On February 4, Chamberlain asked Old Nelson for leave and took a plane to Houston. Yao Ming invited him to have a small gathering. Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue also went there, mainly to visit Liu Xiang, who was going to undergo ankle surgery at Hermann Memorial Hospital.

At the Olympics in August, Liu Xiang fell to the ground and did not stand up on the track again. Later, after examination, he found that the problem was serious and needed surgery to solve it. After selection, the Basketball Association placed the operation location at the Hermann Memorial Hospital. Coincidentally, the surgeon they invited was Cranton, who examined McGrady.

Dr. Cranton is famous and his surgical appointments have been full. The Basketball Association has worked hard with Yao Ming and the Embassy to find a way to join the team. Otherwise, according to Cranton's surgical plan, Liu Xiang will not have surgery after February 2.

When the plane landed in Houston, Yao Ming went to pick it up in person. Chamberlain took the VIP passage and went directly to the parking lot. Yao Ming's BMW 760 was waiting there, and Liu Xiang was also coming out with him.

Although Liu Xiang and Chamberlain are not familiar with each other, they also know each other. They had dinner together at the state banquet of the Olympics. In addition, they were both brand spokespersons of Lenovo, so they could make their faces familiar no matter what.

Chamberlain hugged the two in turn, he looked at Liu Xiang and asked, "How about your ankle? Why not stay in the hospital? We still want to see you."

Liu Xiang smiled bitterly and said, "I can't stay there. Actually, I just can't run now. It's okay to walk normally."

After caring about Liu Xiang and Yao Ming, because McGrady was absent from the game, Yao Ming was under great pressure recently. The Rockets are all the core of offense and defense. Although Artest is known as a giant, it is just that. No one really takes him seriously.

Chamberlain advised Yao Ming with great thought: "Are you working so hard? I tell you, your team can just be just a mess. You can take good care of your toes and calves this season and start again next season.

Yao Ming shook his head and said helplessly: "Unless McGrady comes back, I can't rest for the time being. Is it impossible for both core members hired by the team to have a high salary to quit? Besides, that would not be good for our image.

Although there is no special reference, Chamberlain knew that Yao Ming was saying that he was worried that he would be told by fans and experts when he was on the truce, which would affect the image of the Chinese. Yao Ming may be the most tiring player in the NHA, and the others came here to play, and he also wanted to win glory for the Chinese people, and every move was regarded as an example for the Chinese.

Chamberlain sneered and sneered: "We are just athletes, man, don't treat ourselves as saviors. Listen to my Yao, if you want to win a world championship, you must stay healthy for at least four more years. Let's give the whole world a surprise at the London Olympics. If you are worried about the image of our nation, aren't I still there?"

This was a bit touching Yao Ming. He sighed and nodded and said, "What you said makes sense. I can't make a standstill, but I can ask for a reduction in playing time and protect myself when I am on the court.

Some people want to play more time but have no chance, while others want to play less but it doesn’t work. The world is so strange.

Yao Ming envies Chamberlain very much. Everyone says Howard is a monster, and Chamberlain is simply a beast. The intensity of the game he played was even higher. When Lupus was injured and Iverson was not here, the pressure on the game was on his shoulders. As a result, this kid had nothing to do with it. That level of durability made Yao Ming envious, jealous and hated.

Chamberlain mainly communicated with Liu Xiang. After all, the purpose was to see this famous compatriot. He had planned to see Liu Xiang again on the 17th because he said that Liu Xiang planned to have surgery on the 2nd, but he didn't expect the surgery to be advanced.

Hearing Chamberlain’s question, Liu Xiang explained: “Recovering wounds in winter is slow, and the United States will soon be on Christmas holidays after the 2nd. If the surgery is performed at that time and the rehabilitation agents have to take a vacation to accompany their family, then my time will be tight, so I have no choice but to go to the back door and get in a team. This is how I feel a little sorry for Lao Yao.”

Chamberlain was surprised, why did he still have something to do with Yao Ming?

Yao Ming didn't know what to say, so he simply said: "Didn't McGrady say he had a knee injury and planned to undergo surgery? He also found Cranton. He did the knee surgery before, but Dr. Cranton needed to prepare for Liu Xiang's surgery, and the two of them had a good fight. Dr. Cranton thought McGrady's knee was fine, but McGrady insisted that his knee was uncomfortable. Oh, damn, the team is really messy now."

The more Yao Ming said, the more depressed he became. He thought the team had a chance to win the championship this season with Artest in the summer. Now it seems that there is no chance.

There is one thing Yao Ming did not tell Chamberlain that the Rockets might want to trade McGrady. Morey and Adelman had talked to him. Although he had not made any specific statement, he kept asking him about his opinions and asking him what kind of outside line he wanted to partner with. Yao Ming really wanted to find someone to express his inner depression, but unfortunately his family's shame should not be made public. He is introverted, so this matter can only be kept in his heart.

