After entering March, Zhou Quan's hand feeling gradually recovered, and his condition is getting better and better, both in terms of playing time and hitting rate, are rising.

His shooting training tasks are also close to completion, and his personal strength is getting stronger and stronger.

Although Rodman, Drexler, and McMillan have been injured and the strength of the team has weakened, as his performance has improved, the strength of the SuperSonics has not declined.

After beating the Pistons on the road, No. 16 went 7-1 in March for a total of 50 wins and 14 losses, surpassing Mosaic and regaining the first place in the West.

On the 17th, the SuperSonics returned to Seattle and faced the Bulls the next day.

George Karl was decided before the game, and this game is a game against the Bulls, because the SuperSonics are now only one game behind the Bulls, and if they can win, they can draw it, and maybe they can rush to the first place in the league and occupy the home court advantage in the Finals series.

But in the end, they still lost, Schramf and Hawkins added 24 shots in this game and only 8 of them, and they were not in good shape, and Zhou Quan scored 46 points, 9 assists and 6 steals, and failed to beat the Bulls.

After losing to the Bulls, the SuperSonics are on a seven-game winning streak for the remainder of March, going 14-2 and 57-15 for the entire March, leading the West.

On April 1, Zhou Quan won the Player of the Month award for March, which is also the eighth time he has won this honor.

In addition, he surpassed Olajuwon in the MVP ranking and ranked behind Jordan.

Last month, he averaged 42.5 minutes per game, averaging 35.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 13.5 assists, 5.8 steals, 2.2 blocks, 2.6 turnovers and 2.7 fouls on 13.7-of-26 shooting per game, shooting 52.7 percent from the field, which is close to last season's average of 53.2 percent per game in the regular season.

Even so, it is not surprising that the media targeting him will continue to target him, driven by various interests.

On the night of the 1st, the team hosted the Lakers, and in the afternoon the team practiced at the headquarters, and Rodman and the glider, McMillan, Cummings and other four injured players appeared on the training ground.

"Everybody, come here, there's something to announce."

George Karl called everyone together, pulled McMillan to his side, and said with a smile: "Nate has decided to retire after this season and then join the coaching staff, and from today onwards, in addition to the status of a player, he also has the status of an assistant coach." ”

"Congratulations, Nate."

Zhou Quan first sent congratulations, and then the others followed.

"Thank you, Iron Fist. And you guys. McMillan said happily.

"How's your injury?" Zhou Quan then asked.

McMillan was even happier and smiled: "I feel like I'm recovering well now, maybe I can play in the playoffs." ”

Zhou Quan nodded and smiled: "That's the best result." ”

Although McMillan applied for an injury exception for the season, as long as he recovers, he can also play in the playoffs, and the players who are signed with the injury exception can also play in the playoffs.

Cummings shook his head regretfully and said, "The bones are broken, and there is no hope for this season." ”

The glider said with a smile: "I'm recovering well, the cupping and acupuncture you recommend are not bad, and I should be able to come back in the playoffs." ”

"It's good to be useful. Eat less painkillers, that's not good, I never eat that. Zhou Quan reminded.

In the United States, painkillers are sold in barrels, a thousand tablets per barrel, and eating too much is addictive.

"I'm better than Clyde and can already train." Rodman smirked.

"That's good news. But Dennis, if you soak a few fewer chicks, I think it will get better sooner. Zhou Quan said with a smile.

"That's not good, women are my life, and I want to live for them." Rodman grinned.

"Haha......" everyone who heard it laughed.

……

On the 5th, Zhou Quan completed all the shooting training tasks.

This task was issued by the system in '95, and it took him two years and three seasons to complete it.

Now all shooting skills have reached level 96, and the basic shooting skills have been improved from level 97 to level 99.

The breakthrough technique has already reached level 95, and after the shooting skill reaches level 96, his offense has also improved from level 93 to level 95.

The improvement of his strength has made his confidence in the playoffs strong.

On the 9th, Supersonic announced Rodman's official comeback.

Rodman, who had been training with the team the week before, was in okay form, playing 32 minutes and grabbing 14 rebounds, including five in the frontcourt, when the No. 10 played the Mavericks on the road.

