At this time, in the visiting team's locker room, Michael Jordan didn't say a word after losing, so the atmosphere was as cold as iron, and no one dared to speak.
Phil Jackson leaned against the wall next to the door, his mind a little confused.
He single-handedly introduced Kevin Willis, hoping that he can play the low post offense the team needs.
But unfortunately, under the defense of Matt Geiger, Willis did not play the low-post offense he needed today. He only made mid-range shots. The efficiency was not as good as Geiger and Gilliam, and it completely failed to meet his requirements.
He also let go of BJ, put Ron Harper in the starting lineup, and asked him to guard Zhou Quan, thus freeing up Jordan's offense.
But the game just now proved that Ron Harper couldn't guard Zhou Quan. At the same time, in terms of personal offense, Jordan was limited by the SuperSonics' flanking tactics, while the Bulls were unable to double-team Zhou Quan.
"what to do?"
Neither idea met his expectations, which was why his mind was a little confused.
"Are we really looking for a super center like Ewing?"
There is no way to mess with the perimeter. Jordan + Pippen + Ron Harper, this perimeter combination is already the most powerful perimeter combination in the league. This combination allowed Zhou Quan to perform like that tonight.
Therefore, he believes that the only way to defeat the SuperSonics is to torment the inside line and continue to strengthen the inside line.
However, leaving aside the difficulty of trading a super center, is the boss willing to invest huge sums of money to introduce a super center? I'm afraid it's not possible.
An hour later, at the post-game press conference, an ESPN reporter asked: "Michael, Iron Fist said that his personal offense has reached the level you are now. Do you agree with what he said?"
The veins on Jordan's forehead twitched, and he spat out a sentence from between his teeth: "I have forgotten how many scoring titles I have won. Who can tell me?"
"Nine, Michael, you've had nine scoring titles in a row, and Iron Fist hasn't had one. He's had none."
exclaimed a Chicago reporter, excitedly and angrily.
Jordan shrugged and said, "Let's wait until he does what I did before he said that."
"But Iron Fist is a point guard."
A local reporter from Seattle shouted unconvinced.
"Then don't talk to me about personal offense and say his assists are good." Jordan said disdainfully.
"Michael, Iron Fist is saying that his personal offense is now at the same level as yours now, but you are using past honors as an excuse. Isn't this unfair?" the local reporter shouted again.
"This reporter from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, please abide by the interview rules."
The host of the press conference reminded him unhappily, and then asked the staff to give the microphone to the New York Times reporter.
The New York Times reporter immediately asked: "Michael, did you really lose millions of dollars in the world boxing title defense match between Iron Fist and McCall?"
The veins on Jordan's forehead jumped continuously, and he snorted and denied: "No, I only bet one hundred thousand dollars."
…
After winning against the Bulls, with 12 wins and 2 losses, the SuperSonics came out on top, ranking first in the league, one game behind the Bulls.
On the 28th, they defeated the Pacers at home and tied with the Pacers one to one, achieving a record of 13 wins and 2 losses, and also ended the first month of the schedule.
In November, Zhou Quan averaged 39 minutes per game, averaging 16 of 29 shots per game, a field goal percentage of 55.2%, 2.5 of 6 three-pointers, a field goal percentage of 41.7%, 7 free throws and 6.7 free throws, a field goal percentage of 95.7%, and an average of 41.2 points and 4.8 points per game. 13.2 rebounds, 6.1 steals, 2 blocks, 2.1 turnovers and 2.6 fouls.
On the 1st, the league announced the MVP rankings for the first month, as well as the best in the first month.
With his undisputed strong statistics and team record, Zhou Quan ranked first in MVP and November Player of the Month.
The mosaic of the Big Three did not disappoint the media's expectations, recording a record of 12 wins and 3 losses, ranking second in the Western Conference.
The Bulls ranked first in the Eastern Conference, losing only two games in the first month, to the Magic and SuperSonics.
At noon on the 1st, agent Roger Philippe came to Zhou Quan's villa, and the two drank coffee at the dock and talked about things.
Zeng Li was playing on the yacht, planning to let Zhou Quan take some photos of her later and send them home.
"Zhou, Skechers has contacted me and hopes to renew the contract with you in advance." Philip said.
"What conditions does the company give me?" Zhou Quan asked.
