Zhou Quan's opponent was Kidd, who played with Kidd in the '96/97 season, and the young man also didn't play against him because of Gary Payton.

This is Kidd's sixth season, and he has entered his prime, with a better overall view and court control than Payton, master defense, and good rebounding.

But Zhou Quan didn't look down on Kidd because Kidd's offense was too poor.

It's not that there are fewer points, but it's too inefficient, and it's completely a waste shot.

In order to study the opponent, he specifically checked Kidd's data, and last season he had a 44.4 percent shooting rate, but so far this season, he has only 40.9 percent shooting.

This efficiency makes Kidd's threat with the ball greatly reduced, and there is no need to contain him at all.

A ball-handler who doesn't have the ability to attract the bag, can't create space for his teammates, and doesn't have the ability to step up and take over the game when it matters most, doesn't deserve too much attention.

However, in this back-to-back game, although Zhou Quan blew up Kidd at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, his teammates fell into a slump, and the SuperSonics still lost the game.

With 10 wins and 2 losses, the supersonic is still the first in the league.

On the 26th, the SuperSonics won the Clippers at home, and then there was a losing streak, losing to the Pacers and Lakers successively, ending the November game, 11-4, second in the West and second in the league.

The first place in the league is the Lakers, who are also 11-4 after winning the SuperSonics, temporarily leading by virtue of the victory between the two teams.

On the 1st, the league announced the best of the month.

Zhou Quan averaged 40.5 minutes per game this month, 37 points, 4.2 rebounds, 10.8 assists, 5.6 steals, 2.5 blocks, 2.2 turnovers and 2.4 fouls, shooting 50.4% from the field, and won the best of the month for the tenth time in his career.

However, the first position in the MVP list was snatched away by O'Neal, who had just scored 38 points, 18 rebounds and 5 blocks on the supersonic head, and O'Neal's shooting rate was as high as 72% in that game.

"Haha, Iron Fist, you lost to me again." After the official announcement, O'Neill called to show off.

"Shark, don't get complacent too soon!" Zhou Quan said.

"Iron Fist, don't scare me, just rely on your broken lineup and get you in the playoffs." O'Neill said triumphantly.

Zhou Quan further understood the strength of this Lakers team, O'Neal's strength in the low post is too strong, and it is difficult for the current superSonics to win against the Lakers.

He believes that the current O'Neal, the fat shark's low-post dominance, has surpassed the three super centers such as Da O, especially once he gets the ball under the basket, no matter how many defenders there are around him, they can't stop him.

And the group of base-salary players around him are still a long time away from maturity.

It's not bad for Big Ben, after all, he's not a rookie, this is his fourth season, and the interior defense and rebounding can now be said to be the first on the team, and he has the strength to play the main center in the SuperSonics. It's just that with the size of Big Ben, he can't resist the big shark at all.

After losing to the Lakers in the preseason, this time losing again, head coach Paul Westafar is also thinking about how to defend against O'Neal.

He now recognizes that Ben Wallace's defense and rebounding are needed by the SuperSonics, and that Ben Wallace plays the main center to benefit the team and has that strength, but he has been entangled in Ben Wallace's height and offensive ability.

On December 1, supersonic flew to Auckland.

In the afternoon, Paul Westphal came to Zhou Quan's room to discuss Ben Wallace's problem with him.

He said very entangledly: "Iron Fist King, do you think Ben Wallace can start?" He is too short, and it is okay to say in the regular season, once he faces O'Neal in the playoffs, he will definitely not be able to prevent the big sharks.

And if he plays the main center and lets Campbell play power forward, Campbell has no offensive ability, and he doesn't attack, then our interior offensive ability is too poor. ”

"We really can't have two interior lines without offense, at least one of them must have a certain amount of low-post offensive ability, and can also pull out the mid-range shot." Zhou Quan said.

Paul Westphaal nodded, and then asked again: "Then do you think he can play the main center?" ”

Zhou Quan has also been thinking about this issue in the past few days, and said: "First of all, Campbell can't prevent sharks, in this case, next time we fight the Lakers, why don't we try to let Big Ben prevent sharks, and then let people help defend from the side?" ”

Paul Westphal nodded: "You're right, Campbell can't prevent it anyway, and he can really let Wallace give it a try."

