The Best Point Guard

A big man with a troubled heart could hardly get his bearings, let alone play basketball.

The more Zach Randolph played, the worse he felt. Seeing Eddie Curry beside him, huffing and puffing with energy, he suddenly felt it was all meaningless.

He made some good plays, but that couldn’t solve the Trail Blazers’ problems.

Backing down his man couldn’t save Portland, and neither could face-up layups.

’Portland is rotten to the core. What can I do but tank?’

Randolph sat on the bench during halftime, looking up at the big screen. It showed the Trail Blazers were already down by 17 points.

Most of the home fans had already left. The ones who remained were cheering for Su Xi, including many pretty, innocent-looking girls screaming for him.

The Trail Blazers’ head coach, Nate McMillan, walked over to Randolph and said, "Zach, you need to get it together. You have to shoulder more responsibility."

"Find someone else." Randolph, full of grievances, shot back at McMillan. "How the fuck am I supposed to get it together? We have no organization, no shooting, no shooters, and no inside presence. And on top of that, you have no strategy. Look at the Knicks; they run set after set of plays. And you? You run one play into the ground and don’t know how to adapt. You harp on discipline all day long, but has our discipline actually improved?"

McMillan was stunned and stood frozen for a long moment before saying, "Fine. Fine. Fine."

He benched Randolph.

Randolph didn’t care. He sat on the bench, watching the Knicks play with more and more vigor. He felt even worse, especially seeing his two kindred spirits from last night, Quentin Richardson and Jalen Rose, playing with such an aggressive drive.

’We were all enjoying the high and low life together, so how come they’re so positive and motivated on the court, while I’m just a fucking useless lump?’

Randolph looked around from his seat on the bench, a feeling of sadness washing over him.

He tilted his dark face up at a 45-degree angle, gazing at the sky. There wasn’t a single decent banner hanging above the Rose Garden Arena. At that moment, his sorrow flowed like a river.

He muttered, "This fucking place really is a prison."

Then, he stood up, casually mentioned that his butt was bothering him, and left the bench.

No one paid him any mind. The game was already in garbage time anyway.

Nate McMillan wished he would leave as soon as possible. Out of sight, out of mind.

If Zach Randolph didn’t apologize to him, he would keep Randolph on ice indefinitely. He swore it.

In the end, the Knicks effortlessly secured the victory, extending their undefeated streak.

After the game, Su Xi gave a brief sideline interview. He said he really liked the Portland fans and believed the Trail Blazers would get better. When asked which Trail Blazers player left the biggest impression on him, he said, "Zach Randolph. He looks fat, but he’s actually very agile. He looks undersized, but he actually controls a huge area. He’s also great at grabbing offensive rebounds. He’s like a wild boar that has mastered all the ground-based skills, but can also leap up and muscle opponents out of the way when you need him to crash the boards."

Su Xi spoke very highly of Zach Randolph.

Although some might find the "wild boar" comparison a bit unflattering.

But Randolph loved it. He felt Su Xi was a master of compliments and had described him perfectly.

’Unfortunately, I’m a pearl cast into darkness,’ he thought. ’Stuck in this Trail Blazers prison, I’ll never see the light of day.’

...

Su Xi left Portland for Salt Lake City, then it was on to Denver, followed by Oakland, Sacramento, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.

It was a grueling process. During the season, it wasn’t just a player’s skills that were tested, but also their body’s durability.

In Salt Lake City, Su Xi schooled a young Deron Williams.

Carlos Boozer was already the leader of the Jazz. He was thrilled to see Su Xi and enthusiastically told him about the local attractions. When Boozer left the Cavaliers, many people said he had gone back on his word and shouldn’t have left James.

But he had a ready excuse, saying that he had already decided to leave the moment Su Xi left. Everyone knew he and Su Xi were good friends.

In this game, Su Xi went easy on his good friend. On two occasions when he could have driven in for a powerful dunk, he let up and turned them into graceful, floating layups instead.

However, he wasn’t nearly as kind to Deron.

Deron was technically skilled and physically strong, but he lacked NBA experience. After Su Xi stonewalled him a few times, he got hot-headed and actually tried to show Su Xi a thing or two with his signature pendulum crossover. Su Xi promptly stole the ball from him twice in a row.

Coach Sloan, cursing under his breath, threw him on the bench and never let him back in.

Kirilenko took over the task of guarding Su Xi. By then, Su Xi had started passing and setting up his teammates, getting them into the offensive rhythm.

Kirilenko, nicknamed AK47, was a very versatile player and was once the leader of the Jazz. His offense was a bit lacking, however. And after the league implemented the new defensive rules, his defensive presence had diminished slightly.

But he was still very strong.

A truly versatile jack-of-all-trades.

The Knicks were actually in desperate need of a small forward like him right now.

Moreover, Kirilenko and Su Xi were a good match—not just on the court, but even more so off it. That was because Kirilenko’s girlfriend allowed him to cheat on her twice a year.

While Su Xi’s girlfriends never said anything, the whole world knew that the number of people Su Xi cheated with each year was far more than just two.

After defeating the Jazz, the Knicks arrived in Colorado. In Denver, the Knicks and the Nuggets got into a high-scoring shootout.

The Nuggets were pretty strong.

Especially Carmelo Anthony. He did whatever he wanted at the small forward position. Neither Jalen Rose nor Ariza could handle him, so in the end, Su Xi had to step in.