At half past eight, the game officially started.
Jump ball, Sonics offense.
Zhou Quan catches the ball, Ron Harper defends, it's no longer Jordan.
Smiling Assassin introduced: "Ron Harper is a swingman who was at the peak of his debut. He is 198 centimeters tall and weighs 84 kilograms. He has averaged 20+ per game in five seasons of his career."
Laimbeer continued: "After this kid was seriously injured in 1994, he has become a pure defensive player in the Bulls. Now if he defends the Iron Fist, he can free up Michael Jordan's offense."
The assassin said: "Jordan is getting older and his physical fitness must be declining. Ron Harper will take over the defensive end and concentrate on offense. This is very beneficial to him."
"boom!"
At this time, Zhou Quan made a fake shot and then made a pull-up jump shot. Unfortunately, he missed due to Ron Harper's entangled defense.
The Bulls attacked, Ron Harper ran to the left sideline, and Zhou Quan followed.
Jordan was on the right wing, distanced himself from Zhou Quan, singled out Jose Hawkins, broke through and made a pull-up jump shot, hitting a mid-range shot.
SuperSonics offense, Zhou Quan once again singled out Ron Harper.
He felt that Ron Harper's defense was much better than that of BJ. Harper would not engage in a strong confrontation with him, but he had quick reactions, was not heavy, and moved quickly with his feet. He could keep up with his rhythm in time and was very difficult to deal with. , the defense is not much worse than Jordan.
"brush!"
He still broke through with the ball, and then took a pull-up jump shot. This time he hit it.
When the Bulls were attacking, Ron Harper still pulled to the sideline, far apart from Jordan.
Zhou Quan discovered that Harper had no intention of attacking at all. He was just running outside the wing without actively asking for the ball. Obviously, the purpose of his movement was just to contain his defense and prevent him from double-teaming Jordan. Unable to help defend the basket.
In this way, Jordan can attack with all his strength, and Ron Harper, who is not attacking, can also guard him with all his strength on the defensive end, using his physical strength on the edge.
He can use a defensive switch to guard Jordan and break the Bulls' tactics against him, but in that case, he will have to devote himself fully to both offense and defense, and his physical consumption will far exceed Jordan's.
You can still do this in the regular season, but in the finals, doing this will be quite disadvantageous. The physical exertion in the series will be too great, and his condition will not be as good as Jordan.
If we continue to play like this, Jose Hawkins will obviously not be able to guard Jordan. Jordan can score double points on Hawkins' head.
In this case, if the Sonics want to win, there is only one way. He also beats Ron Harper and has a greater advantage than Jordan beat Hawkins.
Can he do it?
With his current offensive strength, he is certainly confident.
Whether it is physical fitness, offensive skills, game experience, etc., he has begun to enter his peak period, and Jordan has actually begun to decline from his peak state, but not by much. His shooting percentage last season His true shooting percentage surpasses Jordan's. This season he is stronger and more confident.
There were two minutes left in the first quarter, 24:26, and the SuperSonics led by two points.
Under the defense of Jose Hawkins, Jordan made 6 of 9 shots in ten minutes, a shooting percentage of 66.7%, and 2 of 2 free throws. He scored 14 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.
At the same time, Hawkins was prevented from making 1 of 4 shots on the defensive end and only scored two points.
Under the defense of Ron Harper, Zhou Quan made 3 of 5 shots in ten minutes, 1 of 2 three-pointers, and 2 of 2 free throws. He scored 9 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.
Ron Harper had no chance, only a missed shot.
On the inside, Kevin Willis did not play efficiently under the full defense of Matt Geiger. He made 2 of 5 shots, all mid-range shots, and scored 4 points and 3 rebounds.
Matt Geiger received a pass from Zhou Quan, made 1 of 2 shots, and scored 2 points and 2 rebounds.
In the contest with Kevin Willis, he was not in a state of being crushed, but had a certain ability to compete.
His tough defense made Willis uncomfortable. The two are the same weight and height, and it was very difficult for Willis to get to the basket.
With Zhou Quan's organization and strong assist ability, even though Jordan defeated Hawkins on both offense and defense, the SuperSonics were still in the lead.
The only thing is that because of Ron Harper's restraint, his ability to help defend was limited. Harper never held the ball, and his super stealing ability was unable to be used.
In the second quarter, George Karl began to increase the intensity of his attack on Jordan.
Although Zhou Quan was unable to participate in the flanking attack, the flanking attacks from others were also very fierce, limiting Jordan's breakthrough with the ball. He could only take more shots from the outside, and his efficiency began to decline.
In the second quarter, he made 3 of 7 shots, including 0 of 2 three-pointers and 3 of 3 free throws. He made 9 of 16 shots in the half and 5 of 5 free throws. The shooting rate was 53.9%. It was not as outrageous as the first quarter. He scored 23 in the half. Points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul.
