Christina and her wife team acted together, while he took Lin Changhua and two others into the player tunnel, went to the visiting team's locker room, and found a secluded room to chat.
"Xiao Zhou, you have now become a business card of our country in the United States. You are even slowly changing the inherent image of the Chinese in the minds of Americans. You have made more Americans begin to understand our country. I sincerely hope that You can achieve more here.”
In fact, Lin Changhua had nothing to do, he just wanted to get to know Zhou Quan. After chatting for about ten minutes, the two of them left.
"Iron Fist, here are your data." Back in the locker room, assistant coach Musk immediately handed over a statistics table.
Zhou Quan took a look and found that there were data from this game and this series.
After seven games in the second round series, a total of 71 of 141 shots were made, a field goal percentage of 50.3%, 9 of 22 three-pointers, a field goal percentage of 40.9%, 32 of 36 free throws, a field goal percentage of 88.9%, 70 assists/23 turnovers, assists The turnover ratio is 3.04 and the true shooting percentage is 60.5%.
Except for free throws, all statistics have met the task requirements. Counting the first round, his free throw shooting rate can also reach 90%.
However, the task requirement is the playoffs, and there will be the Eastern Conference Finals later. If you advance to the Finals, your performance in the Finals must also meet the standards. Therefore, just by advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, the task has not been completed. You must continue to work hard to get valuable rewards. rewards.
On the other side, the Bulls' locker room was dead. After Jordan came in, he sat there in a daze.
His mind was too confused. I lost, lost, lost to the Pistons, lost to the Iron Fist. It had only been two seasons since I had suppressed the Pistons, and now the Pistons were climbing on top of me...
"The Pistons will always be the top of your head."
He thought of what Iron Fist and the Assassin had said to him, and a look of pain suddenly appeared on his face, and tears welled up again.
He has tasted the feeling of standing on the head of the piston, and has to taste the feeling of being pressed by the piston again. With his competitive spirit, this moment is really the saddest time in his life. It is worse than being pressed by the piston in those years. Even sadder.
He thought about the media that had been targeting him like crazy since this season, and he could imagine how crazily they would mock him next.
Others didn't dare to speak and did everything very lightly, otherwise they could be sure that what was coming their way would be a stool or a trash can or something.
At this time, Cobra Grant suddenly pointed at Jordan, and everyone suddenly noticed that Jordan's face was already full of tears. Even though the relationship was not good, they all sighed secretly at this time.
Phil Jackson leaned against the wall next to the door, looking at the ceiling opposite, not knowing what he was thinking.
The door was pushed open, and Jerry Krause appeared at the door. Seeing this, he shook his head, closed the door again, and did not come in. He did not want to get into trouble with Jordan.
At this time, media reporters were interviewing the stars in the stadium.
"Ervin, you have always believed that the Bulls will eliminate the Pistons, and you have always believed that Tekken does not have the ability to stand up at critical moments. Now that the Bulls have been eliminated, Tekken's performance in the tiebreaker was even better than Jordan's. What do you want to say? "?" asked a reporter from the Detroit Daily Worker.
Magic Johnson said with embarrassment: "I admit, I underestimated Iron Fist. In fact, I have always admired him. Not long after he first entered the league, I thought he was an outlier at the No. 1 position like me. I I’ve always thought so.”
"For a long time, Jordan has been involved in gambling and other scandals. This time he was eliminated in the second round. Do you think the Bulls will collapse? Do you think Jordan's Bulls can make a comeback like the Pistons in just one or two seasons?" Reporter Ask again.
This question made Magic Johnson become serious. After thinking for a few seconds, he said cautiously: "With Jordan's willpower, there is no way he would give up. He cannot be knocked down by those news. The Bulls still have skin." Pippen, Pippen has grown up, and he is probably the next superstar, so I don’t think the Bulls will collapse. With the strength of the Bulls, I also think they will definitely make a comeback.”
"Do you think Tekken is now only an All-Star player, or a superstar, or a superstar?" the reporter asked excitedly.
