Chapter 287: Giant Choi Man-hong and Yokozuna-class Sumo Wrestler Asashoryu

At 8:30, the game started, and after the jump ball, the Knicks attacked.

He Zhongqiu stopped at the high post. He likes this kind of high pick-and-roll tactic very much, especially when the opponent is a big center like O'Neal.

"This hand again."

O'Neal muttered and stood below He Zhongqiu.

In order to prevent He Zhongqiu from bypassing him and entering the restricted area after being dismantled, he deliberately spread his legs, and with his huge body, he formed a huge obstacle.

The next moment, Nash dribbled past Damon Jones using the wall and entered the penalty area past He Zhongqiu and O'Neal.

Haslem defended the basket, Karl Malone got an open space at the right waist position, and Nash passed the ball.

When Karl Malone received the ball, O'Neal could only defend him. At this time, He Zhongqiu took the opportunity to run to the basket and waved for the ball.

Karl Malone threw the ball over O'Neal's head.

"Oh!"

"boom!"

He Zhongqiu caught the ball with both hands in the air, knocked over Haslem who jumped to block the shot, and completed a two-handed slam dunk, smashing the huge basketball hoop two feet lower.

"Oh ho!"

A huge shout broke out in the Madidi Square Garden.

"Alley-oop slam dunk? Awesome! Exciting slam dunk! Zhongqiu completed a slam dunk that knocked over his opponent."

Zhang Heli explained excitedly.

Yu Jia laughed and said, "O'Neal usually doesn't play backup defense, but this time he actually missed the Mid-Autumn Festival and went to play backup defense for the Mailman. What a weird thing!"

Zhang Heli laughed and said, "Although Karl Malone is not as strong as before, if you leave him open, and the right waist position is for close shots, he is still very accurate in open close shots.

But O'Neal really shouldn't have let go of Zhongqiu. No matter where he is, Zhongqiu is far more threatening than the postman. "

"Maybe he really wants to win this game." Yu Jia said with a smile.

On the sidelines, Van Gundy was yelling at O'Neal, "Shaq, keep an eye on Wolverine, don't leave him open."

Heat offense.

"Big Shark, just stay outside and we can all save some energy." He Zhongqiu joked while standing behind in the low post on the left wing.

O'Neal snorted, but he had no intention of going deep.

The confrontations in the previous two seasons, especially last year's finals, taught him that it is not easy to play deep under the Wolverines' top defense.

Not only did he not forcefully position himself, he didn't even bother to position himself and just stood outside the left sideline of the penalty area.

In the Heat, Wade is very strong, but he is still the tactical core of the team.

But when facing other teams, playing against the Knicks and the Wolverines, the tactical core is no longer him, but Wade.

Because of this change, and the fact that the Heat are not playing Phil Jackson's triangle tactics, he does not need to go deep.

It is enough to cut into the penalty area at the right time to form offensive coordination when Wade breaks through on the strong side, which saves more energy.

The Knicks still used a three-two zone defense, and Nash was still defending on the right wing. Wade was best at breaking through the flanks, so he naturally looked for Nash, the defensive black hole, to attack.

He took a strong step forward and hit Nash's right shoulder directly. After knocking Nash away, he easily broke through from the outside.

The Knicks' defensive formation collectively moved to the right wing. Battier at the free throw line quickly moved to the right wing, preparing to establish a second line of defense to defend Wade.

But Wade changed direction downward first and continued to break through to the penalty area along the baseline.

Karl Malone had moved to the right waist position and hurried down to intercept, but he was half a beat too slow and was killed by Wade.

He Zhongqiu blocked the right side of the basket, but he felt the movement from behind him, the Big Shark should have come in.

At this moment, Wade jumped, but his ball pushed to the floor just before he jumped.

He Zhongqiu is not someone who is easily fooled. He always emphasizes the timing of jumping to block the shot. Even if he jumps a moment late, with his jumping ability, he can still block the shot in time.

If he didn't have this requirement for himself, with his nerve reaction speed, he would probably be like Yao Ming, who was often shaken by others.

