Phil Jackson entered the locker room and Jordan had already gone to take a shower. He was actually a little surprised that Jordan didn't get angry today, which was rare.
But in fact, this worries him even more, because Jordan, who is abnormal, may have a psychological problem and is even more uncontrollable.
Thirty minutes later, Jordan walked out of the bathroom wearing a towel, and Phil Jackson walked over and sat next to him.
"Phil, what do you want to say?"
As soon as Jordan opened his mouth, Phil Jackson was startled because Jordan's voice became very hoarse.
He looked at the other players. The important players had all come out, leaving only a few fringe players who ended up in the bathroom. They were not important.
He looked at Jordan and said in a sincere tone: "Michael, I don't want to say anything else. I just want to tell you, think about the 1988 Finals, and think about the Lakers in that year's Finals."
"88 Finals?" Jordan murmured.
Phil Jackson nodded and said: "The Lakers trailed the Pistons 2-3 that year. The Smiling Assassin scored 25 points in the third quarter of the G6 game, but who was the winner in the end? It was Magic or the Lakers. So Michael, we still have a chance."
Having said this, he stared at Jordan and said: "Don't lose confidence. Only those who persevere to the end are qualified to reverse and have the opportunity to achieve a comeback.
Michael, I firmly believe that you are such a person, you have such strength and willpower, and our Bulls also have such strength. "
Phil Jackson's ability is still very strong. Under his psychological intervention, the confusion in Jordan's eyes gradually faded away, clarity returned, and his strong willpower once again occupied the commanding heights.
…
After the Sonics won the G4 game and tied with the Bulls at 2-2, most of the American media still supported the Bulls and believed that the Bulls had a greater chance. However, after the Sonics won the G5 game and gained the finals match point, this The situation has changed.
As for the overseas media, that is a completely different matter. It is completely different from the domestic media in the United States. With Zhou Quan's global influence, the media that are optimistic about him are far more optimistic than the media that are optimistic about the Bulls.
On June 10, major media in the United States announced the latest data on the probability of winning the finals.
After the G4 game, NBC, as the broadcaster of the finals series, was the only major mainstream media that was more optimistic about the Sonics, but it only had a 51% chance of winning.
But now after the G5 game, NBC has directly adjusted the SuperSonics' championship probability to 60% and the Bulls' 40%. The gap has changed from 2% to 20%, and the advantage has expanded tenfold.
This data is based on the premise that the Bulls have the home court advantage in G6G7. It can be seen that the current NBC TV station is still very optimistic about the SuperSonics defending the championship.
Of course, this data is still not as good as the winning chance NBC gave the Bulls after the G3 game. At that time, NBC gave the Bulls a 90% chance of winning.
Except for NBC, 70% of other mainstream media have adjusted the SuperSonics' championship probability to that of the Bulls.
There are also many media who continue to be optimistic about the Bulls. They also take the 1988 Finals between the Lakers and the Pistons as an example, believing that the Bulls will make an earth-shattering comeback with two home games.
Amid the hype in the US media, the news that the G5 game broke the NBA league's highest ratings record is also one of the highlights.
"Under the influence of two phenomenal superstars, Iron Fist King Zhou Quan and Air Jordan, the G5 game of the Finals broke the ratings record. The NBA is launching a strong challenge to MLB. The NBA is targeting the second place among the four major professional sports leagues in North America. Location." Los Angeles Times.
"NBC and the NBA have currently stopped negotiating due to the decline in the ratings of the G3 game. However, the ratings of the G4G5 game have returned. It can be foreseen that the negotiations between the two parties should be restarted in the near future. The next broadcast contract will far exceed the previous contract. At that time, the NBA will replace MLB and officially become the second among the four major leagues." New York Times.
After the G5 game, the ratings broke records and David Stern's heart settled.
But he is not in a hurry to resume contract negotiations with NBC and decided to wait until the finals are over before negotiating, which should give him more advantages.
It's just that most of the mainstream media in the United States are still targeting Iron Fist, which makes him very helpless because he cannot change the stance of these media.
What he is most worried about now is whether Zhou Quan's attitude towards the NBA will be affected by this incident.
At 9 o'clock in the morning, Zhou Quan got up and turned on his two mobile phones. He received a lot of text messages. He looked at them and saw that they were all congratulatory text messages from some friends, congratulating him for getting the match point and wishing him a successful defense of his third consecutive championship.
At around 10 o'clock, Zhou Quan was preparing to drive off when he received a call from Chen Long.
The two contacted each other half a month ago. Chen Long is filming a new movie "Who Am I" in South Africa? Why are you calling him at this time?
"Hey, Brother Chen, what's the matter?"
