God of NBA point guards

Chapter 228 The Defender Era
Christina and the wives moved together, while he led Lin Changhua and the two into the player tunnel, went to the visiting team's locker room, and found a secluded room to chat.

"Xiao Zhou, you have now become a business card of our country in the United States. You are even slowly changing the inherent image of Chinese in the hearts of Americans. You let more Americans begin to understand our country. I sincerely hope that You can achieve more here."

In fact, Lin Changhua had nothing to do, he just wanted to know about Zhou Quan. After chatting for about 10 minutes, the two left.

"Tekken, here are your stats." Back in the locker room, assistant coach Musk immediately handed over a stat sheet.

Zhou Quan took a look. There were data from this game and this series.

After seven games in the second round of the series, a total of 141 of 71 shots were made, and the shooting percentage was 50.3%. 22 of 9 three-pointers were shot, and the shooting percentage was 40.9%. The turnover ratio is 36, and the true shooting percentage is 32%.

Except for free throws, all the data met the task requirements. Including the first round, his free throws could also hit [-]% of the shots.

However, the task requirement is the playoffs, and there will be the Eastern Conference finals later. If you advance to the finals, the performance in the finals must also meet the standards. Therefore, the task has not been completed just to advance to the Eastern finals. rewards.

On the other side, the Bulls' locker room was dead, and Jordan sat there in a daze after he came in.

His mind is so confused, I lost, I lost, I lost to the Pistons, I lost to the Iron Fists, I just had the Pistons down for two seasons, and I let the Pistons climb on top of me...

"The Pistons are always the sky above your head."

He thought of what Iron Fist and the Assassin had said to him, a pained look suddenly appeared on his face, and tears welled up again.

Having tasted the feeling of standing on the head of the piston, he has to taste the feeling of being pressed under the piston again. With his competitive spirit, this moment is really the saddest moment in his life, compared to being pressed under the piston in those years Even more sad.

He thought of the media that had targeted him like crazy this season, and he could imagine how crazy they would mock him in the future.

The others didn't dare to speak, and they did everything lightly, otherwise, what they were sure of would be a stool or a trash can or something.

At this time, Cobra Grant suddenly pointed at Jordan, and everyone suddenly noticed that tears were streaming down Jordan's face. Even though the relationship was not very good, they all sighed secretly at this moment.

Phil Jackson leaned against the wall by the door, looking at the opposite ceiling, wondering what he was thinking.

The door was pushed open, and Jerry Krause appeared at the door. Seeing this, he shook his head, closed the door again, and didn't come in. He didn't want to touch Jordan's mold.

At this time, media reporters are interviewing those stars at the stadium.

"Ervin, you have always thought that the Bulls will eliminate the Pistons, and you have always believed that Iron Fist has no ability to stand up at the critical moment. Now that the Bulls are eliminated, Iron Fist is even better than Jordan in the tiebreaker. What do you want to say? Is that right?" asked a reporter from the Detroit Daily Worker.

Magic Johnson said with a little embarrassment: "I admit that I underestimated Iron Fist. In fact, I have always admired him. Not long after he entered the league, I thought he was an outlier in the first position just like me. It’s always been that way.”

"For a long time, Jordan has been involved in scandals such as gambling. This time he was eliminated in the second round. Do you think the Bulls will collapse? Do you think Jordan's Bulls can make a comeback in just one or two seasons like the Pistons?" Reporter ask again.

This question made Magic Johnson serious. After thinking for a few seconds, he said seriously: "With Jordan's willpower, he will never give up. He can't be knocked down by those news. Bulls and leather Peng, Pippen has grown up, he is likely to be the next superstar, so I don't think the Bulls will collapse, and with the strength of the Bulls, I also think they will definitely come back."

"Do you think Tekken is only an All-Star star, a superstar, or a superstar?" The reporter asked excitedly.

Magic Johnson pondered again, and then said: "In his rookie season, he led his team to the Eastern Conference finals and scored 20+10. This year, he led his team to the Eastern Conference finals again. This is the seventh consecutive season for the Pistons to reach the Eastern Conference finals. It's decided, to be honest, it's really amazing.

