At this time, New York, Knicks headquarters, Pat Riley and other coaching staff gathered Ewing and other players and were holding a meeting.

The content is to summarize the situation of the regular season, and then talk about the situation in the playoffs.

In the game with the Pistons on November 30 last year, because of on-court conflicts and heads-up off the court, Oakley and Anthony Mason were injured by Zhou Quan, which affected the Knicks' record, resulting in only the sixth record in the East this season, with the Knicks' lineup, the sixth position, which is not in line with their strength.

The coach spoke loudly above, and Oakley whispered below, saying hatefully: "This first-round touch with the Pistons is exactly what I want, and I want to teach that rookie a good lesson." ”

Mason leaned over and whispered: "Boss, my neck is thicker than before, yours still seems to be as thin, I think you better don't mess with him, let me come, you don't need to be beaten." If you are knocked out by him again, what will you do in the future? ”

"Bang"

Oakley elbowed Mason in the chest with a backhand.

But Mason smiled casually, nothing.

"What are you two doing?" Pat Riley grimaced, grimacing.

Oakley swallowed his throat, he was a little afraid of Coach Riley, and hurriedly said, "No, coach, I didn't do anything, just kidding." ”

The gentleman-like Pat Riley stared coldly at Oakley for a few seconds, his momentum was very powerful, until the big villain lowered his head and let him go, and said:

"In the first round against the Pistons, they defended better than we did, and I want you to pay attention to that, otherwise our offense will be very affected.

They're averaging 96.6 points per game this season, we're 97.7, they're first in the East, first in the league, we're second in the East, second in the league. In terms of points per game, we are two points above them.

In terms of points scored and points conceded, our strength is about the same, five regular season games, although we have two wins and three losses, but I don't think this is a comparison of the real strength of the two sides, the real battle is the playoffs, I think you think so too? ”

"Yes, Coach." Oakley shouted in the lead.

Patrick Ewing was the core of the team, but it took a long time to mingle with the others.

"That's good, I want you to be cautious about the first-round series, if we get eliminated in the first round, some of you, you're going to be traded, and even some of you, you're going to lose your jobs altogether."

Pat Riley's somewhat grim voice rang out, and as soon as his voice came out, the conference room immediately fell silent, and only his voice remained.

"I would also like to remind you to be careful of Iron Fist, he is quite a cunning man, and you know his other identity, the hockey executioner, who is good at provoking conflict in unfavorable situations to hit our core and workhorse......"

"Defensively, I'm asking you to be at the highest defensive intensity from the first round of the series, and against the Pistons, we don't have the right to keep our hands.

Focus on defense, first, the breakthrough of the iron fist, you must be careful with his ball, but I also want to remind you that he is good at passing the ball to his teammates in front of him, and he has a weak ability to observe the open space behind him, which is a point that you can pay attention to.

Second, Joe Dumas' individual offense, as the Pistons' scoring champion, stifled his offense, and we could get the win.

Third, the inside line should be careful of Ulrich's inside cut, this role player and Iron Fist work quite well, his cut dunk can hit our morale, and the inside line must severely crack down on his slam dunk.

But that's not really the point, the real defensive focus, we have to take advantage of the weakness of their interior line not attacking, Patrick and Charles have to block the penalty area, so that their outside line can't get in, understand? ”

"Understood."

The Knicks players were in good spirits.

"Offensively, our interior is undoubtedly stronger, so Patrick, you're going to step up and break down their interior with your attack, and I'm sure you have the quality."

"On the bench, watch out for the Assassins, after the Battle of Auburn Hills, although his form has plummeted, we don't know if he has any reservations, maybe he has been saving for the playoffs."

……

At one o'clock in the afternoon, the plane arrived in Detroit, and after returning to headquarters, Chuck Daly announced that they would meet tomorrow, and the first round of the Pistons would be played on the 23rd.

"Iron Fist, the league has announced the start of the rookie selection this morning, and the three candidates, you, Larry Johnson, and Mutombo.

