Chapter 293 Disloyalty and unfilial piety
At noon, Walt Disney Company announced the acquisition of Marvel.

That night, the first round of the series kicked off.

A total of four groups of games started, with the Pistons playing against the Wizards in the Eastern Conference, the Bulls playing against the Celtics, the Mavericks playing against the Rockets in the Western Conference, and the Kings playing against the Nuggets.

Philip no longer lives here and rents a house nearby. However, He Zhongqiu thought it was boring to watch the game alone, so he called him over.

At 7:30, he called Dayao.

Rockets power forward Juwan Howard was suddenly diagnosed with myocarditis and was ruled out for the playoffs. Yao Ming has no help in the interior, so this series is a bit dangerous.

"Hey, Dayao, I just want to encourage you."

"Well, encouragement is fine. I thought you were here to comfort me again."

"Work hard, comrade. Beat Dampier and you will be the best center in the Western Conference."

"Look at me."

"Well, I believe in your ability. You can stun Dampier with your Shanghai dance moves. It won't be a problem to average 30+ points per game over him."

"Uh?"

Yao Ming was a little embarrassed because he couldn't use the Shanghai dance step anymore. It was too heavy and he had long lost his previous flexible steps.

"how?"

"You know I've gained weight, and my steps aren't as nimble as before. Why are you asking? You're asking even though you already know the answer."

"Dayao, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but I asked you to lose weight and you didn't. You are so disloyal and unfilial!"

Yao Ming on the other end was a little confused. No, I just didn’t lose weight as you asked, so why am I unfaithful and unfilial?
"Fuck it, you better give me some truth, otherwise, He Zhongqiu, I will never let you go."

"Listen to me, Dayao, if you don't lose weight, your small bones won't be able to bear such a large weight, especially your lower limbs. The chances of injury in the future are very high."

"I'm strengthening my lower limb muscles, right? The coaching staff arranged this."

"It's useless!"

He Zhongqiu cursed and said, "Do you think you are O'Neal? Your bones and muscles are not strong, and you are a small horse pulling a big cart. Do you need me to tell you the result? With your condition, the 15-year career you can play in your career will be halved."

"Don't scare me."

Yao Ming was shocked to hear that his career would be cut in half, which means he only had a few years left.

He Zhongqiu said unhappily, "I am a martial artist. Am I scaring you? I am giving you honest advice, but it just doesn't sit well with you. I will say it one last time. It's up to you whether you listen or not."

"Even if my career is cut in half, how can that be considered unfaithful and unfilial?" Yao Ming said unconvinced.

He Zhongqiu chuckled and said, "If you get injured, what will happen to the national team? I can't handle it alone. You know their level.

We won the Olympic gold medal last year. The 08 Olympics were held in our own home. Don’t you want that gold medal? You don’t want it, but everyone in the country wants it.”

"This?" Dayao was speechless.

He Zhongqiu continued: "Dayao, you ignore the interests of the country for the benefit of the team, isn't this disloyal?
If you get hurt, your parents will be sad, isn't that unfilial?"

"But the team gave me so much money, I..." Yao Ming said helplessly.

He Zhongqiu said: "Everything in the NBA is a business, if the Rockets feel it is not worth it, then they will trade you.

Or, the management can find another head coach, one that suits you.”

Yao Ming was accused of being disloyal and unfilial, and the pressure was mounting. He had no choice but to say, "Well, let's do this. After the playoffs, I'll let my agent and management talk about it."

"That's right. No matter how good you are at low post play, are you better than me? Better than O'Neal? You will still be crushed by us. Just stay outside and shoot." He Zhongqiu said.

"What the hell!"

Yao Ming was so angry that he cursed.

"No, Yao Ming, you see I have increased my mid-range shots now. This season, mid-range shots account for 39%. Do you have as many as me?"

He Zhongqiu let the cat out of the bag and quickly hung up the phone after saying a few words.

"Your mid-range shots account for 39%? Damn, why did you hang up so quickly?"

Yao Ming was stunned. He Zhongqiu's ability to compete is so strong that he has a 39% chance of making mid-range shots, while he only has 28%. He should indeed increase his mid-range shots.

To increase mid-range shots, of course you need to lose weight and increase flexibility and speed.

"Forget it. If I don't lose weight, this guy will definitely give me a reputation of being unfaithful and unfilial."

Once he had made up his mind, he decided to do as He Zhongqiu had said and lose weight.

After I hung up the phone, a few minutes later, Sister Xue called me.

"Sanjin, those celebrities in Hong Kong that we banned, including Yinghuang and Shuqi, have issued public apologies."

"So spineless?"

"Director Wang Jin pleaded for Shu Qi, please let her go."

"She's included?"

"Yeah! What about you?"

"Forget about these minor characters, but not Zhou Yunfa and those two."

"Where's Ying Huang?"

"Get it, defeat it openly with our movie."

"it is good."

……

At 8:30, the Mavericks will face the Rockets at home.