"Iron Fist, I'm in Johannesburg now. I'll be on the plane soon. Come over to watch your finals. Please prepare the tickets for me. Don't forget." Chen Long said.
"Ah, so your movie shooting is going to be shut down, isn't it?"
"Haha, you are defending the dynasty for the third time in a row. I can't miss it. But there is no need to stop the camera. Director Chen Musheng and Chen are here. The two of us are directing this drama and shooting some other scenes in the past few days." Chen Long laughed. .
"OK, then come over. Don't worry about tickets."
After hanging up the phone, he called Jerry Krause and asked for help arranging a front-row ticket.
Zeng Li and the others didn't need to go to the Bulls for their tickets before, because the SuperSonics allocated 2,000 away tickets, so they could just go to the team to buy them directly. But the tickets for Chen Long must be in the first row, so they have to go to the Bulls management.
At 11 a.m., the supersonic plane left the airport.
Zeng Li, Zeng Yu, Zhou Jun, and a large group of Zhou Quan's friends, including Supersonic's wife group and girlfriend group, flew to Chicago separately.
At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the supersonic bus left the Chicago Airport, checked into the hotel at 4 o'clock, and held a press conference at 5 o'clock.
"Iron Fist, the ratings for the G4G5 battle are back. NBC has revealed that it intends to restart negotiations with the NBA. What do you think of this?" The first person to ask the question was a reporter from the New York Times.
"Good thing." Zhou Quan replied very briefly.
He now has no good impression of the New York Times. This world-famous media has a very bad attitude towards him, leading to a frenzy of public opinion against him.
The reporter was stunned. Is your answer too simple?
At this time, Zhou Quan nodded to the host, who quickly asked the staff to confiscate the reporter's microphone and handed it to the next reporter who asked a question.
That reporter was almost mad to death. I am a reporter from the New York Times. If you treat me like this, aren't you afraid that I will slander you and target you?
"Iron Fist, are you confident that we can end the finals in tomorrow night's G6 game?" asked the Seattle Times reporter who took the microphone.
Zhou Quan smiled and said: "I hope so, but we should be mentally prepared."
"Many media now believe that the Bulls will become the second 1988 Lakers team. What do you think?" the reporter asked again.
"Unless I get injured, I will be unlucky like Isiah back then." Zhou Quan said.
The press conference lasted for an hour, which happened to be dinner time.
The team specially arranged for the players and their wives and girlfriends to have dinner together. After dinner, they went to a reserved bar to watch tonight's NBC program.
There are only two games left in the Finals at most. NBC has put on this show. The core topic of the show is whether the Bulls can come back like the Lakers in 1988.
The show is set in Chicago. The hosts are the finals commentators Oscar Robertson and Elgin Baylor. The guests are Magic and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, as well as the assassins Isiah Thomas and Laimbeer.
At half past eight, the show starts.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Elgin and I," Robertson said with a grin.
After the opening remarks, Elgin Baylor continued: "Now let's get straight to the point and discuss the possibility of the last two finals."
Robertson looked at the four guests and asked: "Hey, gentlemen, who of you comes first?"
"I."
Ranbir, who did his duty, shouted in a loud voice, then looked at the magician and Tiangou with a disdainful expression, and said coldly:
"The foundation of tonight's topic is wrong. It is a false proposition. If it hadn't been for that damn guy's deliberate misjudgment, there would have been no comeback at all. Don't deny that the last one was a misjudgment. The replays after the event have already proven this. .”
"Yes, if we win the championship in 1988 and successfully defend the title in 1989 and 1990, we will have completed the three consecutive championship dynasty."
The assassin immediately echoed, looking very angry and depressed, because that misjudgment cost him the chance to win three consecutive championships. After so many years, he felt very bad whenever he thought about that last misjudgment.
Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar looked at each other with helplessness in their eyes, because the final penalty that year was indeed in favor of the Lakers, and their championship was controversial.
However, there is still a need to refute. Magic Johnson said: "Sorry, we all know that those things will definitely happen in the game, and no one can avoid it, so the core of our topic tonight is not the penalty, but the current Bulls. , is there any chance of a comeback?"
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar nodded and said, "Yeah, that's it."
Laimbeer said disdainfully: "The topic given by NBC is whether this Bulls can come back like the Lakers in 1988. So do you hope that there will be the same misjudgment this time? The Bulls must rely on referees to win like the Lakers did back then. ?"
"No, I've already said it, the game can't avoid those things." Magic Johnson said quickly.
"What things? Is it a miscarriage of justice?" the assassin asked, staring at the magician.
Facing his former friend and now his enemy, Magic snorted in his heart. Just as he was about to speak, Robertson interrupted and said, "Okay, let's change the topic and talk about whether the Bulls can make a comeback this time, okay?"
