God of NBA point guards

Chapter 367 The Best of the Month

Returning to Seattle on the 20th, the Grizzlies also arrived.

On the afternoon of the 21st, during the team training, Zhou Quan felt that there was nothing wrong with his right index finger. The injury he suffered on the 12th took eight or nine days. With his level 95 injury resistance, his recovery speed was quite fast.After the team doctor checked and agreed, he untied his index finger.

"Try the feel first, and I will score a 50+ on the Grizzlies tonight." He couldn't wait.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

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

"Ha ha……"

A group of teammates laughed.

"Come again."

Zhou Quan smiled and continued to shoot. After nearly an hour, he finally got his touch back.

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

This is his career single-game scoring high, and his shooting percentage has also increased to 51.5%, which is the first time after his finger injury has exceeded [-]%.

This is also the second time he has hit 50+ in the regular season this year, showing his strong offensive ability.

Before he and Schramff were injured, the record was 17 wins and 2 losses, now it is 21 wins and 3 losses, 4 wins and 1 loss within ten days, and the winning rate has reached 80%.

In five games, he averaged 36.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 12.4 assists, 6.4 steals and 2.4 blocks per game, and his field goal percentage was 48.4%. Recognition and praise.

However, the Sonics lost their No. [-] position in the league and were overtaken by the Bulls.

The Bulls have no injuries. After losing to the Sonics last time, they completed [-] consecutive victories and rushed to the number one throne in the league.

On the 22nd, Zhou Jun, who was on winter vacation, came to Seattle. Zhou Quan and Zeng Li picked him up.

"Wow, brother, quickly take me up to 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 to sea." Zhou Quan said with a smile.

On the 25th, the Christmas War.

超音速主场迎战子弹队，周权轰下38分18助攻10抢断的超级三双，75：121，狂胜对手46分。

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

That night, the Bulls broke their winning streak and were defeated by the Pacers on the road.

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

On the 27th, the Supersonics defeated the Nuggets at home, and on the 29th, they defeated the Green Team at home, achieving a record of 24 wins and 3 losses, and once again rushed to the top of the league.

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

On the 30th, in back-to-back away games, due to lack of physical fitness, the Sonics lost their fourth game of the season, losing to the Suns.

With 24 wins and 4 losses, the Sonics have the same record as the Bulls, but because they beat the Bulls at home, the Sonics entered 96 years with the league's first record.

On New Year's Day of 96, at 9 am, the league announced the MVP rankings and the best player of the month for December. Zhou Quan won the best player of the month again and ranked first in MVP.

This is the fifth time that Zhou Quan has won the honor of the best of the month in five seasons. 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 the All-Star voting, which will end in the early morning of January 1 for a period of four weeks.

After playing the Suns, the team flew to Atlanta in the East the next day. On the 2nd, the Supersonics defeated the Eagles away, and on the 3rd they flew to Miami.

The Heat have a group of good players such as Gary Payton and Billy Owens. Pat Riley joined the Heat and directly improved the strength of the team. As soon as Pat Riley arrived in the Heat, he traded Mourning. Now this team The team has become a strong team in the Eastern Conference. It was ninth in the Eastern Conference last season and is now sixth in the Eastern Conference.

"We'll take care of them, the Sonics are no big deal."

In a phone interview after the Sonics arrived in Miami, Gary Payton still seemed to have deep resentment toward the Sonics and Joo Kwon, saying:
"We have the best head coach and the best center, which none of them have. We need to use the victory to let the whole league know that it is not difficult to beat them."

"So Gary, do you think Iron Fist is No. 1 in active duty?" the reporter asked.

"No, Michael is the one. He is still at the peak. As long as he is at the peak, no one can surpass him. I always think so." Gary Payton said firmly.

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

"Iron Fist, Gary Payton thinks it is not difficult to defeat you, and he thinks Jordan is the active No.1. How do you comment on his remarks?" A reporter asked.

Zhou Quan smiled and said, "Oh, gloves. I'm actually not very familiar with him. I've only played a few games. We haven't communicated at all off the court. Let him say what he says. I don't need to care about what he says."

"Do you think Gary Payton is a good point guard?" the reporter asked.

"Of course, he is very good. Sooner or later he will become the top 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 also praised Gary Payton so much?
On the evening of the 4th, at eight o'clock, the two sides announced the starting lineup.

