Back in Seattle on the 20th, the Grizzlies arrived.

On the afternoon of the 21st, during the team's training, Zhou Quan felt that there was no problem with his right index finger, and the injury on the 12th took eight or nine days, and with his 95-level injury resistance, the recovery speed was still quite fast. After the team doctor checked and agreed, he loosened his index finger.

"Try the feel first, I'm going to chop a 50+ on a grizzly bear tonight." He couldn't wait.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! ”

However, he was still a little uncomfortable with this loosening, and missed three consecutive shots.

"Haha......"

A group of teammates laughed.

"Again."

Zhou Quan smiled and continued to shoot, and it took nearly an hour for him to finally practice his feel back.

That night, he really made a fortune on the Grizzlies, scoring 55 points.

It was a career-high single-game scoring record and his shooting percentage increased to 51.5 percent, the first time he had more than 50 percent since a finger injury.

This is also the second time he has played 50+ in the regular season this year, and his offensive ability is so strong that it is fully revealed.

He and Schramf were 17-2 before they were injured, and now they are 21-3, 4-1 in 10 days, and a win rate of 80 percent.

In five games, he averaged 36.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 12.4 assists, 6.4 steals and 2.4 blocks per game, and shot 48.4% from the field.

However, the SuperSonics lost the first place in the league and were overtaken by the Bulls.

The Bulls have been injury-free and have completed a 12-game winning streak since losing to the SuperSonics last time out, and are in the top spot in the league.

On the 22nd, Zhou Jun, who had a winter vacation, came to Seattle, and Zhou Quan and Zeng Li picked up the airport.

"Wow, brother, take me up and play." When he saw the Iron Fist, the calm Zhou Jun also shouted impatiently.

"Okay, let's go around the lake first, and then go out to sea." Zhou Quan said with a smile.

On the 25th, the Christmas War.

SuperSonics hosted the Bullets, and Zhou Quan scored a super triple-double of 38 points, 18 assists and 10 steals, 75:121, beating the opponent by 46 points.

On the 26th, after watching a Christmas battle, Zhou Jun returned to China.

That night, the Bulls snapped their winning streak and were beaten by the Pacers on the road.

Zhou Quan made a special call to Reggie Miller, and the two celebrated on the phone.

The No. 27 SuperSonics defeated the Nuggets again at home, and the No. 29 defeated the Green team at home, achieving a 24-3 record and regaining the top spot in the league.

That same night, the Bulls lost to Mosaic and got their fourth loss of the season.

On the 30th, in back-to-back games on the road, due to lack of fitness, the SuperSonics suffered their fourth defeat of the season, losing to the Suns.

With 24 wins and 4 losses, the SuperSonics played the same record as the Bulls, but because they defeated the Bulls at home, the SuperSonics entered 96 years with the first record in the league.

On New Year's Day '96, at 9 a.m., the league announced the MVP ranking list and Player of the Month for December, and Zhou Quan once again won the best of the month, as well as the MVP ranking No. 1.

This is the fifth time in five seasons that Zhou Quan has won the best honor of the month, and the best of the week is average, but the best of the month is a rare hard honor, and he is also very happy.

On the same day, the league announced the start of All-Star voting, which ended in the early morning of January 28 and lasted for four weeks.

After playing the Suns, the team flew to Atlanta in the East the next day, No. 2, the SuperSonics beat the Hawks away, and No. 3 flew to Miami.

The Heat has a group of good players such as Gary Payton and Billy Owens, Pat Riley joined the Heat, which directly improved the strength of the team, and as soon as Pat Riley arrived in the Heat, he traded for Mourning, and now this team has become a powerhouse in the East, ninth in the East last season, and now sixth in the East.

"We'll get them, hypersonic is nothing big of a deal."

After SuperSonics arrived in Miami, Gary Payton gave a telephone interview and still seemed to have a deep grudge against SuperSonics and Zhou Quan, saying:

'We've got the best manager, we've got the best center, which they don't have, and we're going to show the whole league with the win that it's not going to be difficult to beat them.'

"So Gary, do you think Tekken is the first man on active duty?" The journalist asked.

"No, Michael is, he's still at his peak, as long as he's at the top, no one can surpass him, I've always thought so." Gary Payton said firmly.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, SuperSonics held a press conference at the hotel.

"Iron Fist, Gary Payton doesn't think it's hard to beat you, and he thinks Jordan is the number one player in the roster, what do you think of his remarks?" A reporter asked.

Zhou Quan smiled and said: "Oh, gloves, I actually don't know him very well, I've only played a few games, we didn't communicate at all off the court, whatever he says, I don't need to care what he says." ”

"Do you think Gary Payton is a good point guard?" The journalist asked.

"Of course, he's very good, and sooner or later he's going to be the best point guard in this league." Zhou Quan smiled without hesitation.

