"Charles, the Suns have fallen out of the first tier of teams. What do you think of this change? Do you think it is caused by your lack of team leadership?" a reporter asked at the Suns' media day.
Buckley was so angry that his nose was crooked. What kind of bullshit is this?
He said angrily: "We are still a championship team. Not all the media are blind. We have strengthened a lot this season. Danny Manning, the No. 1 pick we got, with his help, we will kill Enter the finals and compete for the championship.”
"Michael Jordan is most optimistic about the Sonics, but not you and Mosaic. What do you think of his attitude?" the reporter asked.
Barkley snorted: "He just wants to kill Iron Fist the most. It doesn't mean that our strength is not as good as the SuperSonics. In fact, the SuperSonics' strength is just like that, without much reinforcement. Their reinforcement is far inferior to ours. We are the ones who The first team in the Western Conference.”
On the 3rd, the league and several major television broadcasters announced the number of national television broadcasts for the new season.
The Bulls are still first with 40 games, the SuperSonics are still second with 37 games, the Knicks are third with 36 games, and the Mosaics are fourth with 32 games.
From this data analysis, it can be seen that several major TV broadcasters are also very optimistic about these four first-tier teams.
The SuperSonics management is very happy to have such a high number of national live broadcasts again. Last season, the team reached the finals and earned nearly 15 million US dollars. The market has jumped from the fourth tier to the second tier. , reaching the scale of Chicago, Houston, Boston, and Miami.
After the SuperSonics' average ticket price soared 260% last season, the new season has skyrocketed again by 35% based on last season. It has increased more than three times in two seasons, but the sales of season tickets are very hot. The work has been completed. The season operations are in very good shape.
Especially after Zhou Quan publicly announced his goals for this season on Media Day, the response from local media and fans was very enthusiastic. The SuperSonics have even become the most watched professional team in Seattle, both in terms of ratings and popularity. Lost to rugby.
…
On November 4, 1994, the opening game of the NBA's 1994/95 regular season began.
The SuperSonics' opening game is against the Jazz at home. At 8 p.m., both sides will announce their starting lineups.
Jazz: Felton Spencer, Karl Malone, David Benoit, Jeff Hornacek, John Stockton
SuperSonics: Matt Geiger, Rodman, Schrempf, Kendall Gill, Zhou Quan
George Carter arranged for Geiger, who was 213 centimeters and 110 kilograms, to be the starting center, and used him to fight against Jazz center Spencer, who was the same height and 120 kilograms.
The game was broadcast live across the country on NBC. The commentators were James Worthy, the recently retired superstar of the Lakers, and John Moore, the retired Spurs guard of the 1980s.
"Make a bet, one dollar, John. The Sonics have a better chance of winning this game than the Jazz." James Worthy said.
"NO, a dollar is money, I won't give it to you in vain." John Moore said very decisively.
James Worthy laughed and said: "Sure enough, Iron Fist is John Stockton's nemesis and has been recognized in the league."
John Moore shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile: "The Jazz's lineup has not changed from last season, but the SuperSonics have strengthened the fifth position, and the Iron Fist's restraint against Stockton, the Jazz needs to watch if they want to win. The face of the Sonics, unless the Sonics are collectively out of shape, they will have a chance."
James Worthy suddenly sighed: "Iron Fist just signed a super contract of more than 60 million US dollars, with an average annual salary of 13 million US dollars per season, and I played for twelve seasons, which added up to 13.5 million US dollars. The football market now is much better than it was back then."
John Moore said with a wry smile: "I only have two million in nine seasons, so I need to work now. James, Iron Fist's salary is not the bulk of his income. If you think about how much money he makes in a boxing match, you will be even more jealous." his."
"Oh, don't mention that, okay? When it comes to that, I regret not crossing over." James Worthy laughed.
"What project can you cross?" John Moore quipped.
"You can't underestimate me. I have also practiced many sports, such as baseball and rugby." James Worthy smiled.
At this time, the starting team came out. Because it was the opening game, SuperSonics fans did not boo the visiting team much. When the home team started playing, overwhelming cheers began. When Zhou Quan came on the court, the cheering reached its peak.
Xu Jicheng came to the NBA for the first time. He was so excited and nervous that he was sweating profusely. When he saw Zhou Quan coming out and the crowd cheering, he said excitedly: "You can't see this scene in China. The first-level league players The atmosphere is nowhere near as good as here.”
