The Best Point Guard

Isaiah Thomas would never pass up an opportunity to show off. Even when there was no opportunity, he felt the urge to go and rub something in someone’s face.

And now, Su Xi had built him a stage, written the script, and had the microphones, lights, and cameras all in position. How could he possibly resist? He felt like he had ants crawling all over him.

After learning in the locker room the specifics of what Su Xi had said, he began his own performance at the post-game press conference.

"From the day I took over the Knicks, I initiated ’Project Origin.’ What is Project Origin? The ’origin’ is Little Sheep Su Xi. I was determined to correct the stupid mistake Layden made, to bring Goat Su Xi back to New York. From that day forward, I buried my head and worked tirelessly. Every single thing I did was to bring Jack back."

"There were many misunderstandings, many nasty words. A lot of people said I was acting recklessly, that I was just handing out garbage contracts."

"I just kept my head down and quietly continued doing what I had to do."

"Now that the team is on the right track, I can finally say it."

Isaiah Thomas even managed to move himself.

In fact, he started to feel like that really was what he had been doing—all for the sake of bringing Su Xi back.

The New York reporters in the audience broke into applause. They were genuinely moved by Isaiah Thomas’s story of enduring hardship. Some even felt a pang of guilt for the abuse Isaiah Thomas had suffered over the past two years. After all, which reporter in the room hadn’t bad-mouthed the Smiling Assassin?

Thomas’s trip down memory lane, recalling past bitterness to savor the present sweetness, cast a somber mood over the room.

Then, the conversation turned to the game.

And Isaiah Thomas went on a full-blown offensive.

"The result of this game proves two things. First: Jack is the GOAT. He proved his own strength. The question of whether he made the Pacers successful or the Pacers made him successful will be answered very soon. The Pacers didn’t have a championship before they got Goat Su Xi. And now that they’ve lost the GOAT, they won’t be getting one, ever."

"Second, Marbury just plain sucks. He was steering the Knicks straight into the draft lottery, yet Jack can take the very same team and beat the defending champions."

Isaiah Thomas felt no need to spare Stephon Marbury’s feelings.

His comparison resonated deeply with the reporters, who felt a cathartic sense of satisfaction from the bottom of their hearts.

In contrast, the Pacers’ head coach, Rick Carlisle, was busy trying to make excuses for Stephon Marbury. He claimed it was due to a lack of team chemistry and added that Stephon Marbury had come down with the flu before the game.

He painted a picture of Marbury playing heroically through an illness.

It was the only way to justify Marbury getting completely dismantled tonight.

One had to admit, the former coach-player duo of Carlisle and Su Xi were both masters of the ’white lie,’ exceptionally skilled at making others look good.

You could say those two nemeses, Isaiah Thomas and Stephon Marbury, had both lucked out.

...

After defeating the Indiana Pacers, the Knicks soared to the top of the league standings, a result that exceeded everyone’s expectations. Before the season began, the mainstream consensus was that Su Xi would merely lead the Knicks to the playoffs. But now... after taking down the defending champions, could they be aiming for a championship run?

Su Xi had said something to that effect.

But not even the New York Media had taken it seriously.

Now, however, a consensus had formed within the Knicks organization: Go for the championship.

At practice the next day, players started showing up, each one earlier than the last. It was scheduled for 1:30 in the afternoon, but the facility was already packed by the morning. They even had to arrange lunch for everyone.

Isaiah Thomas couldn’t understand it. He asked Quentin Richardson, "You guys won last night. Didn’t any of you go out to a club for a couple of drinks to celebrate?"

Quentin Richardson said with a straight face, "Drinking doesn’t seem that interesting anymore. Jack’s right, we need to pursue things that are worth remembering. He’s willing to lead the charge for us, to be the one breaking the wind up front. We have no reason not to put the pedal to the metal."

Quentin Richardson used to be a typical playboy, always chasing a good time. Isaiah Thomas never expected to hear such words from him. Was this the same Quentin Richardson who, right after signing a big contract extension, took out a million-dollar loan to buy a million-dollar diamond ring for some third-rate, married-and-separated female rapper, only to be played for a fool?

He actually had aspirations now.

Isaiah Thomas shook his head, but he was left completely dumbfounded when he saw Jerome James in the weight room lifting plates.

’Have they all gone crazy?’

Isaiah Thomas hadn’t expected Su Xi’s speech to have such a massive impact.

’Are the Knicks really about to take off?’

As the head coach, he was admittedly a little slow on the uptake.

During the actual practice, the players’ movements started to become more systematic. They were also communicating constantly, especially with Su Xi, telling him what their strengths were and where they were most comfortable on the court.

Su Xi, for his part, was quite diligent, taking a pen and noting everything down one by one. His notes, complete with diagrams, were incredibly detailed and vivid.

Isaiah Thomas suddenly had a feeling: ’How is Jack more of a head coach than I am?’

’What can I even do?’

Then Isaiah Thomas remembered: defense.

He figured he could bring some defensive experience to the team. After all, he was from the Detroit Pistons. Mentored by Coach Chuck Daly, he came from a legitimate school of thought when it came to defense.

He sat down on the sidelines and started drawing up defensive plays. He wasn’t just drawing things up on a whim, either; he was tailoring them to the Knicks’ actual circumstances.

The Knicks didn’t have much of a defensive foundation, and most of the players weren’t skilled on the defensive end.

So, this presented quite a challenge for him.

While things were heating up within the Knicks’ organization, Larry Brown appeared on an ESPN basketball talk show. He had signed a contract with ESPN; he would start here and slowly work his way up to a seat on the national broadcast.