God of NBA point guards

Chapter 442 All Stars

Then the Bulls strengthened their defense. With Mutombo defending the basket, on the one hand they delayed the Sonics' quick passes and prevented the Sonics from playing fast-paced offense and defense. On the other hand, Jordan stepped up the press and prevented Zhou Quan from passing the ball. Then they kept an eye on the SuperSonics' outside players and didn't leave any big openings. Finally, Kukoc also stepped up his guard on Laettner.

After several aspects, the Bulls' defense finally had an impact on the Sonics' offense. With his teammates unable to move out of position, Zhou Quan had to increase his shots and use more dribbling and pick-and-roll tactics in order to find more opportunities. Open opportunities.

On the defensive end, Zhou Quan also had to go all out. His own offense was not very good, which made it impossible for the Bulls to attack.

In this way, the game went on to the last 1 minute under the entanglement of the two sides, 90:90, the Bulls had the ball, and Phil Jackson called a timeout.

Phil Jackson and Jordan thought that with Mutombo and the league's best defense, they could defeat the SuperSonics, but so far, they have actually been disappointed.

Zhou Quan played 44 minutes and only rested for 3 minutes. He made 29 of 13 shots and the shooting percentage was only 44.8%. He made 6 of 2 three-pointers and the shooting percentage was 33.3%. However, he made 13 of 11 free throws and scored 39 points. Sent 11 assists.

The performance on the offensive end is mediocre, but the defensive end has sent 7 steals and 3 blocks. At the same time, Jordan has made 24 of 10 shots, and his shooting percentage is only 41.7%, which is lower than the 48.6% of the regular season. This is why the Sonics can bite The most critical reason for the score.

But even so, the Sonics will lose somewhat in the main lineup competition.

But the SuperSonics' substitute lineup is strong. Glider led the substitute lineup to fill holes for the main lineup. This is another important reason why the SuperSonics clinched the score.

Zhang Lili said at this time: "The Bulls actually have only one defensive tactic, let Mutombo guard the basket, Jordan guard Zhou Quan alone, and then man-to-man man-to-man coverage of the other three SuperSonics, without leaving any open space, just force Zhou Quan is playing Jordan alone outside. If you dare to go in, Mutombo will be waiting inside."

Xu Jicheng nodded and said: "The SuperSonics' idea of ​​pulling Mutombo out will not work. The Bulls would rather give him a small opening than let him leave the penalty area.

Zhou Quan made a lot of breakthroughs with the ball today, but after he broke in, he was double-teamed by Mutombo and Jordan. His shooting rate was not high. He also suffered three big blocks and was intercepted three times. Today, he made as many as 5 turnovers. Second-rate.

Fortunately, Zhou Quan defended Jordan himself and prevented Jordan from attacking efficiently, so the score was still close.

Mutombo's defensive status was also quite good today, and he sent out 7 big blocks. After the block, Zhou Quan did not dare to rush in. "

Zhang Lili said: "So the Bulls played better tactics today, and the SuperSonics were a little passive. They should find a way to solve Mutombo's problem."

On the SuperSonics bench, George Karl temporarily put aside the problem of how to pull Mutombo out, and only arranged the final offense and defense.

In fact, Mutombo has been thinking about this issue since the day he joined the Bulls, but today it seems that some of the tactics he thought of have failed, and he needs to find a way.

The timeout ends and the Bulls attack.

On the right wing, Jordan used a pick-and-roll to catch the ball. Zhou Quan caught up with him. Jordan feinted a shot and then dribbled through from the left.

Zhou Quan was shaken and immediately turned around to pursue him.

Jordan made an emergency stop at the right elbow, and Zhou Quan took a step to catch up and get in front again.

Jordan immediately turned around with the ball and hit back, but in the next moment, he immediately turned around and shot a fadeaway jumper. Zhou Quan was too slow to take a step to block the shot.

"brush!"

At the critical moment, Jordan accurately hit a mid-range shot.

"At this time, Jordan should have little physical fitness, and Zhou Quan's physical fitness should be better, but the sword never grows old! Simply speaking of this finishing ability, Jordan should be stronger than Zhou Quan." Zhang Liyi praised.

The Sonics tried to serve quickly, but Mutombo stood in front of the baseline and waved his hands constantly, preventing Laettner's quick serve. The offensive rhythm did not pick up, and they could only switch to positional warfare.

At the critical moment, Zhou Quan chose to take action himself, and when he reached the left elbow area, he made a sudden stop for a jump shot.

"boom!"

Jordan also tried his best on the defensive end, but his block did not touch the ball, but Zhou Quan also failed to hit the mid-range shot.

