The Rockets finally got it done — beat the Blazers 4-2.Yao finally made it past the first round. Sitting there on the sidelines, Lin Yi could feel it — that pure, boiling excitement in Ming's heart.
After the game, Yao was out there with the media, grinning, bragging about Ron Artest, Aaron Brooks, Luis Scola — everybody but himself.
Typical Yao Ming.
Always humble, always low-key. Never hyping himself up. But Lin Yi knew the truth: if this damn Rockets team played smarter and built the offense around Ming a little more...They might really have a shot at a title this year.
In that last game against Portland, Yao shot 8-for-16. Solid. But guess who took the most shots for the Rockets?
Artest. Rick Adelman actually let Artest chuck up 21 shots — mostly ugly isolation plays — instead of running some simple low-post sets for Yao.
Lin Yi almost lost his mind watching. Like bro, you've got a 7'6" cheat code and you're letting Ron Artest cosplay as McGrady?
Sure, Artest had one of his best playoff games ever — but still, Lin Yi was ready to pull his hair out.
Because here's the thing: If the Rockets could somehow get past the Lakers, no one on the Nuggets could handle Yao Ming. And if they made it to the Finals against the Magic? Who was going to stop Yao, Howard? Yao Ming was overall better than him.
Artest made the Rockets tougher, sure. Gave them that junkyard dog attitude. But offense? Nah. That wasn't it. And stubborn-ass Adelman still refused to run proper post plays for Yao. Dude would rather die with his precious Princeton offense than make adjustments.
.....
May 5. Staples Center, LA.
The Lakers thought they had this series in the bag. They didn't expect the Rockets to punch them right in the mouth.
If you looked at the matchups, it made sense. The Rockets didn't fear the Lakers' guards — no elite pick-and-roll killer to break them down. Bynum? Soft. Yao's dream matchup. And with Battier and Artest taking turns hounding Kobe, the Rockets actually had a shot.
Gasol's defense?Scola could handle that.
In Lin Yi's memory, Game 1 was pure chaos. Kobe jacked up 31 shots, and Staples was just a brick factory all night.
If Adelman had half a brain and fed Yao the ball more, the Rockets could've taken down the Lakers, easy.
In that first game, Yao only got 17 shots, but still dropped 28 points.
But deep down, Lin Yi knew. Even if Yao stayed healthy...With Adelman coaching, Morey pulling the strings, and Alexander being cheap as hell, the Rockets weren't winning a ring.
Simple as that.
You can't smash someone else's stone with your egg.
...
And then...The moment Lin Yi dreaded finally happened.
Late in the game, with about 4:54 left, Kobe collided with Yao's knee. Yao limped off, needing help just to make it down the tunnel.
Lin Yi's heart sank.
It's happening. The thing I never wanted to see.
But true to who he was, Yao came back. Limping, grimacing — but he came back.
Staples Center, full of Lakers fans, actually stood up and cheered for him.
Because you couldn't not respect him.
226 centimeters tall. Always stubborn, always tough. It didn't matter if you loved Jordan, Iverson, Kobe, or T-Mac —Without Yao, Chinese fans would've never fallen in love with the NBA the way they did.
He carried that responsibility without ever complaining.
Maybe if the Shanghai Sharks hadn't squeezed him dry, maybe if the Basketball Association didn't treat him like a product instead of a person, maybe if Van Gundy didn't bulk him up too much —Maybe... just maybe... he would've lasted longer.
But Yao never made excuses. Never pointed fingers. Even when Adelman wasted him, he smiled and praised his teammates.
And that night, watching him limp back onto the court, seeing the Lakers fans give him a standing ovation —Lin Yi knew.
This was Yao Ming's last dance.
The end of an era for the big men.
Lin Yi couldn't bring himself to watch the next game. He just couldn't.
Too damn heartbreaking.
...
People said Yao was only in the NBA because he was tall. Those people didn't know shit.
There had never been a 7'6" guy that skilled — that soft touch, that footwork, that basketball IQ.
People said he lacked leadership.
Yao put Chinese basketball on his back. He made China the king of Asian basketball. He let them go toe-to-toe with the best of Europe.
And when the Rockets needed him most, when his teammate T-Mac was already broken on the sidelines, Yao stayed.
He fought. Rebounded. Defended. Carried that damn team past the first round — finally.
And he never once complained about the Rockets' cheap-ass owner or their bad management.
It wasn't until years later that people realized just how hard it was for an Asian player to make it in that league.
..
In the final moments of that game against the Lakers,3:18 left on the clock, Yao Ming hit a jumper at the top of the key.
When the ball swished through, you could see it in his eyes.
That fire.
That stubbornness.
That pride.
Staples Center roared for him, not just because he was a great player, but because he was a giant in every sense of the word.
When the legend starts to fade, only glory remains.
...
After the Rockets bowed out 3-4 in the Western Conference Finals, Lin Yi packed his bags and headed back to Davidson.
He spent May training with Steph Curry, helping the kid tighten up his shot release and handle.
In June, the Lakers beat the Magic and took the title. Kobe was bouncing around like a kid, finally winning without Shaq.
Little did he realize...He had Gasol this time. He wasn't alone.
...
The NBA draft was coming.
Griffin, Lin Yi, and Steph — all the top rookies — announced they were skipping the rookie camp.
Stern was pissed, but what could he do?
None of them wanted to waste time playing pickup with a bunch of second-round hopefuls.
History was already starting to shift, just like Lin Yi expected.
...
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