His comeback, which provides the SuperSonics with better rebounding and defense, is an important force for the SuperSonics.

The glider is also recovering well from his injury and has started training without the ball, and will be able to resume training with the ball in a week, and is expected to return in the first round of the playoffs.

After a lot of injuries, it's a very good situation for the SuperSonics, Schramf, Rodman, Drexler, the two main players and the team's sixth man, all three of whom have played more than 30 minutes, which is very important for the team, although they have been injured for a long time, but they also get a longer rest, which is also a good thing for the playoffs.

The SuperSonics have been on a winning streak since losing to the Bulls on March 18, and have won thirteen in a row since beating the Spurs on the road on the 12th, and on the 13th, they came to Houston to challenge the Mosaic back-to-back.

It was the fourth regular season game between the two teams and the last regular season game of the season, and the SuperSonics defeated Mosaic to tie the regular season at 3-1.

Zhou Quan made another effort in this battle, blasting down 51 points, 13 assists, 8 steals and 4 blocks of extraordinary data, blasting the Big Three such as the Little Worm.

Rodman also grabbed 25 rebounds on Big Dream's head, including 9 offensive rebounds, making Big Dream only grab 7 rebounds and make a big splash.

Previously, some media questioned that SuperSonics gave him a five-year long contract, although he usually smiled, had no heart and lungs and didn't care, but in fact, he held his breath in his heart.

The game hit the confidence of Mosaic and Jazz, and with the SuperSonics almost recovering from injuries and only one glider left, the media is a little more optimistic about the prospects of the SuperSonics in the playoffs.

But in any case, the Bulls are still the most optimistic team in the media, in the case of the SuperSonics experiencing a series of injuries and Zhou Quan falling into the public opinion created by the media, the media is almost overwhelmingly optimistic about the Bulls, not optimistic that the SuperSonics can complete three consecutive championships this season.

After that, the SuperSonics won three in a row, the last game was a home win over the Clippers, and after a seventeen-game winning streak, on April 19, they ended all the regular season schedule of the 96/97 season.

Back in the locker room after the game, the regular season stats are out.

Assistant coach and player McMillan said: "Guys, we're 67-15 this season, with an 81.7 percent win rate, first in the West and second in the league. ”

'Yes, we have suffered a lot of injuries like last season and we deserve credit for being able to play like this. George Carr said.

There was a lively cheer and applause in the locker room.

McMillan then continued: "The Bulls are the first in the league with 69 wins and 13 losses, and they didn't have the seventy wins that the media expected. ”

"Michael Jordan didn't get the 70 wins he hoped for, and I think he's going to be disappointed." George Carr said with a smile.

"So that's good news." Rodman shook his head and laughed.

"Haha......" the locker room laughed.

"And I have to congratulate Iron Fist and Dennis. Iron Fist once again defended the triple crown, which was the scoring king, the assist king, and the steal king. Dennis once again defended his title as the rebounding champion, his sixth rebounding title. The two of you got four data kings. McMillan said with a smile on his face.

"Oh roar!"

The dressing room was once again filled with lively cheers.

McMillan added: "The block king is Shaun Bradley, who averages 3.4 blocks per game. ”

Zhou Quan then took the personal data statistics table sent by McMillan and browsed his data for this season.

Played in 82 regular season games, started 82 games, averaged 39.5 minutes per game, averaged 33.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 12.1 assists, 5.4 steals, 1.9 blocks, 2.4 turnovers and 2.5 fouls per game. Seven stats, as well as playing time, are down from last season.

The shooting percentage was 51.2%, the three-point shooting rate was 38.5%, the free throw shooting rate was 91.1%, the true shooting rate was 59.5%, and the assist-to-turnover ratio was 5.04, all down from last season.

This season, he ranked first in the team in playing time, first in the team in shots, first in scoring, fifth in rebounds, first in steals, first in blocks, first in assists, first in defensive efficiency, first in personal plus/minus, and second in shooting percentage.

This season's regular season and career total points are 2,747/13,237; 344/2284 rebounds, 992/6193 assists, 443/2045 steals and 156/602 blocks.