Magic Johnson pondered again, and then said: "In his rookie season, he led the team to the Eastern Conference Finals, scoring 20+10. This year, he led the team to the Eastern Conference Finals again. This is the seventh consecutive season that the Pistons have reached the Eastern Conference Finals. It’s decided, to be honest, it’s really amazing.
Speaking of Iron Fist, he also scored 20+10 in the two rounds of the playoffs, and tonight he had a super steal triple-double of 40+10+10. His performance is of course not just ordinary. At the All-Star level, he is already a star among stars, a true superstar. "
"Why not super giant?" the reporter asked.
Magic Johnson smiled and said: "The superstar among superstars is the super giant. The super giant must have great influence, must have multiple seasons of sustained superstar-level performance, and the support of many hard honors. Iron Fist's current qualifications are still Worse.
I would like to suggest here that Iron Fist should leave Detroit. This city cannot bring him a stronger influence. "
Hearing these last words, the reporter from the Detroit Daily Worker wanted to smash the microphone in Magic's face, but he suppressed it and asked again: "After the second round, the league will announce The best team and the defensive team, do you think Tekken can be selected for the double team?"
Magic Johnson did not think about it this time and immediately said: "Defending the first team is inevitable. No one has a better defensive performance than him at the first position, and only Michael can compete with him on the back line.
I think there is a high chance of the best team, and the reason is the same as the defensive team, so I think he has a chance to complete the double team achievement. "
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was also being interviewed on the side. The reporter said: "Kareem, first of all, I want to congratulate UCLA for cultivating another superstar player."
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar laughed and said, "Thank you, I think you are right."
"Kareem, Iron Fist is your alumnus, and Pat Riley is your head coach with the Lakers. What do you think are the chances of the Pistons defeating the Knicks in the next Eastern Conference Finals?"
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said cautiously: "The Knicks are No. 1 in the Eastern Conference and No. 1 in defense in the league. Coach Riley built a tough team in New York with a completely different style from ours in just two years. He did a great job It's really great.
When it comes to the Pistons and Knicks, really, I can't make a judgment. They are both very strong. One side has super center Patrick Ewing, and the other side has the new superstar Iron Fist. At the same time, Coach Riley and Coach Daley are both championship coaches. , even Phil Jackson is a bit younger than them. I can't say, he will have a chance to reach the finals. "
At about 11:30, the Bulls' post-game media conference began.
However, Jordan was absent from the press conference, and only Pippen attended. This made the media very dissatisfied. Many reporters left the scene and ran to the Pistons.
Many reporters also looked for Jordan, but they certainly couldn't find him. Jordan had left the United Center with the help of his agent.
Pippen looked at the reporters who were walking away, feeling his heart hurt and hurt. I'm here. After all, I'm also a two-time All-Star starting small forward. Can't you bastards see me?
"Mr. Krause, how will you strengthen your lineup in the offseason?" The reporter from Chicago Sports News was the first to be flipped, and he immediately asked the question he was most concerned about.
Jerry Krause said: "Of course it's in the paint. We need to strengthen our rebounding and improve our offensive and defensive capabilities in the low post."
"The Bulls have maintained such an inside lineup for a long time. Why didn't they reinforce it last offseason?" the reporter asked.
Klaus replied calmly: "Many times you don't get reinforcements just because you want them. You have to look at the opportunity. Only when the opportunity is good can you make a suitable deal. Otherwise, anyone can easily build a championship team." Isn't it a top-level lineup?
I also patiently looked for opportunities last offseason, but I didn't get much. This is fate-driven and no one can change it. "
The reporter no longer clung to Krause. In fact, this lineup was built by Krause. From Jordan to Pippen, to Grant, and even Phil Jackson, he was the one who brought it in. His ability It has long been proven.
"Scotty, tonight you made 4 of 13 shots and 4 of 5 free throws. You only had 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, but you had 6 turnovers. Why was your performance so poor?" The next reporter asked the question was from Chicago. Business News raised very pointed questions.
Pippen regretted not asking for leave. His performance was so poor tonight, why did he attend the press conference?
But he still said plausibly: "This is a problem caused by the Pistons' tactics. One cut off my receiving angle, and the other cut off the ball holder's passing angle. They locked me up. We did not come up with targeted tactics. I have to I can’t blame you for not getting help.”
