McHale was very generous and replaced all the core seven players: Harden, Jeremy Lin, Butler, Parsons, Ariza, Asik, and Livingston.
The Knicks relied on the advantage of their substitute lineup to recover some points in the last 6 minutes, and the loss was not too ugly.
The final score was fixed at 117:101.
After this game, the Rockets ushered in a rare three-day offseason.
After the game, McHale gave a brief summary of the game in the locker room and immediately announced that he would give the players two days off.
From the beginning of the season to now, the continuous competition and training have really exhausted the players. Appropriate adjustments and relaxation are also part of basketball.
"Jeremy, Jimmy, I know there is a nightclub with a very high reputation. What do you say tonight? Go and experience it?"
Harden extended an invitation to Jeremy Lin and Butler and said brightly.
"Sorry, I plan to go back to accompany my parents, have a small barbecue in the yard tomorrow, and come back to practice more the day after tomorrow. What do you mean, let's practice football together the day after tomorrow?"
Jeremy Lin declined.
Harden didn't answer immediately and looked at Butler with his big eyes blinking.
"James, now is not the time to have fun. Tomorrow I am going to the elementary school to visit the children and do charity activities. Are you interested in joining us? Practice football the day after tomorrow. Jeremy, I will come."
Butler said seriously.
"I've convinced you. It's really boring. Okay, then I won't go either. I'll go to the elementary school tomorrow and come back the day after tomorrow to practice more!"
Harden pouted. He originally planned to go to a nightclub for two days and two nights, but somehow Jeremy Lin and Butler made it clear that he couldn't go to the nightclub.
"But we have agreed that when the season is over, you two will accompany me to the nightclub, and you are not allowed to let me go!"
"no problem!"
"OK!"
Jeremy Lin and Butler agreed wholeheartedly.
Xu Xin has not been idle these two days. He called his parents as usual, gave daily greetings, and then devoted himself to work.
The Rockets' current starting and bench strength is far from enough, and he needs to find ways to continue to strengthen.
He has been thinking repeatedly in the past few days. If Ainge goes back on his word, or if Garnett doesn't want to come and vetoes it, who else will the team's weakest power forward be?
He carefully studied various power forwards from various teams and Europe, trying to find the most suitable candidate and evaluate the feasibility of the transaction.
This job was really a big project, and after three days, he still had no idea.
Just when he was having a headache about this matter, good news came.
"Good evening, I'm Angie."
"Good evening, Mr. Anji, I am Xu Xin."
"I thought about it and agreed to the deal. I also communicated with Kevin (Garnett) this afternoon and he is very willing to join your team.
We have reached a verbal agreement. When the transaction is allowed on December 15, we will submit it to the league for approval. "
Angie gets straight to the point and leaves no ink.
"Okay, Mr. Ainge, I hope that through this transaction, we can establish a good cooperative relationship between the Rockets and the Celtics. After all, we are located in the east and west, and there is very little competition between us, don't you think?"
Xu Xin was very happy. Plan A was successful. This was the most ideal result. Besides being happy, he also did not forget to use condom.
Xu Xin knows very well that if he wants to survive in this alliance, he needs several allies. Mutual benefit is the most correct thing for both parties.
A manager who always wants to take advantage and treats other managers as fools will only get further and further away from the championship.
"Of course. To tell you the truth, you are my favorite young manager. Work hard. Maybe one day I want to retire and I will ask you to take over my job, haha."
Angie smiled.
"Thanks to Mr. Ainge, I will definitely pay you a visit when the Rockets go to Boston to play!"
Xu Xin replied in a happy tone.
He didn't believe a word of Anji's praise. In the adult world, if it wasn't signed and stamped, it wouldn't be taken seriously.
"Okay, welcome, that's it, let's talk later!"
"goodbye!"
Putting down the phone, Xu Xin breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, the starting power forward, or a one-year-old and four-year-old defensive system, the Rockets' missing link will be able to make up for it immediately.
He could finally get a good night's sleep tonight.
On November 28, the Rockets will usher in the last of three consecutive home games. Their opponent is the Toronto Raptors. After this game, they will fly to Oklahoma early tomorrow morning to challenge the Thunder back to back.
The team gathered together yesterday and resumed training, and the same is true this morning.
In the evening game, the Rockets once again grabbed the start and stopped their opponents with a score of 16:5.
After that, the Raptors relied on the efforts of "junk brothers" Lowry and DeRozan, as well as the team's rookie center Valanciunas, to close the point difference to 3 points twice.
But under Harden's leadership, the Rockets' three-point shooters fired continuously, instantly widening the point difference to double digits.
In the end, the Rockets defeated the Raptors 122:107 without any suspense and won their third consecutive victory.
Harden has been stable for three games, making 11 of 18 shots, 4 of 9 three-pointers, 7 of 8 free throws, and scored a team-high 33 points, 6 rebounds, and 11 assists.
Butler made 7 of 12 shots and scored 22 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.
Jeremy Lin didn't have a strong desire to attack in this game, but his efficiency was very good. He scored 16 points and 7 assists on 6 of 8 shots. His plus-minus value was the highest in the game, reaching an astonishing +28.
"Ding! Win the game, get 50 points, and now have 675 points."
In the box, Xu Xin was very satisfied. When Garnett's trade was officially announced, he would get 300 points immediately, and 1,000 points would be reached soon.
Xu Xin's current goal is to accumulate 2,000 points before the All-Star Game. He can take advantage of this time to try to sign back the Yao-Mai team and help them recover by redeeming "Nirvana Rebirth".
Yao Mai must come back, not only to fulfill Xu Xin's long-cherished wish, but also to win the championship.
To do this, the Rockets need to win more games. You must know that the system they have is like sailing against the current. If you don't advance, you will retreat. If you lose, you will be deducted points!
The next afternoon, in the Oklahoma training hall, the Rockets players conducted pre-game training.
Xu Xin and McHale were chatting on the sidelines.
"Harden and Butler have played better and better in the past three games. This kind of improvement is really amazing. Anyway, I have played football for so many years and I have never seen anything like this."
McHale still can't figure out how the two of them improved so much in just one week.
"They have outstanding talent and work hard enough. I heard Jeremy Lin tell me that you gave the players two days off a few days ago. He, Harden and Butler only took one day off, and then organized extra training with the teammates. They are diligent. That’s why they’ve been able to grow so fast.”
Xu Xin said this, but he knew it better than anyone in his heart.
After using "Talent Cashing" on Harden and Butler, the improvement they achieved in the past week is equivalent to the results of a year of practicing step by step, which is not surprising.