As for Zhou Quan, his ability to break through with the ball is better than Jordan's, and Phil Jackson also tried to double-team him when he broke through.
However, his passing and organizational skills were stronger than last season, which made his direct assist ability far better than Jordan's. The Bulls immediately suffered a lot, double-teaming three times and sending two assists, and then the Bulls had to give up. Double team.
As a result, Zhou Quan began to aggressively attack the Bulls' inside line.
In the 10 minutes of the second quarter, he made 5 of 7 shots and 6 of 6 free throws. He scored 16 points in a single quarter. He made 8 of 12 shots in the half, with a shooting percentage of 66.7%. He scored a three-pointer and 8 of 8 free throws. Data of 25 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers and 1 foul.
After halftime, 50:56, the Sonics led the Bulls by 6 points.
Zhang Lili analyzed: "Hawkins can't guard Jordan, that's for sure, but under the attack of teammates, Jordan's efficiency decreases.
On the other end, Ron Harper didn't live up to the Bulls' expectations for him, and he couldn't guard Zhou Quan. Moreover, the Bulls' double-teaming tactics against Zhou Quan failed, and Zhou Quan played more efficiently than Jordan.
Although Zhou Quan played a very small role on the defensive end today, with only one steal, he used his scoring and organization assists to gain an advantage on the offensive end.
The Bulls were looking forward to Ron Harper's defense against Zhou Quan and Kevin Willis's advantage at the fifth position, but they were not able to play out. "
Xu Jicheng said: "Let's see how we play in the second half. The Bulls should make adjustments."
"Phil Jackson doesn't have much to do against the Sonics." The smiling assassin said with certainty in the ESPN commentary box.
"Why?" Ranbir asked cooperatively.
The assassin smiled and said: "If you want to beat the Sonics, you must restrain Iron Fist, but even Jordan can't restrain him, and Ron Harper can't restrain him even more.
If he had his way, would he lose to Iron Fist twice? What does he rely on? It's definitely not a triangle tactic. He relies on Michael Jordan.
But now Iron Fist's offense is overwhelming Jordan. Jordan is old, so no matter how he adjusts his tactics, he can't beat the Sonics. "
This relatively idealistic explanation came from Jordan's mortal enemy, and it should have been opposed by many fans. However, the fans in front of the TV did not seem to mean that, and instead all agreed with this statement.
The simple reason is that they just witnessed the performance of Zhou Quan and Jordan. The Bulls were unable to guard against Zhou Quan's offense and his passing, but Jordan was guarded in the second quarter. This is why they agreed. The reason for what the assassin said.
In the end, Zhou Quan made 20 of 33 shots on Ron Harper's head, with a shooting percentage of 60.6%. He made 2 of 5 three-pointers and 12 of 13 free throws. He scored 54 points, 5 rebounds, 15 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. Super data of 1 turnover and 2 fouls.
A total of four Sonics scored in double figures, and the other three were Matt Geiger, Schrempf, and Hawkins.
Jordan made 15 of 31 shots, his shooting percentage dropped to 48.4%, 2 of 6 three-pointers, 8 of 9 free throws, 40 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls.
In addition, Pippen scored 16 points, Kevin Willis had 15 points, and Toni Kukoc had 11 points. A total of four people scored in double figures.
96:109, the SuperSonics defeated the Bulls at home.
"Am I right?"
After the game, the assassin said proudly: "Phil Jackson has nothing to do with the Iron Fist. If he had, he would have used it long ago.
Iron Fist's threat with the ball is higher than Jordan's. With the ball in hand, he can break out, attack or pass, and is even more difficult to defend than Jordan.
In a word, double-teaming can limit Jordan's offensive efficiency, thereby limiting the entire Bulls' offense, but it cannot limit Iron Fist's passing and assists, so there is no way to limit the Sonics' offense, so Iron Fist is more difficult to be double-teamed. "
Laimbeer chuckled and said: "Kevin Willis, who the Bulls have high hopes for, only scored 15 points and 8 rebounds, and his shooting percentage was only 46%. As a center, this efficiency is not high enough. I can beat him with one hand." .
The opposite Matt scored 10 points and 8 rebounds, shooting 51.2% from the field, and his performance was no worse than him, which shows that the Bulls' reinforcement at the fifth position was not successful. "
The assassin nodded and smiled: "The Bulls management chose to keep Phil Jackson and fire Jerry Krause. It is really stupid.
In fact, he shouldn't have gone to Kevin Willis. Bill, he should have gone to you. You are more suitable for the Bulls than Willis. "
"Haha..." Ranbir burst into laughter.
