After the game, Sun Zhenping said with a smile: "The Pistons played very well tonight. From the main players to the substitutes, the scoring was too even. Of the 10 players in the team, seven of them scored in double figures. It is rare that all players scored in double figures." The team had a total of 32 assists, 10 more than the Bulls.
All five members of the main lineup scored in double figures, even Rodman scored 12 points, and two of the bench lineup, Assassin and Polynice, scored in double figures. "
Zhang Lili continued: "Although seven people scored in double figures, none of them scored 20+. Most of them were in their early years and their scores were too average.
This should actually attract the attention of the team, because not everyone has such a good touch in every game. Once a few of these people have a bad touch, the scoring ability will be seriously weakened, so the offense must have key points and someone must be able to do it at critical moments. stand out.
In addition, the Assassin played 22 minutes and scored 11 points and 6 assists. When Zhou Quan was not in charge of the ball, he and Joe Dumars took turns controlling the ball, and their performance was very good.
Compared to the Pistons, only four Bulls scored in double figures, Jordan with 34 points, Pippen with 21 points, Grant with 11 points, and John Paxson with 12 points. "
Sun Zhenping said regretfully: "It's a pity that Zhou Quan was one point short of 20+10."
Zhang Lili laughed and said, "That's pretty good. This shows that Zhou Quan doesn't care about data at all."
If Zhou Quan heard this, I'm afraid he would laugh. It's not that he doesn't care about data. He only cares about data on the basis of winning. Otherwise, how can he complete the system's tasks?
In the ABC commentary box, Bill Walton said: "Today the Pistons did better tactically than in the G2 game. They were good offensively and defensively. They took a big lead in the first quarter and played very well, which laid the foundation for winning."
Williams said: "The strength of the two teams is almost the same. This is my opinion, so whoever wins is possible. ESPN gave the Pistons a 1% chance. This is completely incorrect data.
In addition, in the second half of today's first quarter and the final quarter, Tekken's ability to break through with the ball was very impressive. "
Bill Walton nodded and said: "Yes, even Jordan can't be guarded, so there are almost no people in this league who can guard against Iron Fist's ball-handling breakthrough.
Therefore, Tekken's offensive efficiency is also very high today, even higher than that of Michael Jordan. He did a perfect job in his choice of shots and passes today. "
Williams nodded and said: "The choice of shot is a key factor in improving offensive efficiency. However, the Bulls lost today not only because Jordan failed to play with sufficient efficiency, but also because others did not stand up and could not provide him with enough help."
Bill Walton laughed: "Michael Jordan was not efficient enough on offense and defense today and made too many mistakes, especially in the middle two quarters. Iron Fist did almost nothing else and turned into a defensive maniac, stealing Jordan four times in the game.
This also set a record, because Jordan has never been intercepted by the same opponent four times in a single game. Iron Fist is the first. "
At the scene, Zhou Quan was being interviewed by ABC TV station after the game.
"Iron Fist, how does it feel to steal Jordan four times tonight?" the reporter asked.
Pippen happened to be passing by, feeling a little unconvinced. He only mentioned Jordan. I was also intercepted twice by him. Why didn't you mention it?
But as soon as this idea came to him, he felt that something was wrong. He was stupid. This was not an honor, so he quickly walked over.
After hearing the reporter's question, Zhou Quan smiled and said: "The seven steals today are my new record for steals in a single game. I am really happy.
Stealing Jordan four times, it felt okay, which means my defensive state was pretty good tonight, and I'm happy to do that.
But Jordan also stole me twice. It was because of his defense that I made four turnovers. This is what I need to be wary of. "
"Now the Pistons lead the Bulls 2-1, what do you think is the chance of the Pistons advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals?" the reporter asked again.
Zhou Quan smiled and said: "We evaluate the future carefully, but we must be confident in the future and firmly believe that we can succeed, so that we can do our best."
The reporter nodded, smiled and asked again: "What do you think of Michael Jordan's performance tonight?"
Zhou Quan pondered for a moment and then said: "As for his performance tonight, it was average, so he lost."
After that, he and the reporter laughed and ended the interview.
After bidding farewell to the fans, he sent his girlfriend away first. When Zhou Quan returned to the locker room, he learned that the Suns had lost on the road.
"Rick, how's Lightning doing?" he asked.
"26 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 0 fouls, shooting 52.9% from the field, and 8 of 10 free throws." Assistant coach Musk said.
"The efficiency is good, and it's lethal. It's just average assists, not a single foul, and not much input on the defensive end." Zhou Quan said.
Musk smiled and said: "The Lightning focused all their energy on the offensive end. The Suns played really lethal tonight. They got 32 free throw opportunities on the road, while the home team Spurs only had 19.
But Barkley shot only 42.9% from the field, 9 of 21. He had seven steals last time and none today.
The Suns only had 4 steals as a team and did not exert any pressure on the Spurs on the defensive end. On the contrary, the Spurs had 10 steals and the team took 11 more shots than the Suns.
