When Jordan received Zhang Hao's pass in 7 minutes and 22 seconds in the fourth quarter, the jump shot and the score increased to 51 points, Pat Riley on the opposite side almost knelt down!

The game ended amid the crazy cheers of fans on the scene.

Looking at Jordan going to be interviewed, Pat Riley sighed--'Fortunately this man didn't come to our team, otherwise he would have been wasting his current state...'

When dealing with Jordan, the mentality of the magician is always different from that of other stars.

If you have any regrets in the coaching career of the God of Confidant, you really can't coach Jordan.

...

No one thinks that Jordan's 51 points will be the highest score in a single game this season. Of course, before the 1995-1996 season, 51 points in a single game may become the highest score in a season.

It is very rare to have 60+ in a single game. In decades, only about 20 players have won 60+ in a single game.

If Chamberlain's 32 times are not counted, the other people will add up to less than once a year on average.

As strong as Jordan, he has only 6 games in 6 games in a single game. Moreover, this time he is in such a good state to play against the Heat, it is difficult to reach 60+ in a single game. The probability in the future will definitely get lower and lower.

But the media just think that Jordan's 51 points is definitely not the highest score in a single game this season, because Zhang Hao, who has won 6 games in the first four seasons of his career, has won 60+ in a single game!

In addition, Kobe, another No. 24 player, also scored 60 points in a single game like Zhang Hao in the rookie year.

But Jordan's 51 points in a single game still gives people a feeling of being "too excessive".

Last season, Malone won 50+ in a single game at 36 years and 8 months, setting a record of 50+ in a single game held by Nuggets legend Inglish. Now, Jordan has set this record again at 37 years and 10 months!

In the early stage of the season, he averaged 30.3 minutes per game, scored 20.5 points per game, and his shooting percentage reached 48%, and his three-point shooting percentage of 23.6% dragged his back.

When I started to beat, I could still score 51 points in a single game, and only played 33 minutes. If I played a few more minutes, it would be difficult to score 60 points, but it is absolutely possible to get 55+ in a single game with another four or five points.

Jordan proved with his strength that he was a giant, superstar who competed for the championship with Zhang Hao, rather than an old man who held his thighs.

Such Jordan, plus Zhang Hao, who is at its peak.

The greatest and strongest player among the active veterans, plus the honorary king of the Middle Ages... After the game with the Heat, Zhang Hao put on Jordan's shoulder, and Jordan said something with a proud expression. This scene made fans who watched the live broadcast and the post-match news feel too much!

...

Jordan's performance made his teammates very excited.

Taking advantage of his good condition, he meets an opponent who is good at dealing with him, and his playing style is unique... Jordan's goal is so simple to further promote his teammates' concentration in the middle of the season!

In the two seasons of Jordan 95-96, 96-97, it can be seen that Jordan's performance throughout the season was very stable, but from the second half of December to the beginning of February, the data was significantly better than in November, February and March.

Zhang Hao learned from the coaching staff that the coaching staff is working hard to plan for every game in the middle of the season.

I also learned that Jordan used his way to lead the veterans to lead the entire team together.

In these aspects, Zhang Hao felt unprecedented ease.

The team was originally formed because Silver Fox was unwilling to be the head coach again, and Carlisle was snatched away by the Lakers. The Zen master wanted to imitate Pat Riley as the management coach, and the coach who was addicted to swearing like Larry Bird, so Zhang Hao didn't like this now expensive coaching team.

Anyway, money is not a problem for Howard Schultz.

The constantly introduced veterans have brought super leadership skills.

This makes Zhang Hao very relaxed in these aspects.

But there is also unprecedented pressure!

He, Zhang, is a key link in the team's strength, and he owns a link alone!

During the game, Kassel's core playing style sorted out the team's offense. The veteran led by Jordan assumed the responsibility of resisting pressure when necessary, and built a defense that was one of the best in the league around Ben Wallace...

These links are completed in teamwork.

But he, Zhang, always needs to take on one link in the tactical link of the Supersonics team.

Teammates helped him relieve most of the pressure so that he could have better conditions to come forward and solve problems when the team needed him.

Seeing the efforts of the coaching team and teammates, Zhang Hao knew very well that he could not let down the efforts of the whole team!

So, he has to work harder...

...

...

It's not just the fans who feel too much.

On the morning of December 31, the day after the game against the Suns, the Trail Blazers came to Seattle.

The Supersonics are not the only ones who exploded in the New Year’s Eve schedule.

The Supersonics' two back-to-back opponents, the Trail Blazers and the Lakers, today and tomorrow's New Year's Eve, were also miserable.

The Suns are also miserable.

The Suns played the Trail Blazers at home last night and will play the Lakers tonight.

The Lakers' first game tomorrow's New Year will also be the second back-to-back game.

Relatively speaking, the Suns and the Supersonics, which are both home games, are more advantageous, but the Suns lost to the Trail Blazers 98-108 last night. The inside line, after Gugliotta collapsed 30, the Suns declined significantly.

In the prediction before the start of the season, the Lakers, Supersonics, Suns and Trail Blazers were predicted to be the top four contenders in the Western Conference, and people believe that the top four in the Western Conference this season. Now, they are all ranked in the top five in the Western Conference.

