Howard had to praise: "I have to say, this ball is really beautiful!" Iron Fist single-handedly broke through all of the Bulls' defenses with the ball and completed the dunk on Cartwhite, which was so beautiful! ”

Winston nodded: "Consecutive breakthroughs against Jordan and Pippen, including two consecutive bursts of Jordan, it is certain that Iron Fist's ability to hold the ball and break through has improved."

If you break through, then he will be more dangerous with the ball, and with his passing ability, the consequences of covering him from the outside will be even more serious. ”

Howard agreed: "But if he doesn't have a catch, he's going to break through with the ball, and he's got a pull-up jump shot that's close to the top of the game."

Once he breaks through, he has to strengthen his supplementary defense, and when there are empty positions in other positions, the rotation of the overall defense must be fast.

But fortunately, the Bulls' outside defense is the best in the league, and they are known for their fast rotation and should be able to handle it. ”

Bulls attack.

"Let's fight one." Jordan shouted.

He took over the ball at the back, and to attack with the ball, and to return one to Zhou Quan, it is necessary for both the individual and the team.

One goal for one goal, this is the rule, otherwise it is a sign of weakness.

Now he has two consecutive championships and the aura of an Olympic champion, two top hard honors of FMVP, he is already the signature star of the league, and has become the de facto first active person, the first person in the league, his self-confidence is already in an invincible state, and his own competitive level and physical fitness are also at the peak of the state, he can no longer tolerate any provocation, let alone the provocation of a sworn enemy.

"Bang Bang Bang ......"

Advance to the three-point line on the right wing, stop, lean down, dribble quickly and skillfully under the crotch, and then suddenly start with a force and burst from the outside.

Zhou Quan reacted very quickly, quickly moved to the side and back, and blocked the opponent's breakthrough path in time.

But at this moment, Jordan retracted one step and retreated outside the three-point line, his body pulled up, and he made a three-point shot.

"Damn, fake sudden real shot, step-back jump shot!"

Watching Jordan make a move after one step, he could only curse secretly, it was completely too late to defend himself, so he could only defend with his eyes.

The moment Jordan made a move, his eyes were firm to the extreme.

"Brush!"

The next moment, the basketball went down, and a splash of white water appeared.

"Ahh

There was a loud cheer at the United Center.

"Three-pointer, Michael hit a three-pointer on the head of the Iron Fist, beautiful!" On the ESPN commentary seat, Locke Howard said excitedly.

Larry Winston laughed: "With Michael's competitive state right now, he can ignore anybody's defense, he can score on anybody's head.

Now he's so strong, as long as he wants, he can get 30+40+ on anyone's head, including Iron Fist. ”

On the court, Jordan was very excited after the victory, and according to his habit, he spewed trash talk: "Boy, why don't you defend me?" ”

"yes, I just wanted to ask you and your teammates, why don't you defend me?" Zhou Quan sneered.

Jordan twitched in the face, bastard, I'll go in and blow them up in the next ball.

Zhou Quan observed Jordan's expression, and he bet that with his understanding of Jordan, this paranoid old bastard in front of him at this time must have a plan to break in and blow them up.

At this time, Joe Dumas served, he took the ball, and accelerated around Jordan to advance with the ball.

It's faster, he's more agile, and his ball sense and ball control skills have improved, and now Jordan wants to press him from the back like the East Finals, which is very difficult.

Advancing from the right wing to the frontcourt, Jordan stuck to the left side and forced him to the sideline, but he was no slower than Jordan with the ball, did not slow down, continued to hit the wing, and when Jordan followed, he suddenly stopped sharply, and then stepped back to make a jumper.

"Damn it!"

Jordan's reaction was also very fast, and he immediately stopped suddenly, but when he saw that Zhou Quan was also a step-back jumper like him just now, he could only stare dryly, and he couldn't prevent it at all, so he could only watch Zhou Quan shoot after one step.

"Get in!"

Got rid of Jordan's defense with a pull-out, a 90-level step-back jumper, and it was an open position, which made Zhou Quan's confidence very strong, and his ball flew to the basket.

"Brush!"

There was a splash and a three-point shot.

"Oh roar!"

