On the 27th, the Bulls defeated the Magic three times and secured a point in the Eastern Conference Finals.
After the game, many major media immediately updated their forecast data.
ESPN's original relevant data was that the Magic had a 35% chance of advancing to the Finals, but now it has become 1%, and the Bulls' chance of advancing is 99%.
After the G2 game of the Western Conference Finals, the SuperSonics' probability of advancing to the Finals was 65%. After losing the G3 game, it is now 55%, a ten percentage point drop.
As for the championship prediction data, the original Bulls were 35%, SuperSonics 25%, Mosaic 23%, and Magic 17%. Now the Bulls have been adjusted to 64%, SuperSonics 20%, Mosaic 15%, and Magic 1%.
"Shark, why are you dissatisfied with me?"
Zhou Quan called O'Neal and asked sincerely.
"Iron Fist, what do you mean?"
After losing 0 to 3 and being eliminated was almost certain, O'Neal was in a terrible mood. Hearing Zhou Quan's words, he asked unhappily.
"At any rate, you win one or two games. It will use up the physical strength of the bull. If you continue to fight like this, a sweep will be a foregone conclusion. It is us who will suffer the loss!" Zhou Quan said dissatisfiedly.
"Iron Fist, just wait for me, and I will knock them over and show you." O'Neal roared angrily.
"The difficulty is still very high. Anfernee Hardaway can't make a splash in Jordan's hands. Shark, you better come to me. Together, we can win three consecutive championships." Zhou Quan said with a smile.
"Bah, you do magic." O'Neal said angrily.
"You idiot, I can go to Magic, but will I be thrown to the West?" Zhou Quan cursed.
"I don't care, anyway, I'm in the Magic, and this is my home team. Iron Fist, you have no chance to conquer the city, but I want to conquer the city." O'Neal said proudly.
"You idiot, this is the era of super guards. Maybe in the eyes of your management, penny is more important than you." Zhou Quan scolded.
"That's impossible, absolutely impossible! I'm the most important one." Shaquille O'Neal immediately roared.
After making the call, Zhou Quan went to bed.
From the beginning of this season, he made a request to the team and applied for a single room.
According to the requirements of the Sleeping Alchemy Technique, lie on your side, adjust your breathing, relax your body and mind, and bring all your thoughts into unity, and slowly there will be fewer and fewer distracting thoughts...
…
On the 28th, the G4 game of the Western Conference Finals.
At eight o'clock, both sides announced the starting lineup.
Mosaic: Olajuwon, Pete Chilkat, Robert Horry, Drexler, Kenny Smith
SuperSonics: Almon Gilliam, Rodman, Schrempf, Kendall Gill, Zhou Quan
At this time, in a private bar room of a hotel in Orlando, a group of Bulls players including Jordan and Pippen were playing cards.
Jordan's luck was average and he lost thousands of dollars. If it was the past, he would definitely not be in a good mood at this time, but it doesn't matter today. He has the Eastern Conference Finals points in hand. The key is that the Bulls will almost certainly advance to the finals first and occupy the first place. Because of my physical strength, I was in a very good mood and didn’t care about losing a small amount of money.
Pippen smiled and said: "Michael, maybe they will tie at two to two. That would be a big plus for us."
"Scotty, I hope your thoughts come true."
Michael Jordan smiled and nodded, picked up the wine glass and took a sip. After putting down the glass, he rolled up his sleeves and continued playing cards.
At the Compaq Center Arena, in the ABC commentary box, Bill Walton analyzed: "The state of the G3 game against the Dream was really good, just like the Iron Fist in the G1 game, so the SuperSonics also lost without temper, and this I think every game still depends on the performance of Dameng and Tekken, and their performance determines the outcome of both sides."
Williams smiled and said: "At home, with the support of the fans, the whistle will have a certain bias, which is conducive to the performance of the home team and has a greater chance of playing a super explosive state.
The visiting team is subject to the home atmosphere and is suppressed by so many fans, so it is natural that their performance will be poor. "
"So Lewis, who do you favor in this game?" Bill Walton asked.
Williams pondered and then said: "From a home and away perspective, I am more optimistic about Mosaic winning another game. But in terms of lineup, as long as the SuperSonics grasp the advantage of the perimeter, as long as the Dream cannot play the super explosive performance in the last game In this state, the Sonics have a better chance of winning."
Bill Walton nodded and said: "It makes sense. Even though Iron Fist's performance is very stable, other Sonics will also be affected in the away game. Who wins and who loses in the end depends on their on-the-spot performance."
Williams added: "If Mosaic wants to win, in addition to the performance of Da Meng, the performance of Kenny Smith and Drexler is also very important.
