The Best Point Guard

James’s touch was off to start the game.

The moment James jumped for his shot and Su Xi rushed up to defend, Su Xi felt his Super Leaping Ability talent stir, showing signs of an upgrade.

Eddie Curry grabbed the rebound and passed it to Su Xi.

Su Xi brought the ball past half-court. James didn’t step up to defend him.

He didn’t want to do the dirty work.

Besides, matching up against Su Xi never ended well. If Su Xi made him look bad, wouldn’t the New York Media have a field day with it?

Su Xi drove to the basket, drew the double-team, and then passed the ball to Eddie Curry, who scored on a layup.

After Curry scored, David Lee and Channing Frye jumped up from the sidelines, waving their towels and cheering.

For Eddie Curry, this was the best kind of stimulant.

Tony Battie sat nearby, looking bored. Because he had fought Bruce Bowen in last year’s Finals, he was still serving a suspension.

But looking at the current situation, he felt he’d have plenty of time to slack off this new season. With Eddie Curry turning over a new leaf, plus young guys like David Lee and Channing Frye growing stronger, the Knicks’ frontcourt was no longer a major concern.

’Jack’s leadership skills are truly superb.’

Tony Battie praised him from the bottom of his heart.

The game continued.

LeBron James drove inside for a one-on-one, but he also chose to pass, dishing it to Drew Gooden, who scored on a jump shot.

James’s passing ability was impressive, and his court vision was excellent. As long as he wanted to, he could deliver the ball to any spot on the floor.

On the other end, Su Xi penetrated the paint and passed it out to the perimeter. Jalen Rose took the shot... CLANK!

It was a miss.

Su Xi leaped up, tipping the ball into the basket over Drew Gooden.

Su Xi was showcasing his all-around, omnipresent game.

The game continued.

The Knicks maintained their lead, but the Cavaliers gradually found their offensive rhythm as well.

The Cavaliers’ tactical system was more mature. Orchestrated by James, they had multiple players contributing to the scoring.

The Knicks, on the other hand, currently had no tactical system. They were relying purely on Su Xi’s individual ability to carry the team. The team was only executing plays in small zones, unable to produce any systematic offense.

Isaiah Thomas paced back and forth on the sidelines, looking very busy.

In reality, it was all an act, a performance of what a normal head coach should be doing on the sidelines.

In truth, he had lost control and his ability to predict the game’s flow. He didn’t know where the game was heading, nor did he know what plays his own team was running.

It was purely Su Xi carrying the team, or you could say, he was freestyling.

Completely unpredictable.

Mike Brown might look simple and honest, but he actually had a sharp tactical mind. He could often see through an opponent’s weaknesses, even setting up his defense based on their initial move.

But now, watching the Knicks play, he felt a sense of powerlessness.

Because every possession was different from the last, each with its own unique offensive approach.

The Cavaliers’ defensive lineup couldn’t contain Su Xi’s drives, they couldn’t stop his one-on-ones, and they certainly couldn’t stop his passing.

At that moment, a single question was running through his mind: ’A player like this... doesn’t this count as a star who is a system unto himself?’

O’Neal’s dominance in the paint was unparalleled.

Tim Duncan could anchor a team on both offense and defense.

And now Su Xi... he was like a phantom, impossible to guard.

At the end of the first quarter, the Knicks led 32-28, a 4-point lead.

Su Xi’s personal stats were 8 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block.

All-around dominance!

A textbook example of a well-rounded player.

LeBron James had 5 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal. Also a solid all-around performance, but it fell a little short compared to Su Xi’s.

Su Xi walked toward the bench with a smile. His Super Leaping Ability talent had increased by 2 points in the first quarter, going from 80 to 82.

The improvement in his leaping ability brought about a comprehensive change for Su Xi. Every skill on the court required leaping ability, not just jumping up for a dunk.

For a long time, leaping ability has been the gold standard for judging the talent of an NBA perimeter player.

It was also what fans loved to talk about most.

Previously, Su Xi didn’t have it.

This was probably why some people said Su Xi’s talent was inferior to James’s.

Now, Su Xi was determined to fleece James for all he was worth.

