Next, he faked a real shot, and then, under Rodman's supplemental defense, hit a stop-and-go jump shot from the right midfield.

Dan Isel nodded, the first goal was hit, and Lauf should feel good today.

The supersonic is still fast-paced, hoping to play a fast-paced offensive and defensive transition, the purpose of which is to make Mutombo unable to return to the basket in time, and through fast-paced offense and defense, his physical energy is consumed.

It was Sam Perkins who served, and Nuggets power forward Lafonso Ellis immediately blocked the front, waving his arms to prevent him from serving quickly.

Mutombo took advantage of the opportunity to hurriedly return to the defense with all his might, and by the time Zhou Quan got the ball, he had already reached the front.

Zhou Quan came to the left wing with the ball, used Schramf's cover to get rid of Sticky, and quickly changed direction downward, bypassing the opponent's small forward Reggie Williams's change of defense, and holding the ball against the baseline into the penalty area.

Mutombo stood under the basket, his body squatting slightly, his arms half raised, like a lion protecting his territory, staring fiercely at Zhou Quan, who had come in.

With both hands on the ball, Zhou Quan, who came in, jumped without hesitation.

In the next moment, Mutombo jumped up, his hands raised in the air, blocking all the space in front of him.

But at this time, Zhou Quan pushed down with both hands, and the basketball just passed under Mutombo's feet, hit the floor, and bounced into Rodman's hands behind Mutombo.

"Brush!"

Rodman made a one-handed layup and scored an easy goal.

Ranbir said in surprise: "Big worm, this kid actually scored, and he actually wasted the opportunity to grab an offensive rebound?" ”

The assassin laughed happily: "Bill, don't say that, the big worm has no offensive talent, and if he can't shoot, he really can't shoot." ”

"I taught him, I said so, what can he do?" Ranbir dismisses authenticity.

That's when the Nuggets attacked.

In the backcourt, Rauf held the ball, and Stich came over to cover and block.

Zhou Quan and Kendall Gill decisively flanked, first Jill changed the defense to block Lauf, and then Zhou Quan quickly followed up and completed the front and back pinching of Lauf.

Rauf made a decisive pass to Stich, but both Gil and Zhou Quan were well aware of his choice when he was trapped, and almost simultaneously made a break to the ball.

"Smack!"

Zhou Quan's reaction speed was faster, and his action of breaking the ball was more precise, and he broke the ball first.

"Bang!"

Kendall went down quickly, received Zhou Quan's pass, and completed a violent dunk.

The first quarter hit the 6th minute, 7:15, the SuperSonics were at full strength, leading by as many as 8 points in the half quarter, and the Nuggets called a timeout for the second timeout.

Zhou Quan shot 2 of 2 in the first half, all of which were fast-break scores, with 4 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists and 2 steals, no turnovers and no fouls.

"With 3 assists and 2 steals in the first half, Zhou Quan's performance was very strong. Together with Kendall Gill, he built a very strong defense for the SuperSonics' guard line, blocking the Nuggets' offense from the outside. Zhang said excitedly.

Sun Zhenping said with a smile: "Rauf played Kendall Gill in a misplaced position, except for hitting a goal at the beginning, he missed the next three shots, and the tactical effect of playing small and big is not good." ”

Zhang Reasonable smiled: "That's the Nuggets have no choice, if they don't want Lao Fu to face Zhou Quan, they have to let him fight big with small, anyway, they have to face one."

Kendall Gill's defense is not top-notch, but it is second-rate. In particular, the tackling ability is very strong.

Rauf is mainly based on breakthroughs, playing fast and slow, breaking Gil, and there is Rodman in it, as well as a pinch shot from Zhou Quan, it can be guessed that the efficiency is not high, as a point guard, he does not have first-class offensive ability. ”

After the timeout, George Karl was replaced by veteran Nate McMillan.

McMillan was the No. 6 pick in the second round of SuperSonics '86, a veteran, and this season there was a burst on the defensive end, and the steal statistics were amazing, and George Carr sent him up in the hope that he would further control Lauf's offense.

The Nuggets have a strong ability to protect the basket, but the interior offense only has power forward Lafonso Ellis, and Mutombo is not a threat when he leaves the basket, so as long as he locks his outside offense on the defensive end, he can basically limit the Nuggets' offense.

After Zhou Quan's reminder, he was no longer careless.

