Then the Bulls strengthened their defense, and in the case of Mutombo defending the basket, on the one hand, delaying the supersonic's fast serve and fast pass, preventing the supersonic from playing fast-paced offense and defense, on the other hand, Jordan strengthened the pressing, preventing Zhou Quan's pass, and then staring at the supersonic outside players on the outside, not giving big vacancies, and finally Kukoc also strengthened his marking of Leitner.

In several ways, the Bulls' defense finally had an impact on the SuperSonics' offense, and when his teammates couldn't run out of position, Zhou Quan had to increase his shots and dribble more to seek more open opportunities.

On the defensive end, Zhou Quan also had to shoot with all his might, and his offense was not very good, so the Bulls' offense couldn't play.

In this way, the game was entangled by the two sides until the last minute, 90:90, the Bulls' possession, Phil Jackson called a timeout.

Phil Jackson and Jordan thought that with Mutombo, with the league's No. 1 defense, they could beat the SuperSonics, but so far, they have actually been a little disappointed.

Zhou Quan played 44 minutes, only three minutes of rest, shooting 13-of-29 from the field with a shooting rate of just 44.8%, and 2-of-6 from three-point range with a shooting rate of 33.3%, but 11-of-13 free throws, has scored 39 points and handed out 11 assists.

The offensive end has been average, but the defensive end has delivered seven steals and three blocks, while preventing Jordan from shooting 10-of-24 from the field and shooting just 41.7 percent, down from 48.6 percent in the regular season, which is the most critical reason why the SuperSonics can bite the score.

But even so, in the competition of the main lineup, the supersonic will lose some.

But the supersonic bench lineup is strong, and the glider leads the substitute lineup to fill the hole in the main lineup, which is another important reason why the supersonic bite the score.

Zhang Li said at this time: "The Bulls actually have only one defensive tactic, let Mutombo guard the basket, Jordan defends Zhou Quan alone, and then people stare at the other three supersonics, and if they don't give vacant positions, they force Zhou Quan to play Jordan alone outside." Dare to kill in, Mutombo is waiting inside. ”

Xu Jicheng nodded and said: "The idea of supersonic pulling Mutombo out doesn't work, the bull would rather give a small vacant seat than let him leave the penalty area."

Zhou Quan broke through a lot with the ball today, but after entering it, he faced Mutombo and Jordan, and the shooting rate was not high, and he also ate three big hats, and was broken three times, and his mistakes were as high as 5 times today.

Fortunately, Zhou Quan defended Jordan by himself and didn't let Jordan play an efficient offense, so the score could still be bitten.

Mutombo's defensive form today was also quite good, sending 7 big hats, and Zhou Quan didn't dare to burst in after the hat. ”

Zhang Li said: "So today, the Bulls' tactics are better, the supersonic is a little passive, and we should find a way to solve the problem of Mutombo." ”

On the supersonic bench, George Karl temporarily put aside the question of how to pull Mutombo out and only arranged one last attack and one defense.

In fact, he has been thinking about this problem since the day Mutombo joined the Bulls, but today it seems that some of the tactics he thought of have failed and need to be refigured.

The timeout ends, and the Bulls attack.

On the right wing, Jordan caught the ball by blocking, Zhou Quan chased up, Jordan made a false shot, and then dribbled through from the left side.

Zhou Quan was shaken and immediately turned around to chase after him.

Jordan made a sharp stop in the right elbow area, and Zhou Quan caught up and took a step back in front of him.

Jordan immediately turned around and played with the ball on his back, but in the next moment, he immediately turned around and threw a backward jumper, and Zhou Quan grabbed a step to block it was already slow.

"Brush!"

At the critical time, Jordan hit a precise shot.

"Jordan shouldn't have much physical fitness at this time, and Zhou Quan's physical fitness should be better, but the treasure knife is not old! Purely in terms of this finishing ability, Jordan should be stronger than Zhou Quan. Zhang Li exclaimed.

The supersonic tried to make a quick launch, but Mutombo stood in front of the baseline and waved his hands constantly, stopping Leitner's fast serve, and the offensive rhythm was not raised, so he could only switch to positional warfare.

At the critical moment, Zhou Quan chose to shoot by himself, and when he burst into the left elbow area, he made a quick stop jump shot.

"Bang!"

Jordan also tried his best on the defensive end, but his block didn't touch the ball, but Zhou Quan didn't hit this mid-range shot.

