God of NBA point guards

Chapter 447 The end of the season
After entering March, Zhou Quan's touch gradually recovered and his condition got better and better. Both playing time and shooting percentage were on the rise.

His shooting training tasks are also nearly completed, and his personal strength is getting stronger and stronger.

Although Rodman, Drexler, and McMillan were injured and the team's strength was weakened, as his performance improved, the Sonics' strength did not decline.

After defeating the Pistons in an away game on the 16th, they went 7-1 in March, with a total of 50 wins and 14 losses. The record surpassed Mosaic and regained the first place in the Western Conference.

On the 17th, the SuperSonics returned to Seattle and faced the Bulls the next day.

George Karl had decided before the game that he would compete with the Bulls in this game, because the SuperSonics' current record is only one game behind the Bulls. If they can win, they can tie, and maybe they can reach the first place in the league. , occupying home field advantage in the finals series.

But they still lost in the end. Schrempf and Hawkins combined for only 24 of 8 shots in this game. They were in poor condition. Zhou Quan scored 46 points, 9 assists and 6 steals, but could not defeat them. bull.

After losing to the Bulls, the Sonics won seven consecutive games in the remaining games in March. Throughout March, they had 14 wins and 2 losses, 57 wins and 15 losses, and ranked first in the Western Conference.

On April 4st, Zhou Quan won the Player of the Month for March. This was the eighth time he had won this honor.

In addition, his MVP ranking surpassed Olajuwon and ranked behind Jordan.

上个月他场均上场42.5分钟，场均26投13.7中，得35.2分5.2篮板13.5助攻5.8抢断2.2盖帽2.6失误2.7犯规，命中率52.7%，已经接近上赛季常规赛场均53.2%的命中率了。

Even so, the media that targets him continue to target him. Driven by various interests, it is also expected.

On the night of the 1st, the team faced the Lakers at home. In the afternoon, the team conducted training at the headquarters. Rodman and four injured players including Glider, McMillan, and Cummings all appeared at the training ground.

"Everyone, come here, I have something to announce."

George Karl called everyone together, pulled McMillan to his side, and said with a smile: "Nate has decided to retire after this season and then join the coaching staff. Starting today, in addition to being a player, he also has an assistant coach. identity of."

"Congratulations, Nate."

Zhou Quan first sent congratulations, and then others followed suit.

"Thank you, Iron Fist. And you." McMillan said happily.

"How are your injuries?" Zhou Quan then asked.

McMillan was even happier and said with a smile: "I feel that I have recovered well now, and maybe I can still play in the playoffs."

Zhou Quan nodded and smiled: "That is the best result."

Although McMillan was reimbursed for the season and applied for an injury exception, as long as he recovers, he can participate in the playoffs, and players signed with the injury exception can also play in the playoffs.

Cummings shook his head regretfully and said: "The bones are broken, there is no hope for this season."

Glider smiled and said, "I'm recovering well. The cupping and acupuncture you recommended are pretty good. I should be able to come back in the playoffs."

"As long as it works. Take less painkillers. That stuff is not good. I never take that stuff." Zhou Quan reminded.

In the United States, painkillers are sold in buckets, with a thousand tablets in a bucket. If you take too much, you will become addicted. After Zhou Jun and Zeng Yu arrived in the United States, he specially warned him.

"I'm better than Clyde and can already train." Rodman said with a proud smile.

"That's good news. But Dennis, if you pick up fewer girls, I think things will get better faster." Zhou Quan smiled.

"That won't work. Women are my life, and I want to live for them." Rodman said with a smile.

"Haha..." Everyone who heard it laughed.

……

On the 5th, Zhou Quan completed all shooting training tasks.

This task was issued by the system in 95, and it took him two years and three seasons to complete it.

Now all shooting skills have reached level 96, and the basic shooting skills have been upgraded from level 97 to the full level of 99.

His breakthrough skills have already reached level 95, and after his shooting skills reached level 96, his offense has also improved from level 93 to level 95.

The improvement in strength has made him more confident in the playoffs.

On the 9th, the SuperSonics announced that Rodman was officially back.

He had started training with the team the previous week, and Rodman was in good condition. When No. 10 played against the Mavericks in an away game, he appeared as the main player, played 32 minutes, and grabbed 14 rebounds, including 5 offensive rebounds. ball.