Yao Ming and Daniel jumped the ball and the Mavericks took the first attack.

"Bang!"

Jerry Stackhouse missed a mid-range shot, and Sura rushed in to grab the backcourt rebound, but when he passed it to McGrady, McGrady made a mistake in catching the ball and was intercepted by Dampier.

"Is this guy still asleep?" He Zhongqiu asked suspiciously.

"Sure," Philip agreed.

"Bang!"

At this time, Nowitzki missed the shot and Dampier grabbed the offensive rebound.

"Fuck, the Rockets don't want backcourt rebounds?" Philip yelled.

"Yao's positioning is not good." He Zhongqiu said.

"Bang!"

At this time, the ball was passed to Michael Finley, who shot and missed again.

"Well done!" He Zhongqiu praised.

The next moment, he cursed: "Dayao, you are a fucking idiot."

Daniel grabbed the frontcourt rebound again, and then made a second attack and hit it over Yao Ming's head.

"Fuck, Mid-Autumn Festival, Yao Ming is not good enough!" Philip yelled.

"Bullshit! There was a mistake in one defensive round and two backcourt rebounds were lost. In this state, you still want to advance to the second round?" He Zhongqiu cursed.

On the TV screen, the camera was on Jeffrey Stan Van Gundy, who was jumping up and down and yelling:

"Rebounds, protect the backcourt rebounds, damn it, don't lose the backcourt rebounds again."

"Haha..." He Zhongqiu and Philip laughed.

Afterwards, the Rockets intensified their fight for rebounds and the situation quickly changed, while the Mavericks had problems with rebounding.

After the first quarter, the Rockets led by 26 points away from home, 16:10.

However, Yao Ming's performance was not good. He made 4 of 1 shots and 2 of 2 free throws in a single quarter, scoring only 4 points and committing two fouls.

But he grabbed 4 rebounds and one offensive rebound. Given his rebounding ability, he performed well in this aspect.

The Rockets grabbed a total of 15 rebounds in the first quarter, while the Mavericks, who had a good rebounding performance at the start, only grabbed 7 in total.

Dampier, in particular, grabbed two offensive rebounds in the first quarter, and then only grabbed these two in the entire quarter, and did not grab another rebound. But this was the first quarter, and the Mavericks also stepped up their rebounding efforts, grabbing 44 rebounds in the whole game, while the Rockets only had 39.

But the Mavericks' shooting was not good tonight. The home-court advantage did not allow the Mavericks to play at their best. They made 68 of 24 shots, with a hit rate of only 35.3%.

小牛领袖诺维茨基19投5中，命中率低到可怜的26.3%，13罚11中，轰下21分7篮板，但有6次失误。

Moreover, the Mavericks' home whistle was very obvious, with 42 free throws, while the Rockets only had 20, and Yao Ming was directly fouled out.

而火箭队78投37中，命中率47.4%，以98：86的比分，赢得了G1战的胜利。

Yao Ming committed two fouls in the first quarter, too many fouls too early. He played for more than eight minutes in the first quarter, less than a minute in the second quarter, more than seven minutes in the third quarter, and played twice in the final quarter, for a total of more than two minutes.

With such fragmented playing time, he was not in good shape. He played for a total of 20 minutes, made 8 of 3 shots, 6 of 5 free throws, and scored 11 points and 8 rebounds, including four offensive rebounds.

Ten minutes after the game, He Zhongqiu called and Dayao answered.

"Oh, they always whistle on me, even when I grab rebounds." Yao Ming said helplessly.

"This is their home court, this is called a home whistle." He Zhongqiu said.

"Fortunately, McGrady scored 34 points with a shooting percentage of 51.9%. He was extremely brave. We still won." Yao Ming said happily.

"Yao, we can't rely on McGrady alone, you have to step up!"

"Don't worry, I will play well, and I will pay attention to fouls next time."

……

On April 4, the Knicks faced Game 25 of the first round.

He Zhongqiu arrived at Madison Square Garden by bus at 6:30 and went to the stadium first.

"Have you eaten everything? If not, it's my treat."

"Eat, eat."

"Eat it all, Mid-Autumn Festival."

"Teacher Zhang and his friends just arrived. They haven't eaten yet."

"Then I'll go up and take a look. You guys are busy."

Media reporters were making preparations, including more than a dozen Chinese reporters, and he greeted them.

Then we came to the box where the CCTV commentary booth was, and saw Zhang Heli, Yu Jia, and a three-person photography crew. The five of them were busy installing equipment.

The dozen or so Chinese reporters below only followed him, not Yao Ming.

But CCTV only has one commentary team, which just rushed over from Ladas in the afternoon. After broadcasting this game, they have to rush back to Dallas tomorrow morning.

CCTV did not choose to broadcast the Heat's games live in this playoffs because Dazhi had no playing time in the Heat and was not included in the 12-man playoff roster.

