In his past life, Zhao Dong had read Charles Oakley's complaints about Ewing after retirement—how he folded in crunch time, lacked leadership, and never inspired his teammates. Honestly, that might be the truth.
Out of the four legendary centers of this era, Ewing is the only one without a ring. He also has the weakest resume—just one All-NBA First Team selection and no real dominant accolades. Compared to the other bigs, he's clearly the odd one out. There's gotta be a reason for that.
This season is Ewing's last real run as a superstar, and Zhao Dong is locked in on his goal—sniping Jordan. But can an Ewing-led squad really take down the Bulls?
Zhao Dong knew he had leveled up a lot over the season, but he still wasn't in control of the team. Hell, he barely touched the ball. Could he really tilt a series in the Knicks' favor? Probably not.
What's the move, then? Cut Ewing off and take over? Yeah, right.
Ewing is a damn god in New York. Even when Don Nelson tried to trade him for Shaq, the fans and front office shut that down real quick. And Zhao Dong? Just an undrafted rookie who's only played a handful of games. Not happening.
There's only one play—expand his range and force his way into a bigger role.
He could beast in the post all day, but with Ewing clogging the paint, the offense would always run through him. If Zhao Dong wanted more touches, he had to stretch out and get busy on the perimeter.
Yeah, time to have a chat with Van Gundy. Dude's rigid as hell, but maybe—just maybe—he'd listen.
As Zhao Dong left the arena, he ran into Iverson at the entrance.
Allen had just dropped 26 points, grabbed 9 boards, dished 9 assists, and only had two turnovers—a straight-up All-Star stat line. He even took home Player of the Game.
As they crossed paths, Iverson smirked. "Man, I don't even need to know you."
Zhao Dong stopped for a second, then cracked up.
Iverson was cocky as hell—always had been, always would be. He was gonna have a whole army of die-hard fans in the future, but what did that matter to Zhao Dong?
Still smiling, he looked down at Allen and said coldly, "Remember this, Allen Iverson—I'm your ceiling. No matter how high you jump, you're never getting past me. Just like Barkley never got over MJ."
Iverson frowned. "The hell's that supposed to mean?"
"You'll get it when your career starts disappointing you."
Zhao Dong shoved past him and walked toward the visitors' locker room.
Allen muttered under his breath, "Crazy ass dude." Then he turned back toward the Sixers' locker room.
Back in the Knicks' locker room, Zhao Dong got some good news—the Bulls lost again.
They had just played the Jazz on the road. Jordan went nuclear with 44 points, but his squad let him down. Pippen only had 16, and Steve Kerr dropped 11 off the bench. Only three guys hit double figures. Meanwhile, Utah's one-two punch of Stockton and Malone took over, handing Chicago a 105-100 L.
Still, with an 11-2 record, the Bulls were sitting at the top of the East.
The Knicks had to hop on a red-eye back to New York—no rest. They had a back-to-back at home tomorrow against the Seattle SuperSonics.
Seattle was no joke. They made the Finals last year, only to fall to MJ and the Bulls. Now they were coming in loaded—Shawn Kemp, one of the most dominant inside forces in the league; Gary Payton, a walking triple-double threat and a defensive nightmare; plus All-Star-level guys like Detlef Schrempf and Hersey Hawkins. Four legit stars in the starting five. On paper, they had way more firepower than the Knicks.
Considering how gassed the squad would be from travel, and how stacked Seattle was, Zhao Dong wasn't feeling great about this one. A two-game losing streak was looking real possible.
At noon, the team touched down in New York. Zhao Dong had just gotten back to his dorm at the training facility when the system hit him with a mission.
Team Sniper Mission:
Help the team win (or mission cancels)
Drop at least 20 points with 10 boards OR 20 points with 5 boards and 5 dimes
Keep turnovers under three
Hit at least five mid-range jumpers
Knock down two threes
Get at least five blocks or steals
Shoot 45% or better
Lead the team in efficiency
Mission Rewards:
Complete four tasks: Get a random quality point or skill point
Each extra task: Bonus quality/skill point
Complete all: Earn a blank gold medal skill template
Zhao Dong shook his head. "System, you tryna bait me with this blank template again? Man, even All-Stars can't check off all these boxes in one game."
"Host, strive for elite performance to obtain rewards," the system replied.
Zhao Dong sighed. "Without going absolutely nuclear on both ends, this is impossible." The system's challenges were getting crazier by the game.
Then another mission popped up.
Superstar Sniper Mission:
Assist Gary Payton twice (reward: 1 skill point)
Assist Gary Payton five times (reward: 3 skill points)
Trash-talk Gary Payton successfully (reward: his trash-talk skill)
Zhao Dong laughed. "Trash-talk king?"
Gary Payton was infamous for running his mouth. He'd talk shit after every bucket, getting in defenders' heads and making them play worse.
This one? This one was doable. The best part—winning or losing didn't matter. He'd get rewards either way.
Then came another.
All-Star Sniper Mission:
Block Shawn Kemp at least five times, while getting blocked two times or less
Dunk on Shawn Kemp once
Drop 20+ points and 10+ boards against Kemp
Hold Kemp under 40% shooting while keeping his own FG% above 50%
Hit five mid-range jumpers and at least one three
Mission Rewards:
Complete two: Get a quality point
Complete all: Gain Shawn Kemp's elite bounce
Zhao Dong stared at the list. "Three missions, all in one game? The hell, system?"
But looking at it logically, the Knicks were probably taking an L, so he might as well focus on the Superstar and All-Star missions.
He asked, "System, what if I don't want Shawn Kemp's jumping talent?"
"The system can repurchase it at a discount."
Zhao Dong smirked. "You really out here running a business, huh?"
"What do I get for selling it back?"
"One lottery draw," the system responded.
"A lottery?" Zhao Dong's eyes lit up. "That's new. Now I'm interested."
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