However, the key reason for the Suns' loss was the three-pointer, which was 0 for 10. They took 11 fewer shots and their shooting percentage was 7 percentage points lower, only 40%, so they lost. "
"0-for-10 three-pointers?"
Zhou Quan expressed surprise. Is this a collective loss?
However, he feels that the Suns particularly like three-pointers, and this is also the case in the first round series. If the three-pointers are good, the chance of winning is greater. If the three-pointers are not good, they will most likely lose.
Therefore, the best defensive method for such a team is to prevent their three-pointers. As long as you prevent the three-pointers, half the battle is won.
At this time, Musk said again: "Do you know what the Spurs rely on to win?"
"Three points?" the assassin asked.
Shaking his head, Musk smiled and said: "The Spurs' three-point shooting tonight was also poor, 0 for 6. They won the game with power forward Antoine Kyle and All-Star starting forward and swingman Dale Ellis. With their performance, the two scored 20+ points and both played with high efficiency. The former shot over 70% and the latter also shot 56.3%.
In addition, the Spurs scored equally as we did tonight. Seven of us scored 10+ and six of them scored in double figures. "
"David Robinson's performance is not good?" Musk did not mention the Spurs leader David Robinson, Zhou Quan asked sensitively.
Musk shrugged and said: "4 of 16 shots, 25% shooting, 5 of 7 free throws, 13 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls. The general's performance tonight was quite bad."
"25%?"
Zhou Quan could not imagine how David Robinson was feeling when a super center produced such statistics.
No matter how David Robinson feels, if his teammates don't perform well and the team wins, otherwise the Suns get the match point, he feels like hitting a wall.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the Spurs locker room was okay. After all, they had pulled back a game and were trailing 1-2. It was a hundred times better than being behind 0-3.
On the other side, the Bulls' locker room lost the game, and the atmosphere was cold and dead. Jordan didn't open his mouth, and neither did anyone else.
Phil Jackson pushed the door open and came in, glanced at Jordan, and said, "Michael, you'd better be more careful about Iron Fist's stealing ability and don't let him affect your psychology."
Jordan's brows twitched, but he snorted coldly.
In his heart, he knew that Phil Jackson was right, and he must be more careful about that guy's stealing ability.
It was the continuous interceptions by Zhou Quan that affected his psychology to a certain extent, which also affected his state.
This made him realize that his psychological quality was not as good as he thought, and there were still flaws in his psychology.
An hour later, the two teams' post-match press conference began.
"Michael, your performance on both offense and defense tonight was mediocre. Your offense was inefficient and your defense was broken by an iron fist. Is it because other things distracted your energy?" a reporter from the New York Times asked.
Hearing this question, Jordan's temples jumped suddenly, and he wanted to rush down and beat this damn reporter to death.
He knew what this reporter was insinuating, and he kept focusing on his hobby of gambling. Ewing was right, reporters are all assholes. Don't they know that gambling can relax their mind?
But he still had to suppress the anger in his heart and said in a deep voice: "Mr. Reporter, all my energy is focused on this series. Your speculation does not exist."
"Do you think we were guarded by the Iron Fist tonight?" the reporter asked again.
Jordan said coldly: "It's just a matter of feel. I always shoot from double teams, and feel is the only factor that affects me."
He really thinks so, and he's not being arrogant or deliberately refusing to admit it.
"Then do you admit that you can't guard against Tekken's breakthrough with the ball?" the reporter asked.
Jordan clenched his fists. This was different from the question above. He didn't think that his low shooting efficiency tonight was because of Zhou Quan's defense, but he did think that he failed to guard against Zhou Quan's breakthrough tonight, which made him extremely competitive. He was very uncomfortable.
The host quickly signaled the staff to collect the microphone and canceled the reporter's right to ask questions.
Seeing Jordan's silence and face as black as iron, the reporter laughed happily and handed the microphone to the staff.
"Coach Phil Jackson, what chance do you think the Bulls have of advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals?" the next reporter asked.
Phil Jackson adjusted his glasses and said calmly: "We are still confident about the future. I don't think tonight's failure will affect the final result of the series."
"Do you think the Bulls' chance of winning three consecutive championships is as high as the 51% predicted by ESPN?" the reporter asked again.
Phil Jackson laughed and said: "Success and failure are both 50% chances, and the prediction data given to us by ESPN is only one percentage point higher."
This answer made many reporters laugh. The reporter who asked the question asked again: "So ESPN only gives the Pistons a 1% chance of winning the championship. Do you think it is normal?"
Phil Jackson was startled, hesitated and then said: "I remember that ESPN only gave the Pistons a 1% chance last year. You should ask them this question."
"Phil, seven Pistons scored 10+ points tonight, what do you think is wrong with the Bulls' defense?" a reporter asked.
Phil Jackson's expression became serious and he said: "This is exactly what I am concerned about. Their offense is very scattered, which is different from the Pistons' previous style of play.
