The next reporter was a reporter from the Utah Daily and asked: "Jerry, the Jazz only won one of the four regular season games against the Sonics. Do you really think the Jazz have a chance to make it to the Western Conference Finals?"
"Anything can happen in the series." Jerry Sloan said firmly.
Seattle TV stations also attended the Jazz's news conference, and footage of the conference soon made the news.
Zhou Quan, Zeng Li, and Phillip were on the Iron Fist. Bill Walton would come over later and planned to go for a walk in the lake. They were still making preparations when they saw this news on TV.
"Zhou, I feel like Jazz is a little unstable!" Philip said.
"Utah Shuangsha is still very stable. But whether it is stable or not, we can win." Zhou Quan said with a smile.
"Haha!" Philip laughed.
Just then a taxi pulled up to the dock and Bill Walton and his partner Lewis Williams got out.
"Hey, Bill, Lewis, come up quickly." Zhou Quan waved and greeted loudly.
"Haha, I can't wait." Lewis Williams ran over excitedly.
"I'm paying the bill again?"
Bill Walton grumbled, paid for the ride, and gave a five-dollar tip.
"Iron Fist, you are too extravagant!"
Williams got on the yacht and sighed while visiting.
"If I could make $100 million from a boxing match, I would buy a super-luxury yacht bigger than this." Bill Walton shouted.
"Bill, if you had $100 million, you wouldn't be a commentator." Williams laughed.
…
On May 7, 1996, the second-round series between the Magic and the Knicks and the SuperSonics and the Jazz began.
At eight o'clock, the Seattle Center Arena was already full.
Outside the stadium, there was also excitement, with countless fans gathering here.
Zeng Li sat in the front row, next to the Sonics bench, followed by the Sonics' wives and girlfriends.
At this time, both sides announced the starting lineup.
Jazz: Felton Spencer, Karl Malone, Chris Morris, Jeff Hornacek, John Stockton
SuperSonics: Almon Gilliam, Rodman, Schrempf, Jose Hawkins, Zhou Quan
This series was broadcast live nationwide by ABC, and the commentators were Lewis Williams and Bill Walton.
"To be honest, whether it's the lineup or the competition between the stars, I don't see the Jazz having a chance to win." Bill Walton said.
Williams nodded and said: “At No. 5, Almon Gilliam may be shorter, but he is stronger than Felton Spencer.
At the fourth position, Big Worm can withstand the Postman. His defense is very tough, but the Postman can still beat him. It is no problem to average 25 points and 10 rebounds on his head per game.
In terms of rebounding, the Big Chong has always been inferior to the regular season in the playoffs. This season, the regular season has 14.5 rebounds, and the Postman has 9.8. In the first round series, the two have 13.2 and 9.8 respectively. The combined contribution of the two of them to the team is of course greater than that of the Postman. "
Bill Walton continued: "At the third position, Schrempf is undoubtedly better. At the second position, Hawkins and Hornacek are about the same.
These four positions are generally about the same strength on paper. The Sonics' advantages at the fifth and third positions can make up for the disadvantage at the fourth position.
But at the No. 1 position, Iron Fist's advantage is too great. This is a disadvantage that the Jazz simply cannot make up for. Iron Fist is really a natural against John Stockton. "
In the player tunnel, the starting lineups of the two teams met.
"You want to break up?" Zhou Quan asked when they met.
"Who said that?" the postman said unhappily.
"Did you say at the press conference that you treat others as fools?" Zhou Quan laughed.
"I didn't mean that. John brought it up and I didn't agree." The postman said angrily.
Zhou Quan laughed and said nothing. It was not interesting.
Only the postman still looked angry, but he didn't dare to provoke Zhou Quan. The team had no advantage and was not favored. He looked very frustrated.
At half past eight, the game starts.
Jump ball, Sonics offense.
Zhou Quan took the ball from the left wing and entered the low post. Gilliam, who was in the low post on the left wing, immediately pulled one step inside the three-point line. The soldier gave way in the low post, and he began to single out Stockton in the low post.
Playing from the back, he crushed John Stockton very easily and advanced to a position one step inside the left line of the paint area, less than two meters away from the basket. The postman under the basket double-teamed him from the lower side.
But Zhou Quan quickly turned around, and after combining the ball, he took a step forward and with a bang, he hit the basket with a one-handed dunk.
"Oh ho!"
The Central Gymnasium immediately burst into warm cheers.
The on-site commentator Henem Chrisman shouted excitedly: "Eat, sleep and fight for nothing. This is Tekken's job in this series. It is too easy for him, he will not even break a sweat."
"Haha..." The whole audience burst into laughter.
