Chapter 48

In the first 5.5 minutes of the fourth quarter, both teams were playing with their bench players. Although it was bench players on the court, the Magic had a slight advantage.

Brandon Bass kept attacking the Pistons’ paint, causing trouble for their interior players. In those short 5.5 minutes, Bass made 5 out of 6 shots, scoring 10 points, while his opponent, Taylor Hansbrough, scored only 2 points. If not for James Posey and Austin Daye hitting three three-pointers together from beyond the arc, the Magic would have narrowed the gap even further.

Still, the Magic managed to narrow the difference. By the time Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy called a timeout—after 5.5 minutes of the fourth quarter—the score was 107–94, with the Magic cutting the lead to 13 points.

After the timeout, both teams switched to their starting lineups. Although the Pistons still led by 13 points, they weren’t arrogant enough to keep using bench players.

Zhou Yi took control of the ball and orchestrated the Pistons’ offense. McGrady moved to the top of the key to set up Zhou Yi, who quickly broke into the Magic’s paint. At that moment, the Magic’s interior player was Dwight Howard.

Seeing this, everyone thought the same scenario from earlier would repeat itself—Zhou Yi vs. “The Beast”?

NO!

Things took a turn unexpected for the fans. Just as Zhou Yi was about to jump, he quickly pulled his foot back. Then, with a behind-the-back dribble, he moved the ball to the right and pushed it out beyond the three-point line with his right hand.

By then, Teyshawn Prince was already in Zhou Yi’s passing lane. It was an incredible pass. Such a passing style hadn’t been unheard of in the league, but a pass as smooth as Zhou Yi’s was truly rare.

Jason Williams, sitting on the Magic’s bench, also frowned. Watching Zhou Yi, he seemed to see his younger self, his eyes filled with nostalgia.

Teyshawn Prince caught the ball steadily and calmly sank the three-point shot, giving Zhou Yi another assist.

Vince Carter used Dwight Howard’s screen to break into the Pistons’ paint and then suddenly threw the ball upward toward the basket. At the same time, Dwight Howard, who had been providing the screen for Vince Carter, rushed back into the paint. He pushed off the ground forcefully, leaped high, caught the ball with both hands, and dunked it hard into the basket.

“Wow…” Everyone was amazed by Dwight Howard’s explosive power.

Although his free throws aren’t great and he doesn’t have many offensive moves, no one doubts that Dwight Howard is the best center playing today. Zhou Yi drives and passes the ball to Taishan Prince once again. Prince slides along the baseline and attempts a smooth layup, but it misses; the ball falls to the floor, and Zhou Yi luckily grabs it. Zhou Yi shoots again, but it also misses. He jumps hard for a rebound, still failing (the backboard bounces twice), trying to secure another offensive rebound. But by this point, Dwight Howard has returned to the basket. Though slightly off position for the rebound, he won’t let a small point guard like Zhou Yi get another rebound in front of him. Dwight Howard pushes the ball overhead with force, then jumps repeatedly to bring it to his arms. By now, Jamal Nelson has crossed half-court, and Dwight Howard doesn’t hesitate—he passes the ball long to Jamal Nelson. Zhou Yi, busy competing with Howard for the rebound under the basket, fails to follow Jamal Nelson. Jamal Nelson tries to shoot a three-point shot to narrow the score gap, but he’s worried it might miss, so he opts for a safer option: driving to the basket for a layup. The Pistons are only up by 12 points now! McGrady goes one-on-one with his cousin Vince Carter, attempting a beautiful backspin jump shot, but it misses. Dwight Howard is blocked by Big Ben and can’t compete for the rebound. Zhou Yi grabs another offensive rebound and passes it to Samuel Dalembert. It seemed this offensive play should go in easily, but Samuel Dalembert’s layup also misses—what a frustrating situation. Howard finally breaks free from Big Ben, grabs a defensive rebound, and passes it to Jamal Nelson. Jamal Nelson, who initially wanted to take care of it himself after crossing half-court, gives up on the opportunity due to Zhou Yi staying close by; he’s still deeply aware of Zhou Yi’s defense. With a quick turnaround pass, the ball goes directly to Vince Carter, who was lurking in the corner. After catching the ball, Carter doesn’t hesitate and shoots a three-point shot. He’s still half a step away from the three-point line. Although McGrady has already tried to defend him, he’s still a step slow against Vince Carter. The ball is shot—high and arcing, but precise—landing firmly inside the rim and bouncing in.