Sonics: Alvin Johnson, Matt Geiger, Almon Gilliam, Jose Hawkins, Joo Kwon

Heat: Mourning, Kurt Thomas, Billy Owens, Rex Chapman, Gary Payton
NBC TV broadcasted live broadcasts across the United States. The commentator James Worthy said at this time: "The Heat's lineup is still being polished. With Pat Riley's methods and abilities, in two to three seasons, he can definitely become the most competitive team in the East." One of the best teams, even against the Bulls and Magic, and the Knicks."

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

Mourning, if it weren't for O'Neal, he would be the fourth-largest super center, and now he can also be called the fifth-largest super center. "

James Worthy said with a smile: "Mourning, Kurt Thomas, Gary Payton, these three defensive giants have made the Heat one of the most powerful defensive teams in the league, just like the Bulls and the Supersonics. The points allowed per game is the third in the East, second only to the Bulls and Knicks."

John Moore said: "The Heat's defense is not much weaker than the Sonics, and after a while, their defense will be even stronger.

In addition, I think the Heat's record this season still has room for improvement, and they are likely to break into the top half.

The Pacers are currently third in the Eastern Conference, and the Knicks are fourth. After Pat Riley left the Knicks, the team seemed to have lost direction and vigor. Ewing lacked leadership qualities, and the Heat should have a chance to surpass them.

However, if the Heat want to compete against the Bulls and Magic in the East, it may not be enough. They still lack super scorers like Jordan and Tekken who can charge forward. Gary Payton and Tekken are not players of the same level, let alone Jordan.

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

James Worthy laughed: "Mourning is the strongest defensive super center. His height is his only weakness, just like Iron Fist's height is also his only weakness."

John Moore nodded and said: "Iron Fist's offensive ability is indeed a little behind that of Jordan at his peak. When he encounters double-teams, he chooses to pass the ball more instead of shooting in double-teams. This is indeed a height limit. .

But I don't mean that Iron Fist is not as good as Jordan. On the contrary, when he breaks through with the ball to attract double-teams, his deterrence is stronger than Jordan.

The reason why he is not double-teamed as hard as Jordan is because his passing is too strong, and he doesn't need to take a lot of shots in the double-team. "

"Don't dare to double-team too much." James nodded with a smile.

At this time, the starters of the two sides met in the player tunnel.

Zhou Quan and Mourning have no friendship, and they have hardly spoken off the court, nor on the court, and Gary Payton even had a grudge because of the team swap, so he didn't bother to talk.

With his current status, if he doesn't speak, other people don't speak much, and if they speak, they only speak in a low voice, especially role players and marginal players with no qualifications and status, as well as young players, who are very nervous when facing him. There was a lot of pressure, and I didn't dare to make loud noises. Even Mourning was very quiet and didn't say a word.

Gary Payton, who has a lot of opinions on him, dared to provoke Zhou Quan in the face of the media, but he did not dare to provoke him in person off the court.

"Oh hoo!"

"Clap clap clap..."

"Iron Fist! Iron Fist..."

When he played, there were warm cheers and applause in the American West Arena.

"Humph!"

Gary Payton couldn't help snorting when he saw this, he was a little dissatisfied with these Heat fans, how could he applaud and cheer for his opponents?
"This is Miami's welcome to the world champion." James Worthy laughed.

"That's right, the professional heavyweight world champion, the great crossover king, deserves cheers and applause from the people of Miami." John Moore laughed.

At 08:30, the game officially started.

Elvin Johnson and Mourning jump the ball, and the Sonics attack.

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

"Shet!"

Gary Payton couldn't stand still, so he could only retreat backwards to avoid being caught.

But when he took the initiative to retreat, Zhou Quan immediately accelerated his breakthrough, rushed over from the right side, and hit the top of the arc, which was an unreasonable emergency stop jumper.

Gary Payton hurried to catch up and took off from the left to block the block. He was half a beat slow, and when he jumped up, Zhou Quan's ball had already been shot.

"brush!"

Splashes appeared and a three-pointer was hit.

"I hit a three-pointer with the first goal, and Tekken's shot was very decisive and crisp. His hand feeling today should not be bad." James Worthy said.

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

At this time, in the backcourt, Zhou Quan stood in front of Gary Payton, who was catching the ball and pushing forward. He half bent his body, retreated and defended. Dayton's nerves were tense.