Speaking of Iron Fist, he also scored 20+10 in the two rounds of the playoffs, and tonight he scored a super steal triple-double of 40+10+10. Of course, his performance is not just ordinary At the all-star level, he already belongs to the star among the stars, the real superstar level. "

"Why not super giant?" The reporter asked.

Magic Johnson smiled and said: "The superstar among the superstars is the superstar. The superstar must have great influence, must have continuous superstar performance for many seasons, and the support of many hard honors. Iron Fist's current qualifications are still Worse.

Here I would like to suggest that Iron Fist should leave Detroit, this city cannot bring him a stronger influence. "

Hearing the last sentence, the reporter from the Detroit Worker's Daily wanted to smash the microphone in the magician's face, but he endured it and asked again: "After the second round, the league will announce The best lineup and defensive lineup, do you think Tekken can be selected for the double team?"

Magic Johnson didn't think about it this time, and immediately said: "Defending for a while is inevitable. No one in the first position has a better defensive performance than him, and only Michael can compete with him on the back line.

I think the best team also has a high probability, and the reason is the same as the defensive first team, so I think he has a chance to complete the double first team achievement. "

Abdul-Jabbar was also being interviewed on the sidelines. The reporter said: "Karim, first of all, I would like to congratulate UCLA for training another superstar player."

Kareem laughed, and said, "Thanks, I think you're right."

"Karim, Tekken is your alumni, and Pat Riley is your head coach in the Lakers. What do you think is the probability of the Pistons beating the Knicks in the next Eastern Conference Finals?"

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said cautiously: "The Knicks are No. [-] in the Eastern Conference and No. [-] in the league in defense. Coach Riley has built an iron-blooded team in New York that is completely different from ours in just two years. He has done a great job. It's fantastic.

Speaking of the Pistons and the Knicks, really, I can’t make a judgment. They are both very strong. One side has super center Patrick Ewing, and the other side has the newly promoted superstar Iron Fist. At the same time, Coach Riley and Coach Daly are both championship coaches , even Phil Jackson is younger than them, I can't say, they all have a chance to reach the finals. "

At about 11:30, the Bulls' post-game media conference began.

However, Jordan was absent from the press conference, and only Pippen attended, which made the media very dissatisfied. Many reporters left the scene and ran to the Pistons.

There are also many reporters looking for Jordan, but they must not find it. Jordan has left the United Center with the help of his agent.

Pippen looked at the reporters who left, feeling pain and hurt in his heart, I am here, anyway, I am also a two-time All-Star starting small forward, can you bastards see me?
"Mr. Krauss, how will you strengthen the lineup during the offseason?" The reporter of the Chicago Sports News was the first to be flopped, and he immediately asked the most concerned question.

Jerry Krause said: "Of course it is inside. We need to strengthen our rebounding and improve our offensive and defensive capabilities in the low post."

"The Bulls have maintained such an inside lineup for a long time, why didn't they reinforce it last offseason?" the reporter asked.

Klaus replied calmly: "A lot of times you don't want to strengthen, you can get reinforcement, it depends on the opportunity, and a good opportunity can make a suitable deal, otherwise anyone can easily create a championship team." Level lineup isn't it?
I also patiently looked for opportunities in the last offseason, but I didn't get anything. This is dominated by fate, and no one can change it. "

The reporter did not hold on to Klaus anymore. In fact, Klaus built this lineup. From Jordan to Pippen, to Grant, and even Phil Jackson, he got it in. His ability It has long been proven.

"Scottie, tonight you made 13 of 4 shots and 5 of 4 free throws. You only scored 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, but you made 6 turnovers. Why is your performance so poor?" The next reporter to ask is Chicago The business newspaper asked very sharp questions.

Pippen regretted not asking for leave. He performed so poorly tonight, why did he still attend the press conference?
But he still said eloquently: "This is a problem caused by the Pistons' tactics. One cuts off my receiving angle, and the other cuts off the passing angle of the ball holder. They locked me up. We didn't come up with targeted tactics. I have to It’s not my fault if there’s no help.”

