At the end of the first month, the media analyzed the teams in Pot 1 in the East and West.

Mosaic, who has the league's No. 1 record, has advanced to Pot 1, replacing the Suns, who are 8-3.

But some media still rank the Suns in the first gear, after all, it's only the first month.

Big Dream has received high praise from the media, and Mosaic has become the favorite team to win the championship this season.

Next, the SuperSonics won five in a row, and after losing to the Cavaliers on the road, they came on a six-game winning streak, including playoff teams like the Spurs, with a record of 15 wins and 2 losses.

On December 8, the Lakers announced the hiring of a new head coach, and the Magic coached 16 games before stepping down.

"I'm going to be a commentator, and TNT TV has reached out to me, and I promised them." I don't know if it was because the assassin acted as a commentator, and the magician also chose to change careers.

Maybe it's because the assassin and Ranbier, the two humming generals of ESPN, work well, and TNT also wants to find a gimmick, not only hiring a magician, but also spending a high salary to hire Larry Bird, and the magic bird reunites and becomes a partner.

No. 8 and No. 9, defeated the Spurs and Mavericks back-to-back on the road, and No. 10, came to Houston again.

The NBA Texas has three carriages, occupying two super centers, and the strongest is of course Houston, where the big dream is located, and it is also the strongest opponent in this wave of away games.

The Mosaics, who previously lost to the Hawks in the East, are currently 18-1 and still top the league, but the SuperSonics are not bad either, and it is certain that the two teams will be rivals in the playoffs.

Coupled with Zhou Quan and Olajuwon, Vernon Maxwell and private holidays, there were fierce on-court clashes, so this game has a lot of attention, almost no less than the SuperSonics and Bulls.

"Hakim, are you confident that you can defeat Tekken?"

"Big Dream, what do you think are the team's strengths and weaknesses in the face of the supersounds?"

After the training that afternoon, when Da Meng left the headquarters, he was stopped by the media at the door.

"We're the strongest in this league, our lineup is supersonic, Michael can beat Iron Fist, and of course I can."

"We are facing supersound, of course the inside line is an advantage, do you need to ask? At least you're talking about the inferiority, sorry, the jets and the maniacs won't make Tekken any better, I'm sure they'll be able to deal with him. ”

A reporter immediately said: "But jets and madmen have never defeated Iron Fist." ”

Da Meng snorted coldly: "That's not good, and our advantage on the inside is enough to make up for the disadvantage on the outside." ”

……

Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth largest city in the United States, with a good economy, with an urban population of two million and a metropolitan area population of six million.

Houston also has a Chinatown, China also has a consulate general in the city, the number of Chinese is said to be a lot, and even some media say that it is more than 500,000, which is completely exaggerated, and the urban area does not exceed 30,000, including the smuggling population, and the metropolitan area will not exceed 60,000, this data comes from a census in Texas three years ago.

On the contrary, there are more Indians and Vietnamese in Texas and Houston than Chinese, with the former even reaching 200,000 and the latter about the same.

11, Compaq Centre.

At eight o'clock, the two sides announced the starting list.

Hypersonics: Sam Perkins, Rodman, Schramf, Kendall Gill, Zhou Quan

Mosaics: Olajuwon, Ostisope, Robert Horry, Vernon Maxwell, Kenny Smith

The game was broadcast live across the United States by ABC television and featured commentators by Bill Wharton and Lewis Williams.

"This season's mosaic is very strong, the big dream is too versatile, I think they have a chance to hit the finals this season." Williams said.

Bill Wharton said: "Mosaic, Suns, SuperSonics, all have a chance to make it to the Finals. There are also the Spurs and Jazz in the back, which are the second echelon in the West.

The arrival of Iron Fist in the west has indeed increased the competition in the west, and he is changing the original situation in which the east is strong and the west is weak, which is also the situation that the alliance wants to see. ”

Coming to the players' tunnel, Zhou Quan greeted Olajuwang and said: "Hey, big dream, the record is good, but you rush too fast in the early stage, be careful of pulling your hips in the later stage." ”

"You yourself are careful about pulling your hips in the later stage." Da Meng said with a gloomy face.