Then we need a big forward who is fast in defense, has a certain ability to attack in the low post on the offensive end, and can pull out.

Campbell has a bit of a mid-range shot and is tenacious defensively, but he's never been a good defender, and his offensive talent is not good, just an average blue-collar player.

It's a pity that Otis Thorpe is already old, otherwise he would be a better fit than Campbell. Miller is also not suitable, he can't play power forward, and he can't get back to the basket with speed. ”

'There's no perfect squad, there's always flaws, we try to make up for them tactically and play to our strengths.'

Zhou Quan said with a smile, and then said: "So Paul, let's boldly adjust the lineup and tactics in the regular season, these base-paid young people in our team can still be used, all of them still have their own characteristics, and they have the ability to gain a foothold in the NBA, it depends on how we use them, and it depends on how fast they grow." ”

Paul Westphaal smiled and said, "Okay, Iron Fist King, with your words, then I'll give them a little more time."

The two veterans, Rodman and Otisthorpe, will not have an opinion, they are both very old, one is 38 years old, the other is 37 years old, and they want to rest more.

Campbell's playing time will not be given to him less, let him play the No. 4 position, he should have no opinion, he is originally a person who plays two positions. ”

……

No. 2, the SuperSonics challenged the Golden State Warriors away.

At half-past seven, in the visiting dressing room, Paul Westphaal announced his starting line-up for tonight.

He glanced at Zhou Quan, then looked at Ben Wallace sitting in the corner, and said, "No. 5, Ben Wallace." ”

"What?"

There was silence in the locker room.

“……”

Ben Wallace was changing his shoes and was wearing the Iron Fist 9 generation, when he heard his name, he thought he had heard it wrong, and looked up at the head coach in a daze.

Campbell was stunned, was my starter taken away?

"Number four, Eldon."

Paul Westphal continued.

"Whew!"

Campbell breathed a sigh of relief, he could be a substitute for Divac, he could be a substitute for O'Neal, but it was still unwilling to let him play as a substitute for Ben Wallace, an undrafted pick, but it was okay to switch to the No. 4 position.

"Ben, congratulations." Brad Miller, who was sitting next to him, poked Ben Wallace with his elbow and said with a look of envy.

"Thank you!"

Ben Wallace was full of surprise, but he was calm by nature, so his face was still a piece of black iron, and his expression did not change much.

Paul Westphale announced the remaining three starters, namely Corry Magetti, Brent Barry, and Zhou Quan.

Only then did he say to Ben Wallace: "Ben, let you start this time, your task is to defend in the low post, protect the basket, grab rebounds, and if you don't play well, replace it immediately, understand?" ”

"Understood."

Wallace slammed up from his chair and shouted in a deep voice.

Westphaal nodded, Ben Wallace also has a strength, that is, he is calm, the first time he starts, he is so calm, there is no excitement on his face.

At eight o'clock, the two sides announced their starting lineups.

Warriors: Adonal Foyer, Tony Famar, Antoine Jamison, Timlegler, Murchibroxy

Sonics: Ben Wallace, Campbell, Cory Magetti, Brent Barry, Zhou Quan

Against a bad team like the Warriors, who hadn't made the playoffs in five seasons, Paul Westphale gave Ben Wallace 37 minutes of playing time.

Ben Wallace also lived up to the head coach's expectations, shooting 3-of-6 from the field and 1-of-3 from the free-throw line, scoring 7 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls.

Under his defense, the Warriors' blue-collar center Foyer made 1 of 6 shots and 1 of 2 free throws in 24 minutes, scoring only 3 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 3 fouls.

The Warriors' All-Star veteran, former SuperSonics champion member Terry Bloomings, played 14 minutes and was defended by Big Ben with 1 of 3 shots, scoring only 2 points and 5 rebounds.

Because the Lakers' O'Neal is too strong, and the Spurs have a super interior combination, Zhou Quan pays special attention to the growth of several young insiders, and Ben Wallace's performance makes him very happy.

However, Campbell's coordination with Big Ben at the No. 4 position was not very good, only 3 of 8 shots, the offensive efficiency was too low, he left the basket, and the rebounding ball was even worse. In addition, he was unable to provide Ben Wallace with a quick help in time.

