Arriving in Philadelphia on the 15th, Zhou Quan received good news. In the second week of All-Star voting, he received 190,000 votes this week, which is not a big drop. He has already received 400,000 votes in half a month, surpassing the third-placed Jaycee. Vhonacek has 170,000 votes, basically locking in the Eastern All-Star starting point guard position.
On the 16th, the Pistons challenged the Philadelphia Digital Team away.
This is the third regular season game between the Pistons and the Digital Team. The Pistons won the first two games smoothly.
The Digital Team completed a big deal with the Suns. The Suns were promoted, with the best record in the league, and the call to win the championship became louder and louder. However, the Digital Team failed to rebuild. The current record is 12 wins and 20 losses, with a winning rate of only 37.5%, and is in the Eastern Conference. No. 12.
Of course, the numbers team has nothing to regret, because Barkley failed to lead the team to the playoffs last season, so it would be the same without him, and they wouldn't be able to make the playoffs anyway.
This game was broadcast live nationally by the Digital Team. In the TNT commentary box, Robert Guida said: "The paper lineup of the Digital Team is not bad. Jeff Hornacek and Jose Hawkins are the league's defenders with offensive power. One of the most powerful combinations.
Hawkins is the team's leading scorer, averaging 20 points per game, and Hornacek is the second-leading scorer, averaging 19 points per game.
Both of them shot 47% from the field, and their efficiency was also good. Both of them also had three-pointers. It is really a pity that their current record is so poor. "
Ringo Wilson said: “Jeff Hornacek is also very strong defensively, averaging 1.7 steals per game.
Hawkins also averaged 1.7 steals per game. I still remember the game he played against the Green Team in 1991. He had 9 steals in a single game, which was impressive.
Today the two of them face off against Iron Fist and Joe Dumars, and I think they have a good fight. "
Robert Guida shook his head and said: "Tekken and Joe Dumars had advantages in the first two games, and the Pistons also won smoothly. I think there will be no exception today.
The main problem for Philadelphia is offensive efficiency. So far, their field goal percentage is three percentage points lower than their opponents, and their points allowed per game is the second to last in the Eastern Conference.
Andrew Long, the main center from the Suns, is not strong enough. He only averages 5 points and 6 rebounds per game. He is considered poor among blue-collar centers and cannot support the basket. "
The game starts at eight o'clock.
Jump ball, Pistons attack.
Zhou Quan passed the midline with the ball and was met by Jose Hawkins' fierce press.
Hawkins is only one centimeter taller than him, weighs 86 kilograms, and has good fighting ability, but he still can't compare with him.
He carried his opponent to the top of the arc, but Hawkins was still at the top, not giving him any space.
But at this moment, he suddenly dribbled the ball and took a step back. He instantly pulled the ball up with his right hand and closed his left hand.
Out of habit, Hawkins took a small step forward. When he saw Zhou Quan's gesture of worshiping Buddha, before his mind could make a judgment, his body had already reacted and he jumped up.
The next moment, Zhou Quan changed hands to control the ball, changed direction and rushed from the left, reaching the top of the arc in one step, without stopping, straight to the basket.
Philadelphia center Andrew Long returned to the basket from the low post on the left wing, obviously unable to keep up with the speed.
"boom!"
After Zhou Quan took a big step past the free throw line, he took off directly and blasted the Philadelphia basket with a one-handed tomahawk dunk.
Ringo Wilson said with a smile: "This is the biggest problem with Hawkins' defense. His reaction is really fast and his steal ability is very strong. But because he reacts too fast, he is also prone to fake moves."
Robert Guida laughed: "It just so happens that Tekken's fake moves are very realistic. His hands are big, even bigger than many centers. It's very easy to fake moves."
Looking back at Philadelphia's offense, Hawkins's offense is not weak, no worse than Zhou Quan. He is eager to return the favor. After receiving the ball, he immediately bypasses Zhou Quan in front and advances quickly.
But the action was too obvious. Zhou Quan retreated in time. He bumped into him and lost the ball.
"Oh, there was a mistake!" Robert Guida exclaimed.
Zhou Quan squeezed his opponent away to grab the ball, and immediately controlled the ball with his left hand. He used his right elbow to push against the entangled Hawkins and launched a backcourt counterattack.
He reached the basket with the ball, made an emergency stop, raised the ball with both hands, and then Hawkins flew up. The next moment, he took off twice and dunked with the ball in his left hand.
"boom!"
The basket shook instantly.
"Another fake move."
Robert Guida shook his head and said: "If Hawkins doesn't get rid of this problem, he will not be able to become a real star, because he will not be able to fight against those real stars at critical moments and will be beaten."
Ringo Wilson nodded and said: "He has already been selected as an All-Star substitute in the 1990/91 season, and now he has entered his peak period. If he does not improve in these two seasons, he will become a star once his peak period is over. It’s very difficult.”
Robert Guida said: "This game, I think the Pistons should win easily."
"I think so," Ringo Wilson laughed.
But the fact is that when Philadelphia replaced main center Andrew Long in the 6th minute of the first quarter and replaced it with backup center Manute Bol, the game changed.