So Wade's fake move did not fool him. The moment Wade passed the ball, he immediately leaned over and grabbed the ball with his left hand.

"Snapped!"

With the Eagle Claw skill, he pressed the ball directly to the floor.

The next moment, he stood up and threw the ball to Nash on the right wing.

"Beautiful! Zhongqiu completed a steal and immediately launched a fast break." Zhang Heli shouted excitedly.

"Wade's position is too deep, no one on the Heat can catch up with Nash, layup! Beautiful, Nash scores a layup." Yu Jia explained quickly.

0:4, Heat attack

This time Damon Jones was attacking with the ball, and he also attacked Nash on the right wing.

He dribbled the ball first and observed O'Neal's movement. After seeing that O'Neal had no way to get to the basket, he immediately faked a breakthrough and shot a three-pointer.

"Bang!"

The basketball grew longer, hit the rim and bounced off the backboard, and was caught by He Zhongqiu.

Zhang Heli said with a smile: "The Knicks have Battier and Josh Howard on the perimeter. They both need to pay attention to defense. No opponent will abandon the easy-to-play Nash and go after the two of them."

Yu Jia said: "The Heat are not as strong as the Knicks. Damon Jones seems to have always been a substitute."

Zhang Heli nodded and said, "Damon Jones claims to be the best shooter in the world. His playing style is quite simple, without any breakthroughs. He takes very few shots in the restricted area, not many mid-range shots, but a lot of three-point shots.

His career average of three-point shooting percentage is 64.9%, and this season it is 71.9%. He is an absolute three-point maniac. "

"To defend him, just defend his three-pointer." Yu Jia said with a smile.

Pat Riley, sitting on the bench, stared at the court, thinking about how to strengthen the team.

The Heat have two main opponents in the Eastern Conference, the first is the Knicks and the second is the Pistons. They need to strengthen their team based on the lineups and technical and tactical characteristics of these two opponents.

O'Neal is too fat and can't lose weight, and his assisting and defensive abilities are very poor. This requires Haslem to focus only on assisting and defending within the restricted area and not being able to defend outside, which requires the ability to assist and defend on the outside to be strengthened.

He doesn't want either Damon Jones or Eddie Jones. The former is a big defensive black hole, and the latter's current defense does not meet the requirements.

The main players at positions one and three need to be replaced, and the substitute lineup also needs to be strengthened.

At this time, he envied the Knicks' lineup.

In the Knicks' main lineup, there are two defensive stalwarts Battier and Josh Howard on the outside, and Wolverine and the Mailman on the inside, who are enough to fill in the gaps for Nash.

In addition, the Knicks' bench also has sixth man Crawford, a scoring expert, Brent Barry, a three-point expert, Payton, and Varejao, a rookie who pays attention to defense. It can be said to be a substitute lineup with both offensive and defensive capabilities.

In addition, Haslem is still too short and his defensive assistance to the Wolverines is seriously insufficient.

He specifically called Alonzo Mourning back just to have him assist in defending the Wolverines, but unfortunately Alonzo's injury has not recovered yet. I wonder what his physical condition will be like next season?
Taking all these into consideration, he knows that it will be very difficult to beat the Knicks this season, and even playing against the Pistons will be a little difficult. Everything depends on how to strengthen the team.

In this game, the Knicks defeated the Heat 85:104, winning by 19 points.

Zhang Heli concluded after the game: "Wade and the other three outside players did not play as hot as last time, and the Knicks are in better shape than last time.

When both teams are in a normal state, it seems that the Heat is indeed not as strong as the Knicks. The Knicks won very steadily tonight, and the Heat did not lead once in the whole game. "

"Sexy big cheeks, see you next time."

When leaving the court, He Zhongqiu greeted Wade.

"..."

Wade was confused. Although I like my cheeks, this nickname is a bit too much, right? No, what do you mean by "see you in the second round"? It should be "see you in the Eastern Conference Finals". …

The next game is on the 18th, away challenge to the Eagles. There was no training on the 16th. He Zhongqiu practiced the Five Elements Boxing and the Twelve Elements Boxing at home, and the upgrade will only take place in the next few days.