"Zhou Quan's feel this season is indeed not as good as last season, it should be caused by the strength training of the weight gain, and now the weight gain is over, but he still needs a while to adapt to the new tonnage and recover the feeling." Zhang said reasonably.

"Bang!"

The Bulls attacked, Jordan missed his last shot, and then the game was over.

The Bulls won this game at home, winning by two points.

After the game, an NBC reporter interviewed Jordan and asked, "Michael, the last shot that won the game, are you happy with the result of this game?" ”

Jordan didn't look very happy and shook his head: "We solved some problems on the defensive end, such as limiting Iron Fist's break-and-shoot strategy, but there were still some problems that didn't be solved, so we struggled tonight and won the game in the end." ”

"So what are the remaining issues that have not been solved?" The reporter asked.

"On the offensive end, the Iron Fist defense and the supersonic defense system still have a big limit on us, and this problem has to be solved." Jordan said.

"The SuperSonics and Schramf haven't returned, and if they're in full lineup, do you think the Bulls can beat them?" The reporter asked again.

"Of course, we won't be disappointed again this time, and I will never allow them to complete the treble on our heads." Jordan said with red eyes.

It's hard for him to imagine how hard it would be if Iron Fist completed a three-peat-in row on his head.

Every championship is won by beating him, and completing a dynasty on his head, then he will definitely be trampled under his feet by an iron fist.

When the time comes, his popularity, his status in the league and his historical status, sneaker sales, endorsement sponsorships, etc., he will be crushed to death by an iron fist.

Back in the locker room, the supersonic players began to discuss the reasons for the loss in this game.

"I had a hard time getting out of the open space today, they were too tight on the outside, Pippen was hanging on me." Perkins said.

"Me too, Harper holding my jersey with one hand at all times." Hawkins said.

Zhou Quan didn't want to talk very much, so he ate three big hats of Mutombo, and was cut off two balls by Jordan, which made him a little unhappy.

"After Schramf comes back, our strength will be complete, and Iron Fist you have now finished gaining weight, I believe that the feeling will slowly come back, and then your ball will be more threatening." George Carr said.

Zhou Quan nodded, and self-analyzed: "Jordan defended me very well today, because I couldn't shoot accurately on the outside, plus there was no vacancy on the outside, the passing threat was small, and there was Mutombo inside, and the threat of breaking through was not big enough, and the threat of sudden shooting and passing was far less than before." ”

The glider nodded: "As long as Iron Fist returns to your previous threat with the ball, Jordan alone has no way to defend against it." ”

Zhou Quan nodded, glanced at Rodman, and praised with a smile: "Dennis was good today, he grabbed 15 rebounds just after he came back." ”

Rodman grinned, "I'll give me the rebounds, and you'll do the rest." ”

George Carr then said: "Iron Fist, our tactics of Mutombora don't work, what do you think should be done?" ”

Zhou Quan said with a smile: "George, high-position blocking and dismantling tactics, we haven't played tonight." ”

"yes, that tactic should work." Hawkins busied.

The glider said with some excitement: "Christine pulls Kukocz out first, and then Dennis comes up to make a block for Iron Fist, although Dennis doesn't shoot, but whether Mutombo follows up or not, Iron Fist can get a little space with his pick-and-roll cover, with his strength, it's enough to shoot." ”

George Carr couldn't help but laugh when he heard this.

This tactic is not that he forgot, but that it is deliberately useless and kept as one of the hole card tactics in the future finals.

But this tactic also has a weakness, that is, offensive rebounds in the frontcourt can be lost, and Rodman must go back to grab offensive rebounds as soon as possible after blocking and dismantling Iron Fist in the high position.

After playing the Bulls, the SuperSonics returned to Seattle the next day, and there was one game before the All-Star break, the No. 5 against the Jazz.

Zhou Quan is now putting all his energy into shooting training, he has calculated, almost two more months, at the end of March, at the latest early April, all shooting training can be completed.

It just so happens that shooting drills can help him regain his feel, and when he does, it's playoff time.

At two o'clock in the afternoon on the 4th, Jazz arrived in Seattle.

Stockton, who broke three ribs by Zhou Quan, also came with the team, but he has not yet returned and has been out injured for two months.

Because of his injury, the Jazz's record has dropped to fourth place in the West, still behind the Lakers.

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

"Mr. Stockton, can you make a comeback this month?" A reporter from the Los Angeles Times asked.

"It is expected to return in the middle of this month." Stockton said.