Bol is 231 centimeters tall and thin. He is 30 years old this year. He is the two-time block leader and one-time All-Defensive Second Team player. He is one of the players with the least playing time in Philadelphia, averaging 14 minutes per game, 2.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks.
But as soon as he came on the court, he sent two big blocks one after another, one to Seikali, and one to Zhou Quan who broke into the layup, stopping the Pistons.
Fortunately, Chuck Daly was experienced and immediately adjusted his offensive tactics to strengthen the mid-range shot. At the same time, he asked Seikali to pull out the bamboo pole to create a breakthrough space for Zhou Quan.
Daly warned again: "Zhou, you must pay attention to the timing between personal offense and passing. When Bol has returned to the basket, pass the ball to Sekali. I believe in your passing ability, but If not, you can do it yourself.”
With this adjustment, Bol's height advantage under the basket has been greatly weakened. He is exhausted running between the basket and the wings. If Sekari is left alone, Zhou Quan's pass will let him know how powerful he is, and he will never be able to do it again. Unable to sit at the basket.
In the end, the Pistons won the game relatively smoothly.
25 wins and 10 losses, three consecutive losses followed by three consecutive wins, still ranked first on the Bulls, second in the Eastern Conference.
There were five away games in total. After playing the numbers team, the Pistons did not immediately go to the next away game. The next game was against the Dallas Mavericks on the 19th. It was not a city that people looked forward to. The management decided to stay in Philadelphia for one more day. , and then fly to Dallas on the 18th.
On the morning of the 17th, Magic Johnson accepted a TV interview in New York and talked about the current regular season situation. He first praised the Suns.
"Charles has done a great job. I think he has a good chance of leading the team out of the Western Conference this year and posing a threat to Michael's third championship. Michael, I want to remind you here, cheer up, your dynasty is in danger Yes, haha!"
"The Trail Blazers are also good. They will be the Suns' strongest competitor in the Western Conference."
"The Mosaic team can also do it. Hakim has entered his peak period. His versatility makes him become the most dominant super center. His versatility allows him to match any style of player and tactical style. He is becoming To impact the position of the Suns and Trail Blazers in the Western Conference, once the opponent is distracted, he will be left with an opportunity."
“As for Eastern, Coach Pat Riley is the head coach I respect the most and I still miss playing under him.
Yes, he has successfully built a strong team in New York. Under his guidance, the Knicks have become a team that is tough at heart. They have a stronger record than the Bulls. Currently No. 1 in the Eastern Conference, they are threatening the Bulls. "
"The Bulls are currently third in the Eastern Conference. Michael Jordan is still extremely powerful and has even become more terrifying. He has played a more terrifying offense this season than last season, averaging close to 33 points per game, and his defense is even better than last season. powerful."
"His mid-range shot is more accurate, his breakthrough is still extremely sharp, and his athleticism makes him like a superman. I think the Bulls have the greatest chance of a third championship because they have a superhuman leader."
"Michael Jordan is full of desire to win and championship. This makes the Bulls most lacking in morale. They are always full of competitiveness."
"In addition, the Pistons are a team that surprised me. I seemed to have said during the playoffs last season that the Pistons would probably decline in strength due to aging players, but they did not. Their record Even above the bull.”
"Yes, I have to say Iron Fist. His performance is very surprising. Without his performance, the Pistons will only degenerate into a bad team."
"His offense is much better this season. The main change is that his stability has improved. He can use his offense to help the team instead of scoring points with random shots."
"In addition, his ability to organize assists still shocks me. To be honest, I even think he is better than me in assist ability, because every assist he makes is full of gold."
"I have studied the Pistons this season and there is only one weakness. When Rodman was lost, the team's strength declined seriously, because when they lost Rodman, it meant they lost their largest source of rebounds and their strongest player. Great interior defensive ability, which is why the Pistons are prone to losing streaks."
"What I mean is that the Pistons' weaknesses are obvious. If you control Rodman, you can have an advantage against the Pistons."
…
"By publicly exposing our weaknesses, did he want us to lose? Did he do it on purpose?"
It was a little uncomfortable in the Philadelphia hotel, Joe Dumars said, staring at the magician on the television.
"It's possible that he fell out with the Assassins and always sided with Jordan and Barkley. He has a very bad relationship with us." Zhou Quan laughed.
The assassin was on the side and snorted coldly: "Dennis just doesn't live up to expectations. He has been injured twice in less than half a season. I think he spent too much energy on Madonna."
"It's normal for a man to need a woman, and he and Madonna don't meet often. His personality is a bit weird, and... very romantic. We need to be more tolerant of him. After all, injuries and illnesses are difficult to control." Zhou Quan smiled.
"romantic?"
Joe Dumas looked strange and didn't understand why Zhou Quan used this word.
The assassin stopped talking. He couldn't ask Zhou Quan to beat Rodman, right? Then Zhou Quan might beat him first.
…
On the 19th, the Pistons challenged the Mavericks away from home and ushered in a cold game. Several main players, including Zhou Quan, Joe Dumars and Sekali, collectively missed the mark. The substitute lineup performed better. The Assassins They exploded and scored 21 points, but it was difficult to fill the main hole. In the end, they lost the game and their winning streak was suspended.