“Damn it!” As the score gap narrowed, even the usually calm Zhou Yi couldn’t help but mutter a curse under his breath.
John Kuester, seeing the score gap shrink to just 9 points, could no longer sit still. He jumped up from the coaching bench and called a timeout.
“Defense, focus on defense!” John Kuester said seriously to his players.
“Zhou, Tracy, you two need to take care of that bastard Dwight. As long as he’s taken out, we win. Also, pay close attention to defense on the perimeter. If we stay focused, they won’t score. There are 3 minutes left in the game, and I don’t want to lose the victory we’re so close to at this critical moment. So, guys, give it your all. If we win, I’ll treat everyone to a big meal. If we lose, we’ll intensify training tomorrow,” John Kuester said with a hint of humor.
Hearing John Kuester’s words, everyone couldn’t help but laugh. But when they met his expectant gaze, they became serious again and nodded at him.
The timeout ended, and the game resumed!
The Pistons’ Greg Monroe replaced Samuel Dalembert, while Taylor Hansbrough took over from Darvin Ham; the Magic’s Brandon Bass replaced Ryan Anderson.
Zhou Yi passed the ball directly to Greg Monroe. As soon as Monroe caught it, Brandon Bass closed in immediately. This was a critical moment—defending this play well would increase the Magic’s chances of turning the game around.
But Greg Monroe didn’t give Brandon Bass that chance. Instead of attacking as Brandon Bass expected, he passed the ball right away to Teyshawn Prince, who drove along the baseline and passed it to Zhou Yi just outside the three-point line at the top of the key.
Zhou Yi used two fake moves to distract Jamal Nelson, then stepped to the other side and took a three-point shot. The ball hit the inside of the rim and bounced in.
12 points—the score gap was back to double digits!
John Kuester sighed in relief and sat down on the coaching bench.
The fans, on the other hand, weren’t thinking that far. As long as their team was still in the lead, they weren’t too worried. Now that they saw Zhou Yi score another three-point shot, they were extremely excited. Cheers and applause filled the Auburn Hills Palace.

Vince Carter drove to the front court and passed the ball to their star point guard, Jamal Nelson. Jamal Nelson forced his way past Zhou Yi and then passed to Rashard Lewis near the three-point line, with Greg Monroe being the closest to Rashard Lewis. Being young and inexperienced, Greg Monroe rushed out of the paint to defend Rashard Lewis. Seeing Greg Monroe leave the paint, Zhou Yi immediately exclaimed, “That’s not good.” Sure enough, Rashard Lewis, noticing Greg Monroe had been drawn away, didn’t shoot but passed the ball back inside. Dwight Howard was open! “A great opportunity…” Van Gundy shouted as he saw Dwight Howard with an open shot, realizing the opponent’s defense was still weak. But before he could finish speaking, a white figure rushed toward the paint. “Be careful behind you!” Brandon Bass yelled at Dwight Howard. At that moment, Dwight Howard had already spread his arms, gripping the basketball, ready to deliver a powerful dunk. But just as he was about to slam it through the hoop, a yellow-skinned hand pressed down on the ball in his hands. Zhou Yi’s strength was clearly far inferior to Dwight Howard’s, not to mention trying to resist Howard’s two hands with just one. Even though he gave it his all, he couldn’t stop Dwight Howard from dunking the ball. However, Zhou Yi’s effort wasn’t in vain. Due to his interference, Dwight Howard failed to complete the dunk; the ball hit the rim and bounced out, with McGrady grabbing the rebound. By blocking Dwight Howard’s dunk, Zhou Yi essentially extinguished the Magic’s last hopes of a comeback. After grabbing the rebound, McGrady coordinated skillfully with TaShawn Prince, who scored after being fouled by Rashard Lewis. The free throw also went in. With 1 minute and 11 seconds left in the game, the score gap had widened to 15 points. At this point, Stan Van Gundy knew it was almost impossible to turn things around. Even if there was still a theoretical chance, the Magic’s morale had completely collapsed—the moment Dwight Howard was blocked by Zhou Yi, their morale was shattered. In the end, the Pistons defeated the Orlando Magic, 117–107.

