The Greene Light is Still On
It was the day after the Rockets had faced the Atlanta Hawks in Houston. 6 PM in the afternoon, Kevin Martin and Yao Ming were at Memorial Hermann Hospital to visit a wounded Donte Greene.
"I hope the guy's okay," Martin started the conversation after they both got out of his car. "He works too hard for a small bullet to end his career," Yao told him, "I think he's definitely man enough to be okay." They both entered through automatic doors, and Yao had to crouch his head a little to fit through the doorway. People started staring; first at Martin, then at Yao.
"One disadvantage of being extra tall," laughed Yao Ming, looking around at the staring eyes. Yao didn't seem uncomfortable, but Kevin Martin did, slightly.
"Hello, how are you today?" Martin greeted the receptionist at the receptionist desk. "Hi, how can I he-," she looked up, and was a little intimidated at the height of both Yao and Martin. "How can I help you?" she continued with a smile. "Yes, we're here to see a friend of ours," said Martin. "Name?" asked the receptionist. "Donte Greene," Martin replied.
"Greene, Greene," repeated the receptionist, searching Greene's name on her computer. "Room 321, that'll be on the third floor," she told them. "Okay, thank you," Martin replied. The receptionist called a nearby nurse to escort them to the room. "I was going there anyways," she said. They got on the elevator, and Martin pressed the button number 3 to head for the third floor. When they were on the second floor, a doctor with a coffee mug got on the elevator. He looked at them with a surprised look on his face, then gasped.
"You are Kevin Martin, and you are Yao Ming!" he told them. "Why, yes," said Yao Ming, smiling. "It's an honor to meet you, what would NBA players be doing inside a hospital?" he asked them, shaking hands with both. "Just here to visit a friend," Yao Ming told him. They had arrived at the third floor, and Yao, Martin and the escorting nurse got off the elevator. "I'll make sure to attend one of your games!" said the doctor, as the elevator door closed.
"Ah, what a nice guy," said Martin, as he and Yao followed the nurse towards Room 321. She was taking out the key, but the door opened, and out came a very attractive woman, who smiled at Yao and Martin, and walked away. Martin watched her leave; he knew he had seen her somewhere before. "Isn't she one of our cheerleaders?" Martin asked Yao. "I think so," Yao answered him.
"Well, here you are," said the nurse. "Don't stay for too long, as his check up is in half an hour," she continued and walked away. "What's up Donte," Martin greeted Greene. "Hey, long time no see," he answered smiling. "Who was that woman who left your room?" asked Martin suspiciously. "Oh, uh," Greene panicked, "she's just a friend."
"Uh, sure," said Martin unconvinced. "So how's basketball lately?" asked Greene changing the subject. "I watched that Hakws game yesterday, you guys are still good without me," joked Greene. "Oh, it's been going well, game-winners have been on the menu," Martin laughed. "Rebounding's been easy the past few games," laughed Yao. "It's always easy for a guy your height, man," answered Greene. "So what happened that night?" Yao asked Greene.
"Yeah, do you know who shot you?" asked Martin. "I would think you guys are better than to just explode that subject on me, man," said Greene, disappointed. "Well, it just exploded on you, right? Do you know who it was?" asked Martin.
"No." said Greene in an official tone. "I'm betting it was that asshole, Halstead," exclaimed Martin. "No, I assure you it was not him, he's 2 inches shorter than me, and the shooter was around 6 feet," said Greene. "Who else could it have been then?" asked Martin. "I don't know any more than you do, man." said Greene.
"So when will you be ready to return?" asked Yao Ming. "I think I'll be out of here in about a week, bullet just wounded my calf," Greene said, "I'll be alright." "Good thing," replied Martin.
"I think you guys best be headin' out, my lunch'll be comin' in a few minutes, then I got a check-up," Greene told them, he seemed a little upset. "But we just got here," whined Martin. "No, it'd be best if you guys left, don't want the doctors to be pissed at ya'll," he said.
"OK, then," said Yao, "good to know that you'll be back soon." They bade farewell to him, and left the room.
Yao Ming and Kevin Martin took the elevator down to the first floor, and Kevin Martin thought back to the woman who was in Donte's room. "Now I know why he wanted to leave early that day," he thought to himself.
Meanwhile, Donte Greene turned on the TV in his room in time to watch The Simpsons.
Axel. wrote:Reason for Wolves: An inside bang of Bosh, Boozer, and Love is enough to boost a 20-win team to an over .500 team. David Kahn is smart in this dynasty.