"Effectively, they're asking what your conditions are," Philip said.
"Haha!" Zhou Quan laughed.
He pondered for a while and then said: "I am not short of money now. When I take the money, I also invest in other companies. Instead of taking their endorsement fees, it is better to invest directly in their companies."
"Snapped!"
Philip snapped his fingers, smiled and agreed: "I thought about it, and I also think that now you are fully capable and qualified to get the same contract as Jordan."
"What specific contract does Jordan have at Nike?" Zhou Quan asked.
Philip said: "It was originally 4.5% of Nike stock. Later, Nike believed that Jordan interfered with the company's operations from time to time, so it persuaded Jordan to establish the brand as an independent company and exchanged those Nike stocks for company shares of the MJ brand. Jordan now Owns 67% of MJ Brand Company."
"Two thirds, so high?" Zhou Quan said in surprise.
Philip smiled and said: "It is because of Jordan that Nike can survive and develop to its current scale in North America, and the MJ brand also exists because of Jordan.
Although Nike only accounts for one-third of the MJ brand, the MJ brand and Jordan can drive the development of the entire Nike. That is the big head of Nike's operations, and the operation of the MJ brand is only the small head.
Zhou, the relationship between Skechers and Tekken brands and you, that is, the relationship between Nike, MJ brand and Jordan, is even more important. "
"Skechers has been established for four years. When are they going to go public?" Zhou Quan suddenly asked.
"Snapped!"
Philip snapped his fingers again and said excitedly: "It has been confirmed that July 1, 1996, will be exactly after the finals.
Zhou, the Tekken brand has not yet established its own company. Skechers said that they will separate the Tekken brand immediately after it goes on the market and establish a brand company. "
"Then how much do you think I should get? The same as Jordan, 4.5%." Zhou Quan asked.
"With your current global influence, you must be higher than him. In fact, the global sales of your Tekken series have already surpassed his by a large margin." Philip smiled.
"Then you talk to Skechers. I hope to renew the contract before the company goes public." Zhou Quan said with a smile.
"Of course, the company also hopes to get it done before then, so that the stock price will be better when it goes public." Philip smiled.
…
Entering December, the Sonics have won four more games in a row, finishing with 17 wins and 2 losses.
On the 11th, the team arrived in Dallas, preparing to challenge the Mavericks.
That night, many extreme Mavericks fans went to the hotel where the Sonics were staying to cause trouble, affecting the players' sleep.
Zhou Quan's sleep elixir technique didn't work. When he got up in the morning, he was not in good spirits and couldn't concentrate.
At noon, the team came to the gym for training.
"Everyone, please pay attention. Don't be too intense. Just move your body and feel it." George specifically warned before training.
There was no competition scheduled, so we just moved our bodies first and then each conducted shooting training.
Zhou Quan made dozens of shots and felt average. The most he scored in a row was 7. Then he stood on the left side of the top of the arc and watched his teammates shoot.
Schrempf worked with a trainer on catching and shooting. After practicing for a while, he felt pretty good. He made six consecutive shots, including two three-pointers. He was very excited.
At this time, he ran in front of Zhou Quan to catch the ball and shoot a jump shot, but the moment he took off, he slipped and flipped backward.
Zhou Quan reacted quickly and pushed forward with both hands, but at this moment, Schrempf, who had turned backwards, also made a self-rescuing action and turned sideways in the air.
This time, Zhou Quan held up an empty space with both hands, and Schrempf hit him in the chest and was knocked over.
When he fell to the ground, he pressed his right hand on the floor. At that moment, Schrempf let out a cry of pain, and then his whole body fell on him, knocking him sideways again. His right hand slipped outward, and then he only felt his index finger. A pain.
"Oh, it's over, it's over, my knee." Schrempf, who fell on top of him, hugged his left knee and shouted in frustration.
"Oops!"
"Both of them are injured, now we're in trouble."
Everyone ran over, and George Carlton was so anxious that his forehead was covered with sweat.
After examination by the team doctor, Zhou Quan has strained the ligament of his right index finger and will need at least one month to recover. Schrempf has strained the cruciate ligament of his left knee and will need to fight for at least two months. The specific situation can only be determined after a hospital examination.
Then the two went to the hospital. Schrempf's examination results were similar to the team doctor's judgment. Conservative treatment would take two months.
