The trade was completed, and the Knicks fans were overjoyed.
However, the media did not seem optimistic about the transaction, mainly citing Yao Ming's age and increasing injury concerns, while David Lee, Jeffries, Baron, and Harrington were all in their prime.
Only Li Feng knew in his heart that Yao Ming's injuries were due to weight gain and an incorrect playing style.
If he came to the Knicks, Yao Ming would definitely experience a second spring in his career!
The moment the trade was announced, Li Feng and Yao Ming spoke on the phone again.
"Brother Yao, it's done, I'm so happy!" Li Feng was incredibly excited, his voice even trembling.
Yao Ming also did not expect it to go so smoothly, nodding repeatedly, "Yes, it's done, it's done, I didn't expect it to be so fast, this is great!"
"Brother Yao, let's work together and make sure we achieve results this season that will shock them!"
Yao Ming smiled, "I'll do my best, but I'm a little worried."
"Worried about what?" Li Feng was stunned.
"The Knicks have been playing well, and I'm afraid I'll affect your chemistry."
Li Feng quickly said, "No, Brother Yao, why would you think that?"
"The Knicks' interior defense has always been a weakness. David Lee's offense is decent, but not enough to compensate for the defensive loopholes. If you come, the Knicks will truly have their final weakness addressed, and it will become a strength!"
After Li Feng's explanation, Yao Ming was finally at ease.
...
Two days later, Yao Ming arrived in New York and joined the team.
As Yao Ming was still recovering from an injury, he could not play in games for the time being.
However, the Knicks were not in a hurry, and D'Antoni was grinning from ear to ear.
The Knicks currently held the top spot in regular season record; playing normally, it would be easy for them to make the playoffs.
As long as Yao Ming focused on recovering from his injury and played a few regular season games, the playoffs would be Yao Ming's true stage.
After arriving in New York, Li Feng, Yao Ming, and Yi Jianlian met up.
Yi Jianlian's team, the Nets, was also in the vicinity of New York City, so it was easy for them to meet.
The three of them were quite emotional while having dinner.
It was a rare opportunity for three Chinese stars to gather and eat so far away across the ocean.
However, with the arrival of Da Yao, the three of them could now meet more often.
"Brother Yi, are you thinking about coming to the Knicks too?" Li Feng asked jokingly.
Yi Jianlian smiled honestly, "Of course I want to, but the Nets' coach and players have been treating me well recently. I'll see what happens."
Da Yao patted Yi Jianlian on the shoulder and said, "Li Feng is just joking with you. You've been playing better and better for the Nets recently. Keep it up, and you'll achieve great things."
Yao Ming was speaking from the heart; he hoped Ah Lian could stay with a team for a few more years and become the Nets' star player.
The three of them chatted very happily and even drank some red wine, parting ways only late at night.
The Knicks' next three games were against the Kings, Bucks, and 76ers, and they achieved a record of 2 wins and 1 loss.
Due to the departure of David Lee, Baron, and other inside players, and Yao Ming's inability to play yet, the team's interior was extremely weak.
Despite Li Feng averaging 33.7 points per game, the team's shortcomings were too obvious, and Li Feng could not save them.
Furthermore, the Knicks were different from the beginning of the season.
At that time, the Knicks could only be called a dark horse, and they had not been thoroughly scouted by other teams.
But now, with Li Feng shining brightly, the team's record being the league's best, and the addition of Yao Ming, the Knicks immediately became the "public enemy" of the league!
All teams were studying the Knicks' playstyle, and defeating the Knicks was considered the greatest challenge.
It could be said that every regular season game for the Knicks was as intense as a playoff game.
The defense of other teams on Li Feng had also been thoroughly studied, and the results were already showing.
Li Feng originally thought he wouldn't experience a "rookie wall."
But the reality was that Li Feng's rookie wall appeared earlier.
Not only were other teams double-teaming Li Feng fiercely, but nearby players were also ready to provide help defense at any time.
Even though Li Feng's golden finger helped him a lot, he was still human after all.
With his teammates not performing well, the Knicks' record was naturally not as dazzling as it was before the All-Star break.
Yao Ming was still recovering from his injury and felt anxious watching the Knicks' poor performance.
He specifically spoke with Li Feng and D'Antoni twice, wanting to return early.
But neither Li Feng nor Coach D'Antoni agreed.
