Did You Guys Forget, I'm a Dunker!

Kobe, who had taken the elbow, did not complain much. He merely squeezed out the words, "Keep going," through clenched teeth.

But Zhou Ze's self-alley-oop dunk just now had genuinely caught Kobe off guard.

After hundreds of one-on-one matchups, the two knew each other far too well.

This bastard's first step seems a lot faster. He almost forced his way past me.

Could he really have developed it by practicing dunks?

Kobe was becoming increasingly unable to understand Zhou Ze, who refused to practice any proper skills.

But there was one thing...

Kobe hoped Zhou Ze would grow stronger as quickly as possible.

He wanted to prove to the entire world that even without Shaquille O'Neal, he could still win a championship.

But basketball was, after all, a team sport. He could not do it alone.

At that moment, Zhou Ze saw a faint smile appear at the corner of Kobe's mouth. But the next second, his gaze turned even sharper, his fighting spirit seeming to surge to its second-highest point.

The peak of Kobe's fighting spirit, of course, was when he held his jersey in his mouth.

As for the result...

It was easy enough to imagine—Zhou Ze had nearly gotten beaten up like Paul Pierce.

Still, Zhou Ze had also completed several self-alley-oop dunks during this one-on-one session.

Hehe!

What surprised Zhou Ze even more was that self-alley-oop dunks could also trigger the boost from [Aerial Operations (Bronze)].

That meant he did not even need someone else to throw the ball for him.

Uh...

It was still better to have someone else throw it.

After all, that would save more time and let him grind faster.

The New York Knicks had long been one of the league's bottom-feeders, and that was inseparable from the chaos within their management.

The Knicks' starting twin towers tonight were Baby Shark "Eddy Curry" and Antonio Davis, who was already in the twilight of his career.

Neither of them could keep up with Zhou Ze's speed.

Less than two minutes into the game, Zhou Ze had gone 2-for-3 from beyond the arc, every shot a wide-open look.

But Zhou Ze was not simply catching and shooting from a fixed spot. He was catching the ball and shooting on the move.

That was also one of the differences between Zhou Ze and ordinary NBA spot-up snipers.

After Kobe stole the ball from Richardson and finished the coast-to-coast fast break, the Lakers went on a 13-2 run.

The Knicks could only call a timeout.

Larry Brown, the current Knicks head coach who had once led the Detroit Pistons to eliminate the Lakers F4 and win the championship, could see that Zhou Ze had a hot hand tonight. If they did not find a way to contain him, his barrage of threes might easily carry off the win.

Larry Brown made a defensive adjustment, assigning Trevor Ariza to guard Zhou Ze one-on-one.

Trevor Ariza was 203 centimeters tall and weighed 98 kilograms. His footwork could keep up, and he was not afraid of Zhou Ze backing him down in the post.

After Ariza checked in, his defense on Zhou Ze had an immediate effect.

Zhou Ze found it difficult to shake free for open looks.

But once this defensive stopper of a wing was pulled out beyond the three-point line, the Knicks' wing defense plummeted.

Kobe drove!

Parker drove!

And the biggest beneficiary was Lamar Odom, who was "forced" to match up against the late-career Antonio Davis.

Lamar Odom, once hailed as the left-handed Magic after entering the league, could play inside and out and possessed a complete skill set. He had once been the youngest player to record a triple-double, before LeBron James surpassed him.

With his quick feet and polished skills, Odom could do whatever he wanted against Antonio Davis, who moved like a tractor.

As for the Knicks' other big man, the massive Baby Shark "Eddy Curry," well... he was even slower, like a tractor on the verge of breaking down.

After Odom beat Antonio Davis three times in a row with face-up drives from beyond the arc—

Zhou Ze, idling in the left corner, looked at Ariza, who was holding the ashtray for him, and smiled. "Man, are you guys trying to clock out after two quarters?"

Ariza opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He truly had no idea what to say.

Immediately afterward, Zhou Ze left Ariza even more speechless by making a "flicking ash into the void" gesture at him.

Clang!

Odom's fourth shot hit iron.

The moment Zhou Ze saw Odom shoot, he did not retreat on defense right away. Instead, he charged toward the basket.

Ariza, who was guarding him, stayed tight out of concern for the three-pointer. Zhou Ze merely angled his shoulder slightly and forcibly muscled past him. Ariza gritted his teeth and quickly caught up.

As the basketball bounced off the rim and came down, Zhou Ze saw it drifting toward his side. He boxed out, using his strong back and arms to shove Ariza away.

Against a typical interior player weighing over 110 kilograms, Zhou Ze would have had a hard time moving him. Even if he could, it would take a heavy toll on him, greatly affecting both his jump speed and jumping height on the next leap.

But Ariza was light. Zhou Ze barely had to exert himself to seize rebounding position. With a smack, his huge hand, like a scoop, snatched the rebound right out of the air.

TNT broadcast booth.

"Haha, Zhou, this big guy's pretty smart," Charles Barkley said with a laugh. "Even though his rebounding is fairly average for his position, his advantage becomes much more obvious against a small forward who's noticeably inferior in size and strength."

"Yeah..."

"And whenever Zhou realizes the rebound is out of his reach, he immediately gets back on defense. With his outstanding speed, he can reliably catch up to Antonio Davis and effectively prevent the opponent from creating a mismatch in transition."

Kenny Smith agreed.

Zhou Ze's speed ensured that he could crash the boards without having to worry too much about the other team running in transition.

This was also Zen Master Phil Jackson's attempt to deal with Zhou Ze's rookie wall.

It allowed Zhou Ze's size and athleticism to have a greater positive impact on the game.

Ariza did a good job containing Zhou Ze's three-point shooting. Once Ariza started guarding him, Zhou Ze was left smoking in the corner. When he was subbed out in the first quarter, he was still 2-for-3 and had scored 6 points.

However...

This defensive strategy by the Knicks had cost them four rebounds in the first quarter, with Zhou Ze alone grabbing two offensive boards.

The game entered the second quarter, and the starters from both sides faced off again.

The Knicks missed a shot. Kwame Brown, starting at center for the Lakers tonight, secured the defensive rebound and passed it to Lamar Odom. Antonio Davis simply could not keep up.

Ariza, the nearest Knicks player, was forced to help, and in that brief instant, Zhou Ze suddenly accelerated toward the basket.

At that moment, Ariza also showed excellent defensive flexibility, quickly collapsing into the paint.

Odom, with the ball in hand, smiled.

Zhou Ze smiled as well, pointing a finger at the rim.

With a flick of his big hand, Odom tossed the basketball into the air, and Zhou Ze rose after it.

Seeing Zhou Ze's head level with the rim, the Lakers home crowd could not help crying out in surprise.

Trevor Ariza, who had chosen to sit in the paint on defense, froze when he saw Zhou Ze catch the ball in midair and viciously hammer it toward the basket.

At that moment!

He seemed to finally remember that this guy was a damn dunker!!!