Famous basketball commentator Kevin Livingston said in an interview with ABC Sports:
"SuperSonics showed a sense of rustiness after the start. From Rodman to Schrempf, Sam Perkins, Hawkins, and even the Iron Fist King, they were all in average condition.
We all know that the Iron Fist King did not perform additional training throughout the offseason. His time was spent on the Olympics, his two weddings, and the defense of the world boxing championship. His investment in the NBA was significantly reduced. I think this is a big reason for his decline.
As for the others, I think they were also influenced by King of Iron Fist. If the team leader didn't do extra training, they didn't either. This is a natural thing.
As the number one active player, Iron Fist did not set a good example. He even became a bad example for others. "
Leviston's interview was reprinted and adopted by many media that day. Zhou Quan also noticed it, and Philip also noticed it, and even came over to chat with him in the afternoon.
There was no training in the afternoon because he had to fight the Warriors back-to-back in the evening. Zhou Quan rested on the dock at home and basked in the sun.
The sun was a little weak in November, but there was no wind in the glass house, so it was quite warm under the sun.
"Zhou, how are you doing now?"
Before Zhou Quan could take action, Phillip poured himself a cup of coffee and asked.
Zhou Quan said with a smile: "I am still recovering. In addition to shooting training, I also need to carry out weight gain training and physical reserve training. This will affect the shooting feel and my body is also a little tired."
Phillip nodded and said, "Did you see Leviston's interview?"
"Yes."
"This guy should be coming for you. No matter what his intentions are, he is very detrimental to you. Many media are responding to his words, which is likely to form public opinion."
"I want to fight for three consecutive championships. There must be no problems with the internal and external environment. But now everyone is really not in a good state and it takes time to adjust and recover. So at this time, the external environment is very important. Rogge, leave these things to me. You handle it."
"certainly."
"I personally need at least two to three months to recover, probably after the All-Star Game," Zhou Quan said.
At this time, some media reporters rushed to Zhou Quan's villa, hoping that he would be interviewed. He agreed and walked from the dock to the iron gate of the villa for an interview.
"Iron Fist, the media thinks you are distracted by crossovers and other things. Do you agree with this statement?" a reporter asked.
Zhou Quan smiled and said: "It's nonsense. My personal data is still the best, and the SuperSonics' opening record is not bad. Some people are exaggerating, and they are just targeting me. I even think this is a mistake." kind of racial discrimination.”
"Iron Fist, some media people think that you have become a bad example in the team and the league. Do you think so?" a reporter asked.
Zhou Quan smiled and said: "Absurd remarks! Let him pick another bad example like me. As long as the other bad example is like me and can achieve similar results to me in two major projects at the same time, I will I agree with this statement, otherwise this statement is to create public opinion against me, it is a statement with ulterior motives, and it is a conspiracy against me."
In the following days, Roger Philippe used many contacts to counterattack Livingston.
However, if the Sonics and Zhou Quan want to ascend to the dynasty throne, they will inevitably become public enemies of the alliance. Naturally, the American media is willing to manipulate public opinion and make profits from it, so they have little effect.
Whether it is the SuperSonics or Zhou Quan, from management to players, they are beginning to bear pressure from the US media. Of course, Zhou Quan is the one who bears the brunt of the pressure.
Zhou Quan has almost no other black spots, and the negative point that attracts media attention is his crossover.
The media believed that his crossover distracted him from the NBA, causing his own condition to decline, and his teammates to be less interested in training. In the end, the team's record was not as good as last season, and his personal performance was also not as good as last season.
The media even believes that he has set a bad example, a bad example for the SuperSonics, the NBA, and even the entire sports world.
The media even thinks that he only crosses borders for fame and fortune, and that he is a fame-seeking man.
In just half a month, a wave of public opinion was formed in the United States that was quite unfavorable to Zhou Quan and criticized him.
On the 14th, the Magic played against the Hornets at home, and Anfernee Hardaway injured his left knee.
Originally, people in Orlando thought it was just a minor injury, but the test results told them that this was a serious injury that required knee surgery.
Three days later, Penny Hardaway underwent surgery and entered the injury period, and the Magic's record began to plummet.
At this time, people in Orlando began to miss Shark O'Neal. If it was before, if Penny was injured, there would still be Sharks who could carry the team, but now there is no more.
