McHale walked in and added:
"The manager is right. I would also like to add that after the All-Star Weekend, you must stay in good condition. If I find someone who has gained 20 pounds when I come back, I will definitely make him unable to eat and walk around."
As soon as these words came out, everyone burst into laughter again.
On the night after the game, the team stayed overnight in New Orleans and flew back to Houston without stopping the next morning.
On the plane, Xu Xin was bored, scrolling through his phone and browsing fan forums.
I was surprised to find that almost no one was discussing the Rockets' victory last night. Instead, everyone was discussing Harden's selection as an All-Star with the third-highest vote in the league.
"Is Harden so good? She was just a substitute last season."
"That's right, as the saying goes, marrying well is worse than doing well. After Harden went to the Rockets, he gained a large number of Chinese fans. With a large fan base, it is natural for him to get a high number of votes."
Some fans of other fans said it in a high-sounding way, which makes sense at first glance.
You know, Harden's votes this time were second only to Kobe and James, beating out a number of already-famous superstars, including Duncan, Wade, Nowitzki, Anthony, Durant, Westbrook, Paul and others. behind him.
These superstars have a very large fan base, and it is reasonable for Harden to be criticized because of his high number of votes.
But Rockets fans don't think so. How can they swallow their anger when their pet peeve is so slandered?
One by one, they fought bravely and started to complain on the Internet with those fans who couldn't get enough of the grapes and said sour grapes.
"Have you watched the game, brother? Harden averaged 28.2 points per game this season, ranking third in the scoring list, second only to Durant and Anthony. He averaged 8.8 assists per game, also ranking third in the assists list, so he is Paul and Rondo. Is there anything wrong with high votes for data like this?”
Some fans first came up with data to prove it, making themselves invincible.
"What's the use of just looking at statistics? Many players can score, but they're just a brush."
Soon, someone retorted.
"Hey, I'm such a grumpy kid, I'm just telling lies, right? Harden's three-field shooting percentage is 55%+42%+90%, a solid 180 club, and his true shooting percentage is 67%, so high Efficiency, if you have the ability, give me one!"
"Look at the Rockets record. Can they continue to improve? The Rockets are first in the Western Conference and second in the league. Harden is the star. Is this what a data brush can do?"
This man's strong words soon encountered waves of collective criticism from Rockets fans, leaving him speechless, disconnecting the Internet and running away.
Xu Xin unconsciously raised the corners of his mouth, feeling comfortable. Harden's biggest black spot in his previous life was that he took too many free throws, especially when he felt bad, he took more free throws.
There are often data like 16 points on 3-of-12 shooting, and 22 points on 5-of-16 shooting.
This makes many non-Rockets fans feel that his scoring is all done by brushing up. But in fact, even if you simply compare sports scoring, Harden is still the scoring leader.
Another point is Harden's weakness in key battles. In fact, Harden has made quite a few buzzer-beating shots in his career. In terms of average data per game in the playoffs, it far exceeds that of most stars.
Many times, weakness in key battles is caused by lack of physical fitness.
McHale has been using Harden for a long time. When D'Antoni took over, his persistent eight-man rotation pushed Harden's average playing time to nearly 40 minutes per game.
With such high-intensity and long-term use, it is not easy to stay healthy. How can we ask him to break out every night?
Fortunately, Xu Xin, as a time traveler, had already thought of a solution at the beginning of the season.
He asked Harden to focus more on the physical game rather than drawing fouls. Among them, of course Xu Xin doesn't want free throws to be the area where Harden is criticized, but this is not the most important thing.
The most important thing is that when the game reaches a critical moment, especially in the playoffs, referees will often choose to hand the game over to the players. Some body hair fouls, fouls that may or may not be called, will not be called.
At this time, the only way to go is to invest.
As for the issue of weakness in the playoffs, Xu Xin and McHale discussed Harden's playing time and almost always kept it within 36 minutes.
As Xu Xin completes the reinforcement of the team's lineup step by step, the Rockets are now strong and strong on paper. They can clock in three quarters against many teams.
Harden's workload has been further reduced, which is why his scoring average has declined.
Not only that, Xu Xin traded for Butler and Garnett, both of whom are models of extreme self-discipline. Harden has been with them for a long time, and even if there are small seeds of indulgence in his heart, they cannot take root and sprout.
This season, Harden has hardly been to nightclubs, which has allowed him to maintain a very good condition.
Xu Xin can't guarantee whether Harden will collapse in the playoffs, but at least so far, Harden's performance at critical moments is still worthy of recognition.
"Xu, what do you think about tonight's game against the Nets?"
McHale's question interrupted Harden's thoughts.
"Nets?"
Xu Xin pondered for a while, his mind quickly searching for memories of the Nets this season.
The Nets have assembled a luxurious lineup of four All-Stars this season (Lopez was selected as an All-Star this season). The team boss does his part, the former Jazz star, Deron Williams, who eats, sleeps and plays Paul.
The second leader is the white center trained by the team, Brook Lopez. After being selected by the Nets with the 10th overall pick in 2008, he quickly occupied the position of the team's starting center in his rookie season. He played in 82 games and played only one game. 7 substitute games.
His average of 13 points, 8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game is worthy of his draft position.
In the second season, Lopez's tactical status in the team further improved. He continued to attend full attendance that season and started all starts. He averaged 18.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. His support ability was also demonstrated. In that era when big men mostly focused on low-post offense, averaging 2.5 assists per game was definitely a lot.
Since then, his data has been stable at around 18+8+2, without further improvement, but even so, he is a rare low-post killer in the league.
Among the younger generation of centers, there is no doubt that Lopez is among the best.
The other two All-Stars, Eagle King Joe Johnson and Elvis Gerald Wallace, were also All-Stars.
The two have completely different characteristics. Joe Johnson has accurate shooting and excellent singles ability, but his defense is weak.
Gerald Wallace's strength lies in defense, whether it is single defense or assist defense, he is very good.
He led the league in steals in the 05-06 season and was selected to the league's All-Defensive First Team in the 2009-10 season.
However, the offensive level is limited, the shooting is unstable, and the finishing efficiency is also low. He relies more on fighting for offensive rebounds and sparing no effort in cutting and running to find opportunities.
