The next morning, on the 16th, the Pistons held a tactical meeting.
Zhou Quan rushed to the headquarters with his luggage in the morning. After the meeting, the Pistons will set off.
They finished the Eastern Conference Finals on the 7th. Starting from the 8th, the team then took a five-day holiday and resumed training on the 13th. The current physical recovery is generally good, and they have resumed training for three days, and they have all entered the state. among.
It can be said that the Eastern Conference Finals ended with 4-1, and the Western Conference Finals reached the tiebreaker, which gave the Pistons a very large physical advantage.
Not to mention Zhou Quan, even the assassin recovered well.
Although he plays the main role, he does not take on many tasks on the court. His physical exertion is not that great, and he can still persist.
Assistant coach Rick Musk first introduced the Suns' lineup and said: "The main lineup, center Mark West, is a role player with limited abilities, but he is just a pseudo-starter.
Their backup center is rookie Oliver Miller, the 22nd pick in the first round last year. He is 206 centimeters tall and should weigh more than 130 kilograms now. He is very dense and average in strength. The fifth position is a weak position for the Suns. "
"Who among us will carry him?" Rodman asked, shaking his head.
"Dennis, I suggest you don't force him. After a while, you can use your experience to influence his shooting. He doesn't have the right to take shots. The Suns would rather let outside players shoot three-pointers than hand the ball to a rookie. ." Musk said.
Rodman laughed and said: "Perhaps it is because the fifth position is not good that they shoot so many three-pointers? If Ewing is in it, he must be the Suns' first choice, just like the Knicks."
"It makes sense." Zhou Quan nodded and smiled.
Musk continued: "No. 4, Barkley, a flying pig that flies into the sky and escapes from the ground. I won't go into details about this. No one understands his strength."
Everyone nodded, and he continued: "He averaged 37.6 minutes per game in the regular season, and his playing time increased to 43 minutes in the playoffs, so I won't introduce him as a substitute power forward.
At the third position, Richard and Ceballos started in rotation during the regular season. In the playoffs, Richard started more and played more minutes.
Let's mainly talk about Richard. In the regular season, he averaged 16 points, 5 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 28 minutes per game. In the playoffs, he averaged 11 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.9 steals in 22 minutes. His performance was not as good as in the regular season.
He doesn't have three-pointers, he has mid-range shots, and he has a strong ability to hit the basket. By the way, Ceballos's playing style is similar to his, and he also doesn't have three-pointers.
The third position happens to be our weak position, so we have to pay attention to these two players. Of course, their lack of three-pointers is more beneficial to our defense. We can narrow the defensive scope to cope with their breakthrough. "
Zhou Quan said: "We don't have anyone at position three, should Qiao play?"
Max nodded and said, "We'll talk about this later."
Zhou Quan nodded without saying anything, and Musk continued: "The guard combination, Thunder Dan Malley, Lightning Kevin Johnson.
Musk continued: "The Lightning was seriously injured in the regular season, but performed well in the playoffs. No matter who is guarding him, they cannot be careless.
Dan Malley has average talent, but he is very defensive. He and the Lightning both had 1.7 steals in the regular season and 1.5 each in the playoffs. He also has a very good three-pointer.
His ability to break through with the ball is not as good as the Lightning, but the Lightning does not have three-pointers, so his defense is no less difficult than the Lightning. "
"Isiah guarding him?" Zhou Quan frowned.
What the magician said last night still makes sense. He doesn't think assassins can protect against lightning and thunder.
The assassin himself shook his head. He was only 185 centimeters tall and Lei Gong was 198 centimeters tall. He had lost speed again. He would be blocked on the offensive end and blown away on the defensive end. If he was blocked by lightning, he would be smashed into a sieve.
After the introduction, Chuck Daly stood up and after everyone's attention came over, he said: "Now I will announce the starting lineup for the G1 game."
Mark Aguirre's eyes fluctuated, and he felt that he might be in the starting lineup.
He was not excited, because Rodman's starting position was voluntarily given up by him two seasons ago. Before that, he was the unbeatable main small forward.
"Ronnie Seikaly, Rodman, Mark Aguirre..."
"Congratulations, Mark."
"Thanks!"
Mark Aguirre smiled and high-fived the assassin next to him who extended his hand.
Being able to start in the finals is a kind of recognition for him. The head coach thinks that he still has some gas, which is also very happy for him.
"... Joe Dumas, Zhou Quan."
Chuck Daly finished reading the starting lineup and then began to explain the tactics.
"Our lineup is somewhat similar to that of the Suns. Their back line bears a lot of offensive tasks, and our back line has even heavier offensive tasks. They have Barkley inside, and our Sekali can also score, so if we want to win The Suns, first of all, must strengthen their defense."
