NBA: The Dynasty Crasher

"Zhao Dong, you scored 40+ for the first time and won the game. What does that feel like?" a New York Times reporter asked.

"It's an incredible feeling to keep scoring and lead the team to victory. I'd love to experience nights like this every time," Zhao Dong said excitedly as he wiped his sweat.

"Do you think the Heat didn't double-team you tonight? What's the reason for that?" another reporter asked.

"I'm just not strong enough," Zhao Dong replied without hesitation. He knew his limitations. He understood that once double-teamed, his efficiency would drop significantly. He wasn't yet at Jordan's level, where the more he was double-teamed, the more he could score—it was just impossible to stop him. Tonight, his main defender was Austin, and Zhao Dong found it relatively easy to play against him.

After finishing the on-site interview, Zhao Dong was escorted by Van Gundy to the post-game press conference. Meanwhile, the Bulls had just won their home game, and Jordan was heading to the locker room.

"Michael, that kid from the Knicks scored 44 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 blocks," a security guard mentioned to Jordan.

"What?" Jordan was taken aback.

"Is Mourning hurt?" Pippen immediately asked.

"No, Mourning played terribly today. He got blocked six times by that kid and only scored 10 points," the security guard replied.

"What?" It was surprising that Rodman had blocked Mourning six times in a single game—his highest number of blocks so far had only been five.

"Did the Heat double-team that kid?" Jordan asked.

"No, not once," the security guard answered.

Jordan nodded, his expression relaxing. Pippen then added with a smile, "Scoring 44 points one-on-one is impressive, but it doesn't mean much."

The security guard continued, "The main defender against that kid was backup center Austin."

Pippen was surprised and asked, "No wonder he scored so many points. What happened to PJ Brown?"

The security guard gave a strange look and replied, "That kid hurt PJ Brown early on and stepped on Brown's... well, let's just say 'sensitive' area."

Everyone in the locker room was stunned, then groaned. Even Jordan burst out laughing.

At Madison Square Garden's press hall, the post-game conference began.

"Coach Riley, I really want to know why the team didn't double-team Zhao Dong. Was it because this is just a regular-season game?" the reporter who had interviewed Zhao Dong earlier asked again.

Pat Riley smiled, glanced at Zhao Dong, and replied, "There are reasons for that. I just wanted to see how far Zhao Dong's one-on-one offensive ability has reached."

"If you met him in the playoffs, would you choose to double-team him?" the reporter asked.

"Sure, he's already eligible for double-teaming," Pat Riley said, glancing at Zhao Dong and smiling before continuing, "Do you have any comments on him?"

The reporter asked again.

"Except for his lack of playmaking ability, he has very skilled and well-rounded low-post moves, mid-range shots, three-point shooting, good finishing ability, and a solid combination of offense and defense. He can be considered a weaker version of Barkley, a large, weaker version of Barkley," Pat Riley said after thinking for a moment.

"Oh?" The media gasped in response. A 'weaker version of Barkley' was still a form of praise!

"Zhao Dong, do you have anything to say about your performance today?" a reporter asked.

"It's okay, but the players I faced weren't the Heat's main lineup. I'm aware of that, but I'll continue to improve," Zhao Dong smiled.

"What do you have to say about PJ Brown's injury?" another reporter asked.

"Yes, I stepped on him. At that moment, I just wanted to make a move toward the basket. I didn't expect him to fall down, and I certainly didn't mean to knock him over with a back arch. It was really an accident," Zhao Dong said apologetically.

"Are you sure you didn't do it on purpose? He used some questionable tactics to guard you earlier," the reporter pressed.

"Pfft!" Some people in the hall couldn't help but laugh at the question.

"That made me really angry, but I firmly believe that things on the basketball court should be resolved with basketball, not with cheap shots. I would never intentionally hurt someone," Zhao Dong said seriously.

"Alonzo, do you have anything to say about the loss tonight?" the next reporter asked Mourning.

"I'm disappointed. We had some issues with our performance, but I'm confident that when we play in Miami in two days, we'll come out on top," Mourning said confidently.

"Zhao Dong blocked you six times in one game—would you like to say something about that?" the reporter asked with a teasing look.

"NO," Mourning's face turned instantly red with anger. He shook his head coldly.

"Patrick, you shot 5 for 18 today. Not only did you struggle with your shooting, but you also made only 3 free throws, which were almost useless. You finished with just 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 block. Are you satisfied with this performance?" the Miami Sports News reporter asked.

