With 26 wins and 4 losses, the SuperSonics rushed to their next away game, the Orlando Magic, overnight.
It’s almost 400 kilometers, which isn’t too far. I took off at one o’clock in the morning and arrived at the airport before two o’clock. When I arrived at the hotel, it was around three-thirty. When I settled down and went to bed, it was already around four o’clock in the morning.
I had a dreamless night. I woke up at around ten o'clock and only slept for six hours. The quality of my sleep was not bad, and I felt that my physical fitness had recovered well.
After washing up, I went out and saw that none of my teammates had gotten up yet.
There have been three consecutive away games in a wave of six, and this is the fourth. It seems that physical problems are plaguing the team.
"Iron Fist, why don't you sleep a little longer?" General Manager Whithit came out of the room and yawned, and happened to see Zhou Quan going out.
"I slept well." Zhou Quan smiled.
Whithit said with a smile: "Iron Fist, Dennis and Detreff will have at least forty days to come back, and there will be a period of adaptation time after their comeback.
The team's rotation is very tight now. My suggestion is to lose some away games, especially the away games in the Eastern Conference that don't mean much to us. What's your opinion? "
A general manager asked for his opinion face to face. This is respect. Zhou Quan nodded and said: "The team can give more opportunities to the marginal players and let Hawkins and Gilliam play less time."
"And you?"
Whithit nodded and said, "You are our key, and we don't want to see you get hurt again."
"It was an accident. In fact, there was no problem with my physical fitness." Zhou Quan said.
"Okay." Whithit could only nod.
He knew Zhou Quan didn't want to lose and wanted to compete for MVP.
At this time, Zhou Quan's cell phone rang. It was O'Neill's call, saying he was inviting him to lunch and would pick him up at the hotel later.
At a quarter past eleven, Zhou Quan came to the door of the hotel. O'Neill just called and he was already there.
He saw a stretched Ferrari F355 parked at the door and couldn't help laughing. He didn't expect that O'Neal also liked sports cars.
O'Neal was too lazy to get out of the car. Even if it was extended, it would be difficult for him to get in and out of this kind of sports car. He smiled proudly and said: "Iron Fist, how is my car?"
"great!"
Zhou Quan sat in the passenger seat, fastened his safety belt, and said with a smile: "Shark, you have a good record now, you are the second best player in the Eastern Conference."
"Sooner or later I will challenge Michael Jordan and dominate the Eastern Conference." O'Neal said with a proud smile.
"Why, after being swept last year, you still don't have the confidence to reach the finals?" Zhou Quan asked disdainfully.
"Why not? I will definitely kill the bull this year." O'Neal roared.
"Drive first, a car will come from behind." Zhou Quan reminded.
O'Neal checked the rearview mirror, then put gas in gear and drove out of the hotel.
"Shark, I asked you to renew your contract in advance. There is no news from the media. Is it because the Magic didn't renew your contract in advance? Or did you not agree?" Zhou Quan asked.
When it came to the contract, O'Neal's face visibly fell. He slapped the steering wheel and said angrily: "Damn management, they only gave me a four-year, $54 million contract at first. I want a longer one." A contract is more secure that way.”
"Be careful not to be like Pippen. Six or seven years at most is enough. The market will change rapidly in the future, and the salary cap will rise quickly." Zhou Quan reminded with a smile.
O'Neal said: "I just want a seven-year contract."
"No agreement?"
O'Neal said angrily: "They increased it to 80 million for five years. Although the annual salary is about the same, they refuse to give a seven-year contract. How can we negotiate?"
"So what now?" Zhou Quan asked with a smile.
O'Neal said angrily again: "Even if my contract is not comparable to you and Jordan..."
"You are mistaken. My average annual salary is only more than 13 million yuan, which is much lower than you. I get more than 3 million yuan less than you a year. If I skip the contract in the fifth year, my average annual salary in the first four years will be higher. Low, only over 11 million." Zhou Quan said angrily.
O'Neal chuckled and said: "The market was like that when you signed the contract. At that time, your contract was the highest in the league. By the way, Iron Fist, you only signed for five years. Is that intentional?"
"Of course, I believe the salary cap will rise very quickly in the future." Zhou Quan said.
"Where did I just say? Oh, by the way..."
O'Neal stopped at the traffic light and thought for a moment before saying: "Both guys Juwan Howard and Alonzo Mourning signed contracts worth 100 million yuan, both for 7 years and 105 million U.S. dollars. Why can anyone who is not as good as me do it?" I can’t get a 100 million yuan contract?
