Chapter 134 The beginning of the love triangle

Author: Dong Wangyi

Chapter 134 The beginning of the love triangle

In the visiting team's locker room, Chuck Daly stood in front of Zhou Quan with a serious expression: "Zhou, Joe didn't break through. You have to break in. You are the core and the leader of this team. I need you to strengthen in the second half."

Break through, get in, score points and cause damage more efficiently."

Zhou Quan gasped and nodded.

He also made a lot of breakthroughs in the first quarter, but in the second quarter, under Jordan's care, his breakthrough was not smooth and his shooting efficiency was also very low.

"We must have someone who can attract double teams, and that person can only be You. You need to create open opportunities for others. Of course, I am very satisfied with your performance in the first half."

Daly didn't say any more. Although Zhou Quan's offense in the first half was not very good, his assists were very good. If it weren't for his assists, the Pistons would have lost more.

He moved a step, stood in front of Joe Dumars and said: "Joe, tell me, is it really difficult to beat BJ and John Paxson?"

Joe Dumas looked ugly and said: "Chuck, my hand feels a little bad today."

Daley only asked this question, which was a reminder. He also knew that the away game at the United Center was under too much pressure, and it was inevitable that his feelings would be affected.

And, to be honest, Joe Dumars was not very efficient today.

However, the Pistons are now facing the Bulls, their mortal enemy, and the fiery Jordan, who has a field goal percentage of nearly 65% ​​and a true shooting percentage of more than 70%. Therefore, the Pistons must also perform in a better state to be able to do so.

Win.

Finally, he emphasized the rebounding. It was okay in the first half. Everyone worked together and only had one rebound less than the Bulls.

In the home team's locker room, although they were ahead, Phil Jackson didn't look relaxed.

After Jordan and others sat down, he immediately said: "With only a 5-point lead, we have almost no advantage. This is something we need to realize now. It's still Iron Fist's pass, and we still haven't solved his problem."

At this point, he looked at Jordan and said: "Michael, in the second quarter he still sent out three assists and two indirect assists under your defense. Although his offensive efficiency is low, we can't let him pass the ball at will. You

Not only must his scoring be limited, but his passing must also be limited.

You need to know that he is a traditional point guard, not an offensive point guard. Passing, assisting and organizing is his greatest damage to us, not scoring. So you scored 30 points at halftime, but we only led by 5 points. You

If you limit his offense, your defense will not be considered a success. You have to figure out the priorities."

Jordan looked solemn and said: "Phil, I know this, but I want to prevent his pass..."

Having said this, he shook his head and said: "I have been in the strongest confrontation, but I can't stand him. That kid's foot is more stable than before, and his core strength should be stronger. If it depends on me alone, I'm afraid

Can't stop him from passing the ball."

After these words were said, the somewhat messy locker room became quiet for a moment, and everyone looked at Jordan in surprise.

We all know how competitive Jordan is, so how could he admit in public that he can't guard against Iron Fist?

Jordan noticed the surprise of his teammates, but he ignored it because victory was the first priority. If he lost because of face, it was definitely something he didn't want.

So now he needs Phil Jackson's tactical support, rather than insisting that he can defend the next pass.

Phil Jackson shook his head seriously and said: "Without assistance, I can't arrange for people to double-team him on the outside. To lock his passing key, there is only one way. Everyone should keep an eye on their own man and cut him off from his teammates."

The passing route, we can strangle his passing."

Jordan nodded, that's all. It's impossible to really use double-teams on the outside to limit Zhou Quan's passing. Wouldn't that make people laugh?

Phil Jackson took a piece of paper handed over by the assistant coach, looked down and said: "Tekken sent out 7 assists and 5 indirect assists in 20 minutes at halftime. These 12 direct and indirect assists were given to Qiao Du respectively.

Maas 4 times, Ulrich 4 times, John Salley 3 times, and Bedford 1 time.

In the first half, Ulrich made 4 of 5 shots, all of which were dunks under the basket after cutting inside. John Salley made 3 of 4 shots. They played a highly efficient offense, which was all caused by Iron Fist's passing.

This is also the reason why Michael scored 30 points at halftime but we only led by 5 points.

So, if we can't limit his passing in the second half, once Michael's scoring efficiency drops, you know the consequences."

The atmosphere in the locker room became solemn, including Jordan. At this time, Phil Jackson said again: "Analyzing these assists of his, 12 direct and indirect assists, 8 of which were scored at the basket, and only 4 of which were passed to open spaces on the outside.

.

Gentlemen, let me give you a data comparison. After Michael shot 64.7% and his true shooting percentage was as high as 73%, our overall shooting percentage was 52%, while the Pistons' shooting percentage was 51%. We were only higher.

by one percentage point.

Now do you know the reason why we are only up by 5 points? Except for Michael, everyone else is not efficient enough.

Remember, we're facing the best defense in the league."

Not long after, the third quarter began.