The team is in their hands and it is up to them to organize the offense. Once they are unable to perform, it will be difficult for Dameng to win without outside support, even if Dameng is in excellent form.
The Sonics' perimeter defense can indeed suppress Mosaic's perimeter. Just an iron fist can suppress half of Mosaic's perimeter with only ordinary performance. If he performs super well like in the G1 game, his defense can even suppress half of Mosaic's perimeter. . "
At this time, in the home team's locker room, the starting lineup was about to start. Head coach Tomjanovich finally said: "I only have one request, don't worry about the iron fist, and don't care how far you are from the basket. As long as you have a slight opening, take a decisive shot immediately. "
In this game, his outside offensive strategy was to seize the opportunity to take action first before the Sonics' defense was in place.
He analyzed a lot and found that this method was the only one that worked.
…
"Victory! Victory..."
At 8:30, when the game started, the home fans’ cheers were earth-shattering.
Jumping the ball, Dameng was too excited and jumped a little early, and the Supersonics attacked.
Zhou Quan passed by the midline and started to break through when he was near the top of the arc. He burst from the right side to the right elbow area, attracting the help of the glider to double-team.
"Shh!"
When the Sonics were on offense, the boos at the Compaq Center didn't stop, and the buzzing made everyone lose their hearing.
"Whoosh!"
Zhou Quan was very calm. When the glider double-teamed him, his ball flew to Kendall Gill outside the three-point line.
Kendall Gill didn't have three-pointers before, but after additional training in the offseason, three-pointers have become his regular weapon this season. He averaged 2.3 and 0.9 shots per game, and his shooting percentage reached 36.8%, which was only the lowest among the team. Yu Schrempf's 51.4%, Zhou Quan's 40.4%, and Matthew Leonis's 40.2%.
He had the ball in his hand. Although the glider was returning to defense, it was still two meters away, so he took the shot calmly.
When he shot, Mosaic fans in the audience behind the baseline shook the things they had prepared in their hands, trying to interfere with his shot.
The moment he took action, his attention and vision were disrupted.
"boom!"
A little wide, Dameng grabbed the rebound.
"damn it!"
He couldn't help but cursed bitterly, but he was helpless because this was an away game, and it was the same at his home court.
"This is the home field advantage. No matter what the visiting team does, it will be interfered by the home fans." Bill Walton said.
Looking back, the Mosaic team attacked, Zhou Quan defended Kenny Smith, and the glider Drexler attacked with the ball.
"brush!"
The Glider retaliated, taking a fake shot from beyond the right wing three-point line and hitting a three-pointer over Kendall Gill's head.
Zhou Quan held the ball to the left side of the top of the arc. This time he broke through from the left elbow area. After attracting Horry's defense, he distributed the ball to Schrempf.
He hopes to activate his teammates' touch from the beginning. If he plays alone in the away game without the support of his teammates, he will lose 100%.
In this team, he trusts Schrempf the most in terms of offense. Schrempf is also the team's second scoring point, averaging 18 points per game. This season's regular season shooting rate is as high as 52.3%. More than 50% of the points were scored.
Schrempf caught the ball outside the left three-point line. Horry turned around and pounced on him, but he was at least two meters away. At this time, the home fans behind the baseline were frantically interfering with him.
"Three points?"
The moment Schrempf took action, Zhang Lili shouted loudly.
"brush!"
The water splashed and he hit a three-pointer.
"Beautiful! Schrempf received Zhou Quan's pass very steadily and hit an open three-pointer." Xu Jicheng said happily.
Mosaic attack.
Kenny Smith took the ball to the frontcourt, and the glider came from the right wing to set up a pick-and-roll. Kenny Smith did not open the ball. He just went behind the glider and shot a three-pointer.
"brush!"
"Oh ho!"
As the crisp sound of basket cleaning sounded, Compaq Center instantly burst into joy.
"It's so accurate! Mosaic made 2 of 2 three-pointers in the opening game. It seems that they are in good shape tonight and are very daring to take action." Bill Walton said in surprise.
"Both shot two three-pointers at the beginning. Are they going to fight for three-pointers?" Williams was also surprised.
Bill Walton nodded and said: "Both teams have a group of people who can shoot three-pointers, and both teams have three-pointer tactics."
Williams said: “On the SuperSonics side, Iron Fist, Kendall Gill, Schrempf, Vincent Atius, and McMillan can all shoot three-pointers.
On the Mosaic side, not counting the reimbursed lunatics, Kenny Smith, Drexler, Robert Horry, Mario Elie, Sam Cassel, Chilkat, these people all have three points. "
3:6, Zhou Quan made a passing error and Mosaic attacked.