Zhang Liji said with a smile: "We don't have such a big venue in China now. It would be good if it could seat a few thousand people. However, domestic basketball has developed well in the past two years and is catching up with football."
"Yep……"
Xu Jicheng nodded repeatedly and said: "In the past two years, I have chased a lot. This is all due to the influence of Zhou Quan and the NBA."
…
Sitting on the bench, Zhou Quan's system panel popped up.
New season mission: championship.
Mission reward: Reward prediction +5, physical fitness +1.
After losing in the finals last time, Mao didn't get any rewards. He played a whole season in vain. This time, the task requirements were reduced, but the rewards were also less, and there was no reward of +2 injury resistance.
Zhou Quan was a little disappointed. In fact, it would be better to be able to resist injuries. He wanted to be able to resist injuries more.
Just then, a new prompt appeared.
Regular season tasks: Hosts are asked to join the 20+10 Club and the 180 Club during the regular season, be fully present, and average more than 35 minutes per game.
Mission rewards: Resistance to injury +2, jumping +1, agility +1, strength +1.
"I X!"
His jaw almost dropped when he saw this mission.
Needless to say, the difficulty of this mission is hellish, but the rewards are rich, even better than the rewards for the championship.
Especially strength. It is of great significance to gain +1 strength without gaining weight.
Moreover, the simultaneous improvement of strength and agility means that his explosive power will also increase, and explosive power means that he will have more powerful striking power. In boxing, his hard hitting power will be strengthened.
The first is the requirement of full attendance, which requires that he should not suffer any injuries, and even if he has a minor injury, he must play with it.
Fortunately, the system is very considerate of him and only requires an average of more than 35 minutes per game. If he has a slight injury, he can come up and come down immediately.
Needless to say, 20+10 club, 20 points and 10 assists is not difficult for him. It is extremely difficult for the so-called 180 club to get this data.
The shooting rate is 50%, the three-point shooting rate is 40%, and the free throw shooting rate is 90%, which adds up to 180%. This is the requirement for personal offensive efficiency.
At the same time, it is also required that the season shooting percentage is no less than 300 goals, including no less than 82 three-pointers and no less than 125 free throws.
In the history of the league, the first person to enter the 180 club was Larry Bird, and he only entered the 180 club twice.
The second player was Mark Price, who entered once.
The third player is his senior Reggie Miller, who entered the 180 club just last season.
So far, only these three people have entered the 180 Club, only four times in total. Even Jordan, the current number one player, is not eligible to enter.
What's more, the system's requirements are more stringent than those of the league. It also stipulates full attendance and average playing time per game, making it more difficult to complete.
For him, it is not difficult to score 300 goals, nor is it difficult to shoot free throws. He can complete these two items without any difficulty.
But the difficulty of three-pointers is not small, because shooting three-pointers is not very popular now, and the requirement for 82 three-pointers is to hit at least one per game. Based on a 40% shooting rate, he must average at least one shot per game. 2.5 three-pointers.
Last season, his three-pointers were 0.7 out of 1.8, with a shooting percentage of 38.9%, which did not meet the requirements of the 180 club.
Fortunately, he is undergoing shooting training. As the shooting training is almost completed, his basic shooting skills will become better, and there is no chance of reaching a 40% three-point shooting rate.
However, he decided not to shoot too many three-pointers before the shooting training task was completed. After the shooting training task was completed and the basic shooting skills were further improved, he could increase the number of three-pointers, which would make it easier to complete the task.
…
At eight o'clock, the game officially begins.
Jump ball, Sonics offense.
"brush!"
On the first goal, Schrempf carried David Benoit on the left wing and received the ball from Zhou Quan. He shook his opponent with a back-up shot, then made a jump shot and hit a goal.
Jazz attack.
Stockton quickly advanced to the left wing and took the initiative to use the cover of small forward David Benoit to get rid of Zhou Quan, but Zhou Quan was faster, bypassed David Benoit, and blocked him again.
At this time, Schrempf quickly assisted in the defense and formed a double-team on Stockton with Zhou Quan. David Benoit, who was on the side, quickly took a step outward, and Stockton immediately passed the ball.
"Snapped!"
Zhou Quan reacted too quickly, stole the ball directly, and then took advantage of the situation.
"Oh oh oh……"
Cheers began to ring out.
"boom!"
After crossing the free throw line, he took off, turned 360 degrees in the air, and then followed up with a tomahawk dunk, and the Jazz's basket was instantly exploded.
"oh!"
