Chapter 72

Chapter 72

After Zhao Dong received the fine, the first thing he did was leave the hospital and return to the training base. Suspended for five games, which happened to coincide with two consecutive back-to-backs, the season was tight. He would return for the game against the Magic at home on December 12, with only ten days in between. The team had already gone on their away games, leaving him alone at the training base. He conducted his ball training in the mornings, trained with a few trainers in the afternoons on other aspects, and spent his evenings at Stony Brook University, meeting girls. His schedule was quite full. After defeating the postman, he seemed to gain more popularity at Stony Brook, receiving numerous private messages from girls in his mailbox, though he was picky.

A few days later, the public attention on the violent incident began to subside, and the New York media shifted their focus to a new story. The topic was the four villains in the NBA. With Lambiel's retirement and one of the original three missing, the New York Sports News organized a poll to select the new "four villains" of the league, with Zhao Dong being a popular candidate. After a few days, nearly ten people had participated in the selection, and the event gained significant attention, which angered Stern, who wanted to promote civilized basketball. Ultimately, the new "four villains" were revealed, and Zhao Dong was ranked first. Malone, known for his elbow to the back of the head, ranked second. Stockton, the leader of the previous year, fell to third, and Oakley ranked fourth.

"What the hell, why am I ranked first?" Zhao Dong refused to accept it. There were media outside the training base, so he immediately went out to give interviews. "I disagree with the results of the poll. I think the four villains are unfair to me. I am a modest gentleman, Junzi Zhao. I'm definitely not a villain. Malone should be first, not me. I think the league should equip his elbows with special pads to prevent him from hitting anyone in the back of the head again... No one will be as lucky as I was, and next time someone might die."

Once again, he brought up Malone, and his attack was effective. But no matter what, the title of "head villain" remained his, which left him feeling helpless. "Postman, I'm not done with you." This title was truly unflattering. It would hurt his reputation in the future, and the consequences were too great. He hated Karl Malone for it.

On the 19th, the Knicks lost an away game to the Pistons. On the 26th, they lost an away game to the struggling Timberwolves. That was their fifth loss of the season, leaving them with a record of 22 wins and 5 losses. They remained second in the Eastern Conference, still behind the Bulls. That night, the Bulls lost an away game to the Hawks, bringing their record to 25 wins and 4 losses.

On the 20th, while Zhao Dong was on the phone with his family, his mother, Li Meizhu, mentioned that a staff member from the Sports Commission had come to take down his phone number and the landline number for his dormitory. Zhao Dong had heard from Zhang Lili that the national team was interested in recruiting him, and now it seemed like they were preparing to contact him, so he felt the time had almost come.

Chapter 72 (Continued)

Zhao Dong had no objections to joining the national team. This year, the national team had achieved its best result in the Olympics, ranking 8th in the world. If he joined the team, he believed it could improve his chances for the next Olympic Games, and he was excited about the opportunity to play for his country. He was somewhat aware of the current domestic situation. The Basketball Management Center was established in November 1997, and it should now be on the agenda. The conservative academy, which had sent Xin Nancheng, was not yet in charge, and the famous women's basketball player Liu Yumin should now be managing domestic basketball affairs. However, Zhao Dong wasn't sure what difficulties he would face when joining the national team. He was certain he wouldn't accept a salary cut or restrictions on commercial income like future players. As a non-system player, unlike Wang Zhizhi or Yao Ming, he had more flexibility in his career.

On the afternoon of the 27th, the team returned to New York. They were scheduled to face the Magic on the 28th and the Nets on the 30th. The last time he faced the Magic, Zhao Dong had received the inner cut skill from the Cobra, but he didn't receive a new task this time.

"Guys, welcome back to New York!" When the team arrived, Zhao Dong, bored, followed the bus to pick them up.

"Flying Dragon, is your injury healed?" Larry Johnson asked.

"I have a minor injury, can the postman really hurt me?" Zhao Dong replied dismissively. To Oakley and the others, it wasn't about pretending—after receiving that heavy elbow to the back of the head, he had barely spent a few seconds lying down before getting up and knocking down Malone. They were convinced.

"The next time we meet the Jazz, let's fight them again. I want to take on Malone. I've seen the schedule, and on February 2nd, we play them away. Want to fight again?" Zhao Dong said.

"Alright, let's go to them on the away game, so we don't look like we're bullying them at home. But next time, let's all fight together. Don't take all the glory for yourself," Oakley said seriously.

This time, he had only fought before the game and hadn't faced Malone yet, so he was a little upset.

"Count me in," Larry Johnson said, eager to join in.

"All right," Zhao Dong agreed without hesitation.

"Heh, the Knicks are forming a trio of fighters!" Alan Houston muttered quietly behind them.

In the next three days, the Knicks won back-to-back games against the Magic and the Nets, bringing their record to 24 wins and 5 losses. In these two games, Zhao Dong wasn't double-teamed when he received the ball from the high post. However, he was immediately double-teamed when he received the ball from the low post. As he had expected, when the opponent's defense tightened against him, his jumper shooting percentage in the low post dropped. Despite this, Zhao Dong's low-post shooting efficiency in these two games remained solid at about 43%. This was actually a good performance, considering that Duncan's shooting percentage from this position would later average 44%.

The time had entered 1997, and on New Year's Day, the league announced the Best Player of the Month for December. Shaquille O'Neal earned the honor, averaging 27.6 points, 12.6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.1 steals, 3.4 blocks, 2.9 turnovers, and 3.6 fouls per game in 40 minutes. He shot 52% from the field, made 55.9% of his free throws, and averaged 10.2 free throws per game.

After being double-teamed, Zhao Dong played fairly mediocre in the next five or six games, which affected his statistics, bringing them in line with his November performance. He remained in third place in the rookie rankings, behind Iverson and Raheem. On New Year's Day, at noon, the Knicks flew to Washington to face the Bullets on the 2nd. This would be the second matchup between the Knicks and the Bullets. In the previous game, Zhao Dong had a strong performance but failed to complete the task of sniping Weber, and consequently didn't earn the reward.

For this game, the system issued another sniper mission:

Hall of Fame Sniper Mission:

Limit Chris Webber's points to under 15.

Limit Chris Webber's rebounds to under 6.

Limit Chris Webber's shooting percentage to under 40%.

Block Webber 5 times.

Commit no more than 2 turnovers.

Score 20+10 or 20+5+5 with a shooting percentage over 50%.

Take at least 15 shots.

Mission rewards: The host will receive a quality point reward for completing any three mission options. Each additional completed option will earn another quality point. If all options are completed, the reward will be doubled.

(End of this chapter)

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