The next day was New Year's Day. After Yang Shuai finished practicing, he walked around with Chu Xiyun as usual. At this time, the outside world was already hyped about the Celtics' home game against the Rockets. ()\\ Starter
At the beginning of the regular season, the game between the Rockets and the Bucks set a viewing record, which made all parties smell money. The game between the Celtics and the Bucks last month did not attract so many people's attention because Yang Shuai and
Yi Jianlian's influence on the two of them has not been so great.
But this time is different. As the most popular athlete in the country, every move of Yao Ming is watched by Chinese fans. In addition, Yang Shuai's performance has been getting better and better recently, and this game has once again become a hot topic.
Different from the game between the Rockets and the Bucks, the Bucks are too weak and their popularity is not high except in Milwaukee. However, both the Celtics and Rockets have performed strongly this year. In addition to the popularity of McGrady and Yao Ming,
Garnett, Pierce, and Ray Allen all have a certain degree of popularity both in the United States and other continents. Especially Garnett, who is a lock for the All-Star Game almost every year, is extremely popular.
The game between the Rockets and Bucks set a record of nearly 2.5 billion viewers, but NBA official statistics believe that the number of viewers for the game between the Celtics and Rockets may exceed 300 million.
The number of TV stations broadcasting the game has reached 26, which is 7 more than the 19 TV stations that originally broadcast the Rockets and Bucks game. The official NBA website also hung the photos of Yang Shuai and Yao Ming at the top.
The official websites of the Celtics and Rockets are no exception. The media in both places are vigorously promoting this game, and the tickets were almost completely sold out as early as two weeks ago.
"#%￥#￥#￥" When the phone rang, Yang Shuai picked it up and took a look at the name, Yao Ming.
He got Yao Ming's phone number from Yi Jianlian in the last match against the Bucks. He originally planned to call Yao Ming after he came to Boston, but to his surprise, Yao Ming called first.
Looking at the time, Yao Ming should still be in Houston at this time.
"Hello!" Yang Shuai spoke in Chinese because he knew it was Yao Ming.
"Hello Yang Shuai, this is Yao Ming." Yao Ming's laughter came from the other end of the phone, and Yang Shuai also laughed, "Hello Dayao, don't tell me you have arrived in Boston."
Listening to Yang Shuai's familiar greeting, Yao Ming was stunned. This guy is really different from him. "I'm still in Houston and I'm about to board the plane. I want to ask you if you are ready to receive me.
"
Yang Shuai laughed and said, "Just come, I'll take you to eat all over Boston."
"Is this a bribe? Let me tell you, I won't let anything slip during the game. Starting first," Yao Ming joked.
Yang Shuai laughed wildly and said: "Dayao, I don't need you to give in when I beat you. Do you still want to win with me here?"
After hanging up Yang Shuai's phone, Yao Ming smiled and shook his head. Yang Shuai was indeed as arrogant as the outside world said, and he seemed to have no Chinese reservations or modesty.
Yang Shuai actually met Yao Ming before the game. They are both Chinese and in the same league. Although their personalities are very different, they had a very pleasant chat.
"Dear viewers, welcome to watch the 2007-08 NBA regular season. What's very interesting about today's game is that the Chinese Derby will be staged again. The Houston Rockets will challenge the Boston Celtics away from home. Two Chinese players, Yao Ming and Yang Shuai, will
The first duel..."
"Perhaps many people want to see the Chinese Derby, but I would rather see the duel between Tracy and Young. I watched the game against the Lakers a few days ago, and Young's defense against Kobe was really amazing...
"
"..."
When 26 TV stations broadcast this game at the same time, the fans are undoubtedly the happiest. They can choose the TV station they want to watch. In the United States, this game is also broadcast live across the United States. In front of the screen is the TNT Three that everyone is very familiar with.
Team, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Reggie Miller.
When Yang Shuai entered the venue, he suddenly felt a little strange. The reason was that there were too many familiar faces in the scene. It was not that he knew these people, but that he could almost find Eastern faces at a glance.
He had never discovered this before.
At this time, Yang Shuai saw Yao Ming. He knew that the cameras were pointing at the two of them, so he took the initiative and walked towards Yao Ming. "Yao Ming, I found that your popularity is really not comparable to mine. There was no such thing before."
So many Chinese people came to watch my game." After a gentle hug with Yao Ming, Yang Shuai was the first to speak.
Yao Ming smiled and said: "Yang Shuai, you must be jealous, haha."
Yang Shuai laughed and said: "Dayao, when the day my popularity surpasses yours, I will definitely send this sentence back to you."
"Yao Ming and Yang Shuai seem to be chatting happily. Their positions are very different. They may not have too many head-to-head confrontations, but they should have a lot of playing time..." the host of Chaoting TV said with a smile.
, at this moment, almost all Chinese fans had smiles on their faces. When people like Yao Ming and Yang Shuai stood on the NBA court, it was actually considered a success in the eyes of many people.
The Celtics' lineup has not changed. Paul Pierce joked that he would give it to Yang Shuai, but neither Yang Shuai nor Rivers agreed.
For the Rockets, the center is of course Yao Ming, the power forward is Chuck Hayes, the small forward is Sean Battier, the shooting guard is Tracy McGrady, and the point guard is Rafe Alston.
There is another figure in this lineup that Yang Shuai is familiar with, Sean Battier, the gatekeeper at the first level. At the beginning, Yang Shuai also had a lot of resentment towards him.