Joe Dumas and the others on the field, the assassins and Rodman on the field, all jumped up and cheered heartily.

On the ESPN commentary bench, Howard said with some surprise: "Oh, at the position where Michael shot a three-pointer just now, Iron Fist returned a three-pointer in almost the exact same way, and this is the real response." ”

Winston shook his head and said, "If Tekken wants to fight Michael, I think it's irrational behavior, his current scoring ability is far from being on the same level as Michael." ”

"But at least so far, he's made three of three shots, two of which dunked, and he's not inferior to Michael," Howard laughed.

Also, he returned Michael's exact three points, but Michael's counterattack just now did not respond to the dunk that Iron Fist just had. ”

Winston shook his head and said, "You're harsh, the guard and the center depend on the chance, but I think Michael can respond by scoring on a break." ”

At this time, Jordan had already arrived in the frontcourt, and on the three-point line on the right wing, he received the ball from BJ and began to hold the ball and play Zhou Quan.

Under the stimulation of Zhou Quan, all his attention has been 100% concentrated, the competitive state has been 100% activated, and the sharp energy on the whole person is like a sharp knife, just looking at it will feel dazzling.

Above the free-throw line, Joe Dumas played against BJ, and his position was biased to the right wing, which means that he was ready to help defend Jordan.

"It must be the lateral protrusion."

Because Joe Dumas was watching in the middle, Zhou Quan judged that Jordan's breakthrough direction was on the right sideline.

This is not a prediction, this is based on your own defensive formation, the offensive tactics made by the attacker, and it is an understanding of techniques and tactics.

Although his game experience is only level 89, his technical and tactical ability has reached level 94.

"There's Jodumas on the left, you can't go that way." At this moment, Jordan also made a decision.

When he played against Joe Dumas before last season, he used the most tentative steps and then burst in from the left, which worked well.

He likes to break close to the middle because he is the most accurate pull-up jumper in the free-throw line area and in the left and right elbow area, which is his main scoring point.

Because there was no Iron Fist at that time, although the Assassins' defense was good, it was not as good as Iron Fist, let alone Joe Dumas, and there was no All-Defensive Team at once, so the Assassins' supplementary defense could not form an effective second line of defense against him.

But now it's different, the Pistons guard line is made up of two defensive giants, Iron Fist and Joe Dumas, and he is not sure to break through these two guys, especially Joe Dumas is next to the right elbow area he wants to go to, so he can only break through from the outside and avoid Joe Dumas's second line of defense.

The next moment, he suddenly grabbed the ball with one hand and raised it upward, closed his left hand, and made a preparatory action to combine the ball and jump shot.

But Zhou Quan was not fooled, he decided that Jordan would break through, even if Jordan really voted, he also admitted it, anyway, half of half.

In the next moment, Jordan withdrew his right hand, leaned down, took a step with his right foot, and began to dribble through from the outside.

"Squeak!"

Zhou Quan took the first half shot to complete the retreat and re-blocked Jordan's front.

At the same time, Joe Dumas dropped BJ and pounced next to Jordan in two steps, completing the bag clamp and forcing Jordan to turn around and protect the ball.

"Oh, it's covered!" Howard exclaimed.

In the next moment, Jordan, who turned to protect the ball, did not panic, immediately closed the ball, and at the same time turned around again, ready to shoot a backward jumper.

But just as he turned around, Zhou Quan decisively confronted, grabbed forward with his feet, and squeezed his body forward.

"Humph!"

Jordan was fearless, although his center of gravity was unstable, he still forcibly completed the action of turning around and jumping, and even borrowed Zhou Quan's strength.

And the direction of his backward jump deliberately avoided Jo Dumas's block.

In the past two years, his physical fitness has really exploded, in the double bag, with the center of gravity affected, he still forcibly adjusted his posture in the air, and then with a flick of his wrist and a powerful flick of his five fingers, the ball flew to the basket.

Zhou Quan and Joe Dumas jumped up from front and flank, respectively, to block, but still didn't touch the ball.

"Bang!"

The basketball deflected a little, smashed and bounced, and was caught by Sekari.

"Oh!"

In the United Center, countless voices of chagrin rang out.

