At a quarter past eight in the Seattle Center Arena, the lights went out.
Although the arena is dilapidated, the management still tried their best to arrange light shows and fireworks to make the opening game of the new season as lively as possible. Moreover, this was Zhou Quan's first game, so it would not be too shabby.
The SuperSonics also launched a new mascot for the new season, Scooter the Bear.
"This thing is so ugly. What idiot designed it?"
"Oh God, why are you so ugly?"
"Send the designer to jail."
"Is there any special meaning to the design being so ugly?"
“The league’s ugliest and stupidest mascot.”
He was said to be a bear, but he looked like a living savage. As soon as he appeared, he scared many children to tears and made many fans complain.
"Oh, ugly one, stay away from me."
"Go away, I kicked you."
"Ugly thing, you should go to the virgin forest to be with the orangutans, not here."
At this time, the away team came on the field, and Scooby Bear ran up to scare people. His appearance really scared several Lakers players.
Then the home team came out. The new starting lineup did not receive a warm welcome from SuperSonics fans. Even Rodman, who was the first to appear, was the same, with only coping-style applause.
Zhou Quan feels that the atmosphere at home is not as strong as the Palace of Auburn Hills, but their new SuperSonics have not performed well yet. The main starting players are all newcomers. This is also the treatment they deserve. If they want the fans to be more enthusiastic about them, they must have something. Depends on the record and performance.
It was his turn to appear next, and the host's voice sounded: "Now he is the iron fist killer from UCLA, the first executioner in NCAA ice hockey, a first-class professional heavyweight boxer, spanning three professions: basketball, golf, and professional boxing. The iron fist of sports...week after week, week after week, week after week!”
"Oh oh oh……"
The Central Gymnasium finally became excited. Countless people rose to their feet, and the scene was filled with extremely warm applause and cheers.
"Seattle people give Iron Fist the warmest cheers and hope he succeeds here." Bill Walton exclaimed.
Zhou Quan high-fived the fans on both sides of the tunnel, signed autographs for a few young fans, then fist-bumped with his teammates, management, and coaching staff, and fist-bumped with boss Ballmer.
"Iron Fist, I look forward to your performance."
The noise was so loud that Ballmer shouted loudly.
"I won't let you down." Zhou Quan also shouted loudly.
He then took a look and saw that there were many Chinese fans, at least a thousand or more, who looked at him and waved their hands to say hello, and he responded to them one by one.
"There are really many Chinese people, I think there are almost 1,500 people." On-site commentator Henem said happily.
"I believe that more and more Chinese will be willing to come into the arena to watch our games in the future. Before, they only kept their heads down to make money and had no interest in sports. This is the change brought about by Iron Fist." Mike Jim said with a smile. .
"Ho ho ho..."
At this time, Shi Kao Xiong suddenly rushed over with a strange cry to scare Zhou Quan.
"What the hell?"
The ugly appearance of a savage really startled him, and he raised a pair of fists as big as iron bowls.
"Oh, damn!"
This time, it was Scooby Bear's turn to be startled.
"Haha, run, you ugly thing. Iron Fist is a first-rate professional heavyweight boxer. He will beat you to death." Bill Walton laughed.
"Bang!"
Scooby Bear turned around and ran. He only took one step, but he tripped and fell to the floor.
"Ha ha……"
At this time, all the fans in the audience burst into laughter.
"Tekken, what do you think of our new mascot?" On-site commentator Henem Chrisman ran over and asked loudly, holding a microphone.
"It's very good. It cheers me up and has the most obvious effect, no less than a tube of adrenaline." Zhou Quan blurted out.
"Ha ha……"
All the fans burst into laughter.
Sitting on the floor, Scooby Bear feels very wronged. Although I am ugly, I am very gentle. Can't you see it?
In the next warm-up, Zhou Quan made consecutive three-pointers and made consecutive hits, which made the scene cheer after wave. It was not until the fifteenth time that Zhou Quan missed the shot, and there was a neat sigh from the scene.
"Zhou Quan is very popular in Seattle!" Zhang Lili said happily.
"Crossover madman, the latest FMVP, and just signed a contract with the highest average annual salary in the league, so he is not very popular!" Sun Zhenping said with a smile.
