The supersonic reached the finals, and the praise of the media suddenly surged, and there was no longer any tenacity in the media chasing mosaic.

"The great Dennis Rodman, the feat of 22 rebounds in a single game, was the one who saved the SuperSonics." New york times.

"Schramf, Rodman, Kendall Gill, McMillan, Iron Fist should be grateful to these teammates of his, without their strong performance, he would have been eliminated." Houston Chronicle.

"The SuperSonics have a strong elite roster, and making it to the Finals is a matter of course." Washington post.

On the 2nd, Zhou Quan didn't get up until close to 11 o'clock, and after lunch, he flipped through today's newspaper and found a situation that in these American media reports, his supersonic teammates seem to have become superstars one by one, but his performance is rarely mentioned by the media alone.

"If I were to change to black or white, I would be the second Jordan." He couldn't help but complain to himself in his heart.

That night, the Bulls returned to their home court and defeated the Knicks, eliminating their opponents with a score of 4-2 and reaching the Finals.

"Congratulations, Michael, you've made it to the finals again after just one year." During the on-site interview, the reporter said.

"Thank you!" Jordan had a smile on his face.

"Iron Fist will be in the finals again, do you want to say anything to him?" The journalist asked.

The smile on Jordan's face couldn't help but be retracted, staring at the camera intently, his eyes were extremely sharp and frighteningly bright, and he said word by word: "Iron Fist, see you in the finals." ”

"See you at the finals."

Zhou Quan, who was sitting in front of the TV, responded with a smile.

……

At the end of the Eastern Conference Finals, the NBA League 1994 Finals will be played by the SuperSonics and the Bulls, and the G1 game will start on June 5, with the SuperSonics having home-court advantage, best-of-seven games, and a home-and-away system of two-three-two.

In the middle of the night, TNT and ESPN released their latest championship predictions.

Previously, these mainstream big media were more inclined to the Bulls between the Bulls and the Hypersonics, and they were ready to say that between Zhou Quan and Jordan, they were more inclined to Jordan.

And the latest championship prediction data is still this trend, between the Chinese and the Americans, except for the media in Seattle, the rest of the media in the United States has only one choice.

But there are two cities where the media has shown a very neutral state: Detroit and Los Angeles.

TNT's data is that the Bulls are 52% and the Supersonic are 48%.

If TNT's bias is not large, then ESPN's bias is relatively large, with the Bulls having a 60% chance of winning the championship and the supersonic speed only 40%.

NBC TV, ABC TV, these large American TV organizations, predict that the probability of the supersonic winning the championship is generally lower than that of the Bulls by ten percentage points.

Compared to these media, TNT is still the least biased, only four percentage points.

After reaching the finals, Zhou Quan received a lot of congratulatory calls in the past two days.

Abdul-Jabbar and Reggie Miller, O'Neal, Isaiah Thomas, Joe Dumas, Mutombo and others have all called to get him ready for his home tickets, and he has informed management.

The Finals are about to begin, and many NBA stars have given media interviews.

The Postman, Larry Johnson, Barkley and others, have expressed their support for Jordan.

Magic Johnson said in an interview with the media: "In the 92 East Finals, Jordan eliminated Iron Fist 4-2 and finally won the championship; In the second round of 93, Iron Fist eliminated Jordan 4-3 and finally won the championship; The first two times they met in the playoffs, they won one and lost one, and neither of them had an absolute advantage.

This year, they meet in the Grand Final, and I think either of them will have a chance to win in the end, and I hope there will be a great Grand Final series. ”

"Erwin, who are you rooting for?" The journalist asked.

"I'm friends with them, and we both support them." Magic Johnson laughed.

"But it was Michael who supported you before." The reporter asked unwillingly.

"No, you're getting the point wrong, even if I don't support the Pistons, it's not that I don't support Iron Fist, I'm the one who wants him to join the Lakers the most." The magician laughed.

Abdul-Jabbar was also interviewed, saying, "I'm going to watch the finals live, you don't have to ask me who I'm supporting, I've always been behind Iron Fist. ”

"Karim, I understand your support, after all, you are alumni. But if you look at it from the point of view of strength, who will you support? The reporter asked unwillingly.

"I still support Iron Fist, and Iron Fist's overall strength is definitely not weaker than Michael Jordan, otherwise it would be impossible for the Pistons to eliminate the Bulls in the second round last year." Abdul-Jabbar said.

Chamberlain was also interviewed, saying, "I'm going to be there to watch the finals, and I'm bullish on Michael Jordan. ”

"Wilt, last year you said that Iron Fist couldn't stand up at a critical moment, but he won the championship in the end, what flaws do you think he has in him this year?" The journalist asked.

Chamberlain said a little annoyed: "He has too many flaws, such as his ability to shoot in the bag, he is still a few grades behind Michael Jordan, he doesn't even dare to shoot in the bag."

There is also the ability to finish, he always passes the ball to his teammates at critical moments, letting his teammates solve the problem, and letting his teammates take responsibility instead of himself, which is a cowardly act of weakness. ”

Unlike the attitude of the media, these current and retired stars of the NBA, those who support Zhou Quan and those who support Jordan, are almost half.

