NBA: Yao Ming at his peak returns to his rookie season

Salt Lake City has been having a pretty rough time lately.

As a Western Conference powerhouse that challenged the Bulls for the championship twice, the Salt Lake City duo was also an enigma.

Stockton is still working hard to break the all-time steals and assists records.

Karl Malone and Stockton are indeed getting old.

In addition, the Western Conference's frontcourt roster is incredibly strong right now!

That's truly formidable.

Leaving aside the large group of big names Yao Ming encountered during his military training, even the second-string players like Randolph and Gasol are waiting to be replaced.

Karl Malone is able to continue fighting on the front lines with this group of people at his age.

Let's set aside character and focus on skill and physique.

That's really impressive.

The Jazz are still coached by veteran Sloan, and Tomjanovich is eager to get back to work, having already taken his heart medication, just waiting to face Sloan again!

The Rockets' problem is that Cato and Mobley are still injured.

The good news is that Mobley is expected to return in two days.

The Jazz's problem is a lack of depth and promising young players.

Apart from second-year rookie AK Kirilenko, the Jazz did not have a third main player to share the burden with Malone and Stockton.

The Jazz's pick-and-roll is a classic tactic.

Its advantages are its durability and sturdiness.

However, the drawbacks are equally obvious. His tactics have been studied and proven too much. If he doesn't have a third scoring option, opponents will target Stockton relentlessly.

Stockton's skills are considered the pinnacle of NBA talent among ordinary players.

But he also faces the same problem: he is getting old, despite years of maintaining training, controlling his diet, and living an ascetic life.

Stockton's physical condition is still out of control, continuing to decline this season, with all his statistics at record lows, and the situation is very serious.

This season is Stockton's last season in the NBA in the original timeline.

Yao Ming brought his team to Salt Lake City.

It's cold here, and it's tough enough. Salt Lake City fans refused to cheer for Yao Ming. As a veteran who has been in the city for 20 years, Sloan and the Jazz have left their mark on the heart of the city.

When Yao Ming entered the hotel, an interview was playing on the lobby TV.

The picture shows a very cute little girl in a padded jacket: "Hey, Team Rocket, this is Salt Lake City. If that big guy dares to come any closer, I'll give her a hard over-the-shoulder throw!"

It's actually quite cute.

After checking into the hotel, everything was fine.

On the day of the game, the Rockets were surrounded by reporters as soon as they stepped out of their house, which wasn't a big deal in itself.

Since Yao Ming joined the Rockets, there have been more than a dozen TV stations waiting outside their arena year-round.

For high-profile games, like the one against the Magic last time, it's common for dozens of reporters to stake out the venue.

However, this time Tang Shuai can only be said to have been careless and failed to dodge.

This is probably Tomjanovich's last season, and Sloan may not be able to coach for many more years either. They are both getting old, and Tomjanovich is here to settle old scores this time.

Therefore, no order prohibiting interviews was issued.

In their day, swearing in front of the camera was commonplace, but Coach Tomjanovich forgot that the team not only had Yao Ming as a spotlight, but also Glenn Robinson as a ticking time bomb!

"Karl? Can that old guy still play basketball? Oh, he should be in a nursing home, not on the basketball court!"

This is... Salt Lake City.

Glenn Robinson's conversation immediately ignited a firestorm among local media and fans.

Now, buses are lined with anti-fan slogans on both sides of the road.

What's even more outrageous is that Yao Ming is still the scapegoat.

The bulletin boards were filled with pictures of Yao Ming being elbowed to the ground by Karl Malone. Yao Ming was terrified, but he didn't say anything when interviewed!

This can only be attributed to Yao Ming's immense fame.

So much so that although Francis was nominally the team's leader, many people couldn't remember him; their label for the Rockets was simply "Yao Ming!"

You're sitting in a car when trouble comes knocking from the sky.

Salt Lake City fans said they didn't care who said the trash talk.

You can't go wrong if you count it on the head of the tall guy!

Arriving at the stadium

A reporter from Basketball Illustrated approached Yao Ming for a pre-game interview. The first reason was that Yao Ming would be wearing new shoes in this game, which was newsworthy, especially since Adidas had paid for them.

Secondly, the All-Star voting is nearing its end.

Yao Ming is far ahead in votes.

At the same time, O'Neal's temper became increasingly volatile.

If the votes are tied for a while, he can still maintain his dignity, but given Shaq's current mindset, it's no wonder he'd throw a tantrum if Yao Ming really takes away his starting position.

I heard that The New York Times has already booked an exclusive interview with O'Neal.

Basketball Illustrated, of course, is not to be outdone.

"What do you think about Salt Lake City's desire to win the championship, Yao Ming? After all, Karl and John are still fighting on the front lines."

"I watched their matches more than a dozen times before I came. Coach Tom told me to watch them. He said I needed to know who I was facing. They are probably the best doubles pair in history, and they are still very strong."

The reporter became interested: "Oh? You mean it's better than OK?"

Yao Ming shook his head without hesitation: "For me, OK is the most difficult mountain to overcome. For Coach Rudy, the best duo is the Utah Jazz duo. There is no conflict between them."

Yao Ming's answer was steady and measured.

The reporters weren't there to cause trouble, so the topic quickly returned to the All-Star game, Yao Ming's new shoes, and the new insole technology that came with them.

NBA shoe insoles have been produced independently since 87.

The price is no less than that of a limited edition sneaker.

Sneaker stars can give away shoes freely, but they really can't afford to give away shoe insoles.

It was evening.

Yao Ming had just warmed up during the shooting practice when he saw Tomjanovich and Sloan walk to the front of the podium.

At that moment, it felt as if sparks were flying in the air.

The Rockets and Jazz players gathered together.

"I've seen your interview. If we were to fight, I'd elbow you first!" Karl Malone suddenly blurted out.

What's even more frustrating is that he didn't tell Glenn Robinson.

It was actually said to Yao Ming!

Damn it, Yao Ming was speechless at Karl Malone's thinking and could only reply with trash talk: "Then you might be disappointed, because you probably can't elbow me in the chest."

"I think he's right!" Stockton delivered a precise backstab to Karl Malone without hesitation.

The atmosphere between veteran coach Sloan and coach Tomás in front of the podium was not as tense as that between the younger coaches.

On the contrary, the two of them were quite peaceful.

"Jerry, you still have plenty of time. Let's give way this time. After all, if I don't make it to the playoffs this time, I won't have another chance. You know my body." Tommy said, shamelessly playing the victim.

Sloan was equally blunt: "My chances aren't many either. John and Karl might not play next season, so giving it to you is out of the question. The most I can offer you is my middle finger!"

"Tch, that's rude. Hey old man, how about we go all out?"

Sloan looked at Tang Shuai with a puzzled expression.

The old man pointed at the Jazz team and said, "You lost, so give me that guy named Andre, how about that?"