Chapter 12

With 2 minutes left in the first quarter, the score stood at 23:14, with the Pistons leading by 9 points. The game continued, and it was the Nets’ turn to play. Famar was formerly a Lakers player and only transferred to the Nets this summer. He chose to join the Nets because he wasn’t thriving with the Lakers. Famar has a high level of basketball intelligence; he’s a master of pick-and-rolls and excels at making decisions about passing, driving, and shooting, as well as timing his moves. He handled the ball with great skill—after several feints, he took advantage of Zhou Yi’s lack of attention and drove inside to pass the ball to Humphries, who easily scored. Zhou Yi carefully organized the offense, feeling that Famar posed a much greater threat than Harris. After two consecutive fake moves failed to deceive Famar, he decisively opted to pass. McGrady received the ball and immediately shot, with a smooth and fluid motion—most importantly, the ball went in. Famar provided another assist; Morrow caught the pass from Famar from outside the three-point line at zero angle and hit a jump shot. With 43 seconds left in the first quarter, Zhou Yi passed the ball to McGrady again. McGrady drove the ball and passed it to Daye, who tried to shoot from just inside the three-point line but missed. Durham Porter grabbed the offensive rebound and passed it back to McGrady on the outside. McGrady and Zhou Yi coordinated perfectly—after Zhou Yi set up a pick-and-roll for McGrady, he quickly rushed back to the basket, and McGrady shot from a high position. “T-MAC is shooting—a bit too high on the arc… Good heavens, oh God, this Chinese kid is absolutely a monster,” exclaimed Reggie Miller. It’s no wonder Miller was so impressed—Zhou Yi and McGrady’s coordination was flawless, as if they had been teammates for years.

Back 3 seconds earlier, after Zhou Yi set up a pick-and-roll for McGrady, he quickly rushed back to the Nets’ interior. At that moment, Durham Porter was firmly holding down Joe Johnson Petro, leaving the Nets’ interior almost empty. Seeing Zhou Yi return to the interior, McGrady understood what was going on and feigned a shot while actually passing the ball. The moment McGrady passed the ball, Zhou Yi immediately jumped. The Nets’ interior players thought McGrady’s shot arc was too high and it wouldn’t go in, so they prepared to grab the rebound. But when they saw Zhou Yi jump so early, they showed mocking expressions, thinking it was too early to grab the rebound. However, the next moment they were stunned. McGrady hadn’t been shooting at all—he had passed the ball, and Zhou Yi had jumped early just to set up a layup pass in mid-air. But it was too late. Zhou Yi had already completed the pass, hanging high above the basket like a deity. All the fans in the arena gasped and watched in silence. Although they had heard of this young man from China before, they never imagined his basketball intelligence to be so high. The game continued, with 23 seconds left before the first quarter ended. Famar was in good spirits and wasn’t disturbed by Zhou Yi’s amazing performance; instead, he became even calmer. After half the quarter, Famar passed the ball to Williams, who broke through aggressively—Dahye was no match for him. After cutting inside from the left, Williams scored with a one-handed dunk, a move very similar to James’s dunks. Williams truly lived up to his nickname “Little James.” Williams’s early shot gave the Pistons 6 seconds, giving them one last chance to attack. McGrady organized the offense, tossed the ball to Zhou Yi, who then passed it skillfully to Hansbrough. Hansbrough took a jump shot, but it missed. Durham Porter grabbed the offensive rebound and tried to shoot immediately, but it was too late—the whistle for the first quarter blew. The first quarter ended, and Zhou Yi and the others went to the bench to rest briefly before the second quarter began. Chapter 76: Hansbrough

Zhou Yi played for 5 minutes in the first quarter, hitting 2 out of 3 shots for 4 points, both of which were dunks. He also provided 2 assists, 1 rebound, and 1 block. Although his performance wasn’t spectacular, it was still noteworthy, as regular-season defense is much tougher than preseason play. The Pistons are currently leading 27-19, an 8-point advantage.
Soon, the second quarter was about to begin, and players from both teams were heading onto the court. As Zhou Yi prepared to return, Blake whispered beside him, “Be more decisive with your shots. Play harder.” Zhou Yi nodded and walked onto the court without saying a word.