"Zhou Quan's hand feel this season is indeed not as good as last season. It should be due to the strength training to gain weight. Now that the weight gain is over, it will take some time for him to adapt to the new tonnage and recover his hand feel." Zhang Lili said.

"boom!"

The Bulls attacked, and Jordan missed his last shot, and the game ended.

The Bulls won this game at home by two points.

After the game, an NBC reporter interviewed Jordan and asked: "Michael, the last shot made you win the game. Are you satisfied with the result of this game?"

Jordan didn't look very happy, shaking his head and saying: "We solved some defensive problems, such as limiting Tekken's breakthrough and distribution tactics, but there are still some problems that have not been solved, so we struggled tonight. Win the game.”

"So what problems are still unresolved?" the reporter asked.

"On the offensive end, Tekken's defense and SuperSonics' defensive system still impose great restrictions on us, and this problem must be solved." Jordan said.

"The SuperSonics and Schrempf are not back. If their lineup is complete, do you think the Bulls can still beat them?" the reporter asked again.

"Of course, we will not be disappointed again this time. I will never allow them to complete three consecutive championships over our heads." Jordan said with red eyes.

It was hard for him to imagine how much of a blow it would be to him if Iron Fist completed three consecutive championships on his head.

Every championship is won by defeating him. If a dynasty is completed on his head, then he will definitely be stepped on by the iron fist.

When the time comes, his popularity, status in the league and historical status, sneaker sales, endorsements and sponsorships, etc., will be suppressed by the iron fist.

Back in the locker room, the Sonics players began to discuss the reasons for losing this game.

"It was difficult for me to get out of the open space today. They were too tight on the perimeter and Pippen was hanging on me," Perkins said.

"Me too, Harper always had one hand on my jersey," Hawkins said.

Zhou Quan didn't want to talk much. He received three big blocks from Mutombo and two balls were intercepted by Jordan, which made him a little unhappy.

"Our strength will be complete after Schrempf returns, and Tie Fist has now finished gaining weight. I believe that the touch will slowly come back, and then your threat with the ball will be greater." George Karl said.

Zhou Quan nodded and analyzed himself: "Jordan guarded me very well today because I was not accurate in shooting from the outside. In addition, there was no open space on the outside, so the passing threat was small. There was also Mutombo inside, who was a threat of breakthrough. It’s not big enough, and the threat of sudden throws is far less than before.”

Glider nodded and said: "As long as Iron Fist returns to your previous threat with the ball, Jordan alone will not be able to guard against you."

Zhou Quan nodded, glanced at Rodman, and praised with a smile: "Dennis was good today. He grabbed 15 rebounds just after he came back."

Rodman grinned and said, "Leave the rebounds to me and you do the other work."

George Karl said at this time: "Iron Fist, our tactic of pulling Mutombo out is not working. What do you think we should do?" Zhou Quan smiled and said: "George, we have never used the high pick-and-roll tactic tonight."

"Yes, this tactic should work." Hawkins said hurriedly.

Glider said excitedly: "Christian pulled Kukoc out first, and then Dennis came up to set up a pick-and-roll for Tekken. Although Dennis didn't make a mid-range shot, whether Mutombo followed or not, Tekken could use the pick-and-roll to cover. If he gets a little space, with his strength, it’s enough to take action.”

George Karl couldn't help laughing when he heard it.

It's not that he forgot about this tactic, but it was intentionally useless and was reserved as one of the trump card tactics in the future finals.

But this tactic also has a weakness, that is, offensive rebounds in the frontcourt may be lost. After Rodman sets a pick-and-roll for Iron Fist in the high post, he must go back to grab offensive rebounds as soon as possible.

After beating the Bulls, the Sonics returned to Seattle the next day. There was one game before the All-Star Game, against the Jazz on the 5th.

Zhou Quan is now putting all his energy into shooting training. He has calculated that in almost two months, at the end of March, or at the latest in early April, all shooting training can be completed.

It just so happens that shooting training can help him recover his touch. By the time the touch recovers, it will be playoff time.

At two o'clock in the afternoon on the 4th, the Jazz arrived in Seattle.

Stockton, who had three ribs broken by Zhou Quan, also came with the team, but he has not returned yet and has been injured for two full months.

Because of his injury, the Jazz's record has dropped to No. 4 in the Western Conference, still behind the Lakers.

At four o'clock, at the request of the media, Jazz held a press conference in the hotel.

"Mr. Stockton, can you come back this month?" a reporter from the Los Angeles Times asked.

"Expected to return in the middle of this month." Stockton said.

