The Best Point Guard

The Miami Heat played hard, but it was no use.

Even though Shaquille O’Neal unleashed his full might for a couple of possessions, the Knicks countered by subbing in Jerome James to wear him down. They sent him to the free-throw line with fouls while continuing their barrage from the outside.

Miami was powerless to mount a comeback.

The loss was baffling, yet utterly decisive.

100–111.

They lost by 11 points.

They had made almost no mistakes. Aside from Shaquille O’Neal’s slight drop in efficiency when he entered in the fourth quarter, they played at a high level the entire game. Even when the Knicks employed the Hack-a-Shaq strategy, O’Neal’s free-throw percentage was nearly seventy percent.

So, the Miami Heat were defiant in defeat. They even left Madison Square Garden Arena with their heads held high.

’Su Xi had no idea what they were so proud of.’

’Are they taking a moral victory from the close score?’

’Or are they looking down on us for *only* winning by eleven points?’

Su Xi gave an interview to the media after the game. He had recorded another triple-double.

And why "another"?

Because this season, the league had grown numb to Kobe’s incredible scoring numbers, just as they’d grown numb to Su Xi’s incredible triple-doubles.

It was as if Kobe was simply expected to drop huge numbers, and Su Xi was expected to get a triple-double as a matter of routine.

The biggest victim in all this was LeBron James. No matter how hard he worked, he was forced to live in the shadow of those two. No matter how many points he scored, he couldn’t surpass Kobe. No matter how he showcased his all-around game, getting a triple-double was a struggle. It was only possible if his entire team dedicated themselves to padding his stats, but chasing numbers like that meant giving up on any hope of victory.

"We’re very disappointed. We still failed to execute any systematic plays in this game. We were just out there playing randomly, letting down the expectations of all the experts. We also failed to give the fans a traditional, conservative game."

Isaiah Thomas delivered his post-game self-criticism with the utmost sincerity.

He was very serious.

He meant every word.

He even seemed to be blaming himself.

But every reporter in the room burst out laughing. They all thought Thomas was being sarcastic.

Every single person thought he was being sarcastic.

In reality, Isaiah Thomas was genuinely distressed.

He wanted to be a man of his word. At the All-Star break, he had announced that for the second half of the season, they would focus on playing proper, tactical basketball, even if it meant sacrificing their record. As it turned out, while they were indeed implementing new tactics, the wins just kept coming. He was ashamed of securing the best record in the league and had apologized for it repeatedly.

But nobody was listening.

They all treated him as comic relief.

Some even dubbed it the "Isaiah Thomas Phenomenon."

How frustrating it all was for Isaiah.

"The Miami Heat are a great team. I’ve been studying their tactical system constantly. Pat Riley is so brilliant that I’ve lost sleep trying to figure out how to counter them, and I still can’t find a way. That’s why we looked so discombobulated out there tonight."

Thomas was just too sincere.

But sincerity can be a double-edged sword.

When someone relayed his words to Pat Riley, Riley was furious. He puffed out his cheeks like an angry bird.

"Isaiah Thomas is going to learn his lesson. He’ll pay the price for that mouth of his."

"This game was a fluke. We’ll have our answer for them in Game 2."

Pat Riley vowed.

He truly didn’t give a damn about this Knicks mob. So what if they were number one in the league? So what if they had Su Xi? A ragtag bunch is a ragtag bunch. What good could possibly come from a head coach who spent all day being passive-aggressive and talking trash, a coach who couldn’t even draw up a play on the sidelines?

Pat Riley’s words infuriated the New York Media. They, in turn, criticized and attacked the Miami Heat, believing they were getting ahead of themselves by daring to challenge the top team in the league.

The animosity between the two sides intensified, starting to feel more and more like the gritty, hard-fought battles of the nineties.

...

While the Knicks were battling the Miami Heat in the second round, LeBron James and the Cavaliers were proving to be a dark horse of their own. They managed to steal a road game at The Palace of Auburn Hills, pulling off yet another upset.

James had an outstanding performance in that game, dominating Detroit with a stat line of 31 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds.

Su Xi wasn’t surprised by the result at all. The Cavaliers’ defense, under the guidance of Mike Brown, had been truly excellent this season.

More importantly, even with a new head coach, the Pistons were still vulnerable to penetrating guards.

This was especially true after Ben Wallace’s departure, which had left their interior defense even weaker.

Meanwhile, it was worth noting that a similar dark horse was on a wild run out in the West.

After eliminating the Phoenix Suns in the first round, the Lakers ran into the San Antonio Spurs in the second.

Kobe had managed to steal a win in San Antonio.

Kobe dropped 49 points in that game.

He went on an absolute rampage.

It seemed the Spurs had met their kryptonite. The Spurs and Pistons were like brothers in misfortune; both had strong defenses, but they had different weaknesses. The Pistons feared slashers who could penetrate, while the Spurs feared super scorers like Kobe who could kill them from mid-range.

Both of those series were shaping up to be must-watch television.

No wonder people were calling this season a three-man show starring Kobe, James, and Su Xi. And no wonder the league was marketing them as its signature stars.

Just look at how they were performing in the playoffs.

...

After catching up on all the drama around the league, it was time for the Knicks’ second game of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Everyone knew full well: whoever won this series between the Miami Heat and the Knicks was going to the NBA Finals.