LA-GF-CO, the newest and most luxurious nightclub in Los Angeles.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch..." Harden put a handful of banknotes into his mouth, which immediately attracted several beauties to compete for it.
Next to him, two black girls who looked like high school students were sitting on Howard's lap, and Howard's originally black skin turned rosy under the stimulation of alcohol.
At the bar outside, Parsons was surrounded by a bunch of beauties. Except for Nick Young's surprise, even people who were originally visiting the nightclub were attracted by Parsons. His good looks are beyond words. , there is no shortage of women wherever you go, and you can get a date with a girl without spending money at all.
Asik, Motiejunas and Casspi are European players, and they don't have a deep understanding of American nightclub culture, so they seem a bit cautious.
The ones who are having more fun are Beverley and Cannan. They are originally players with basic salaries. They cannot spend money like Harden and Howard in nightclubs. Now they meet rich locals to treat them, so they naturally play hard. .
At four o'clock in the morning, the Rockets generals came out of the nightclub. As expected, Harden, Howard and others were holding two girls each in their arms. Other Rockets players were also accompanied by beauties.
"Los Angeles is so great!" Beverly couldn't help but sigh.
…
Rockets head coach McHale stood on the edge of the training court with a livid face. He looked at his watch and saw that it was already 9:15 in the morning, but only half of the Rockets players were here.
"Where are the people! Where have they gone! Why aren't you here yet? We agreed to start training at 9 o'clock, but why do we have to come here fifteen minutes earlier to warm up and adapt to the environment! Well, now, it's already been more than 15 minutes Why haven't they come yet?" McHale's eyes narrowed to a slit, suppressing the anger in his heart.
Finally, Beverly arrived belatedly. He walked into the training ground and saw Coach McHale's gloomy face, and he immediately shrank his neck in fear.
Beverly is very active in training on weekdays, otherwise Jeremy Lin would not be pushed out of the starting lineup. Moreover, Beverley is still a player with a basic salary. Every time he loses a ball, he has to fight for his future. If he fails to please the coach, he may be directly unemployed.
At this time, Beverly finally regretted it. If he hadn't played too indulgently last night, he wouldn't be late today.
But Beverly really hasn't seen much of the world. He went to a public middle school when he was a child. People who go to public middle schools in the United States are generally not rich. Children from poor families always get a basic salary, so they are definitely reluctant to spend a lot of money on women. A scene like last night's, even a clubber like Harden, let alone a loser Beverly, couldn't withstand.
Next, good friends Parsons and Jeremy Lin also came. Although Parsons also gets a basic salary, he is now a top striker in the NBA and will definitely get a maximum salary in his next contract, so he is not as scared as Beverley. And when he saw that neither Harden nor Howard came, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Don't worry, James (Harden) and Dwight (Howard) haven't come yet. The coach won't punish us. Let's warm up first." Parsons said.
After a while, Howard arrived at the training ground.
"Hehe, hehehe..." Noticing McHale's murderous gaze, Howard grinned, showing his big white teeth, and smiled like a child. When Howard smiled, McHale really stopped trying. The entire team knew that Howard was just a big kid, and there was really no way to discipline someone with this kind of personality.
Finally, the bearded Harden appeared in the training hall. Harden's eyes were drooped several times, as if he hadn't woken up. Looking carefully, his eyes were still bloodshot. It was obvious that he had worked too hard last night.
"This guy must have gone to the nightclub last night! No, all these guys should have gone to the nightclub! Otherwise, it would be impossible for everyone to be late, and Harden would have ruined them all!" McHale was furious. There is a game tonight, but these guys were hanging out in the nightclub last night!
"I knew a long time ago that this would be the result when I came to Los Angeles." McHale also felt helpless. He wanted to punish Harden, but he was the team's number one star, and McHale couldn't use too drastic methods.
Los Angeles is the entertainment capital of the United States. The nightlife here is even richer than New York and Miami. For nightclub fans like Harden and big kids like Howard, Los Angeles is indeed too attractive.
In addition, the All-Star Game has just ended. Harden and Howard are both going to participate in the All-Star Game. It is normal for them to not come out of the All-Star entertainment state.
The most important point is that the Rockets will play back-to-back away games, so if they wait until the end of the game, the Rockets players will have no time to enjoy the nightlife in Los Angeles. This is why Harden can't wait.
"Start training!" McHale snorted coldly, but he could feel that with Harden's current state, the training was probably mostly about coping.
