance.

Harden also understands this.

He looked into the distance and couldn't help but recall the time when he argued with Presti in the general manager's office and even begged to stay with the team.

As long as the team agrees to his contract.

Thinking of that scene again, Harden couldn't help but feel a little tight in his chest.

He put the bag on his shoulder and said to Jeremy Lin,
"Let's go, we'll go train when we get back to the hotel."

"The eighth one against the first one is not completely helpless."

"We should adjust our condition and let them see how powerful we are."

Let them see what kind of strength the discarded player they abandoned and traded to the Rockets has now.

Harden said the last words in his heart.

The next day, after lunch, the Rockets went to the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

As soon as the group arrived at the entrance of the stadium, many people blocked them.

Many people approached Harden, hoping to get his autograph.

"Hey! Harden! I finally waited for you to come to Oklahoma again. Can you sign an autograph for me?"

As he spoke, the fan showed him the jersey he was wearing, which was a white jersey of Harden, the home jersey of the Thunder. Seeing this familiar jersey, Harden's eyes suddenly became moist.

He didn't expect that Thunder fans would still remember him today.

Without saying a word, Harden stopped the team security from driving the fans away, walked up to him and signed his name.
"Thank you for remembering me."

The fans were overjoyed and shook Harden's hand.
"Of course! It's not your fault that you left! It was clearly the management's fault!"

"that is!"

Next to him, a little fan who was also wearing Harden's blue jersey spoke in his baby voice.

"This is my son, can you please sign for him too? He has been your fan for several years."

The fan from before picked up the little boy and said to Harden.

"of course."

Hearing that the fans were so able to distinguish right from wrong, Harden couldn't help but want to pee in the eyes.

If he hadn't been wearing sunglasses, the fans would have been able to see his emotional fluctuations at this moment.

Resisting the urge to choke up, Harden signed autographs for the young fans and then hurried into the stadium.

All he wants now is to practice hard to warm up.

He will show his best on the court later! Let all Thunder fans see what kind of player James Harden is now!

Let them know that it was a wrong choice for the Thunder management to give up on him!

…………

"see this!"

Lin Chuan, who had just changed his jersey, heard Westbrook calling him, looked up, and found that he was holding a cell phone towards him.

The above is a tweet from a Thunder fan who said he ran into Harden at the door and asked him to sign his Thunder jersey.

"It seems that our fans still love Harden very much."

"Of course."

Westbrook sat aside, looking very serious.

"Harden is a player who won the championship with us. He has always been very popular among the fan group."

"It seems that he will definitely take revenge on us today."

Lin Chuan guessed.

"The Avengers are coming."

"We have to use all our strength to deal with him."

On the playing field.

Harden has already started warming up.

Lin Chuan and Westbrook walked towards the arena with the ball and saw Harden shooting a three-pointer.

"Shh!"

"Shh!"

"Shh!"

He made all ten consecutive three-point shots.

Viewed from the side, Harden's eyes were also very focused.

You can't tell at all that he is a player who likes to go to nightclubs off the court.

"It seems that he is in a very good touch today."

"Yeah, be careful."

“This is the playoffs.”

Lin Chuan also walked to the three-point line.

Start warming up.

"Shh!"

"Shh!"

"Shh!"

Same with James Harden.

Lin Chuan's unguarded three-pointers were also always successful.

But Westbrook on the side was a little worse.

He only made 10 of 7 three-point shots.

Seeing that the only core player of the team besides himself was not in good form, Lin Chuan decided to take the lead in today's game.

(End of this chapter)