Chapter 42 The battle between the main player and the substitute

Author: Dong Wangyi

Chapter 42 The battle between the main player and the substitute

In the following games, Ewing didn't seem to show the strength of a super center. He rarely scored, 80% of his offense was jump shots, and there were very few free throws. His lethality was not enough, his efficiency was not high, and his shooting percentage was only over 40%.

Zhou Quan understood very well. He took the opportunity to ask Joe Dumars: "Joe, is it because Ewing didn't go in because this is the regular season?"

A strange look flashed across Joe Dumas's face, and he shook his head and said: "No, he should be afraid of Bill. When he played against us before, he rarely went in and was used to shooting jumpers from outside."

"..."

Zhou Quan was speechless. Although Ranbir was a bastard and a softie, his deterrence was indeed powerful.

Although Ewing didn't exert his strength, he did today. He played very proactively on the offensive end. He repeatedly pulled up to the left wing to beat Mark Jackson in the low post.

He made 3 of 3 shots in the beginning, followed by 3 of 7 shots, 2 of 2 free throws, and 6 of 10 shots in the first half. He scored 14 points and sent out 5 assists. His performance was very strong.

Playing in the low post on the left wing was Jordan's unique skill in the past. The entire league couldn't stand it. He averaged 37.1 points per game in the regular season, forcing the league to introduce anti-isolation singles rules to limit Jordan's low post play.

Now Zhou Quan's offense is definitely ten levels worse than Jordan's, but his passing and assisting abilities, even if he is still a rookie, are not comparable to Jordan's. So Pat Riley has a headache. Even if he uses double-teaming tactics, he cannot easily

It does a good job of limiting Zhou Quan's offense in the low post.

In addition to Zhou Quan's good performance, Joe Dumars also played very well, scoring 11 points in the first half and shooting 62% from the field.

In addition, Rodman played power forward for the first time. In 19 minutes of halftime, he actually grabbed 10 rebounds, including 4 offensive rebounds.

Relying on their outstanding performance, the Pistons led the Knicks by 16 points in the first half, which was a huge advantage.

McCloskey sat behind the home team's bench next to Isiah Thomas, and the two exchanged words from time to time.

As the day for the Smiling Assassin's comeback approaches, a question is placed in front of him, and that is the ownership of the main point guard.

Zhou Quan's performance made him very happy. Although he lacked experience, his skills were not mature enough, and his physical fitness had not yet reached its peak, his current performance showed that his choice was right. He was very much looking forward to Zhou Quan's future.

Performance, I really want to see what heights Zhou Quan can reach in the future.

In the past, he felt that Zhou Quan's ceiling was not as good as Thomas's, but now he no longer has this idea. Perhaps Zhou Quan can truly become the next Smiling Assassin.

But the growth of any player requires training, and giving him enough playing time, giving him a main position, allowing him enough training time, and having the strongest opponents as a whetstone is the best way to train him.

In other words, if you want Zhou Quan to grow up as quickly as possible, you must let him play the main point guard, even sacrificing the team's record and giving him a few seasons to train.

But Isiah Thomas is only 30 years old. Although he has serious injury problems, his strength is still there and he is still the team's signature star. Letting him serve as a substitute for Zhou Quan will not only hurt Thomas's heart, but also hurt the fans' hearts.

Even though the current attitude of Pistons fans towards Zhou Quan is okay, if Thomas comes back as a substitute for Zhou Quan, the fans' attitude is likely to undergo a 180-degree change.

The current situation, from the owner to the management, the coaching staff, and even him personally, has different thoughts on the current team than at the beginning of the season.

At the beginning of the season, they were still expecting the Bad Boys to regain their morale and regain their glory. However, after experiencing the sudden violence in the locker room and the Bad Boys being completely destroyed by Zhou Quan, this idea was gone.

People were very desperate at that time.

But after Zhou Quan's debut and his good performance against Jordan, he and Chuck Daly changed their minds.

After the game that day, Daly asked him what he thought of the current team, which meant asking him whether the team should be rebuilt with Zhou Quan as the core, or whether it should wait for Thomas to return and continue its previous glory.

These two ideas, in fact, the people remain the same, they are still the same players, but the results will be different.

Zhou Quan and Thomas are both point guards, and one of them must be on the bench. With Zhou Quan as the core of the reconstruction, Thomas will only be able to play on the bench in the future. If we wait for Thomas to return and continue his previous glory, then Zhou Quan will enter the bench lineup.

.

If he chooses to continue his glory, the intensity of cultivating Zhou Quan will be greatly reduced. At least until Thomas gets old, Zhou Quan will not get more opportunities.

And Zhou Quan is already 19 years old, which is the best time to increase his career. If he cannot be fully cultivated in the past few years, then in a few years, the ceiling will be fixed. Even if his skills and experience can be improved, his future height will be

The ceiling must be limited and cannot support the team's future.

Therefore, the final result of the approach of renewing glory is that Zhou Quan cannot truly grow up. After Thomas and Joe Dumars age, the Pistons will also lose this opportunity to rebuild.

So with this approach, can the Pistons really repeat their two consecutive championships? Even if they can repeat their glory, is it worth it to trade Zhou Quan's future?

This was what McCloskey was thinking about during this time, and he was hesitant.

During this period, including this unfinished game, Zhou Quan has played a total of seven games. He has three wins and three losses in the first six games. He is likely to win this game. The strong rookie has shown very good leadership.

ability.

His personal performance was very stable and he ranked fourth in this year's rookie rankings. He showed full potential, especially his organizational ability, which is huge.

McCloskey's evaluation of the potential of Zhou Quan's organizational ability has reached S level, and he has the opportunity to become a top point guard in the future.

And Thomas, affected by injuries, has actually been in a state of decline since last season.

By continuing to use Thomas as the core and letting Zhou Quan enter the bench lineup, can he really continue his glory? Will it waste the opportunity to rebuild?

It was difficult for him to decide between the two possibilities.

He did not directly answer Daley's question that day because he was not sure of Zhou Quan's true potential.

This is a very important issue. Zhou Quan and Thomas did reconcile, but if this issue is not handled well, it is likely to trigger internal strife again.

But now, he is basically certain that, at least in terms of organizational ability, Zhou Quan has the potential to become a top point guard, and Thomas' return is imminent, so now is the time for him to show his attitude.

After repeated consideration, he felt that he needed to communicate with them first.
Chapter completed!