Pippen's blame was very successful. The reporter immediately turned his gun and pointed at Phil Jackson, asking: "Coach Jackson, how do you explain the tactical problem Pippen said?"

Phil Jackson said with a gloomy face: "I'm very sorry, I have nothing to say, the winner takes all, and the loser takes all."

"Do you admit that the failure of the tie-break is your responsibility?" The reporter asked conclusively.

Phil Jackson said with an extremely ugly face: "If you want to say that, I can't help it."

"If you think it's not your responsibility, do you have anything to say?" the reporter asked.

Phil Jackson was very embarrassed, the team was eliminated, and the road to three consecutive championships came to an abrupt end. Someone needs to take responsibility. There is no doubt that as the head coach, he is the most suitable person to take the blame.

In fact, he also knew that his performance in the tiebreaker was not good enough, and he did not come up with targeted tactics from the very beginning. This is also the most important reason why he was not confident enough to refute the reporter.

On the other side, the press conference of the Pistons is also in progress, and there are even more reporters than the Bulls.

Zhang Lili and Sun Zhenping were at the front. The host of the press conference was specially arranged by Ms. Wells, the head of the Pistons' public relations department. She also gave the right to ask the first question to Sun Zhenping who raised her hand.

"Zhou Quan, what does beating the Bulls and Jordan mean to the Pistons and you?" Sun Zhenping asked excitedly after taking the microphone handed over by the staff.

Zhou Quan replied with a smile: "For the team, the victory in this series means that we are on the right path, which means that we already have the strength to attack the championship.

For me personally, his performance in the series is very strong, averaging close to 40 points per game, which shows that we can't prevent him at all, so objectively speaking, it's not that I beat him, but that I led the Pistons to beat the Bulls led by him . "

The next question was from a reporter from the New York Times. He asked: "Iron Fist, do you have anything to say about the previous trade news? Will you choose to leave Detroit after the season, which made you sad?"

"It's not sad. The management has the management's assumptions. As a player, I understand it very well."

Zhou Quan was sure that this guy had malicious intentions and wanted to mess up the Pistons and gain an advantage for the Knicks.

He continued: "Actually, I don't care about this so-called trade. All my attention is now on the Eastern Conference finals. I believe we can beat them last year and kill them this year.

By the way, Mr. Reporter, please help bring a message to Oakley, that is, the New York Killer King. I think he might as well change his name to New York Villainous King, which is more suitable for his style. If he wants to have a rematch with me, I can give him an extra chance. "

"Ha ha……"

The reporters burst out laughing.

The reporter twitched, and wanted to ask again, but under Ms. Wells' instructions, the staff came up and confiscated his microphone.

At this time, the management of many teams has not rested.

The teams that did not enter the playoffs and were eliminated in the first and second rounds are working overtime at this time to study their lineup and free market, and consider how to strengthen.

Especially the eastern team, after the tiebreaker between the Pistons and the Bulls tonight, their management is aware of a problem. From next season, their back line will face a monster, one who can score as high as Jordan, A monster who can score, assist and steal a super triple-double in the tiebreaker, a superstar point guard with top offense and defense.

Facing one Jordan can make them mentally and mentally exhausted. Now that there is another one, the pressure they face is doubled, so how to strengthen the back line will be their first consideration.

In fact, the management of these Eastern teams now desperately hope that Zhou Quan can go to the West, and don't stay in the East to harm them. Where can they find a guard who can compete with Zhou Quan?
At the same time, in terms of how to build a team, these managements also have a lot of ideas about using the defender as the core of the team.

This is still an era with traditional centers as the core, but in the past four years, it is embarrassing that none of the teams with centers as the core has won the championship, including the three super centers.

On the contrary, the Pistons with the point guard as the core of the team won two consecutive championships, and then the Bulls with the shooting guard as the core went on to win two consecutive championships. Now the rebuilt Pistons once again use the point guard as the core to eliminate the Bulls who have won two consecutive championships. The performance further made them realize that it is really feasible to use the defender as the core, and it is really possible to win the championship.

