Chapter 259 Barkley's Pride

   At this time, the final quarter of the game began, and the Bulls' offensive and defensive strategy still did not change.

  Let's not talk about the defensive tactics. There is no way to defend the old K on the inside. The effect of shrinking and double-teaming is not too big, but it may cause injuries. The defense on the outside has been decided, so I have always adhered to the defensive strategy of the first three quarters.

   On the offensive end, the opening tactics did not work well in the first three quarters. Old K's quick return to defense caused a lot of pressure on the Bulls' low-post attack. If it is normal, it needs to be changed.

However, Phil Jackson believes that the physical consumption of the old K in the first three quarters is huge. The offensive end, the defensive end, the fight for rebounds, the organization to support the offense, all of which are indispensable to the investment of the old K, so the physical fitness of the old K in the final quarter should be Wouldn't be great.

   This is the reason why he doesn't plan to change his offensive tactics. He continues to open up his tactics and can continue to consume a lot of old K's physical energy.

And the finals are a series. This tactic can play a bigger role than the current regular season. After a few games, even if the old K can persevere in one or two games, but after the whole series, the old K's physical fitness Will be dragged down by this tactic, as long as the old K collapsed, half of the Bulls can beat the Suns.

   However, in the end, the Suns won the game. Without the Bulls putting more intensity on the perimeter defense, relying on Pharaoh’s high efficiency in the low post, 106:113, the home court won by 7 points.

   In the final quarter, Pharaoh's physical fitness was indeed a little insufficient. All-round performance was all-round consumption. His efficiency in the final quarter declined a bit, but he persisted until the end of the game and kept the victory.

He played 44 minutes in the whole game, with only one minute rest per quarter. He made 20 of 28 shots, 71.4% from the field, 8 of 16 free throws, and scored 48 points, 21 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 7 blocks, 3 turnovers and 5 fouls. Double-double data, and refreshed his own regular season single-game highest scoring record and single-game block record.

Under Jordan's defense, Drexler's performance was average. The two played one-on-one. Jordan scored 38 points. He only scored 21 points. A level star.

  The game was over. As the best in the field, Pharaoh accepted an interview with the live media. The interview was conducted by TNT TV station, which was also the last part of the live broadcast in the United States.

   "Old K, for the victory of this game, do you think that the Suns are indeed stronger than the Bulls?" asked a TNT reporter.

  Old Wang hesitated for a while, then decided to tell the truth instead of telling lies, nodded and said, "Yes, I think so."

  The reporter is a female, in her thirties, black. Hearing his answer, she was obviously startled and asked in surprise, "Do you really think so?"

   "Of course." He nodded.

   The black female reporter shrugged and asked: "The Bulls' perimeter defense is obviously leaking, can't you see it?"

   "Of course I can see that Jordan and Pippen didn't double-team Perry, which made Perry give me a lot of the ball." He said.

   "Then why do you still think that this victory was because the Suns were stronger than the Bulls, not because the Bulls released water?" The reporter asked again.

He chuckled: "Because if they help defend Perry, their defense against Drexler and Dan Marley will inevitably weaken. As long as our ball moves quickly and responds well, I believe their perimeter defense is stronger, It is also impossible to really cut off our internal and external lines completely.

   What's more, we still have Lightning, as long as he can come back, I believe we are fully capable of defeating this bull. "

   After listening to this, the female reporter thought for three seconds and reluctantly accepted Pharaoh's statement.

   At least she didn't know what she was thinking, and Lao Wang didn't care. After answering this question, the on-site interview ended.

  Although the Bulls have released some water, they are still very happy to win the Bulls. Back in the locker room, the atmosphere is very good, and everyone is chatting and laughing.

  Pharaoh was soaking in the medicine in the bathroom, chatting loudly with his teammates from time to time.

  Liu Changfeng is doing massage for Drexler, then Dan Marley and the others. There are two masseuses in the Suns. His skills are the best, the most popular, and the busiest.

  Only Colangelo was a little uneasy, because the issue of old K's early renewal of the contract was publicly raised by TNT, and he was worried about causing some undesired changes.

He and Hoxman have not yet had an interview, but they talked twice on the phone. The other party made it clear that he would not renew the contract in advance. Although he was disappointed, the other party also promised him that he would not contact other teams before the end of the season. This reassured him a lot.

TNT just mentioned Larry Johnson's 100-million-dollar contract. That contract contains some incentives. It's not really a 100-million-dollar contract, but he thinks it doesn't prevent old K from wanting to get that kind of contract. The demonstration effect of that contract is too great, which player doesn't want it?

For example, Robinson, the No. 1 draft pick in 1994, asked for such a contract when he signed a rookie contract with the Bucks because of Larry Johnson's billion-dollar contract, which almost drove the Bucks crazy. Offered a 10-year, $68 million rookie contract.

