Chapter 86: Outrageous Strength

Hearing Larry Brown's call, Iverson just nodded respectfully but did not intend to obey.

In the internal conflict with Larry Brown, he now has the upper hand. The management is trying to please him, and once Larry Brown leaves the team, he will be completely free.

During the transition from offense to defense, the Knicks accelerated their return to defense to prevent Iverson's quick run.

Iverson carried the ball to the front right wing, the madman stood in front of him, and Ellis in the high middle position also rushed over to double-team him.

He passed the ball to Eric Snow at the top of the arc, Ellis returned to defense, and Alan Houston on the left wing immediately double-teamed the top of the arc.

Snow then passed the ball to Keith Van Horn on the left wing, and Alan Houston and Ellis immediately went over to double-team Keith Van Horn.

At this time, Derrick Coleman asked for the ball one step outside the left waist position. He Zhongqiu stood at the left waist position and took a step back.

Keith Van Horn passed the ball, and when Coleman received the ball, he was blocked from behind by He Zhongqiu and could not turn around to face the basket.

He Zhongqiu didn't need to use any sudden strength. Coleman, like Shawn Kemp, was full of fat, so that sudden strength was useless. He could only use absolute strength to hold on.

Coleman had to force a turn around and step back to shoot a jump shot, but he was afraid of being blocked, so he shot at a large angle.

"Snapped!"

But He Zhongqiu's jumping ability was too good. He caught up with the opportunity and jumped to block the shot, but he still tipped the ball into the sky.

The madman rushed down and caught the basketball, and the Knicks attacked.

Barkley saw this and said, "The Knicks' current defensive system was created by Jeff Van Gundy and Thibodeau, and inherited from Pat Riley. The zone defense is good, and the double team attack from the outside is very fast."

"Bang!"

The madman missed the outside jump shot.

“My rebound.”

He Zhongqiu predicted correctly, moved quickly to the right waist position, used his strength to trap the slow Coleman behind, and used his jumping and height advantage to grab the offensive rebound over Kenny Thomas' head.

"The Digital Team's inside players have neither height nor jumping ability, so they are at a disadvantage in rebounding!" said Dameng.

"I don't think it was right for them to trade Dikembe Mutombo for Van Horn," Barkley said.

"But Mutombo is seriously injured and his condition must have deteriorated seriously. Besides, his official age is 37, but we don't know how old he is actually. I think this deal should be a profit," said Kenny Smith.

On the court, He Zhongqiu passed the ball, the madman broke through with the ball, attracted the defense and then passed the ball, assisting Kurt Thomas to score a goal.

"6:0, the digital team hasn't scored yet." Barkley said.

"Wolverine has already had two blocks. This is his...12th game. He should start to adapt to the league now. When he first entered the league, he didn't have so many blocks," said Kenny Smith.

"Bang!"

On the court, Iverson missed his quick stop jump shot in a fast break, and He Zhongqiu, who was the first to return to defense, grabbed the backcourt rebound.

"No, the two inside players of the Digital Team have neither speed nor height when facing the Wolverines, which puts them at a disadvantage," said Barkley.

Dream said: "I watched the game between the Knicks and the Trail Blazers that day. You know, the Trail Blazers are called the prison team. People are expecting something to happen between them and Wolverine, and so am I."

"Haha, but the prison team disappointed you in front of Wolverine." Buckley laughed strangely.

Dream smiled and said: "But in that game, Wolverine was in a very bad state. He couldn't handle the defense of Rasheed Wallace and Dale Davis, nor could he handle Randolph and Sabonis."

"Hakeem, what do you mean?" Kenny Smith asked.

"I mean……"

Da Meng paused for a moment, then said: "If you place two big and tall guys under the basket, you can make Wolverine do nothing on the offensive end."

"That's it."

Barkley gave Dream a thumbs up.

After the first quarter, Iverson only scored two points with one of six shots, and there was no breakthrough afterwards, so there were no free throws in the whole quarter.

However, Van Horn used his height advantage on the outside to beat the madman, making 5 of 4 shots in the first quarter, including one three-pointer, and scoring 9 points in a single quarter.

For the Knicks, the madman was the leading scorer in the first quarter, making 9 of 5 shots, including 3 of 3 three-pointers, scoring 13 points in a single quarter. Even Van Horn couldn't defend him.

贺中秋得分第二，打了10分钟，在篮下4投3中，3罚1中，得到7分4篮板1抢断3盖帽1失误1犯规的数据。

26:19, the Knicks led by 7 points in a single quarter.