The Warriors won first on the road, the No. 4 beat the Clippers, the SuperSonics won two straight games and then rushed back to Seattle overnight, and the No. 5 lost back-to-back to the Hornets.

In the following regular season, the team still focused on honing a group of base-salary players.

Ben Wallace, who got more opportunities to play, secured the position of the main center in the starting lineup, which is why the SuperSonics did not have a high-quality center in the first place, and he caught up with good opportunities.

Brad Miller became the first substitute center in the No. 5 position, and the No. 4 position was rotated by Campbell, Rodman and Thorpe.

In the third position, Cory Magetti also basically sat in the main position, and Rashad Lewislu and Bowen were the first and second substitutes in this position.

Patterson is the No. 2 Barry Jr.'s first backup, he is good at outside defense, only a sophomore, he is known as an outside defensive gate, and the spot jumper is very good.

But sometimes, Westafar will have Patterson play as the starting small forward.

Although the SuperSonics have a group of young players with a base salary, because of the existence of Zhou Quan, he alone has raised the lower limit of this team a lot, and under his leadership, the record is not bad.

And the situation of the alliance continues to improve, through the most difficult period.

But on December 16th, a big thunder suddenly exploded.

On this day, Atlanta's Gold Club made headlines in numerous media outlets.

And the names of a large group of NBA stars such as Jordan, Ewing, Mutombo, Reggie Miller, and Rodman also appeared in the news.

There are not only many NBA stars, but also many stars from other sports leagues, such as a group of Hollywood stars such as Madonna and Willis, some politicians and even members of foreign royal families, rich businessmen and celebrities such as Bill Gates, and so on, both men and women.

"Michael Jordan is obsessed with the variety of services the club provides, and the club's manager admitted to police that he has provided remote services to Jordan and several other NBA stars." New york times.

"The Gold Club admits Ewing has received at least thirty services." Los Angeles Times.

"Mutombo, the African mountain, complained to the club that it was too expensive, but he still accepted the club's services."

"My goodness!"

When Zhou Quan saw these news, he could only express surprise.

When he saw Rodman's name, he could only laugh helplessly, he retired for two years, but he didn't expect the big worm to spend more and more money.

When I saw Bill Gates's name, I was a little curious, I don't know if Ballmer, as a good partner, has Ballmer been there?

"These bastards! Bastard! Bastard! ”

When David Stern saw the news, he had the urge to strangle these stars.

Especially Jordan, he didn't know if this guy was okay? With Jordan's fame, what kind of woman do you want to go to that kind of place?

These news made him further realize the preciousness of Zhou Quan.

Compared to these stars, and even compared to Jordan, Zhou Quan is simply perfect!

Recently, Jordan is in contact with the Wizards, because the Wizards owner wants to join forces with him and transfer 5% of the shares to him, and he also hopes to become the big owner of the Wizards team in the future and personally control a team.

President David Stern personally facilitated his first meeting with the Wizards owner, for which he is grateful.

But now, his phone was blown up by the media, and he didn't dare to answer it, so he turned it off, unplugged the phone line at home, didn't look at his email, and didn't go online.

"Michael, you're disgraced to me."

His wife also fell out with him, and he had no feelings, and now the relationship is even worse.

He wanted to leave his house and go outside for a while to come out after the public opinion had passed, but his home was surrounded by dozens of reporters, which made him have to be interviewed by the media, otherwise these guys would not let him go.

"Michael Jordan, how many times have you been served by the club? How many times that kind of service is included, that's it, you know. ”

"Jordan, the club confessed to the police that you have asked the club to provide flight services out of town many times, is this true?"

"Michael, did you record a statement to the police?"

When he saw Jordan appear at the door, the media reporters outside boiled all at once, and all kinds of questions were thrown out.

"Sorry, really, I've only seen a dance show at the club and nothing else."

"Sorry, really, I've only seen a dance show at the club and nothing else."

"Sorry, really, I'm only ...... at the club"

Jordan only repeated this sentence and was surrounded by reporters for more than 20 minutes before fleeing the house in a car with the help of David Falke and two security guards.

……

(End of chapter)