At the moment the game ended, the entire arena erupted in cheers! And all those cheers were for one person—Zhou Yi!
22 points, 13 assists, 11 rebounds!
A triple-double!!!
A triple-double!!!
Chapter 198: Slaying the Cavaliers, the 50-Point Kid Rises (Part 1)
Since the start of the new season, the Pistons have won both encounters with the Magic. This was completely impossible last season. So, after this victory, the entire Pistons team and the home fans celebrated together—not only this win but also Zhou Yi’s first career triple-double.
In this game, six Pistons players scored in double figures. Zhou Yi delivered a triple-double with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists. His 22 points were also the highest score for the Pistons. Additionally, he had 3 steals and 3 blocks—truly a comprehensive performance. McGrady scored 19 points and 7 assists; Tashawn Prince scored 16 points and 6 rebounds; Greg Monroe scored 13 points and 7 rebounds. The bench players, James Posey and Will Bynum, both scored 10 points. The Wizards’ backcourt defense improved significantly, outperforming the Pistons by 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block.
On the Magic’s side, Howard was their best performer, scoring 25 points—the highest in the game—along with 15 rebounds, despite facing foul trouble. Vince Carter also had a solid game, scoring 17 points and 6 assists. Brandon Bass contributed 22 points and 8 rebounds, hitting 9 of 11 shots.
After defeating the Magic, the Pistons embarked on an eight-game winning streak. With this victory over the Magic, they finally overtook the Los Angeles Lakers to take the top spot in the league for the first time this season.
17 wins and 3 losses—what an impressive record! What a proud record!
It was also the best start in the Pistons’ franchise history!
After the game against the Magic, the entire Pistons team and fans stayed at the Palace of Auburn Hills to celebrate this victory and their outstanding performance so far. The Magic players, on the other hand, flew back to Orlando by special plane right after their press conference.
The Pistons players and fans celebrated wildly in the home arena until late at night before leaving.
After the game against the Magic, the Pistons had a day to rest. The next day, they faced the weaker Eastern Conference team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, at home.

The Cavaliers are now ranked last in the East. Without LeBron James, the team has completely become a bottom-tier squad. Last season they were the best in the league, but this season they’re heading toward the bottom of the standings. Without LeBron James, the Cavaliers have entered a rebuilding phase. However, they don’t have any particularly outstanding players they can develop into starters—after all, this is a weak draft year. Whether it’s a weak or strong draft year, the Cavaliers don’t have any particularly good draft picks anyway, so they can only endure. After ending the celebrations and returning to Blake’s house, Zhou Yi went straight to wash up and go to bed. When he reached his own room, there was still faint light coming from Blake’s room. “It seems I need to move out of here quickly; otherwise, it will have a serious impact on Uncle Blake’s health,” Zhou Yi murmured, looking at Blake’s room. The Pistons’ schedule this month is truly unreasonable. John Kuster was so angry after seeing the schedule that he wanted to curse. This month, the Pistons have three back-to-back games, plus three consecutive trips to the West. Fortunately, they don’t face many strong teams this month. The schedule is just tough—better to wait until next month to rest! The All-Star Game might be a good time to rest, but for Zhou Yi, taking time off during the All-Star Game is simply impossible. Why? Just look at the current All-Star voting! At the beginning of December, the NBA started the first round of All-Star voting. Among the four players the Pistons nominated was Zhou Yi, as his current skills and fame satisfied the Pistons’ management. The other three players were Tracy McGrady, Teyshawn Prince, and Ben Wallace. China will never lack people—until India overtakes it, China will always be the most populous country in the world. There’s no need to say more about fans either; they’ll always be there. Of course, if they had to pay to vote, they might not do it, but just clicking on a website to show support is something they’re more than willing to do. As Zhou Yi gets stronger, his influence in China grows as well.

Although he has hardly appeared in China, Zhou Yi’s name has deeply influenced many young people. As a result, Zhou Yi still has a considerable number of All-Star votes, ranking eighth among all candidates—just behind Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Yao Ming, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant, and Chris Paul—and firmly holds the position of starting point guard for the East. Moreover, Zhou Yi has significant room for improvement, and the gap between him and the player in first place is small; overtaking him is only a matter of time.

Currently, Kobe Bryant leads in All-Star votes, and his position as the top vote-getter is well-deserved given his popularity in the United States. He is widely regarded as the best active NBA player. In second place is LeBron James, whose influence in both the U.S. and China is only slightly less than Kobe Bryant’s. If he can earn at least two more championship rings through his efforts in the rest of his career, it is not impossible for him to surpass Kobe Bryant.

In third place is Dwight Howard, who was just defeated by Zhou Yi, but he is only a few tens of thousands of votes behind LeBron James, making it very likely that he will overtake him. Yao Ming is in fourth place. After a long recovery, Yao Ming has returned to the court, and his performance since the start of the season shows that his recovery has been quite successful, which explains his high vote count. Dwyane Wade is in fifth place, Kevin Durant, the reigning scoring champion from last season, is in sixth, Chris Paul is in seventh, and Zhou Yi is in eighth.