It's not that he thinks the Nuggets can really threaten the supersound, but he doesn't dare to be careless, because if something goes wrong, that's his full responsibility, and he can't afford to take this responsibility, and he will definitely be fired.

In the 10th minute of the first quarter, Zhou Quan went down, and by this time the SuperSonics had a lead of as many as 14 points.

In the next four minutes, he teamed up with McMillan to block the Nuggets' outside offense as well, with him blocking Stich once and McMillan stealing Laugh once.

Kendall Gill came on the court, and although the defensive strength of the supersonic guard line declined, the Nuggets guard line was not strong and could still complete the defensive task well.

At the end of the first quarter, at 16:34, the SuperSonics led by as many as 18 points, doubling the margin and surpassing the Nuggets' first-quarter score.

Zhang Li said with a smile: "If the superSonics are careless, the Nuggets still have a chance, but now the superSonics are going all out, Zhou Quan has 8 points, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 0 turnovers and 0 fouls in a single quarter, and the Nuggets have no chance at all."

Mutombo's defense is indeed strong, very strong, but Zhou Quan mainly played points in the positional battle in the first quarter, mainly passing the ball, Mutombo's defense is strong, because of his basket protection, he can't prevent Zhou Quan's pass at all.

In other words, Zhou Quan used his brilliant pass to avoid Mutombo's defense. Rodman, who doesn't like to attack, actually scored 6 points on 3-of-4 shooting in the first quarter, which was the result of Zhou Quan's pass. ”

Sun Zhenping said with a smile: "If you continue to fight like this, Rodman will not be able to play 20+." ”

Zhang Li snorted and said with a smile: "Although the Nuggets tried their best to reduce the offensive and defensive rhythm of supersonic speed, and it was indeed effective, they were not supersonic opponents in positional warfare.

The SuperSonics locked up the Nuggets' outside offense on the defensive end, scrapped most of the Nuggets' offensive ability, and then relied on Zhou Quan's burst point play, with 6 assists in a single quarter, easily leading by 18 points and establishing a victory. ”

Zhang Li said with a smile: "Supersonic fights seriously, and this result is basically the comparison of the strength of the first and eighth in the west." ”

In this game, the SuperSonics won a wild victory at home, 75:112, a big victory of 37 points.

Zhou Quan played 38 minutes and went off the court in the 6th minute of the final quarter, with a total of 7 of 10 shots, 6 of 6 free throws, 20 points, 3 rebounds, 19 assists, 5 steals, 1 block, 0 turnovers and 1 foul.

"One assist is 20+20, but it's a pity that it ended a little early." Sun Zhenping said regretfully.

"The Nuggets have given up, and he can only get off the court, which is the unspoken rule of the NBA. However, 19 assists broke his own single-game assist record in the playoffs. Zhang Li said with a smile.

Sun Zhenping said: "The Nuggets' main quarterback Stich made 2 of 8 shots and scored only 4 points, and the main point guard Raugh made 3 of 12 shots and 1 of 3 three-pointers, scoring only 7 points.

The Nuggets' main guard line did not have a single free throw, and it was not lethal, which shows what kind of defense Zhou Quan and Kendall Gill and McMillan have teamed up to form a line. ”

"If you continue to play like this, don't be careless, it will be quite smooth to advance to the second round." Zhang Li said with a smile.

Zhou Quan was on the sidelines for a post-match live interview, and the reporter asked: "Iron Fist, do you think the supersonic still need to go all out now?" ”

Zhou Quan smiled: "A big win is not enough for us to advance, so in the next series, we still, we must go all out." ”

His attitude surprised the reporter very much.

Zhou Quan only knew that in that time and space, the SuperSonics had a 2-0 lead, they all got match points, and then they were overturned, shamefully becoming the first team to be blackened, and he would never allow this to happen.

Back in the locker room, his brow immediately furrowed when he saw his teammates excited and celebrating the victory, including the coaching staff, even George Karl, who looked like he had already qualified.

Admittedly, he is not Gary Payton, and this team is also a little stronger than the supersonic speed of that time and space, but there is no weak team in the NBA, and anything can happen, so he still can't be careless.

"Smack!"

He slapped his face twice, and after everyone looked over, he said solemnly: "Coach Karl, guys, don't forget my words, go all out, never underestimate any opponent, after the promotion, it is when we are happy, OK?" ”

Feeling Zhou Quan's stern attitude, even George Carl had to restrain the happy expression on his face, as for the others, no one dared to be presumptuous.