At this time, McMillan smiled again and said: "Iron Fist, do you want to hear Jordan's statistics this season?" He averaged 37.9 minutes per game, averaging 29.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.5 blocks, 2 turnovers and 1.9 fouls per game. He shot 48.5 percent from the field, 37.4 percent from three-point range and 83.3 percent from the free throw line. ”

"At 34 years old, that's a good statistic, and hopefully I'll be able to play like that at his age." Zhou Quan nodded.

"So he's still your strongest competitor right now." McMillan said.

"Nate, tell us a little bit about the playoffs." Zhou Quan said.

“OK。”

McMillan flipped through the pages, took the piece of paper below, and read: "The top eight in the East are the Bulls, Heat, Knicks, Hawks, Pistons, Hornets, Magic, and Bullets, which are also the top eight in the playoffs."

The top eight in the West are Us, Mosaic, Lakers, Jazz, Trail Blazers, Suns, Timberwolves, and Clippers, which are also playoff standings.

By the way, let me tell you, the Mosaics have a 59-23 record, the Lakers are 55-27, and the Jazz are 51-31. ”

Zhou Quan asked with some confusion: "Nate, the Clippers have made the playoffs, their record is rubbish, right?" ”

McMillan looked for the stats and nodded: "36-46, and the Timberwolves and Suns are both 40 wins, and none of the three teams in the West have a win rate of 50%. ”

"What about the east?" The glider also asked.

McMillan looked at the stats and said, "The top eight in the East have a win rate of more than 50 percent. In this way, the overall strength of the east is stronger now, and there are more good stars in the east. ”

"What are they doing in the east?" Rodman asked.

"The competition in the west is too strong." Hawkins laughed.

"Maybe there will be more teams in the top eight in the West next season that won't have a win rate of more than 50 percent." Rodman grinned.

"Haha......"

The locker room burst into laughter.

McMillan laughed and then talked about the first-round matchup.

Eastern Conference First Round: Bulls vs. Washington Bullets, Hawks vs. Pistons, Heat vs. Magic, Knicks vs. Hornets.

Western Conference First Round: SuperSonics vs. Clippers, Lakers vs. Suns, Mosaics vs. Timberwolves, Jazz vs. Trail Blazers.

The glider immediately said: "The winner of our second round against the Jazz and the Trail Blazers, West will either play Mosaic or play the Lakers." ”

Rodman grinned and said, "Xiduan may have to play mosaic again, and he has already beaten them three times in a row." ”

"Eat, drink, and mosaic." Zhou Quan added.

"Haha......"

The locker room burst into laughter again.

McMillan then said with some joy: "Clyde will be back in the first round and he's training well, which is very good news for us.

Guys, we've been through so many injuries this season, and it's great to be back with a full roster before the playoffs start, and hopefully we can complete a great treble and build our dynasty." ”

George Karl stood up at this time and clapped his palms, and after the locker room was quiet, he said with a smile: "Okay, gentlemen, from now on, we have entered the playoffs, and the first thing everyone can do from now on is to have a good rest, recover their physical strength, and wait for the first round." ”

"Guys, we're going to try to sweep the Clippers in the first round and get more rest." Zhou Quan stood up at this time and said without modesty.

"Sweep the Clippers." The crowd stood up and shouted.

"One more good news, I can make a comeback." McMillan shouted.

"Oh roar!"

This was great news, and the crowd immediately cheered.

……

The first round started on the 24th, and the first round of the supersonic also started on this day, and from the night of the 19th, Zhou Quan began to abstain from sex and slept in separate rooms with Zeng Li.

The next day, at 9 a.m. on the 20th, the league announced the best of the month for April.

Zhou Quan won the honor in a row, which is also his ninth time in six seasons that he has won the Monthly Award.

However, in the MVP rankings, he is still below Jordan, losing to the team's record, and he can beat Jordan in personal data.

From this day on, a large number of media began to analyze the situation in the playoffs.

From this day on, there was suddenly more negative news about Zhou Quan than before, newspapers, television, radio, and online platforms were everywhere.

According to Philip, this was deliberate, trying to mess with his psyche, trying to influence his playoff performance, trying to sabotage his dream of hitting a triple championship.

Zhou Quan flipped through the newspaper that morning, watched the TV news, and then simply stopped reading it, and asked the workers at home not to bring the newspaper in to him during the playoffs.

(End of chapter)