Therefore, the contract requirement that my team gave to the management was 115 million for 7 years, which was 10 million US dollars higher than the two of them. If the management did not give it, I would leave next season. "
"Don't come to the west. You can't stand out while I'm there." Zhou Quan advised with "kindness".
"I won't lose to you. Just wait, I'm going to the West." O'Neal said angrily.
"as you like."
Zhou Quan said indifferently, and suddenly thought of the Lakers who had recruited him, he couldn't help but smile and said: "The Lakers have a tradition of center forwards, didn't they recruit you?"
"Hey hey hey..."
O'Neal couldn't help but laugh. At this time, the light was green. He said while driving: "I have contacted my team, but now the Magic has a good lineup and such a good record. If they are willing to meet my contract, I still hope to stay."
Zhou Quan nodded and stopped asking questions about the contract.
January 5, 1996, Amway Center, home of the Magic.
At 7:30, both sides announced the starting lineup.
SuperSonics: Earvin Johnson, Matt Geiger, Almon Gilliam, Jose Hawkins, Zhou Quan
Magic: O'Neal, Grant, Denise Scott, Nick Anderson, Anfernee Hardaway
In the CCTV commentary box, Zhang Liji said: "The Magic lineup is quite strong. O'Neal has performed very well since his comeback, averaging 33 points and 12 rebounds per game. It seems that injuries have little impact on him."
Xu Jicheng said: "Cobra Grant is also good, his condition is the same as last season, there is no decline, and he can still get 13.5 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1 steal and 1.2 blocks.
It’s just that his shooting percentage has dropped a lot. It was 56.7% last season and is now 51.3%. He is now 30 years old. Coach Zhang, does this mean that he has started to decline? "
Zhang Lianda said: "First, because O'Neal occupies the position under the basket, 95% of his offenses are within the paint area, and he rarely scores two points. He can only throw about one in a game, so Grant is under the basket. Opportunities and space are reduced.
Second, as he gets older, he intentionally reduces his attacks at the basket and shoots more outside, so his efficiency has declined. "
Xu Jicheng nodded and said: "Small forward Scott has been promoted to the starting lineup this season, and his performance has improved a lot, averaging 17.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Shooting guard Anderson is also good, averaging 14.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. .
Not to mention Hardaway, who averaged 21.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 2 steals per game, playing the role of Jordan's successor. "
Zhang Lili said: "Second in the Eastern Conference, currently with 24 wins and 6 losses, the SuperSonics are at 26 wins and 4 losses, and the difference in wins is two games. The Magic's current strength cannot be underestimated.
More importantly, O'Neal can crush the Sonics' inside line. Unless Zhou Quan beats Hardaway on the outside and has a greater advantage than O'Neal on the inside, the SuperSonics will really be unable to do so without a major general. magic. "
Xu Jicheng said: "From the Magic's record, we can also see that Hardaway is really good. O'Neal has missed 22 games, and he can still lead the team to such a record alone.
Moreover, his playing style is very beautiful, no worse than Jordan's, and he is full of imagination and creativity. The Magic management values him very much. "
Zhang Liji said with a smile: "O'Neal didn't play in the first 22 games. Before his comeback, his record was 17 wins and 5 losses, with a winning rate of 77.3%.
After his comeback, he worked hard to perform, achieving a record of 9 wins and 1 loss, and his winning rate is now 86.7%.
Haha, he seems to be showing his presence. If his record does not improve after his comeback, his position in the team will be embarrassing. "
Xu Jicheng said: "Before Schrempf and Rodman were injured, the record was 17 wins and 2 losses. The SuperSonics' injuries were more serious than the Magic's.
The current record is 26 wins and 4 losses. Zhou Quan led the team to a record of 9 wins and 2 losses, and his performance was not bad. "
Zhang Lili said: "So don't underestimate Hardaway. This player is indeed worthy of being Jordan's successor and can stand up at critical moments.
Tonight, it depends on whether Zhou Quan can restrain Hardaway and defeat him. It will be very difficult for the Sonics, who are short of major generals, to beat the Magic! "
Xu Jicheng said: "Veteran McMillan is also injured, no one is available, and it is back-to-back. It is really difficult to win."
At eight o'clock, the game starts.
After the jump ball, the Magic attacked.
Zhou Quan is well-known as the best steal leader in history. Most opponents dare not hold the ball in front of him. He also scored 50+ points on the court and shut down the league's top point guard Gary Payton. To say that Anfernee Hardaway has no pressure It was impossible. He had suffered losses at the hands of Zhou Quan before.