When he saw Zhou Quan, Maxwell couldn't help rubbing his little stomach and felt that his intestines hurt again, but he didn't dare to provoke Zhou Quan again, so he could only sulk secretly.

Zhou Quan didn't even look at Maxwell, and there was no such guy who had been kicked by him in his eyes at all, which made Maxwell even more angry, and he felt that his intestines hurt even more.

At this time, the lights went out, and the host was calling the away team to play.

When it was Zhou Quan's turn to play, he saw a lot of Chinese faces wearing his No. 1 jersey and heard their cheers.

"Chinese should be banned from entering."

The madman Vernon Maxwell couldn't help but snort coldly when he saw Zhou Quan greeting those Chinese.

"Idiot, the boss wants to fill up the market, if he hears your words, he will trade you immediately." Big Dream scolded.

Jet Kenny Smith also said helplessly: "It's racism to do this, Vernon, don't say such things in the future, the management only hopes that more Chinese people will buy tickets to enter." ”

At half past eight, the game began.

Jump ball, supersonic lost without surprise, mosaic attacked.

Kenny Smith is the same height as Zhou Quan, with a shoe height of 191 cm and a tonnage of only 77 kilograms, a difference of 15 kilograms.

But he found that his movement was at most comparable to Zhou Quan, whether it was speed or agility, and he couldn't easily get rid of the other party, so he began to borrow the block.

In the first few rounds, Mosaic was mainly attacked by Big Dream, and Kenny Smith didn't get entangled with Zhou Quan too much, and when he got to the frontcourt, he tried to hand over the ball to Big Dream.

The first quarter played three minutes, 4:8, and the SuperSonics trailed by 4 points.

Big Dream shot 2 of 3, and also caused Rodman to foul, played a two-and-one, and ran to the three-point line on the defensive end to fan Perkins a three-point shot, getting 5 points, 1 rebound and 1 block.

Zhou Quan didn't get an assist, 1 of 2 shots in the first three minutes, a passing error, a breakthrough to Kendall Gill, the opponent didn't catch it, and flew out of the sideline.

"The regular season is our way of getting a feel for the playoff opponents, playing a little bit better and raising the defensive intensity."

George Carr called a timeout and asked to strengthen the defense of the Dream and increase the defensive intensity.

In the next game, the two sides fell into a tough defensive battle, the shooting percentage was low, and the efficiency of the big dream also went down.

After the first quarter, at 18:19, Mosaic led by one point at home.

Da Meng played 10 minutes, shooting 4 of 8, 2 of 5 shots, plus 2 of 3 free throws, and got 10 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks and 1 foul.

Zhou Quan played 11 minutes, 2 of 5 shots, bad luck, rushed in and took a big hat from Da Meng, 0 of 1 three-point shots, plus 4 of 4 free throws, and got 8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 1 foul.

Bill Wharton complained: "The SuperSonics are the best defensive team in the West, conceding the fewest points, and the Mosaic is a close second, and the two best defensive teams in the West will play the most ugly games."

The SuperSonics shot only 33.3 percent from the field in the first quarter, shot 1 of 9 from three-point range as a team, and Mosaic was only 41 percent, which wasn't much better. ”

Williams laughed and said, "Tonight's game is the defensive intensity of the playoffs, but it's the whole thing, and neither of them should be playing at full strength. ”

Bill Walton nodded: "It's just the regular season, it's not a garbage team, their goal is the playoffs, and they can't play at full strength." ”

Zhou Quan found that his team had the same problems as the Suns, there were a lot of three-point shots, of course, it was good to feel good, but if the hand was not good, the game lost control.

"Iron fist, strengthen the ball and break through." George Carr said.

"Okay." He nodded.

Although he was hatted in the first quarter, he had to be sudden, because everyone's hand was not good, and the game was lost if they were throwing outside.

But the game was ultimately lost, 82:91, and the loss was in the low post.

Da Meng scored 38 points, 11 of 20 shots, and the shooting rate was only 55%, which is not ridiculously high, but the lethality is too great, the supersonic interior line is unstoppable, facing the bag clip, 16 of 19 free throws, 38 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 8 blocks, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls, playing a top offensive and defensive performance.

