Chapter 150

In the first quarter, the two teams were tied at 29. All seven players on the Pistons scored, with Zhou Yi leading the way with 8 points from 3 out of 5 attempts. This high number of attempts was quite different from Zhou Yi’s usual performance, and the impact of this change was evident—the Raptors had to focus more attention on him.

John Kuester spoke highly of the situation. At this point in the game, it was already quite remarkable for the Pistons. The Raptors’ performance today could be described as above par, especially Leonard Krejza’s ability to combine drives and outside shooting, leaving Andre Iguodala, who was tasked with defending him, at a loss. Watching his unrestrained play, John Kuester considered having Zhou Yi defend him, as only Zhou Yi’s speed could keep up with his rhythm. However, this was just a thought—given that Zhou Yi was already stretched thin guarding Jose Calderon, he wouldn’t have the energy to handle another player. If Jose Calderon were freed up, the Raptors’ backcourt duo could put the Pistons in a desperate situation.

Andre Iguodala’s preferred replacement was James Posey, but he couldn’t play today due to discomfort. So, John Kuester sent Austin Daye in to replace Andre Iguodala.

Chapter 356: Crushing the Raptors

“Ding”—Zhou Yi’s layup missed, but it resulted in a foul on Ed Davis.

“Swish, swish”—Zhou Yi’s free throws remained as steady as ever.

Zhou Yi effortlessly dribbled around the top of the key, with Leandro Barbosa maintaining a defensive stance without rushing to steal the ball.

Zhou Yi slowed down, raised the ball with his right hand, ready to shoot. Riviera quickly stepped forward to block, and the ball landed to his right. Instinctively, he tried to hook it, but a shadow flashed by, and Zhou Yi’s body blocked his path.

A force came from his right arm; his hand was pushed away as if hit by a speeding car, causing him to stumble and lose his position.

“Swish”—Zhou Yi easily made his free throw from the line.

Faced with Zhou Yi’s provocation, Leandro Barbosa wasn’t willing to back down. With a clever bounce pass, he quickly passed the ball to Amir Johnson inside, who scored with a hook shot.

Then Greg Monroe scored with a dunk, also drawing a foul on Amir Johnson, resulting in another successful free throw.

Greg Monroe is an interior player who excels at running, sometimes even ahead of players like Andre Iguodala during fast breaks. Combined with his size, he becomes like a human tank, charging forward with little one able to stop him, and he has numerous ways to attack under the basket.

Both teams played smoothly offensively, but the Pistons’ head coach, John Kuester, was unhappy and kept shouting for defense from the sidelines. Seeing this, Zhou Yi also urged everyone to strengthen their defense. Soon, the Raptors made several mistakes, allowing the Pistons to score a 7-0 run. The Raptors quickly called a timeout and adjusted their lineup, pushing Leonardo Barbosa to the small forward position. He was at a clear disadvantage against Zhou Yi, not only unable to contain Lin Xu’s performance but also limiting his own offensive capabilities.

The change in position proved effective. Against Andre Iguodala’s defense, Leonardo Barbosa used his speed to score a layup first, then stole Iguodala’s pass to initiate a fast break. Zhou Yi stepped forward, cleverly evading the defense, and after drawing their attention, passed to Andre Iguodala, who didn’t miss the chance to hit a three-pointer. Zhou Yi intercepted in the middle court and passed long to Andre Iguodala, who scored another three despite Greg Monroe’s attempt to block.

Rinas Krezza tried the same tactic again, charging straight into the paint from the baseline. But this time, just as he was about to attempt a three-step layup, a muscular figure was already waiting in his path. Having observed him throughout the quarter, Austin Daye had figured out some of his patterns. Austin Daye withstood his strong impact, but just as he was trying his best to defend, the referee blew the whistle.

However, this call was difficult to make—there’s always ambiguity in deciding on offensive fouls. The referee ruled it a defensive foul. With home-court advantage, the home team generally has an edge, and this isn’t necessarily the referee’s fault; rather, it’s due to some vague rules. To please the home crowd, a slight bias is understandable.

Austin Daye is definitely a minor player, one with little to show for it, yet his performance in this game earned praise from the Pistons’ head coach, John Kuester. He was highly effective in defending Linas Kleiza, stopping several of his drives, which disrupted the Raptors’ offense when one of their key players was underperforming.

The Raptors’ head coach had no choice but to call a timeout. Their outside shooting was weak, and their inside player, Ed Davis, struggled to find an opportunity to score under Greg Monroe’s tight defense. Meanwhile, the Pistons were on the offensive rampage, with Greg Monroe and Zhou Yi’s coordination enabling them to score an 8-2 run.

Under Zhou Yi’s defense, Leandro Barbosa almost had the ball stolen; just before halftime, he passed the ball, and DeMar DeRozan hit a three-pointer from the right wing.

Zhou Yi drove with the ball; after succeeding in his drive, he noticed Greg Monroe quickly cutting toward the basket from the baseline. As the two were about to collide, Zhou Yi used the strength in his waist and abdomen to slightly turn his body, avoiding Amir Johnson, and quickly pressed his wrist downward, causing the ball to hit the floor beneath Johnson’s arm.

The rebound landed right in Greg Monroe’s hands, who was already in the three-second area with his right foot, giving him a perfect position to shoot. Andrea Banchani was already in the air at that moment; seeing Zhou Yi’s pass, he was shocked and quickly reduced his intensity to try to recover, but that delay was enough for Greg Monroe to leap high and lift the ball above his head.

Banchani realized what was happening, but he couldn’t adjust his balance in time, and his right hand weakly struck Greg Monroe’s right elbow.

With a thud, Greg Monroe dunked the ball into the basket. Banchani’s attempt to recover not only failed but also resulted in a foul call, giving Greg Monroe a 2+1 opportunity.

The basketball swished past the rim and fell to the ground.

Samuel Dalembert, who returned to the game, still showed no improvement after sitting on the bench for so long, consistently lagging behind in defense. When trading for Dalembert, John Kuester had been concerned about his tendency to focus more on offense than defense. However, the trade was necessary for the team’s rebuild, but so far, it hasn’t yielded much in return.

Watching the Raptors’ head coach make two substitutions in a row, John Kuster was so jealous he wanted to strangle him. As soon as the Raptors’ bench players came in, they performed well—DeMar DeRozan and Jerry Bellerin hit four three-pointers in a row during that quarter, helping the Raptors take the lead before the half ended.
To prepare for the second half, Zhou Yi was taken off the court at the halfway point of the second quarter to rest.
The Pistons were outscored 12-4 by the Raptors, falling behind 49-53 temporarily.