At this time, Marv Albert was breaking down the impact of this series and Zhao Dong's absence on the Knicks during the NBC live broadcast. He said, "With Ewing out this season, the Knicks added two bigs with not much offensive skill. Their interior defense held strong, and their rebounding got better, but their scoring inside took a big hit.
Now with Zhao Dong out too, it means the Knicks have zero low-post scoring. That clogs up the perimeter, and they can't get clean shots—so efficiency drops.
Let's be real—the Knicks were already struggling from the outside. When Zhao Dong was still out there, especially in the second half of the season when Ben Wallace and Danny Fortson were starting, he was carrying the whole scoring load. At one point, dude was putting up 40% of the team's total offense. He was the offense. And now with that 40% gone? The Knicks look helpless on that end."
Matt Goukas chuckled and said, "Let me break down what Marv's saying: he doesn't think the Knicks are making it past the first round. And if they go out in seven, as the defending champs, they'd be just the third team in NBA history to get bounced in the first round after winning it all. But I'm not buying it, Marv."
"You can hold your opinion," Marv replied with a smirk. "But I'm standing firm—Knicks are going out early."
Then he paused for a second and added, "Unless Zhao Dong pushes for an early return."
Zhao Dong can do anything," Matt laughed.
Marv raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "I don't buy it. No way that's happening."
---
Thirty minutes later, the game tipped off.
With Zhao Dong out, Coach Don Nelson rolled out Ben Wallace and Charles Oakley to hold down the paint. Oakley could still drop seven or eight a night and had a decent face-up game to pull defenders out of the lane.
Shawn Kemp won the jump ball over Big Ben, sprinted straight to the rack, caught a pass, and BOOM—threw down a monster dunk that rocked the Knicks' rim.
Coming back down, Allan Houston bricked a shot, Cavs grabbed the board, and Kemp went right back at it.
This time though, Big Ben stood tall and tried to contest—but got steamrolled. Kemp was called for the offensive foul.
Next Knicks possession, Oakley pulled up and nailed a midrange jumper.
Back on defense, Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Big Z) got the ball and bullied Oakley in the post—easy bucket.
Coach Nelson switched things up, putting Big Ben on Big Z one-on-one. But Z's height was too much, and Ben's post defense just wasn't enough. Even when Oakley rotated over to help, they couldn't slow Big Z down.
Meanwhile, Kemp kept crashing the paint hard, drawing fouls and making the Knicks bigs rack up calls.
Offensively, the Knicks had nothing in the post. With no inside gravity, the shooters weren't getting any clean looks. The spacing was garbage, and they couldn't generate any real rhythm.
Still, the Knicks scrapped their way into staying close, thanks to their elite rebounding. The margin never blew wide open—kept it within single digits and stayed in the fight.
---
Late third quarter.
Danny Fortson picked up his sixth foul at the 9-minute mark and had to sit. He left the floor frustrated—he'd been their best rebounder all game.
By the time the third quarter wrapped up, the Knicks were down by double digits.
Early in the fourth, Wallace picked up his fifth foul and had to chill out on defense. The Knicks' interior collapsed from there.
They ended up losing Game 1 at home, 85–71.
---
On the sidelines, Knicks legend Willis Reed shared his thoughts with the media after the game.
"We lost our entire offensive engine without Zhao Dong," he said, looking defeated. "It's just hard to get buckets now.
Yeah, we're rebounding more, but we've got no reliable finishers inside. We're not converting second chances. The perimeter guys aren't getting good looks, and we shot 31% tonight.
And Billups… he's still a rookie. He went 5-for-14, had 4 assists, but turned the ball over 6 times. Without Zhao Dong creating, we just don't have much offense out there."
---
After the game, Zhao Dong was swarmed by reporters.
"Zhao, after dropping Game 1, are you considering coming back early?"
"Don't ask me that again," he said coldly.
"So, do you think the Knicks are getting swept?"
"I already said the Cavaliers don't have the firepower to sweep us. We're not going down like that."
"In this game, Big Z dropped 27 on 11-of-18 shooting and 5-of-7 from the line. Kemp also had 27 on 11-of-17 and 5-of-9 from the stripe. What do you think the Knicks need to adjust defensively in Game 2?"
"Our two young bigs are still learning. They've got the heart, but they need experience. And as for your question—do you think I'd give that answer to you?"
Back in the locker room, Zhao Dong hyped up the squad, especially Ben and Fortson.
"Danny, if you clean up your game and fix those habits, you've got a real shot to be the next Rodman. Keep grinding."
"Ben, follow Oak's lead and you'll be our anchor in the paint."
That pep talk hit hard. Both rookies shook off the loss and locked in for Game 2.
Next day, Zhao Dong returned to the court.
Not for full contact, but just to shoot and get his feel back.
Even that small step lit a fire under the Knicks. They could sense he was close.
On the 25th, Game 2 tipped off again at MSG.
Coach Don Nelson made a bold call—he shifted the lineup.
Knowing the offense was lacking, he decided to go all-in on defense.