Throughout the regular season, he only played 20 times, averaging 4.6 minutes, 2.2 points and 0.9 rebounds per game, and the Heat were no longer planning to renew his contract.

"How busy are you?"

"Mid-Autumn Festival is coming."

After He Zhongqiu entered, they exchanged a few pleasantries. Zhang Heli asked, "Zhongqiu, I've talked to Dazhi. He should be returning home soon."

He nodded and said, "Xia Song told me that he hasn't found a new home for him."

"From now on, it's just you and Dayao." Yu Jia sighed.

"You haven't eaten yet?" He Zhongqiu asked.

"No, the plane was delayed and arrived at around three o'clock. It took more than an hour to get here from the airport, and I'm not done yet." Zhang Heli said.

"It's almost done. We just need to debug the equipment." Yu Jia said.

"Okay, I'll treat you to dinner." He Zhongqiu said.

"No, no, we don't have time to eat. We can just go buy some hamburgers later." Zhang Heli said.

"Then let me order five twelve-inch pizzas, plus a few burgers and French fries." He Zhongqiu said and went out.

"It's Mid-Autumn Festival, we can't eat so much." Zhang Heli shouted hurriedly.

"It's okay. If you can't finish it, you can have it as a midnight snack. You can eat it when you're hungry." He Zhongqiu said.

"Mid-Autumn Festival, thank you!" Zhang Heli said hurriedly.

After He Zhongqiu went out, he called a staff member and gave him two hundred dollars.

I asked him to help buy pizza, hamburgers and French fries, and a few large cups of Coke, with a lot of tips, and the staff left with a smile.

Back in the locker room, a group of teammates were changing clothes outside, and a group of people were playing mahjong inside.

The Postman and the Gloves dare not touch mahjong. They wish they could focus all their attention on the upcoming playoffs.

After He Zhongqiu entered, he found that the two were a little nervous and said, "You two look a little nervous. This is not the look of a veteran."

Gary Payton hurriedly said, "Wolverine, don't worry, we will be fine when we get on the court."

"Go play some mahjong and relax." He Zhongqiu pointed to the strength room.

The two had no choice but to go to the strength room to play mahjong.

……

"Champion! Champion..."

"Defend the title! Defend the title..."

"Wolverine! Wolverine..."

In the evening, Madison Square Garden was star-studded, and more than 20,000 home fans burst into waves of loud cheers from time to time.

Kidd sat in the audience with a blank look in his eyes.

The Nets are in a bad state and have not even made it to the playoffs. He sees no hope in the Nets at all.

Vince Carter was also brought in this season, but what’s the use?

Carter averaged 27.5 points per game and Jefferson averaged 22.2 points per game. Although there were two players scoring 20+ points, the Nets' average score per game was only 91.4.

Not only are they last in the Eastern Conference, they are also last in the entire league. The Pistons are better than the Nets, averaging 93.3 points per game.

He wants to leave, but he still has four years left on his contract, worth $7562 million. With such a big contract, where can he go?

At eight o'clock, both sides announced their starting lineups.

Team by the Numbers: Dalembert, Chris Webber, Kyle Korver, Andre Iguodala, Allen Iverson

Knicks: He Zhongqiu, Karl Malone, Shane Battier, Josh Howard, Nash
The television rights for this round of the series are owned by ESPN, and the commentators are Bill Walton and Michael Breen.

"Nash needs to be careful today. It doesn't matter if he is suddenly exploded by Iverson, but he should not have any psychological problems." Zhang Heli said in the CCTV live broadcast room.

"Try to block it as much as possible to give Battier, Josh Howard, and the Postman some time to make up for the defense," said Yu Jia.

Zhang Heli said: "The Knicks will definitely win because of their strength, especially in the paint. Of course, the Mailman needs to defend Chris Webber and Varejao.

If the two of them can't defend Chris Webber, then they can only let Chunqiu switch defense, and the Mailman or Varejao guard the basket."

Yu Jia analyzed: "Dalembert is good at rebounding, averaging 25 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game, including 2.6 offensive rebounds, and can play second offense.

He has some mid-range shooting ability, but his hit rate is only 8.2%. He averages points per game. His main offensive area is in the restricted area. His tactical position on the offensive end is not high. The Mailman and Valanciunas are enough to defend him. "

Zhang Heli said: "There will be no problem in the series. I think the 76ers will be like the Nets next season and will have a hard time making the playoffs."

Yu Jia smiled and said, "After Jordan retired, the East was weak and the West was strong. Then the Mid-Autumn Festival came out of nowhere, the Knicks rose, and with the Pistons and the Heat, I think even if the East is not strong and the West is weak, the two leagues can tie."

"Yes, that should be the case." Zhang Heli nodded.

Both teams started their games, and then Loshua Daley presented the data king trophy to He Zhongqiu and Nash.

"Oh ho!"

"Clap clap clap..."

There was warm cheers and applause in Madison Square Garden that lasted for a long time.

(End of this chapter)