2008 summer, just experienced a revolutionary season for the NBA.
The Big Three formed by the Celtics successfully defeated the Lakers to win the championship. Although the Purple and Gold Corps failed to return, the combination of Kobe and Gasol only cooperated for half a season to reach the finals. The little emperor James and Warcraft Howard were in the East
Start rising, if you think about it, these are the guys who will rule the NBA for the next 5 years!
But for many Chinese, these are not the things that concern them the most.
Yao Ming was at his peak around 2008, and Dayao and his Rockets were the “protagonists” of Chinese fans.
Although the Rockets have to make you watch the game with reassurance, it is Yao Ming’s team anyway.
The Rockets are happy to win, and the Rockets are sad to lose. Only those who have cared about it know that they are really full of emotions.
Back to the topic, in the 2008 playoffs, Yao Ming was absent for the season. McGrady carried the team alone in the first round against the Jazz for 6 games, but McGrady alone is obviously not enough. After 6 games, McGrady’s average
The data reached 27.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists, while Alstom, the second highest scorer in the team, only had 14.3 points. The Rockets lost to the Jazz in the first round for the second consecutive year.
This is Yao Mai’s third first-round exit in the playoffs in four years. Even at this time, although helpless, Yao Ming is only 28 years old, and McGrady is 29 years old.
Some people may think that instead of thinking about the championship, it is better to think about how to go further than to be eliminated in the first round three times in four years.
This may be the case in the hearts of fans, but the Rockets don’t think so.
In fact, the Rockets were really a strong team in those two years of regular season. They ranked fourth in the cruel West both times. In the 2007-08 season, they achieved a miracle of 22 consecutive victories. The Rockets really have the strength to compete for the championship.
For this “championship dream”, Morey traded for Artest during the offseason, which was really exciting for the hot honey at the time!
Regardless of Artest’s only defense now, he averaged 20.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in the Kings the year before he came to the Rockets. This is an All-Star level of data.
Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, Artest, some people began to compare the Big Three with the Big Three of the Celtics who just won the championship, plus Mutombo, Scola, Landry, Battier and others who have experienced
The role players who have won 22 consecutive victories, on the books, it seems that the Rockets really have the strength to compete for the championship.
This can also be seen from the winning odds at the time. The Rockets’ winning odds are second only to the Celtics, Lakers, Pistons and Spurs!
The regular season has begun, and the “injuries” that have run through the Yao Mai era have come again.
This year was the healthiest for Yao Ming since 2005. He played 77 games and averaged 19.7 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. However, McGrady played the worst season in the Rockets era. Because of injuries, McGrady played intermittently and only played.
In 35 games, on February 4th, exactly 8 years ago, McGrady announced his season reimbursement. In 35 games, he averaged only 15.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists. After 2009, McGrady never recovered.
For other players, Artest maintained his own level, averaging 17.1 points per game, and on the defensive end, he and Battier defended the opponent’s main force.
Scola maintained a stable output and cooperated well with Yao Ming’s inside combination. In the second grade, Landry began to grow into a qualified bench gangster. Although Alstom left, he activated and achieved the fastest improvement in the next year.
The player Brooks also ushered in Lowry, who is now a superstar. What was even more surprising was Weaver. He successfully filled the vacancy left by McGrady’s injury.
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It is precisely because of these that the Rockets in the regular season are still quite strong. Under the leadership of Adelman, the Rockets won the fifth record in the Western Conference with 53 wins and 29 losses. Among them, the home record is as high as 33 wins and 8 losses.
Some of them are quite classic.
The most classic is the home game against the Cavaliers. Artest and Battier teamed up to defend the season’s MVP King James to only 7 of 21 shots, and only 1 rebound and 0 assists.
For the first time in James’ career, he had zero assists.
In the playoffs, the real stage came.
In the first round, it was finally no longer the Jazz. Facing the young Trail Blazers youth team, Yao Ming played his strength as the No. 1 center in the Western Conference in the first game. He made 9 of 9, 6 of 6 free throws, and scored 24 points on every shot!
The Rockets also beat their opponents.
In the second game, Roy scored 42 points and the Rose Army regained a victory. However, the focus of this game was not Roy. Mutombo collided with Oden in the knee, and Uncle Mu fell to the ground.
From the beginning, Uncle Mu never returned to the game after this injury.
No one thought that this would be his final battle.
In the following series, the Rockets had gained a psychological advantage after taking a 3-1 lead (at that time only 8 teams had completed a 1-3 reversal), and finally eliminated the Trail Blazers 4-2.
The second round, and the only time.
In the semifinals, the Rockets met the Lakers, one of the biggest favorites to win the championship.
In the first game, Dayao performed the return of the king under the condition of injury. At that time, this scene touched countless fans. Unfortunately, Yao Ming still failed to escape the attack of injury. In the third game of the series, Yao Ming left the field due to a left ankle injury.
, this is his last game of the season and the best of his career