His comeback has provided the Sonics with better rebounding and defense, which is a very important strength for the Sonics.

Glider's injury has also recovered well and he has begun training without the ball. He will be able to resume training with the ball in a week and is expected to return in the first round of the playoffs.

After experiencing a large number of injuries, the current situation is very good for the Sonics. Schrempf, Rodman, Drexler, the two main players and the team's sixth man, these three people The playing time exceeded 10 minutes, which was very important to the team. Although they had a longer injury time, they also got a longer rest, which was also a benefit to the playoffs.

The Sonics have been on a winning streak since losing to the Bulls on March 3. After defeating the Spurs in an away game on the 18th, they have won 12 consecutive games. On the 13th, they came to Houston to challenge Mosaic back to back.

This was the fourth regular season game between the two teams and the last regular season game of the season. In the end, the SuperSonics defeated Mosaic and the two teams tied [-] to [-] in the regular season.

Zhou Quan once again exerted his strength in this game, scoring 51 points, 13 assists, 8 steals and 4 blocks, blasting the Big Three including Xiaochong.

Rodman also grabbed 25 rebounds on Dameng's head, including 9 offensive rebounds, leaving Dameng with only 7 rebounds, which made him stand out.

Some media previously questioned whether the Sonics gave him a five-year long-term contract. Although he usually smiled and seemed careless, he actually held his breath in his heart.

This game hurt the confidence of Mosaic and the Jazz. In addition, the Sonics have almost recovered from their injuries and have only one glider left. The media is more optimistic about the Sonics' prospects in the playoffs.

But no matter what, the Bulls are still the team that the media is most optimistic about. With the SuperSonics experiencing continuous injuries and Zhou Quan falling into the public opinion created by the media, the media is almost overwhelmingly optimistic about the Bulls and not optimistic about the SuperSonics this season. Able to complete three consecutive championships.

After that, the Sonics won three more games in a row, defeating the Clippers in the last game at home. After a 4-game winning streak, on April 19, the entire schedule of the 96/97 regular season ended.

Returning to the locker room after the game, the regular season data has come out.

Assistant coach and player McMillan said: "Guys, we have 67 wins and 15 losses this season, with a winning rate of 81.7%, first in the Western Conference and second in the league."

"Yes, like last season, we experienced a large number of injuries and still achieved such a record. Everyone deserves praise." George Karl said.

There were lively cheers and applause in the locker room.

Then McMillan continued: "The Bulls are first in the league with 69 wins and 13 losses. They did not win [-] games as the media expected."

"Michael Jordan didn't get the [-]-win record he hoped for. I think he would be very disappointed." George Karl said with a smile.

"So that's good news." Rodman shook his head and laughed. "Haha..." The locker room laughed.

"In addition, I have to congratulate Tekken and Dennis. Tekken once again defended the Triple Crown, winning the three individual data titles of scoring, assists, and steals. Dennis once again defended the honor of rebounding champion, which is also his sixth Rebounding champion. You two won four data champions." McMillan said with a smile on his face.

"Oh hoo!"

Lively cheers erupted in the locker room again.

McMillan added: "The block leader is Sean Bradley, averaging 3.4 blocks per game."

Zhou Quan then took the personal statistics table sent by McMillan and browsed his own data for this season.

常规赛出战82场，首发82场，场均39.5分钟，场均33.5分4.2篮板12.1助攻5.4抢断1.9盖帽2.4失误2.5犯规。七项数据，以及上场时间，都较上赛季有所下滑。

The shooting percentage was 51.2%, the three-point shooting percentage was 38.5%, the free throw percentage was 91.1%, the true shooting percentage was 59.5%, and the assist-to-turnover ratio was 5.04, which were also down compared to last season.

This season ranks first in the team in playing time, number of shots taken, scoring first, rebounding fifth, steals first, blocks first, assists first, defensive efficiency first, personal plus/minus first, shooting Hit second.

本赛季常规赛与职业生涯总得分2747分/13237分；篮板344/2284个，助攻992/6193个，抢断443/2045个，盖帽156/602个。

这时麦克米兰又笑着道：“铁拳，乔丹这个赛季的数据你想听吗？场均37.9分钟，场均29.6分5.9篮板4.3助攻1.7抢断0.5盖帽2失误1.9犯规。命中率48.5%，三分球命中率37.4%，罚球命中率83.3%。”

"For a 34-year-old, this is really good data. I hope I can still perform like this at his age." Zhou Quan nodded.