Bill Walton shook his head and sighed: "Stockton's defense is very good, but it's a pity that his confrontation ability is too poor. Iron Fist is really a natural against him."
Williams laughed and said: "His defense mainly relies on attitude and small moves, but these have no effect on Tekken. Tekken will directly crush him."
In the CCTV commentary box, Zhang Lili said happily: "Zhou Quan entered the low singles, which is a very good tactic. It is difficult for the Jazz to defend.
The postman double-teamed him, he didn't guard against it just now. Even if he doesn't double-team and just guard the basket, Zhou Quan's shooting is also top-notch, and he can still hit Stockton's head with high efficiency. "
Xu Jicheng smiled and said: "Anyway, this won't work, and that won't work either. Stockton was two or three laps behind Zhou Quan, and his speed is not as fast as Zhou Quan's. He is faster and more flexible than him. It is too easy to beat him."
"Haha..." Zhang Lili laughed after hearing this.
This ball is a microcosm of the entire game.
Throughout the game, Zhou Quan stared at Stockton, most of the time playing singles in the low post. He beat Stockton to the point where his face was pale and his hands and feet were soft. By the end of the game, he had no fighting spirit and morale.
On the defensive end, Zhou Quan still locked up Stockton as always, which largely destroyed the Jazz's pick-and-roll tactics and severely damaged the Jazz's organizational function.
He demonstrated the attributes and abilities of John Stockton's nemesis very well on both offense and defense.
At the end, 89:105, the SuperSonics won by 16 points at home. This was still Zhou Quan's third quarter check-in, otherwise the point difference would be even greater.
In another set of games, the Magic defeated the Knicks at home and won the G1 game.
The next morning, agent Philip contacted Zhou Quan.
"Zhou, we have reached an agreement with the WBC and Holyfield. The title defense will be placed after the Olympics, on September 1st. What do you think?"
"Can."
"The WBC is willing to continue to support you because of your influence. They are also a boxing organization that focuses on the interests of boxing champions.
And Holyfield is also optimistic about your influence and ability to attract money. A fight with you will help him climb out of his trough, and he can also make a lot of money. "
"It's okay to make money, but to climb out of the trough? Then you have to be able to beat me, otherwise he will continue to stay in the trough."
"Ha ha……"
He is very happy that the date of the boxing match has been set. The upcoming offseason will be very busy. Marriage, the Olympics, and the defense of the title. All three major events will take time. His rest time is very tight, so he must arrange it well.
The Olympics cannot be arranged, only the wedding and title defense matches can be arranged.
The Olympics will start on July 19th, and there will be a period of joint training beforehand, so after the finals, he can only rest for about ten days at most before reporting to the national team.
The Olympics ends on August 4th, and the title defense is scheduled for September 1st. This period of time allows him to carry out boxing training without interrupting his physical training.
After the title defense, there are still two months left before the regular season, so he can still take a good rest.
However, his status in the early part of the new season cannot be guaranteed. He can only resume training after the start of the regular season, so he has already considered that he does not need to pursue regular season results next season.
As for getting married, my family has already made preparations. Time is too tight and I don’t plan to make it a big deal. I will get married when I get back and then report to the national team.
That night, the Bulls and Mosaic defeated the Heat and Spurs at home respectively.
After that, the series continued. The Sonics completed a sweep of the Jazz on the 13th and advanced to the Western Conference Finals. This was also the second time they swept and advanced in this playoffs.
On the 14th, the Bulls eliminated the Heat with a big score of 4 to 1 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.
On the same night, Mosaic also eliminated the Spurs with a big score of 4 to 1. This was the third consecutive year that Mosaic faced off against the SuperSonics in the Western Conference Finals.
Only the Magic and the Knicks fell into a tough battle. The first four games were tied. The Magic got the match point in the G5 game, but the Knicks equalized in the G6 game. The two sides started a tiebreaker on the 19th, and the Magic won in the end.
Eastern Conference Finals: Bulls vs. Magic.
Western Conference Finals: SuperSonics vs. Mosaic.
The Western Conference Finals will start on the 20th, and the Eastern Conference Finals will be on the 21st.
…
"Ahri, I'm going to wrong you. I have to guard an empty room by myself."
"Husband, I also want to practice the sleeping elixir technique."
"Okay, I will teach you later. Let me tell you, this immortal skill can beautify your face and keep you young forever."
"real?"
After watching the tiebreaker, Zhou Quan moved out of the master bedroom and went to the second bedroom to sleep alone.
When he got to the second bed, he put down his practicing posture, began to adjust his breathing, and restrained his distracting thoughts.
He has been practicing this sleeping pill technique for two years. As he progresses, he feels that this Taoist technique does have a hypnotic effect, and it also has the effect of condensing the spirit.