In the second quarter, Alan Houston began to exert his strength and took over the offense. He made 7 of 5 shots and 3 of 2 three-pointers, scoring a total of 12 points.

He Zhongqiu only played for half a quarter and scored 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 turnover and 1 foul.

The Digital Team played better. Van Horn had a huge height advantage. He made 3 of 3 shots, plus free throws and three-pointers, scoring a total of 8 points. He scored 17 points in the first half, making 8 of 7 shots, which was very efficient.

Iverson improved his efficiency and scored 8 points in the second quarter.

加上斯诺次节2投2中，替补后卫阿隆麦基4投4中，数字队单节轰下34分。

At the end of the first half, the score was 52:53 and the Knicks were one point behind.

In the third quarter, the two teams tied with 29 points each, 81:82, and the Knicks were still one point behind.

He Zhongqiu only played in the first half of the quarter and did not play a single second in the second half. He played for 22 minutes in the first three quarters. Don Cheney hoped that he would stay on the court in the final quarter.

He came on the court at the beginning of the final quarter.

At this time, Coleman could no longer play. He was facing the backup center Todd Macloch, a big guy who was as tall as him and weighed 280 pounds, or 127 kilograms.

Mark Roach did not play in the first quarter, but played for ten minutes in the middle two quarters, making 3 of 2 shots and 4 of 3 free throws, scoring 7 points.

"Mark Rocky spends almost all of his time in the restricted area and has no ability to survive outside the restricted area, which is somewhat similar to Wolverine," Barkley said.

Kenny Smith said: "According to reports from the New York media, Wolverine has a strong learning ability and trains very hard. I believe that sooner or later he will master the basic skills and develop shooting skills."

Da Meng said: "It's not like he doesn't have any foundation at all. If he really doesn't have any foundation at all, it might be a little late to practice now.

But he's not, he's just not good enough, not at a professional level, and it should take a few seasons to get there."

Barkley said: "That has to ensure that he doesn't get seriously injured in the next few seasons. Now he plays with his talent and strong confrontation. The chance of injury with this style of play is very high."

Kenny Smith sang a different tune again, saying: "Look at all the Pacers players hitting him, is he hurt?
No, he's very resilient, and I believe he can survive these few years of growth."

"Hey, hey, Kenny, being able to take a beating and being able to resist injuries are two different things, okay? He just has hard bones and no muscles in his body, so his ability to resist injuries won't be very strong." Barkley yelled.

If He Zhongqiu heard what Barkley said, he would definitely spit at him and curse, "You idiot, muscles are useless. Can muscles resist injuries? The ones that resist injuries are the tendons, bones and fascia. My tendons and bones are already so strong that it's outrageous. How could I get injured so easily?"
On the court, the final quarter began and the Knicks attacked.

The mid-range shooter and the madman each attacked for one quarter, and then played half a quarter each in the third quarter. They were a little tired, and their desire to attack was not very strong at this time. The madman passed the ball to He Zhongqiu in the low post on the left wing.

He Zhongqiu received the ball with his back to Mark Rocky, but did not shoot. His shooting percentage at close two-point distance was too poor. Not wanting to waste the ball, he passed it to the madman who was running to the bottom corner, and then went over to do the pick-and-roll.

The madman received the ball and immediately broke through along the baseline. Van Horn was blocked by He Zhongqiu, so Markloch had to switch defense and return to the penalty area.

After opening it, He Zhongqiu also followed the madman and rushed into the restricted area.

He was faster and the 208cm tall Van Horn was left behind.

After the madman broke into the penalty area, the opponent's substitute forward Skinner had already returned to defend the basket. He pulled up, turned his head and saw He Zhongqiu following up, so he quickly passed the ball.

He Zhongqiu received the ball on the left side of the paint area, grabbed the ball with his right hand and raised it high, then took a big step forward, his body suddenly jumped up to sixty or seventy centimeters high, and rushed towards Skinner under the basket with unstoppable force, like a mountain pressing down on his opponent, and he pressed down on him with a powerful one-handed dunk.

"boom!"

Amid the loud explosion, Skinner, who was of the same weight as He Zhongqiu, fell out, hit the ground, and then slid backwards for several meters.

"what!"

The screams of pain were very clear in the silent arena; he was injured.

"Dunk! A beast-like dunk! It comes from the performance of Knicks center Wolverine." Barkley shouted excitedly.

Da Meng said: "Wolverine is 11 kilograms heavier than Rain Man in his prime, and his absolute strength of bench pressing 200 kilograms is at least two levels higher than Rain Man..."

Barkley nodded and said, "Rain Man has great explosive power, but lacks absolute strength."