Chuck Daly was the first to emphasize defense, saying: "Barkley handed it to Rodman, and when he pulled Rodman out, Seikaly had to control the rebounds.
The lightning is handed over to Iron Fist and his fast break is suppressed. We beat the Knicks with fast break, but we cannot fall into the Suns' fast break.
Dan Malley is handled by Joe Dumars. Be careful with his three-pointers, but also be careful with his breakthroughs. Especially after Barkley pulls Rodman out, our inside defense cannot help the outside. "
Seikali is a bit embarrassed, my defense is not that bad, I averaged 1.5 blocks and 0.5 steals per game in the playoffs.
Chuck Daly continued: "The Suns' offense is Barkley, who can go inside and outside, and takes a lot of three-pointers. He averages 2.3 times per game in the Western Conference Finals. Rodman must keep up with him.
Except for Barkley, Lightning's main goal is to break through and distribute the ball with the ball, so the key to our defense is this point. Iron Fist must keep up with him. "
"Leave it to me." Zhou Quan said confidently.
His speed is just a little bit slower, and even counting his physical advantage, it's not even bad. He may be a little slower at the beginning, but as the game progresses, Lightning's speed advantage will definitely not be maintained.
Moreover, the basketball court is not a 100-meter track. Sometimes explosive power is very important. His tonnage is 8 kilograms heavier than Lightning, and his explosive power is definitely stronger than Lightning. The powerful explosive power allows him to increase his speed in a shorter time.
Chuck Daly continued: "By limiting the Lightning, one-third of our defense against the Suns was successful. The remaining one-third was to defend Barkley, and the last third was to defend their distance. cast.
Even if we can't guard Barkley, we must guard against the Lightning and their three-pointers. This is very important to us and is the key to defense.
But for Barkley, we must not make him go crazy or let him perform 40+20 in the tiebreaker. Dennis, do you understand? "
"Don't worry, Dad." Rodman said with a smile.
Chuck Daly began to explain the offensive tactics again, saying: "On the offensive end, we are actually similar to the Suns. We mainly rely on Tekken to break through and distribute the ball. They will also strengthen their defense against Tekken and even double-team.
Zhou, when it comes to the two options of personal shooting and passing, I hope you will do better and be more reasonable. Take the shot when it is time to take action, and pass the ball when it is time to pass. "
"clear."
Zhou Quan nodded.
Of course he can't do it alone. Jordan is so strong, let alone him? Physical fitness alone limits individual offense, and the entire team must work together to defeat the opponent.
After the meeting, at 10:30 in the morning, the Pistons set off for Phoenix to begin their journey to the Finals.
The flight distance is 3,300 kilometers. The plane took off at 11:40 and flew for 4 hours. When I got on the bus at the airport, it was already close to 5 o'clock. After I arrived at the hotel and settled down, it was a quarter past six o'clock, so there was no news scheduled. After the press conference, we had a quick dinner and then took a rest.
Zhou Quan called Zhang Lili to turn off the phone, and then he called after a few minutes.
"Brother Zhang, you're here, aren't you staying in a motel?"
"I just arrived. I stayed in a family hotel in a community. The conditions are not bad. Safety should be no problem, haha."
"Okay, you haven't had dinner yet, I'll order takeout for you. How about pizza?"
"No, no, we can just go out and have a burger by ourselves."
"Okay, you guys can rest."
"Xiao Zhou, take a good rest and try to get off to a good start tomorrow."
"Ha ha……"
After chatting for a few words, he hung up the phone.
The next morning, after breakfast, the Pistons arranged a brief press conference at the request of the media.
Many media came, including CCTV, reporters from Xiangcheng ATV, and some reporters from Japan and South Korea.
The first person to be flipped was a reporter from the New York Times, but his words had nothing to do with the finals. He said: "Iron Fist, have you seen the news from the Salt Lake City media? It's the news this morning. It is said that the postman has applied to California Boxing. license."
"Oh, good news! This is a surprise for me." Zhou Quan smiled.
"Have you contacted your agent?" the reporter asked.
"Not yet, but I'm looking forward to fighting the Postman in the ring and I'll let my agent follow up on that," he said.
He actually contacted Philip immediately after the press conference. Philip said: "The postman has already contacted me, Zhou. It seems that the postman really wants to be beaten by you again."
Zhou Quan laughed loudly, and Philip added: "I'm talking to WBC here. You shouldn't have any difficulty in dealing with the postman. With his explosive power and sensitivity, you can give him a hundred punches in the ring." Above all, he is a target for you, so I want to arrange your boxing match with him after the finals and before you return to China, what do you think?"
"Can."