The effect of condensing the spirit was only discovered this year as the sleeping elixir skill got better and better. Last year at this time, after an occasional outbreak, there would be a state of poor mental health. This is a sequelae, but this sequelae is becoming less and less obvious this year. , and there are more and more outbreaks.
He hit 50+ points 7 times this season. This is why he was able to maintain the first and second place in the league when Schrempf and Rodman were away.
In other words, this time last year, he could occasionally break out in the series, but only occasionally and could not sustain the entire series.
But now, although he can't break out every game in the entire series, he is sure to break out every other game, as long as Zeng Li doesn't harass him at night.
After a dreamless night, at eight o'clock the next morning, after nine hours of deep sleep, Zhou Quan woke up feeling a hundred times more energetic.
His thinking and reactions were very fast, and he felt that cats should be no more than this.
"Well, if you take a nap at noon, you should be in better shape at night."
But he found that his current state was not the previous state of being full of energy and needing to be vented. Although his energy was better and more vigorous than before, it was still in a restrained state. This was probably the way to maintain his health through Taoist Kung Fu.
…
May 20, 1996, the day of Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
At nine o'clock this morning, the league officially announced the best team and the best defensive team.
According to media analysis, Zhou Quan and Jordan were selected for the first defense team at the same time. This is also the fourth consecutive year that Zhou Quan has been selected for the double team.
On this day, many mainstream media also gave analysis and predictions for the Eastern Conference Finals and Western Conference Finals.
NBC TV station believes that the Bulls have an 80% chance of advancing to the finals, the Magic only 20%, the SuperSonics 45%, and the Mosaics 55%.
ESPN's prediction data is that the Bulls have an 85% chance of advancement, the Magic 15%, the SuperSonics 49%, and the Mosaic 51%.
ABC's prediction data is that the Bulls are 75%, the Magic are 25%, the SuperSonics are 51%, and the Mosaics are 49%.
TNT is 70% Bulls, 30% Magic, 40% SuperSonics, and 60% Mosaic.
Zhou Quan flipped through the newspaper while eating breakfast and watched the sports news on various TVs. Not counting the local Seattle media, he felt that these media were not very optimistic about his team. The best one was ABC, which only had a 51% chance. The Bulls are generally favored to advance to the finals.
There is no doubt that the lineup of the Mosaic Big Three is indeed very powerful, so powerful that even these media cannot ignore it.
In the four regular season games between the Sonics and Mosaic, they had two wins and two losses. They were evenly matched, and their record was the best in the league. Why is the media more optimistic about the Big Three?
Each media outlet gave their own reasons, which were very similar.
These media generally believe that although the SuperSonics defeated Mosaic twice in the regular season, both victories relied on Zhou Quan's super performance, and the Western Conference Finals is a series, and it is absolutely impossible for Zhou Quan to perform super performance in the entire series. , so I am more optimistic about Mosaic.
TNT, the only major media outlet that is more optimistic about the Sonics, is actually not more optimistic. They did not make any special explanation.
At noon, some friends visited Zhou Quan's villa.
The Western Conference Finals are very attractive. The influence of the Mosaic Big Three and Zhou Quan has caused many Hollywood stars to rush to Seattle, and a large number of NBA stars have also come to this city.
Zhou Quan had training in the afternoon and left after lunch for half an hour.
However, he hired a yacht pilot, and Zeng Li took these friends on a boat trip.
At night, the Seattle Center Arena is star-studded and very lively.
"The media is not optimistic about the Sonics, what do you think?"
"The Big Three are too strong, and I think they're too tough!"
"Come on, the SuperSonics have the best record in the league. The Big Three are so powerful, why don't they rank first in the league?"
"They must be saving their energy. The Big Three are older and all have injuries. They are saving their energy for the playoffs, and they are here for Zhou Quan."
"Also a possibility."
"Rodman is also a giant! Schrempf and Hawkins add up to one, and they are three against three. The lineup can't lose."
"Are you kidding me? Can a giant still think so? A giant must have at least one thing: the ability to attract double-teams. Does Rodman have it? Do Schremf and the others have it?"
"I'm still optimistic about the SuperSonics. If they play against the Big Three, Zhou Quan will definitely explode. By locking the opponent's No. 1 position, he can destroy the opponent's organizational function and suppress their offense from the source."
"You're right, the offensive engine has been destroyed, so what if the Big Three are powerful?"
"Yes, Mosaic doesn't even have a decent point guard, and the substitute lineup is even worse. You can't say who will win until you play."
A dozen reporters from around the country gathered in the media box behind the baseline and were discussing the series.
(End of chapter)
