The Best Point Guard

Reggie Miller was on TV, singing his praises to high heaven.

He had always been a rabid Su Xi fan.

He was so enthusiastic that even Charles Barkley on the next channel felt his job was on the line.

As he boasted, Larry Brown was surprised and bewildered. ’Is this really the same Knicks team whose tapes I studied so obsessively?’

While the Knicks had added a few tactical details recently, that didn’t mean they should be able to play like this.

The second half began. After a high pick-and-roll with Nash, Stadumier hit a jump shot.

Then, Su Xi ran the exact same play. He and Tony Battie executed a pick-and-roll, and he quickly drove into the paint. He passed to Eddie Curry, who again drew the help defense and passed the ball back out. This time... Shaun Marion had gotten wise to it and quickly rotated back.

But Eddie Curry didn’t pass the ball to Ariza; he passed it to Crawford instead.

Crawford went one-on-one against Nash like it was child’s play.

Nash’s defensive ability was even worse than J Kidd’s offensive ability.

The Phoenix Suns started a fast break. Boris Diaw, at the high post, passed to a cutting Marion, who made the layup.

The Knicks’ defense was still a problem, especially their help defense in the paint.

On the other end, the Knicks again ran a high pick-and-roll with Su Xi and Tony Battie, followed by a drive into the paint. After penetrating, Su Xi passed to Eddie Curry. Marion didn’t provide help defense this time, and Eddie Curry dunked it with ease.

On the next possession, Su Xi and Tony Battie ran a pick-and-roll. Su Xi passed to Batty, who hit a jump shot from the free-throw line.

On the possession after that, Su Xi and Tony Battie ran another pick-and-roll. Su Xi drove into the paint, barreled through the defense for a powerful dunk, and drew the foul for a 2+1.

Throughout the entire first quarter, the Knicks’ opening gambit was the pick-and-roll. For the first seven minutes, it was Su Xi and Tony Battie. For the last five, it was Su Xi and David Lee. The results were the same, though David Lee’s shot was even a bit smoother.

The play was simple, but its variations were endless.

The Phoenix Suns couldn’t defend it; they were always left scrambling.

At this point, Isaiah Thomas was starting to get it.

’No wonder Jack said we needed to run some plays. He’s using the Phoenix Suns for practice!’

Looking across the entire league, was there any team with higher defensive energy than the Phoenix Suns but lower overall defensive strength?

The answer was no.

Therefore, it was the perfect situation to practice and drill new tactics.

In the second quarter, the Knicks changed their lineup again.

Hardaway, Su Xi, Jalen Rose, David Lee, and Channing Frye took the court.

This lineup was very tall, but in reality, their inside presence was hollow.

So, Su Xi moved directly to the low post, with Hardaway responsible for feeding him the ball. Hardaway truly lived up to his old reputation as Jordan’s successor. Though only a fraction of his physical gifts remained, his ability to pass into the paint had only grown more precise.

He was the man who used to feed O’Neal the ball, after all.

Su Xi posted up Rondo one-on-one. The offensive techniques he’d copied from Kobe had reached 91 points after years and years of practice and clanked shots. Combined with his powerful physique, it was just enough—no more, no less—to perfectly handle Rajon Rondo in a low-post one-on-one.

On the first play, he spun and forced a layup in.

On the second, Stadumier couldn’t resist coming over to help. Su Xi passed it out to the three-point line, and Channing Frye caught it and shot... SWISH!

The three-pointer was good.

On the third, Su Xi was in the low post again. Marion came to double-team him early, so Su Xi passed to Jalen Rose. As Rose cut to the basket, he dished it to David Lee, who made the shot.

On the fourth, Su Xi caught the ball in the low post and passed to a cutting Hardaway, who scored on a layup.

On the fifth...

If the Knicks were practicing a run-and-gun offense in the first quarter...

Then in the second quarter, they were practicing an inside-out game. The twist was that their point guard, Su Xi, was playing one-on-one in the paint, while their center, Fleay, was shooting from the outside.

It was truly unorthodox.

In the commentary booth, Larry Brown was furious, as if someone had desecrated his ancestors’ graves. He roared nonstop, "This style of play is a perversion of basketball! Against a team with strong interior defense, they’d be utterly destroyed. Little Sheep Su Xi is just bullying the Phoenix Suns’ weak interior..."

"Uh... what else are you supposed to do?" Reggie Miller couldn’t help but ask. "Isn’t basketball all about attacking your opponent’s weak spots?"

Larry Brown was left speechless.

In the latter half of the second quarter, Eddie Curry came back in and also started playing one-on-one in the low post. Now the pressure on the Phoenix Suns was even greater, because Su Xi started running all over the court, playing a dual point guard role with Hardaway.

The Phoenix Suns began to fall behind from this point on.

By the end of the first half, the Phoenix Suns were trailing by 5 points.

And the Phoenix Suns had only scored 53 points in the first half.

While that would be a high score for most teams, for the Phoenix Suns, it was proof of how much trouble they were in and how much energy had been drained from them on the defensive end.

"Damn it, that bastard Isaiah Thomas is treating us like a team scrimmage. They’re just practicing new tactics on us."

D’Antoni vented his frustration to his coaching staff.

But losing his temper wouldn’t solve the problem.

Just as they couldn’t solve the threat of Su Xi on the court. As long as Su Xi was playing, he could wreak havoc and elevate all his teammates.

During the halftime break, Reggie Miller also explained what the Knicks were likely thinking.

In fact, anyone who knew a little about basketball could see it.

"Jack is truly a genius. He’s always using real games to practice while winning, improving through victory. Now, Steve Nash should understand why he lost the regular season MVP last season."

"Last season, after the brawl at the Auburn Hills Palace, the Pacers lost three starters, and our strength was greatly reduced. That’s when Jack proposed the strategy of practicing while winning, just like the Knicks are doing this season. We still managed to get the best record in the league, while Jack’s skills improved by leaps and bounds during the season. In the end, he sailed through the playoffs and won the championship with unstoppable momentum."

"So, what are Nash and the Phoenix Suns supporters still upset about? That trophy should have been Jack’s in the first place."

Reggie Miller stated on television with absolute certainty.

Hearing this, Larry Brown fell into deep thought. He was on the losing side last season, so he knew just how impactful Reggie Miller’s words were.

But at this moment, Mike Brin showed his contrarian nature. He said, "So you’re saying Jack Su can also win the regular season MVP this year, the Knicks can also finish with the best record, and the Knicks will sail through the playoffs to win the championship?"

Reggie Miller was momentarily taken aback.

But he was a famous contrarian himself. He retorted, "And why not? Right now, the Knicks already have the best record in the league; they haven’t lost a single game. If the Knicks finish with the best record, who do you think would be more deserving of the MVP than Jack? As for the championship, I won’t comment. My home team is the Pacers."