"Brother Yao, don't worry, the team's record is still acceptable; we are currently second in the Eastern Conference, only half a game behind the Cavaliers."
"As long as you can return to health, we will definitely catch up in the standings. Don't forget, we still have one game against the Cavaliers, and that game will count as two!"
Under their persuasion, Yao Ming had no choice but to continue to recover patiently.
Yao Ming was not simply recovering from his injury; he was also losing weight according to the team's plan and his physical condition.
For players, losing weight is not that easy.
For ordinary people, losing weight is as simple as eating less, jogging, or taking some slimming teas and having frequent bowel movements.
But that kind of weight loss would affect their athletic ability and prevent them from performing at their best in games.
In the eight games after the All-Star break, the Knicks went 4-4, with a total record of 37 wins and 10 losses. The Cavaliers had a record of 38 wins and 9 losses.
The Magic also had a record of 37 wins and 10 losses.
The competition at the top of the Eastern Conference was fierce; winning or losing a game could change their rankings.
On March 2nd, the Knicks hosted the Pacers.
In this game, Yao Ming would make his comeback!
Many fans, especially Chinese fans, were eagerly awaiting this day.
They were desperate to see Li Feng and Yao Ming team up again!
During the Olympics, their first collaboration showed an almost invincible state. Although they didn't win the championship in the end, they still led the Chinese men's basketball team to their strongest historical achievement – a silver medal.
In the final, they nearly defeated the Dream Team!
If it weren't for Kobe's buzzer-beater, the outcome would have been unpredictable!
Yao Ming chose this game to return for two reasons: one, his body had recovered significantly, and the other was to teach Hibbert a lesson!
Hibbert was nicknamed "Black Yao Ming" because his playing style was similar to Yao Ming's.
In the two previous games between the two teams, Hibbert had dominated the Knicks' interior.
Therefore, Yao Ming wanted to teach Hibbert a lesson and show him who the real Yao Ming was!
At the pre-game press conference, Li Feng and Yao Ming were interviewed by the media.
Since Li Feng joined the NBA, this was the press conference with the most reporters he had ever seen.
And there were many reporters from Asian media present; both of them were incredibly popular superstars in Asia.
"Mr. Yao Ming, you've been out injured for a long time, over a month. Are you fully recovered?"
Yao Ming nodded confidently, "I have fully recovered and can perform at 100% of my ability on the court to help the team."
Another reporter asked, "Yao Ming, you look like you've lost a lot of weight. Did you intentionally try to lose weight?"
Yao Ming exchanged a glance with Li Feng, then turned his head and replied, "Yes, I want to change my playing style, lose weight, and increase my shooting range. You'll see my changes in today's game."
The reporters immediately started murmuring. In their impression, Yao Ming was a traditional inside player: post-ups, physical battles, hook shots, jump shots...
Now that Yao Ming said he was increasing his shooting range, combined with Yao Ming's performance in the Rockets' games before his injury, the reporters were filled with anticipation for this game.
"Li Feng, the Knicks' interior has always been criticized, becoming a limiting factor in the Knicks' record improvement. With Yao Ming now, are you feeling more at ease?"
Li Feng laughed heartily, "Of course! With Yao Ming, what do we have to fear? Haha!"
The reporters also laughed and spontaneously applauded, cheering on these two Chinese superstars!
A Chinese reporter raised his hand and asked, "Li Feng, you and Yao Ming are teaming up for the second time. Did you experience any discomfort during pre-game practice?"
Li Feng thought for a moment and nodded, "There was a little bit at first, because the NBA is quite different from the Olympics. But we only took a few hours to adapt to each other, so there are no problems at all!"
...
At 7:30 PM, at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks faced the Pacers.
The Pacers were playing with their full roster today. The starting lineup was Hibbert, Granger, Murphy, Rush, and Watson.
The Knicks' starting five were Li Feng, Yao Ming, Gallinari, Duhon, and Scola.
Scola, as Yao Ming's most reliable Rockets teammate, was a very skilled Argentinian player with agile and tricky post moves that were hard to defend.
The reason he was let go by the Rockets was also due to injuries.
He came to the Knicks and played four games, with average performances, averaging 13.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists.
The game started with a jump ball at center court, with Yao Ming and Hibbert facing each other.
The referee tossed the ball high, and Yao Ming quickly jumped, easily tipping the ball to Li Feng!
Hibbert had played against Yao Ming several times, and Yao Ming always had the upper hand.