Zhou Quan strengthened his efforts to break through with the ball, but Jordan reduced his offense and focused mainly on his defense. He did not perform impressively, and instead consumed a lot of physical energy.

He played the entire third quarter, almost all of which were breakthroughs. He only made 3 of 8 shots and 4 of 4 free throws. Although he caused some damage and scored 10 points, he only sent out one assist and was intercepted by Jordan once in a single quarter.

Blocked a shot.

After the third quarter, the Pistons were already ten points behind.

Chuck Daly realized that there was something wrong with his tactics. He asked Zhou Quan to rush in and play, but he ignored that Zhou Quan was facing Jordan today.

Moreover, Zhou Quan is not an offensive point guard, and his offensive ability is far from enough. He used Zhou Quan as the smiling assassin he used to be, and forced him to attack the basket under Jordan's defense. This was wrong.

Perhaps, he hoped that Zhou Quan would become the second assassin, so he made a mistake.

Although he knew there was something wrong with the tactics, Zhou Quan consumed a lot of his physical energy in the third quarter, which also affected his performance in the final quarter. In the end, the Pistons lost their first away game.

90:106, lost by 16 points.

In the TNT commentary box, Ringo Wilson commented after the game: "Michael Jordan scored 30 points in the first half. In the second half, he focused more on the defensive end, scoring 6 points in the second quarter, 8 points in the final quarter, and 46 points in the game.

Minutes, he scored 44 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls.

His shooting percentage was as high as 61.3%, and his true shooting percentage reached 70%. He played a terrifying performance at home. He is the brightest star tonight."

Robert Guida said: "As the core of the Pistons, Iron Fist made 9 of 23 shots and 9 of 10 free throws in 44 minutes. He scored 27 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, 4 turnovers and 4 fouls. He is the Pistons' scoring leader tonight.

.

His field goal percentage was 39.1%, and his true shooting percentage was 49.3%. His offensive efficiency was low, but his lethality was pretty good. He also did a good job organizing the offense. He mainly passed the ball well in the first half but lost a lot in the second half.

Comprehensive evaluation, in fact, for a rookie, his performance under Jordan's full defense is already quite good. We cannot evaluate him and Michael together, they are not on the same level at all."

Ringo Wilson laughed: "But when it comes to him and Michael Jordan, we have to evaluate them together."

Robert Guida nodded helplessly and smiled: "Well, as far as tonight's performance is concerned, Michael locked up the iron fist in the second half. The core of one side locked the core of the other. This was the main reason why the Pistons lost."

Ringo Wilson also nodded and said: "So in terms of performance, Michael crushed Iron Fist."

At the scene, at the end of the game, a panting Jordan spat at Zhou Quan who was not far away: "Iron Fist, starting from today, your failures will be one after another."

Zhou Quan panted harder. His physical fitness should be said to be far inferior to that of Jordan. When he heard this trash talk, he immediately held his breath and responded: "Everyone can talk big words. Wait until you win a few more championships."

Say this in front of me, you are not qualified yet."

"Hmph! I will, I will make you despair."

Jordan dropped these words and turned around and walked towards Barkley and the others.

"Michael, congratulations."

Magic Johnson and other superstars and Hollywood stars greeted him with smiles and sent congratulations.

"Iron Fist, you performed well tonight."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said hello to Jordan, walked to Zhou Quan and said.

"Karim, I know I'm still far away."

Looking at Jordan who was chatting and laughing with all the stars, Zhou Quan smiled and said: "But I firmly believe that I will catch up with him soon."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar nodded and said: "Iron Fist, your offensive ability is still a little bit behind now. Your strongest points are passing, assists, and organizational skills. I suggest you use your strongest point.

Remember, Michael Jordan can guard your offense, but he can never guard your passing, and the biggest harm you can do to them is your passing. As long as you do it right, you will be better than tonight

Stronger and more lethal."

"I understand, thank you, Karim."

Zhou Quan nodded, thanked him sincerely, said goodbye to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, waved goodbye to his teammates and Pistons fans, and then left the stadium.

When we walked to the players' tunnel, Darnell Walker from behind suddenly shouted: "That guy Dennis hasn't come yet."

"Where are the people?"

Zhou Quan stopped and turned around and asked.

Walker pointed to the side of the court and shouted: "There."

Zhou Quan took a look and saw that Barkley and a bunch of other stars were being interviewed by reporters. Among them, Rodman was standing with Madonna talking.

"This guy doesn't want to seduce Madonna, does he? She is the queen of pop music!" John Salley's jaw almost dropped.

"Dennis just got married. It shouldn't be possible. He's not that scumbag." Zhou Quan said a word, turned around and left.

"Dennis, your performance tonight was extremely poor and lifeless. You must have missed the rebounds in the regular season." Madonna said sharply.

"I'm injured, otherwise I would have had 20 rebounds tonight." Rodman defended.
To be continued...