Rodman got 15 points and 19 rebounds today, and he was also very excited, but he is a very clever person, although he usually likes to be funny, but after seeing Zhou Quan's attitude, he immediately stopped being funny, but nodded very sensibly:

"Iron Fist is right, Mutombo still blocked us three times today, and one of my second attacks was blocked by him, we can't be careless."

Under Zhou Quan's suppression, the supersonic locker room finally returned to quiet.

He came out of the shower, and the results of the other three games were already in.

The Spurs beat the Jazz, the Eastern Hawks capsized in the gutter and lost to the Nets, and the Knicks beat the Cavaliers.

On the 29th, the first round of G1 continued.

In the end, the Bulls beat the Pistons, the Magic lost by one point at home to the Pacers, and the Suns and Mosaics beat the Warriors and Trail Blazers, respectively.

On April 30, the SuperSonics made persistent efforts and won two consecutive victories at home to get the first round match point.

At this time, Zhou Quan not only did not relax, but reminded the whole team, even the coaching staff, more harshly, that they must not be careless away from home.

In the other group games, the Jazz pulled one back and tied with the Spurs.

The Knicks in the East defeated the Cavaliers for the second time, won two straight games at home, and also got a match point.

The Hawks pulled back a home court to tie the Nets.

On May 1, the Supersonic arrived in Denver.

That night, the Bulls, Pacers, Suns and Mosaic each lost their opponents twice, winning back-to-back games and earning first-round match points.

"Senior, yes, your momentum is going to sweep the rhythm of magic?" Zhou Quan made a call to Reggie Miller.

Reggie Miller was very happy to win two in a row, and he scored 24 and 32 points respectively, and his individual performance was also very good, and he said excitedly: "Iron Fist, I'll help you kill the bull this time." ”

If the Pacers advance to the second round, they will indeed be the winner against the Bulls and Pistons, and it is almost certain that they will face the Bulls.

Zhou Quan said with a smile: "Senior, if you really kill the bull, this year's championship and eight achievements are yours." ”

When Reggie Miller heard this, he said angrily: "Iron Fist, you dare to underestimate me? ”

"Haha, no, no, senior, I mean really." Zhou Quan laughed.

"Hey, you kid wait for me, one day I'm going to meet you in the finals, wait for me, I'll solve the magic first."

Reggie Miller hung up the phone.

May 2nd, the first round of G3 match day.

'It's our home stadium and it's our turn.' In the home team's dressing room, Dan Isel said in a deep voice.

Mutombo nodded heavily, he had already lost two games, the Nuggets had no way out, and neither did he, and he would be swept if he lost again.

His bottom line is not to be swept away, and if he can advance, it is the best. Now it's time to be swept away, and he's going to have to fight hard.

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

Nuggets: Mutombo, Lafonso Ellis, Reggie Williams, Bryant Stich, Mohamed Lauf

On the ESPN commentary seat, after seeing the starting list, Ranbir said disdainfully: "Michael Cage is a waste, the supersonic let him play the starter, this is not a change of formation, this is suicide." ”

Isaiah Thomas was also puzzled: "In terms of ability, Sam Perkins is still better than Cage, why did George Karl remove Perkins' starting position?" ”

Zhou Quan didn't understand either, but George Carr's explanation was to use Perkins to increase the strength of the bench, and he didn't ask again, after all, he couldn't interfere with the work of the coaching staff.

In the fourth minute of the first quarter, at 8:14, the Nuggets led by 6 points, and George Karl was already sweating and called a timeout very nervously.

Zhang Reasonable shook his head and said: "Michael Cage has no strength, and his ability to pull away is far inferior to Perkins, he and Rodman partner on the inside, they can't pull out, and they don't have offensive ability."

At the same time, the paint area piled up the inside lines of both sides, making it difficult for Zhou Quan to break through with the ball, and he could only jump shot outside, resulting in the first 4 minutes, and the SuperSonics did not have a single low-post attack.

It should be said that this is a problem with the lineup, Michael Cage and Rodman do not match at all, it is not a question of whether he has the strength or not.

