Lu Yao was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then he felt joyful in his heart!
The system's random mission finally came again.
Immediately, the specific mission requirements for this mission appeared in Lu Yao's mind.
[In the absence of both Durant and Westbrook, defeating the Rockets with a single core and scoring five blocks can complete this task. 】
At the same time, the introduction to the iron wall of talent was also presented.
[Iron Wall: After obtaining this talent, the inside is like an iron wall, no one can break through, no one can enter, the blocking ability is greatly enhanced, and the inside defense ability is also improved. 】
From this point of view, Iron Wall is a purely defensive talent.
But defensive talent is still relatively scarce for the current Lu Yao.
After all, as long as you are a star player with stronger offensive ability, it is easy to compete with Lu Yao.
But what Lu Yao asked for was a single attack on the opposing player.
Therefore, enhancing defensive capabilities has become Lu Yao's current top priority.
But now that the system had given him such an opportunity, Lu Yao naturally wanted to seize it.
In the next game, the Thunder will face the Rockets from Houston.
The Rockets are currently ranked third in the Western Conference. The Rockets, led by James Harden, are a formidable opponent on the same level as the Warriors and Cavaliers for the Thunder.
After all, Harden has now been promoted to MVP level, and his personal statistics are also among the best in the league.
From the Sixth Man of the Year three years ago to a strong contender for MVP now, there is no doubt that Harden's progress has been huge.
Even so, with Westbrook's blessing, Lu Yao still has great hopes of winning the Rockets.
But the requirement given by the system is to win the game against the Rockets with a single core when Westbrook and Durant are both absent.
Needless to say, Durant suffered a knee injury and needed to recover for two weeks before he could play again.
And Westbrook has not even taken a break from Lu Yao's first game to now. Since the system says so, it also proves that in this game, Donovan will arrange for Westbrook to take a rest.
So now, the Thunder's winning rate against the Rockets can be said to be greatly reduced.
Lu Yao put a hand on his chest, so he could only rely on himself.
…
Soon, time came to the day when the Thunder faced the Rockets at home.
The Energy Center Arena, the Energy Center at this moment, is already overcrowded, and many people come to watch this game that is also the focus of the game.
This is not only because the stars on both sides are very popular players, but also because Harden was once a Thunder player.
The Thunder's Harden, together with Durant and Westbrook, were known as the Thunder's three young men. In the 11-12 season, Harden won the best sixth man award and, alongside the other two young men, eliminated the strong Spurs team. , advancing to the finals.
But in the end, it was a pity that he lost to the Heat's Big Three. In the off-season, Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets just because the Thunder management was stingy with the millions.
After two years of careful training by the Rockets, Harden has made rapid progress, from being underappreciated at the beginning to becoming an MVP-level player now.
Harden's rapid improvement also proved to the Thunder management that their original choice was very wrong.
Therefore, when faced with Lu Yao's contract, the Thunder management didn't have much concern and directly signed Lu Yao with the maximum salary.
It's really because they have lost Harden and they don't want to let Lu Yao off this opportunity again.
In the previous life, it was just because they let Harden go that Dewey, the second youngster, was unable to support himself all year round, and ultimately fell in front of the finals.
But now, Lu Yao's arrival has undoubtedly changed the outcome.
At this moment, on the big screen of the Energy Center Arena, close-ups of Harden and Lu Yao were also shown on the screen.
At this moment, Harden's expression was really not good.
Facing his old club again, the same old club that had been scornful of him, Harden was naturally unhappy.
What's more, three years later, when faced with the choice of Lu Yao, who was also a future star, the Thunder management did not hesitate to sign a maximum salary contract to Lu Yao?
And he was indeed directly traded away by the Thunder for several million.
Anyone else would be unhappy, and Harden is no exception.
It just so happened that in this game, the Thunder announced that Westbrook would take a rest and Durant would continue to miss due to injury. Therefore, this game was completely led by Lu Yao.
Thinking of this, Harden clenched his fists and felt a fire rising in his heart.
The Thunder's 11-game winning streak should be ended by him today.
On the Thunder side, Lu Yao is conducting warm-up training with his assistant coach, and he is extremely serious.
Tonight's game is quite important to the Thunder.
Once the losing streak ends, the morale of the entire Thunder will drop a notch, and when the time comes, they will face no small problems.
Just like the original Cavaliers, after their winning streak was ended by the Thunder, their form plummeted, and they only recovered after experiencing a losing streak.
The same is true for the Warriors, and the Thunder will naturally be no exception.
So tonight, Lu Yao is bound to win this game.
This is not only because of the requirements of the task, but also because of the responsibility he carries, which prompts him to win this game.
Soon, the game was about to begin, and the starting players from both sides gathered in the center circle, preparing for a jump ball.
Lu Yao and Rockets center Howard stood side by side. Howard, as the core of the former Magic team, once led the team to the finals, and eventually lost to the Black Mamba Kobe's Lakers.
But in the Eastern Conference finals, Howard averaged 6 fouls per game and still eliminated the Cavaliers with little Emperor James.
Although after leaving the Magic, Howard's form plummeted, and he was slowed down by two teams in two years.
But nothing has changed. He is still at the forefront of the league's centers.
As soon as he came up, the arrogant Howard raised his eyebrows at Lu Yao and said mockingly.
"Are you Lu? Prepare to be beaten by me on the inside, boy. What they can't do, I can do."
Lu Yao was about to say something, but thinking that he was Howard, it was not surprising.
The young Howard was synonymous with being arrogant and domineering. Many stars were ridiculed by him and his attitude was extremely loose. This was the reason for his rapid decline.
Kobe, who was teammates with Howard at the time, ruptured his Achilles tendon because of Howard's looseness on the court, and the two eventually turned against each other.
Although Howard came to his senses a few years later, Kobe had already passed away.
At this moment, as the referee's whistle sounded, the ball was thrown into the air!
Game start.