It wasn't his usual style, but desperate times call for desperate moves.
He threw Oakley, Ben Wallace, and Fortson on the court at the same time—a brick wall in the paint.
And they delivered.
The trio turned into absolute dogs on defense. They held it down with intensity and hustle. Together, they recorded 11 blocks, making Big Z and Kemp rethink every drive.
Cleveland's inside game—normally their bread and butter—was completely shaken.
At the same time, the three of them combined for 44 rebounds, locking down the glass and setting up tons of second-chance looks and outside shots.
Thanks to their defense and control on the boards, the Knicks pulled out a gritty Game 2 win, 74–71, tying the series up 1-1.
Zhang Heli dropped a take after the game:
"Man, that was a tough one. With that kind of elite defense and rebounding, and they still only won by 3? It really shows how hard it is for the Knicks to get buckets."
Still, that win gave Knicks Squad a huge morale boost. After the buzzer, the fans stayed in their seats, hyped up and not ready to leave.
"I told y'all the Cavs ain't sweeping us," Zhao Dong said during the postgame interview. "We're not one of those seven teams that got rolled. We're not getting swept."
Back in the locker room, Danny Fortson was all fired up.
"Boss, you coming with us on the road trip?" he asked, eyes lit.
He had himself a game too—didn't foul out, played 43 minutes strong, swatted 2 shots, snatched 15 boards, and helped big time in the W.
"Of course I'm going," Zhao Dong replied with a grin.
After firing up the squad, Zhao Dong walked up to Coach Don Nelson and said,
"Coach, I'm ready."
Old man Nelson froze for a second—then just exploded with joy.
"Zhao! You're good to go?!"
"Yup. Take me off the injury list," Zhao Dong said, still smiling.
"OOOOHHHHH!"
The whole locker room erupted.
"Zhao, are you really 100% though? You sure you don't wanna wait until Game 4?" asked Ernie Grunfeld, half-hyped, half-worried.
"I'm all good, man. Gauze is off my leg already. The one on my chest comes off tomorrow. Wound's fully healed," Zhao Dong reassured him.
"That's amazing!" Grunfeld clapped.
Coach Nelson raised a hand, calming everybody down.
"Let's keep this on the low for now. We'll catch the Cavs off guard."
All the assistants and players nodded.
But Zhao Dong shook his head.
"Nah, no need to play mind games. It's just the Cavs. I'm coming back and we're taking one on their floor fair and square."
They were stunned at first—but quickly nodded in agreement.
Yeah. With Zhao Dong back, they didn't need smoke and mirrors to beat Cleveland.
Later, at the postgame press conference...
"Ladies and gentlemen," Coach Nelson said with a grin, "before we get to your questions, I got something big to announce…"
He let it hang for a beat before dropping the bomb.
"Zhao Dong's coming off the injury list. He's back in the 12-man rotation for Game 3."
Chaos.
Reporters straight up ignored protocol, yelling out questions, trying to get the scoop. The PR staff had to step in and restore order—it took them a full minute to calm the room down.
Thomas, the team reporter, jumped in first.
"Coach! Is Zhao Dong gonna play in Game 3?!"
"Oh yeah," Nelson said, smiling wide. "Our Iron Man's coming back."
"OH!!!"
The room exploded again. Every reporter got their headline.
Zhang Heli and Sun Zhenping were in the crowd, surprised and pumped. Zhang raised his hand immediately.
The host saw him and gave him the second question.
These two had long-term media passes from last season—had good ties with the Knicks' media team and were familiar faces around the locker room.
"Coach, is Zhao Dong really fully recovered?" Zhang Heli asked.
"Yes, he's back to 100%. That man really is Iron Man," Nelson said proudly.
News of Zhao Dong's return spread like wildfire through the media.
The Cavs' postgame presser hadn't even wrapped when their front office caught wind of it—and things started looking shaky for them.
If the Knicks could hold the Cavs to a split without Zhao Dong... then what's gonna happen with him?
Meanwhile, word was spreading around the league. Reporters were asking Shawn Kemp about it on the spot.
"You really believe Zhao Dong is comin' back in Game 3?" one reporter asked.
Kemp looked a little uneasy but kept his poker face on.
"You think that guy's actually Iron Man? Come on. This is just head games from the Knicks. We ain't fallin' for it. We're not some small-market scrubs—we're takin' this series back home."
"But what if he really does return?" another pushed.
"Ain't no big deal," Kemp said, toughing it out.
Back in China, the news hit even harder because of the time difference.
Even though the media back home had been trying to throw dirt on Zhao Dong—especially after the shooting incident—none of it stuck. The whole country had this crazy admiration for the U.S., and with Zhao Dong killin' it in the NBA, his status in the Chinese basketball scene—and even in sports as a whole—was massive. The smear campaign had basically zero effect.
After CCTV reported the comeback story, fans back home went wild.
Even Nike's NYC headquarters called an emergency meeting that same night.
They stayed locked in until past midnight—and came up with two major strategies to ride the Zhao Dong wave.
