The new coach, Mike D'Antoni, was a head coach who was good at using point guards. However, he was best at playing solo and defending with a misplaced position.
On July 11th, 2015, the NBA Summer League officially began in Las Vegas.
The Rockets 'first game was against the Timberwolves, who had two top scorers.
In 2014 and 2015, the Timberwolves signed two consecutive top scorers, Andrew Wilkins and Carl Anthony Towns. The two talented top scorers meant that the Timberwolves were about to rise.
The competition had yet to start, but many reporters had already started interviewing this year's top scorer, Towns!
"Excuse me, what do you think of this match?”The ESPM sports reporter asked first.
" A team without Harden is like heaven and earth," Towns said after taking the microphone." I'll beat up the opposing center! To prove that I'm the strongest existence in the 15th class.”
The game had yet to start, but Towns was already very arrogant. The most important thing was that he had the ability. He was not a traditional inside player, but an all-rounded center forward in the small ball era.
He was the kind of player who could hit from behind and shoot three-pointers. He was all-rounded, but this was precisely the reason why Towns lacked strength. Once Towns gained weight, his outside touch would be seriously interfered with.
The first game of the NBA Summer League began. The Rockets started with Capella, Chen Xiao, Ariza, Beverley, and Thornton.
The Timberwolves started with Towns, the power forward, Payne, the small forward, Higgins, the point guard, Kevin Martin, and the point guard, Lu Biao.
The players on both sides were doing a midfield jump ball. At this time, Mike D'Antoni had just taken over the team and was observing the various players on the team. However, the core of the team, James Harden, was not here. This kind of summer league basically had very few big stars. Occasionally, a few star players would come to play.
Coach D'Antoni had read Chen Xiao's data and knew that the opponent was good at playing in the low post, so he was the main point of attack in this game. Other than Ariza, who had a little basket, the other players were basically not good at shooting.
D'Antoni was not optimistic about the Rockets 'victory. The most important thing was that the Forest Wolves' lineup was too talented, especially when the two top scorers came on stage. Whether it was Higgins, who was praised to be more talented than James when he first entered the NBA, or Towns, everyone was very optimistic about him. They thought that he could carry the banner of the center in the small ball era.
Now, the players on both sides were jumping the ball. Towns and Capella stood in the midfield.
As the referee blew his whistle, the basketball was thrown into the air.
The ball was deflected by Capella. Because he bounced faster than Towns and was not heavy, his jumping ability was better than Towns.
The ball was transferred to Ariza. He quickly passed it to the Rockets 'point guard Thornton, allowing the other side to control the ball past the half court!
After Thornton passed half the court with the ball, his teammates were basically in position. He first looked at his boss, Chen Xiao, and saw that he was already in a good position in the low post. He directly passed the ball to the opponent in a high-profile manner from the flank!
Chen Xiao took the basketball from the air and faced Payne with the basketball on his back.
At this time, the fans in the stadium were also very curious. When did the Rockets have another yellow player inside? He looked very strong!
However, in China, the Rockets 'summer league against the Timberwolves was broadcasted live by Penguin Sports, so many of Chen Xiao's fans even took out their phones to watch the game.
Little Seven was currently broadcasting the match. He looked at Chen Xiao holding the ball on the screen and could only think to himself,""So handsome!"
"Little Seven, why did I hear that you know Chen Xiao?”Another commentator asked.
Little Seven also answered shyly,"I went to Dongdan with him to play basketball before, so I got to know him!"?”
Wang Meng said in surprise," I didn't expect this. Why didn't you ask for an autograph from him? Looking at his current state, it's very likely that he will be the starting Rockets power forward in the future!"”
"At that time, who would have thought that Chen Xiao would be able to play in the NBA? I thought he would at most play in the CBA!”Wang Xiaoqi said in a low voice, his expression completely unexpected!
Wang Meng smiled and said," Alright, let's not tease Little Seven anymore. Let's get back to the competition!"”
At the Las Vegas stadium, Chen Xiao faced Payne with his back to the ball. First, he turned around and threatened three times with the ball. In this low post, three threats were Duncan's specialty.
The Timberwolves 'power forward, Payne, did not dare to make any defensive moves at this time. He was afraid that if he moved, the opponent would shake him off.
However, Chen Xiao didn't shake him off. Instead, he did a simple jump shot and the ball went straight into the basket from the 45th corner.
The fans in the stadium looked at the yellow-skinned player strangely. Why did this offensive style look so familiar to them?
One of the old fans said," It's the Spurs 'signature move, Duncan. A 45-degree angle!”
This time, many fans reacted. It turned out to be the signature move of the Spurs 'number 21 rookie, Stone Buddha Duncan. They did not expect that the yellow player not only wore number 21, but even imitated Duncan's movements.
Many fans in Penguin Sports typed out many words of praise on the screen.
"This basic skill is really awesome. Look at Chen Xiao. He basically didn't move much and directly threw it in!”
"Yeah, I didn't expect it either. Chen Xiao scored on the first shot, and the other side looked quite determined!”
"I seem to see Duncan's shadow in this shot. This 45-degree board looks exactly like Duncan!”
Wang Meng, who was commentating the match, analyzed it from a professional perspective."Fans, I feel that Chen Xiao's shot is quite determined, especially the opponent's three-point threat. With this kind of move, as long as you have the basket, it's easy to fool people into jumping. It looks like Chen Xiao's shot is not bad.”
Duan Ran, a veteran basketball commentator, interrupted,"I didn't expect the Rockets player to hand this ball to Chen Xiao first. There's a rule in the NBA that the first ball is usually given to the core player. Has he become the core player under D'Antoni?”
"That's impossible. He just entered the NBA, and the head coach wants to make him the core. Big Yao was treated like this back then!”Wang Meng said in disbelief.
"That still depends on the regular season. It's the summer league now, and it's a place for rookies to train! If Chen Xiao could still perform like this in the regular season, then the Rockets would really have him as the core!”Duan Ran was very familiar with the NBA rules and knowledge. He had even been to Kobe's house for an interview!
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]