Below Zhou Yi are Kevin Garnett and Carmelo Anthony, who ranks tenth. This is the current standings for the All-Star voting. With several days left before the first round of voting ends, these big-name players are not very concerned, as the third round is considered the most important.

Among the top five teams in the league, three are from the East: first is the Detroit Pistons, second is the Los Angeles Lakers, third is the Boston Celtics, fourth is the Dallas Mavericks, and fifth is the Miami Heat.

The Detroit Pistons lead the entire league. Although they have only half a more win margin than the second-place Los Angeles Lakers, it is still very exciting for the people of Detroit, as they haven’t experienced such joy in a long time since Boston established its “Big Three” lineup.

The Pistons’ remarkable improvement can be attributed, at least in part, to one person—Zhou Yi.

According to incomplete statistics, at least over half of Detroit’s population are now Zhou Yi’s fans, and almost all Chinese people are his supporters. They are no longer blindly admiring him as before. Although Zhou Yi was famous back then, at least one in ten of his fans didn’t even know what basketball was. Now, many of those once ignorant fans have gone to watch basketball games in person because of Zhou Yi, learned the rules of the game, and become true fans.

The most significant factor behind this is the explosive impact brought by Zhou Yi. Suddenly, shops selling his merchandise appeared everywhere in Detroit’s streets and alleys, and every detail about his life was eagerly pursued by the paparazzi.

From an ordinary high school graduate to a currently popular rising star across China and even the United States, Zhou Yi’s rise can be described as almost instantaneous. Even Kevin Durant, who is known for his rapid rise in recent years, cannot compare to him. Others from his same generation, such as draft pick John Wall and Evan Turner, have been left far behind by Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi is still very excited about these achievements, but he remains humble, as he always remembers what Zhou Miao and Mo Keer said to him back then.

……

After a day off, the Pistons hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers at home. The Cavaliers have been unlucky lately—not only do they have a poor record, but there are also significant internal conflicts within the team. Mo Williams and Anderson Varejao clashed twice over the position of team leader, with the second conflict being more serious, resulting in both players being suspended for one game. As a result, the Cavaliers’ situation is concerning, especially with this match against the rising Detroit Pistons.

Nevertheless, Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott said that he and his players are not ready to give up easily. They came all the way from Cleveland not to give the Pistons another victory or to celebrate Zhou Yi’s fourth selection as Eastern Conference Rookie of the Week and his first selection as Eastern Conference Player of the Week this season.

At 5:30 p.m. on December 5, 2010, the Palace of Auburn Hills was packed, as the Pistons vs. Cavaliers game was about to take place. Currently, the Cavaliers’ players were practicing shooting on the court, while the Pistons’ players had not yet arrived.

After a short while, the home team players emerged from the player tunnel. First were the substitutes, followed by the five star players one after another.
“Now, our five star players are about to take the court. Oh, let me see—first up is our ever-reliable Ben Wallace.” The DJ stirred up the crowd’s enthusiasm by shouting Ben Wallace’s name loudly. The big screen also displayed his outstanding performances this season.
“Second up is the power forward, Greg… Monroe.”
“Third up is our little prince, Tyshawn… Prince.”
“Oh, here comes our T-MAC! Let’s give him the biggest applause!”
“The last to enter is Detroit’s rookie of the year. Guess who it is?” The DJ kept the audience in suspense, but the fans weren’t upset at all—they cheered loudly, “Zhou… Yi, Zhou… Yi…”
“That’s right, it’s Zhou Yi! Give our rookie of the year, Zhou Yi, the warmest applause and screams!” The DJ suddenly raised the volume even more, shouting loudly to push the crowd’s excitement to its peak.
Once all the home team players were on the court, they exchanged warm greetings with the visiting team players before starting the pre-game warm-ups together.
The warm-ups ended quickly, and the starting players from both teams stepped onto the center of the court one after another.
For the Cavaliers’ starting lineup: the center was Italian JJ Hickson, the power forward was Anderson Varejao, the shooting forward was Anthony Parker, the shooting guard was Joey Graham, and the point guard was Mo Williams.
That was the Cavaliers’ starting lineup!
The Pistons’ starting lineup remained the same: center Ben Wallace, power forward Greg Monroe, shooting forward Tyshawn Prince, shooting guard Tracy McGrady, and point guard Zhou Yi.

