What is the King of Soft Shells!

"Boom!"

Zhou Ze slammed the rim so hard it buzzed—a brutally vicious dunk.

A lock for the NBA Top 10.

But after landing, Zhou Ze was extremely careful. He did not drop straight down; instead, he lightly held onto the rim until his body's swinging slowed before releasing it with both hands.

This was clearly to protect his knees.

Uh...

Zhou Ze's injury resistance was only 70 (80). After all, Griffin, whose template he currently had, was also made of glass.

Naturally, he had to conserve it.

Zhou Ze took "forever" to come down, prompting Kenny Smith in the TNT broadcast booth to tease him. "Looks like the media's evaluation of him was spot-on."

"Huh?!" Barkley asked with a curious expression.

"They said Zhou is the king of softies in the league," Kenny Smith said.

"The king of softies? What's that supposed to mean?" Barkley grew even more curious.

"Still a softie," Kenny Smith said.

"Uh..." Barkley rolled his eyes speechlessly.

At the same time, on the court, Zhou Ze had just completed an alley-oop dunk. He was excited, but also somewhat regretful.

"Man, why didn't you try to jump up and block that? What a great opportunity!" Zhou Ze earnestly asked Trevor Ariza.

Ariza wanted to speak but held back, turning his head away. Clearly, he had no intention of dealing with this damned rookie.

Good thing I didn't jump. Otherwise, he would've dunked right over me, and I might've even ended up on the NBA's Top 10 Plays of the Year, Ariza thought through gritted teeth.

Against Zhou Ze, who had fully taken flight, a player built like Ariza was no different from a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

After that successful alley-oop dunk, it was as if Zhou Ze had opened Trevor Ariza's Pandora's Box.

On another transition possession, Kwame Brown secured the rebound, and Lakers Parker quickly pushed the ball upcourt after receiving it.

Zhou Ze lowered his head and sprinted toward the opposing half, with Ariza immediately giving chase.

Lamar Odom raced down the floor and found himself completely unguarded. There was nothing the Knicks could do—their two big men simply could not keep up.

The Lakers immediately created a 4-on-3 advantage. Parker passed to Kobe, who stopped and started sharply, blowing past Quentin Richardson. Ariza and Marbury rushed over to help.

Kobe moved the ball early to Odom on the left side, once again toying with the Knicks' defense. Already chaotic, they now looked like headless flies. The left-handed magician Odom saw the defense closing in and did not force the issue. He came to a sudden stop and floated the ball high into the air, setting up Zhou Ze, who was charging down the middle and soaring high.

Zhou Ze delivered another violent rim-rattler while also drawing a defensive foul from Quentin Richardson.

"Wow!"

"Wow!"

"Wow!"

The Lakers' home crowd could not help but get fired up. As an interior player, Zhou Ze had gone to the free-throw line only a handful of times—far fewer than the number of three-pointers he had made.

To be fair.

It was still difficult for Zhou Ze to get alley-oop opportunities in half-court sets, especially under Ariza's defense. But in fast-break situations with a numbers advantage, it proved remarkably effective.

[Aerial Operations (Bronze)] increased Zhou Ze's takeoff speed and jumping height, while also allowing him to accelerate a second time.

By the end of the game, Zhou Ze had completed four alley-oop dunks in transition, scoring eight points from dunks alone.

The stats did not fully reflect Zhou Ze's help to the team.

The enormous offensive threat Zhou Ze posed in transition also benefited his teammates greatly. With simple ball movement, they could create good scoring opportunities.

In the half court, he also took advantage of Ariza helping on Kobe's drive from the wing. The instant Ariza turned his back to him, Zhou Ze cut in from the corner. By the time Ariza reacted, it was already too late. He could only foul to disrupt the play and send Zhou Ze to the free-throw line.

Although Zhou Ze did not complete an alley-oop in the half court, he used this move to draw two defensive fouls and one technical foul on Ariza.

On defense, Zhou Ze's performance was passable at best. During one mismatch against Marbury, Marbury signaled for his teammates to clear out and tried to recreate the famous moment when he had crossed up Yao Ming. Instead, Zhou Ze, who possessed the Ball-Handling Steal Master, ripped the ball away from him cleanly.

Of course, that was because Marbury had been too careless. He had treated Zhou Ze like his countryman Yao Ming. In three mismatches against Marbury that game, Zhou Ze stole the ball once and was beaten twice.

The Lakers, in great form tonight and repeatedly producing highlight plays, even had the home commentator shouting the long-awaited words, "Showtime!"

The final score was 120-85. The Lakers crushed their opponents by 35 points, snapping their two-game losing streak.

As for the player stats:

Kobe played 32 minutes, essentially clocking out after three quarters, and finished with just 31 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Zhou Ze played 33 minutes, putting up 25 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals.

He went 2-for-4 from three. It was clear that Trevor Ariza had indeed limited Zhou Ze's outside shooting, but Zhou Ze had also snatched 4 offensive rebounds over him, thrown down 4 explosive dunks, and drawn 3 fouls.

[Postgame Reward: 146 Peak Points]

[Peak Points: 189/4043]

As expected, Zhou Ze's alley-oop slam made the NBA Top 10 Plays—and claimed two spots.

They were No. 7 and No. 1.

His brutally aggressive style of play made some fans who did not know much about him, or had misunderstood him, rub their eyes.

"Are you kidding me? You call this guy a softie?"

"OMG, this guy's dunks are insanely explosive!"

"Is he the next Shawn Kemp?"

"Dunks that make your blood boil!"

Meanwhile.

The next day.

Inside the Lakers' training facility locker room.

Kobe frowned slightly as he looked at his teammates roaring with laughter, then at the expressionless Zhou Ze.

"What? Am I seeing things? This guy seems to be getting mocked by everyone?"

"Impossible!"

"Absolutely impossible!"

"That little bastard's dirty elbows would never let something like this happen."

As Kobe approached, he saw Lamar Odom sharing the sports magazine he had brought with his teammates.

A huge headline entered Kobe's line of sight.

It read:

The Toughest Softie in History!!!