The Best Point Guard

Vince Carter had long since fallen from the ranks of superstars.

Although Allen Iverson was still the scoring champion last season, the friction between him and the 76ers was growing stronger.

He was also getting older. Given his height and style of play, once his athleticism began to fade with age, his efficiency was bound to decline at a visible rate.

So, naturally, Su Xi, Kobe, and James became the league’s three biggest stars.

...

After winning two home games, the Knicks began their road trip up north.

Their first stop was Boston for a showdown with the Celtics.

The Celtics were basically tanking now. When Su Xi first entered the league, they still had the ambition to compete for a playoff spot. Now, after Su Xi had won two championship trophies, their target had become next season’s number one draft pick.

As one of the league’s two historic powerhouses, the Celtics’ slump had lasted far longer than the Lakers’. The Lakers managed to become contenders again every few years, always seeming to draw a good hand.

The best player the Celtics had landed since Larry Bird was Paul Pierce.

That summer, former Celtics superstar and current general manager Danny Ainge wrote Su Xi a long, heartfelt letter, even having Larry Bird deliver it to him.

Su Xi read it. It was very moving.

However, Su Xi had no interest in joining the Celtics to build a superteam with Pierce and restore the glory of the green and white.

’If I’m going to team up with someone, it might as well be Kobe. The allure of the Purple and Gold is much stronger.’

Besides, while Boston was a big city with a strong academic atmosphere, Su Xi still preferred New York and Los Angeles. So, he had politely declined.

Before the game, Su Xi met with Danny Ainge again. Ainge was still hung up on Su Xi joining the Knicks, feeling that Boston had a better foundation and that with Su Xi, they could have immediately begun their resurgence.

But Su Xi didn’t want to set himself up for constant comparisons.

’On a team with such a storied history, no matter how well you play, they can always dig up someone from the past with a better record.’

’Pointless.’

’It’s like dating. You don’t want someone with an extensive romantic history, because no matter what grand romantic gesture you make, someone has already done it before.’

The New York Knicks really struggled in this game.

Even though Boston was a pushover, the Knicks’ energy level was low that night. Crawford bricked his first three shots, and Eddie Curry, who had a bit of a cold, was a step slow.

The other players had their own issues as well.

So, toward the end of the game, Su Xi decided to just play with a lineup of rookies.

Nate Robinson, Ariza, David Lee, and Channing Fleay ran a cheerful run-and-gun offense with Su Xi.

Unexpectedly, they not only erased the deficit but surged ahead to a large lead.

In the end, the Knicks won by 9 points, securing a three-game winning streak.

The victory itself wasn’t particularly meaningful, but the way Su Xi led four rookies on a furious comeback to pull away with the lead was.

It certainly got a lot of people’s attention.

Especially Isaiah Thomas, who was often heard loudly "scheming" with team owner James Dolan on the team bus: "We need to make a series of trades before the All-Star break! We need to upgrade at the one, the two, the three, and the four!"

This made quite a few players nervous.

Every NBA player loves playing in New York. It’s a bustling city with plenty to do and lots of opportunities for extra income.

What millionaire wouldn’t want to stay in the greatest city in the world?

Who would want to end up in some freezing, remote place like Milwaukee, Minnesota, or Toronto?

The Knicks’ fourth stop was, in fact, Milwaukee.

It was a small city with a frankly shitty climate. They had landed the number one draft pick this year and were feeling pretty pleased with themselves. Add to that the fact that Bogut himself was a big mouth—one day he was talking about giving Duncan "a little shock," the next he was saying O’Neal was old, and the day after that he claimed "Little Sheep Su Xi" was just lucky.

Guys like that are just asking to be taught a lesson.

Su Xi had seen plenty of them.

So, on his very first play, Su Xi drove straight into the paint, rose up, and directly knocked the self-proclaimed "powerful" rookie center to the ground as he threw down a one-handed monster dunk.

The Milwaukee crowd erupted in boos, but Su Xi didn’t even bother to glance at Bogut.