"I hope to have a good performance tonight." Zhang Liang said.
For Zhou Quan, this opening game is very important. The opponent is not strong, so a good start is definitely needed, and he also has to produce beautiful statistics and a wonderful and entertaining performance.
If not, he can be sure that what awaits him will be ridicule from the media. The blood-sucking media treated Jordan the same way, and it will only treat him worse.
…
At 8:28, the players are ready to take the field.
"Guys, come on."
Zhou Quan stood in front of the bench and motioned for his teammates to come over.
He stretched out his right hand and raised it above his head. Everyone immediately understood and put their hands over.
"What do we need tonight?" he shouted suddenly.
"victory!"
No one else reacted, but old teammate Rodman did and immediately shouted,
"victory!"
Only then did the others react and roared loudly.
"Go on."
Zhou Quan waved his hand and led the four starters onto the court.
"All five of the Sonics' starters are newcomers, which is very beneficial for Iron Fist to control the locker room. Looking at the current situation, he has already controlled the locker room very well." Bill Walton said.
"hehe……"
Lewis Williams suddenly laughed, looking overjoyed.
"Lewis, why are you laughing?" Bill Walton asked a little embarrassed.
Williams suppressed his laughter and said with a smile: "Bill, you don't even know who your schoolmate is. What did he just do?"
At this point, he did not wait for Bill Walton's answer and said directly: "He just defeated the Polish bad boy who is ranked 22nd in the WBC heavyweight world rankings, and he KOed his opponent in only three rounds. The scary thing is, The Polish bad boy didn’t even have an effective attack. For such a tough guy, do you think anyone would dare to disobey him in the locker room?”
Bill Walton burst out laughing, looking very happy, and said with a smile: "We at UCLA will definitely produce a world heavyweight boxing champion. Who dares to bet with me?"
"At least I don't," Williams laughed.
At this time the game started, jump ball, Lakers attack.
Zhou Quan got in front of Nick Van Exel.
Bill Walton immediately said: "Van Exel is the 10th pick in this year's second round. The pick is very low. The Lakers' main point guard Slater from last season is still there, but he is old. The team should think Train this rookie."
Nick Van Exel's character is a bit crazy and easy to get mad at, but facing Zhou Quan, his madness is somewhat difficult to match.
Because Zhou Quan's defensive deterrent is too great, especially his stealing ability. In the playoffs that just passed, he averaged 4.6 steals per game in 20 games. No matter who faced him, they were a little intimidated, let alone a rookie.
The more afraid you are, the easier it is to make mistakes. This is a truth.
"Snapped!"
Just when Van Exel just crossed the center line, Zhou Quan saw the opportunity to grab the ball and successfully knocked the ball away, completing a steal at the beginning.
"Oh oh oh... Iron Fist steals the rookie, he's fighting back!"
After Zhou Quan intercepted the ball and counterattacked, the SuperSonics fans had not yet reacted. On-site commentator Henem Chrisman reacted first and screamed excitedly, and then the Central Gymnasium erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
"Iron Fist's reaction speed is so fast! This makes his steals still extremely sharp." Bill Walton couldn't help but admire.
Zhou Quan held the ball and reached the free throw line, took off half a step, strolled in the air, drew his body into a bow, and then connected with a tomahawk chop.
"Oh ho!"
Bang, when the explosive sound of the basket exploded, all 15,000 SuperSonics fans collectively raised their arms and cheered.
"Ho ho ho..."
In the live commentary booth, Mike Jim screamed excitedly, and shouted excitedly: "I seem to have seen a small version of Rain Man, no, no, no, it's a flying man, it's a flying man. The iron fist is very stretched in the air." , very beautiful, and he is very happy to show off his explosive dunks to the Sonics fans."
"Zhou Quan currently weighs 92 kilograms. He gained two kilograms before the last professional boxing match. It is said that the increase is core strength. His ability to stay in the air should be improved, and his dunk action will be better!" Zhang Lili said in the CCTV commentary box. Excitedly.
"Now it should be called a small tank, a small tank with a speed of 80 miles per hour." Sun Zhenping said with a smile.