…
On the evening of February 19th local time in the United States, the Rockets challenged the Los Angeles Lakers away from home.
"What's wrong with Harden tonight? He has no touch at all. He made zero of five three-pointers. Even his breakthrough speed seems to be half a beat slower. The key is that his shooting percentage on the serve is not high. He made four of six free throws and is less than 100. A hit rate of seventy percent!"
"Has Howard become a softie? Not only did Gasol dunk on his head, but Jordan Hill even attacked Howard. They say Gasol is soft, but why is Howard playing better than Gasol today? If you have to be softer, is this still the 'Warcraft' we know!"
"Parsons was intercepted again. This is his fifth mistake! Normally, Parsons' efficiency is one of the best. Today, just making mistakes cost the Rockets ten points."
"Beverley fouled again. Look, there are so many fouls. He must be replaced! Usually Beverley's defense is very aggressive, but today there is only aggression and no defense. This is playing ball. It’s not like everyone, with such a big foul, the referee is really blind!”
"Look at McHale's face, his brows are so furrowed that he's almost sweating."
"Nonsense, the Rockets played so badly today, almost no one is in good condition, can McHale not be anxious?"
"They showed this behavior in the first game after the All-Star Game. It seems that the Rockets had too much fun in the All-Star Game and have not yet regained their game status."
"Look at today's Rockets. They want speed but not speed. They want confrontation but not confrontation. They want accuracy but not accuracy. They can't make good tactics. They even miss defensive rebounds... I think today they can't be called the Houston Rockets. They should be called the Houston Shrimp. The team is the one!”
Amid the discussion, the Lakers' lead has reached as much as 30 points.
Gasol, who had just come back, was in great form and had a double-double in the first three quarters. Kaman, another insider, also found that Howard was easy to bully today. He used various post-ups to play Howard, just because of his height and long arms, making Howard suffer repeatedly.
The touch of the Lakers' outside players can only be considered average today. Blake, Marshall, and Wesley Johnson can only be regarded as ordinary shooting levels, but the opposite Lakers' shooting rate is really poor and they make too many mistakes. Due to the ebb and flow of one another, the Lakers' perimeter has become outstanding.
After three quarters, the game had lost its suspense. When McHale saw this situation, he knew that he could not win today, so he simply went on the bench. Asik, Motiejunas, Casspi, Brooks and Jeremy Lin are on the court, but the offense is better than the starting lineup. These people's nightclub play last night was not so crazy, and the physical exertion was even smaller.
However, the hole dug in front was too big. A group of substitutes only narrowed the score gap to less than 20 points, and the game was coming to an end.
In the end, the Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets 111-93 and won four consecutive home games.
…
It was time for the post-game press conference again. Before the coaches from both teams arrived, reporters were discussing the game in small groups.
"The Lakers really won! And they won so easily."
"Yeah, the whole Rockets team is sleepwalking today, and it doesn't look like they are here to play at all! The Lakers are so lucky, they encountered a Rockets team that was in poor condition."
"I just received the latest news. The Rockets went to the newly opened nightclub LA-GF-CO last night. When Harden and Howard came out, they had several girls in their arms!"
"No wonder everyone is weak today. It turns out that he went to a nightclub last night. Harden probably didn't sleep all night! It would be strange if he was in good condition today!"
"Hey, I really don't want to see Zhang Guan's proud face. He will definitely say again: We are one step closer to the playoffs!"
"Who will the Lakers' opponents be next? Is it possible to stop their winning streak?"
"The Lakers still have two home games, and their opponents are the Celtics and Nets."
"They are all Eastern Conference teams. It looks like Zhang Guan is going to win two more games! Do we have to wait for the Heat and Spurs to deal with the Lakers?"
"There is no need to wait for the Heat and Spurs to take action. After the next two home games, the Lakers are going to challenge the Pacers with Indiana! The Pacers are in extremely good shape this year, and now they are the first in the Eastern Conference. The Heat are suppressing the Big Three. If it goes down, the Lakers will definitely lose by then!"
"That's true, but unfortunately, it was an away game for the Lakers. I couldn't attend the post-game press conference, and I couldn't interview Zhang Guan when he lost. Such a refreshing thing can only be left to my colleagues in Indiana. They’re here!”
Chapter 2 has been delivered, please give me a guaranteed monthly ticket. Thanks to Thai Old Man Zhang, Son Ping An, Duo Cai Ni, Bubble 2016, Dragon Walking in the Sky, and dzjwywy for the reward!
(End of chapter)