His defense is different from Gary Payton. Payton's defense sticks to the attacker like a glove, making the opponent breathless and forcing the opponent to make mistakes. He is an aggressive active defense and uses strong stealing ability , forcing opponents to make mistakes under panic.

Last season, he averaged 4.5 steals per game in the regular season, which has already given him a very strong deterrent, so this season, under the threat of this deterrent, opponents have become more and more scruples about him, which has further exploded his stealing ability , reaching an average of six times per game.

It's not that his stealing ability has increased this season, but that opponents are more nervous when facing him, and turnovers have increased. People who are not strong in holding the ball, people who are not strong in combining people with the ball, and people who are not fast on the ball , He didn't dare to hold the ball in front of him.

Gary Payton has always dared to be different from Zhou Quan, because he thinks he has the top ball-handling ability and the ability to integrate the ball, and he also has the top passing ability, so he is not afraid of Zhou Quan's steals at all.

Zhou Quan took two steps back across the center line, and when Gary Payton had just crossed the center line, he suddenly started a big stride to grab the ball and reached out to poke the ball.

Gary Payton instinctively pulled the ball back and took a step back, not allowing Zhou Quan to poke his ball away. He was relieved, and when he was about to spout a trash talk to mock Zhou Quan, he heard the referee's whistle.

"what?"

He only reacted when he saw the referee's illegal action of returning to the field.

"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 deterrence of the iron fist's stealing ability, which is stronger than the glove, and he is also worried about being stolen." James Worthy laughed.

"In the face of Iron Fist's defense, even Jordan can't be careless. If he is careless, he will be intercepted. In a highly tense situation, he will make wrong choices, and the turnover rate will definitely increase. This is the steal data of Iron Fist in this book. The main reason for the further improvement of the season," John Moore said.

On the sidelines, Pat Riley combed the slick back hair that the flies couldn't stand, and then shouted: "Gary, be careful, I don't want to see your low-level mistakes again."

Gary Payton glanced at the sidelines and nodded quickly.

No matter how rebellious he was, he didn't dare to confront a head coach with Pat Riley's qualifications, just like he didn't dare to challenge Zhou Quan face to face.

The Supersonics served from the center line, and Zhou Quan received the ball from the right wing and crossed the center line. When it reached the top of the arc, Gary Payton decisively started glove defense.

Zhou Quan had only one way to deal with it. When the glove was just trying to get close to the skin, it was a crushing breakthrough. He turned sideways, with his left elbow in front of him to protect the ball, and used his left shoulder to push Gary Payton forward.

"Shet!"

Gary Payton can't even stand up, how can he defend?
When Zhou Quan crushed to the free throw line, he hit Gary Payton again and then stepped back to make a jumper. Gary Payton didn't keep up with the rhythm at all and hit a goal easily.

James Worthy said with a smile: "Gary Payton's set can defend against other point guards, but it can't defend against Iron Fist. The tonnage and strength confrontation are not at the same level."

John Moore nodded and said: "He has no chance to get close to the iron fist, he will be knocked away if he is close to the body, and there is no chance to use the glove defense.

Iron Fist is not only about tonnage, his athletic quality is better than Gary Payton, and his speed is faster. As long as Gary Payton is knocked out of position, he will not be able to keep up with Iron Fist. "

James Worthy joked: "Iron Fist uses a crushing breakthrough to deal with the glove. If the home whistle is obvious, blow the ball a few times and hit people, the glove still has a chance to prevent the Iron Fist."

John Moore glanced at James Worthy strangely, and reminded: "James, have you ever seen Jordan play the home whistle when he was playing an away game?

Now Tekken's status in the international sports world is no longer comparable to that of Jordan. If he blows the home whistle on him, if he stops playing in the NBA and goes to boxing full-time, how much will the NBA lose?

In the challenge match where he won the world champion last time, McCall didn't hit him once. With his dodging ability, there was no accumulation of damage at all. He could fight a few more boxing matches a year. With his box office Charisma, how many dollars do you earn a year?
To be honest, in the world, Tekken is already the biggest signboard of the NBA, and the league targeting him is a self-destructing signboard. "

James Worthy laughed awkwardly, and then said: "I'm just saying this is a possibility. The league really needs to support him and fight the NBA with an iron fist. He will lose hundreds of millions of dollars every year."

In New York, David Stern really wanted to follow the satellite signal and kick these two guys to death. Even if this is the case, don't talk about it, it will make the NBA lose face.

(End of this chapter)