Not far away, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was being interviewed.
"Karim, do you think Mosaic still has a chance?" the reporter asked.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar smiled and said: "There is definitely a chance. Next are their two home games. The home court advantage is an important factor that cannot be ignored."
The reporter asked again: "In fact, many media are very optimistic about Mosaic. Their lineup is really strong. ESPN believes that Mosaic's chance of reaching the finals is as high as 49%, only two percentage points lower than the SuperSonics.
So Karim, before the Western Conference Finals series, did you ever think that the Mosaic team would lose two consecutive away games? "
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said: "I said it before the series, Mosaic weakened the inside line, but the reinforced outside line still can't beat the SuperSonics outside line, and they are more likely to lose the Western Conference Finals.
As for the two consecutive away defeats, this is not the most important. They may pull back one or two games at home, but the final result will most likely not change. "
At this time, Dameng returned to the locker room. Although he lost his second consecutive game, his mood was not as broken as in the last game. The main reason was that his confidence was shattered in the last game and he lost too miserably. The situation in this game was much better. There is a chance to win, and he believes that when he returns to his home court, he will have a chance to win back.
"Rudy, we are still playing a little passively. Their flanking attack gives me a headache. It consumes more physical energy and is not efficient yet. You have to find a way to solve this problem." He said to head coach Tomjanovich .
Tomjanovich nodded and said: "Don't worry, Hakim, I will find a way."
Dameng added: "We must also strengthen our defense against Iron Fist and not let him do whatever he wants in our frontcourt."
Tomjanovich smiled bitterly in his heart and said: "Unless we have a defense as strong as the Bulls on the outside, it will be difficult to guard against him."
"You can play on the sidelines of zone defense." Dameng said.
Tomjanovich immediately shook his head and said: "They can defend you so much, but we don't need to defend them so much.
Because Tekken is the core player holding the ball, we can double-team him, either directly on the outside or when he breaks through with the ball. There is no need for side kicks in zone defense. "
"What should we do?"
Dameng couldn't help but become anxious. This won't work, and that won't work either. So what if we just have to wait to be eliminated?
Tomjanovich looked at the glider again. In these two games, Drexler's performance was very poor, with 17 points in one game and 15 points in the other. There was no offensive efficiency. Iron Fist's defense greatly restricted the glider. attack.
Let’s not talk about the first game. Tekken’s defense in that game was terrible, but in this game Tekken switched to a glider, and the glider’s performance was completely unsatisfactory.
He knows very well that if the glider cannot be used, then this lineup will not be as good as last year. At least last year, with Thorpe, the inside was stronger than it is now.
"Clyde, do you have anything to say?" he asked.
Glider smiled bitterly and said: "Although Tekken didn't have a terrible game tonight, he still had 6 steals and 3 blocks. He also played top-notch defense. We must find a way to get rid of his defense, otherwise our outside offense, even inside offense, will They will all be subject to his defense."
Tomjanovich nodded heavily, yes, defense. Only by getting rid of the Iron Fist defense can you have a chance to defeat the Sonics.
No, after getting rid of his defense, you have to restrict him on the offensive end to defeat him.
However, mosaic cannot be done on either end now.
Inside, without Thorpe, Dameng alone still has an advantage, but in terms of rebounding, secondary offense, defense, etc., there is no advantage.
On the outside, Iron Fist is unstoppable on the offensive end, and on the defensive end, he can suppress half of Mosaic's outside lines by himself, and can also help defend the inside line.
"Can you still fail this time? How can I get through this level?"
Heavy pressure weighed on his heart, making him breathless.
…
Mosaic lost two consecutive away games, which immediately caused many American media and commentators to change their views on the series.
ESPN's prediction of the chances of advancing to the Western Conference Finals is 51% for the SuperSonics and 49% for the Mosaic. They revised the data overnight to 65% and 35% for the Mosaic, making them the same as the two Eastern Conference teams.
No media mentions Mosaic's resilience anymore, because Mosaic didn't show any resilience against the Sonics in last year's Western Conference Finals.
Even the media in Houston were very frustrated and lost confidence in the Western Conference Finals.
"We have one foot out!" Houston Chronicle.
"If we had a Michael Jordan on the outside, we would sweep the Sonics, but unfortunately we don't, so avoid being swept. That's the only way we can stay decent." Houston Sports News.
…
"boom!"
At 9 o'clock on the 25th, in the hotel restaurant, when Olajuwon saw the news from the Houston Sports News, he was so angry that he punched the dining table.
"Are we going to get swept away?"
Staring fiercely with a pair of fierce eyes and a fierce face, Dameng gritted his teeth and yelled at his teammates:
"Those bastard media will only destroy our morale. Our goal is to win, to reach the finals, to kill that Iron Fist guy, not to think about avoiding being swept. That should never be our goal. What do you think?"