Zhou Quan has been nesting in the villa by the lake for the past few days, and he has also been interviewed by the media at the gate.

"Iron Fist, Chamberlain thinks you don't dare to shoot in the bag, do you agree with his words?" A reporter from a Miami Daily asked.

"Oh, that's because I always get the ball to my teammates who are open so we always win and we don't have to shoot in the bag at all, that's stupid." Zhou Quan said with a smile.

"Chamberlain also said that you always pass the ball at key moments, rather than solving problems yourself, and he said that you are a cowardly weakness, do you agree with that?" The reporter asked again.

Zhou Quan laughed and said, "Bill Russell is great, I think he is the only superstar of that era. ”

"Iron Fist said that Chamberlain was not a superstar, Russell was the only superstar of that era." The next day, Mr. Zhou's words made the front page of the Miami Daily News.

"This damn bastard!"

After Chamberlain saw it, he was so angry that he hurriedly ate a few nitroglycerin tablets.

No. 3, the league announced the best team.

Zhou Quan was selected for the double first team, which is also the second time he has been selected for the double first team after last year.

Similarly, Jordan was also selected for the double first team, and together with Zhou Quan, he swept the guard line in the double first team.

"The NBA guard line has two stars shining, covering the league's four super centers." Los Angeles Daily News.

"With Jordan knocking out Ewing in the East Finals and Iron Fist knocking out Olajuwon in the West, the league has entered the era of defenders, and the era of traditional centers is a thing of the past." The Seattle Times.

All of a sudden, the American media shouted that the era of guards is coming, which made several super centers depressed, and also made many team management feel that they should change the previous draft concept.

That evening, TNT and ESPN arranged their respective finals programs.

Hosted by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, TNT featured several current and retired stars.

Similarly, ESPN TV also featured Isaiah Thomas and Ranbir as hosts, and invited several stars as guests.

In the evening, Zhou Quan took a look, and it was obvious that the influence and connections of the two demon birds far exceeded that of the two assassins, and they invited superstars.

Chamberlain, Lakers general manager Jerry West, and Olajuwon and Ewing, who were just eliminated by Zhou Quan and Jordan, and Barkley.

The guests invited by the two assassins were obviously not enough, Joe Dumas, O'Neill, Mourning, Reggie Miller, except for O'Neill, the other stars were not enough, and their influence was not enough.

Although TNT's attitude was a little fairer to him, he was quite decisive in choosing to tune in to ESPN.

Sure enough, the few guests invited by the two magic birds, except for Jerry West, the other guys were all people standing opposite, and they didn't have anything good to say about him the whole time, blindly touting Michael Jordan.

The ESPN, which was the least supportive of him, was the opposite, and although the Assassins invited several people who were not as senior as Chamberlain, except for Mourning, who was neutral, the others were all his friends.

"Who are these demon birds supporting?"

He couldn't figure out the attitude of Big Bird and Magic, and the guests invited were all his opponents, could it be that these two guys were fans of Jordan?

On June 4, at three o'clock in the afternoon, the Chicago Bulls arrived in Seattle.

On this day, there are also a large number of Hollywood stars and celebrities coming to Seattle.

At five o'clock, at the request of the media, the bull held a press conference at the hotel.

"Coach Jackson, this season's regular season Bulls and SuperSonics are tied 1-1, how sure do you think the Bulls will win this Finals series?" A reporter from the New York Times asked.

Phil Jackson said unhurriedly: "I think ESPN's championship prediction is sixty against forty. ”

"Michael, do you agree with Coach Jackson?" The reporter immediately asked.

A paranoid look flashed across Jordan's face, and he said firmly, "I would rather be 100 percent." ”

"Do you think you've won Iron Fist?" The reporter said excitedly.

"Without strong confidence, you can't play your best, and I'm sure I'm going to win the game," Jordan said. ”

At this time, the supersonic ended the training, and a press conference was held at the headquarters.

The host took care of it, and Zhang was the first to be flopped.

This makes many East Asian journalists very jealous, such as Japanese and South Korean journalists, as well as reporters from Wanwan and Xiangcheng, who have never had the opportunity to ask questions at such press conferences and have always been ignored.

Zhang Lili happily asked, "Xiao Zhou, what do you think of the predictions of those American media to win the championship?" ”

Zhou Quan smiled: "I took a look, and only the media in Seattle thought we would win, and other media thought that the Bulls were stronger, which made us full of fighting spirit, because the weak defeated the strong and won the championship with a counterattack, which is the most heroic behavior, and we hope to become that hero." ”

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

At this moment, the camera below flickered wildly.

"Coach Karl, this is your first time playing in the Finals, and you look nervous, so do you have the confidence to command this series?" The New York Times reporter said.

George Carr hurriedly denied: "No, sir, I'm fine, yes, I'm fine, I'm not nervous, where do you tell I'm nervous?" ”

The reporter immediately asked: "This Finals is a competition between the two strongest guards in the league, so how confident are you to beat the Bulls, defeat Michael Jordan, and win the championship?" ”

A hint of nervousness flashed in George Carr's eyes and said: "Of course we are confident, Iron Fist will take care of Michael Jordan, and we also have a lot of good defenders." ”

Zhou Quan wanted to scratch his head a little, the head coach did look very nervous, and his opponent was Phil Jackson, a champion coach who had played two championships and won two championships, hoping that there would be no accidents in the finals.

