Chapter 17

At 7 minutes and 11 seconds into the first quarter, the Pistons were trailing by 12 points, 13–25, and Kuster finally called a timeout.

Chapter 95: The Strength of Ross

By 7 minutes and 11 seconds into the first quarter, the Pistons were already behind by double digits, scoring only 13 points during that time—clear evidence of their extremely low offensive efficiency, which further highlighted the strength of the Bulls’ defense.

After the timeout, Kuster made significant changes to the Pistons’ lineup: Zhou Yi replaced Bynum, Posey replaced McGrady, and Villanueva replaced Prince. Since Monroe had already committed two fouls in his earlier matchup with Buzer, he was replaced by Hansbrough despite performing well, while Big Ben was substituted by Durham Porter. All the starters were taken off the court, replaced by pure bench players. As a result, the entire Pistons lineup became much taller, with Zhou Yi, playing point guard, being the shortest.

On the other hand, the Bulls made only minor adjustments—Kisboegans, the only starter who hadn’t scored, was replaced by the sharpshooter Kyle Korver; nothing else changed.

“Oh, let’s take a look—John Kuster has taken Will Bynum off the court and brought in another rookie we’ve never seen before. Here’s some information about him: Zhou Yi, 18 years old, 188 cm tall, 154 pounds—way too thin! From the mysterious Eastern country, China!” the commentator reported on Zhou Yi’s stats.

Once play resumed, “The Beardless Knight” made a significant contribution to the team. Perhaps as a reaction to Kuster not starting him, Villanueva played with great intensity, deviating from his usual style. Using his teammates’ screens, he hit two consecutive three-pointers, narrowing the score gap to single digits.

During the timeout, Kuster had specifically instructed his players to closely guard Rolando Dunham. In the subsequent attacks, the Pistons indeed intensified their defense on Dunham, preventing him from making two consecutive mid-range shots.

Hansbrough grabbed a rebound in the backcourt and passed the ball to the front court, where Zhou Yi and Villanueva were already in motion. With no Bulls player chasing them, Zhou Yi and Villanueva coordinated a pick-and-roll, with Villanueva violently dunking the ball into the basket.

However, the perfect no-look pass between the two did not earn cheers from the fans but instead endless boos. Despite the two commentators providing a very fair analysis and praising the coordination between Zhou Yi and Villanueva. At that moment, a beautiful and sexy girl in a professional suit sitting in a corner of the stadium pursed her lips, smiling as she watched the teenager in the Pistons’ No. 37 jersey on the court, murmuring to herself, “He looks really handsome when he plays.” Of course, she was speaking Chinese. Rose controlled the ball and slowly made his way past the half-court line, to just outside the three-point line facing Zhou Yi’s defense. He tried to speed past him, but Zhou Yi was extremely agile and quick, so he didn’t let Rose break through. Rose let out a soft “Huh,” clearly not expecting the Chinese kid in front of him to be able to defend him. Seeing Zhou Yi’s stance, Rose didn’t take it lightly. He stepped under Zhou Yi and then cut inside, competing in speed. Naturally, Zhou Yi wasn’t a match for Rose, but he had an advantage in agility. So even though he was giving it his all, Zhou Yi could still keep up with Rose’s speed. “Hey, good defense,” Rose couldn’t help but say to Zhou Yi. At that moment, Zhou Yi was focusing all his energy on defending Rose, so he ignored his words. Rose wasn’t annoyed and sped up even more. Dribbling with his right hand, he suddenly accelerated toward Zhou Yi’s right side, then stopped abruptly in front of Zhou Yi and changed direction. Zhou Yi’s defense was really strong, but Rose was truly unstoppable. His breakthroughs were fierce and varied, and even though Zhou Yi did his best, he was still successfully broken through by Rose. After getting past Zhou Yi’s defense, Rose stopped abruptly and shot a jump shot; the ball swished through the basket. Zhou Yi inwardly sighed that Rose was too strong, and he really wasn’t his match at the moment. What he didn’t know was that Rose had already used all his strength in that breakthrough, even though it seemed effortless on the surface. Rose was also shocked—this kid had strong defensive skills. Although he could play against him, it wasn’t easy at all. “A very smart guy,” was Rose’s assessment of Zhou Yi, but he wouldn’t express it deliberately. Sometimes, admiring someone too much might make him lose his calm judgment.