The morale of the Mosaic team is indeed a bit low. When Dameng asked the question, no one said anything, and they all kept their heads down and worked.
"You bastards, cowards, weaklings!" Dameng yelled.
Glider's face was a little ugly. As Dameng's old friend, he was also the one who was scolded, but his character was like this. He didn't want to say anything. He just calmly advised: "Hakim, calm down, we don't want to lose either." ball."
"Hakim, calm down." Head coach Tomjanovich also advised.
Dameng calmed down somewhat and said: "I'm sorry, I'm not targeting you. I just don't want to lose again. We have to win it back. We can't fall at the feet of Iron Fist every time and let him humiliate us."
In the bad atmosphere, after having breakfast, the Mosaic team went back to the room to pack their luggage, and then took the bus to the airport.
The Supersonics were not in such a hurry. They set off at one o'clock at noon, arrived in Houston at almost four o'clock, and arrived at the hotel at a quarter past five.
After dinner, agent Philip contacted Zhou Quan.
"Zhou, the promoter for your next boxing match has been arranged."
"who?"
"I thought about it for so long and eliminated a lot of promoters, only Don King and Bob Arum are left. You know them, right?"
"certainly."
“I chose Bob Arum.”
"Yes, I don't like Don King, and Michael Tyson said he was a vampire."
"That's why I know you don't like him."
"What about the opponent?" Zhou Quan asked again.
"The opponent is selected by the WBC, the former WBO world heavyweight champion, Michael Muller." Philip said.
"It's him?"
Zhou Quan nodded. This is a quite famous world boxing champion, on the same level as Michael Tyson, Holyfield, Lewis, and Riddick Bowe.
"Yes, he will be the first American professional boxer you face in the ring. I will give you his information and I will come over tomorrow." Philip said.
That night, the G2 game of the Eastern Conference Finals began.
O'Neal showed off his power and destroyed the Bulls' interior. He made 17 of 24 shots, with a shooting percentage of over 70%, and scored 38 points and 16 rebounds.
But Anfernee Hardaway didn't perform well, making only 6 of 15 shots, shooting only 40%, and only got 18 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists.
Jordan made 10 of 23 shots, a shooting percentage of 43.5%, and 2 of 4 three-pointers. His shooting rate was average, but he made a lot of free throws, 15 of 16 free throws, and scored 37 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers, and 2 fouls. data.
Pippen scored a near-triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists, but his shooting percentage was less than 40%, but he also sent 3 steals.
The Bulls team had a total of 12 steals, while the Magic only had 4, and the Bulls had 4 more rebounds. The Magic's shooting percentage was 7 percentage points higher, but the Magic made as many as 17 turnovers, while the Bulls only had 7.
In the end, the Bulls relied on their strong perimeter defense to defeat the Magic with higher offensive efficiency at home again, 88:93, and achieved their second consecutive victory.
After Zhou Quan watched the game, it was not that O'Neal was not strong enough, but just like Big Dream, the Bulls controlled the outside and controlled the game.
The Magic only lost by 5 points, but made 10 more turnovers. If there were fewer mistakes, the Bulls might lose.
This is the same as the SuperSonics defeating Mosaic. Mosaic made as many as 29 turnovers in the G1 game, while the Sonics only made 8, which was 21 more. The G2 game also had 8 more turnovers than the Sonics.
A team must have the ball in the hands of the outside. When the outside is suppressed by the opponent, the number of mistakes will increase, the offense will not be successful, and losing will become inevitable.
"In the same way of winning, the Bulls and SuperSonics both defeated teams with super centers with their strong perimeter offense and defense. So far, the two super guards have had an absolute advantage in the series." New York Times.
"Those who have the inside will win the world, but in the past ten years, this rule seems to be wrong. Now it is the one who has the outside, the world." Washington Post.
The next day, the 26th, both the Magic and Mosaic were criticized by the media, while the Bulls and SuperSonics were touted by the media.
At noon that day, Philip arrived in Houston, and Zhou Quan met him in a restaurant.
"Zhou, the contract with Bob Arum has been signed, and his company will invest $65 million in promotion starting tomorrow."
"In addition, your appearance fee is 20 million US dollars, which is double that of the last boxing match. The WBC will take 5% of the appearance fee, which is a fixed fee. By the way, Michael Muller's is 15 million, which is not as high as yours. , his influence is not as big as yours, and he has little exposure. The high exposure of the NBA will help you a lot."
"In terms of PPV, you have 60% and Michael Muller has 40%. But Bob Arum will take 30% first, and you will share the rest. In terms of box office and advertising revenue, you and Michael Muller will share 5% and 2% respectively. %."
"By the way, the PPV sales price is US$78, which is a very high price. I hope there will be a good result."