Zeng Li returned to China on the 16th and stayed in the country for more than ten days before returning to the United States on the 28th.
It just so happened that the SuperSonics ended their six consecutive away games on this day, and Zhou Quan also returned to Seattle.
"Husband, I got together with Roberts in Los Angeles this morning, and she said that your recent situation is not very good." Zeng Li said as soon as we met.
"It's nothing, it's just a big tree that attracts the wind." Zhou Quan said with a smile.
"Will not have any problems?"
"The media, with the support of some capital, tried to arouse public opinion that was unfavorable to me, but some media just followed up. My fans were not deceived. My jersey and sneaker sales have surpassed Jordan's in North America. Those media's hype The goal cannot be achieved." Zhou Quan said with a smile.
"That's good."
Zeng Li also breathed a sigh of relief.
The sales of jerseys and shoes are the best proof of popularity, and she knows this.
There is another game in November. In the first 16 games, they had 11 wins and 5 losses, and then lost to three teams including the Kings, Knicks, and Hornets.
In the Western Conference, Mosaic has 13 wins and 1 loss, and the Jazz has 10 wins and 2 losses, ranking first and second respectively. The SuperSonics are still third.
The Lakers have 10 wins and 6 losses, losing a bit too much and falling behind the Sonics.
The Bulls are first in the Eastern Conference, winning all 14 games, and are also first in the league.
Zhou Quan has played 32 minutes so far, which has improved, averaging 26.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 4.1 steals, 2 blocks, 3.2 turnovers and 1.8 fouls per game, and his shooting percentage is 50.2%.
In terms of personal data, he is still the best in the league. No one is more comprehensive than him. Even if some people have higher offensive efficiency than him, they are just some centers.
There are only a lot of mistakes. This is because there are four newcomers, and there are still some problems in coordination. There is not enough tacit understanding, and there will be some passing and receiving errors.
After half a month, the Sonics began to adapt to the current media environment. It was very stressful at the beginning, but now it is much better. Under Zhou Quan's control, there were no major problems in the locker room.
As the schedule progressed, the players began to recover. This is why Zhou Quan did not increase his playing time and shots. He still focused part of his energy on training and gaining weight.
With the strengthening of the substitute lineup, the playing time of several main players has been reduced. Of course, the data of the main players last season also declined.
On the 29th, the SuperSonics played their last game of the month and defeated the Suns at home, achieving a record of 12 wins and 5 losses.
After one and a half months of weight gain, Zhou Quan's weight has reached 95.5 kilograms, and he still has a weight gain goal of 1.5 kilograms. His strength has reached level 89, which is a level improvement. The ability to resist injuries is still level 95 and has not been reduced.
On the 1st, the NBA announced its Player of the Month. Jordan won this honor with the league's first record.
At the same time, the official MVP ranking was also updated. Jordan is also first, Olajuwon is second, and Zhou Quan is third. There is no change.
That night, the SuperSonics defeated the Jazz for the second time and achieved a record of 13 wins and 5 losses.
Zhou Quan played 35 minutes for the first time this season and scored 44 points, 16 assists, 6 steals and 4 blocks.
In the 5th minute of the final quarter, he knocked Stockton away during a breakthrough. Stockton flew at least more than one meter in the air, fell to the floor, slid five or six meters, and crashed directly into the media box. After examination, it was found that at least three ribs were broken.
After injuring Stockton, the Sonics were already leading by 23 points, and he left the game.
But this time he injured Stockton, and the media found another reason to criticize him.
Livingston, who took the lead in criticizing him last time, said in an interview with NBC the next day: "Obviously, Iron Fist has gained weight, and his power and impact have become more powerful and terrifying. But I don't understand it very much. Any reason to gain weight?
He is a point guard, and his original tonnage is enough for him to sweep through the league's No. 1 position, even the No. 2 position, and the No. 3 position. There are very few people who are stronger than him. There is almost no small forward with a higher muscle ratio than him. , his tonnage and strength can even allow him to sweep across the perimeter of the entire league.
Why did he gain weight? There's only one reason, because of boxing. He wants to increase his tonnage and enhance his strength in the ring.
However, when a person's weight increases, his athleticism must decrease, this is inevitable, and there is no way to avoid this.
So I want to congratulate the players in the league. The number one player in the NBA and the great crossover player Iron Fist is leaving the NBA in order to make a lot of money.