If Zhou Quan is better, it would be better to take a truce for half a month.
The doctor tied Zhou Quan's right index finger and middle finger together with medical tape and fixed them to avoid further injury.
"Even if I can't shoot with my right hand, I can still use my left hand. I can still organize offense and pass the ball, and I can also defend."
After the index finger was fixed, there was only slight discomfort, and the injury was not serious. Zhou Quan refused to stop the injury, feeling that it was completely unnecessary.
He believes that his career is long and injuries are unavoidable. He needs to learn and get used to fighting with injuries. He does not believe that Jordan did not have injuries, but Jordan persevered.
In 1993, Jordan severed the tendon of his right index finger while playing with a cigar cutter. Now his index finger cannot bend. If he is injured due to this minor injury, how can he compete with Jordan?
At his insistence, George Carl had to agree to let him try it first.
Schrempf stayed in the hospital and Zhou Quan returned to the arena. At this time, the team's morale was somewhat low.
In the evening, one of the SuperSonics generals was absent, and while his combat power was lacking, Zhou Quan also did not perform well, scoring only 21 points and shooting only 41%.
He took a few shots with his left hand, but he didn't feel very good. He simply shot with his right hand. He was not very used to it. His right index finger still hurt when he exerted force, so he took fewer shots.
A shooting guard named Tony Dumars stood up on the Mavericks bench. He exploded wildly and scored 35 points. Together with George Crawford, who scored 30 points, the SuperSonics lost to the Big Four 107:115. The Mavericks, a bad team, suffered their third defeat of the season.
However, on the defensive end, Zhou Quan guarded the rising star Jason Kidd at the No. 1 position, allowing Kidd to make only 1 of 14 shots and only get 3 points and 5 assists.
Kidd is Gary Payton's little brother. They grew up together and were influenced by Payton. Kidd once made remarks against him.
With 17 wins and 3 losses, the Sonics are still No. 1 in the league.
After losing, the team rushed to San Antonio overnight.
At 11 a.m., Zhou Quan got up from bed and had a good night's sleep, making up for the drowsiness he had lost in Dallas.
He feels much better about San Antonio than Dallas, at least the fans here don't come into the hotel to harass them.
In the afternoon, when he was doing shooting training, he deliberately adjusted his shooting posture. Instead of using his index finger to exert force, he used his middle finger, other fingers, and wrist to exert force.
For him, whose basic shooting skills are as high as level 97, this adjustment is not complicated. After training for an hour, he feels better and better. Although the hand feeling is not as good as usual, it is better than yesterday, and the injured index finger does not hurt much. .
In the evening, back-to-back games against the Spurs.
The Spurs had previously had 11 wins and 6 losses, which was not bad in the Western Conference. With a winning rate of 64.7%, they ranked third in the Western Conference, second only to the SuperSonics and Mosaic.
At 7:30, both sides announced the starting lineup.
Spurs: David Robinson, Charles Smith, Sean Elliott, Vined Nagro, Avery Johnson
SuperSonics: Earvin Johnson, Almon Gilliam, Rodman, Jose Hawkins, Zhou Quan
Zhang Lili said: "Zhou Quan faced off against the young general Johnson. In an injured state, the result is hard to say. The young general is not bad."
Xu Jicheng said: "Director Zhang, do you think there will be a losing streak?"
"There's nothing we can do about it," Zhang Li said.
At this time, in the player tunnel, Zhou Quan was chatting with David Robinson. The relationship between the two was not bad, much better than the relationship between Zhou Quan, Dameng and Ewing.
The admiral said with some envy and some complaints: "Iron Fist, you are only in your third season in the Western Conference, and you have forced Barkley and the three of them to team up. How can we teams compete with you?"
Zhou Quan couldn't help but smile and said: "David, don't take them seriously. Those three old guys are all old, especially Barkley. He is almost a ball. He can't fly long ago. You just need to find one If you are a good helper, you will have a chance.”
"I hope so," sighed David Robinson.
When he played, as the core of the away team, Zhou Quan still received a lot of applause.
"Zhou Quan has more and more fans in other cities. This is an important change this season." Zhang Lili said happily.
"Maybe he's a boxing fan." Xu Jicheng said with a smile.
"It's possible, haha!" Zhang Li said with a smile.
(End of chapter)