Previously, the Pistons played a ball-carrying style, with Iron Fist controlling the ball. But tonight, they only controlled the ball in the first and last quarters. In the middle two quarters, Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars controlled the ball. The three of them controlled the ball. Individuals added up to 21 assists, which is very scary.
We did have some problems with our defense. The three of them were all in very good shape, allowing everyone to score, which caused our defense to be very scattered and affected the speed of our transitions. "
"How are you going to solve this problem?" the reporter asked.
Phil Jackson hesitated and then said: "I have some considerations, but it is impossible for me to express my thoughts here."
"Michael, can the Bulls win this game?" the next reporter asked.
Jordan said firmly: "I believe the result will be as you wish."
On the other end, a reporter asked: "Iron Fist, how did you steal Jordan four times tonight?"
Zhou Quan smiled and said: "It's very simple. Concentrate all your attention and you will have the opportunity to do everything you want to do."
"Do you think you guarded Jordan tonight?" the reporter asked.
Zhou Quan said cautiously: "Just from the four steals and his shooting percentage, I can indeed say that it has restricted his performance to a certain extent and reduced his efficiency. Of course, I also know that he belongs to that group. The kind of person who can’t really be guarded against.”
"Is it too modest?" the reporter asked with a smile.
Zhou Quan shook his head and said: "It's not about being humble, I need to face this problem from the most practical perspective, because my mentality will affect my attitude towards him in the game.
We all know that he is the player who takes the most shots and has the highest shooting percentage in double teams. It is impossible for me to underestimate him or despise him. If I do, I will make a big mistake.
I have this attitude on how to treat him in the game. No matter how I performed against him in the last game, I will start from scratch in the next game and face him with the most cautious attitude. "
…
The next day, the 15th, the media was very busy.
“The Bulls were trailing 2-1 in the series, and there were media rumors that Jordan may have distracted himself by gambling before the game.” The New York Times.
"According to reliable information, on the night of the 13th, Jordan played cards with his teammates late at night in the hotel." Detroit Worker Daily.
"If Bulls series fails, Michael Jordan is to blame." Detroit Sports News.
"Being intercepted four times by Iron Fist and making seven turnovers in a single game, Michael Jordan obviously lacked concentration. What did he do the night before?" Phoenix Sun.
"According to reliable information, a woman entered Jordan's room on the night of the 13th and left at two o'clock in the morning." Los Angeles Daily News.
In a certain restaurant in the hotel, there was a stabbing sound, and Jordan tore a large handful of newspapers in half and threw them on the ground like a clatter.
"Damn media, it's all lies," he shouted angrily.
General manager Jerry Krause shook his head slightly. Everything else was a lie, but gambling was really not the case. On the way to Detroit, Jordan even asked his teammates to gamble money on the plane, and the same thing happened in the hotel.
Phil Jackson said at this time: "Well, don't care what the media says, we can't control them. My opinion is that everyone should control their behavior so that the media can't catch your mistakes.
Please note, please go to the conference room after breakfast. We need to figure out the tactics for tomorrow night. I don't want anyone to be late.
I believe you all know the key to the G4 game. There is no way we will lose the match point tomorrow night. Absolutely not. There is only one result tomorrow night. We come back and then return home to win the second round match point. "
Half an hour later, Jordan and others came to a business conference room in the hotel for a tactical meeting.
After everyone discussed for a while, Phil Jackson stood up and said: "The first thing we need to pay attention to tomorrow is defense.
Last night, we allowed Iron Fist to get 7 assists in the first quarter, but he only had the ball for two quarters, with a total of only 11 assists, and 7 assists in the first quarter. It can be imagined that our defense had almost no response to his passes. any obstacles.
I can say this, we lost in the first quarter, and we were able to maintain a stalemate in other periods of time, and our performance was evenly matched. "
Jordan's face is a little bad, he is the first line of defense, and he is the first to blame.
Phil Jackson glanced at Jordan and said: "Tekken played differently in the first half and the second half of the first quarter last night. The second half was mainly about breakthroughs, but no matter which way he played, he could pass the ball well. I have to say, in terms of passing ability, he even surpasses Magic."
Jordan groaned. Magic was his friend. He didn't agree with this statement, but he couldn't refute it.
Phil Jackson continued: "Whether he is passing the ball to the open space outside, or breaking the ball with the ball, there is only one reason why we allowed him to get 7 assists in the first quarter, defense, we let them constantly After getting an open space, and it was an open space close to the basket, he was still unable to cut off the connection between Zhou Quan and his teammates.
Do you still remember how we won the G2 game? Destroying their inside tactics and reducing their offense at the basket is the key to us winning the game. But last night, we didn't do that, they made a lot of plays around the basket, so we lost. "
"Phil, just tell me what to do." Jordan said solemnly.
Phil Jackson shook his head and said: "I have to let you know where we lost."
"Now we know." Jordan said coldly.
(End of chapter)