Houndy wrote:I love how Dynasties make the good teams suck
Axel. wrote:And they make the bad teams good. Look at the Clippers!
benji wrote:LeBron is such a choker. And people were talking about him as an all-time great. As having possibly surpassed Kobe. What a joke.
velvet bliss wrote:Andrew, you the real MVP.
Andrew wrote:He who flops and flails to the Finals and a title, flops and flails best.
Axel. wrote:OK, Andrew. No Halstead in this story.
Andrew wrote:Martin definitely needs to get over his obsession though, in a way he's getting to be as bad as Halstead.
Clutch wrote:i never understood his Bradfatuation from the start actually
Durantula_MVP wrote:Nice two wins![]()
Where is Queen?
Donte
Lamrock wrote:Tough loss to the subpar Sixers, but at 29-6, you're still looking great. Elmo Ellison's a great rookie name, almost as good as Ellis Ellis, who I came across in 2K9 or 2K10
z02 wrote:For real? Ellis Ellis? I came across Bob Cobb and I thought that was crazy enough!
Houndy wrote:Fuck Elton Brand, that punk waste of money player
Go Elmo!
Thierry. wrote:Oh, Fisher at ClevelandLouis had a nice game, tough loss against Philly.
Andrew wrote:Clutch wrote:i never understood his Bradfatuation from the start actually
In all fairness, Halstead made a pretty poor first impression.
A couple of nice wins there, shame about the Philly game but sounds like Martin wasn't getting much help in the final minutes.
lefisto wrote:Elmo Ellison and Brad Halstead are like brothers...
It's Brad to Ignore Someone
"I called you in, coach, because I'm a little concerned that our defense isn't up to scratch," Daryl Morey told Rick Adelman. It was Friday, January 14, one day before the Rockets would be set to play against the Clippers, before heading out on the road again. "Well, I don't think it's our fault. The other teams have just been shooting lights out, you saw Crawford and Maurice Williams drop a bunch on us." Rick Adelman responded.
"True, but why don't you get Shane Battier to defend those players?" asked Morey. Adelman sighed. "When a player is hot, he's hot, not even the most elite defender can stop him. I thought as a GM you'd know that," he told Morey. "Well, I'm a GM, it's my job to assemble a winning team, not to assume that my best defender can't stop a hot shooter," Morey told him. "Just thought we might need to bring in some more defense."
"Coach, should I tell the team to get ready for drills?" Shane Battier came in. "Sure, Shane. I'll be there in a minute." responded Rick Adelman.
Meanwhile, Brad Halstead was sitting down on the bleachers, looking down at the floor, still upset at what had happened Monday against Philadelphia. "When you get blocked, fighting's not gonna delete that fact!" Battier's words echoed in his head. "It may have been a foul, but you just get up and keep playing high-intensity basketball!"
Battier had forced Halstead to shake hands and state his remorse with Elton Brand after the game, something Brad did very uncomfortably. "So learned your lesson now, huh rookie?" Halstead was taken back to Earth. It was Kevin Martin. He sat down next to Brad, to give him a bit of a talk. "You know, I've been quite an ass to you since you've came to the NBA. I'm sorry man," Martin held out his hand to Brad. Halstead got up, and walked away, and sat down farther along the bleachers.
"You know there's such thing as trolling on the internet. Well, you're trolling in real life man, if you want to ignore me,fine, I just want to make your life easier here in the NBA," Martin told him, and got back to the shootaround.
"Hey, what up everyone!" somebody blurted out. It was Donte Greene, he was limping a little bit, and he still had a bandage over his wound. "I'm back!"
"Hey, great to have ya back. Why you still limpin'?" asked Martin. "They let me out a little early, doc told me to rest at home. I gotta go over for a check-up tomorrow, but I should be takin' off these bandages in about a week," Greene told him. "When will you be cleared to play?" the whole team had approached Donte, and Yao Ming asked the question. "Maybe week after next," Greene said.
"Good to hear," Rick Adelman had come out of Morey's office. "Now, you just sit down. The rest of you, get ready for warm-ups, and then we're doin' drills," Rick Adelman continued.
Greene sat down, and stoked his calf where the wound was. He heard the door of the gym open, and looked to his left. Willie Lewis, Halstead's agent, had come in. "Well, well, well," he said. "Good to see you back. I guess this means my client won't be playing anymore?" Lewis asked in a cold, and disappointed manner. "I'm still not cleared to play. Still need another week to recover," Greene answered him.
Lewis' cell phone rang, he pulled it out of his pocket, and answered. "Hello," he said. He paused. "Oh hey, Roddy," he said smiling. The smile gradually turned into a frown. "Oh my god, no, no, no..." Willie Lewis rushed out of the gym, and Donte Greene, confused, went back to inspecting his calf wound.
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