Zhou Qi was happy to spend his days working on his game, going through extra drills before practice, getting up extra shots after. Getting a chance to play on Saturday was better.
Zhou played with the benches cleared, getting his first NBA playing time in the Rockets rout of the Mavericks. He had three rebounds and blocked a shot in his seven minutes, but missed his only shot, most to roars of the Toyota Center crowd.
“I was very excited,” Zhou said. “It was my first time officially getting onto the NBA court. I was so excited, but I was also surprised that this time came so soon.