First, the league fully pushed the "anti-isolation singles rule" and slapped the harshest restrictions on Zhao Dong during the revision process.
Second, rumors started flying—word was, Zhao Dong was juiced up on performance enhancers. They kept pushing that narrative to drag his name through the mud.
The next day, the whole U.S. and even overseas knew about Zhao Dong's comeback.
"Man, this is wild. I swear he might actually be Iron Man." — Charles Barkley.
"Nah, this gotta be mind games from the Knicks. Ain't no way the Tyrant is coming back for Game 3. That's cap." — Alonzo Mourning.
"Fake news, no way." — Shaquille O'Neal.
"I hope it's real. I wanna go head-to-head with him and his squad." — Michael Jordan.
Stars across the league had all kinds of takes.
Some reporters tried to catch up with Jazz star Karl Malone for a comment, but he wasn't having it. Instead, they went to his agent, Manley, who was all too eager to talk.
Manley said:
"I think dude rushed his return, probably popped something illegal to speed it up. The league should definitely test him. Honestly, I always felt he was on something. No way a Chinese guy got that kind of freakish athleticism. That's just how I feel though—it don't represent Karl's opinion."
The second that interview dropped, the media ran with it. It blew up instantly.
"Straight-up racism. Mr. Manley better apologize to Zhao Dong ASAP, or we're taking legal action."
That came from Knicks management—firm and loud.
"Manley being part of this league is a damn embarrassment."
Later that day, Zhao Dong pulled up to league HQ with a suitcase and took questions from reporters. He didn't hold back:
"When people can't beat me on the court, they start pulling this dirty trash out. Maybe some sneaker companies are pulling strings behind the scenes. Either way, they can't stop me from winning, and they definitely can't stop their stock prices from tanking."
"About PEDs… Sure, basketball takes natural talent. But this game's about skill too. Raw talent doesn't make you Jordan. There's plenty of freak athletes, but have they hit MJ's level? Nah. Get too hyped on that stuff, and your shooting percentage drops—facts.
We're talking hundreds of games a year. PEDs only last short-term. If I was really on that, I'd have to be eating pills like cereal. So anyone saying I've been doping long-term is either dumb or shady."
A bunch of players spoke up too.
Barkley said:
"Zhao Dong's a beast, no doubt. But we've seen guys with crazy bodies—Wilt, Shaq—way more dominant physically. Without proof, what Manley said is foul. He gotta pay for that."
Scottie Pippen, now with the Suns and fresh off surgery, had a different take:
"Yeah, Manley's comments were a bit much, but Zhao Dong's game does feel kinda off. I agree with some of what Manley said. League got rules. He should be tested."
Shawn Kemp said:
"Manley's got a point. Some guys need extra eyes on them. We need a clean league."
Most stars, pushed by big brands like Nike and Adidas, spoke out against Zhao Dong. The tide turned fast, and public opinion was spiraling. As long as fans joined in, this would blow up even bigger.
Even media back in China started throwing shade, feeding the fire with their own narratives about Zhao Dong being guilty.
Then Manley doubled down—dude was hyped to be in the spotlight. He went in again during another interview:
"We can't stay blind anymore. I'm gonna expose him. I don't care if it ruins my career or gets me blacklisted from the NBA—I'll take the fall to bring the truth out."
That second interview threw even more gas on the fire.
Meanwhile, back at Adidas HQ in New York, their president Herbert Hainer was celebrating.
"Our stock's up! That deserves a toast."
"I'll get the champagne ready, sir."
His assistant smiled as she walked off.
Same vibe at Nike and Reebok. As the hate toward Zhao Dong grew, their stock stopped dropping and actually bounced back.
At 2 PM, the Knicks landed in Cleveland—but they got mobbed at the airport. Fans and reporters were everywhere.
"Zhao Dong, are you on banned substances? How long you been using?"
"Would you take a urine test right now?"
"Zhao Dong!"
They got stuck for two whole hours before finally making it to the hotel by 5 PM, everyone totally drained.
While all that chaos was happening, the NBA held an emergency meeting, led by Commissioner David Stern himself. Only one item on the agenda: how to deal with the media frenzy.
Adam Silver sat next to him. He'd joined the league back in '92 and had just been promoted to Stern's special assistant. Stern trusted him big-time and was eyeing him to lead the league's entertainment division too.
"Mr. Stern, we should test Zhao Dong immediately. Honestly, I've suspected him for a while," Silver said.
He had his own biases—dude didn't like Chinese players at all.
Stern stared at him, surprised. He didn't expect his newly promoted assistant to come out like that—and take the total opposite stance.
Stern knew the truth. Zhao Dong had hit it on the nose: this was all corporate sabotage. Nike, Adidas—yeah, they were definitely pulling strings.
"Is Silver connected to those companies too?"
Stern made a mental note to keep an eye on him.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Do you want to read Advanced Chapters?
Visit this link:
Påtreon.com/Fanficlord03
Change (å) to (a)
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Check my Discord!
https://discord.gg/VvcakSux