But he has his own self-confidence. He is 201 centimeters tall, 10 centimeters taller than Zhou Quan. This is his third season, and his weight has increased from 88 kilograms to the current 93 kilograms, which is a little heavier than Zhou Quan.
Playing point guard with the height and tonnage of a small forward, he has a mismatch advantage no matter who the opponent is.
More importantly, he has the height and tonnage of a small forward, but the movement speed and agility of a guard. This is his powerful talent.
Zhou Quan also needs system rewards to achieve this kind of talent, otherwise the increase in tonnage will definitely affect his athletic quality.
And Hardaway is no longer a rookie. More importantly, O'Neal was injured. He led the team to second place in the Eastern Conference on his own. His record was no worse than the SuperSonics, and his self-confidence has been improved. So now, even if he is competing with Jordan for the number one spot in active service, he is no longer a rookie. People's Zhou Quan is also full of confidence.
Facing Zhou Quan's defense, he did not choose to give up the ball, but began to attack with the ball.
Today, he will have an outstanding performance against Zhou Quan and prove to the Magic management that he is the boss of this team.
When advancing with the ball, he took the initiative to change directions continuously, showing his strong ability to combine the ball with the man and the ball. Zhou Quan had to change directions accordingly and could not find a chance to steal the ball.
After reaching the three-point line on the right wing, he first jumped down to the right. When Zhou Quan followed up, he suddenly pulled back and turned right. When Zhou Quan followed up again, he suddenly turned around and shot a jumper.
The entire technical movement was very coherent, very flexible, and very imaginative. Coupled with his height as a small forward, even Zhou Quan was unable to block this ball.
Zhou Quan did not block the basketball, but directly blocked Hardaway's sight. When he took off, his left hand directly covered his opponent's face. His huge palm almost completely covered Hardaway's face.
"not good!"
Hardaway lost his vision at the moment of taking the shot, but he could only force the shot.
When Zhou Quan landed, he didn't look back to see if the ball was successful. He immediately rushed past Hardaway.
"boom!"
When he rushed past Hardaway, there was a sound of hitting the basket behind him.
"ball!"
Matt Geiger's voice sounded, Zhou Quan turned around and saw the basketball flying from the basket.
"Oh, it's spread!"
Zhang Lili shouted as soon as he saw the path of the ball.
Zhou Quan sped up and rushed forward. Bang, the basketball hit the floor two steps ago and bounced forward. He accelerated with all his strength, crossed the center line for three steps before controlling the ball, and then headed towards the basket.
When Hardaway returned to defense, he was two meters behind Zhou Quan. Although his speed reached the speed of a defender, he was still a little slower than Zhou Quan. Although he tried his best to return to defense, he could not catch up.
"boom!"
Taking off from the left waist, Zhou Quan completed the counterattack with a crotch dunk.
"Haha, they even played tricks, which shows that Zhou Quan is very relaxed now." Zhang Lili laughed twice and said.
"The applause in the away game is pretty good." Xu Jicheng said with a smile.
Magic offense.
Hardaway learned his lesson this time and decided that when he takes action in front of Zhou Quan, he must back up, so that Zhou Quan should have no chance to seal his eyes.
After a series of actions, he took another three-pointer, this time turning around and shooting a fadeaway jumper.
"Snapped!"
But just after he finally turned around to take the ball, Zhou Quan slapped him up, knocked the ball away very accurately, and then grabbed it in his hands.
"What?"
Hardaway was stunned.
At the top of the arc, Hawkins went down quickly and followed after Zhou Quan passed the ball.
Hawkins caught the ball and reached the top of the key. Nick Anderson also caught up with him, and he suddenly stopped.
At this time, Zhou Quan came up from behind and immediately passed the ball over. Zhou Quan received the ball and passed the top of the key.
When Anderson saw it, he quickly lost Hawkins, caught up with Zhou Quan, and completed a double-team with Anfernee Hardaway.
But as soon as Zhou Quan rushed into the paint area, he passed a backhand pass and the ball flew to Hawkins at the top of the arc.
"brush!"
Hawkins took an open three-point shot and hit it.
"Beautiful! As long as you get an open space next to Zhou Quan, you will get a pass." Xu Jicheng laughed.
"Breaking through with the ball attracts double-teams. People with high skills are bold. In the last finals, he deliberately looked for double-teams from Jordan and Pippen, using breakout tactics. This is Zhou Quan's main style of play. He has always tried his best." Zhang Lili said. smiled.
5:0, Magic offense.
"ball."
O'Neal got into position under the basket and yelled at Hardaway.
(End of chapter)
