"Michael, has anyone openly pursued your wife?"

"Scotty, who's the next married woman you'd like to pursue?"

Jordan and Pippen braved the media's bullets and rushed to the bus before they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Scotty, use your brain when you talk and do things in the future."

Jerry Krauss stayed behind to deal with the media before finally getting into the car, wiping a handful of sweat and then reprimanding mercilessly.

Pippen now has a star shelf, but he is not qualified to blow up with Klaus, and when he hears this, he can only bow his head.

Klaus looked at Jordan again and said, "Michael, have you forgotten the lessons of the last Battle of Auburn Hills, you are the leader of this team, now is the most critical time, don't let other things distract you from the series." ”

Jordan nodded with a straight face and did not answer.

He hated Klaus because the team didn't choose his little alumnus and chose Grant instead, but now he is not qualified enough to openly provoke Klaus, and his qualifications are still a little worse. But if Klaus continued to ramble, he wouldn't put up with it.

Fortunately, Klaus also knew that Jordan didn't like him, so after saying a word, he closed his mouth and didn't talk any more.

Phil Jackson stood behind Klaus and saw Klaus teach Jordan and Pippen, feeling that this way was very bad and it was easy to provoke the disgust of the players, and he had a better way, but unfortunately he was not the general manager, otherwise the Bulls would have been better than they are now.

It was Klaus who got the Bulls and put him in the head coach position, and now he is very grateful to Klaus and has a good relationship.

However, with the championship in hand, he now has a little more thoughts, and he is a little envious of Klaus's position in the Bulls and the power in his hands.

That afternoon, ESPN's NBA channel aired clips of interviews with retired or active stars, or head coaches.

"Mr. Riley, what are your thoughts on the current trend in the East-West finals?" The reporter who interviewed Pat Riley asked.

This is Pat Riley's office, and he's preparing for the draft today, and when he heard that, he got a gentlemanly smile on his face and said, "It's all tied 2-2 now, but I'm still more optimistic about the Trail Blazers and Bulls reaching the Finals." ”

"Why?"

Pat Riley explained: "The Trail Blazers and the Jazz, the Jazz's John Stockton has not played well in this playoffs, and the Trail Blazers have too many people to score, and the Trail Blazers have an extra home court, so I am more optimistic about the Trail Blazers."

Then the bulls and pistons, in fact, are the same problem.

Iron Fist played well, and his assists were very consistent.

However, unlike the Trail Blazers, there are too many people who can stand up and score, and the Pistons don't have that kind of strength, except for Joe Dumas, Iron Fist is the team's second scoring point, and he has to score.

However, his offensive skills are not mature, his efficiency is inconsistent, and in most cases he is ineffective. ”

"Is that why you look down on pistons?" The journalist asked.

Pat Riley nodded, "That's why I say the Pistons are the same as the Jazz, and the point guard's performance will determine whether they have a chance to reach the Finals."

But judging from the current performance, neither John Stockton nor Iron Fist can play a consistent performance, so I am more optimistic about the Trail Blazers and Bulls. ”

"Karim, you and Tekken are alumni, and you also have a good relationship with Michael Jordan, who are you more optimistic about between the Bulls and the Pistons to make the cut?" A reporter interviewed Abdul-Jabbar.

Abdul-Jabbar laughed: "Before the Eastern Conference Finals, or before the Eastern Conference Finals G4 game, this problem didn't exist, and no one would think that the Pistons could beat the Bulls to advance to the Finals, right?" This includes you ESPN. ”

The reporter nodded without embarrassment: "Yes, before the 2-2 draw, no one thought the Pistons had a chance to advance." At one point, we were even talking about the Bulls' chance to sweep the Pistons twice in the Eastern Conference. ”

Abdul-Jabbar laughed, "You ESPN think that the Pistons only have a 1% chance of advancing to the Eastern Conference finals, and the probability of winning the Finals is only a symbolic 1%, in fact, I'm wondering now, why don't you modify the data?"

Do you still think that the Pistons have a 1% chance of advancing to the Finals? With a big score of 2 to 2, their odds should not be too different. ”

The reporter explained, "I'm sorry, Karim, it's a matter from above, I don't know. ”

Abdul-Jabbar laughed: "Okay, back to the question of who I am more optimistic about just now, then let me tell you, I am willing to support Iron Fist, but I am still more optimistic about the Bulls." ”

"Why?" The journalist was somewhat surprised.