"Besides, Zhou, your real opponent has been revealed."
"Oh, who is it?"
"Andre Golota, a Polish man, nicknamed the Polish Bad Boy."
Then Philip briefly introduced Golota's information.
I am 25 years old this year. I practiced boxing at the age of 13. I am a 7-time Polish national champion and a bronze medalist at the Seoul Olympics. I then turned to professional boxing and came to the United States in 1991 to develop. Currently, the WBC world ranking is 22nd, the WBO is 25th, and the WBA is No. 19.
…
On June 17, 1993, the NBA 92/93 season finals officially kicked off.
The American West Arena was put into use last year and can accommodate more than 18,000 people. Before seven o'clock, the auditorium was already full.
Less than 300 fans came to the Pistons. They were not only die-hard fans of the Pistons, but also people with a small fortune. Otherwise, they would not have the money to support the team in away games. Tickets to the finals and a four-hour flight were both included. The air ticket is not cheap, plus the food and accommodation for a few days, it is not a small expense.
The finals series will be broadcast live across the United States on ABC TV, with the commentators Bill Walton and Lewis Williams.
Williams watched the scene through ABC's camera and said: "There are so few visiting team fans, but there are more than 18,000 Suns fans. Will the morale of the visiting team be affected?"
Bill Walton shook his head and said: "This is the tragedy of a small ball market. Detroit's ball market is getting smaller and smaller. Playing games in the East is close and more fans will go to away games. The West is too far and the cost is too high. .
As for morale, it doesn't matter, the Pistons only have so many people coming, and when they return to Detroit, they will definitely only give the Suns so many visiting team tickets. "
At eight o'clock, both sides announced the starting lineup.
Pistons: Ronny Seikaly, Dennis Rodman, Mark Aguirre, Joe Dumars, Zhou Quan
Suns: Mark West, Charles Barkley, Richard, Dan Mulley, Kevin Johnson
Bill Walton immediately analyzed after getting the list: "Look, Lewis, the Pistons really have nothing to do at the third position. Mark Aguirre is old and injured. Like the Assassins, he should only be a pseudo-starter."
Williams said: "The key to today's game lies in Rodman's defense, whether Barkley can play in form, and the battle between Lightning and Iron Fist. Position one and position four are the key positions of both sides."
Nodding, Bill Walton said: "That's right. In terms of performance stability, Iron Fist is more stable than Barkley. Even if he plays against the Lightning, I still think he has the advantage. This is why I am more optimistic about the Pistons."
Williams also nodded and said: "Iron Fist is not weak when facing Jordan. He is a flying man who has reached the top. The pressure on Lightning should not be small."
At this time, the home team's locker room was making final preparations.
The head coach is Paul Westphal, a rookie on the Green Team. He played for three years on the Green Team and four years on the Suns. He finally returned to the Suns and retired instead of choosing the Green Team.
This season is also Westphal's first time as a head coach, and he is a rookie in the coaching world.
He was very lucky to reach the finals in his first year, but he was also under tremendous pressure.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he said to Barkley and the other five starters: "Don't be nervous, everyone. We must treat the G1 game as a tiebreaker. We must not lose the first home game."
Buckley's legs were shaking and he couldn't hold them down.
Tasting the finals for the first time, he was a little nervous.
Lightning Kevin Johnson's hands are shaking. It's his first time playing in the finals and he has little experience.
As the league's top point guard, he is not very lucky. He is in the same era as Magic Johnson. The Western Conference also has assist leaders like John Stoughton and rising stars like Xiaochong. He has not received any hard honors.
Only two All-Stars, only one start, three All-NBA Second Teams, one All-Third Team, one All-Star Game, and one Best of the Month. Then he was the Most Improved Player in 1989. He played for 6 seasons, and that's all.
Therefore, his expectations for this finals are very high. He hopes to win the championship and even FMVP.
This time his opponent, Iron Fist, was only in his second year, but it put a lot of pressure on him, very big pressure, huge pressure.
Just because Zhou Quan can score 27 points, 10 assists and 4.5 steals on the head of Air Jordan, just because Zhou Quan can eliminate Jordan, it can put huge pressure on him that can affect his mentality.
Even now, when he is about to appear, his chest still feels like an invisible boulder is pressing down on him, making his breathing a little heavy.
None of the Suns' five starters had played in the finals. Their emotions at this time were all normal: nervous, sweaty palms, and no one spoke.
Paul Westphal regrets it. Danny Ainge should be put into the starting lineup. He is the Suns' only veteran with Finals experience.
"It's time!"
The door was suddenly pushed open, and the staff's voice startled Buckley and others. The five of them quickly stood up and walked out of the door.
(End of chapter)
