The game started at 8:30, and at 7:30, the United Center was already packed.
This arena can accommodate nearly 22,000 people during basketball games. Now there are 2,000 visiting team fans, and the rest are all home team fans, nearly 20,000 people.
The front row, the positions behind the two benches and in the middle are the best, with Barkley, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Olajuwon, Ewing, etc., seven or eight league superstars and stars. Sitting next to each other, their tickets were all donated by the Bulls.
In addition to them, there are also a large number of Hollywood stars, as well as some famous singers, such as Arnold, Big Mouth Roberts, Tom Cruise, Madonna and so on.
"Hey Hakeem, who do you support between MJ and Iron Fist?"
TNT reporters started interviewing these celebrities and players with live footage, and they were the first to find Hakeem Olajuwon.
"You're asking a stupid question. Do you expect me to support that bastard Iron Fist?" Olajuwon said angrily, glaring at the reporter.
Afraid of being beaten by the old gangster, the reporter suppressed his laughter and left quickly. He came to Ewing and asked, "Patrick?"
"MJ is my friend."
Ewing thought for three seconds, and then said in a low voice when the reporter was about to leave.
"Erwin, where are you?"
The reporter breathed a sigh of relief. It was really difficult to interview Ewing. He quickly handed the microphone to the magician's mouth.
"Sorry, Patrick is right. MJ is my good friend and I must support him. And if the Pistons are swept, there will be an extra million dollars in charity in the world, which is a very good thing." Magic smiled road.
The reporter laughed and then asked: "You and the assassin are best friends, don't you support him?"
The magician's eyes turned cold for a moment, and he turned around and asked Buckley next to him: "Charles, who do you support?"
"I have to say, Erwin, you have a good idea. I hope to donate an extra million." Buckley shrugged.
"Karim, what about you?"
Knowing that the magician was unhappy, the reporter stopped pestering him and changed the target.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was mentally prepared and said: "One is a friend and the other is my junior. I support them both."
After asking here, the reporter ran to the side to ask those celebrities.
"Tom, MJ or Iron Fist, who do you support?"
"Of course I support MJ. Who would support the Bad Boys? The best outcome is a sweep. I hope they all donate half a million dollars."
Tom Cruise said with a smile.
"Juliet, what about you?"
Roberts smiled and said: "I just want to enjoy a good game tonight and have no specific support goals."
The reporter sensitively captured some information from this sentence and quickly asked: "Juliet, do you know Iron Fist?"
Roberts nodded and said: "When he was with the Bruins, I watched his games in Los Angeles. We talked a few words, but we didn't know him well."
At this point, she added: "I'm not familiar with Michael Jordan either."
"Arno, what about you?"
Arnold said: "Of course it's MJ. We are friends. Do you still have to ask? By the way, there are still those two half a million dollars. I hope they can fulfill their promise."
"Hey, Queen Madonna, what about you?"
"Support Michael Jordan for the time being. He called me, but I'm not sure I can stick to it. In fact, I have no interest in him. Maybe I will have a better choice. He is not the one I like." Madonna said.
The reporter was stunned and couldn't help but cursed: "Queen, I'm asking you who you support. Do you think you are choosing your bed partner tonight?"
He interviewed several more stars, but surprisingly found that these stars did not support Jordan as much as those in the league.
Of course, most celebrities support Jordan, only two or three have vaguely neutral attitudes, and no one clearly expresses support for Iron Fist.
Overall, the vast majority supported Jordan and would have preferred a sweep for a million dollars in charity.
"You see, these guys have no support for us."
In the visiting team's locker room, the assassin stared at the TV on the wall, his tone cold and authentic.
"No one supports Iron Fist, not us." The heartless Rodman chuckled.
"Haha..." Everyone laughed.
"At this time last year, we were still the villains of the alliance. This year has been much better." John Salley said indifferently.
"Iron Fist?" Joe Dumas looked at Zhou Quan.
Zhou Quan was changing his sneakers, looked up at the TV, then lowered his head to continue arranging his shoelaces, and said: "It doesn't matter, Michael Jordan has been famous for many years and is the new signature of the league. I'm just a rookie and don't have his strength, let alone He is a Chinese, and it would be strange if they all supported it."
…
At eight o'clock, both sides announced the starting lineup.
Pistons: John Salley, Dennis Rodman, Orlando Ulrich, Joe Dumars, Zhou Quan
Bulls: Bill Cartwright, Grant, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, John Paxson
At this time, the substitutes came on to warm up, and when Isiah Thomas led all the Pistons substitute players to file out, huge boos and abuses immediately erupted from the United Center.
"Substitute, you are just a poor substitute now."
"Bad boy, never come back to Chicago, you're not welcome here."
"Thomas, look up to MJ."
He looked at everything with cold eyes, turned a deaf ear, raised his chin high, and ran towards the court.
As a Chicagoan born in Chicago, he is full of disgust and hatred for this city and hates its fans.
In the TNT commentary box, Robert Guida smiled and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, the G1 game of the Eastern Conference Finals is about to begin. Let us take a look at tonight's starting lineup."