Abdul-Jabbar smiled: "The play of Iron Fist is still not stable enough, but Michael Jordan is very stable in every game, and he played 40+ performances in the East Finals, which is not an ordinary performance, this is a super performance, as long as any Iron Fist's offense can't play efficiently, Michael Jordan will have a chance to win the game." ”

Under the reminder of the team staff, Zhou Quan noticed this interview clip.

Of course, he knows what is wrong with him, and Coach Daley reminded him last time to reduce his nearly two-point shooting to improve his offensive efficiency.

The entire paint area, except for the area under the basket where you can dunk, is a nearly two-point area, where there are piles of defenders and shoots, and all the players in the league don't have a high shooting percentage.

He did reduce his shots as Coach Daley said, and his efficiency did improve a bit, but it was very difficult to improve again, and his current offensive skills did not support it, and neither did his speed and agility.

As a point guard, breaking through scoring is the most important thing, and if you want to improve efficiency, this is the most important means.

But his current speed is not very fast, the speed and bounce of 91, the agility of 92, just just reached the first-class level, and if you want to score with lightning speed, or bypass all defenders to the basket, you can't achieve that effect.

Of course, his breakthrough scoring ability is not too bad now, but Michael Jordan, who is facing him now, is not too bad in front of Jordan, and it will look very poor in front of Jordan.

Crucially, the Pistons need his offense to score, and he can't take too few shots yet.

Unless, he has the ability to lead the attack of everyone around him, in that case, he can reduce some of his own shots.

He played well in the last game, frequently used blocking and pick-and-roll on the offensive end to shake off Jordan, and then scored under the basket, and desperately focused on Jordan on the defensive end.

Then in the G5 battle, he must continue to do this to have a chance to win.

……

That night, the Pistons chartered a bar in the hotel, and the players and their wives threw a party together to watch the West showdown.

Catherine was very popular with the Wife, and the wife of the Assassin and Jo Dumas was always with her, and the other women were very willing to talk to her, and the central topic of conversation was England and the aristocracy.

"I'm not from an aristocratic background, and my dad is just a worker, and they seem to be disappointed."

Leaving the group of women, Catherine sat down beside Zhou Quan and whispered in his ear.

Zhou Quan glanced at the pile of women, and whispered in his ear: "Leave them alone, you and them won't be friends, and my husband and boyfriend and I are just teammates." ”

At eight o'clock, the G5 game of the Western Conference Final was played in Portland.

In the end, 121:127, the Trail Blazers, who were fighting at home, defeated the Jazz, won the key G5 battle, and also won the Western Conference finals.

Postman Karl Malone shot 16-of-30 from the field, shooting 53.3 percent from the field, and 6-of-6 from the free-throw range for 38 points and 14 rebounds.

Jeff Malone shot 11-of-21 from the field, also shooting more than 50 percent from the field, scoring 23 points.

In addition, backup guard swingman Tjelon Corbyn also scored 28 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

The Jazz trio scored 20+ points and combined to contribute 89 points, but they still couldn't beat the mighty Trail Blazers.

The Jazz had 9 rounds in this game, but the Trail Blazers only had 7 rounds, and the five main players were in great shape, four of whom scored 20+, and the overall shooting rate was as high as 57.1%, which exploded the Jazz.

The Jazz shot 97 shots but shot just 50.5 percent from the field, while the Trail Blazers took 84 shots and relied on more efficient offense to win the game.

It can be said that in this game, the Jazz lost convincingly.

Zhou Quan doesn't focus on the performance of others, he only focuses on John Stockton, his main opponent in the competition for the assist title and the All-Defensive Team next season.

John Stockton made 1 of 6 shots, 1 of 3 3-pointers, missed 1 of 2-pointers, and 3 of 3 free throws, scoring 6 points, 1 rebound, 10 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, and 1 foul.

"Stockton was blown up by Terry Porter, and this kind of performance deserved to be lost by the Jazz."