The results of the selection will be announced on the 23rd, and I wish you the best rookie selection, you should be the best rookie last year. ”

"Thank you! Do you have any of his data, give me a copy. ”

"Okay."

Zhou Quan got Larry Johnson's data at the headquarters and compared it with his own.

Played in 82 games, started 77 games, averaged 37.2 minutes per game, shot 7.5 of 15.3, shot 49%, 19.2 points, 11 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1 steal, 0.6 blocks, 2 turnovers and 2.7 fouls.

The stats are similar to him, and the only thing Larry Johnson is better than him is rebounding, hitting a double-double and looking even more beautiful.

But he's not boasting, his stats are no worse than the opponent, and on the defensive end that can be compared, he performs better.

Next, he was ready to continue his pull-up jump shooting drills, which had been stopped before the playoffs.

The final round, he did the math, should probably be completed on the 26th or 27th, but it depends on the physical exertion of the playoffs.

When he had nothing to do, he flipped through the phone book, saw Buckley's name, picked up the phone, dialed it, and said, "Hey, Charles, are you okay?" ”

"Iron Fist, does what you say count?" Barkley's tone was frustrated.

"Haha, Charles, is Philadelphia willing to trade you? As long as you come to us, we can blow the bulls. He laughs.

Hearing this, Barkley was really moved.

Philadelphia didn't even make the playoffs this season, and his ability to lead the team was greatly questioned, both the management and the Philadelphia fans were smiling about him, and the Philadelphia media had more opinions about him.

Before the All-Star, the team had already decided to give up on him, but unfortunately the deal with the Lakers was not completed, otherwise he would be in Los Angeles now.

"Forget it."

But thinking of the Pistons' lineup, he shook his head again.

"Why?" Zhou Quan didn't know what he was doing.

Barkley said angrily, "Do you have any chips?" Even if the deal goes through, what will be left of your roster? ”

Zhou Quan was stunned, this is also, last year, in order to select him, the team used this year's first-round pick to trade the No. 17 pick with the Warriors, if Barkley is traded, either Joe Dumas becomes a bargaining chip, or he, or even packaged in exchange for Barkley, anyway, the management will not use the future draft pick as a bargaining chip.

After thinking about it clearly, he hurriedly said: "Forget it, in fact, we have big worms, there is no shortage of big forwards at all, it is useless for you to come, what we are really bad is the center." ”

"Okay, Iron Fist, you're too fickle, aren't you? I used to say that I should be the boss. Barkley was so angry that his nose was crooked, and he was affectionate just now.

"Haha, Charles, I'll make you the boss, is that boss really the boss?"

Zhou Quan smiled: "Why don't you go to the Trailblazers, they are the first in the West this year, the third in the league, and if you go, maybe you will win the championship next year." ”

"Pioneers? Alas, where is this for me to decide? ”

Barkley lamented that he would have preferred to join the Bulls, but was that possible? Maybe Stern won't get through there.

The two chatted for a while before ending the call.

"Hey, senior......"

Zhou Quan hung up another phone call to Reggie Miller and congratulated him on making the playoffs.

Reggie Miller said with some excitement: "Iron Fist, if you hadn't injured Oakley and Mason and made the Knicks suffer a lot, it would have been difficult for us to climb to fifth."

This time we played the green team in the first round, and if we can get past it, we will meet the Bulls in the second round, and Jordan and I haven't played each other in the playoffs, so this is an opportunity. ”

Zhou Quan smiled: "Reggie, playing the green team, even if Larry Bird doesn't play, I'm afraid you won't have much hope." ”

"Not necessarily." Reggie Miller refuses to admit defeat.

"Come on, senior, I'm optimistic that you will eliminate the green team, enter the second round, and help us kill Jordan." Zhou Quan immediately changed his words.

"You kid, your position is not firm at all." Miller laughed.

……

"Zhou, I'm tired."

In the evening, Catherine called, and something was not right in her mood.

"Catherine, don't have any chances yet?" Zhou Quan asked.

"No, I don't even get interviews. Zhou, what do you say I should do now? Catherine lost her way.

