November 4, 2006.
At 9:30 in the evening, the Lakers challenged the Houston Rockets away.
This is the first matchup with the Rockets since the new season.
Domestic and foreign media have long been keenly aware of the hot topic and have begun to hype and publicize it.
The reason is simple. It is the derby between the same countries and the first showdown between Lin Feng and Yao Ming, which will definitely significantly increase the ratings of the game.
The ratings for this game in China, across the ocean, were also incredibly high.
According to league-related statistics, on the other side of the ocean in China, there were more than 200 million fans watching the game at the same time.
What is the concept?
Almost everyone who had a TV at home turned it on to watch the first match between Lin Feng and Yao Ming!
"It's so exciting! Lin Feng and Yao Ming finally meet each other. I believe this will be an exciting match!"
"Hahaha, who said it wasn't true, buddy? I skipped class just to watch this game."
"Haha, me too. We're both homeless people. I don't look down on you unless I skip classes."
"Brothers, awesome! I actually skipped classes to watch this. I'm in high school now."
"Fuck! Who do you think you are? I am skipping work to watch this game, but my boss doesn't allow me to take leave, so I have no choice but to skip work."
An employee of an electronics factory left a message under the post.
"Dude, you're awesome. When we skip classes, the most we have to do is write a self-review and admit our mistakes to the teacher. But if you skip work, won't your wages be deducted?"
"Just deduct it. If you're absent for one day, you can deduct three days' salary. I don't want those three days' salary. I have to come to the Internet cafe to watch the game."
"Awesome! You're a die-hard fan, bro! Do you support the Lakers or the Rockets?"
"I support the Lakers because I like Lin Feng more."
"Haha, me too."
"I support Brother Yao. Brother Yao is our Chinese. Lin Feng is not one yet."
"Silly! Didn't you hear that Lin Feng wanted to change his nationality? The Basketball Pioneer even reported it."
"Yeah?"
"Yes!"
"…"
On the other side of the ocean in China, major forums are bustling with activity.
Situations like this not only occur on online forums, but are also common in real life.
In order to watch this derby within the same country, many people missed work and classes.
Amid the anticipation of countless fans, the entire Lakers team arrived in Houston.
The Toyota Center is the home court of the Rockets and can accommodate more than 20,000 spectators.
There are two championship banners hanging above the stadium. Those were in 1994 and 1995, when Hakeem Olajuwon took advantage of the fact that Michael Jordan retired to play baseball and won two consecutive championships.
There were few changes to the Lakers' starting lineup tonight.
Lin Feng, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Brian Cook, Kwame Brown.
The Rockets' lineups are:
Number one: Rafer Alston.
Tracy McGrady at No. 2.
Shane Battier at the No. 3 position.
The fourth position is vacant.
The 2006 Rockets played with a tactic similar to the post-league era's one-star-four-star strategy.
Yao Ming sits under the basket and can handle everything without other inside players occupying the space.
So the starting lineup for tonight replaced the power forward position with guard Bonzi Wells.
Yao Ming, the center at the fifth position, is a top center in the league.
And tonight's hot topics and explosive ratings all depend on Yao Ming and Lin Feng.
You have to know that China's population is about 1.4 billion, and the viewership is as high as more than 200 million people watching online at the same time. The league hopes to make a lot of money from this broadcast.
In the players' locker room, Lin Feng changed into the purple and gold No. 10 jersey and went out. He did not enter the stadium, but came to the Rockets locker room.
In the Rockets locker room, everyone was already prepared and chatting together, mostly discussing how to break the Lin-Kobe combination, which was bound to end the Lakers' winning streak tonight.
When Lin Feng came in, the entire Rockets team was slightly stunned. Alston looked at Lin Feng with a squint and said abruptly: "Hey! Man, are you here to eavesdrop on our conversation? Fortunately, we didn't discuss how to target you and Kobe's tactics."
"Haha…"
The others laughed out loud upon hearing this.
McGrady looked at Lin Feng with great interest. He knew very well that the whirlwind that had swept the league recently was caused by this guy Lin Feng.
"Yao, your old friend is here. He came to our locker room and must be looking for you."
Yao Ming had already seen Lin Feng. He stood up from his seat and moved his tall body towards Lin Feng.
"Let's talk outside."
There was no need for Yao Ming and Lin Feng to talk in English. They spoke Chinese, which McGrady, Alston and others could not understand.
The two of them came outside. Yao Ming looked down at Lin Feng, who was much shorter than him, and said with a smile, "Don't worry. The country is very supportive of your changing your nationality. Both ordinary people and leaders in the Basketball Association hope that you can go back. I think it's a sure thing."
Lin Feng nodded and said gratefully: "Brother Yao, thank you for your trouble. I will give you a small gift to thank you."
Yao Ming was immediately displeased when he heard Lin Feng's words. He deliberately put on a stern face and said, "Lin Feng, why are you so polite? You treat me as your brother, so as a brother, I naturally have to help you. Besides, you are doing this for the sake of the country and the fans, so I have no reason not to help you."
"I know that." Lin Feng smiled and handed the three bottles of potions in his hand to Yao Ming, "Brother Yao, take these three bottles of potions."
Um?
Seeing Lin Feng handing over three bottles of medicine, Yao Ming was slightly stunned. What is this? Is it for healing?
"Brother Yao, I know you have multiple injuries, especially the stress fractures in your right knee and left foot, as well as your back injury, etc..."
Lin Feng clearly remembers all the injuries on Yao Ming's body.
The injury that ultimately led to Yao Ming's retirement was a stress fracture in his left foot.
The doctors advised me not to have the treatment anymore, as I would have to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair.
Moreover, Yao Ming's competitive state at that time was indeed not as good as before. The physical fitness of people of Asian descent cannot be compared with that of Black or White people.
For various reasons, Yao Ming ended his career early.
Now that he has traveled back in time and can see a relatively healthy Yao Ming, Lin Feng wants to help Yao Ming.
There are not many basketball players of Chinese descent who can play at a high level, and they are rare. He does not want Yao Ming to retire early due to injury.
In fact, Yao Ming deserves an O'Brien Cup and a championship ring to put a perfect end to his NBA career.
"Brother Yao, don't be fooled by the appearance of this potion. Drink it and I guarantee you will be back to your best condition."
Yao Ming stared at Lin Feng in amazement and asked in surprise, "Lin Feng, you didn't lie to me? Is the potion you gave me really that magical? Where did you get this potion? I've never seen it before."
"I got it from my hometown. I'm Chinese too, so a friend helped me get it by airfreight. It's very effective. If you don't believe me, try taking a bottle."
Now that Lin Feng has said this, how can Yao Ming refuse?
With a hearty smile, he took a bottle of magic Dan Gu water internally.
Needless to say, the moment I drank it, I immediately felt warm all over and had endless energy.
Yao Ming was stunned to find that the discomfort and pain from his long-troubled knee injury and left foot stress fracture were actually easing.
He said excitedly: "Lin Feng, this...how much of this do you have? Can you give me some more? I will buy it at a high price!"