Zhou Quan asked: "Has the time been set?"
"It's settled, I'll give you three months, and it will be held in Las Vegas on September 15th. I fought for it, but Michael Muller didn't agree to fight in Los Angeles, and the WBC didn't agree either. They all thought that Los Angeles was your This boxing match must be held at a third-party venue."
"which hotel?"
"The MGM Grand, it can hold 20,000 people."
"good."
"Bob Arum has prepared a training team for you. They are all the best people in the world, including the best sparring partners. By the way, this is Michael Muller's information."
Zhou Quan took a piece of paper and several CDs. After putting the CDs in, he read the contents on the paper.
Michael Muller is 188 centimeters tall, the same as himself, and weighs 101 kilograms, 9 kilograms heavier than himself.
Born in 1967, he is now 27 years old. He is at the peak of his age. He is a left-handed boxing champion. His attacks are tricky and fierce, his jabs are quite lethal, and his punches are powerful.
The most important achievement was defeating former world boxing champion Cooper in 1992 and winning the heavyweight world boxing championship gold belt from WBO, the four major boxing organizations in the world.
In April 1994, he defeated Holyfield in 12 rounds and became the WBA and IBF heavyweight world double champion.
In November 1994, despite having the advantage, he was suddenly hit hard by Foreman in the 10th round. He was knocked out of the ring and lost all his titles.
The current WBC heavyweight rankings are sixth in the world. The top five are all current world boxing champions or former world boxing champions. The same is true for Michael Muller.
"Being able to defeat Holyfield, being able to fight Foreman to the tenth round, and even having the advantage before, it's just that Foreman seized the opportunity to hit hard, Zhou, his strength is definitely the best, you Don't be careless." Philip warned cautiously.
"I know."
"However, his punching power is the worst among the world boxing champions at the same level as him. It is not as good as Tyson, Lewis, and Holyfield, but it is definitely stronger than you. You must be careful not to be beaten by him. The blow was solid.
By the way, his playing style is somewhat similar to Holyfield's. You can refer to Holyfield's playing style. "
"Okay, I get it."
Zhou Quan looked at it, put the paper away, and then said: "The current head of WBC is Oliver McCall, right?"
Philip nodded and said: "Michael Tyson's former sparring partner had a stronger ability to withstand beatings than the David Tua you defeated. All of Tyson's sparring partners were knocked unconscious and injured by him. They couldn't last long. Only McCall could bear it. Withstand his punch.
In September last year, he directly knocked out world boxing champion Lewis in the second round, which was a big upset. This guy is very powerful. "
Zhou Quan smiled and said: "I guess Lewis must have shed tears secretly."
"Pfft, getting knocked out in the second round is really possible." Philip couldn't help laughing.
That night, the G3 game of the Western Conference Finals began.
"victory!"
Mosaic returned to the home court. With the support of countless home team fans, the momentum surged. When they came on the field, the victory shouts shook the earth.
In this game, 100:108, Mosaic finally relied on its home court advantage to defeat the SuperSonics and pull back a game. The two sides tied at 2-1.
Zhou Quan still performed well, scoring 32 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 5 fouls, and his shooting percentage was 54.5%.
He defended Kenny Smith in the first half and Glider in the second half, both with good results. No matter who faced him, he was suppressed.
Unfortunately, Dameng was in super explosive form, making 16 of 24 shots, a shooting percentage of 66.7%, and 13 of 14 free throws. He scored 45 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 7 blocks.
"We won! Let's win another game in the next game. As long as we win one more game, the final winner must be us." Back in the locker room, the excited Dameng shouted to his teammates.
Glider was also very excited. He saw a little hope of reaching the finals.
He performed better today than in the last game, scoring 22 points.
But he still couldn't break through Iron Fist's defense. His main performance was in the first half. Neither Kendall Gill nor McMillan could guard him in the first half and scored 15 points. However, in the second half, Iron Fist defended him and he only scored 15 points. Arrived at 7 minutes.
Mosaic's comeback immediately changed the media's perception, and reports about Mosaic's resilience abounded the next day.
However, starting from this day, Zhou Quan's boxing match promoters also began to promote boxing matches, and overwhelming advertisements were seen in major media.
This is not only a promotion in the United States, but also a world-class promotion. The news reports of this boxing match are on the front pages of major media in the world.
From a global perspective, Zhou Quan's boxing match news attention far exceeds that of the NBA playoffs. Even in the United States, it is still ahead of the NBA.
David Stern has a headache. Isn't it good to promote the game after the playoffs? What are you doing to steal the NBA's limelight? Is it easy for me to pull the NBA to this point?
Countless media called Zhou Quan, but his phone was turned off and he refused all interviews. He did not want to be distracted by the boxing match. For now, the playoffs are the most important to him.
(End of chapter)