He reassured, "Take your time. ”

He asked, "Even if you don't have a job, do you want to watch the game?" By the way, you can distract yourself, and there is no need to let yourself fall into an anxious mood. ”

"No, I have some cabaret jobs on hand now, and I still have to support myself." Catherine said.

"Catherine, if you don't have a hand, you can tell me."

"Zhou, I can rely on myself."

"Okay."

……

On the 21st, the pistons regrouped.

In the morning, a tactical meeting was held to discuss how to deal with the Knicks.

"Mortal enemy! We and the Knicks are mortal enemies too! ”

At the beginning of the meeting, Chuck Daly said with a serious expression: "After beating Oakley with an iron fist, we are mortal enemies, so in this first-round series, everyone must be mentally prepared."

Pat Riley is an unscrupulous man for the sake of victory, and once we have the advantage in the series, he is likely to make a bad move when cornered. ”

The so-called crooked move is nothing more than deliberately causing a conflict on the court, and then using role players to replace the opponent's main or even core players.

Zhou Quan smiled and said, "On the ice hockey rink, I am the one who implements this tactic, and I am professional in this matter." ”

"Haha......"

The room burst into laughter.

Chuck Daly also laughed and said: "But we still have to be careful, once they do something on the field, they must control the situation as soon as possible, they can't let their plan succeed, they can't expand, and the substitutes must not play......"

He continued: "Tactically, Pat Riley completely changed the style of coaching with the Lakers with the Knicks, and he built a defensive-first team in New York, and I think that influenced us.

In fact, it's the influence of the Bad Boys that has slowly picked up the league's defensive style from the mid-to-late eighties, and I think that trend should continue. ”

"Chuck is getting old, too."

McCloskey, who was sitting next to him, shook his head secretly.

Always dwelling on the success of the past is the hallmark of the old man.

At this time, Chuck Daly said: "And we have to be careful of injuries, Isaiah's situation is okay at the moment, but Dennis has been a little troubled with his recent injury, which is likely to affect his playing time, everyone should be mentally prepared." ”

Zhou Quan is a little helpless, Rodman is also 31 years old, and he has many injuries, I hope the impact will not be too great.

Daley said with a serious look at this time: "We played five games with them in the regular season and won three games, but that doesn't mean they are weak.

Actually, we can't pull out the inside line, and as long as Ewing and Oakley stick to the box, it will cause us a lot of problems. ”

Everyone nodded when they heard this, this is how they lost the two games in the regular season, there was no offense on the inside, and they couldn't break through on the outside, the offense was inefficient, and then the rebounding ball was out of control.

As for the three games that won, the first game of the Knicks' away game, did not go all out, so they lost, the second game was the home game of the Knicks, but Zhou Quan injured Oakley, so he lost, and then the Knicks lost another game during Oakley's injury, so although the Pistons won three games, the gold content was not large.

"We have to fight with them defensively, rebounds, offense to have a chance to win," Daley said. ”

He didn't have any good ideas about how to solve the breakthrough problem.

Because this is a tough injury in the lineup, John Sailly and Rodman just don't attack, they just can't pull out, Ewing and Oakley can stay in the paint area, and they can't solve it tactically at all.

This problem is also the biggest weakness of the current Pistons against the Knicks.

He said to Zhou Quan: "Zhou, you have to break through more, you have the ability to drill into the cracks, and you will be our most powerful weapon against the dense defense of the Knicks' restricted area." ”

"Understood."

Zhou Quan nodded.

He's under a lot of pressure, Ewing and Oakley are defensive stalwarts, and he's dangerous to rush in and will face the strongest defence.

Daley said at this time: "John, Dennis, you two should pay attention to one point when breaking through on the outside, and immediately pull it out to block and dismantle the outside, first, to cover the offense, and second, to release part of the space in the restricted area, which is conducive to the breakthrough of teammates." ”

"Yes."

Rodman and Sellly nodded at the same time.

At the end of the meeting, Chuck Daly announced the 12-man squad for the playoffs, and Bedford, who had been injured earlier, returned to the squad.