At noon, Frank Zhang called from Los Angeles and said on the phone:

"Boss, Pride president Nobuyuki Sakakibara contacted me and wants you to have an MMA match with Korean master Choi Hong-man after the season ends."

"Tell me the details," he said.

Frank Chang said: “Nobuyuki Sakakihara said that the money for this match comes from South Korea, so if the match goes ahead, it will be held in Seoul.

Oh, it's not Hancheng, it should be called Seoul now. South Korea just changed the name of its capital Hancheng to Seoul in January this year."

"Has the name been changed?"

He Zhongqiu was stunned. He had filmed a commercial for a day in Seoul before the season started. It was still called Seoul at that time.

Frank Zhang said: "Boss, you have always hated South Korea. I think this is South Korea's counterattack. They hope Choi Hong-man can defeat you and break your invincible image."

He Zhongqiu said: "Prepare his information for me and ask for a higher price. They are about to defeat me, so they have to pay a higher price. The big companies in South Korea are very rich."

"OK."

Frank Zhang said.

"By the way, how is Fedor?" He Zhongqiu suddenly thought of the Fighting Tsar.

"He has undergone two major surgeries on his upper left arm and is still recovering. There is no news of his retirement," said Frank Zhang.

At this point, he added: "There is one more thing, Boss. Nobuyuki Sakakibara also hopes to promote a match between you and a sumo wrestler."

"Sumo?"

“Yes, Nobuyuki Sakakibara said he wanted to promote such a match.

The specific candidate is the 68th Yokozuna in sumo history, Asashoryu, a Mongolian who was promoted to Yokozuna on January 03, 1. He is similar to an NBA champion, and he is the most powerful sumo wrestler at present. "

"Asashoryu is the third non-Japanese sumo yokozuna. He is very famous internationally. Arnold, Will Smith, Hidetoshi Nakata, and Putin are all his fans."

He Zhongqiu asked in confusion: "Why doesn't he let those MMA masters fight me? Stand-up fighting is also fine."

Frank Zhang said: "He said sumo is the most influential sport in his country, and it cannot be compared with fighting events."

"There are many masters in the Pride and K1 events, right? Don't they want to fight with me?" He Zhongqiu said playfully.

Frank Zhang said: "These two events are currently the most popular mixed martial arts and stand-up fighting events in the world. The world's strongest masters are concentrated in Japan, and some masters compete in these two seasons at the same time."

"Who are they?" He Zhongqiu asked.

Frank Zhang said: “There is Spiderman Silva, who is the current signature of Pride, but he is not a heavyweight. However, both Pride and K1 have no-weight rules, and Silva has also fought against heavyweights.

There are also Crimean Ranger Mirko, Dutch Tyrant Peter Az, South African Cannon Mike Bernardo, and the Super King who has won the K1GP Championship four times, Mr. Perfect Just. "

He Zhongqiu teased, "Frank, didn't you want to create a fighting brand for me? How is it going now?"

Frank Zhang said awkwardly: "Boss, masters like them have to play at least a dozen games a year. You don't have much time to spend on fighting events. If you don't play in the NBA, I will definitely find one for you."

"That's it."

He Zhongqiu said: "I can fight with a sumo wrestler, but the rules must not be sumo rules, or MMA rules, preferably stand-up fighting rules."

He hoped it was a standing rule, because the thought of being pressed down by a mountain of meat weighing several hundred kilograms, and being hit by a jumping mountain, made him afraid that even his iron vest would not be able to withstand it.

Frank Zhang said, "Boss, it must be MMA rules. If it is a standing rule, the Japanese side will not agree. In that case, after knocking you over, the sumo wrestler can't use his huge body to press you down."

He said, "Well, you arrange it. The appearance fee can't be less. It would be better if there is a bonus pool so that you can earn more and give you red envelopes."

"Haha, Boss, I like this sentence of yours the most." Frank laughed.