Jordan also gritted his teeth with hatred, he had done the best in this ball, and he had absolute confidence that he could shoot it, but he didn't hit it?

On the ESPN commentary seat, Winston said very regretfully: "It's a pity, under the wrap of the two major defensive giants, if this ball is hit, Michael's self-confidence will definitely explode today. ”

Howard nodded: "To tell you the truth, this ball didn't go in, it was purely a matter of feel, and the Iron Fist and Joe Dumas's bag defense didn't make much of a difference to Michael." ”

"Yes."

Winston nodded approvingly.

Amid the praise of Jordan from the two commentators, the game continued.

Zhou Quan and Jordan also continued to compete at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, and the two sides fought offensive and defensive battles on the outside, but the two put at least sixty percent of their energy into defending each other.

Zhou Quan plus Jordan, Pippen and Joe Dumas, the four big defensive giants on the outside fought together, presenting a very exciting defensive battle to fans across the United States.

After Jordan lost that goal, he was frequently caught by Zhou Quan and Joe Dumas, and he didn't play an explosive touch.

But with his and Pippen's full defense, Zhou Quan's offense was also inefficient.

It's just that Zhou Quan is not a point guard, he is a point guard, his offense can't be played, but there is still a pass, Jordan and Pippen teamed up, and they couldn't lock his pass.

Rodman couldn't play due to injury, and the other four on the court could all score, including Joe Dumas's outside jumper, Ulrich's open cut basket, and Secali's mid-range shot, plus Mills' low-post offense and mid-range shot, from beyond the three-point line to the basket, the Pistons have offense, his passing is very powerful, once he is trapped, his pass can be fatal.

By the seventh minute of the final quarter, 90:82, the Pistons had already led by eight points, and the Bulls called a second timeout of the quarter.

On the ESPN commentary bench, Winston said: "The two teams are somewhat similar now, both are the top in the league in outside defense, and the interior strength is average. ”

"Obviously, the Pistons have a better offensive offensive line than the Bulls, and that's why the Bulls are behind," Howard said.

If the Bulls want to win, Jordan must play more efficiently, break through the blockade of Iron Fist and Joe Dumas, play sharper offense and lethality, and improve his shooting percentage. ”

Winston had to nod and said: "Today Michael was a little unabrupt, Iron Fist and Joe Dumas teamed up to lock the outside line, and with their teamwork, the outside defense is really strong."

However, Michael and Pippen also locked up the Pistons' outside offense, so you're right, they were better than the Bulls today, and they were ahead of the Bulls because of that. ”

Howard said: "Now Jordan shot 10-of-24, 41.7 percent shooting, 2-of-4 three-pointers, which was higher than two-point shots, only two of 10 goals were layups, 5 of 5 free throws, and a total of 27 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls."

He was caught by a double 13 of his 24 shots, hitting 5 balls, a 38.5 percent shooting rate, and 5 of 11 shots under Iron Fist's single defense, a 45.5 percent shooting percentage. ”

Winston said: "Judging from this data, the impact of the double bag on Michael is not too big, only 7 percentage points lower, and he was inefficient today, it is really just a matter of feel. ”

Howard opened his mouth, Jordan's feel did have some problems, but it's all seven percent, hasn't the bag affected yet?

However, what the commentator said, the Bulls are behind is a fact, except for Jordan, the morale of everyone else is a little low, after all, it is only a regular season, and it is not time to fight hard.

After the timeout, Phil Jackson did not come up with a strong solution, everyone just fought outside defense, and then fought inside offense, the Pistons' interior offense is stronger than the Bulls, and Secali's rebounding is not a loss.

And under Zhou Quan's organization and passing, Secali, who is good at jump shots, played more efficient than when he was with the Heat, and he and Ulrich, who is good at cutting inside and scoring dunks, complement each other well.

Zhou Quan told them a word, Secali pulled out to do a pick-and-roll, and then waited for a pass outside the paint area, and Ulrich cut in, as long as he got the open space, his pass would definitely come.

In the end, after Jordan did not play with enough offensive efficiency, 98:88, the Pistons defeated the mighty Bulls.