"Look, the referee stopped the game and Mark Lodge was injured," said Kenny Smith.

"He must have been hit by the beast, or he was injured in the fall."

Da Meng said some nonsense, then continued the previous topic and said, "So overall, Wolverine's explosive power plus absolute strength, plus his tonnage and speed comparable to mine, formed an impact force..."

At this point, he said in amazement: "It is definitely better than Rain Man, even close to Shaquille O'Neal. He is really a big Rain Man."

"I still doubt it. Wolverine is too small. His impact force can never reach the terrifying height of the shark." Barkley shook his head. "The shark directly knocked Rain Man away." Kenny Smith supported Barkley this time.

Da Meng pointed at the screen in front of him and said, "What is this? Mark Lodge's tonnage is larger than that of Rain Man."

"Uh……"

Kenny Smith was speechless and said helplessly: "Well, Wolverine also knocked Mark Rocky away. His impact force may be close to the level of the Great Shark."

"Hey, look, there's a stretcher," Barkley said at this time.

Kenny Smith exclaimed: "As expected of the big Rain Man, Wolverine's playing style is so brutal, he is a true beast center."

Dream nodded and said, “Patrick, David, Shaq, and I all have our own characteristics, but none of us play like him.

He actually plays like a power forward, with the brutal rush to the basket like Rain Man, and apart from the attack under the basket, he doesn’t have any center skills now.”

Barkley said: "No, Hakeem, his attack under the basket is definitely a center's style of play. It should be said that his style of play is a combination of power forward and center, which is determined by his physical fitness."

"Right."

Da Meng nodded and said, "Absolute strength allows him to stand under the basket, which is the reliance of the center style. Super explosive power is the reliance of the power forward style.

I heard that he is practicing his skills and basic skills. It is hard to say how far he can go in the end, but with his physical talent, he is not even 20 years old yet. As long as he is willing to practice, Rain Man should be his lowest point. "

Barkley and Kenny Smith both nodded and did not object to what Dream said.

After examination by the digital team's team doctor, it was found that during the aerial confrontation just now, Markloch was hit by He Zhongqiu and had at least two ribs broken.

Larry Brown reluctantly replaced him with another substitute forward, Williams.

Derrick Coleman is out of energy and can only play for a little over 20 minutes per game. He can't play in this game. The first substitute center Mark Roach broke a bone, so this game will be difficult.

Although there are several forwards who can hold up the situation, they have no height under the basket and cannot deal with the beast like Wolverine.

"Use a foul tactic to send him to free throws." He had no choice but to use the Hack-a-Shaq tactic.

In this game, the Knicks won in the end, 118:110, winning by 8 points.

Barkley smiled and said: "Congratulations to the Knicks for their seventh consecutive win, 17 wins and 16 losses, and a 51.5% winning rate that has exceeded % for the first time."

Kenny Smith said: "At the same time, the Bucks and Magic just lost, and the Knicks rushed directly to the seventh place in the Eastern Conference, and the Magic, who were originally eighth in the Eastern Conference, dropped to ninth."

Barkley said: "The Knicks are behind the numbers team. The numbers team lost this game. They are 19-17, with a winning rate of 52.7%, sixth in the Eastern Conference. The difference between the two teams in winning games is only half a game."

Kenny Smith continued: "In this game, the Knicks' two outside shooters and the mid-range shooter both scored 31 points.

金刚狼上场34分钟，末节3投2中，2罚0中，砍下4分，一共轰下19分12篮板3盖帽2抢断4失误5犯规的数据。”

Barkley said: "In addition to these three people, veteran Charlie Ward also scored 17 points, and four people scored in double digits."

肯尼史密斯说道：“数字队方面，艾弗森28投10中，三分球5投1中，12罚9中，轰下30分6篮板9助攻5失误3犯规的数据。”

巴克利说道：“范霍里12投9中，三分球5投4中，1罚1中，非常高效地轰下了23分。”

Kenny Smith said: "A total of five players on the Digital Team scored in double figures, but only Kenny Thomas, an inside player, scored 11 points, and the rest of the inside players did not contribute much."

Barkley nodded and said, “Today the Digital Team’s inside performance was too weak, and one of their players was injured, which was the key to the team’s loss.

In addition, the performances of Madman and the C-level shooter were also good. Their performances and those of Wolverine were the key to the Knicks' victory."

After the Knicks defeated the Digital Team, they flew to Washington overnight and will play back-to-back against the Wizards tomorrow.