The Assassin Thomas said angrily at this time: "It's a joke that this kind of garbage can replace my place in the national team, and my current state can also blow him up." ”

Jo Dumas also smiled wryly, he had the opportunity to go, but was too embarrassed to replace the assassin, so he refused.

From their words, Zhou Quan thought of himself.

These two guys also got into the eyes of the U.S. national team, but they weren't selected for messy reasons, so what about him? Does the national team know about him?

Maybe you don't know, he is not from a sports school, and there is no file on him in the system.

Being selected for the national team is a very important honor for an athlete, even the most important honor, which means that you are one of the best athletes in the sport in this country, so that you can have the opportunity to play for the country.

No matter how high his professional achievements are, he is only an individual, and if Maradona had not led Argentina to win the Hercules Cup in 86, he would not have been so great and would not have been qualified to become the king of the ball.

Being selected for the national team and playing in the Olympics is also an excellent opportunity for him to stand in the eyes of the world from a personal point of view.

Therefore, it is a great regret for him to be unable to participate in the national team and play in the Olympic Games.

The next day, May 27th, the G5 battle of the East Final.

"The Battle of Tennoyama."

Japan's Tokyo Shimbun made a front-page headline with the headline to convey the importance of the match for both teams.

In '90, the NBA played a regular season game in Japan, the Suns and Jazz, which attracted 20,000 fans to watch the game.

It was also from that day that the NBA began to enter the eyes of the Japanese people, and the basketball atmosphere in Japan began to strengthen.

Then Yuhiko Inoue was influenced by the NBA in 90 and created a slam dunk, which is still serialized.

This manga has influenced countless young Japanese people, making the atmosphere of basketball in Japan better and better, and after two years of development, it has become one of the most popular sports in Japan.

At noon, the Pistons came to the United Center for training.

When he was resuming training, John Sely, who was jogging, suddenly felt discomfort in the thumb of his left foot, and quickly stopped, then sat on the floor and began to take off his shoes.

"Sailly, what's the matter?"

When Neville, the team doctor, saw it, he immediately ran over.

"It hurts a little...... Damn, bleeding. ”

John Sely took off his shoes and saw that his socks were covered in blood, and he knew he was in trouble.

The nail of his left big toe was trampled off by Zhou Quan in that locker room violence, but the root did not fall off, and he rested for three weeks, and then the nail slowly grew, but because of the game, the pressure caused the new nail to be seriously deformed.

Neville checked it and said to Chuck Daley, who came over, "It's not going well, the cracked nail has pierced into the toe, and the nail needs to be surgically removed." ”

Daley's face was ugly, and it was clear that he was going to lose his main center.

"Can't you fight?" Assistant Teacher Musk asked with hope.

Neville glanced at Seli, shook his head, and said, "My opinion is to have surgery immediately to avoid inflammation, and it will take at least four weeks to recover." ”

At this time, the players all came over, and when they heard this, they all looked disappointed.

Joe Dumas shook his head helplessly, without John Sely, what are the chances of the Pistons winning the Eastern Conference finals?

He was a little sad.

However, it was swept last year, and it has won two games against the Bulls this year, and even if it loses, this record should be acceptable.

The Assassin's look of disappointment was more obvious than that of Joe Dumas, who knew that he had completely lost the opportunity to fight Jordan.

If he can't get rid of Jordan in the East this time, his form will be worse next season, maybe the team will trade him after Troy Weaver takes over, then he can only be forced to retire, and it is impossible to beat Jordan in his career.

Zhou Quan was even more disappointed, of course he still remained calm, and he couldn't see anything on his face.

Seeing that everyone was disappointed, John Sely thought for a while and said in a snort: "Why don't you go through surgery first, cut off the nail that pierced it, and give me an injection at night, and I'll hold on?" ”

Everyone was speechless, their nails were torn, did you think you were an iron man?

"Alright, John, you get ready for surgery, we'll need you next season." Chuck Daly immediately vetoed Sailly's words.

Of course, John Sely will not insist anymore, he is just making a statement, in fact, he doesn't want to fight so hard now, after all, he has won two championships in his hands, and if he forces himself to play and causes the injury to worsen, he will suffer in the end, and it will be a big loss if it affects his career.

Chuck Daly immediately arranged for Selly to go to the hospital, while putting him on the injury list and activating a substitute insider.