The reporter was a little puzzled, something was wrong, Iron Fist was not only not angry, but he also praised Gary Payton like this?

On the night of the 4th, at eight o'clock, the two sides announced their starting lineups.

SuperSonics: Elvin Johnson, Matt Geiger, Almon Gilliam, Jose Hawkins, Zhou Quan

Heat: Mourning, Coater Thomas, Billy Owens, Rex Chapman, Gary Payton

NBC TV broadcast live across the United States, and commentator James Worthy said at this time: "The Heat is still polishing this lineup, with Pat Riley's means and ability, in two to three seasons, it can definitely become one of the most competitive teams in the East, and even compete with the Bulls, Magic, and Knicks." ”

John Moore nodded and said: "Defense, Coach Pat Riley is still obsessed with defense, defense wins championships, and he is aiming for championships."

Mourning, if not O'Neal, would have been the fourth-best super-center, and now he could also be called the fifth-great. ”

James Worthy smiled: "Mourning, Cott Thomas, Gary Payton, these three defensive giants, have made the Heat one of the strongest defensive teams in the league, just like the Bulls and the SuperSonics, they are the third in the East in points conceded per game, second only to the Bulls and Knicks." ”

"The Heat's defense is no weaker than the SuperSonics too much, and with a little more honing, their defense will be stronger," John Moore said.

Also, I think there's room for improvement in the Heat's record this season, and they have a good chance of making it to the top half.

The Pacers are currently third in the East and the Knicks in fourth, and after Pat Riley left the Knicks, the team seems to have lost its direction and sharpness, Ewing lacks leadership qualities, and the Heat should have a chance to surpass them.

However, the Heat want to compete with the Bulls and Magic in the East, I am afraid it is not enough, they still lack super scorers like Jordan and Iron Fist who can charge forward, Gary Payton and Iron Fist are not players of the same level, let alone someone like Jordan.

There is no super center like O'Neal who can do everything under the basket, and Mourning's offense is still a little less interesting. ”

James Worthy laughed: "Mourning is the strongest super center with a defensive bias, and height is his only weakness, just as Iron Fist's height is also his only weakness." ”

John Moore nodded: "Iron Fist's offensive ability is indeed some gap from Jordan at his peak, when he encounters a bag, he chooses to pass more than shoot in the bag, which is indeed a height limit."

But I don't mean to say that Iron Fist is inferior to Jordan, on the contrary, he is more intimidating than Jordan when he breaks through the trap with the ball.

The reason why he's not being caught as hard as Jordan is because his passing is so powerful that he doesn't need to make a lot of shots in the bag. ”

"Don't dare to be too wrap-around." James smiled and nodded.

At this time, the starters of both sides meet in the players' tunnel.

Zhou Quan and Mo Ning have no friendship, almost no words off the court, no on the court, and Gary Payton has a grudge because of the exchange of teams, so he is too lazy to speak.

With his current status, he doesn't speak, and others don't talk much, and it's only very quiet, especially the role players and marginal people who have little qualifications and status, as well as young players, are very nervous and stressed in the face of him, and they don't dare to make loud noises, even Mo Ning is very quiet and silent.

Gary Payton, who has a very big opinion on him, dared to provoke Zhou Quan in the face of the media, but he did not dare to provoke him in front of him off the court.

"Oh roar!"

"Bang Bang Bang ......"

"Iron Fist! Tekken ......"

When he played, there were also warm cheers and applause at the Meixi Arena.

"Humph!"

Gary Payton couldn't help but snort coldly when he saw this, he was a little dissatisfied with these Heat fans, how could he applaud and cheer for his opponent?

"It's Miami's welcome to the world boxing champion." James Worthy laughed.

"Yes, the professional heavyweight world champion, the great crossover king, deserves cheers and applause from Miami people." John Moore laughed.

At half past eight, the game officially began.

Elvin Johnson and Mourning jump balls, supersonic offense.

Zhou Quan received the ball and faced Gary Payton, who was only two centimeters taller than him, but 10.5 kilograms lighter than him, and was directly the most savage crushing breakthrough.

"Shet!"

Gary Payton couldn't stand, so he could only retreat backwards on his own initiative to avoid being abrupt.

But when he took the initiative to retreat, Zhou Quan immediately accelerated to break through, burst through from the right side, and hit the top of the arc, which was an unreasonable emergency stop jump shot.

Gary Payton hurried up to jump from the left side to block it, half a beat slower, and by the time he jumped, Zhou Quan's ball had already been shot.

"Brush!"

There was a splash and a three-point shot.

"He hit a three-pointer on the first shot, and his shot with an iron fist was very decisive and crisp, and he shouldn't feel bad today." James Worthy said.