"That can't cover up the fact that the Lakers stole a championship from us." Laimbeer said disdainfully.
"No, it's a dynasty," the assassin said.
"Yes, a dynasty." Ranbir immediately agreed.
Robertson and Elgin Baylor had a headache, as did Magic and Skyhook.
Elgin Baylor hurriedly asked: "Isiah, do you think the Bulls have a chance to come back this time?"
"Turn over the meat and fry side A and side B? Under Iron Fist's hands, the bull's roast beef will only burn." Thomas said disdainfully.
Magic retorted: "It is very possible for the Bulls to win both home games."
"Theoretically? What are the chances?" the assassin said disdainfully.
The magician was speechless and looked to Jabbar for help.
Of course, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar supported Zhou Quan. When he saw the magician coming to his rescue, he couldn't help but scratch his head and thought to himself, if I wasn't trying to make some extra money, I wouldn't even have a dog to participate in this show.
"Well, they all have a chance, let's watch their performance on the spot." He said something vaguely and then closed his mouth.
The assassin said sarcastically again: "The ratings for the G3 game plummeted by 60%, there were demonstrations in New York, and NBC stopped contract negotiations. Now, which referee dares to blow the SuperSonics' black whistle? Without the help of the whistle at home, how big is the Bulls' home court advantage?"
As soon as these words came out, even Robertson and Elgin Baylor couldn't help but nodded.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also nodded and said: "In terms of strength, the general media believes that the Bulls are stronger. Indeed, Mutombo provided the Bulls with strong rim protection and penalty area defensive strength, which made the Bulls' defense the best in the league.
But after this series, we found that the Bulls were unable to cope with the Sonics' fast-paced offensive and defensive tactics, and this was a very fatal problem. "
The assassin added: "Comparing the performance of Jordan and Iron Fist in this series, we can draw a result. Michael Jordan no longer has the strength to achieve a comeback on Iron Fist.
In G1 vs. G2 vs. G4 vs. G5, Jordan's scoring and shooting percentages were 34 points and 38.5%, 38 points and 48.4%, 15 points and 26.1%, and 33 points and 46.4% respectively.
In the G3 game, it was 42 points and 62.5%, but Tekken was suspended in that game and cannot be compared. After four games, he averaged 30 points per game and shot 42.4% from the field.
The Iron Fist scored 48 points and 52.4%, 38 points and 58.5%, 40 points and 76.2%, 41 points and 56.5% respectively, averaging 41.75 points per game and shooting 58.7%. "
"The gap is a bit big! This is also an important reason why the Sonics can take the lead. In comparison of the core of the two teams, Jordan lost a bit." Elgin Baylor said.
"Michael is too old," Magic Johnson said.
The assassin said disdainfully: "Age? Jordan's highest shooting percentage in the playoffs was in 1988, and it was only 53.1%. He was 25 years old that year, which was far inferior to Iron Fist's current performance.
There is a reason why Iron Fist's shooting percentage is so high, because he can not only attack, but also pass the ball. He rarely forces a shot, and his threat with the ball is far greater than Jordan's. "
Magic Johnson argued: "Don't forget, Tekken's performance in the first three series this time was not as good as in the finals. Counting all four rounds, his shooting percentage was not as high."
"That's because the opponent was too weak in the first three rounds. He didn't have to exert his full strength. He could just beat him in three rounds." The assassin laughed.
The magician retorted speechlessly, feeling very depressed and looking a little bad.
Elgin Baylor, as the old man of the Lakers, stood up to stop the assassin and interrupted with a smile: "Well, let's talk about the topic of Kareem just now. Although the Bulls have strengthened Muthomum, they have to deal with Can't handle the Sonics' fast-paced offense and defense."
Laimbeer said at this time: "What's there to talk about? No one in the Bulls can catch up with the Iron Fist guy, and of course they can't cope with their fast pace.
I think we should talk about the Lakers stealing a championship from us in 1988 and delaying our dynasty. This matter must be settled, right? "
"Yes, we need an explanation. The Lakers want to return our dynasty." The excited assassin jumped up and shouted.
"There's nothing to talk about. You can't afford to lose, can you?" Magic Johnson said angrily.
"Tiangou, just tell me, did I foul you at that time? Answer directly." Laimbeer asked with great momentum.
"Well, I was actually so nervous at the time. How did I notice it?"
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar hesitated and refused to answer. Now he regrets participating in this show for a small amount of money. Isn't this putting himself on the fire?
"Ha ha……"
In the bar, Zhou Quan burst out laughing.
At this time, Stallone called. After explaining to Whitsitt, he took Zeng Li over there to attend the party.
The party was in another hotel, just for drinking and chatting. Zhou Quan and Zeng Li sat there for an hour and then left.
(End of chapter)