During the New Year's Eve, all the popular matches in the West were arranged for four teams, with 6 games in 3 days and the four teams took turns to fight.

At 6:40 pm, the Trail Blazers entered the stadium of the Key Stadium and looked at Jordan, Cassel, Ben Wallace, Artest, Zhang Hao and Nash who were playing one after another. It felt too much!

Although the Supersonics only achieved 11 wins and 4 losses in the first 15 games in December, which is far from the 13 wins and 2 losses in the first game.

But it can be seen that the Supersonics players are improving!

Especially Jordan, in the game against the Heat a few days ago, he scored 51 points with a shooting percentage of 58.8%!

Jordan + Zhang Hao, now I give Nash the feeling that it is even more excessive when the opening match of the game season is!

But the biggest headache for Nash now is that their Trail Blazers have declined by themselves.

On the one hand, the overall strength of the West has increased dramatically. On the other hand, as the season deepens, the strength of the Trail Blazers has indeed declined compared to the peak performance of the past two seasons.

Nash and Rashid Wallace are improving, and Bunch Wells has also improved, but Sabonis, who is already 36 years old, can no longer maintain the level of last season.

Sabonis' decline does not mean that the introduction of Dell Davis can be made up. Without considering the value of the transaction, the Trail Blazers management used Jermaine O'Neal to exchange for Dell Davis, which indeed delayed the Trail Blazers' decline speed.

The role of Dell Davis's role player play is difficult for Jermaine O'Neal, who plays the core player, to do so. Otherwise, the Trail Blazers would have left Jermaine O'Neal with an annual salary of more than 6 million US dollars in 1999, and they would not have given Jermaine O'Neal playing time.

With the progress of dual cores and strengthening, the Trail Blazers can still maintain their championship-level strength this season, but in the future...

Nash knew very well that this season, it might be his, Rashid Wallace and Sabonis's last chance to win the championship in the core trio!

If you fail to win the championship this season, you will have to face two possibilities next.

One is to start the reconstruction mode, so I don’t know when it will be the championship-level team again.

There are too many teams rebuilding in the NBA, and too many teams that fail to rebuild. Being able to successfully become a championship-level team is similar to the Chosen Son.

Another way is to decline steadily like the Jazz...

...

On the other hand, the Supersonics players dare not underestimate this opponent who has won two consecutive games, even if they defeated the Trail Blazers in the opening game.

Although the Trail Blazers' record this season is only 21 wins and 10 losses, the Supersonics still regard it as an opponent that may encounter in the second round or even the Western Conference Finals.

Moreover, the Trail Blazers have lost 10 games in less than two months, which is related to the absence of Bunch Wells for two months after the opening game.

The league only banned Bunch Wells for three games, but he was arrested by a court in the capital Olympics of Washington State and was not allowed to leave Washington State.

After a long negotiation, Bunch Wells finally got rid of his two-week confinement order in mid-November after compensating the nightclub customers he beaten.

This led to the Trail Blazers having only 3 wins and 4 losses by mid-November.

From mid-November to last night's loss to the Suns, the Trail Blazers' record of 18 wins and 6 losses was very strong.

It can be seen that the Trail Blazers have passed their peak period and have begun to decline, but at least this season, this opponent cannot be underestimated.

At 7 p.m., the Supersonics' home game against the Trail Blazers began.

Last night, the Trail Blazers made a two-pointer with Nash riding and archery at a critical moment, narrowly defeating the Suns 107-105 to avoid overtime. However, the fierce battle between the two teams last night still had a significant impact on the Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers played very hard and positively at the beginning. The Trail Blazers led the Supersonics 27-22 5 points in the first quarter.

But in the second quarter, the Supersonics continued to have a wave of 23-17, overtaking the Trail Blazers 45-44 and entered the second half by 1 point.

In the third quarter, the Supersonics played dominant, winning the Trail Blazers 27-18 in a single quarter with 9 points, entering the final quarter with a 10-point lead!

The Trail Blazers tried to counterattack in the last quarter, but except for Nash, the main players of the Trail Blazers were seriously affected and failed to complete the comeback.

In the end, relying on Zhang Hao's 23 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block, Ben Wallace's 12 points, 21 rebounds and 4 blocks, Jordan's 16 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists, Kassel's 14 points and 9 assists... The Supersonics steadily defeated the Trail Blazers 98-81, won three consecutive victories, and improved their record to 25 wins and 6 losses!

...

After defeating the Trail Blazers, Zhang Hao's Avengers' mission of "Up to the Wind" has been completed most of the time. As long as he wins the Trail Blazers one more game, he will get the third silver upgrade card fragment of the "Magic Ending Hand".

Because the Trail Blazers played the Supersonics last season and the grudges in the playoffs, the league arranged an extra fight for the two teams this season. The two teams fought three times last season, and this season 4 times.

In the game against the Trail Blazers, Zhang Hao only played 33 minutes, Jordan only played 26 minutes, and Kassel only played 30 minutes, both of which were lower than the average playing time.

After playing 3 and a half minutes in the last quarter, the score difference widened to 15 points, Doug Collins took the risk of replacing the three, giving them more rest time.

Reason... The new year has come the second day after playing the Trail Blazers. The Supersonics players gathered for pre-match meetings at 10 a.m., and the Lakers arrived in Seattle at 10:30.
To be continued...