"Of course, I'm not satisfied, but my wrist injury has flared up again, and that's the main reason. I'm sure it'll pass, and I'll be back to my usual self soon," Ewing said.

"What do you think about Zhao Dong's performance? Do you think it will affect your role on the team?" the reporter asked with ulterior motives.

"He's good, but do you think he'll affect me?" Ewing asked rhetorically.

"Do you have any relationship off the court?" the reporter inquired.

"A little, but not much. We each have our own social circles," Ewing responded.

After the press conference, Zhao Dong and the team rushed to the airport. They had a back-to-back game tomorrow against the Nets on the road. Sitting on the plane, Zhao Dong didn't feel like activating the system. He had just completed the mission of sniping Mourning, but he didn't want the "iron kidneys," nor did he want to draw a lottery.

"Bother!" he muttered but eventually decided to turn on the system.

"Congratulations to the host, you have completed the team's sniper mission and received five quality points as a reward."

"Congratulations to the host, you have completed all the mission options for the Superstar Sniper mission and earned a pair of iron kidneys from Mourning. Would you like to choose to override?"

"Cover your head!" Zhao Dong groaned in frustration. He opened his profile and began to consider how to allocate the five quality points. Normally, speed had always been his focus, but after reaching level 86, he noticed a problem. When changing directions or turning, his movements felt a bit stiff. This was likely due to his balance, flexibility, and coordination being too low. If he kept increasing speed, it could worsen the issue and even cause injury.

"Let's increase coordination first," Zhao Dong decided. Coordination was essential. Without proper coordination, the different parts of the body wouldn't work together efficiently. He immediately allocated points to raise his coordination from 70 to 75. He estimated that with his height, his speed could be maxed out at level 90, and coordination could go up to level 80 or 85—enough to support his game.

"System, let's draw a lottery," he said with a sigh after finishing the point allocation.

"The lottery draw has started. I wish the host good luck," the system responded.

Soon, a turntable appeared, and Zhao Dong watched nervously.

"Fuck!" he swore when the first prize appeared. Duncan's silver smile? What was that? "System, are you trying to get me ejected by the referee? Do you want me to end up like Duncan, sitting on the bench, getting two technical fouls in 75 seconds?" He didn't want to be the subject of such a ridiculous situation.

The second prize was better—Westbrook's rampage breakthrough skill. If his speed reached level 90 and combined with this skill, his tonnage and strength might even be enough to knock over O'Neill.

Then Zhao Dong grimaced at the third prize: Melon's black boss temperament. "What is this? System, do you want the league to ban me? It's no wonder Anthony wasn't favored by the league back then."

"System, is this the big prize for sniping Mourning? It's Mourning! Isn't this worse than Rainman? Well, all of Rainman's big prizes are trash. I blame you!" Zhao Dong couldn't help but complain.

The next five consecutive frames were all useless and of little value. By the ninth frame, something good finally appeared: McGrady's dry pull. This made him feel a bit more excited. With this skill, he would have a strong outside weapon, and even Jordan wouldn't be able to stop his shots. However, the technique consumed a lot of energy, and his injury resistance was only level 86, which wasn't very high.

The tenth frame was also good—Owen's ball-handling skills. With this, he would become an enhanced version of Barkley, a more versatile force inside.

The eleventh frame offered something useful as well: Garnett's turnaround step-back jumper. He rarely used this move at present, but it was very hard to defend. Once mastered, combined with his low-post game, it would make him an even greater threat inside, so he'd have to focus on improving it in the future.

The twelfth frame, however, gave him Harden's porcelain touch skills. "System, are you out of your mind?" he muttered.

"By the way, are these skills mature techniques?" he asked.

"If there is no special mark, then they are at their mature level," the system replied.

Zhao Dong breathed a sigh of relief. He was worried that if he had drawn Garnett's turnaround jumper during this period, it might not be as effective as he hoped.

"Ugh, whatever, just smoke it," he said, growing tired of the lottery. After a few seconds, he closed his eyes and didn't want to look at the results. After about 15 seconds, the system beeped, signaling the draw had ended. He opened his eyes.

"Nani?" Zhao Dong couldn't help but exclaim inwardly.

"Congratulations to the host, you have obtained McGrady's dry pull technique. Would you like to overwrite it?"

"Cool, overwrite immediately." Was there even a choice? He hadn't practiced this technique much, so it was practically useless to him.

"Dry pull at McGrady's mature stage! How is it at level 95? Super-class technique, haha!" Zhao Dong couldn't contain his excitement.

(End of this chapter)

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