Chapter 35 A Bit of Shark

"Kurt...Thomas! Welcome our strongest defensive shield inside."

Then the home team came out, and as Kurt Thomas ran out of the player tunnel, the voices of the home crowd became more excited.

"Latrell Sprewell, the most unique swingman in the league."

"Now we have our rookie center. He can punch through a wall, tear apart a closet with his bare hands, and easily destroy the opponent's backboard. He can make us feel what power is and what the aesthetics of violence is. He is the center from China. Happy... Mid... Autumn Festival."

"Oh ho!"

There was a huge cheer from Madison Square Garden, which was even louder than the cheers Kurt Thomas and the Madman received.

Amid the deafening noise, He Zhongqiu rushed out of the player tunnel excitedly.

"Backboard Crusher, can you break another backboard tonight?"

"Rookie, don't let Kenyon Martin smash your basket."

The audience seats on both sides were so close that he could touch them with his hand. He could clearly feel the cheers of the fans, which made him even more excited.

All the substitute players and coaching staff standing on both sides in front raised their hands and high-fived him.

"Crack, click, click..."

Zhou Biao and Lin Cheng quickly pressed the shutter of the camera to record He Zhongqiu's first appearance as a starting player.

"He's out. He's quite popular. Aren't Knicks fans very picky?" Yao Ming said in surprise.

Yao's father said: "Because his debut was very successful and he even broke the backboard, the fans naturally welcomed him."

"Ah."

Yao's mother also nodded in agreement.

Yao Ming thought about his debut, a big duck egg. Are his parents... hinting at him?

Madison Square Garden tonight was no different than usual, just as star-studded, with Hollywood stars, singers and supermodels lined up on the sidelines.

"Hey, He, don't let Kenyon Martin get ahead of you, protect your basket." Spike Lee shouted at He Zhongqiu.

Philip was still behind, and He Zhongqiu didn't understand either. He just made an OK gesture to Spike Lee and went to warm up.

"Look, he agreed. Even though he may not be able to do it, attitude is important." Spike Lee said to Robert Downey Jr. next to him.

"Spike, he's just a Chinese, and I heard he doesn't have any skills." Robert Downey Jr. shrugged with disdain in his eyes.

Spike Lee was startled, and immediately said unhappily: "Mr. Downey, I am not racist."

Robert Downey Jr.'s face changed, and he immediately said, "Spike, neither did I. Don't get me wrong, what I meant was..."

"Okay, I know you are not, let's not talk about this topic anymore and watch the game." Spike Lee waved his hand and interrupted Robert Downey Jr.

"I, I really am not...Alas!"

Robert Downey Jr. was a little annoyed. He was not afraid of offending Spike Lee, but he was worried that the reputation of racial discrimination would be very disadvantageous to him if it spread.

He had just climbed out of the trough and won the Golden Globe last year, but he has not yet quit his drug addiction. If news of racial discrimination comes out at this time, it will be really over.

After warming up, the players returned to the bench and the head coach began to arrange tactics.

He Zhongqiu stood in the innermost part, but he couldn't understand the tactics that Tang Cheney was talking about at all. Philip had some understanding of the tactics, but how could he explain it clearly at the moment?
It’s almost eight o’clock and the game is about to begin.

He Zhongqiu stood in the center circle preparing for the jump ball, facing Jason Collins.

Their height and weight are about the same, but their arm span seems to be a bit shorter than his, but I don't know how much shorter it is.

"Di!"

The referee blew the whistle and then threw the ball high into the air.

"Snapped!"

The two jumped up almost at the same time, but He Zhongqiu's hand was one foot ahead of the other and he was the first to pass the ball away. Alan Houston received the ball and passed it to Howard Ellis, who pushed the ball to the top of the arc and passed it back to Houston on the right wing.

In front of Houston, the one defending him was not the Nets' shooting guard, but Jason Kidd, the Nets' strongest defender.

"The Nets are using man-to-man tactics. Do they look down on the breakthrough abilities of the mid-range shooting king and the madman?" Tom Howard joked in the ESPN live studio.

Michael Breen laughed and said, "It's probably because the rookie center doesn't have the ability to clear space and doesn't have the space to break through from the outside."

At this time, He Zhongqiu had entered the penalty area and was competing with Jason Collins.

The confrontation was decided immediately. All the muscles and bones in his body exerted force instantly, condensing into a powerful overall force that allowed him to crush his opponent to the basket, turn around, block his opponent, and then ask for the ball.

"They have the same height and weight, but their ability to compete is very different." Nets coach Byron Scott shook his head helplessly.

In the ESPN live studio, Michael Brin said, "He is born with supernatural power. The Chinese rookie center may look skinny, but he is born with supernatural power."

Facing Kidd, who had been selected to the first team defense three times and the second team defense once, Alan Houston had no chance and passed the ball to Ellis at the top of the arc, who quickly lobbed the ball in.

Byron Scott looked at the basket leisurely. He had no intention of double-teaming a rookie. A rookie with no skills didn't need to do that.

He has already explained that if he can't defend against the rookie's attack under the basket, he should foul him and send him to the free throw line.

But the next moment, his expression changed.

He Zhongqiu stood on the right front side of the basket with his feet on the line of the reasonable collision zone. He used his shoulder and left hand to hold the struggling Jason Collins. The moment he received the ball with his right hand, he turned downward and then pulled up.

"boom!"

The next moment, an extremely loud sound of the basket exploding was heard.

"Di!"

The referee's whistle blew.

"Oh ho!"

Madison Square Garden cheered.

"it is good."

At Yao's house in Houston, the three of them applauded happily.

"2+1, the Knicks rookie center took down Jason Collins at the basket at the start, it was very easy one-on-one." Michael Brin said in surprise in the ESPN live studio.

Tom Howard said excitedly: "He dunked over his opponent on the first ball and caused a foul on his opponent. The rookie played very domineeringly and strongly!"

"Jason, be decisive when calling a foul, OK?"

Amid the cheers, Byron Scott shouted at the top of his lungs.

In front of the Knicks' bench, head trainer Holmes Lester's eyes lit up when he saw He Zhongqiu's attack under the basket.

"After catching the ball, he didn't make too many adjustments. He relied on his great strength to hold on to his opponent, then turned around and dunked. It was a bit like the Big Shark's attack under the basket, and the rhythm of his attack was much faster than his previous one." Thibodeau said at this time.

"Learn so quickly?" Holmes was very surprised.

Thibodeau said with a smile: "Inside moves are actually much simpler than outside moves. As long as you have the physical fitness, you can learn them quickly.

As for He's physical fitness, except for his weight, everything else is not inferior to that of the Sharks, so he should be able to learn quickly."

Holmes Lester smiled and said, "The offensive tempo has accelerated. It won't be so easy to cut him down. We might even lose a 2+1."

Thibodeau said: "The small Shark is not as effective as the big Shark. The big Shark can squeeze out the opponent just by relying on his tonnage, while He needs to consume a lot of physical strength.

If he plays like this, he won't be able to attack the basket many times. As his physical strength declines, his effectiveness will decrease, his mistakes will increase, and it will be easier for the opponent to attack him.

My opinion is that we should increase the pace and movement training under the basket, and not just blindly learn O'Neal's offensive style under the basket."

Holmlister said: "I will sort out the offensive highlights of Dream. With his physical condition, he can definitely learn the pace of Dream. He also hopes to become a center like Dream, not a center like O'Neal."

(End of this chapter)