At the same time, in the box, Shen Fei and Larry Riley were chatting and laughing.
"It's not easy, Shen. In Houston, fans generally have a higher social class and don't have much desire to watch football. When I came here occasionally in the past few years, there were always a lot of empty seats."
"I never thought that one day I would be able to see the Toyota Center packed with seats."
Larry Riley sighed sincerely.
Generally speaking, there are two types of places where it is difficult to sell tickets.
One is small ball markets in remote areas, such as Detroit, known as the Motor City.
Only during the two "Bad Boys" championship periods did fans fill the Palace of Auburn Hills.
The other is high-tech development zones like Houston.
People living in the aviation city are either not interested in basketball or are busy with work, and even if they like to watch football, they have no time.
As a result, Toyota Center often has a large area of empty seats.
Even in the focus of strong dialogue, this situation often happens.
Over time, NBA officials and major TV stations did not dare to devote too many resources to the Rockets. The number of Rockets live broadcasts across the United States was basically pitiful.
But this season, the situation has taken a 180° turn!
The Rockets under Shen Fei not only had an outstanding record, but also had a star-studded team.
There are Tracy McGrady, George, and Roy who play elegantly, there is Griffin who has a strong style of play, and there is Yao Ming who is a monster inside...
Basically, any fan's preference can be satisfied in this team.
Buddhist fans like Houston are gradually becoming fascinated by it.
Up to now, tickets to the Toyota Center are basically hard to come by!
In other words, the emergence of Shen Fei has truly changed the Rockets' basketball market!
This is something that the late former general manager Morey could not accomplish in several years, but it only took the Asian youth half a year to accomplish it.
"It's not bad, the ticket prices are relatively low now, so there's nothing to be proud of when the seats are full."
"After some time, I may have to increase the fare appropriately."
Shen Fei said lightly.
"Hey, young man, your ambitions are not small."
"By the way, I specifically mentioned Murphy as the starter today. Let's first say that he has just returned from injury and his playing time is strictly controlled. He may only play the first few minutes."
"Just to show you his current level, he can really still play, but he is troubled by injuries."
Larry Riley cut to the chase.
"Okay, how long the fight lasts is not the most important, the key is to see how much success Murphy still has."
"But what you say doesn't count, and what I say doesn't count. Basketball counts."
Shen Fei said with a smile without comment.
"Okay, let's wait and see."
Larry Riley said confidently.
Although Murphy's current condition is poor, if he is only required to play well in half the game, it should still be possible, and that's even if Curry condescends to assist.
............
As the referee throws the ball high, the game officially begins!
Yao Ming relaxed his arms and won the duel with Biedrins.
Rockets attack first!
Lawson advanced with the ball and came to the top of the key to organize the attack.
Tucker quickly brought it up and set up a cover for him.
With the help of the screen, Lawson accelerated and changed direction, got rid of Curry's defense, and faced Murphy who was assisting in defense.
Facing such a big white man, Lawson knew his advantages all too well.
He made a fake move of worshiping Buddha, causing Murphy to move his center of gravity upwards. Then he lowered his head and accelerated past the opponent again.
At this time, Yao Ming opened the corner and took Biedrins outside the three-point line. After Lawson entered the penalty area, there was no one to defend him.
The simplest layup, 2:0, the Rockets took the lead.
In the stands, Shen Fei smiled slightly: "This ability to defend the big against the small is not very good...it's almost like paper."
"...You can't say that. Even if Yao Ming were to defend that kind of ball, he couldn't defend it better. You know Lawson's speed better than me, right?"
Larry Riley immediately retorted.
Shen Fei smiled and shook his head without saying anything more.
The game continues.
Curry dribbled the ball across half court and called Murphy to step forward to cover.
"At the beginning, both sides chose a high pick-and-roll tactic, allowing the point guard and power forward to initiate the offense."
"Although the pick-and-roll strategy is broad and profound, there are many variations."
"But one thing is that if the two sides achieve different results using the same tactics, one side will inevitably feel embarrassed."
Yang Yi commented timely.
It's like the star opens a singles, and then the opponent's star chooses to respond with a singles.
If one party succeeds and the other party fails, the losing party will inevitably feel a little embarrassed.
Curry received instructions from his coach before the game to try his best to help Murphy obtain data while ensuring his own performance.
So this time, after using the screen to get rid of Lawson's defense, he kept observing Murphy's movements.
After the latter blocked the ball, he chose to bounce outside the three-point line.
Curry saw the right moment, made a free pass from behind, and handed the ball to Murphy.
Both Lawson and Tucker were deceived by him and did not cut off the passing line immediately.
Murphy immediately wanted to take action after catching the ball.
But perhaps because of the long absence from the field, his movement speed is not very fast. His movements from catching the ball to bending his knees and then lifting the ball are a bit slow.
When Murphy raised his hand to take off, his elbow hit something hard - Tucker's chin!
"Bang~"
After a muffled sound, Tucker fell backwards.
"Beep!"
The referee's whistle sounded, the Warriors committed an offensive foul!
Tucker suddenly stood up and high-fived his teammates who came to help him with excitement: "I'm fine! My jaw is strong, and I'm wearing braces."
Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady touched Tucker's braised egg head one after another. They were also very pleased to see their little brother defending so hard.
Mark Jackson on the sidelines also gave Tucker a thumbs up.
Tucker silently walked to the sideline and prepared to serve, but he couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth slightly.
Before the game, Mark Jackson gave him a death order - in today's game, you must guard Murphy tightly, so that when he raises his elbow to shoot, he will hit your chin!
This was the first time Tucker heard such a vivid request, but he did not flinch and agreed directly.
After all, since Griffin joined the Rockets, Tucker has had very few opportunities to start.
Once he has such an opportunity, he will definitely go all out to show his unique value to the coach!
............
In the stands, Larry Riley frowned.
The first minute was completely different from what he expected.
No comparison, no harm!
Murphy's attack and defense have exposed too many shortcomings.
[If the fight continues like this, wouldn’t Murphy be convinced that the contract is a garbage contract?]
Larry Riley was very anxious and kept looking forward to Curry's ability to turn the tide.
But even so, he remained calm on the surface and did not stop talking.
"You specially arranged Tucker, who is good at defense, to defend Murphy, right?"
Larry Riley asked meaningfully.
"If I play Griffin, Murphy will make a fool of himself on the defensive end. That situation might be even uglier than it is now, right?"
Shen Fei did not respond directly, but these words made Larry Riley shut his mouth knowingly.
............
On the court, Curry dribbled through the half court again, but this time, he stopped at the Rockets logo!