Locker Room Bullying Incident!

In TNT's live broadcast booth, the "Round Mound of Rebound," Charles Barkley, also offered his assessment of Zhou Ze's low-post offense.

"Zhou has a broad frame and excellent strength, but his footwork is rough and his finishing touch is terrible. Once his weight and strength can't create an overwhelming mismatch, it'll be hard for him to put the ball in the basket."

"Also, he has major issues with his choice of offensive spots. First, he needs to figure out where his sweet spot is. The place where he initiates his back-to-the-basket offense should be closer to the rim."

"But what surprises me once again is that Zhou has the heart for physical battles under the basket."

Because of his love for talking nonsense, Charles Barkley had been nicknamed "Big Mouth" by fans.

He was also widely known among Chinese fans because of his bet with Yao Ming about kissing a donkey's ass.

In the eyes of fans, Barkley was an extremely unreliable guy.

But his comments on Zhou Ze at this moment were very objective and fair.

[57:47]

The first half ended.

The Los Angeles Lakers led the Atlanta Hawks by 10 points.

Kobe went 7-of-14 from the field and made four free throws, scoring 18 points.

As for Zhou Ze, he went 5-of-11, including 3-of-8 from three, posting 13 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist.

In terms of scoring efficiency and volume, Zhou Ze had been nearly perfect, even though his shooting touch had been fairly mediocre tonight.

But as an interior player, with just 1 rebound in a half, 0 free throws, and zero damage done to the Hawks' interior, "failing" was far too generous a description in either regard.

However, Zhou Ze's "soft-egg style" of play had led one Hawks player to discover a new world.

"Zhou, that rookie scores so easily. He's even smoother than me."

"Should I increase my three-point attempts too?"

By halftime, Al Harrington had gone 4-of-7, made both free throws, attempted no threes, and recorded 10 points and 4 rebounds.

Harrington, who mainly scored through mid-range shots and fast breaks, had been "drawn in" by Zhou Ze's barrage of three-point attempts.

At that moment!

He developed the urge to join the ranks of the "soft-egg style."

Of course, Zhou Ze, who was currently in the Lakers' locker room, had no idea what Al Harrington was thinking, nor did he have the time to find out.

Zhou Ze was busy "fighting" with his teammate Sasha Vujacic.

"WTF! Are your eyes as tiny as sesame seeds?"

"I had three completely wide-open chances. You clearly saw me, but you didn't pass me the ball."

During the Lakers' second-unit rotation, Zhou Ze and Sasha Vujacic had shared the court for a stretch. Vujacic had replaced Lamar Odom and taken over as the team's starting small forward.

But during several ball swings, Vujacic simply refused to give Zhou Ze the ball.

Once or twice would have been one thing!

But this guy had treated him like air three whole times.

He had clearly seen Zhou Ze open, yet he still hadn't passed him the ball.

The only person who had dared ignore him like that before was Kobe Bryant when he got hot-headed.

As a second-year player and a talented prospect from Europe, Vujacic did not back down in the face of Zhou Ze's aggressive approach. "I saw that you'd already missed three shots in a row, maybe four. I thought you'd cut inside toward the basket, but you didn't react at all."

Those words were clearly mocking Zhou Ze for being an interior player who only dared to float around outside like some soft egg.

Zhou Ze became even more furious upon hearing that.

Since words wouldn't settle it, then they would settle it with fists.

Zhou Ze didn't waste any breath and threw the first move.

Although the Lakers players tried to separate them, Zhou Ze took a quick step forward, broke through the crowd, and reached Vujacic.

As teammates, Zhou Ze did not elbow him. Instead, he directly hooked an arm around his neck, used the momentum to throw him to the floor, sat on top of him, and shouted, "Do you submit or not?!"

Vujacic struggled with all his might, his face turning red from holding his breath, but he could not break free from Zhou Ze's restraint.

"Damn it..."

"This soft egg who only knows how to shoot threes actually has real muscles. They aren't just for show."

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

Having personally felt Zhou Ze's brute strength, Vujacic thought in shock.

"Stop it..."

"Don't fight anymore..."

Teammates like Devean George and Aaron McKie rushed forward to break it up, preventing an even bigger farce.