   And this contract is actually no worse than Larry Johnson's billion-dollar contract, because there is no incentive mechanism, this is a real contract.

  This contract alone makes Robinson's average annual salary more than Jordan's, and even more than almost all players in the league.

   So he had to be mentally prepared for Old K to ask for such a contract. Old K likes money very much. The purpose of coming to the United States is to make money, not to mention that CAA is behind.

   And maybe there are other teams that offer a crazy contract for Old K, so that is to say, he really has to be mentally prepared to pay a billion-dollar contract.

   There are also many teams that can compete with him.

Although the New York giants Knicks have a super center Ewing, but they are the league's No. 1 ball market, and the money is too much to spend. It is not ruled out the possibility of grabbing the old K to play the twin towers tactics, but the old K was picked up from New York for nothing. Yes, he's half a New Yorker, and he's got to be on guard.

   The Lakers, like the Knicks, are the second largest market in the league, a giant with a traditional center, and now lack a powerful center like Old K.

   He will not underestimate the attraction of giants to a player. Playing in a luxury team and playing in an ordinary team are two completely different feelings and two completely different worlds.

  For example, in Houston, the luxurious twin-tower lineup of Big Dream and Ralph Sampson failed to win the championship. This time there is another opportunity to form a twin-tower lineup. Maybe they will sell Barkley and get old K over.

  Bulls, want to be crazy about old K, except Jordan, everyone else may become a bargaining chip.

  Forget it, thinking of this made him upset, so he just didn’t want to.

   He also didn't want to talk to old K about this issue, so as not to cause unexpected changes.

   He analyzed the situation the Suns had to face and the preparations they needed to make.

   No matter whether the Suns can win the championship this season, Danny Manning and Drexler are going to leave. They only have this year's contracts and can't stay unless he doesn't want to renew the old K.

   Danny Ainge's contract is also over, and he will retire directly into the coaching staff, saving another $2 million in space.

  AC Green, we should find a way to trade it, the salary is too high, more than 7 million, and the top three old kings, this is absolutely not possible, he was crazy to give such a contract last year.

   cleaned up these contracts, and old K's contract space can almost accommodate it.

His bottom line is that the annual salary in the 1995/96 season is about 10 million yuan, and the next season will be increased by 10%. The contract period is not less than seven years, and the total contract value in seven years is close to 95 million yuan, which is far from 100 million yuan. The contract is not much different.

   This is very high, knowing that Jordan is only 4 million this year, and some of the three super centers do not even have 4 million.

   Of course, Old K is the most valuable because he is young. Presumably, O'Neal renews the contract, and it will not be lower than this contract.

The annual salary is limited to about 10 million, which is based on the salary cap, because the salary cap this season is only 16 million. If the salary cap can reach 20 million next season, then in addition to the salary of the old K, plus the next two After selecting a few usable rookies in three years and signing a longer contract, the total salary will not explode too much, and it is still within the range he can bear.

   And the next few years will be the time for the team to grow. After a few rookies grow up, they will grow into a finals-level team and participate in the competition for the championship again.

This is his vision for the Suns in the next few years. The Suns' market is so big, and the growth ceiling is there. He can only operate according to this ceiling. The team's lineup cannot exceed this ceiling. The operation of the team will be limited to collapse, and bankruptcy is possible.

Therefore, he should be cautious about the renewal of the old K's contract, because he cannot let the old K's contract break the balance of the team, otherwise the lineup is too poor, even if the contract is renewed, the team is not competitive, and it will be difficult to stay in the future. old K.

   Another point is the vision of the draft. This is the time to test his ability and the ability of the team's scouting system. If a usable rookie is not selected, the reconstruction of the Suns will be a failure.

   Therefore, it is the safest way to trade up the draft pick. The higher the draft, the less chance of mistakes.

  Thinking of the signing, he thought of the 1993 No. 1 pick Chris Webber and the Warriors' rookie contract.

In the draft that year, the Warriors and the Magic traded the pick, got Webber, and then gave Webber an incredible contract, 15 years, $74 million, and Webber had a player option in the second year.

  This contract caused a sensation, in fact, no less than Larry Johnson's billion-dollar contract.

The    contract caused a sensation, not only for the long time, but also for the large amount of money. Another point is that Webber is given an option to the player in the second year. How much trust does Webber have?

In fact, Webber did not "let down" the trust of the Warriors' executives. He only played in the Warriors for one year. This season, he implemented the player option, abandoned the 15-year contract, and went to the Bullets. It took only one year for the top pick, and the Warriors executives burst into tears. From scouts to management, several people were fired by the boss.

   Well, Colangelo originally wanted to sign a long-term contract with old K, but thinking of what Chris Webber did, he immediately dismissed the idea.