……

On the evening of the 21st, ESPN TV did a show and made a prediction for the chances of winning the championship for sixteen playoff teams.

The Bulls, who have the first record in the regular season, the defending championship team, the first in the league in outside defense, Michael Jordan, the quarterback with the most powerful offensive firepower in the league, and the triangle tactics of champion coach Phil Jackson, plus Jordan, Pippen, and Grant's iron triangle combat power bonus, 100% of the Eastern Conference finals, with a 35% chance of winning the championship.

The Trail Blazers, who ranked first in the regular season in the West, have the highest chance of reaching the Western Conference finals, with a 15% chance of winning the championship.

Jazz, more than 50% of the chance to reach the Western Conference finals, but the black and white double evil is not enough to finish at critical moments, and the chance of winning the championship is 14%.

The Suns are weak on the inside, but they have a chance to reach the Western Conference finals with a 13% chance of winning the championship.

The Cavaliers, second in the Eastern Conference regular season, but weaker than the Bulls in offense, defense and rebounding, have a small chance of eliminating the Bulls and reaching the Finals, with a 9% chance of winning the championship.

Celtic, with an aging squad and serious injury problems, have a 7% chance of winning the championship.

The injury problems of the Pistons, Isaiah Thomas and Rodman, the performance of the team's new core Iron Fist in the first playoffs, and the strength of the first-round opponent Knicks will make the team's playoff road very difficult, and even the probability of advancing in the first round is less than 50%, and the chance of winning the championship is 6%.

The remaining 9 teams, adding up to 1%.

As a large sports media, ESPN's professionalism is undoubted, and this prediction of the probability of winning the championship has been recognized by many media as soon as it came out, and it has been reprinted one by one.

However, Zhou Quan doesn't see it that way, the Pistons are only 6%, which is too low, according to the regular season record, even if it is the Bulls, the Pistons have a chance to win.

He feels that his performance in the playoffs will not necessarily be bad, he is a 99-level mental attribute, of course, it is not ruled out that because of the problem of defensive intensity, the performance may indeed be inferior to the regular season, but it should not be too bad.

However, ESPN is right about two things, the Knicks are strong, not even weaker than the Pistons, and then the injury problem is troublesome, and those two points are likely to affect the playoffs.

……

On the 22nd, there was no training scheduled in the morning, and he specially invited the whole team to participate in the launch ceremony of his branded sneakers.

The ceremony was not arranged at the hotel, but at the flagship store of the brand's shoes.

His branded shoes are called Iron Fist Basketball Shoes, which directly use the influence of his nickname and are now released by the Iron Fist Generation.

In Detroit, there are six stores, one in the main community.

The ceremony began at half-past eight, and at eight o'clock, he and his agent came outside the flagship store.

"It's not bad, Detroit is very face-saving."

Philip said excitedly when he saw the long queue.

"Look, Iron Fist is coming."

Seeing him get out of the car, the fans in line shouted one after another.

"Hey, hello."

Zhou Quan hurriedly raised his hand and greeted.

"Hey, Isaiah."

"Hey, Iron Fist, congratulations."

"Thank you!"

After a while, the Assassin arrived in his Ferrari, and his fan base in Detroit far surpassed that of Zhou Quan, and the scene became lively.

"Click, click, click......"

The specially invited media began to take pictures.

Soon, Jo Dumas and they arrived.

At half past eight, the ceremony was held, and Skechers' general manager in Detroit, Buck Wilk and Zhou Quan, each spoke a few words, completed the ceremony, and then began selling shoes.

Zhou Quan's task is to sign, keep signing, and continue to sign until noon, and he doesn't even have time to eat lunch.

But he's glad that the Detroiters are still supportive of him, and if he doesn't sell $8 million by this time next year, he won't get the next three years of his $6 million contract.

He signed until one o'clock at noon, and then finished signing, and after saying goodbye to the fans, he left the scene, and his hand was already numb at this time.

And at this time, the New York Knicks arrived in Detroit.

Two hours later, Nicks held a press conference at the hotel.

(End of chapter)