Chilkat pulled to the three-point line, Almon Gilliam followed, and Rodman defended Dream under the basket.
"boom!"
Dameng entered the basket and asked for the ball. Glider hoisted the ball in from the right wing. He received the ball and dunked sideways, past Rodman.
Zhang Lili said: "Da Meng has a huge advantage when he hits the big bug under the basket. Rodman alone cannot guard against this kind of ball. He must rely on the help of defense at the basket."
Xu Jicheng nodded and said, "Zhou Quan has just gone down to help defend, so he was a little late."
Zhang Lili analyzed: "In fact, the most correct defense is to first establish a steel defense line on the outside, instead of helping to defend the basket after Dameng receives the ball."
3:8, Mosaic made 3 of 3 shots and the SuperSonics attacked.
Gilliam didn't have a three-pointer, but he had a mid-range shot and moved to the left wing. Chilkat followed to the left midfielder and could return to the basket at any time.
Zhou Quan broke through with the ball, and Kenny Smith's defense was overwhelmed. He broke through from the left end of the free throw line and took a step into the paint. Chilkat at the left midfielder blocked the front. The next moment, his ball flew towards Ji. Liem.
"Vote!" Zhang Lili shouted.
"brush!"
Although there were strong interference from countless home fans and Chilkat also came back to defend, Gilliam calmly took the shot and hit a mid-range shot.
"Good job Almon."
Zhou Quan praised him and gave Gilliam a high five.
Gilliam is much better than Sam Perkins last season, scoring about the same, but better in efficiency and rebounding ability.
And he is also the third scoring point of the Sonics. Although he is only as tall as a power forward, his shooting percentage exceeds 50%.
5:8, mosaic attack.
"Defense!"
Zhou Quan shouted loudly.
On the right wing, Kenny Smith, assisted by Glider, carried the ball across the frontcourt and outside the three-point line. At this time, Glider ran over again to set up a pick-and-roll.
"Be careful with the pick-and-roll!" Zhang Lili warned loudly.
Before the glider was in place, Zhou Quan rushed to get close to him and immediately forced Kenny Smith to give up the pick and roll. He moved the ball to the right and broke down the right sideline. He immediately chased after him, and finally Kenny Smith was forced to the right. From the bottom corner, I had to force the shot.
"Snapped!"
The moment the Jets took off with the ball, he quickly reached out and knocked the ball away, then grabbed it in his hand and completed the steal.
"Beautiful! Just defend like this and don't give them a chance to pass the ball to Dameng. Especially when Dameng is under the basket." Zhang Lili shouted excitedly.
Kendall Gill quickly stepped down, and the glider was one step behind. Zhou Quan passed the ball, and the ball flew over the heads of the two. Kendall Gill accelerated and received the pass with advance, then changed direction and killed from the left elbow area. Towards the basket.
"boom!"
Two steps later, he dunked the ball.
"6:8, Zhou Quan sent three assists in a row." Xu Jicheng said with a smile.
"boom!"
Glider made a fake shot and really broke through. He stopped one step inside the three-point line and made a jump shot. Kendall Gill followed up and blocked the shot, which affected the former's shot and missed.
Rodman grabbed the backcourt rebound. At this time, Zhou Quan had turned around from the top of the arc and was about to go down. He wanted to pass out, but was blocked by Dameng, so he had to pass to Kendall Gill, who then passed to Zhou Quan, and By this time Kenny Smith had caught up with Zhou Quan.
Zhou Quan caught the ball at the right end of the free throw line, immediately turned left, grabbed the ball with his right hand, and carried Kenny Smith with his left elbow into the paint area, then exploded two steps later.
"boom!"
The basket was exploded instantly.
"The tonnage of the jet is too small, and he can't guard against Iron Fist at all." Bill Walton said.
"His matchup with Tekken is a small one against a big one, but in terms of mobility and speed, he doesn't seem to have the advantage of a small one against a big one," Williams said.
Bill Walton nodded and said: "So he can't guard against Iron Fist, and he can't fight Iron Fist. At the first position, the Sonics have an absolute advantage just like Mosaic at the fifth position.
The only difference is that the No. 1 position controls the ball and can suppress and destroy the opponent's organization and offense, while the No. 5 position suppresses the opponent's low-post offense and strengthens its own low-post offense while controlling rebounds.
Each has its own advantages, but the No. 1 position is more proactive, suppressing the opponent from the source of the offense and destroying it more thoroughly. This is also an important reason why teams with defenders as the core have won championships in the past ten years. "
(End of chapter)