The reporter asked again: "Then next time you face Iron Fist, will you have a psychological shadow on him?"

Stockton's face froze and he said coldly: "Injuries are inevitable, and of course I won't have any psychological shadow from this."

The Miami Daily reporter who asked the next question asked: "Karl, after Stockton comes back, are you still confident about this season? Do you think the Jazz still have a chance to overcome the two mountains of Seattle and Mosaic?"

Jazz's face was gloomy. He had wanted to escape for a long time, but he couldn't leave. The annoyance in his heart had accumulated to a certain extent.

Hearing this question, some irrepressible tyranny appeared on his face, and he said coldly: "We have the confidence to overthrow them, they are nothing special."

"Carl, do you want to leave Salt Lake City?" The reporter felt that the postman's answer was meaningless and asked suddenly.

The question made Jerry Sloan's face change, as did Stockton's.

Stockton didn't want the Postman to leave. He believed that he should stick to it instead of betraying the team for the championship.

But he has never tried to stop it, because there is really no hope of breaking out of the Western Conference if he stays with the Jazz, and the Jazz is restrained by the SuperSonics. The main reason is that he is restrained by the Iron Fist. It is he who delayed this team and Karl.

"No comment."

The postman replied coolly.

His answer gave the media a lot of room for imagination. Soon, the news that the postman wanted to leave the Jazz appeared on the headlines of the sports pages of major media.

Many people in the basketball media predict that Mailman will become a popular trade next offseason.

On the evening of the 5th, Zhou Quan and his family came to the Central Gymnasium to watch the game.

In this game, the Sonics successfully defeated the Jazz, 36 wins and 11 losses, ranking first in the Western Conference.

Mosaic has 31 wins and 16 loss, ranking second in the Western Conference.

That night the Bulls lost to the Lakers in an away game. With a record of 42 wins and 6 losses, they still ranked first in the league.

The media praised this Bulls as having the potential to become the second team to complete [-] wins, and even surpass last year's SuperSonics to become the greatest team in league history.

After playing jazz, it was almost twelve o'clock when Zhou Quan and his family returned to the villa.

Lin Yufen and Zhou Jianguo only slept for three hours. They got up just after three in the morning and started cooking New Year's Eve dinner.

Then Zeng Li also got up and was doing odd things.Zhou Quan was the last to get up, getting up at almost six o'clock, later than Zhou Ye.

There was a large table of hometown dishes, all of which were bowl dishes. Zeng Li also cooked two of her hometown dishes, which smelled and tasted delicious.However, Zhou Quan could only taste these dishes and could not eat more.

In the evening of the reunion, Zhou Quan and Zeng Li sent big red envelopes to their parents and Zhou Ye, then ate snacks and watched CCTV [-]'s Spring Festival Gala.

On the 7th, the first day of the Lunar New Year, the family went shopping, and of course they went shopping in Chinatown, where Chinese people gather.

The current population of Seattle's urban area is about 60, and the entire metropolitan area is 370 million. The population is still quite large.

Now in the urban area alone, there are approximately 10 Chinese, accounting for 15% of the urban population. They are the ethnic minority with the highest population proportion, surpassing Latin Americans and Indians. There are nearly 14 Chinese in the entire urban area, accounting for 3.78% of the urban population. [-]% of the metro area.

The Chinese population in the entire metropolitan area has increased by nearly 10 compared to when Zhou Quan first arrived here. They have all immigrated from all over the United States in the past three or four years. Some have immigrated from within the country, as well as some international students.

When you come to Chinatown, there is a tall archway at the street entrance, with the "China Gate" plaque in the middle, which is very majestic.

Before Zhou Quan came here, this street was actually called the International District. There were many Koreans, but very few Chinese. After he came here, the situation changed.

Now it is mainly Chinese, with at least [-] to [-] Chinese settling in this community. Most Koreans have moved away from Chinatown.

On New Year's Day, Chinatown was very lively. Zhou Quan was a frequent visitor here. As soon as he entered Chinatown, he became the target of onlookers and was invited to dot the lion dance's eyes.

The family spent most of the day playing in Chinatown and went home when they were tired.

On the morning of the 7th, Zhou Quan went to the airport to see him off. Zeng Li accompanied his parents and Xiao Zizi to Los Angeles to visit Zhou Jun and Zeng Yu. They would stay there for two days, and then the three of them would return home.

Arriving in Cleveland at around three o'clock in the afternoon, Zhou Quan arrived at the five-star Oaks Hotel where the NBA All-Stars stayed at around four o'clock. Zhou Quan was surrounded by the media outside.

(End of this chapter)