However, in the jump ball segment, Hibbert had won more often before because Hibbert was leaner than Yao Ming.
But today, Yao Ming looked much leaner, his leaping speed was faster, and he surprisingly won the jump ball against Hibbert.
Hibbert was shocked and had an ominous premonition...
Li Feng was also excited. This was his first time teaming up on an NBA court, but he tried his best to suppress his excitement and calmly directed his teammates' positioning.
Yao Ming crossed half-court, battled with Hibbert, established position, and reached out for the ball.
This was essentially a signal, indicating that Yao Ming was about to give the opponent's big man a taste of his own medicine!
Facing a double-team, Li Feng immediately passed the ball.
After receiving the ball, Yao Ming drove to the basket, then turned and shot!
After losing weight, Yao Ming's strength had slightly decreased, but his jump shot was quicker and his release point was higher!
Hibbert tried his best to defend, but Yao Ming's refined post-up skills left him helpless.
Swish!
A clean make!
The Knicks' home crowd immediately cheered loudly, celebrating Yao Ming's arrival!
Li Feng also let out an excited roar, clenched his fist, and rushed forward to high-five Yao Ming in celebration.
Yao Ming seemed to have gained new life and jumped up excitedly after scoring.
He discovered that playing for the Knicks was completely different from playing for the Rockets; it was too easy.
With the Rockets, he was the primary target of the opposing team's defense, and every basket required intense physical battles in the paint.
Even if he scored, he would be exhausted and suffer minor injuries.
But with the Knicks, the defensive focus was on Li Feng, and he only needed to go one-on-one inside.
To Yao Ming, this felt like a difficulty reduction of one level!
The Pacers' offense, Watson brought the ball past half-court.
Duhon defended Watson closely, and Granger reached out for the ball.
Scola was defending Granger.
The two were similar in height, but Granger was the Pacers' offensive core, and his isolation play was strong. Scola couldn't defend him on his own.
Just as Granger was about to make his move, Li Feng suddenly surged forward, preparing to steal Granger's ball.
Li Feng's speed was too fast. If this was their first encounter, Granger would have surely lost the ball.
In previous games between the two teams, Li Feng had stolen the ball from Granger once or twice in every game.
So, Granger was prepared and quickly brought the ball together and turned, narrowly avoiding the steal.
But he also lost his best opportunity to attack.
Reluctantly, he had to pass the ball to Hibbert.
With only 8 seconds left on the Pacers' shot clock, Hibbert and Yao Ming switched defensively.
Hibbert received the ball, and the others spread out.
He had been scored on by Yao Ming earlier and wanted to return the favor!
Yao Ming was tightly guarding Hibbert from behind. Hibbert faked left and right, then rapidly moved towards the baseline and used a hook shot!
His move was indeed very similar to Yao Ming's.
If it were in the past, it might have succeeded, but the current Yao Ming was simply too agile.
Swish!
Yao Ming quickly followed up with a step, raised his left hand high, and THWACK!
He swatted the ball directly out of bounds!
Whoa!
The entire crowd went wild!
The Knicks finally had such a dominant interior defender!
Many fans were so excited they shed tears, especially Spike Lee, who was sitting in the front row. His eyes were glistening with tears, and he nodded continuously, giving Yao Ming a thumbs-up!
Yao Ming was also a shot-blocking specialist during his peak with the Rockets.
However, as he gained weight and suffered more injuries, his blocks became fewer and fewer.
Fans hadn't seen Yao Ming make such a crisp block in a long time.
So, Yao Ming himself was also very excited. He clenched his fists and swung them vigorously, expressing the suppressed frustration in his chest.
Hibbert's face turned ashen; he had always been suppressed by Yao Ming.
Recently, he heard that Yao Ming was injured and thought he could take the opportunity to bully Yao Ming.
He never expected that Yao Ming would find new life with the Knicks and perform at his career peak.
Especially in this offensive and defensive sequence, where was there any sign of injury?
The Pacers' offensive time only had 1.2 seconds left. Murphy inbounded the ball from the baseline, directly lobbing it to Granger. Granger made a hurried shot, which bounced off the rim and out.
Yao Ming secured position, and Gallinari protected the rebound, immediately throwing it to Li Feng.
Li Feng sped across half-court, with Rush chasing closely behind.
Rush was a very capable player. He played well for the Pacers and had a fierce style of play.
Rush had been matched up against Li Feng all along.