Using James’s talent to activate his own Super Leaping Ability talent—how great was that?

Just like back when he was on the Cavaliers.

Without the solid foundation he built with the Cavaliers, he wouldn’t have been able to transition so seamlessly to the Pacers and quickly reach his peak.

So, Su Xi’s feelings toward James were rather complicated.

...

Su Xi’s job wasn’t just to upgrade his own super talents; he also had to make adjustments to the team’s lineup. Nowadays, Isaiah Thomas listened to whatever he said.

When he returned to the bench, Thomas quietly asked him who to sub in next.

Su Xi named Crawford, David Lee, and Jerome James.

Isaiah Thomas was a bit surprised.

BEEP! The whistle blew.

Su Xi took the court with Crawford, Jalen Rose, David Lee, and Jerome James.

Jerome James was so bloated and fat that he didn’t look like a basketball player at all anymore.

When his name was called, he himself was startled. ’I can still play?’

’Either keep paying me to do nothing, or give me enough money for a buyout,’ he had already resigned himself to mailing it in.

But now, the Knicks wanted him on the court.

’Fine, I’ll play. But don’t blame me if we give up points,’ he thought to himself.

Then, on the very first possession, James blew past Jalen Rose, charged into the paint like a whirlwind, and crashed straight into Jerome James. The two Jameses collided.

The fat James fell flat on his butt, a sharp pain shooting from his tailbone straight to the top of his skull.

Moreover, the impact from James sent his chest into turmoil; it felt like he was about to vomit up his insides.

James didn’t feel so great either. He hadn’t expected to run into a meat shield like that. He originally thought Jerome James would jump or at least move a little.

However, that dead-weight fatty Jerome had no such reaction. He was like a dead pig lying motionless on a railroad track.

Just watching the train bear down on him.

As Jerome sat down hard on the floor, LeBron stumbled and lost the ball.

He turned and was about to ask the referee for a foul call.

But Su Xi had already snatched the ball and was sprinting down the court. Larry Hughes gave chase relentlessly, even rising up with Su Xi in the frontcourt, trying to block him. He was just a fraction too slow; his hand slapped Su Xi’s wrist, just barely missing the ball... BOOM!

Su Xi slammed the ball into the hoop with one hand.

It was an imposing play.

And it had a certain aesthetic appeal, too.

"Has Jack’s leaping ability improved?"

Sitting at the ESPN commentary desk, Su Xi’s former teammate Reggie Miller said with a straight face, "He could never jump this high or this far before."

"Really?" Mike Brin asked Reggie Miller. "He didn’t seem to jump all that high on that play. How bad was his leaping ability before?"

"He never specifically trained his leaping ability before. He mostly focused on strength and coordination," Reggie Miller said. "He’s a methodical player, tackling one thing at a time. When he was training coordination, he’d put everything else on hold. He must have started training his leaping ability talent now. I have a feeling you can expect to see his dunks on the Top 5 plays soon."

"Before, his leaping ability was very ordinary. In Indiana, it wasn’t anything special. He could only compare with the big men and me. He couldn’t be compared to monsters like Bender and Foster."

Reggie Miller was able to provide the ESPN audience with a lot of firsthand information.

This was one of the reasons he was on the commentary team.

Another reason was that Miller was indeed experienced, well-spoken, and had a high-level understanding of tactics.

For instance, tonight, he hit the nail on the head by saying: The Knicks have no tactical system. Their offense relies on Su Xi, and their defense is purely one-on-one. Playing like this will be exhausting. No matter how big their lead is early on, it won’t be secure.

"Reggie, I have a question. You said Jack always trains his talents one by one. Isn’t he worried that increasing his strength will decrease his agility, or that increasing coordination will reduce his strength, or that improving his leap will cause his agility to decline?"

A basketball expert sitting to the side asked Miller.

Miller thought for a moment. "I don’t know, but from my observation, he doesn’t have that problem. Maybe that’s his greatest talent. He’s like a 10,000-gallon basin, able to hold all kinds of talents without them crowding each other out. Other players might only have a 1,000-gallon basin, or even just 100 gallons, forcing them to make trade-offs. He doesn’t have to."