The reporter asked again: "So the next time you play against Iron Fist, will you have a psychological shadow on him?" ”

Stockton's face stiffened, and he said coldly: "Injury is inevitable, and of course I won't have any psychological shadow because of this." ”

The next Miami reporter asked: "Karl, do you still have confidence in this season after Stockton's comeback?" Do you think the Jazz still have a chance to cross the mountains of supersonic and mosaic? ”

Jazz's face was gloomy, he had wanted to escape for a long time, but he couldn't leave, and the boredom in his heart had accumulated to a certain extent.

Hearing this question, his face was filled with some irrepressible tyranny, and he said coldly: "We have the confidence to overthrow them, they are nothing remarkable." ”

"Carl, do you want to leave Salt Lake City?" The reporter felt that the postman's answer was not nutritious, and asked suddenly.

The question made Jerry Sloan's face change, and so did Stockton.

Stockton didn't want the postman to leave, and he thought he should stick with it and not betray the team for a championship.

But he hasn't tried to stop it, because staying with the Jazz really doesn't see any hope of breaking out of the West, and the Jazz are restrained by the SuperSonics, the main reason is that he is restrained by the iron fist, and it is he who delays this team and delays Carl.

"No comment."

The postman replied coldly.

His answer gave the media a lot of room for reverie, and soon the news that the postman wanted to leave the Jazz appeared on the headlines of the sports pages of major media outlets.

There are a lot of basketball media people who predict that the Postman will be the trade favorite for the next offseason.

On the evening of the 5th, Zhou Quan's family came to the central gymnasium to watch the game.

In this game, the SuperSonics successfully defeated the Jazz, 36-11, ranking first in the West.

Mosaic is 31-16 and second in the West.

The Bulls lost to the Lakers that night, and with a 42-6 record, they are still the first in the league.

The media hailed the Bulls as having the potential to become the second team to complete a 70-game win, even surpassing last year's SuperSonics as the greatest team in league history.

After the jazz fight, when Zhou Quan's family returned to the villa, it was already close to twelve o'clock.

Lin Yufen and Zhou Jianguo only slept for three hours, got up just after three o'clock in the morning, and began to cook Chinese New Year's Eve dinner.

Then Zeng Lixi also got up and did chores on the side. Zhou Quan was the last to get up, and he didn't get up until six o'clock, later than Zhou Ye.

There is a large table of hometown dishes, all bowl dishes, and Zeng Lifu also made two hometown dishes from her side, which smell very fragrant and taste very fragrant. However, Zhou Quan can only taste these dishes, not eat more.

In the evening reunion, Zhou Quan and Zeng Li sent a big red envelope to their parents and Zhou Ye, and then ate small snacks and watched CCTV's four sets of Spring Festival Gala.

On the 7th, the first day of the Lunar New Year, the family went out shopping, and of course it was Chinatown, where Chinese gathered.

The current population of Seattle is about 600,000, and the entire metropolitan area is 3.7 million, which is still quite a lot.

At present, there are nearly 100,000 Chinese in the urban area alone, accounting for 15% of the urban population, and the ethnic minority with the highest proportion of the population, surpassing Latinos and Indians, and there are nearly 140,000 Chinese in the entire metropolitan area, accounting for 3.78% of the urban area.

The Chinese population in the entire metropolitan area has increased by nearly 100,000 compared with when Zhou Quan first arrived here, all of whom have emigrated from all over the United States in the last three or four years, and some have immigrated from China, as well as some international students.

When you come to Chinatown, there is a tall archway at the entrance of the street, and in the middle is the plaque of "China Gate", which is very majestic.

Before Zhou Quan came, this street was actually called the International Zone, and there were many Koreans, but there were very few Chinese, and after he came here, the situation changed.

Now it is predominantly Chinese, with at least 60,000 or 70,000 Chinese living in the neighborhood, and most Koreans have moved out of Chinatown.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Chinatown is very lively, and Zhou Quan is a frequent visitor here, and as soon as he enters Chinatown, he becomes the target of onlookers, and he is also invited to give the lion dance the eye.

The family spent most of the day in Chinatown and went home when they were tired.

On the morning of the 7th, Zhou Quan went to the airport to see him off, and Zeng Li accompanied his parents and Xiao Yezi to Los Angeles to see Zhou Jun and Zeng Yu, who would stay there for two days, and then the three of them returned to China.

Arriving in Cleveland at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and arriving at the Oaks five-star hotel where the NBA All-Stars stayed at 4 o'clock, Zhou Quan was surrounded by media outside.

(End of chapter)