"So he's still your biggest competitor right now," McMillan said.

"Nate, tell me about the playoffs," Zhou Quan said.

"OK."

McMillan flipped over, took the piece of paper below, and read: "The top eight in the Eastern Conference are the Bulls, Heat, Knicks, Hawks, Pistons, Hornets, Magic, and Bullets. These are also the top eight rankings in the playoffs. .

The top eight in the Western Conference are us, Mosaic, Lakers, Jazz, Trail Blazers, Suns, Timberwolves, and Clippers. This is also the playoff ranking.

By the way, let me tell you, the Mosaic team's record is 59 wins and 23 losses, the Lakers are 55 wins and 27 losses, and the Jazz are 51 wins and 31 losses. "

Zhou Quan asked with some confusion: "Nate, the Clippers have already entered the playoffs. Their record is rubbish, right?"

McMillan looked up the data and nodded: "36 wins and 46 losses. In addition, the Timberwolves and Suns both have 40 wins. The winning percentage of these three teams in the Western Conference has not reached 50%."

"What about the east?" Glider also asked.

McMillan looked at the data and said: "The top eight teams in the Eastern Conference all have a winning rate of over 50%. From this point of view, the overall strength of the Eastern Conference is stronger now, and there are more good stars in the Eastern Conference."

"What are they going to do in the East?" Rodman asked.

"The competition in the Western Conference is too strong," Hawkins said with a smile.

"Maybe next season there will be more teams in the top eight in the Western Conference with winning percentages that cannot exceed 50%." Rodman said with a smile.

"Ha ha……"

The locker room burst into laughter.

McMillan laughed and then talked about the first round matchup.

First round of the Eastern Conference: Bulls vs. Washington Bullets, Hawks vs. Pistons, Heat vs. Magic, Knicks vs. Hornets.

First round of the Western Conference: SuperSonics vs. Clippers, Lakers vs. Suns, Mosaic vs. Timberwolves, Jazz vs. Trail Blazers.

Glider immediately said: "The winner of our second-round matchup against the Jazz and Trail Blazers, the West will definitely play Mosaic or the Lakers."

Rodman said with a smile: "We may have to play Mosaic again in the Western Conference Finals. We have already beaten them three times in a row."

"Eat, drink and mosaic." Zhou Quan added.

"Ha ha……"

The locker room burst into laughter again.

Then McMillan said with some joy: "Clyde will return in the first round, and his training status is not bad, which is very good news for us.

Guys, we've gone through so many injuries this season and it's really great to have a full roster back before the playoffs start. Hopefully we can complete a great three-peat and build our dynasty. "

George Karl stood up at this time and clapped his hands. After the locker room became quiet, he said with a smile: "Okay, gentlemen, from now on, we have entered the playoffs. The first thing everyone should do from now on is , just take a good rest, recover your physical fitness, and wait for the first round."

"Guys, we will try to sweep the Clippers in the first round and get more rest time." Zhou Quan stood up at this time and said without humility.

"Sweep the Clippers." Everyone stood up and shouted.

"Another good news, I can come back." McMillan shouted.

"Oh hoo!"

This was really good news, and everyone cheered immediately.

……

The first round started on the 24th, and the SuperSonics' first round also started on this day. Starting from the night of the 19th, Zhou Quan began to abstain from sex and slept in a separate room with Zeng Li.

The next day, at 20 a.m. on the 9th, the league announced the best players of the month for April.

Zhou Quan has won this honor consecutively. This is also the ninth time in six seasons that he has won the best player of the month.

However, in the MVP rankings, he is still lower than Jordan, losing in terms of team record. His personal data can completely surpass Jordan.

From this day on, a large number of media began to analyze the playoff situation.

From that day on, there was suddenly more negative news about Zhou Quan than before. It was everywhere in newspapers, TV, radio, and online platforms.

According to Philip, this was intentional, trying to mess with his psychology, trying to affect his performance in the playoffs, trying to destroy his dream of winning three consecutive championships.

Zhou Quan flipped through the newspaper this morning and after watching the TV news, he simply stopped watching it and asked his family workers not to bring him newspapers during the playoffs.

(End of this chapter)