He dribbled slowly, with Rose crouching down in front to defend Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi also moved forward gradually, and with each step he took forward, Rose stepped back, maintaining a gap of about one step. This kept both Zhou Yi from breaking through and shooting. But Zhou Yi neither broke through nor shot. It seemed his teammates all knew this new player liked to pass the ball, so they stayed well back. Finally, Posey created an opening. With his excellent vision, Zhou Yi saw it clearly. As Hansbrough rushed toward the basket, Zhou Yi suddenly made a bounce pass. Rose tried to steal the ball but failed; it ended up in Hansbrough’s hands behind him, followed by a thunderous dunk.

“Rose dribbled under, and the Chinese player Zhou Yi wasn’t fooled. But Rose’s continuous changes of direction eventually allowed him to break free from Zhou Yi’s defense and dive inside for a dunk! Oh my God, it even resulted in a defensive foul on Zhou Yi,” the commentator exclaimed excitedly as he watched the game.

By this point in the game, with only 1 minute and 33 seconds left in the first quarter, Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau called a timeout to let several starters rest.

After the timeout, the Bulls’ Busemer was replaced by Ty Gibson, Joakim Noah by Kurt Thomas, and Rolando Blackman by Ronnie Brewer. Rose had to take free throws, so he wasn’t substituted.

The roaring United Center was in an uproar for a long time; even the referee’s whistle was barely audible. After easily making one free throw, Rose quickly returned to defend.

Gibson had no advantage in defending Hansbrough, aside from being a bit stronger. They were about the same height, but Hansbrough was more agile. After making two clever feints, the big man suddenly turned and headed toward the basket. By then, Gibson had already been pushed behind him. It seemed Hansbrough was about to finish the play with a two-handed dunk. But suddenly, Rose, who should have been defending Zhou Yi, rushed in. He stretched out his long arm and slapped the basketball out of Hansbrough’s hands with a powerful swat. Hansbrough was attempting a two-handed dunk, while Rose was covering it with one hand. By any measure, Hansbrough should have had the upper hand, but he suddenly felt Rose’s massive hand exerting incredible force, sending the ball flying out of the court.

“Great job!” Gibson and Rose high-fived each other excitedly.

It was still the Pistons’ offense. Zhou Yi took the ball and organized the attack. Using Villanueva’s pick-and-roll, Zhou Yi broke free from Rose’s close defense and headed toward the basket. Although the defense wasn’t intense, Zhou Yi didn’t choose to attack instead. With a glance, he saw Bosh open on the perimeter. Without hesitation, he passed the ball to Bosh, who caught it and shot it away with a swift motion. The basketball traced a beautiful arc through the air, and with a “swish,” it went in.

On the Pistons’ bench, Bynum stood up excitedly, cheering for his teammates.

“Excellent passing ability, strong defensive skills, and great vision. With proper training, he definitely has a bright future!” Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau pondered as he watched Zhou Yi on the court.

Rose dribbled around the top of the key and suddenly saw Thomas open inside, so he passed the ball straight to him. Thomas crouched down, pushed Durham Porter back, causing him to take a step backward. That step allowed Thomas to turn around, jump, and easily dunk the ball, adding another assist for Rose.

With 20 seconds left in the first quarter, the Pistons had only one last chance to attack. Zhou Yi held the ball steadily, trying to slow down the pace since only 20 seconds remained. When 10 seconds were left, Zhou Yi took action. He drove and passed the ball to Bosh. But at that moment, Bosh made a mistake and lost possession to Brewer. Brewer threw the ball toward the Pistons’ half-court, and Rose rushed over immediately.

Zhou Yi tried desperately to chase after Rose, but to no avail. After catching the ball, Rose rushed to within one step of the opponent’s free-throw line and jumped. Then, he slammed the ball hard into the basket, hanging his arms on the rim like a king overlooking the world.

The cheers from the crowd didn’t stop but rose again, like surging waves, showing the Bulls’ dominance at home.

With 2.1 seconds left, James Bosh missed a three-point shot after receiving a pass from Zhou Yi, and the first quarter came to an end.

“Rose is too strong…” Zhou Yi murmured, staring at the red number 1.

Chapter 96: Fluid and Seamless Offense