The Best Point Guard

Jason Terry passed to Nowitzki, who hit another one-legged fadeaway.

5-0 to start the game.

Isaiah Thomas roared from the sidelines.

Little General Johnson frowned. ’Have I found the Knicks’ biggest weakness? Why else would Isaiah Thomas be so tense?’

’So, what exactly is the Knicks’ biggest weakness?’

’Where did I hit them by accident?’

The Little General was bewildered.

The game continued.

Su Xi drove into the paint with the ball, bumped past Dampier, and laid it up with one hand. He put a little too much force on it with his fingertips, and the ball rimmed out. Jerome James grabbed the rebound and was fouled from behind by Nowitzki.

CLANK! CLANK!

He missed both free throws.

Eddie Curry muttered from the sidelines, "His touch is a little cold." He thought to himself, ’This is when they should put me in.’

Back on the other end, Nowitzki pulled up from beyond the three-point line... SWISH!

It went in.

8-0.

An 8-0 start.

The crowd went wild.

The ESPN studio was buzzing with excitement too. Larry Brown was clapping his hands, thrilled.

He was, after all, Little General Johnson’s grand-master, so to speak. By lineage, Larry Brown was Popovich’s mentor, and Popovich was Little General Johnson’s mentor. Following that logic, he was naturally the Little General’s grand-master.

"They’ve found the way to crack the Knicks! It’s to be just like them, to not play by the book! Just play iso-ball, come out and start gunslinging! Take wild shots!"

"The Mavericks should have figured this out long ago. Their shooters are just as hot as the Knicks’, they have more of them, and they’re not getting outrebounded. Why on earth did they lose two in a row? Because they were burdened, they kept trying to run plays. But the Knicks, that gang of thugs, don’t run plays at all."

"Trying to play structured basketball against them is a losing proposition for the Mavericks."

"But now, the Mavericks have thrown tactics out the window and are going right at them, blow for blow. I don’t believe the Knicks can win like this!"

As Larry Brown got worked up, he even clapped his hands a couple of times to pump himself up.

The viewers at home suddenly heard this theory and thought it actually made some sense.

It really did seem to be the case.

Reggie Miller, Su Xi’s staunchest ally, also frowned. ’Could it really be like that?’

’If the Mavericks really stick to this style of play, and their shots keep falling, the Knicks’ defense really can’t handle it.’

He started to worry about the Knicks.

But at that moment, Su Xi took control of the tempo. He went one-on-one with Stackhouse, pulled up for a jumper at the free-throw line... SWISH!

It was good.

Previously, people had criticized Su Xi’s ability to create his own shot off the dribble.

Now, he had become the Knicks’ stabilizing force.

The game continued.

As expected, Dallas pushed the pace. Despite Su Xi’s tight defense, Jason Terry suddenly pulled up for a jumper... He was still more than a meter behind the three-point line, and Su Xi hadn’t expected him to shoot from there, so his defense was a step slow.

SWISH!

The ball dropped cleanly through the net.

11-2.

The Mavericks opened with a scoring run.

TWEET!

Su Xi called a timeout.

He led the team back to the bench, showing little tension. Although the home crowd in Dallas was creating a frenzied atmosphere, it didn’t affect his morale.

Likewise, it had little effect on the morale of the other Knicks players.

After all, having followed Su Xi on this journey, they had weathered their share of storms.

Back on the bench, Su Xi said something that made Isaiah Thomas’s face light up with a grin: "We’re going to run some plays now."

’Run plays?’

Thomas’s eyes lit up. ’Are we finally going to run plays?’

Su Xi suggested putting Hardaway, Jalen Rose, Curry, and Jerome James on the floor together.

One look at this lineup, and you could see it was geared for a half-court set.

This was Isaiah Thomas’s bread and butter.

Although Thomas usually slacked off and coasted, his tactical fundamentals were actually very solid—he was a student of Chuck Daly, after all. Moreover, his record as a head coach was quite good; one could say he built the foundation of the Pacers.

He quickly drew up two inside-out plays.

The whistle blew.

Hardaway slowly brought the ball upcourt. Su Xi spaced out to the wing, with Jalen Rose filling in on the weak side as a shooter.

When Eddie Curry sealed Nowitzki in the paint, Hardaway immediately fed him the ball.

