You can put it whatever way you want, the fact of the matter Hui was never the turning point for China when she started. What really happened matters. China still lost when she started. She then disappeared in a do or die game against Brazil and Liu Xiaotong had to step in to do her job. She failed miserably when the game was on the line. She was a non factor in helping China to advance in the most important game of the playoffs. She played better the next two games but it was nothing spectacular. She did what she was supposed to do as a starter and secondary scoring option. It was that simple.
The core was always Zhu Ting and the rest of the supporting cast complimented each other. China didn't have a set starting lineup. In each playoff game, when the starting lineup didn't work out, it was the bench that stepped up. Kudos to Lang Ping for adjustments. Zhu stepped up big time in the playoffs averaging 28.6, 10 points more than the 18.6 she had in the prelmins. Zhu Ting also outscored the rest of the OHs/OPs 86 to 72 in the playoffs. She was the only consistent player while the rest complimented each other when starters didnt play well. That was why they were equal in terms of supporting Zhu. They did what they were supposed to do, nothing spectacular. There was only one freak and that was Zhu Ting.
I think you give too much credit for Hui's impact. Never in her career had she been a star in terms of actual results. She never won any individual accolades playing in the Asian Championships. Even lesser talents like Zeng had won best OP and one dimensional player like Wang Yimei got an MVP. While being the ace, China lost to Japan for the first time at the Olympics in London with previous 5-0 record and 15-0 in sets. She was outplayed by shorter, older, and less athletic players Yukiko Ebata and Saorin in scoring and efficiency. Even in club level she never led Jiangsu to a championship being the ace. Zhang and Gong carried Jiangsu this past season to Jiangsu's first championship. Hui has star potential and popularity but that has yet to translate into her game. She is a very good supporting player at the moment.