NBA: The Dynasty Crasher

After sweeping the Celtics, the Knicks' management held a meeting to discuss the 1997 All-Star. This year's All-Star Weekend would run from February 2nd to 7th, with the main event scheduled for the 10th. Official voting would begin soon, and teams were preparing their starting recommendation lists. All-Star starting candidates were selected by each team, with the fans and media voting for them, while the coaches would vote for the seven substitutes.

Because of the Sharks' Journey to the West, Ewing was the only super center in the Eastern Conference. Despite his decline in form this season, no one had surpassed him, so he remained the starting center. Among the Eastern Conference forwards, the Knicks management had listed five forwards who were expected to be selected for the starting lineup: Grant Hill, Pippen, Rodman, Webber, and Juwan Howard. The Knicks were determined to put Zhao Dong in the starting position. To achieve that, Zhao Dong would need to finish in the top two of the voting and surpass four of these five players.

"The chances are slim, but there's still hope. If Zhao Dong continues to put up impressive stats, coupled with the support from the New York media, he has a chance to be selected as the starter. If not this year, we'll work harder next year," Grant said.

After thinking for a moment, Lewis, the president of operations, added, "If we're truly planning to make Zhao Dong the new core of the team after Ewing, then we should give it our best effort. Whether it's likely or not, we need to try."

"There's no doubt Zhao Dong is the best choice for the new core," Grant continued energetically. "Compared to Alan Houston, the Knicks are Zhao Dong's parent team. He's more suited to be the team's new leader. He's also very willing to stay here. Of course, if he's going to take on that role, it will take a few seasons."

Grant went on, "Ewing's performance may have slightly declined this season, but he's still reliable, averaging 20+10. As long as there are no major injuries, he can maintain this level for another three or four years. In a few seasons, Zhao Dong will certainly have grown, which makes these next few years our best chance to contend for a championship."

"Then it's settled," said Knicks president Maywell John. "Neil, today is the last day for submissions. Submit Zhao Dong's name to the league immediately, and work with the media to generate support for him."

Zhao Dong was then notified that he had been recommended by the team and included in the list of All-Star forward candidates. Naturally, he was thrilled.

He knew Ewing would likely be the starter this year, but with an injury forcing him to miss the All-Star game, this would be the last time Ewing would be selected. The next day at noon, the league officially announced the start of All-Star voting. From that moment on, some media outlets in New York began actively campaigning for Zhao Dong.

In the next two days, while the Knicks were resting, the media hyped up their upcoming away game against the Houston Rockets on the 14th, as well as the Knicks' game against the Bulls on the 21st. There had been several verbal clashes between Zhao Dong, Barkley, and Jordan, and the media had been eagerly awaiting these matchups.

"Who will win in the battle between Barkley and Zhao Dong?" Since Zhao Dong had dominated Weber in their last game, the New York Sports News praised him extensively, without any fear of backlash. "Is it the real Barkley, or a weakened version of him? This game will settle that."

The Los Angeles Sports News also jumped into the fray, capitalizing on the opportunity. The Rockets' record stood at 27 wins and 9 losses, slightly worse than the Knicks' 28 wins and 7 losses. However, the Rockets had a stronger roster with players like Dream, Barkley, and Drexler, making them a formidable opponent.

Zhao Dong, who had been staying at the training facility, found himself hounded by reporters, especially the two team reporters who had been camping out in front of the facility, waiting for an interview. With no escape, Zhao Dong finally agreed to speak with them after finishing his training on the 12th.

"Zhao Dong, do you have any expectations for the game the day after tomorrow?" Thomas, the team reporter, asked.

To be honest, Zhao Dong didn't deceive himself. He knew that his strength wasn't at Barkley's level, but he also wasn't afraid of losing — especially when it came to his words. He didn't care if he offended Barkley. Smiling, he said, "I'm optimistic about the Suns winning the Western Conference this season. They've let go of the players they should, and now they have a group of promising young players. Let those who used to hitch their wagons to the stars regret it."

"Pfft!" Several reporters burst out laughing.

"That bastard Zhao Dong, I won't let him get away with this," Barkley muttered angrily when he heard Zhao Dong's words.

"I said, I'm not clinging to anyone's coattails. Our team's top scorer this season is still Hakim... uh, no, no! Don't record that. Okay? Pause, pause! Let's start over," Barkley stammered, realizing he had misspoken. He quickly called for a stop, but by then, the reporters had already laughed several times. Barkley, now embarrassed, shouted, "Start over! I didn't mean that... I mean... I mean... You see, I'm getting old. I didn't come here to cling to anyone's coattails. I just... I was just chasing the dream of a championship at the end of my career..."

He fumbled for words, unable to continue. He, a superstar, had joined Houston in search of a ring, only to be mocked by a rookie. It was a tough pill to swallow.

On the morning of the 13th, the Knicks departed for Houston. By noon, while still on the plane, Zhao Dong suddenly received a system task. There were three tasks in total. The first one was a team sniper mission. Seeing this task, Zhao Dong knew tomorrow's game would be difficult. Generally, the team sniper missions were issued when the game's momentum was about to swing against his team. This usually happened when the team wasn't performing well or if teammates were underperforming.

Ewing's recent form had been much worse than usual during similar tasks, so Zhao Dong expected it to be the same tomorrow night. However, he understood Ewing's situation — after all, Ewing was a 35-year-old veteran, and given the toll of his injuries, it was impressive that he was still playing at all.

Team Sniper Mission: Lead the team to defeat the opponent. Completing the task will reward the host with five skill points and five quality points.

"Ten points total isn't bad, but winning is going to be tough!" Zhao Dong thought. The American media had once ranked NBA teams into seven tiers. The Lakers and Celtics were in the top tier, while the Knicks and Rockets were both in the fifth tier. Historically, they were on the same level, but Zhao Dong knew that the Rockets were stronger this season. Dream, Barkley, and Drexler made up a Big Three that was more powerful than the Knicks. Given the current state of the team, Zhao Dong wasn't sure how they could win.

Tomorrow night, he would be up against "Flying Pig" in the air — much stronger than him right now. How could he overcome that disadvantage? Feeling uncertain, Zhao Dong decided to leave the first task behind and check out the second one.

Hall of Fame Sniper Mission: Charles Barkley wants to beat you and call himself your daddy. The host can't bear it. This system can't bear it either. Please defeat him at all costs.

Task options:

Score 30+10 and hit 50% of your shots.

Dunk three times on Barkley's head, and dunk once.

Block Barkley three times.

*** Barkley five times.

Task Reward: One quality point for each completed task. Completing all tasks will reward you with the title "Barkley's Big Ass."

Zhao Dong read through the mission and smirked. It looked like he would have to bring his A-game to take on Barkley after all.

"Wow, what the hell is this?" Zhao Dong exclaimed when he saw the final grand prize.

"Zhao Dong, don't scare me. Did you see something?" Oakley, who was sitting next to him, took the headphones off Zhao Dong's head and asked, confused.

"Oh? Oh, nothing, I just heard a damn song," Zhao Dong quickly replied, trying to cover up his reaction.

Oakley shrugged and said, "Be quiet, everyone's sleeping."

"Of course," Zhao Dong muttered, putting the headphones back on. He decided to stop looking at Barkley's ridiculous prize and instead focused on checking the third task.

(End of this chapter)

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