Zhou Quan shot 8 of 17 in the game, 47%, two consecutive dunks at the beginning of the first quarter, plus a three-pointer, three shots in a row, and then under Jordan's full defense, plus pinch shots, his efficiency was not high, 5 of 14 shots, and the shooting rate was only 35.7%.

plus 1 of 2 three-pointers, 4 of 4 free throws, 44 minutes of the game, 21 points, 5 rebounds, 14 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls.

"Old boy, I said it before the game, you don't count it, and now I prove it with facts." After the game, Zhou Quan shouted at Jordan.

Jordan stared at Zhou Quan deadly, didn't say anything, turned around and walked towards the players' tunnel.

Zhou Quan knew Jordan's character, and their next game would definitely be more intense, but he had already been mentally prepared.

Jordan's vindication that he wants to keep him in the East and keep him out of his entire career is delusional.

On the ESPN commentary bench, Howard said: "Today Ulrich scored 16 points, Secali scored 15 points, Joe Dumas scored 18 points, Mills scored 12 points, plus Iron Fist's 21 points, the five starters combined to contribute 82 points, the nine-man rotation, and the bench contributed 16 points. ”

Winston continued: "For the Bulls, Jordan scored 31 points, Pippen 19 points, Cartwhite 2 points, Grant 13 points, BJ only 5 points, the five main players have a total of 70 points, 10 people in the rotation, and the bench team contributed 18 points.

The bench scores are about the same, and we compare the main lineup, with the Bulls scoring 55 points from the outside and only 15 points from the inside, while the Pistons have 55 and 27 points, respectively.

In other words, the main lineups of both sides scored the same points on the outside, but on the inside, the Pistons scored 12 more points than the Bulls, and the Bulls lost by 10 points in the end. ”

"Michael scored a game-high 31 points, but he wasn't efficient enough, which was one of the big reasons the Bulls lost," Howard said.

Judging from today's game, the strength of the Pistons has been greatly reflected, and if Rodman returns, then the Pistons will have an advantage in rebounding, so the Bulls should be careful. ”

On the sidelines, Zhou Quan was being interviewed by ESPN live.

"Iron Fist, what is your deepest experience of this match?" The journalist asked.

"We're strong, we have the quality and the opportunity to beat the Bulls." He said firmly.

"Michael ......"

On the way back to the locker room, Phil Jackson quickened his pace to catch up with Jordan and said: "You were a little impulsive tonight, too obsessed with fighting with Iron Fist, we didn't play tactically, and you didn't rely on tactics to play an efficient offense, which is the main reason for the loss, do you understand?" ”

Jordan stopped suddenly, as did Phil Jackson, and the two looked at each other in the dimly lit hallway, neither of them speaking.

Jordan is the soul and master of this team, but after Phil Jackson won two consecutive championships, his status in the Bulls has also improved rapidly, and he has a lot of weight in his voice, and he does not show weakness in the face of Jordan's compulsion.

Pippen and the others in the back also stopped, not daring to come up, and the corridor where there was still footsteps just now quickly quieted down.

"Understood."

Jordan finally spat out two words that loosened the mood in the hallway, and he turned around and walked on.

Phil Jackson breathed a sigh of relief and motioned for Pippen and the others to follow.

Soon after, Zhou Quan and Jo Dumas went to a press conference.

On the other hand, the Bulls' press conference also began.

"Michael, do you think the Pistons belong to the first gear or the second gear?"

The first journalist to be flopped was a New York Times reporter who asked a question that was of great interest to all.

Jordan was uncomfortable when he heard the Pistons' name, and after a deep groan, he said, "First gear." ”

He's not stupid, if he talks about the second gear, isn't that belittling himself in disguise?

Michael Jordan, the league's No. 1 man, admitted that the Pistons have the strength of a first-tier team, and the media immediately followed suit.

The next day, under the hype of the media, the Pistons officially became the fifth team in the league to be the first pot, that is, a championship-level team.

And by this time, the Pistons had returned to Detroit.

They came back overnight after playing the Bulls last night, because they were going to play the Heat tonight, and they started the game for the second consecutive back-to-back.

Although it was back-to-back, the Pistons still beat their opponents with absolute strength, and won four straight games in the opening week.

(End of chapter)