Eddie Curry caught the ball and powerfully backed him down twice. Nowitzki couldn’t quite hold his ground, and Curry seized the opportunity to spin, posting up Nowitzki to finish the layup.

There was truly nothing Nowitzki could do.

He was a power forward.

Although his strength had improved significantly, he really couldn’t handle a beast of a player like Curry.

At that moment, Reggie Miller said in the broadcast booth, "The Knicks have brought in this lineup. Are they planning to run a half-court offense? Are they trying to get tactical with the Mavericks?"

"Get tactical? What tactics do the Knicks have? They’re nothing but a guerrilla squad," Larry Brown said sharply. "Besides, do you really think this lineup can defend Dallas?"

The moment Larry Brown finished speaking, Su Xi was hounding Jason Terry near midcourt.

Terry was immediately flustered and had to pass to Stackhouse. Stackhouse got the ball, and Hardaway moved up to challenge him.

Stackhouse went into iso mode, attempting a shot from the wing after a series of fakes, but Hardaway didn’t fall for it and got a hand in his face.

CLANG!

The ball bounced off the rim.

Jerome James secured the rebound, passed to Su Xi, who gave it to Hardaway.

Once again, Hardaway calmly advanced the ball.

Isaiah Thomas was ecstatic. Standing on the sideline, he felt he could finally put his skills to use.

He yelled from the sideline, "Hey, space out, space out! A little more to the left, Jalen! You got this!"

He was like a micromanagement master, organizing with all his might.

The players on the court followed his instructions, running their routes.

Hardaway drove two steps into the lane. Having lost some of his athleticism, he was no longer as sharp as he used to be, but his ability to transition from a drive into a post-up was still there. He backed down Terry and executed a brilliantly instinctive spin. The moment Josh Howard’s center of gravity shifted forward, Hardaway made a bounce pass, subtly dishing it to Jalen Rose.

Rose found himself open and took the jump shot... SWISH!

Good.

Isaiah Thomas pumped his fist triumphantly on the sideline. "YES!"

The Knicks had so quickly stemmed the tide and made an instantly effective tactical change.

Little General Johnson was now lost, completely bewildered.

He thought, ’Is this Isaiah Thomas’s true ability? So he was just pretending to be carefree and unconcerned with the team all along. In reality, when the crucial moment comes, he’s the one stabilizing the troops. Terrifying.’

He truly is the man who not only escaped the clutches of the three titans—Magic, Jordan, and Bird—but also snatched two championships from them.

’That last Knicks play was entirely the result of Isaiah Thomas’s micromanagement. He had Jalen Rose run a route to create space, and sure enough, the ball ended up in his hands.’

’If it were me, I could never have predicted that. It’s like he perfectly copied his intentions from the tactical board directly onto the court.’

So the Little General replayed it in his mind.

But in reality, Isaiah Thomas hadn’t expected it either.

He had originally told Jalen Rose to create space to set up an isolation play for Eddie Curry, since that had worked on the previous possession.

Who knew Hardaway would have a flash of brilliance, his pass so clever and sharp.

SWISH!

Nowitzki hit a jumper on the offensive end.

Eddie Curry’s defensive pressure on Nowitzki was still lacking.

His foot speed wasn’t enough. Defending a face-up master of Nowitzki’s caliber, one of the best in history, was an extremely difficult task.

But on the other end, Isaiah Thomas started directing traffic again.

"Backdoor cut! Backdoor cut! Don’t just stand there, Jalen!"

"Jerome, you need to set a screen! After the screen, cut fast..."

"Jack! Jack!"

Thomas was invested, more invested than he had ever been.

For him, he could finally understand the game.

He had stumbled into the Finals as if in a dream, and now he could finally see clearly what his team was doing. How could he not be excited?

Besides, if he sat down, his rainbow socks would show. Better to stand and call plays.

Hardaway drove, passed to Jerome, who passed it back to Su Xi. Su Xi faked towards the perimeter, drawing the defense’s attention, but actually gave the ball right back to Jerome cutting to the basket.

Jerome received the ball and threw down a ferocious dunk!

The Knicks continued to close the gap.

The American Airlines Center Arena fell silent, as if it had been clubbed over the head.

The Little General was now dumbfounded. He was even tempted to call a timeout.

At this moment, he had only one thought about Isaiah Thomas: ’Sincere praise! A hidden tactical master! The stabilizing force of the Knicks!’