Afterward, Zen Master Phil Jackson severely criticized Zhou Ze.

Players brawling in the locker room—if the media got wind of this, it would definitely be plastered everywhere.

Phil warned Zhou Ze that if there was a next time, he would be suspended outright.

At the same time, he did not forget to manipulate the defeated party, Sasha Vujacic, whose face had turned red from being held in Zhou Ze's grip and who had nearly been unable to breathe. They were all young men, and conflicts between players were perfectly normal; they needed to communicate in the right way.

Besides, as one of the NBA's most high-profile teams, they absolutely could not let the media find out about this. Otherwise, the power of public opinion would destroy this rising team of theirs.

Though Vujacic felt aggrieved, he was no fool. He knew perfectly well that if he spread word of this, he would probably be ostracized by the entire team.

As a talented player from Europe, he had been a favored child surrounded by admirers since childhood. He had always been the one bullying others, yet today, he had been bullied and humiliated by a damned rookie.

The game entered the second half. Zhou Ze once again started alongside Kobe, but the Atlanta Hawks' power forward was no longer Al Harrington. Instead, it was the Hawks' rookie from last year—Josh Smith.

As the future Hawk King whose athleticism nearly matched LeBron James's, Josh stood 206 cm tall and weighed 102 kg. In terms of speed and defensive mobility, he was more than capable of matching up with Zhou Ze.

Several times, Zhou Ze curled and cut toward the basket, only to be effectively contained by Josh Smith. He either missed or was caught from behind and forced to pass.

The worst instance came during a fast break, when Zhou Ze was chased down and blocked by Josh Smith from behind.

Zhou Ze was being suppressed badly.

The only consolation for the fans supporting him came in the final minute of the third quarter. First, from beyond the three-point line, Zhou Ze pump-faked, sent Josh flying, then brushed into him to draw a three-point shooting foul.

Then, on the very next possession, he took Bynum's bailout pass as the 24-second clock was about to expire and drilled a heavily contested shot with Josh Smith right in his face.

"Fuck!"

"WTF!"

Josh Smith, who had just been hit with an in-your-face basket by Zhou Ze, could not help but curse.

He also did not forget to taunt and provoke Zhou Ze.

"Rookie, you're really lucky."

"If you hadn't drawn that foul and lucked into that three in the last minute, I would've held you scoreless this quarter."

Zhou Ze's face darkened.

Clearly, Josh had chosen the road to death with those words.

At the moment, Zhou Ze might have found it difficult to completely crush him on the court, but collecting a little interest was still possible.

The game entered the fourth quarter. Thanks to Josh Smith's successful defense against Zhou Ze in the third, the deficit had been cut to single digits—9 points.

Josh Smith received more playing time in the final quarter and took on the small forward role for the team, though defensively he was matched up against Zhou Ze at power forward.

On the court, Zhou Ze curled and cut once again. With a sudden change of pace, he gained half a step, but Josh Smith quickly overtook him and stopped Zhou Ze outside the basket.

Zhou Ze made a startling decision. Despite having no mismatch advantage, he called for the ball in the low post.

After Zhou Ze had hit two straight mid-range shots, Kobe, who had been looking to slow things down, first swept his hand to clear one side for Zhou Ze, then passed him the ball.

With his crude footwork, Zhou Ze relied on his weight and strength advantage... Thump! Thump! Thump! He bulldozed two steps toward the basket. On the first hard backdown, he clearly knocked Josh Smith back more than half a step.

But on the second backdown, he did not move Josh Smith back by much.

As for the third time, Zhou Ze could not budge him at all.

Though Zhou Ze had the strength and weight advantage, he lacked post moves and did not have the "skill set" of a turnaround jumper or hook shot. That meant defenders only needed to stand their ground against him.

Besides, most powerful big men could only back an opponent down toward the basket on their first two attempts when facing someone at their own position, or even a smaller player at the same position.

Just as Zhou Ze was about to be stopped, he spun around and, in the referee's blind spot, subtly raised his elbow in a relatively concealed motion and struck Josh Smith in the chest.

A sharp pain shot through his chest, making Josh Smith instinctively give way. Zhou Ze immediately rose up and, with a BOOM!, threw down a powerful two-handed dunk.