The Best Point Guard

The Knicks took down Milwaukee, securing a four-game winning streak as their flight headed further north to Toronto.

Although Bogut whined like a little bitch after the game, accusing Eddie Curry of poor sportsmanship, the league didn’t pay any mind to such a minor scuffle, let alone issue an additional suspension.

This Knicks team, which looked ready to fall apart at any moment, flew to Toronto. There, in Canada, on the Raptors’ home court, they once again overpowered the home team.

The Raptors were by no means a weak team. They had made the playoffs last season and had improved significantly this season.

And yet, the Knicks played with absolutely no discernible strategy.

If even Phil Jackson couldn’t predict their next move, how could the Raptors possibly guess right?

They fell behind starting in the first quarter, fell further behind in the second, had no hope of a comeback in the third, and the fourth was just garbage time.

The Knicks even showed signs of a complete blowout, which left many basketball experts in disbelief.

Although they had all predicted Su Xi would put up great numbers in the new season, they never expected the Knicks to start with a five-game winning streak and shoot straight to the top of the league.

Su Xi was named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the first week, averaging 33.3 points, 11.7 assists, 10.2 rebounds, 3.1 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game.

While not necessarily unprecedented in the history of the sport, those stats were absolutely at the top tier of the league today.

Moreover, their record was far and away the best.

The New York Media hyped Su Xi to the moon. The fawning words they used in their articles sounded even sweeter than the soft moans of Scarlett, Jessica, and Fox in bed.

They were practically ready to get on their knees and shout, "Daddy Su Xi."

This was a roar from the bottom of their hearts.

This made James Dolan so happy he could feel his toes curling. As a capitalist, he immediately raised home game ticket prices again and increased the asking price for courtside advertising sponsorships to astronomical figures.

But even that couldn’t deter the wealthy people of New York.

The Knicks were the hottest ticket in town.

Even though their next opponent was the Indiana Pacers, some people genuinely believed the Knicks could win the game.

After losing Su Xi, the Pacers’ record was also quite good. They had only lost one game, an away game against the San Antonio Spurs.

And they had only lost it in the final crucial moments of the fourth quarter.

Many teams said that after Marbury joined, the Pacers’ strength hadn’t significantly diminished, and they were still top contenders for the championship.

As for the outcome of the Pacers’ away game against the Knicks, the vast majority believed the Pacers would win. Even the New York Media weren’t arrogant enough to say the Knicks would definitely win.

After all, even hype has its limits.

Losing to the Pacers, the defending champions, would be nothing to be ashamed of.

The Knicks were just getting started. They already had a five-game winning streak; what more could you ask for?

For once, the New York Media showed a bit of tolerance.

The game would also be broadcast nationally on TNT.

The buzz and anticipation for this game were both very high.

After all, it was Su Xi’s first time facing his old team since the trade. Everyone was hoping to see some sparks fly.

And before this game, Su Xi met with Larry Brown.

To be precise, he was there to interview Larry Brown.

It was a classic case of the tables turning.

James Dolan’s passion for basketball had been running high lately, and he’d been reading plenty of analysis from the basketball media. It’s just human nature: when you’re tanking, you don’t think about anything. But the moment things start looking up, you want to go even further, always feeling that some part of the team isn’t good enough.

James Dolan was currently in a trade-fever, wanting to recruit strong help for Su Xi. Ideally, he’d trade away the whole bunch of scrubs on the team. In his eyes, money was no object.

The important thing was to make a comeback.

However, money isn’t everything.

The other teams in the NBA weren’t stupid. Why should they just trade whenever James Dolan felt like it? They didn’t want his scrubs either. Besides, no one dared to make any under-the-table deals these days. So, making trades was actually very difficult, because most of the Knicks’ players hadn’t established their trade value yet, and you couldn’t get anyone good for them.

Since he couldn’t make trades to his heart’s content, James Dolan thought about strengthening the coaching staff.

The biggest criticism of the Knicks right now was their defense. Ask ten experts, and eleven of them would say the Knicks’ defense was a turnstile, completely porous from the inside out.

This was a fact.

So, James Dolan wanted to find the best defensive assistant coach.

He asked around and learned that Larry Brown’s defense was the best.

So, he called Larry Brown and asked him to come over.

On the phone, James Dolan said that money was no issue and offered him a ten-million-dollar annual salary.

But there was one condition: he had to get Su Xi’s approval.

Honestly, if this had been two years ago, Larry Brown would have cussed Dolan out right then and there on the phone.

’I’m a goddamn legendary coach, and I need approval from a 21-year-old kid? Has my entire career been for nothing?’

But now, he wasn’t so proud anymore.

Or rather, his pride had been beaten out of him.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have resigned from the Pistons and taken the blame.

The Pistons had been his dream team: team-oriented, unselfish, iron-willed, and tough. Logically, that team should have flourished under his leadership and won a championship.

But the reality was, Su Xi had beaten them into submission, and Ben Wallace had even run off to Chicago for a twenty-million-dollar annual salary.

He had jumped ship, too.

Now, the Knicks were willing to offer him ten million a year. He didn’t want to miss this opportunity. Who’s going to say no to money?

After all, he had never earned a ten-million-dollar annual salary in his entire career.