In the CCTV commentary box, Zhang Liji said: "It looks pretty good so far. Kevin Willis can't have an absolute advantage at the fifth position. His condition is not as good as last season and he can't recover from injuries, so that's fine.
As long as the Bulls don't have a big advantage at the fifth position, with the strength of the SuperSonics, the chance of meeting the Bulls again in the finals is not small. "
Xu Jicheng nodded and said: "Judging from the shooting percentage, Jordan has declined slightly, and Zhou Quan has begun to enter his peak period. One of the two sides is going up the mountain, and the other is getting ready to go down."
Zhang Lijia said with a smile: "Also, Jordan's defense is not as hard as last season. First, Zhou Quan was handed over to Ron Harper. Second, his physical fitness is probably not as good as before."
Xu Jicheng smiled and said: "Director Zhang, now the American media is talking about the Iron Fist era again. What do you think?"
Zhang Lili said with emotion: "The last time the Detroit media mentioned the term Iron Fist Era, Zhou Quan had not won the championship with the Pistons at that time and was ridiculed by the media. But this time, do you think how many media dared to laugh at him?
The media are not blind. They can see Zhou Quan's progress, and they can also see that Zhou Quan has entered his peak period. Of course, they can also see that Jordan is coming down from his peak state.
Zhou Quan has won two championships in four years. As long as he wins two more championships, this is possible. In the 1990s, he won four championships by himself, and the Iron Fist era took shape. "
"Can the Four Crowns lead to the Iron Fist era?" Xu Jicheng asked excitedly.
Zhang Lili shook his head and said: "It's a bit difficult. In the Magic Bird era, the Magician had five crowns and the Big Bird had three crowns. The two of them had eight crowns in total, and together they occupied one era.
Although the Magician has two more crowns than Bird, no one calls the 1980s the age of the Magician because the two hegemons are competing against each other.
If Zhou Quan only had four crowns, which was a little less, Jordan would have had three crowns now, at least more than half, right? If there are six crowns, it should include a dynasty, and it should be able to monopolize an era. With four championships, he should share the same era with Jordan. "
"Dynasty? Jordan hasn't played well either. At his age, he probably won't have a chance in the future. It's difficult!" Xu Jicheng sighed.
Zhang Lili sighed authentically: "When Jordan won the championship for the first time in 1991, he said something at that time, this is not an accident, this is the beginning of an era.
How ambitious, given his state at the time, really, everyone was expecting him to create a dynasty. "
"Indeed, I defended my title again in the second year, and the dynasty is just around the corner." Xu Jicheng nodded.
Zhang Lili said with a smile: "It's a pity that Zhou Quan, who came out of nowhere, shattered his dream of a dynasty with one punch. Now he is 33 years old. With Zhou Quan's current strength and Supersonic's operational capabilities, he actually has no future." The opportunity and ability to create a dynasty.
I mean, Michael Jordan lost his opportunity to create his own era. That opportunity no longer exists.
Or, he and Zhou Quan share an era, which is the most likely and his best outcome.
Or, Zhou Quan will dominate the league in the next few seasons, create a dynasty, overwhelm Jordan with an absolute record advantage, and dominate the 1990s. This is the worst outcome for him. "
When Xu Jicheng heard this, he was very excited. After thinking about it, he said: "Even if Jordan doesn't win the championship again, it will still be three championships in ten years. This is the United States again. I think the first one may be the biggest.
I actually think that even if Zhou Quan started a dynasty, the American media would not think that the 1990s were exclusive to him. The Iron Fist era was difficult. "
"Indeed. Unless, two dynasties?" Zhang Li said with a smile.
"Haha, that's impossible. After all, Zhou Quan has only won two championships now and has not defended his title once. He is not as good as Jordan." Xu Jicheng laughed and said.
On the sidelines, Zhou Quan was being interviewed live.
"Iron Fist, today you and Jordan both played admirable personal offense, but your efficiency and scoring are higher than him. Do you think you have surpassed him in terms of personal offense?" an ESPN reporter asked.
Zhou Quan smiled and said: “The reason why my personal offense was better than his tonight was because of my passing ability and direct assist ability in double teams.
So they tried to double-team me, but they had to give up after my pass broke the double-team, so the double-team I received tonight was far less intense than Jordan's.
As for whether my personal offense has surpassed Jordan's, I personally think that I have at least reached the same level as Jordan now. "
He is not modest. His last remarks about Magic Johnson's comeback also directly stated what he was thinking.
The reason for this is both an innate character and an acquired character developed in the United States, but there is another reason. Since he has been considered by the media to be one of the greatest athletes in the world, he must show his Personality and principles of doing things cannot be blindly modest, nor can they be blindly submissive.
For a superstar, personality is very important. It was precisely for this reason that Skechers chose him.
(End of chapter)