The number of times he attacked with the ball alone accounted for half of the team, and the offensive and defensive ends were in the supersonic penalty area, and it can be said that the supersonic lost to him.

Although Zhou Quan strengthened the breakthrough, Mosaic's interior line was too strong, Big Dream + Thorpe, only talking about the defensive end, can be called the league's top interior combination, the offense did not come out, and the lethality did not come out.

Especially in the face of the crazy big dream, Jordan has to suffer, not to mention that his personal offensive ability is not as good as Jordan's, he was hatted by the big dream twice, and was also stolen by the big dream and Puso once, and only 5 of 10 shots were made from the breakthrough layup, and the efficiency was not high.

He was also desperately encircled by Kenny Smith and Vernon Maxwell outside, shooting 5-of-11 from the field, 10-of-21 from the field, shooting 47.6%, 1-of-3 from three-point range, 7-of-8 from the free-throw line, 28 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 6 turnovers and 4 fouls.

The assists set a single-game low this season, and the team's shooting rate was just over 30%, and it was able to make up 8 assists, still relying on a few fast breaks.

This game made Zhou Quan see the strength of Da Meng.

The Big Three, no, are among the four super centers, and for now, this game has made him decide that Big Dream is the strongest of them.

This game also made him see the flaws of the supersonic lineup, the low-post offense actually relies on the outside to break through and score, the real interior rarely plays the low-post offense, and Perkins has pulled to the three-point line.

Without a low-post offense, Da Meng can frequently run to the three-point line to assist in defense, which seriously affects his own outside shooting.

In other words, this supersonic team, when it encounters a strong team on the inside, once it has a bad shooting touch, it is easy to lose.

It's a lot like the Pistons without Secali, and to change that, a trade should be needed, otherwise you can only expect to play against this kind of team and play better.

If the playoffs run into a mosaic, it will be a big problem.

He's going to talk to management, talk to him, and see if he can trade a center with a low post offense to come in.

It's not easy, because the goal of the supersonic is the playoffs, and the opponent is the super center Big Dream, and what level of center is needed to be able to play a good low-post offense on the head of Big Dream?

"Boy, it's the biggest mistake for you to come to the west, you can't get out in the west in this life, I said." After the game, Da Meng said proudly to Zhou Quan.

"Old guy, a win in the playoffs is a win, you don't count, you idiot!" Zhou Quan said disdainfully.

"Humph!"

was scolded, Da Meng pinched his fist, and let go again, talking about fighting, he has always been self-aware, he knew that he didn't have the strength to swing his fist in front of Zhou Quan.

Zhou Quan saw that Da Meng was very well-behaved, nodded with a smile and said: "The attitude is good, remember, old boy, be respectful to me, maybe I will be happy and will teach you how to win the championship." ”

"You?"

Big Dream is angry to death, but also jealous.

Entered the league with Jordan, Jordan has won two championships, he has not tasted the championship, and Zhou Quan won the championship in the second season, so how can he not be jealous?

He couldn't fight, he couldn't talk, so angry that he turned his head and left.

……

With 15 wins and 3 losses, the SuperSonics are still second in the West.

But this record has made the team questioned by many media.

Especially Zhou Quan, as the boss of the team, is the focus and first target of questioning.

"The SuperSonics lost to the Bulls, Cavaliers, and Mosaics respectively, can we think that this team of Iron Fist can't beat the strong team at all, and can only bully the weak team?" New york times.

"The SuperSonics reached the Western Conference finals last season, and the Suns reached a tiebreaker, an absolute playoff powerhouse, and this season will be reduced to a regular season powerhouse, and we judge that they will become a soft-footed shrimp team after entering the playoffs. If Tekken had met Big Dream in the Finals last season, instead of Mark West, he would have had a bloody encounter. The Houston Chronicle.

……

The team returned to Seattle the next day, and the next wave of six home games awaited the SuperSonics, including one back-to-back.

On the 13th, the Magic arrived in Seattle.

On the evening of the 14th, at half past seven in the evening, the two sides announced their starting lineups.