Pippen's blame-shifting was so successful that the reporter immediately turned his gun on Phil Jackson and asked: "Coach Jackson, how do you explain the tactical issues Pippen mentioned?"
Phil Jackson said with a gloomy face: "I'm very sorry, I have nothing to say, winner takes all, loser takes all."
"Do you admit that it is your responsibility to fail in the tiebreaker?" the reporter asked concludingly.
Phil Jackson looked extremely ugly and said: "If you want to say that, there is nothing I can do about it."
"If you think it's not your responsibility, do you have anything to say?" the reporter asked.
Phil Jackson was very embarrassed. The team was eliminated and the road to three consecutive championships came to an abrupt end. Someone needs to take responsibility. There is no doubt that as a head coach, he is the most suitable person to take the blame.
In fact, he also knew that his performance in the tiebreaker was not good enough, and he did not come up with targeted tactics from the beginning. This was the most important reason why he did not have enough confidence to refute reporters.
On the other side, the Pistons' press conference is also in progress, and there are even more reporters than the Bulls.
Zhang Lili and Sun Zhenping were at the front. The host of the press conference was specially arranged by Ms. Wells, the Pistons' public relations director. She also gave the right to ask the first question to Sun Zhenping who raised his hand.
"Zhou Quan, what does defeating the Bulls and Jordan mean to the Pistons and to you?" Sun Zhenping asked excitedly after taking the microphone handed over by the staff.
Zhou Quan replied with a smile: "For the team, winning this series means that we are on the right path and that we already have the strength to challenge for the championship.
For me personally, his performance in the series was very strong, averaging close to 40 points per game, which shows that we couldn't guard him at all, so objectively speaking, it was not me who defeated him, but I led the Pistons to defeat the Bulls led by him. . "
The next question was from a New York Times reporter. He asked: "Iron Fist, do you have anything to say about the previous trade news? Will you choose to leave Detroit after the season, which makes you sad?"
"It's not sad. The management has its own vision. As a player, I understand it."
Zhou Quan was sure that this guy had bad intentions and wanted to mess up the Pistons and gain an advantage for the Knicks.
He continued: "Actually, I don't care about this so-called trade. All my attention now is on the Eastern Conference Finals. I believe we can beat them last year and we can kill them this year.
By the way, Mr. Reporter, please give Oakley a message. He is the New York Murder King. I think he should be renamed the New York Villain King. This is more suitable for his style. If he wants to have a rematch with me, I can give him an extra chance. "
"Ha ha……"
The reporters burst into laughter.
The reporter's face twitched and he wanted to ask again. At Ms. Wells's instruction, the staff came up and confiscated his microphone.
At this time, many team managements have not yet rested.
Teams that did not enter the playoffs and were eliminated in the first and second rounds are working overtime to study their lineups and the free market, and consider how to strengthen them.
Especially for the Eastern Conference teams, after tonight's tiebreaker between the Pistons and the Bulls, their management is aware of a problem. Starting from next season, their back line will face a monster, one who can score as many points as Jordan. A monster who can score, assist and steal a super triple-double in the tiebreaker, a superstar point guard who combines top offense and defense.
Facing one Jordan will make them exhausted mentally and physically. Now that there is another one, the pressure they face has doubled, so how to strengthen the back line will be their first consideration.
In fact, the management of these Eastern teams are now eager for Zhou Quan to go to the Western Conference and stop harming them by staying in the Eastern Conference. Where can they find a defender who can compete with Zhou Quan?
At the same time, when thinking about how to build a team, these managements also have a lot of ideas about using defenders as the core of the team.
This is still an era with traditional centers as the core, but in the past four years, what is embarrassing is that no team with a center as the core has won the championship, including the three super centers.
On the contrary, the Pistons, with the point guard as the core of the team, won two consecutive championships, and then the Bulls, with the shooting guard as the core, won two consecutive championships. Now the rebuilt Pistons once again have the point guard as the core, eliminating the Bulls who won two consecutive championships, with unparalleled combat power. Their performance further made them realize that using defenders as the core is really feasible and can really win the championship.