   Besides, CAA will not let K sign a contract like that, absolutely impossible.

   There are many similar contracts, and there are also examples of old age. For example, when Magic Johnson finished his rookie season, the Lakers sent a 25-year, $25 million contract, directly promising each other for life.

However, that contract was considered a big contract at the time, and Magician must have suffered a loss later, so after he retired, the old Buss also sold 5% of the team shares to him, and invited him into the management, which is considered a A disguised compensation.

   After playing the Bulls, the Suns started a wave of away games.

   No. 26, lost to the Pacers on the road.

  Old K seemed to fight too hard in the game with the Bulls. This game was not exciting enough. He only scored 21 points and 12 rebounds, and he was even less active on the defensive end.

   Then, in back-to-back games on No. 27, the Suns lost to the Philadelphia Digital team and got a losing streak.

   In this way, the Suns completed 41 regular season games, just halfway through, with 29 wins and 12 losses, ranking second in the Western Conference.

  The Spurs started to exert their strength and surpassed the record, one more win than the Suns, and ranked first.

   And the Jazz also began to exert their strength, ranking fourth in the West after Mosaic, and still chasing.

  Mosaic's record has not been very good when Barkley was injured at the beginning. It was not as good as last season. After Barkley came back, the lineup was neat, but he did not chase after him. It should be reserved.

   In particular, Barkley played quite ordinary, not a crucial game, and had no intention of exerting any force at all.

  After the two-game losing streak, Pharaoh was also a little depressed. After returning to the hotel in the evening, he called Barkley, who also lost the away game. The two chatted and wanted to find some comfort from each other.

   "Brother, are you not recovering from your injury? No, you can come back. When you are old, you have to serve the old. Don't fight in Houston." He said.

   "Brother, you lost to the two bad teams of the Digital and Pacers, are you dying?" Barkley said angrily.

   "If the Spurs are No. 1 in the West, you will be in the same district as them and automatically leave the top three. It seems that you are ready to take No. 4. When are you going to let the Jazz overtake?" Old Wang said.

   "Fart, sooner or later we'll overtake you for the second seat." Buckley sighed.

   "Haha, even if you get the second and enter the playoffs, as long as the Spurs are on your head, don't you have to be the fourth?" Pharaoh laughed.

"this?"

  Barkley is at a loss for words. It’s really a mistake. As long as they can’t surpass the Spurs, they will also be ranked fourth in the top playoffs and will not enter the top three.

   "So don't struggle, the second and third are not suitable for you, the fourth is the most suitable position for you. Let's be the third, and the Jazz let them be the third." Pharaoh joked.

   "Huh, then let's take the Spurs off the horse and take the first position, old K, do you think we can't do it?" Barkley said unconvinced.

   "Of course you can't do it, do you think it's still last season? You're another year older, and your condition is not good." Pharaoh continued to stimulate Barkley.

"Yeah, yeah, I really can't do it now. I have injuries everywhere, and I don't dare to exert force. Okay, kid, stop talking, old K, you really don't know how to chat." Buckley hung up angrily. Telephone.

   But actually, after hanging up, he seemed to be in a good mood.

   "Charles, what is old K doing on the phone?" Da Meng in the same room asked at this time.

   "This kid has a losing streak and wants to find some sense of presence from me, so I will satisfy him." Barkley smiled proudly.

   After thinking about his big dreams, he also laughed. He also understood the arrogance of soldiers.

   Now Mosaic's plan is not to do his best in the regular season, because Barkley has many injuries, he doesn't want to get injured again, and wants to keep his strength in the playoffs.

   Now the Jazz are fourth. In the end, regardless of whether they can surpass their mosaic, based on the playoff ranking rules, as long as the Jazz maintain their current position, they will enter the top three. They are ranked fourth in the playoffs. This position is still good.

   The team's plan is to place fourth in the playoffs, and the teams in the bottom half of the first round are no problem.

   In the second round, the winner of the first and eighth playoffs in the Western Conference will be the Spurs according to the current ranking, and they have a chance of winning against the Spurs.

   In this way, they are likely to face the Suns or the Jazz in the Western Conference Finals.

   And the Suns have a better lineup this season than they did last season, they'd rather play the Jazz.

   But whoever will fight in the end will not depend on their will. If the Western Finals encounters the sun, they will have to prepare in advance.

   Including psychological warfare, arrogant tactics, showing the enemy to be weak, etc., using these factors to win a victory is extremely beneficial.

  If Old K thinks that Barkley can't really play anymore, no, he has the heart of underestimating the enemy, it will make him suffer a lot.

Although Barkley has some problems now, he has recovered from the injury in the past few months, and there is no major problem. When it comes to desperately, he can still fight for a while, and he still has the ability to make old K suffer a big loss. .

  …

   (end of this chapter)