Why do I say this? Because he can earn 100 million U.S. dollars or more in a boxing match, and how much can he earn in a season in the NBA? Why is he gaining weight? So it's obvious that he is preparing to leave the NBA.
But I think this is a good thing, our league will become purer, and the NBA will be a place for people who are passionate about basketball to play.
I think Iron Fist has polluted this league. His cross-border behavior is full of lack of seriousness and lack of love for the league and basketball. I hope he leaves this league as soon as possible to make his big money. In the NBA league, the rest It will be someone who truly loves basketball. "
This was a live TV interview, and there had been a lot of publicity before it. Zhou Quan also watched it, and his cell phone was blasted before the interview was over.
He selected a reporter he knew and accepted a telephone interview.
In the interview, he admitted that he was indeed gaining weight, and the purpose of gaining weight was indeed to increase his competitiveness in boxing matches.
"But Mr. Livingston's statement is highly subjective and racially discriminatory, and I have no intention of leaving the NBA.
This season my goal for the team and I is to win three consecutive championships, a dynasty. If possible, we even hope to win four consecutive championships and five consecutive championships, so his statement is extremely ridiculous and extremely unbelievable. "
At this time, his other cell phone rang, it was Phillip.
"Zhou, this guy is very troublesome. I asked someone to investigate him. He belongs to a white supremacist group and rejects you from the bottom of his heart. There must be a group of forces behind him to support him."
"It doesn't matter, you handle it. If there is no way to prevent the formation of public opinion, it doesn't matter. It won't affect me. I will try to control the locker room and we won't have any big problems." Zhou Quan said calmly.
He is not unprepared. As a Chinese who does not even have American citizenship, the higher his status and the greater his achievements in a racially discriminatory country like the United States, he will inevitably encounter greater difficulties.
This time last year, he won the world boxing title. He once thought that his influence could transcend racial boundaries, but now it seems that he does not. In other words, it does not completely transcend racial boundaries.
"Okay, I have informed all your sponsors that they must contribute, otherwise if you fail, they will also lose their best spokespersons and ultimately their own interests," Philip said.
"Roger, we have to be prepared. Not all sponsors are willing to stand with us now."
"Understood." Phillip said after a moment of silence.
On the 2nd, the SuperSonics arrived in Los Angeles and will challenge the Lakers away from home on the 3rd.
This morning, some media exposed the news that Leviston was a member of a white supremacist group, believing that the public opinion was a conspiracy against Zhou Quan.
Some media began to express some views in support of Zhou Quan, believing that Zhou Quan's achievements in the NBA in the past five seasons do not need to be criticized.
Then the media topics began to disperse, and the media began to confront each other, and it was no longer one-sided.
In the evening, at the appointed time, O'Neill picked him up at the hotel and invited him to dinner.
While driving, O'Neal said: "Iron Fist, you have been in trouble since the new season! Back then, the media across the United States targeted Jordan after two consecutive championships, but none of them seemed to be targeting you on the same scale as they are now.
Many media think you should leave the NBA, and even accuse your sponsors of choosing you. Are there any sponsors who want to leave you? "
"Not currently." Zhou Quan said with a smile.
"But something has changed today, and some media are starting to support you." O'Neal said.
"In this world, interests are not the same. There is only one piece of meat. If you eat too much, someone will eat less, so there are always fights." Zhou Quan said with a smile.
"Have you really gained weight?" O'Neill smiled and asked again.
Zhou Quan smiled and said: "I am indeed gaining weight. Leviston is right about one thing. I am indeed gaining weight because of boxing."
"Are you really leaving the NBA?" O'Neal asked.
Zhou Quan smiled and said, "Do you believe what the media says? When they accuse you, it won't be too late for you to believe it."
O'Neal laughed and then asked, "How many pounds are you going to gain?"
"97 kilograms. About 214 pounds." Zhou Quan said.
"Then can you still run?" O'Neill asked curiously.
Zhou Quan smiled and said: "I am now 95.5 kilograms. Do you think I am slow?"
O'Neal was startled, looked at Zhou Quan in horror, and shouted, "Are you serious? You are almost 25 years old, haven't you fully tapped your talent yet?"
"Shark, do you think you are the only one with talent?" Zhou Quan asked with a smile.
O'Neal laughed and said proudly: "Of course, I'm 300 pounds now and I can't run much slower than you."
(End of chapter)