Ringo Wilson then read the list, and then said: "I don't know if the Bulls will arrange for Michael Jordan to switch to defend the Iron Fist tonight. Otherwise, if John Paxson is asked to play against the Iron Fist and face the person who broke two of his ribs, he may There will be psychological shadow."
Robert Guida nodded and said: "If the defense is switched, John Paxson can only defend Joe Dumars, and certainly not Ulrich, because in the regular season, Coach Jackson arranged for him to switch to defend Ulrich, which has been proven to be impossible. .
He is the same height as Tekken, with a shoe height of 188 centimeters and a weight of 84 kilograms. This height and weight are actually quite good for the first position. He has strong confrontation ability, but he is not good enough in front of Tekken.
However, switching to Joe Dumas, who is 191 centimeters tall in shoes and weighs 86 kilograms, is no problem at all.
It's just that Joe Dumars is still the Pistons' number one scoring point and has a strong offensive ability, while John Paxson's defense is average and he can't guard the opponent.
So in fact, if the Bulls change defense, no matter how they change, Paxson will be a weakness that the Pistons can target.
This is also the way the Pistons play against the Bulls in the regular season, which is to focus on the Bulls' point guard. This is a flaw in the Bulls' lineup. There is no way to avoid it. They can only make up for this weakness with other strengths. "
Ringo Wilson said: "I think in terms of tactics and lineup, there is a high probability that we will switch to defense. Judging from the experience between Michael Jordan and Iron Fist, given Jordan's character, he will definitely switch to defense against Iron Fist."
Robert Guida said: "I think that's for sure, if he doesn't switch to the Iron Fist, he's not Michael Jordan.
Now both of them have half a million dollars on the line, a lot of money, especially for Iron Fist who is new to the league.
If the Bulls sweep the Pistons, both of them will donate half a million dollars at the same time, so now many people are looking forward to it, hoping that the Pistons will be swept, so that they can donate a million dollars, haha!
Okay, just kidding, I don't want a sweep, because the one-sided game gives people no sense of expectations. I am actually very much looking forward to what will happen in this Eastern Conference Finals. "
Ringo Wilson laughed: “In order to prevent a game like the Battle of Auburn Hills from happening again, this time the league sent referee No. 17, Joseph Joy Crawford, a golden whistler who has been a referee in the NBA for 15 years. "
In the player tunnel at this time, a team of security guards stood in the middle. This was a deliberate arrangement.
At this time, the ten starting players from the Bulls and Pistons filed in, standing on both sides of the wall, and the narrow passage was crowded.
Jordan was at the back and nodded to Joe Dumars next to him. This was probably the only person on the Pistons who he could greet.
He looked past several heads to Zhou Quan, who was at the front of the Pistons. His eyes were cold but very hot.
He looks forward to destroying Zhou Quan and his team in the most brutal way on the court, and eliminating the opponent with the most desperate sweep.
He even expected to suppress Zhou Quan in this way throughout his career. He vowed to give Zhou Quan a failed and extremely dismal career.
Zhou Quan seemed to sense the burning gaze. When he looked back, his eyes met with Jordan's.
At that moment, both of their eyes lit up, and with their strong willpower, their eyes were filled with murderous intent.
"If I can step on this league's new signature star and get promoted, I will definitely become famous."
At this moment, this utilitarian thought flashed through Zhou Quan's mind and could not be stopped.
Turning around, he looked outside at the United Center again, waiting to play.
At this time, he had some doubts because the system had not yet issued the task.
But at this moment, his eyes flashed, and the system's virtual screen automatically unfolded in front of his eyes.
"Finally here!" He couldn't help but stare.
"The mission is given: Facing the future basketball god Michael Jordan who is at his peak, please host to give it your best and show your style."
"hiss!"
Seeing this, with his calmness and strong mental willpower at full level, he couldn't help but gasp, and suddenly looked back at Jordan behind him.
"This guy can actually become the god of basketball in the future?" He couldn't believe it. Just with this black braised egg?
"Task 1: Ask the host to advance to the finals and be rewarded with speed +1, injury resistance +2, and prediction +3."
"Task 2: Play on a par with Michael Jordan in the Eastern Conference finals series, or be dragged into a tiebreaker. Reward speed and injury resistance +2, and prediction +3."
"Task 3: Win at least one away game and one home game in the Eastern Conference Finals series, and the reward will be Prediction +3."
After reading the content of the three tasks, the third task is relatively less difficult and has a chance to be completed. The second task he believes that his personal performance will definitely not be similar to that of Jordan, but there should be a chance to drag it into the tiebreaker. The first Of course it is extremely difficult, but everything is possible and requires hard work under any circumstances.
"Try your best."
He turned off the system. The game was about to begin and he couldn't afford to be distracted anymore.
…
At 8:15, the starting lineup begins.
The lights in the United Center suddenly went out, plunging the huge arena into darkness.
Zhou Quan was the first to appear, standing at the entrance of the passage. The moment the lights went out, he felt as if he had fallen into a dark abyss.
Then the next moment, a huge beam of snow-bright light lit up, enveloping him in it.
"The main point guard from the Detroit Pistons, Zhou Quan." The host's voice suddenly sounded.