Even before the Bad Boys, the Lakers' Show time era was a team centered on super point guard Magic Johnson.

If you count this team, the team with point guard as the core won the championship, from 80 to 93, 14 championships in the last 10 years.

The remaining 4 championships, a total of three championships are the green team with small forward Larry Bird as the core, and only one championship is the Philadelphia digital team with superstar center Moses Malone as the core.

14 championship in 1 years, the winning rate of a team built with a center really disappointed these managements.

These data made these managements really realize that they must pay more attention to the construction and training of the guard line, and go to the high school league and the NCAA to discover potential guards, otherwise they are likely to be lost by Jordan in the next ten years. And the younger Iron Fist was crushed under him and couldn't turn over.

At this time, Pistons owner Bill Davidson ended his phone call with David Stern, and then fell into complicated considerations.

This call was made by Stern, who gave him a suggestion, which made him a little moved.

Detroit's auto industry is no longer good, and the revival plan has failed. Now the city's consumption power has dropped sharply, and the Pistons' ticket prices have continued to drop. This means that the Pistons' ball market is shrinking step by step. In the past two years, they Considering selling the team.

The Pistons' ball market is very small, because Detroit's population is dominated by workers, the proportion of the middle class is very small, and its spending power is limited.

Divide the entire league's ball market into five tiers. The Pistons were originally the lowest fifth tier, and became fourth tier in the bad boy era, but dropped to fifth tier last season.

Two-thirds of the league's teams are losing money, and the Pistons are among them. Only the first- and second-tier sports markets can make profits. The third-, fourth-, and fifth-tier teams are all losing money, and even some second-tier sports markets are losing money.

Even in the bad boy era, the Pistons were losing money, that is, they were barely even in the two years they won the championship, and they had to rely on subsidies from the league in the rest of the year to barely operate.

Although the attendance rate of this season is stronger than that of last season, the ticket revenue can only be the same as last season, because the average price has dropped by 12% compared with last season.

The team lost nearly 700 million US dollars last season. This is the team's finals, and the income from the playoffs made up for part of the loss in the regular season.

So far this season has lost $960 million, and the playoff income has not yet been settled, but adding the playoff income, it must be a loss, unless it can reach the finals, it may be barely equal.

He has held the Pistons for so many years, and the only thing he has earned is the increase in the team's market value. In terms of operating income, he did not earn a dime, but posted a lot of money.

Since David Stern entered the league in 84, the league has begun to develop by leaps and bounds, which is the key reason for the substantial increase in the team's market value.

Because of this, when David Stern vetoed the deal between Zhou Quan and Barkley last year, he did not speak out, because he knew that Stern's plan was beneficial to the league and also conducive to enhancing the value of the team.

Zhou Quan is only Chinese. His value to the NBA is far less than Jordan's value to the league. Jordan can greatly increase the value of the entire league, but Zhou Quan is absolutely impossible. Regarding this point, whether it is him or other players The team owner, as well as David Stern, have a clear understanding.

Just now, Stern talked with him about Zhou Quan.

Zhou Quan still has a two-year contract, and the last year is a player option. With his current performance, he can definitely jump out of the last year of his contract, which means that there is actually only one year left. After one year, he must come up with a contract. Only a really big contract can retain Zhou Quan.

What kind of big contract? Stern provided some information. So far, more than one team has promised Zhou Quan's agent that they will provide Zhou Quan with a [-] million yuan contract.

This news made him sigh deeply, because with the current ball market and financial resources of the Pistons, it is impossible to provide Zhou Quan with such a contract.

Also, Rodman's contract will expire next season. Judging from the current information, it is impossible for Rodman, who is close to bankruptcy, to stay without a big contract.

In other words, if he wants to continue to maintain this lineup, the Pistons' poor finances will fall into a bankruptcy situation. If he wants not to go bankrupt, he has to take money out of his pocket.

In fact, the team has already won two consecutive championships, and the glory it deserves has already been obtained. Detroit's ball market will continue to shrink in the foreseeable future. Continue to hit the championship?

For these reasons, he had to start seriously considering Stern's proposal.

……

(End of this chapter)