Yao Ming got the ball for the Rockets. Of course everyone knew the significance of this game, so Alston dribbled the ball across half court and immediately passed the ball after Yao Ming was in position.
"Yao Ming, little hook, good shot! Yao Ming opened the scoring for the Rockets."
"It's Yao Ming again. He catches the ball, turns his back, and his steps are swaying. It's beautiful. Perkins is completely shaken by Yao Ming, and he easily hits the board."
From the beginning, Yao Ming showed a strong offensive ability. He took all the Rockets' opening four points. However, the Celtics' defense quickly adjusted. Garnett deliberately used Hayes, who had no scoring ability, to score.
Let go and come to double-team Yao Ming.
This trick really worked. Yao Ming didn't have a good chance to attack in two consecutive rounds, but the Celtics seized this opportunity to overtake the score. 4:6. After 3 minutes of the game, the scores of the two teams were fixed.
At this number, the score remained unchanged after one minute.
At this time, McGrady took the lead to break the deadlock. He made a trademark pull-up jumper from outside the free throw line and scored the ball.
"T-Mac, he scored again. Will the Celtics make adjustments? Rivers should replace Yang Shuai." The commentator on the court said anxiously. If it was a game against other teams, he would
I definitely wouldn’t ask the other team’s head coach to adjust their defense, but it’s different with the Celtics having Yang Shuai.
At 12:12, after 6 minutes of playing in the first quarter, the two teams were tied. Rivers turned his head and said to Yang Shuai: "Yang, if I don't send you on the field, I will be torn apart by the eyes of the fans around me."
Yang Shuai, who was chatting with Chu Xiyun and Zhu Li, immediately stood up when he heard this. He had been preparing all the time since the beginning of the game, so much so that he actually had no idea what he was talking about with the two beauties.
"Shuai Yang is on the field, and Rivers finally sent him."
"Woohoo, Yang is on the stage. It's really an exciting scene."
Yang Shuai and Perkins passed each other, which gave fans in front of the TV unlimited daydreams. "Will Rivers let Yang Shuai play center in order to create a matchup between Yang Shuai and Yao Ming?" Of course, this
The idea was quickly rejected by them because it seemed impossible.
Yang Shuai walked to McGrady's side, and Ray Allen walked toward Battier in a cooperative manner. At this moment, everyone's eyes widened. It was only called a Chinese Derby if both Chinese people were on the court.
After Alston moved the ball into the frontcourt, it was handed over to Yao Ming. This time it was Pierce who was double-teamed. Yang Shuai, who was responsible for defending McGrady, did not step forward to join in the fun.
Yao Ming, who was double-teamed, wanted to hand the ball to McGrady, but Yang Shuai blocked the two of them tightly at this time. McGrady pointed upward, signaling Yao Ming to throw it high, and at the same time, he quickly stepped back, ready to throw.
Receive the pass from Yao Ming.
Sure enough, Yao Ming lobbed the ball to the outside just as McGrady had instructed. However, just after he threw the ball, he suddenly saw Yang Shuai quickly retreat and then jump high.
"Yang Shuai and McGrady jumped up at the same time to grab Yao Ming's pass. McGrady stepped back too far. Yang Shuai slapped the ball away and Pierce got the ball."
"Great job, Yang!" Pierce rushed forward, grabbed the ball in his hands, and shouted to Yang Shuai loudly.
McGrady really didn’t expect that Yang Shuai would desperately retreat and fight for the ball because he didn’t understand Yang Shuai’s inner thoughts. Although Yang Shuai had been accompanying Chu Xiyun in the past two days, it didn’t mean that he didn’t pay attention to this matter.
In the battle that focused on him, handsome young man Yang believed that this was his best opportunity to appear in front of the domestic fans, so he decided before the game that this game would be fought with all his might! With deliberate arithmetic and unintentional calculation, handsome young man Yang grabbed the ball.
It's not so strange.
The defense left to the Rockets from the Van Gundy era is still there. When Yang Shuai picked up the ball, Chuck Hayes and Shane Battier had already retreated quickly. Pierce did not find a suitable opportunity after picking up the ball.
The ball was slowly carried to the frontcourt by Rondo. Ray Allen was actively running, but he was followed by expert defensive player Shane Battier, which prevented him from finding a good chance to score for a while.
At this moment, Yang Shuai, who was originally outside the three-point line on the left, started running, seemingly running towards the inside. Two steps later, Yang Shuai suddenly made a break along the middle and came to the left side of the free throw line. McGrady's casual defense and
Garnett's blocking left Yang Shuai completely open at this time. Of course, Rondo would not miss such a good assist opportunity.
"Yang, he caught the ball and shot from 19 feet away. The ball went in. Beautiful! He scored immediately after coming on the field. Is this the Yang we are familiar with? Okay, China Derby, I'm starting to like it a little bit."
"Good goal! Yang Shuai scored the goal too easily. Tracy McGrady was not careful in defense. However, the two Chinese players performed well after coming on the field today. It seems that they both attach great importance to today's game."
When Yang Shuai heard the sound of "swish", he raised his head high, as if he was afraid that the camera wouldn't be able to capture his face, and then shouted in his heart: "Shoot, hurry up and snap in all directions." Okay.
, handsome guy Yang admitted that his performance began to inflate when he heard that 300 million people might be watching this game.