Fortunately, Zhou Quan's form today is still okay, with 2 of 4 shots and two more assists, otherwise he would have fallen behind even more. ”

Sun Zhenping nodded and said: "The main problem is not only the problem of the lineup arrangement, but also the problem of the defensive end, which allowed the opponent to score 14 points in 4 minutes." ”

Zhang Reasonable shook his head and said: "Reggie Williams is in good shape today, Schramf didn't guard him, and Michael Cage and Rodman didn't prevent it after he got in, shooting 3 of 4, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 8 points in 4 minutes."

At the same time, Lauf felt good, he still played Kendall Gill in a misplaced position, Gill was not in shape today, made a mistake, and the defense was weak, so that Lauf scored 4 points on 2-of-3 shooting, which was very efficient. ”

"Mutombo has already sent a block to cap Michael Cage and further hit the superSonics' low-post offense, which is something to be aware of," Sun said.

In addition to Zhou Quan's ability to lock up Stich, the defense of the second and third positions was a problem tonight, and Kendall Gill and Schramf were a little unable to keep up with the rhythm of Lauf and Reggie Williams, and each made a mistake. ”

"Reggie Williams is a swingman at the front, smaller than Schramf, and has better movement, and he plays big with small and worked well tonight. It's the same with Lauf. ”

The supersonic bench stepped forward, and George Karl was sweating profusely, and he replaced Michael Cage and let Sam Perkins go up.

In addition, Kendall Gill's defensive form just now was not good, and he replaced the veteran McMillan.

Zhou Quan saw George Karl like this and knew that the head coach was a little nervous.

George Karl has been in charge for seven seasons, playing in the playoffs for the fifth time, and played in the Western Conference finals last season, but it seems that the mental quality is nowhere near as good as that of coach Chuck Daley.

In fact, he didn't expect that part of the reason why George Karl was so nervous was because he repeatedly emphasized the strength of the Nuggets and emphasized that the supersonic speed could be hacked.

"Coach, we need to strengthen our defense, especially on the flanks against Reggie Williams, who was very efficient in his breakthrough today." He reminded.

George Karl nodded hurriedly and said, "You're right, Iron Fist, we need to strengthen the flank attack." ”

Speaking of this, he glanced at Schramf, emphasized his defense, and then said to Zhou Quan: "Iron Fist, if Reggie Williams still breaks through Detref, you will be responsible for making up the defense." Plus, you get back to beat the Lauf. ”

Zhou Quan nodded and said, "I will, coach." ”

After the timeout, the game resumed, and the supersonic attacked.

Perkins pulled to the left wing three-point line, and small forward Schramf was a little more inside, and the paint area was much empty, leaving only Rodman and Mutombo.

Zhou Quan carried the ball to the frontcourt, pulled to the left wing, used Perkins' body to block, got rid of Stich, and burst into the left elbow area.

Mutombo didn't come out and was still sitting in the basket.

The Nuggets' supplementary defense is carried out by the high post Lauf, but where can he defend against Zhou Quan?

Zhou Quan hit the paint area, and instead of passing the ball to McMillan, who was open at the top of the arc, he made a quick stop jump shot at a step below the left end of the free throw line and hit a ball.

Ranbir scoffed: "Isn't Iron Fist a point guard, McMillan's big vacancy, he can't see it?" According to the data, McMillan has three points, and it is not bad. ”

The assassin laughed, "It's right that the Iron Fist is not transmitted. ”

"Why? I think he just wants to attack on his own. Ranbil said.

The Assassin laughed, "Bill, that's because you've never been the heart of the team's attack. ”

"Does it matter?" Ranbir was unconvinced.

The Assassin explained with a smile: "Now that the supersonic speed is behind, Iron Fist, as the boss, as the core of attack and defense, he has to stand up and solve the problem, and this is the key to the problem." ”

Ranbir snorted: "I can shoot such a big vacancy, but if I don't pass it, I can be alone." ”

The assassin smiled and said, "Bill, don't you know, Iron Fist G1 has 19 assists, G2 has 15 assists, and an average of 17 assists per game. ”

Ranbier was stunned, his face was like a pig's liver, and he snorted: "It's still alone." ”

"Let him fuck off, okay? Let that Ranbill idiot get out of my TV, or I'll change the channel and get ESPN out of my TV. ”

"Uh, okay, sir, please calm down, I'm afraid I can't get him out of your TV tonight, next time, okay?"

A supersonic fan finally couldn't stand Ranbir anymore, grabbed the phone and called ESPN's hotline, which was a big scolding.

(End of chapter)