Fortunately, Phil Jackson is not a very versatile manager, he always leaves it up to the players to solve the problems that arise on the court, and maybe this is an opportunity to take advantage of.

"Iron Fist, do you want to say anything about the rematch with Michael Jordan?" A reporter from the Los Angeles Daily asked.

"It's very exciting to meet Jordan for the third time in the playoffs, he's the best shooting guard in the world and I hope to beat him again." Zhou Quan said with a smile.

"So do you think you're the best point guard in the world?" The reporter asked.

Zhou Quan smiled: "I never evaluate myself, but if I really evaluate myself, then I can be second, who thinks better than me, as long as he has confidence, he can be first." ”

"Haha......" The reporters at the bottom laughed.

That night, after ABC was not left behind, Bill Wharton invited several stars to put on a show.

NBC is the same, with Elgin Baylor and Big O as hosts, and also invited several stars.

……

June 5, 1994, G1 match day of the finals.

Seattle Center Gymnasium, although dilapidated, has been carefully arranged, and the scene is not bad.

On each seat, there is a finals gift bag, which contains a souvenir, and if you are lucky, you can get the collective signature of Zhou Quan and others, but the probability is one in 500, only thirty people have this luck, and there is also a unified finals jersey.

And tonight is star-studded, and the people sitting in the front row are either celebrities or NBA stars.

There are also many business celebrities in Seattle, such as supersonic boss Ballmer, and several Boeing executives.

Gong Li sat in the second row to the east, not far from the SuperSonics' bench, with Arnold and Rambo in front, as well as Tom Cruise, and Big Mouth Roberts.

In recent years, she has entered a glorious period of her career, and this year's Farewell My Concubine has won her a lot of honors, won many awards including the Palme d'Or, and won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the end of March, which has a high reputation in Europe and a certain degree of popularity in Hollywood.

After a few months, she came to the United States again, this time on vacation, just in time for the NBA Finals, because of Zhou Quan's popularity in China, she also knew the NBA, so she came to watch the game.

There was also a Chinese star at the scene, Chen Long was opposite Gong Li, also sitting in the second row, and did not buy a ticket for the first row.

He is filming the Red Fan Zone, which is another movie he has hit Hollywood, and he has just been filming in New York for two days on location and transferred to Vancouver.

Vancouver is the third largest production center in North America after Los Angeles and New York, and is known as the Hollywood of the North.

Zhou Quan stayed in Xiangcheng for a week last year, although he didn't communicate with Zhou Quan, he also knew about it, so this time he deliberately stayed in Seattle to watch a finals.

……

This Grand Final Series is broadcast live across the United States by TNT, and the commentators are the Magic Birds.

At eight o'clock, the two teams announced their starting lists.

Bulls: Carter White, Horres Grant, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, B.J. Armstrong

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

"The Bulls have the same starting lineup as they were last year when they were eliminated by the Pistons in the second round, but the Bulls have brought in Luke Longley from the Timberwolves, a younger center, and I think Cartwhite should just be a fake starter," Larry Bird said. ”

Magic Johnson nodded: "Whether it's Carter White, or Luke Longley, and another backup center, Bill Winnington, they all have a high advantage, and the Bulls' No. 5 position no matter who is on it, whether it is against Sam Perkins or Michael Cage, they all have an advantage."

The supersonic interior height is too low, and rebounding will suffer, so Rodman's rebounding is very crucial.

He's been in fine form for the vast majority of games this playoffs, occasionally suffering from injuries, and if something goes wrong with him, the SuperSonics are in trouble. ”

Larry Bird nodded: "The Bulls also only have role players at the No. 5 position, but whether it is the main force or the bench, they are better than the supersonics."

Grant is also good at the No. 4 position, with strong cutting ability, not weak rebounding defense, and no weaker overall contribution than Rodman.

In the third position, Pippen will have an advantage against Schramf. On the guard line, Jordan played against Iron Fist, and BJ played against Kendall Gill, and the strength was average.

The Bulls' organization is in charge of Pippen, and the triangle offense focuses on the transfer of the ball and the player's off-ball movement, Iron Fist is good at suppressing the opponent's point guard through defense, destroying the opponent's organizational function, so as to suppress the opponent's offense, but this point does not have much effect on the Bulls.

This finals will be a showdown between Jordan and Iron Fist, who is in better shape and performs better, and who will win the final victory. ”

Magician Johnson nodded: "Michael wins and returns the king." Iron Fist wins, and a new superstar will be born in the league. ”

On the CCTV commentary seat, the finals are about to start, Zhang Lili and Sun Zhenping are excited, nervous, and excited.

They are very busy with their work, especially in the playoffs, but they all feel very happy because they can watch Zhou Quan and Jordan in the finals, which gives them a strong sense of participation, and a sense of honor, even inferior to the Olympics.

(End of chapter)