"Rookie, welcome to the NBA."
In the Lakers backcourt, Zhou Quan turned around and shouted at Van Exel who was catching the ball and advancing.
Although he is a rookie, Van Exel is several months older than Zhou Quan. Hearing this sentence, he was a little angry. When he was angry, he got aggressive. He wanted to fight one as soon as possible to show Zhou Quan his strength. .
Although he is only a second-round pick, he never underestimates himself and believes that he is underestimated. He should be selected in the lottery area. He needs a chance to perform now.
The Lakers gave him a chance and started him in the first game. As long as he performs on the head of the Iron Fist, he can step on the famous Iron Fist and become famous.
When he thought about the opportunity to become famous in the first game of his career, he was extremely excited and excited.
"Snapped!"
The next moment, Zhou Quan stepped forward to steal the ball again and completed the second steal of the opening game on Van Exel.
"What?"
Van Exel was confused. Was he cut off again? The crazy cheers from the crowd told him that it was true, and he was continuously intercepted by Iron Fist.
He wanted to turn around and pursue the defense, but the ball was intercepted in the backcourt. How could he have a chance to recover it?
"boom!"
Zhou Quan launched a counterattack after a steal at the top of the arc, took off four steps later, and performed a 360-degree turn dunk in the air, which instantly detonated the Seattle Center Stadium. The roaring cheers almost shook the old building. Dangers of old gymnasiums.
"The Sonics traded Rain Man, but got their own dunker." Lewis Williams laughed.
"Iron Fist also had a lot of dunks with the Pistons last season, and this season it's even better." Bill Walton said with a smile.
"Oh...oh...oh..."
Van Exel gasped with his mouth wide open. The pressure was very high and his head was very high. Now his brain was congested and he felt that his breathing was not smooth.
"Cover him!"
Lakers head coach Bill Potka shouted.
He is a scout and consultant for the Lakers. He is 66 years old. He is the founder of the Potka basketball scouting system. This system is widely used in both the NCAA and NBA. He has been working for the Lakers for more than 30 years. During the Show time era He served as Pat Riley's chief assistant. This time because the previous head coach resigned, he served as the head coach on an interim basis. This was also his first time as a head coach.
Shooting guard Tony Smith immediately came over to respond and also brought Kendall Gill over.
Kendall Gill was the No. 5 pick in the first round of 1990. He became the leader of the Charlotte Hornets in just two seasons. Together with Larry Johnson, he was known as the Hornets' double evil.
Good at both offense and defense, he was not afraid of confrontation on the defensive end, and was good at judging the opponent's passing routes and then stealing them. He even sent 11 steals in a single game in the future and won the title of steals king that season.
Van Exel saw Tony Smith coming, and due to Zhou Quan's intimidation, he immediately passed the ball.
"Snapped!"
Unexpectedly, Kendall Gill accurately judged the pass and stepped up in time to complete the steal.
"What?"
Future Madman Fan was confused, completely confused.
The on-site commentator Henem Chrisman joked loudly: "Hahaha, Iron Fist and Gil have gone too far. These are rookies, you can't go too far, haha..."
"The rookie is going to be screwed!"
McGim said with a smile.
Kendall Gill launched a counterattack and went to the basket but instead of making a layup, he pulled out and passed to Zhou Quan.
This opening game is the first game for the five Sonics starters in Seattle, and they all need to perform, but he knows very well that the protagonist tonight is Iron Fist, and the protagonist in the future will also be Iron Fist. He is no longer the Hornets and Iron Fist. If he competes for performance, the consequences may be the same as he was in the Hornets, being sold off.
But who is Zhou Quan? He is an absolutely traditional point guard who takes organizing assists as his first priority. He increased his offense with the Pistons last season, especially in the playoffs when there were so many offenses. He had no choice but to stand up and score. How can you steal your teammates' offensive opportunities now?
The ball was passed back and flew back to Gill's hands.
"boom!"
At this time, the defensive attention was all on Zhou Quan's side, and Kendall Gill was no longer polite. He hit the basket with a dunk.
"Asshole! Asshole..."
After being intercepted three times in a row at the beginning, Van Exel began to be incoherent and his confidence collapsed.