The Cavaliers’ starting lineup, to be honest, is really poor. Aside from Mo Williams, who has been selected to the All-Star game once (when someone on the East got injured and he filled in), who can be considered a star, the most well-known player is Anderson Varejao. He’s famous not because of his strength but because of his acting skills, which are on par with an Oscar winner, haha—everyone gets it. Other than Mo Williams and Anderson Varejao, Anthony Parker is somewhat well-known for his solid defensive skills. As for the other two Cavaliers starters, they’re not very strong or famous, just average role players. Honestly, the entire Cavaliers’ starting lineup can basically be considered a group of role players.

However, despite this, Zhou Yi isn’t taking this game lightly at all. Even when facing a weaker opponent, he gives his best effort, let alone when facing a former top-tier team.

Zhou Yi’s opponent in this game is Mo Williams, the current core player of the Cavaliers. Zhou Yi is a very hardworking, intelligent player who is good at analyzing situations. So he knows all about the players who face him in the league. As for Mo Williams, Zhou Yi has a pretty high opinion of him.

Mo Williams has strong individual offensive skills, but his offensive abilities far exceed his playmaking skills, which is different from traditional point guards. This is also Mo Williams’ technical flaw. His defense is average, at a mid-level.

Zhou Yi doesn’t look down on any player, but honestly, Mo Williams is only above-average as a point guard, similar to Aaron Brooks of the Houston Rockets. So for Zhou Yi, such an opponent isn’t really a match for him.

Why are top point guards called top point guards? The main reason is that they have special moves and unique traits. In other words, they possess almost unstoppable finishing moves, which is what separates top players from ordinary ones. This is what Mo Williams lacks compared to those top point guards like Steve Nash, Chris Paul, and Deron Williams.

Of course, Zhou Yi isn’t a top point guard either—he’s still a long way from that level. But his current skills are definitely that of a first-class point guard, averaging nearly 20 points and 10 rebounds per game while leading his team to victory. Can’t that be considered first-class?

If Zhou Yi were given more time to gain experience and more space to grow, he would definitely have the ability to become a top-tier point guard.
Soon, the game began with the referee’s whistle.
When Zhou Yi received the ball and faced Mo Williams for the first time, he knew right away that this guy couldn’t stop him.
Using a feint combined with a crossover step, Zhou Yi quickly broke free from Mo Williams’s defense and headed straight for the opponent’s basket.
As the game progressed, the situation became one-sided—of course, it was the Pistons who controlled the game.
Mo Williams was completely outmatched! Outclassed by Zhou Yi!
Next to be overwhelmed was the Cavaliers’ shooting guard, Joey Graham.
His opponent was McGrady, and there wasn’t much to say—when McGrady and Zhou Yi coordinated so well together, with the “Golden Duo” combining their strengths, everyone knew the Pistons had already won the game.
When Zhou Yi rushed into the paint again, Mo Williams could no longer contain him and could only use fouls to stop him, sending him to the free-throw line in hopes his shots wouldn’t be accurate.
This was already the eighth time Zhou Yi had rushed into the Cavaliers’ paint in the first quarter, and he made good use of six out of those eight opportunities, turning each into points.
By this point, Zhou Yi had scored 16 points through drives and shots. Now, he had to take free throws—if he made both, he’d score 18 points, more than half of the Pistons’ total score.
As expected, he made both free throws. At that point, the score was 34–20, with the Pistons leading by 14 points.
Nearly 8 minutes had passed in the first quarter, so John Kuester made some adjustments to the lineup after Zhou Yi made both free throws.
Will Bynum came in to replace Zhou Yi, who had already scored 18 points; James Posey replaced Tyshawn Prince; Taylor Hansbrough replaced Greg Monroe; Samuel Dalembert replaced Ben Wallace; and Austin Daye replaced McGrady.
Leading by 14 points, the Pistons switched entirely to their bench players.
On the Cavaliers’ side, Ramon Sessions replaced Mo Williams, who was thoroughly outplayed by Zhou Yi; Danny Gibson replaced Joey Graham; Antawn Jamison replaced Anderson Varejao; and Ryan Hueshaw replaced Anthony Parker.

The game continues!
Chapter 199: Slaying the Knight – A 50-Point Kid Emerges (Part 2)
Looking at Zhou Yi sitting on the bench, Mo Williams also felt a bit intimidated. This self-proclaimed All-Star-level point guard had only scored 2 points and provided 2 assists by the end of the first quarter – all thanks to Zhou Yi.