"When he was just warming up, he hit nine threes in a row." John Moore said with a smile.

At this time in the backcourt, Zhou Quan blocked the front of Gary Payton, who received the ball and advanced, half-leaning over, and retreating and defending, as the strongest super steal king in history, he was extremely powerful, forcing Gary Payton to be very nervous.

Unlike Gary Payton, who sticks to the attacker's body like a glove, leaving opponents breathless and forcing opponents to make mistakes, he is aggressive and active defense, using strong steals to force opponents to make mistakes in a panic.

Last season's average of 4.5 steals per game in the regular season has given him a very strong deterrent, so this season under the threat of this deterrent, opponents are more and more suspicious of him, which makes his steal ability further explode, reaching an average of six times per game.

It's not that his tackling ability has increased this season, but that opponents are more nervous when facing him, mistakes have increased, people who are not strong in ball handling, people who are not strong in combining people and balls, people who are not fast in the ball, and people who are not fast in the ball, do not dare to hold the ball in front of him at all.

Gary Payton has always dared to distinguish with Zhou Quan, that is, he thinks that he has the top ability to hold the ball and the ability to integrate the ball with the ball, and he also has the best passing ability, so he is not afraid of Zhou Quan's steals at all.

Zhou Quan took two steps back from the halfway line, and when Gary Payton just crossed the halfway, he suddenly started a big stride up and grabbed the ball.

Gary Payton instinctively pulled the ball back and didn't let Zhou Quan poke his ball, he breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to spray a trash talk to sarcastically mock Zhou Quan, but he heard the referee's whistle.

"What?"

He reacted when he saw the referee make a return violation.

"Damn, careless!"

He gritted his teeth, he should have turned around to protect the ball just now, and turned around to break through.

"See, this is the deterrent ability of the Iron Fist steal, stronger than the glove, and he is also worried about being tackled." James Worthy laughed.

"In the face of the defense of the iron fist, even Jordan can't be careless, and if he is careless, he will be stealed. In high-tension situations, bad choices can be made, and the turnover rate will definitely rise, which is the main reason why Tekken's steal stats have improved further this season. John Moore said.

On the sidelines, Pat Riley combed his big oily back that flies couldn't stand, and then yelled, "Gary, be careful, I don't want to see your low-level mistakes again." ”

Gary Payton glanced at the sidelines and nodded hurriedly.

No matter how unruly he is, in the face of a head coach with such qualifications as Pat Riley, he doesn't dare to do it, just like he doesn't dare to provoke Zhou Quan in person.

When Zhou Quan received the ball on the right wing and crossed the halfway line and pulled it to the top of the arc, Gary Payton decisively started a glove defense.

Zhou Quan has only one way to deal with it, when the gloves just tried to get close to the body, he directly broke through, turned sideways, protected the ball with his left elbow in front, and crushed forward with his left shoulder against Gary Payton.

"Shet!"

Gary Payton can't stand, how can he defend himself?

When Zhou Quan crushed to the free throw line, he hit Gary Payton again and immediately stepped back to shoot a jumper, Gary Payton didn't keep up with the rhythm at all and hit a shot easily.

James Worthy smiled: "Gary Payton's set of defense against other point guards is fine, but the defense iron fist is not good, and the tonnage strength confrontation is not a grade." ”

John Moore nodded: "He doesn't have a chance to get close to the iron fist at all, he will be knocked out of the way close to him, and the glove defense has no chance to be used."

Iron Fist is not only tonnage, his athleticism is better and faster than Gary Payton, and Gary Payton will not be able to keep up with Iron Fist as long as he is knocked out of position. ”

James Worthy quipped: "Iron Fist uses a crushing breakthrough against the glove, if the home whistle is obvious, blow a few more times to hit people with the ball, the glove still has some chance to prevent the iron fist." ”

John Moore glanced at James Worthy with a strange look in his eyes and reminded: "James, have you ever seen Jordan have a home whistle when he is playing away?"

Now Tekken's status in the international sports world is no longer comparable to Jordan's, blowing the home whistle on his body, in case he doesn't play in the NBA and goes to boxing full-time, how big will the NBA lose?

The last time he won the World Championship, McCall didn't hit him once, with his dodging ability, there is no damage accumulation at all, he can fight a few more fights a year, with his box office appeal, how many dollars do you have to earn in a year?

To be honest, in the world, Iron Fist is already the biggest signboard in the NBA, and the league is a self-destructive signboard against him. ”

James Worthy snorted awkwardly, and then said: "I'm just saying that this is a possibility, the league really needs to hold him, beat the NBA with an iron fist, and make hundreds of millions of dollars less every year." ”

In New York, David Stern wanted to rush over and kick these two guys along the satellite signal, even if this is the case, don't tell it, make the NBA lose face.

(End of chapter)