Bogut, however, had quite a temper. He scrambled to his feet and actually tried to go after Su Xi from behind.

Just then, Eddie Curry shoved him away from behind.

Su Xi only turned back to see what was happening when he heard the cursing behind him.

That move from Eddie Curry just earned him his continued residency with the Knicks.

On the sideline, Isaiah Thomas clapped and yelled, nearly shouting, ’Fuck him up!’

He was probably the most unruly head coach in the entire league. As the leader of the Bad Boys Legion, what kind of high moral standard could you expect from him?

The fact that he could restrain himself from running onto the court to deliver a couple of Dragon Punches was a sign of successful rehabilitation. He would never pull a Jeff Van Gundy and cling to Moning’s leg. If it were him, he’d just give Moning two punches to the balls.

The officiating crew was professional, however, and quickly separated the two.

And gave each of them a technical foul.

Then both players were subbed out of the game.

As Eddie Curry walked off the court, he was still cursing, pointing at Bogut’s nose and saying, "I’m gonna perform surgery on you tonight."

Eddie Curry wasn’t the most cultured guy; he was a sucker for flattery.

But he was no pushover, even if his defense was lacking. When he said he’d perform surgery on Bogut, he meant to do it.

Keeping his word was his personal code. His role model was probably Luffy, since he loved to read shonen manga. Every time on the plane, he’d be reading one of those comic books, usually with a nude Playboy magazine hidden underneath, plus a cup of soda...

Richardson played particularly well after that, moving well without the ball and hitting a few open shots.

He had played in Phoenix before, so he had experience with a run-and-gun system.

He was dating a young model in New York now and wanted to stay, so he needed to play well. He also started proactively trying to get on Su Xi’s good side.

The newly subbed-in Jerome James might have been as shameless as a dead pig that doesn’t fear boiling water, but he couldn’t handle Su Xi actually turning on the heat.

In the last game in Boston, Su Xi had repeatedly engineered drives for Pierce to crash into him.

In this game, Su Xi started doing the same with Michael Redd and Anthony Mason.

Isaiah Thomas loved this tactic.

It was satisfying for him to watch Jerome James grimace in pain from the collisions.

He had personally given Jerome James that contract, with high hopes for him at the time. Who knew the bastard would just take the money and lie flat, putting in zero work or effort. Now, thanks to Su Xi, they were using him as a meat shield.

It was a form of recycling, in a way.

The two teams traded blows, and the first half ended without a clear winner.

In the third quarter, Crawford suddenly caught fire.

’His sense of urgency was kicking in. If he left New York, where else could he find such a perfect situation?’

As one of the NBA’s most famous streaky shooters, when he got hot, all Su Xi had to do was get him the ball and let him get into a shootout with Redd.

He won.

That was to be expected. After all, when Crawford was on fire, he wasn’t afraid to go up against anyone, not even Kobe.

The Knicks pulled away as a result.

At the same time, Bogut’s eyebrow was pulled open too.

Eddie Curry was a man of his word. Near the end of the third quarter, while battling Bogut for a rebound, he secured the ball and swung his elbows hard as he protected it. The rookie phenom was instantly busted open.

His eyebrow was split open, and blood streamed down his face.

Eddie Curry had done what he’d promised.

He then fired a long outlet pass to Su Xi, who attacked the basket in the frontcourt and threw down a dunk that was both graceful and violent.

From the backcourt, Eddie Curry dropped a line for the ages: "My bad, my bad."

He was openly admitting he was the one who busted open Bogut’s eyebrow.

At the same time, as Bogut glared at him fiercely with his good eye, he added in a cavalier tone, "If you can’t afford the medical bills, I’ll cover ’em for you. Rookie!"

Eddie Curry had just given the young rookies another lesson.

The nearby David Lee and the sidelined Channing Fleay had eyes sparkling with admiration.

Eddie Curry puffed out his chest slightly. ’Now that’s what you call a two-way player.’