Even before the Bad Boys, the Lakers' Show Time era was also a team with super point guard Magic Johnson as the core.
If you include this team, the team that won the championship with the point guard as its core won 10 championships in the last 14 years from 1980 to 1993.
Of the remaining four championships, three were won by the Green Team with small forward Larry Bird as its core, and only one was won by the Philadelphia Digital Team with superstar center Moses Malone as its core.
One championship in 2014, and the winning rate of a team built with a center is really disappointing to these management teams.
These data have made these managers truly realize that they must pay more attention to the construction and training of the back line, and go to the high school league and NCAA to discover potential defenders, otherwise they are likely to be replaced by Jordan in the next ten years. and the younger Iron Fist were unable to turn over under him.
At this time, Pistons owner Bill Davidson ended the phone call with David Stern, and then fell into complex considerations.
The call came from Stern, who gave him a suggestion that moved his heart.
Detroit's automobile industry is in decline. The revitalization plan has failed. It is now worse than the previous year. The city's consumption power has dropped significantly. The Pistons' ticket prices continue to fall. This means that the Pistons' ball market is shrinking step by step. In the past two years, they have Considering selling the team.
The Pistons' market is very small, because Detroit's population is mainly workers, the proportion of the middle class is very small, and its spending power is limited.
Dividing the league's ball markets into five tiers, the Pistons were originally the lowest fifth tier. They became the fourth tier during the Bad Boys era, but dropped to the fifth tier last season.
Two-thirds of the league's teams are losing money, and the Pistons are among them. Only first- and second-tier ball markets can make a profit, while third-, fourth- and fifth-tier teams are all losing money, and even some second-tier ball markets are losing money.
Even in the Bad Boys era, the Pistons were still losing money. That is to say, they were barely even in the two years when they won the championship. In the remaining years, they had to rely on subsidies from the league to survive.
Although the attendance this season is stronger than last season, the ticket revenue can only be the same as last season because the average price dropped by 12% compared with last season.
The team lost nearly $7 million last season, and this was despite the team reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. The revenue from the playoffs made up for part of the losses in the regular season.
The loss so far this season is US$9.6 million, and the playoff income has not yet been settled, but with the playoff income, it will definitely be a loss. Unless it can reach the finals, it may be able to barely break even.
The only thing he has earned from holding the Pistons for so many years is the increase in the team's market value. In terms of operating income, he has not earned a dime, but has paid a lot of money.
Since David Stern entered the league in 1984, the league has begun to develop significantly, which is the key reason why the team's market value has increased significantly.
Because of this, when David Stern vetoed the trade between Zhou Quan and Barkley last year, he did not speak out, because he knew that Stern's plan was beneficial to the league and also conducive to increasing the value of the team.
Zhou Quan is just a Chinese. His value to the NBA is far less than Jordan's value to the league. Jordan can greatly increase the value of the entire league, but Zhou Quan is absolutely impossible. For this, whether it is him or other players The team owner, as well as David Stern, have a clear understanding.
Just now, Stern talked to him about Zhou Quan.
Zhou Quan still has two years of contract left, and the last year is a player option. With his current performance, he can definitely get out of the last year of his contract, which means that there is actually only one year left, and he must come up with one after one year. Only a truly big contract can retain Zhou Quan.
What kind of big contract? Stern provided some information. So far, more than one team has promised Zhou Quan's agent to provide Zhou Quan with a big contract worth 100 million yuan.
This news made him sigh deeply, because with the Pistons' current market and financial resources, it is simply impossible to provide Zhou Quan with such a contract.
Also, Rodman's contract will expire next season. Judging from the current information, it is impossible for Rodman, who is close to bankruptcy, to stay without a big contract.
In other words, if he continues to maintain this lineup, the Pistons' poor finances will fall into bankruptcy. If he wants to avoid bankruptcy, he will have to take money out of his pocket.
In fact, the team has won two consecutive championships and has already achieved the glory it deserves. Detroit's football market will continue to shrink in the foreseeable future. In this case, a huge amount of money needs to be invested regardless of the cost. Continue to fight for the championship?
For these reasons, he had to start seriously considering Stern's suggestion.
…
(End of chapter)