He then pushed forward with the ball, this time using a pick-and-roll to bypass Zhou Quan. When he pushed to the frontcourt, Zhou Quan caught up and blocked him in front.
"Will you be able to shoot?"
He had predicted it, because this rookie had been intercepted twice by him. How dare he break through with the ball in front of him?
"Whoosh!"
Sure enough, in the next moment, Nick Van Exel stood up in front of him and hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc.
The moment the opponent took off, he reacted defensively. His 96-level neural reaction speed means he has this extremely fast reaction speed, and his physical qualities can keep up with it. He can complete the technical action of taking off and blocking the shot in an instant.
"Snapped!"
With a precise strike, the ball flew away directly.
"Iron-blooded hat!"
The on-site commentator Mike Jim hissed.
"Oh ho!"
When the ball flew high into the air and flew out of the baseline, the whole place was filled with excitement.
The Lakers called a timeout. For protection purposes, the rookie was replaced. He played for more than a minute and made 0 of 1 shots. Six of the seven statistics were zero and he made three mistakes.
After the timeout, last season's main point guard Thadale Slater was replaced.
"brush!"
Divac singled out Perkins, beat him high and hit a mid-range shot.
During the Supersonic attack, Zhou Quan quickly advanced from the left wing with the ball and came to the three-point line. He did not stop, but accelerated and stepped past people. He directly broke through Slater, who was a little unable to keep up with him, and headed towards the basket. .
The other Lakers players quickly returned to defend the penalty area. Zhou Quan rushed in and jumped to a sudden stop. However, after the two defenders jumped to block the shot, a pass behind the head suddenly came without looking at anyone.
When Zhou Quan broke through with the ball, Schrempf also moved quickly on the left wing. At the moment Zhou Quan passed the ball, his position was exactly in Zhou Quan's blind spot behind him.
But Zhou Quan's prediction has now reached level 90, his spatial imagination has reached level 99, his memory has reached level 95, his passing has reached level 96, and his vision has reached advanced prediction vision. At the moment of emergency stop and take-off, in his mind , he actually relied on the Schrempf he saw at the last moment, as well as his strong spatial imagination and memory, to instantly simulate Schrempf the next second.
In other words, he prejudgmentally saw Schrempf at the next moment, and then decisively passed the ball without looking behind his head.
"nice shot!"
Schrempf was not surprised when he saw the ball flying over, and the passing position happened to be his favorite chest position. After receiving the ball, without any adjustments, he jumped directly and hit an open mid-range shot.
Iron Fist's pass without looking at people made many mistakes in team training at the beginning because everyone had no tacit understanding, but during this period he gradually got used to it. Although the tacit understanding is still not perfect, it has become better. The better it gets, the fewer mistakes it makes.
Anyway, when you are on the court, just be mentally prepared to catch the ball at any time, even behind Iron Fist.
"pretty!"
Zhang Lili praised excitedly and said excitedly: "This ball was passed beautifully. This is a real pass without looking at the person. Zhou Quan's passing ability has improved again, and his vision has also become better."
"Let's see if there are any more." Sun Zhenping said happily.
In the ABC commentary box, Bill Walton was very familiar with Zhou Quan, and he was a little surprised at this time: "If Tie Fist can often pass the ball without looking at people, and the turnover rate is not high, then his deterrence with the ball will be even greater. powerful."
"Look at the performance later." Williams nodded.
The Lakers ended up getting a big upset and lost the opening game.
91:128, the SuperSonics won by 37 points at home and got a good start.
The Sonics sent out 21 steals, the Lakers had 8 steals, and the Lakers made 29 turnovers. However, the Sonics also made a lot of mistakes, up to 18 times. The new starting lineup was the main reason why the Sonics made many mistakes.
Everyone has only been training together for a month, especially since the five starters have just arrived in the same team, and the tacit understanding is not enough.
For example, Zhou Quan made 5 turnovers in 31 minutes, all of which were passing and receiving errors.
The other one, a brand new starting lineup, has immature tactics, is even less familiar, and makes many mistakes.
But just like that, the Lakers were also defeated, which shows that the strength of this team has fallen to the bottom.
(End of chapter)
