The Best Point Guard

Pat Riley had fired Stan Van Gundy this season and taken over the coaching duties himself.

Under his iron-fisted style, the Miami Heat’s discipline had improved dramatically.

Hardaway brought the ball up the court and used a screen from Zach Randolph to quickly drive into the paint. He had a one-on-one opportunity against O’Neal, and the photographers on the sideline were even ready to snap their shutters. Everyone was looking forward to seeing Hardaway go head-to-head with O’Neal. In that instant, many of Hardaway’s fans were even imagining what kind of slick move he would use to fool O’Neal.

But Hardaway passed the ball to Randolph.

Randolph caught the ball one step inside the free-throw line and took a jumper... SWISH!

Randolph had scored his first points in a Knicks uniform.

Haslem couldn’t guard him.

Randolph’s basket was a surprise to many fans watching on TV.

Because in the recent media narrative, Randolph was already a notoriously troubled player. Many reports swore up and down that his fall from grace was so severe he couldn’t even play anymore, claiming he was obsessed with women, gambling, and even substance abuse.

When the Knicks completed the trade, everyone thought they had lost their minds. Even the New York Media called it foolish, suggesting that the deep-pocketed owner, James Dolan, should just buy out Randolph’s contract to avoid disrupting the Knicks’ harmonious locker room and winning record.

Before the game, the three ESPN commentators unanimously agreed that Randolph was a bad fit for the Knicks, predicting he would very likely ruin the good chemistry the team had worked so hard to build. Even the most optimistic one, Reggie Miller, said Randolph would be difficult to control.

But who would have thought that Zach Randolph would be put directly into the starting lineup?

And that he would score on his very first possession.

It seemed he wasn’t as washed-up as the rumors claimed. His conditioning looked pretty good.

On the other end, Su Xi was guarding Wade.

Wade had clearly improved a lot. Aided by the current defensive rules, he quickly attacked from Su Xi’s left side.

Su Xi couldn’t contain him and failed to even funnel him into a defensive trap.

But this was where the advantage of having two big bodies in the paint showed itself. As Wade took off inside the paint, Zach Randolph and Eddie Curry both stretched out their arms to obstruct him.

This was what Su Xi had asked for. When facing Wade, they weren’t supposed to go for the block.

Eddie Curry and Randolph both executed it perfectly.

Eddie Curry was a bit taller, but when they both extended their arms, their reach was about the same. It was a testament to just how ridiculous Randolph’s wingspan was.

He just didn’t like to play defense; otherwise, with his physical tools, he would be a natural barrier just by standing there.

Wade was forced to adjust in mid-air.

But just as he finished his adjustment and released the ball, Su Xi swooped in from behind. His long arm came down directly on the ball Wade had just let go... SMACK!

The ball was slapped against the backboard and flew out of bounds.

No matter how fast The Flash was, he couldn’t escape a block from Goat Su Xi.

The ball flew backwards, and Ariza beat Anthony Walker to it.

Anthony Walker was a representative of the ’96 golden draft class. He spent his prime with the Boston Celtics, forming a famous duo with Pierce. He had signed a hundred-million-dollar contract, a testament to his exceptional skill.

However, his basketball philosophy was too ahead of its time. Although he was a power forward, he liked to drift out and play on the perimeter, eventually converting to a small forward.

He had a long range and often shot three-pointers.

In that era, people couldn’t understand why a big man would constantly jack up shots from beyond the three-point line. So, he was asked why he always shot from out there.

His answer was: "Because there is no four-point line."

Boston’s luck must have been all used up by Larry Bird and his generation, which is why they were now producing such abstract representatives.

Back on offense, Hardaway controlled the ball again. This time he passed to Su Xi, who immediately tossed it to Randolph. ’Let the new guy show what he’s got.’

The moment he got the ball, Randolph put some slick triple-threat moves on Haslem. Don’t be fooled by his size; his attention to detail was superb. A quick glance followed by a jab step was enough to send Haslem flying.

If Zach Randolph hadn’t wanted to show off a little more, he wouldn’t have even needed to dribble forward before his spin move and fadeaway floater. He could have just shot it directly.

Randolph on offense was like a 300-pound man dancing ballet.

As for Haslem, his one defining trait was loyalty. If you had to list his strengths, he was a hardworking grinder who knew the playbook inside and out, could grab defensive rebounds, was a decent help defender, and had a mid-range jumper on offense.

But asking him to guard Randolph one-on-one?

That was just serving him up on a platter.

Randolph’s little combo move made Isaiah Thomas ecstatic on the sidelines. He stroked his chin, now more tempted than ever to grow a little facial hair. Because Zach Randolph had told him, "If you don’t have hair on your face, you won’t look authoritative. Plus, people will think you’re unreliable."

It was a Chinese proverb.

Isaiah Thomas found it profound and had already decided to change his image.

This was one of the positive impacts Randolph had brought to the team.

His teammates on the court started high-fiving him and praising him enthusiastically.

This made Randolph extremely happy. The smile never left his dark-complexioned face.

Things were a bit awkward at the ESPN commentary desk. They couldn’t explain to the fans why Randolph was receiving such a warm welcome from the Knicks, and they certainly couldn’t explain why his form was so good that he’d already hit two straight shots.

Before the game started, they had been constantly mocking Randolph and the Knicks.

Now, they couldn’t figure out what to say to walk back their earlier comments.

They could only state the facts: Randolph had hit a turnaround floater.

O’Neal made a little hook shot.

Randolph executed a play with Hardaway and followed up with another successful layup.

Dwyane Wade successfully challenged Su Xi’s defense and sank a step-back jumper.

Eddie Curry’s one-on-one attempt against O’Neal missed, but Randolph grabbed the rebound and scored.

O’Neal went one-on-one against Eddie Curry. Randolph came over to double-team him, so O’Neal passed to Haslem. Haslem was fouled by Su Xi on the shot and made both free throws.

On the offensive end, Randolph drew a foul on Haslem, made the basket, and went to the free-throw line for the and-one.

So far, every single basket for the Knicks had been scored by Randolph.

Randolph’s point total was already in the double digits.

His points were all of the Knicks’ points.

The New York fans were gradually shedding their pessimistic and dejected mood, their expressions growing more and more joyful. Were they about to witness another miracle? Could Randolph actually achieve redemption with the Knicks? Could he really make a comeback?

More and more people were starting to get their hopes up.

At this point, Reggie Miller finally did some actual commentary. He said, "Is it possible that Randolph acted that way on purpose to force the Trail Blazers to trade him? I mean, the way he looks right now, he doesn’t seem like an irredeemably troubled player."

Uh...

Reggie Miller’s words opened up a new line of speculation.

Yeah, could Randolph have deliberately beaten up McMillan just to join the Knicks? No, he beat him up twice!

Mike Brown frowned, thinking it over very seriously. "Hmm, you can’t rule out that possibility."

Larry Brown, however, didn’t buy into this conspiracy theory. He stressed, "Zach Randolph’s issues with Portland go way back. And everyone saw the footage on TV; it didn’t look premeditated."

"The fact that he’s playing well right now just means the Knicks are willing to pass him the ball, and that he’s got a hot hand tonight."

"He hasn’t truly meshed with the Knicks’ system yet. You have to look at these things over a longer period of time."

Larry Brown said, offering a fair assessment.

But no matter what, for the Knicks fans watching on TV, this start was already beyond all expectations.

Before the game, who could have imagined Randolph would deliver such a huge surprise?