NBA: The Dynasty Crasher

"Zhao Dong, great job!"

Oakley, John Starks, and the rest of the squad rushed over, hyped as hell.

Zhao Dong and the crew were celebrating when he caught Ewing walking over. Without hesitation, he stuck his hand out.

Ewing was caught off guard for a second, then nodded and gave Zhao Dong a high-five.

Zhao Dong turned to the team, voice full of fire. "As long as we stay locked in and play as one, we're unstoppable. Nobody's stopping us this season. Not even Michael Jordan."

"We're the strongest!" Starks shouted, all fired up.

"We're the strongest!" Oakley and the rest threw up their fists, hyping each other up.

Even the Knicks' bench got in on it.

"Beautiful!"

On the sideline, Van Gundy and Thibodeau, along with Ernie Grunfeld near the bench, were grinning ear to ear. The internal drama was squashed, and they had a leader on the floor who could rally the squad and keep the energy sky-high.

Zhao Dong stepped up for the free throw and drained it. Knicks up 30-25.

Utah came down the other way, trying to get Karl Malone going, but Zhao Dong was all over him, making life hell. Stockton kicked it to Jeff Hornacek, but this time he bricked it. Oakley snagged the board.

Zhao Dong immediately bolted in transition. Malone tried to keep up but had no shot. Small forward Bryon Russell? He wasn't catching up either—Zhao Dong was sprinting like a damn guard.

"Somebody get back!" Jerry Sloan shouted from the sideline.

Stockton tried to recover on the wing, but he was out of position. Hornacek was the only one left with a shot at stopping the break.

He got close and reached out, trying to slow Zhao Dong down.

"BOOM!"

Zhao Dong shifted gears, and Hornacek got bulldozed. He hit the floor hard.

"Ball!"

Oakley saw him and fired the pass ahead.

"BANG!"

The Jazz basket got obliterated.

Silence.

The whole Delta Center went dead quiet. The deafening boos? Gone.

Zhao Dong came down from the rim, all business. Jerry Sloan shook his head, looking frustrated.

On NBC, Doug Collins was losing it. "The power! That's terrifying power! You stand in his way, and you're getting turned into dust."

Marv Albert was shaking his head. "This dude is a tank with guard speed. That coast-to-coast sprint? No one's stepping in front of that."

Doug Collins laughed. "Man, he just trucked Karl Malone earlier. That 20-meter sprint? That's straight-up dangerous."

Marv nodded. "If you want to stop him, you gotta cut him off early. But Hornacek just showed what happens when you don't—he's still on the ground."

Hornacek was still down, blood on his face, his nose and lip busted.

Sloan used the break to pull Malone aside.

"Karl, cut down the high-post screens. That dude's shutting you down up top, and you can't even grab a board. He's killing us in transition..."

The Jazz subbed out Hornacek, and play resumed.

Malone adjusted, staying in the low post and fighting harder for rebounds.

But even down there, he was struggling to get touches. Zhao Dong was quicker, shutting off passing lanes and completely locking him up.

"Get off me!"

Frustrated, Malone shoved Zhao Dong hard.

"BEEP!"

The ref wasted no time, whistling Malone for a tech before things escalated. Oakley and the Knicks were already moving in, ready for smoke.

Zhao Dong? He didn't even flinch. He was locked in on the mission.

By halftime, the Knicks were up 55-43, leading by 12.

Zhao Dong had switched onto Malone in the second quarter, and the results were brutal—Malone only got the ball twice. Zhao Dong blocked him once, stripped him twice, and shut him down completely.

Offensively, he picked his spots, focused on playmaking, and let the game come to him.

Shot 4-for-4. Two fast breaks, two inside buckets. Cashed in 2-for-2 at the line. Finished with 10 points, 2 boards, 1 dime, 2 steals, 1 turnover, and 1 foul in the quarter.

First-half stats? Pure dominance.

18 minutes played:

23 points (8-for-11 FG, 1-for-2 3PT, 6-for-7 FT)

5 rebounds

2 assists

3 steals

2 blocks

1 turnover, 2 fouls

Dude was playing small forward on offense and power forward on defense—seamlessly. Van Gundy couldn't have been happier.

On the NBC broadcast, Marv Albert broke it down.

"The Jazz's whole game plan runs through Karl Malone, but Zhao Dong has completely taken him out of it. Stockton can't get him the ball, and Utah's offense is falling apart. If Jerry Sloan doesn't adjust, this game might get ugly."

Doug Collins chuckled. "And you know what's crazy? Malone's usually way more physical—he's been keeping it clean today. Guess he doesn't wanna test Zhao Dong."

Doug then shifted gears. "Right now, Utah is sitting atop the West, while the Knicks are second in the East. Looks like the East still runs the league."

Marv nodded. "The Knicks moving Zhao Dong to the three? That experiment's looking like a massive success."

Then he broke it down further. "Look at their scoring distribution. In the past, the Knicks got 55% of their points from low-post offense, mostly through Ewing and Zhao Dong. But in today's game, 65% of their offense has started from the perimeter."

"Zhao Dong himself accounts for 41% of the team's total points and 65% of their perimeter scoring."

"But here's the key—60% of his points have come from attacking the paint, not jump shots. Even though he's playing small forward, the Knicks' main scoring zone is still inside. The difference is, he's getting those buckets by bulldozing defenses instead of posting up."

Doug grinned. "Alright, Marv—so what happens if these Knicks run into the Bulls?"

Marv's face got serious. He thought for a moment, then broke it down.

"Jordan's first step is lightning quick, his handles are elite, and he's got the best mid-range game in the league. He's impossible to guard one-on-one.

Zhao Dong, on the other hand, is a freight train. His driving ability is pure destruction.

If you look at the Bulls' interior defense—even peak Rodman wouldn't be able to handle this kind of force. Rodman's a defensive genius, but he relies on positioning and getting under guys' skin, not shot-blocking or brute strength. He's not stopping Zhao Dong's downhill attack."

Doug nodded. "Yeah, Rodman's defense is psychological, not physical. He's not an immovable force in the paint. Zhao Dong's just too much of a wrecking ball."

Hubie leaned back. "So, if the Knicks and Bulls meet, it's gonna be a war between two offensive juggernauts. It'll come down to who's more unstoppable—Jordan or Zhao Dong.

But that's just the regular season. The playoffs? Whole different beast."

Doug smirked. "True. Right now, Zhao Dong isn't seeing many double teams. But in the playoffs? That's when we'll really see what he's made of."

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