Next, the Pistons will challenge the teams of the two super centers in consecutive away games, and they will be back-to-back away games. At the same time, Rodman will return in the next game.
The next morning, many media outlets made predictions that even if Rodman returned, the Pistons would suffer a losing streak as usual this season.
Zhou Quan doesn't want to lose in a row, but sometimes things really don't go as planned. The Pistons really ushered in another three-game losing streak, first losing to David Robinson's Spurs, and then losing to Dameng's Mosaic. The outside line took advantage, and the inside line was blown away.
With 25 wins and 13 losses, the winning rate dropped to 65.7%. Three consecutive losses not only allowed the Bulls to surpass the past, but also fell behind the Cavaliers, ranking fourth in the Eastern Conference.
Suddenly, news against Zhou Quan sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.
Many media still criticized his ability to lead the team, insufficient ability to stand up at critical moments, too much dependence on Rodman, and believed that his scattered energy across borders was irresponsible behavior.
Zhou Quan himself sneered at these media arguments. Does the Pistons need to win 82 games to be the qualified boss?
As for Rodman's importance, he has never denied it. Rodman's importance to the Pistons is self-evident, just like Jordan cannot do without Pippen. Without Pippen, Jordan would be in the first round every year. .
There is also crossover, hell, has he done any crossover throughout the season so far? Don’t you just plan to play golf for two days during the All-Star weekend? How much energy will that consume?
He is already very tired of the media that accuses him. Sometimes he gets angry and wants to throw an AK at them.
But he doesn't get the most news. Jordan gets the most negative news, and he always stays on the front page.
Not to mention Jordan, Zhou Quan even smelled it. Are these media planning to destroy the NBA's brand? Interesting, fun!
In fact, he didn't know that he had attracted part of the firepower for Jordan. Without him, the media would have been even more crazy about negative news about Jordan to attract attention.
On the 23rd, the Pistons returned to Detroit, and on the 25th they will face the league's number one Suns at home.
The media's prediction for this game is that the Pistons will lose four games in a row. The reason is simple. Zhou Quan will be restrained by lightning Kevin Johnson.
Although there is no competition with the Suns, the Pistons still want to defeat the Suns from top to bottom to avoid a four-game losing streak.
At three o'clock in the afternoon on the 24th, the Suns arrived in Detroit and held a press conference in the hotel at five o'clock. The press conference was broadcast live on Detroit TV.
"Charles, what do you think the Suns' chances are of beating the Pistons?" a New York Times reporter asked.
Buckley smiled and said: "This question is meaningless because we are determined to win, so I suggest you change the question."
"Okay, do you think lightning can blow up the Iron Fist tomorrow night?" the reporter said happily.
Barkley looked at Kevin Johnson next to him and smiled: "I don't understand why you asked me this question? But I can answer. I think the Lightning's strength can restrain the Iron Fist. In the two games between the Pistons and the Suns last season, This has been proven in the regular season, and he has an absolute advantage in front of Iron Fist."
"Lightning, what do you think?" the reporter immediately turned his gun and asked.
Kevin Johnson said with pride: "This question is meaningless because we are going to win, so I suggest you change the question."
"Ha ha……"
When Barkley said the same thing just now, many media reporters laughed.
"snort!"
A group of local reporters were indignant.
The next reporter was a reporter from the Detroit Daily Worker, who asked: "The Suns are now 27 wins and 8 losses, with a winning rate of 77.1%, ranking first in the league. Mr. Barkley, what do you think the Suns' chances of winning this season are?"
When it came to winning the championship, Barkley's spirit perked up, as if he had been given a shot of chicken blood. He said excitedly: "We are currently 6 games ahead of the second place in the Western Conference. This is an advantage in strength. It is possible for us to make it out of the Western Conference." Sex is the biggest.
As for the championship..."
At this point, his expression became gloomy, because the Suns and Bulls had already played a regular season match, 128:111. The Suns lost at home by 17 points. Jordan scored 40 points, 7 assists and 3 assists on the Suns. Steals and 4 blocks.
He and Jordan entered the league together. Jordan has won two consecutive championships and has crushed him with all kinds of hard honors. He has a shadow on Jordan.
Under this mentality, he was somewhat demoralized and said: "If there is a chance to reach the finals, we will work hard to defeat them."
"You don't even have the confidence to win, so you still want to beat Jordan?"
Zhou Quan was a little disdainful. Although Barkley was strong and had entered his peak period, he was still far behind Jordan. The gap in fighting will alone was enough for Barkley to catch up.
Things like fighting will are imaginary, but it is precisely this mental and psychological factor that can determine a star's performance at the most critical moment, thereby determining the final result.
Without a strong willpower, the pressure of key matches is enough to overwhelm and destroy a person's will to fight, resulting in a hip-drawing match.
From what Barkley said, he couldn't feel Barkley's belief in competing with Jordan at all. How could he still want to win against that paranoid man? Even if you are given a chance to reach the finals, you will fail.
(End of chapter)