At this point, he added: “Boss, Iron Eagle King 2 will start shooting in early June, with a three-month shooting period, and will strive to wrap up by the end of August.

Boss, you joined the crew in early July, and the filming period is two months. If the fighting event is negotiated, it will be arranged in September, right?"

"Okay," he said.

He starred in this sequel for free, but will receive 22% of the global box office revenue.

Under the strong request of several other major investors, the American Mid-Autumn Film and Television Company, as the producer and actual controller of the film, was only allocated an investment quota of US$2000 million, which means that he received a total of 40% of the investment quota.

There is no other way. If you want to develop in Hollywood, you must learn to share profits and risks.

Moreover, the company’s current distribution capabilities are far inferior to those of large companies. Without the support of large companies, the box office of the movie will also be a big problem.

Thanks to Ross Lewis's efforts, the company can now mobilize up to 1200 screens. For a large production like Iron Eagle King, this number of screens is far from enough.

In the evening, Yang Xue called and said that the casting for White Bone World was over.

"For the five main female characters, Xixi is set to play the Qingqiu Fox Girl, the Sword Demon Girl Zhou Xun, the White Bone Lady Zeng Li, the Heavenly Fragrance Demon Bai Bing, and the White Bone Saint Queen Zhang Ziyi."

"Who is Bai Bing?" He Zhongqiu asked.

Yang Xue said: "I'm from Anxi, 18 years old, a college student at Anxi University of Political Science and Law. I went to Yanjing to participate in CCTV's Dream China. I happened to run into our audition and signed up."

He Zhongqiu didn't ask why an amateur was chosen, and asked, "Has Zhang Ziyi signed the contract? How much is the salary?"

"500 million RMB. She asked for it herself." Yang Xue said.

"So low?" He Zhongqiu was stunned.

Yang Xue said: "I think her active choice is very smart. From her perspective, with so many people vying for the role, it's not that there won't be someone to replace her.

From our perspective, her salary is too high and not worth it, and she doesn’t have box office appeal overseas.”

"Well, she is indeed smart."

"Sanjin, I calculated that Director Zhang, Director Li, and Zhang Ziyi's salary was 2700 million RMB, and the martial arts director team received 500 million RMB, which adds up to 3200 million RMB. This is the biggest expense. The salaries of the others are not high, which adds up to about 500 million RMB, or million USD."

"Yes, with an investment of 8000 million US dollars, 7500 million of which can be used for production. In Hollywood, it would be impossible without an investment of 1.5 million US dollars. This Journey to the West should be considered one of the most expensive movies in Hollywood history."

"In addition, Director Zhang invited Liu Xiao Ling Tong to play the ordinary form of Sun Wukong." Yang Xue added.

"How old is he?" He Zhongqiu was stunned.

“At 45, he’s still in pretty good shape. I’ve seen him before. He comes from a monkey performing family and practices every day.

Besides, you are in charge of the main fighting scenes, and he is in charge of the literary scenes. Director Zhang, Director Li, and Director Yang all think there is no problem."

"Okay, I have no objection." He Zhongqiu said.

"In addition, Tang Seng has chosen Chen Kun." Yang Xue said.

"Who?"

"Chen Kun, Huang Xiaoming's classmate, you should know him?"

"No, isn't Tang Seng a man?" He Zhongqiu asked.

"Haha, Sanjin, I told him that he can fight you to the death." Yang Xue burst into laughter.

"Is there anything wrong with this guy's artistic ethics? I saw him giving Liu Yifei the cold shoulder when filming The Story of a Noble Family." He Zhongqiu said casually.

Yang Xue said, "That's because they think Xixi's acting is not good. Xixi had just been admitted to Beijing Film Academy at that time, and she hadn't even started studying yet. She didn't have any acting skills, and the director scolded her and she cried many times."

The two chatted for a long time before hanging up the phone.

It was morning in Yanjing. After Yang Xue finished the phone call, she notified the people below and wrote back to the people who had auditioned, informing them of the audition results.

(End of this chapter)