McGrady is now almost an enemy of Houston. Last Thursday, McGrady unilaterally announced a truce due to injury. The Rockets sent a briefing to the relevant media, saying that McGrady would be on duty for one week. As a result, a reporter interviewed McGrady that day, and he changed his words and said he would be on rest for three weeks, which became the fuse of his conflict with the team.

Both the Rockets' team doctor and the doctor McGrady asked for said that he did have pain on his knee, but it was not an injury. It was just a normal feedback from the operation during the offseason. The limited game time of the training can be reduced and the muscle strength of the legs can be regained.

McGrady did undergo surgery during this offseason. Perhaps many people don’t know much about McGrady’s injuries. For example, the surgery can indeed repair structural damage, but after the operation, the scar tissue on McGrady’s wound will block the healing of the injury. Therefore, his scar will be forcibly destroyed during the recovery stage, which is very painful, and this pain cannot be over in one or two days. However, McGrady told reporters that the operation takes 6B months to fully recover, which is a bit too unfunctory.

Chamberlain did not think that McGrady was deliberately avoiding the fight and resting. McGrady could get about 20,000 US dollars in a game. Of course, he could get the money if he had a rest. As long as the team was on standby due to injury, the team could not deduct the salary of the players. But this was a professional league after all. McGrady was not old and had just begun his golden career just around the age of 30. He needed to consider his future career.

He believes that the reason why this happens is McGrady's psychological quality problem. He is afraid of injury, and now he is afraid of old injuries recurrence. So under the psychological inspiration, he always feels uncomfortable with his knees. McGrady also thinks that the Rockets are too unkind and overdraws his health for box office and record.

Teams generally use the physical condition of the players as a measure of the players, and they can return to the game after they recover. However, such players generally have a psychological state of hesitation and worry. They are worried that they will suffer from another injury at the same position after returning to the court. They themselves do not know how much they recover and how well they can perform. Only after they gradually adapt to the new feeling can they play freely.

What McGrath lacks now is this confidence. His endurance for pain and his desire for honor and victory are indeed much worse than Kobe.

The Rockets are now unable to stand McGrady's capriciousness. In the past one or two seasons, McGrady's condition has been volatile. Sometimes he can score 40 if he performs well, but it is possible that he will only score seven or eight points in the next game. This is not the purpose of the Rockets signing a player with an annual salary of 20 million.

The Rockets have put McGrady on the shelves. There is news that the Cavaliers are planning to take him down to assist the Little Emperor. The Rockets are very interested in Harrington now, but the two sides cannot reach an agreement at all. Morey wants to hand McGrady over to the Warriors and then replace Harrington with Morro Evans in the end. Old Nelson ignored him. Does this fat man think he is Isaiah Thomas?

The Warriors were determined to trade Harrington, but not now, because Ellis was sent away for a while and Iverson has not yet fully integrated into the team. If there is another deal like this, the Warriors might be completely in chaos.

Richard personally talked openly with Harrington, promising that the team would respect his choice to trade him and prioritize the team he wanted to go to, but at the cost of playing well before he left the Warriors.

The first week of December ended soon, with the Warriors losing one of four games to the Jazz. Oku also missed the game in that game, one of his immediate relatives passed away, and the Turks had to return home to attend the funeral.

As a result, the Jazz, who lost their main center in that game, opened the outside line. Deron Williams had no restrictions on Billups. It was a standard God block to kill Gods and Buddhas. Curry was crushed by him and was completely exhausted. Iverson and West could not limit him because of their height and strength. In the end, they lost the game with 7.

The Jazz have treated the Warriors as the number one enemy in the new century. After they entered the Salt Lake City Arena, the roars that the fans roared turned into waves, would be enough to shoot them all into minced meat.

Deron made 10 of 2 shots in the game, made B and B free throws, scoring 3 points that almost broke the personal record. In addition, he also gave 9 assists, grabbed 9 rebounds, and scored excellent quasi-triple double-double.

Chamberlain scored 2 points, 6 rebounds, and only 2 blocked. He played for a short time this time. In less than 3 minutes, Delong made two fouls at the beginning, which kept him from fouls and did not dare to let go of his hands and feet to attack and defend. This is the main reason for their defeat.

Sloan is indeed a character. He found the only way to defeat the Warriors, which was to let Chamberlain off the field as soon as possible. In the first half, everyone attacked Chamberlain and did not let him go. In the first half, the Warriors led by 9 points with 5546, but the price was that Chamberlain carried four fouls on his back. He sat on the bench most of the time in the second half, watching the team lose.

However, after this game, Billups' injury finally healed. After examination by the team doctor and confrontation within the team, he basically recovered by about 90% and was able to officially play.
Chapter completed!