The Wizards were squeezed to tenth place in the Eastern Conference, but the Knicks lost this back-to-back game. They were short of energy and everyone had a bad touch, which interrupted their winning streak.

He Zhongqiu also had problems with his physical fitness. He only scored 11 points and 6 rebounds, made too many turnovers and fouls, and his playing time was fragmented, only playing for 21 minutes.

17 wins and 17 losses, currently ranked seventh in the Eastern Conference.

On the 12th, the Knicks arrived in Chicago.

The Bulls are currently ranked 12th in the Eastern Conference, with 30-year-old swingman Jalen Rose as their leader.

Jalen Rose averaged 20+ points per game in the previous three seasons and is averaging 20+ points per game again this season, but he has never even been an All-Star substitute. Apart from a place on the All-Rookie Second Team, he also won the Most Improved Player honor in the 2/99 season.

He is not even an All-Star and cannot be considered a star, so his position as the boss is unstable and he lacks confidence.

That night, the Magic and the Bucks both won, and the Knicks fell from seventh to ninth in the Eastern Conference.

On the 13th, Reggie Miller, who was suspended for 15 games, announced his comeback.

The Pacers' owner and management have considered it again and again. Although they have decided to rebuild, people's hearts cannot be dispersed. If Reggie Miller leaves, it will be difficult to explain to the fans.

"Crack, click, click..."

The Pacers did not hold a press conference, but many reporters still blocked the gate of the Pacers headquarters, forcing Reggie Miller to be interviewed.

"Reggie, have you completed your community service?" a reporter asked.

"Not yet. Next I will finish what I should do." Reggie Miller replied honestly.

"What do you think about that incident now? Do you regret it?" a reporter asked.

Reggie Miller felt dizzy and took a deep breath. His chest rose and fell three times before he said, "Yes, I was too impulsive at the time. I am sorry for the team and the Pacers fans."

"Do you admit that the plan was made in the locker room?" a reporter asked.

Reggie Miller sighed inwardly, nodded and said, "We were afraid of the backboard being smashed and being humiliated by a rookie, so we impulsively wanted to scare him first, but who knew we would mess it up."

"If you see Wolverine again, what will you do? What do you want to do?" a reporter asked.

"I won't do anything. I just want to finish this contract, help the team complete the rebuild, and then retire quietly." Reggie Miller said bleakly.

……

At 1:30 p.m., the Knicks arrived at the United Center.

He Zhongqiu had seen this stadium many times on TV. It was the most terrifying home stadium in the NBA in the 1990s. Today, he finally came here in person.

After coming in, he walked around the court first and felt it was just so-so. Jordan had seen it before, and the United Center didn't give him any special feeling.

After dinner, Xia Song called to tell him that the training team had been arranged.

There are two types of personal trainers, those who focus on physical training and those who focus on technical training.

For example, Jordan's personal trainer Tim Glover helped Jordan develop his muscles and confrontation abilities.

He Zhongqiu wants a trainer who can teach him techniques. As for physical fitness, he doesn't need a personal trainer for other aspects except physical fitness.

"How many people are there?" he asked quickly.

Xia Song introduced: "There is only one core member, his name is Green Felton, he is 40 years old this year, and has been a private trainer in the NBA for 15 years. He is mainly good at training center and power forward techniques.

NBA stars such as Rick Smith, Sam Perkins, Marcus Camby, Luc Longley, and Larry Johnson have all trained with him. I have inquired about it and he has a good reputation in this industry."

"Okay, then ask him to make a plan according to my requirements first," he said.

"OK."

Xia Song added: “As for other sparring partners and trainers, Greenfeldon has his own team, so we don’t care about that.

Normally, personal trainers don’t go to away games because there’s no need, and the team already has its own trainer.”

"How much a month?" he asked.

Xia Song said: "Generally, as long as the personal trainer is long-term, the salary is an annual salary. Now we are talking about $200,000, which I think is acceptable."

"That's fine."

He Zhongqiu had no objection.

His attitude towards money is very inconsistent. When he was a gangster, he didn't care about money. After he was released from juvenile detention center, he started to care about money and even saved money to buy a house. Now that he is rich, he has started to spend lavishly again.

He knew this shortcoming of his, so when Xia Song mentioned last time that he wanted to form a business team for him, he immediately agreed.

"Brother Xia, after this matter is settled, please help me sort out the house issue first." He said again.

"Don't worry, I'm still sleeping on the sofa now. I'm more anxious than you, haha! There's no delay on the house either. I have already contacted the real estate agent and have taken time to look at more than a dozen villas. I will get it done as soon as possible." Xia Song said.

"OK."

(End of this chapter)