John Sely's injury cast a shadow over the G5 game, and in the following practice, the Pistons' morale dropped significantly, and the players were not focused.

Zhou Quan can't help it, injuries are the most important reason affecting the team, and they can't be avoided at all.

"Sailly can't fight, what now?"

"Can we still win the Bulls?"

"Let's see Iron Fist and Joe play."

The Pistons are surrounded by a group of people, you say a word to me, and none of them is morale-boosting.

John Cely is only a role player, but his injury has caused the Pistons' morale to decline at a rate that is visible to the naked eye, and compared with the day before yesterday after the draw with the Bulls, morale is not a plummet, but also a plummet.

When Zhou Quan heard these words, he was both unwilling and very depressed.

He has the full level of willpower to keep his fighting spirit going, but with his current leadership ability and seniority in the team, there is no way to really stir up the morale of these old guys.

At this time, there is a problem with the lineup, and empty words to motivate morale have no effect, even if the morale is temporarily raised, as long as you see the real chapter on the field, after being at a disadvantage, this morale will come down immediately.

This made him very unwilling, but he didn't have the qualifications of Jordan, after all, Jordan had a lot of hard honors, he was the real first person in the Bulls, he only had one rookie and a defensive second team, which made him have no confidence to shout at these veterans.

He pulled the assassin aside and said, "Isaiah, this will not work, we will lose if we don't have to fight in this state." ”

"What do you say?" The Assassins had no idea.

Zhou Quan said with a headache: "You spray them with trash talk? ”

The assassin glanced at Zhou Quan and said, "Do you think I am Jordan?" ”

"What then?"

"As a leader, you should say a few words to save morale." The Assassin said.

"Okay then."

Zhou Quan nodded, since there was no other way, he had to sell his lips and raise his morale first.

"Hey, brothers......"

He shouted and motioned for everyone to come over, and then said, "Sailly can't fight, do you all think we're going to lose?" ”

"Iron Fist, without Sailly, we're missing a lot of defense and rebounding on the inside, how can we play?" Mark Aguirre shook his head.

Zhou Quan used his brain, thought about it and said: "The inside line of the Bulls is also average, we still have Rodman, we can hold the inside line, and we will fight the outside line with them." ”

Ulrich said worriedly: "Dennis's condition is also average, and besides, we may be ...... on the outside"

He didn't say it, but the implication was that the outside line might not be able to fight Jordan and Pippen.

"Don't worry, I'm going to have at least 20 rebounds tonight." Rodman patted his chest and shouted.

"Dennis, well done."

Zhou Quan was very pleased, the morale of so many people was not high, but the spirit of the big worm was good, and his fighting spirit was high, but it was a pity that although his spirit was good, his body was a little weak.

"Is there anyone else you want to say?" He looked at the crowd and said.

"Iron Fist, say whatever you want." Jo Dumas said.

Zhou Quan nodded, staring at everyone, since they can't beat or scold, then put some pressure on them from the spiritual level.

Sometimes he regretted that he shouldn't have said that violence was not allowed in the dressing room, and that sometimes violence was the most effective means.

His eyes were very oppressive, but they lifted everyone's spirits.

After everyone's attention was on him, he said: "Brothers, we and the bull have already reached a draw, although now that Sailly can't fight, do we have to surrender and admit defeat and kneel in front of the bull?" ”

"That's impossible, I'd rather die." The assassin shouted angrily, his face full of snort.

"Isaiah is right, Isaiah would rather die standing than live on his knees, we must continue to fight with the bull, and we can't think in our hearts that we are going to lose." Zhou Quan said loudly.

"Iron Fist is right, we're fighting the bulls." Darnell Walker replied loudly.

It's the same with several substitute marginal people, they are different from Joe Dumas and others, there is no championship, no honor, the main thing is that there is no big contract, so they still want to fight, and fortunately, the Pistons mix up some qualifications, but unfortunately the strength is too poor, there is no chance to play, and even entered the rotation lineup, so they can only mentally support Zhou Quan.

With their support, Zhou Quan temporarily stabilized the morale of the team.

But he knew that this kind of morale simply couldn't cope with the wolf-like Bulls and Michael Jordan.

……

(End of chapter)