The Best Point Guard

Pat Riley was a forceful head coach. When he gave an order, he demanded his players execute it unconditionally.

The teams he led all had a ruthless streak.

The whistle blew, and the game resumed.

Sure enough, they focused their energy on Randolph, even preventing him from setting screens.

Was it effective?

It was effective to a certain extent; Zach Randolph’s shot opportunities did decrease. But the Knicks’ offense became even smoother.

There was no question about it.

There were only five defenders on the court, so when they used more players to shadow Randolph, Su Xi and his other three teammates naturally found themselves in a four-on-three situation.

It was simple math.

Pat Riley was taking a gamble on the Knicks’ outside shooters’ accuracy.

SWISH!

SWISH!

SWISH!

Su Xi and Crawford unleashed a barrage of three-pointers, and Su Xi also frequently drove into the paint to create havoc.

The Heat fell further and further behind.

But Pat Riley was extremely stubborn. He wouldn’t change a decision once he’d made it, convinced his strategy was flawless.

Even though they lost the game by 19 points.

And just like that, the Heat Team lost the second game of the series.

It didn’t matter that O’Neal had 29 points and 18 rebounds, or that Wade had 31 points and 8 assists.

It was no use.

Six Knicks players scored in double figures. Su Xi put up a triple-double with 28 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds. Zach Randolph had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Crawford had 24 points, and Eddie Curry, Trevor Ariza, and Tony Battie also contributed.

Everyone on the Knicks contributed.

Everyone played at their best. Under those circumstances, even with O’Neal and Wade, the Heat couldn’t stop the Knicks from defending their home court.

"I’m disappointed that once again, we failed to execute our system. We were just playing as individuals."

Isaiah Thomas apologized sincerely, once again.

He was always like this.

The players, in contrast, were much happier.

Crawford said it was the best game he had played since joining the Knicks.

Although he only scored 24 points, his regular-season high was 49.

Clearly, his standard for a "best game" wasn’t just about total points scored.

"I love this kind of atmosphere. You might say our playstyle is unorthodox, but if being unorthodox wins games, why not do it? There’s no reason for us not to keep playing this way. The only person we can think of who might be sad about it is Isaiah Thomas."

Zach Randolph said after the game, "I just love telling the truth."

Su Xi, by contrast, was humble. He said, "I think for us, as long as we play good defense and are free to do our own thing on offense, we’ll be fine."

Pat Riley, however, remained unconvinced. He still felt the Knicks’ victory was a fluke.

He didn’t think the Heat had played poorly.

As for why they lost, it was because the Knicks were just too lucky.

He believed that once they returned to the American Airlines Center Arena, things would be fundamentally different.

So, his last words at the press conference were, "See you in Miami, Knicks."

He issued a challenge, vowing to reclaim the pride of the Miami people.

He believed the combination of O’Neal and Wade could dominate the league, just as Kobe and O’Neal had in their time.

In fact, the Heat Team’s current roster was very similar to that of the old Lakers.

...

The Knicks were now on a two-game winning streak.

Meanwhile, neighboring Cleveland lost their second road game, and the series was tied 1-1.

In the West, the results of the two semifinal series were also in.

The Dallas Mavericks were up 2-0 against the Grizzlies.

The San Antonio Spurs won a game back to tie their series 1-1 with the Kobe-led Lakers.

Among the NBA’s three biggest superstars, Su Xi currently had the upper hand.

Many experts were now analyzing this year’s playoff landscape. Their tune had started to change. Previously, they had said the Miami Heat were a lock to come out of the East, followed by the defending champion Pacers.

But now the Pacers had been upset and eliminated by the Cavaliers, and the Heat Team had been beaten by the Knicks to fall behind 0-2.

Although Pat Riley was talking tough and refusing to concede defeat with his "see you in Miami" comment.

And many advanced stats also suggested Miami wasn’t truly being outplayed; it seemed all evidence pointed to the Knicks just being lucky.

But why were the Knicks always so lucky?

Some experts, no matter how stubborn or how much they disliked Su Xi, had to consider their own reputations. They started to think that perhaps it was simply due to Su Xi’s superior skill.

As a result, the buzz around the Knicks winning the East grew louder and louder.

It got to the point where a group of Nike executives took a chartered flight to New York. Phil Knight pleaded with Su Xi to sign a brand-new contract. They proposed establishing a new brand as a partnership, with Su Xi simply taking a percentage. ’Don’t make me get on my knees and beg you.’

The offer they made was very generous: a seven percent cut of the new brand’s sales revenue.

For comparison, Jordan himself only took a five percent cut from the Jordan Brand.

But Su Xi felt it was too low.

Su Xi was in no hurry at all. If he won a third championship and a third Finals MVP, his value would rise exponentially, with each achievement stacking on top of the last.

Nike was getting desperate.

Phil Knight now felt like slapping himself every night. ’Why was I so impulsive back then? Why did I make that bet against Little Sheep Su Xi? I was just talking smack!’

’Who the fuck knew Su Xi would make a run for the Finals and the Finals MVP for three seasons in a row?’

’He makes the All-Star team every year, wins the regular season MVP every year, makes both the All-NBA First Team and the All-Defensive First Team every year... and now he has a great chance to go for the championship and Finals MVP again.’

’Even for a massive company like Nike, our cash flow can’t really handle this.’

At this rate, Su Xi’s annual income would exceed the total value of the "contract of the century" James had signed.