Magic: O'Neal, Jeff Turner, Anfernee Hardaway, Nick Anderson, Scott Skyles

Sonics: Michael Cage, Rodman, Schramf, Kendall Gill, Zhou Quan

O'Neal has a helper Anfernee Hardaway, 11-7 so far this season, with a winning rate of 61.1%, temporarily remaining in the 4th position in the East, better than last season, O'Neal is obviously very happy, and when he saw Zhou Quan, he shouted proudly: "Iron Fist, let you come and partner with me, you don't do it, now I have pennies, I don't need you." ”

"Pennies?"

Zhou Quan smiled and looked at Anfernee Hardaway.

A famous college basketball star, he is very famous, and once beat the Dream Team in practice games with Chris Webb, Grant Hill, and Alan Houston.

The physical fitness is very good, the basketball skills are very comprehensive, the offensive and defensive and organizational skills are good, and the person who Jordan has praised is therefore called Jordan's successor by the media, who is almost a year older than him, 201 cm tall, 10 cm taller than him, weighs 88 kg, looks very thin, and has just started to gain weight.

was targeted by Zhou Quan, and Anfernee Hardaway was also a little uneasy.

He felt that the sharp eyes in front of him were too oppressive, just like facing Jordan, but the pride from the bottom of his heart did not allow him to bow his head, but held high.

Seeing the pride in Hardaway's eyes, Zhou Quan felt that with O'Neill's character, it might be difficult to suppress this young man in the future.

At eight o'clock, the game began.

Jump ball, magic offense.

In the first quarter, Zhou Quan beat the Magic's main control Skels, 10 minutes in a single quarter, 4 of 6 shots, 1 of 2 three-point shots, 3 free throws, 12 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, no fouls or mistakes.

On the defensive end, he made three turnovers in the quarter, two steals, one block, and shot 0-of-3 from the field.

At the end of the first quarter, at 22:32, the SuperSonics had a 10-point lead at home.

In the second quarter, Magic head coach Brian Hill arranged for the main quarterback Nick Anderson to change Zhou Quan.

Nick Anderson, like Anfernee Hardaway, is a swingman at 198 cm tall and weighs 93 kg, and has a high advantage against Zhou Quan, but is at a disadvantage in terms of confrontation, strength, and mobility.

In the second quarter, Zhou Quan also played ten minutes, shooting 3 of 5 from Nick Anderson's head, 2 of 2 free throws, and scoring 8 points, but he delivered 6 assists and 3 steals in a single quarter, and played 20 points, 11 assists and 5 steals in the half.

At halftime, 42:66, the Magic had trailed by 24 points.

After the guard line was blown up by Zhou Quan, the Magic could only let Anfernee Hardaway defend Zhou Quan, which could be regarded as an attempt.

But George Carr didn't play Zhou Quan in the third quarter, and he sat on the bench to watch the game.

Zhou Quan found that the Magic can play a lot of people, there are already eleven people involved in the rotation, the bench lineup is very deep, everyone on the court can score, and four of them have performed better than some of the main players.

Even O'Neal, in the two and a half quarters today, only played 15 minutes, only made seven shots, hit four shots, and made more shots from the outside, and did not arrange tactics for O'Neal.

Super centers are not taken care of tactically, and their status on the team is mediocre, which makes him feel that the Magic should be a team that advocates the outside.

The idea and direction of the team is to target Michael Jordan, and maybe him and the Assassins, didn't the Magic also want to trade him last time?

The Magic bench was good, and the superSonics bench was also good, and he played ten minutes in the second quarter, and the other four were all benches, and half of them were benches in the third quarter.

Halfway through the third quarter, the Magic recovered 6 points, still trailing by 18 points, and did not withdraw the main force, and Zhou Quan played.

"Bang Bang Bang ......"

His appearance on the court was warmly welcomed by supersonic fans, after all, fans spend money to watch the game, that is, to watch the stars play, if he sits down for a long time, it will definitely affect the ball market.

Even the Los Angeles Lakers, after losing the Magic, not only has the ball market declined seriously in the past two or three seasons, but there are a lot fewer stars who come to watch the game, and many Hollywood stars say that they are Lakers fans, but in fact they are only fans of certain stars.

(End of chapter)