The moment the basket exploded, the cheers on the scene reached its peak.
"Oh! A fast break after the steal, a fancy dunk, and the Iron Fist show begins now." On-site commentator Henem Chrisman roared excitedly.
"People in Seattle want to see dunks like this every night," McGimm said with a smile.
Zhang Lili laughed at this time: "The Jazz's back line, plus the small forwards, none of them can catch up with Zhou Quan's speed. In the game against the Jazz, Zhou Quan rarely made fast breaks after stealing from the outside. Failure. The Jazz were indeed restrained by Zhou Quan's team and could not make a splash in the hands of the SuperSonics."
Xu Jicheng stared at the screen and listened to the huge cheers in his ears. He seemed very excited and said with a smile: "Watching the game live is different. I want to thank Teacher Sun."
"Teacher Xu, don't be too happy, maybe I will take your place next year."
In China, Sun Zhenping, who was watching the game with others on stage, couldn't help but laugh.
"Teacher Sun, do you want to go again?" someone asked.
Sun Zhenping said with a smile: "Although I can't take care of my family there, it feels really good to watch the football live. However, I'm afraid it will be a bit difficult to go again. After one or two seasons of Mr. Xu's rotation, will the station choose one?" In the past, young people with families were not suitable for those with families.”
Seattle, the game continues.
As Zhang Lili said, the Jazz really couldn't make trouble in the hands of the SuperSonics, and the SuperSonics finally got a good start.
Zhou Quan played 35 minutes, making 12 of 18 shots, a shooting percentage of 66.7%, 2 of 5 three-pointers, and 8 of 8 free throws. He scored 34 points, 15 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls.
He prevented Stockton from making only 2 of 11 shots, made 6 turnovers, stole 3 times, and blocked 1 shot.
The Sonics' second game was a few days later. On the 9th, they welcomed the Kings at home. After two consecutive victories, on the 11th, they welcomed the Suns at home.
However, Barkley was injured before the new season and will be out for at least two weeks, so this Suns team is incomplete.
On the evening of the 11th, Central Gymnasium.
At half past six, Zhou Quan's Ferrari drove into the parking lot.
"Hey, Iron Fist."
As soon as he got out of the car, Barkley's voice rang out. Zhou Quan turned around and saw Barkley and a group of Suns players coming over.
"Hey, Flying Pig."
He raised his hand, said hello with a smile, and said: "You won a lot in my last boxing match, right? You don't want to invite me to dinner?"
Buckley's face suddenly darkened. I'll give you a hammer.
Thinking of the two hundred thousand dollars he had lost, he suddenly lost interest in talking to Zhou Quan. He snorted coldly and turned around and left.
"Hey, Iron Fist."
Lightning Kevin Johnson and Zhou Quan said hello and followed.
With Barkley absent, the Sonics won their first three consecutive victories and came to Los Angeles on the 12th.
On this day, the league announced the player of the first week, which was won by Zhou Quan.
At the same time, the league also announced the MVP ranking list for this season for the first time. Zhou Quan ranked first with the strongest data and three consecutive victories.
After three games, he averaged 36 minutes per game, 30.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 4 steals, 1.7 blocks, 2.5 turnovers and 2.8 fouls per game.
Ranked first in the league in assists per game, shooting 53.2% from the field, third in points per game, first in steals per game, ranking first among defenders in blocks per game, and as a core point guard, assist-to-turnover ratio Reaching 6.12, the passing stability is very high, ranking first in the league.
After four consecutive victories, the SuperSonics ushered in a wave of four away games.
On the 15th, they defeated the Nets and won five consecutive games. On the 16th, Rodman was injured and the SuperSonics lost to the Green Team in back-to-back away games, their first defeat of the new season.
In the subsequent away game on the 23rd, Rodman continued to miss the game, and the Sonics lost to the Jazz. The Sonics achieved a record of 8 wins and 2 losses.
At two o'clock in the afternoon on the 24th, the team arrived in San Antonio.
Some media have listed the Spurs as the first-tier team, and their strength is indeed good. Admiral David Robinson has been in the league for 5 seasons, all of which have 20+10. The strength of the super center can raise the team's strength to a higher level, even if the lineup is No matter how bad it is, it is still a team in the playoff series.
However, Rodman returned and grabbed 18 rebounds in the game. The Sonics still defeated the Spurs and won their ninth victory.
Next, the SuperSonics will rush to Houston overnight and will play against Mosaic in back-to-back games tomorrow.
(End of chapter)