"Shh!"
In the dark United Center, an overwhelming wave of boos rang out, rushing toward Zhou Quan like a sky-high tide.
This kind of huge and extreme boos are constantly impacting his willpower. Even if he has a mental willpower of level 99, it may only take one uneasy mind for his mental willpower to be booed by 20,000 people. Instantly defeated.
Smiling, he stepped forward, and walked forward leisurely under the light of the beam.
There's no need to wave to the visiting fans. It's a waste of expressions. He can't even sell a pair of sneakers in Chicago. There are no fans in this city.
"Hey there!"
Entering the stadium, he came to the square of visiting team fans and started waving and interacting.
A full 2,000 Pistons fans were shouting with all their strength, trying to cheer for their team at the United Center. Unfortunately, they were suppressed by nearly 20,000 Bulls fans. Only by standing in front of them could Zhou Quan hear their shouts. sound.
In an apartment not far from the University of Chicago, at Zhang Lili's home, he and his wife were watching the game.
"The momentum at home is too strong. It's too difficult for the Pistons not to lose on the road!" he said with emotion.
"Didn't the Pistons also win on the road in the first two rounds?" his wife said.
"How can the home stadiums of the Cavaliers and Knicks compare with the home courts of the Bulls? Even the Knicks' home fans booed," he said.
"Isn't that a sure defeat?"
Zhang Lili explained: "It is difficult for visiting teams to win at the Bulls' home court. Since last season, the Bulls' home court has been one of the most terrifying home courts in the league, and it is also the home court with the highest home winning rate.
In such a terrifying home atmosphere, if the visiting team can perform 70 to 80% of its strength, it is a very good performance. Abnormal performance is also normal. If you can perform a blockbuster performance, then congratulations, you want to be famous. . "
"boom!"
At this time, the United Center, the home team came out, and when it was Michael Jordan's turn, the entire arena erupted like a boiling volcano.
"MJ! MJ! MJ..."
Endless shouts resounded in all directions.
Zhou Quan stood in the same half court with his teammates. He noticed that veterans like Joe Dumars were not greatly affected, and Rodman still had a bright smile on his face.
In fact, it's not surprising. The Bad Boys have suppressed Jordan for so many years and have long been accustomed to the Bulls' home court.
Next, is Jordan's highlight moment. He will receive the third MVP trophy of his career and defend this honor after last year.
Originally, David Stern was going to come in person, but something happened to be unavoidable, so he sent his special assistant Hawk Houston to present the trophy to Jordan.
When Jordan won the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, the entire United Center was in an uproar as 20,000 Bulls fans cheered wildly for him.
"Hopefully I can get it in the future."
Zhou Quan couldn't help but have a look of envy in his eyes.
But he knows it's not easy. Isiah Thomas is considered very strong. He is second only to Magic Johnson at the No. 1 position, but he has never been awarded the MVP.
Next came the warm-up. After the warm-up, when Zhou Quan came off the court, he hugged Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who stood up and came up, and said a few words.
The others were unfamiliar. He was about to say hello to Buckley, but he felt an extremely hot gaze. When he saw it, he saw an old gangster staring at him fiercely.
He crossed Barkley, walked up to Dameng and asked: "Hey, senior, Karl Malone, Larry Johnson, and Charles Oakley have all made an appointment with me, won't you follow? "
With a sigh, Dameng stood up from his seat, his eyes were almost on fire, his teeth were about to burst, and his fists were about to bleed.
"Iron Fist, Hakeem didn't provoke you this time. Why don't you provoke him?" Buckley stood up for his old friend and walked to Zhou Quan's side.
Zhou Quan looked at Buckley playfully, smiled and explained: "Sir Charles, I just gave him a chance, do you have any objections?"
Buckley's face twitched. With these words, it was clear that there was not much left of the friendship between him and Iron Fist.
But it doesn't matter to him. After all, he and Dameng have been friends for many years. Doesn't he know which one is more important and which one is less important?
"Okay, calm down."
At this time, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar came over and separated a few people and said: "Give me a favor, the game is about to start, okay?"
"OK."
Zhou Quan followed the good deeds in an honest manner.
"Hakeem, you are no match for him in a fight, don't agree to it." Buckley warned after Zhou Quan left.
"snort!"
Dameng snorted angrily and sat down depressed and irritated.
"Beep!
At 8:28, referee Crawford blew his whistle to signal the starting lineups of both teams.
"For victory! Victory! Victory..."
Amid Michael Jordan's loud shouts, all the Bulls players roared slogans, and then a huge roar rang out throughout the United Center.
"We are tenacious, tough, iron-blooded, and we are fearless..."
Under the leadership of Zhou Quan, the Pistons were also roaring, but even with the cheers of 2,000 away fans, they could not gain momentum under the suppression of 20,000 home fans.
"Come on!"
Zhou Quan's roar sounded again.
The moment he stepped onto the court, the adrenaline in his body was soaring so much that all the muscles in his body were trembling slightly.
"Beep!"
At 8:30, with Crawford's whistle, the G1 game of the Eastern Conference Finals officially began.
(End of chapter)
