The Best Point Guard

He didn’t want the series to drag on, because if it did, the Knicks’ Randolph and Eddie Curry would be unleashed.

That would be very detrimental to their schedule.

Popovich’s taunt was, at its core, a show of disrespect for James.

If he had any respect for James, he would have provoked the Knicks instead.

Little General Johnson and Popovich came from the same school of thought. How could he not see through Popovich’s scheme?

’Fine. You look down on Nan Murong, so I’ll look down on Nan Murong, too.’

"We’re prepared to face the Knicks. Little Sheep Su Xi is just too strong; he’s the number one player of the new generation. LeBron is good too, just a notch below Jack. No, two notches. Alright, maybe three, four, five..."

The Little General’s math wasn’t great, but his talent for infuriating people was top-notch.

The television in James’s hotel room, once again, did not survive. When he saw the Little General counting on his fingers—one, two, three, four, five—he smashed the TV in a fit of uncontrollable rage.

’What the hell does this have to do with you guys?’

’Can you even make it to the Finals?’

’Fuck you.’

...

BWEEET!

The whistle sounded.

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals officially began, and Madison Square Garden Arena was packed to the rafters with fans.

Before Su Xi even took the court, thunderous MVP chants, like a roaring tsunami, filled the arena.

The noise was deafening.

Standing on the sidelines, Isaiah Thomas rested his chin on his hand. He didn’t even know what he was thinking; he just felt the pose made him look cool.

Charles Barkley mocked him on TV: "The luckiest thing that ever happened to this Isaiah Thomas fellow was running into Jack Su. Without Su, he’d be a total joke. But now he’s all smiles. He made a name for himself with a single trade."

"Do you envy him?"

"Duh, who wouldn’t be? He just strikes a pose on the sideline every day and gets to be successful. He spouts off a few insults at the opponents after the game and gets swarmed by the media. And he’s collecting two fucking paychecks for it. To be honest, my mom could do this job. She’s a much better trash-talker than Isaiah Thomas."

Barkley said irritably.

He was truly consumed by envy and resentment.

In comparison, all they did was run their mouths all day, but they didn’t have half the swagger of Isaiah Thomas.

Thomas was on the verge of becoming the laughingstock of his generation, but then he latched onto Su Xi’s coattails and skyrocketed to success. Now, there were even media outlets dredging up the past and criticizing Jordan for freezing Thomas out and keeping him off the Olympic team back in the day.

And this was just the beginning. If the Knicks continued their ascent and Little Sheep Su Xi truly became Goat Su Xi, snatching the GOAT title from Michael Jordan, then the New York media would undoubtedly turn on Jordan and start settling old scores.

As a result, Jordan now found himself in fundamental opposition to New York.

He already disliked Su Xi, so he sided with James, advising the Cavaliers not to be hasty. He believed that if they played a slow, patient game, they would surely defeat the Knicks.

The Cavaliers followed Jordan’s advice. He was the God of Basketball, after all. He couldn’t be giving them bad advice, could he?

Ilgauskas won the tip-off against Jerome James.

However, just as Snow got the ball and was about to cross half-court, Su Xi saw his chance, shot out, and immediately clamped down on him, ripping the ball away before charging downcourt.

In the blink of an eye, he was at the three-point line. With a nimble move, he instantly blew past his defender, then drove into the paint. He bumped Gooden out of his way and, with James chasing him down for the block, adjusted in mid-air and laid the ball in with his left hand.

It was a single, fluid motion.

He had the entire Cavaliers defense playing out of the palm of his hand.

The game continued.

The Knicks kept up their intense defense. Su Xi, at the point, locked down Snow, forcing him to pass the ball to James. James went one-on-one against Ariza.

He had a relatively easy time, bumping Ariza aside and driving deep into enemy territory. But the sight of Jerome James in the paint made him hesitant, like a bird startled by the sound of a bow.

He opted for a pull-up jumper.

Su Xi chased him down from behind to contest the shot. Although he didn’t touch the ball, he disrupted James’s shooting rhythm.

The ball clanked off the iron.

Su Xi grabbed the rebound.

The game continued.

Su Xi took on Snow one-on-one at the point, sinking a pull-up jumper.

It was a mismatch whoever Su Xi played against, and his touch and technique were now honed to perfection.

The game continued.

The Cavaliers’ offensive focus in this game was scattered, and James himself realized his own offense wasn’t reliable.

On the next possession, Ilgauskas initiated the offense from the free-throw line, passing to Gooden. But as Gooden went up for the shot, Tony Battie contested it early, and he also bricked it.

And once again, it was Su Xi who charged into the paint to grab the rebound.

On the other end of the court, he passed to Crawford, who let it fly from the corner three-point line... SWISH!

It was good.

The Knicks’ offensive firepower hadn’t diminished in the slightest.

Crawford in particular, whose opening three-pointer sent a chill down the Cavaliers’ spines.

Everyone knew that once Crawford caught fire, he and Su Xi would form a terrifying offensive web for the Knicks.

The game continued.

James tried to create a miracle, but Su Xi quickly switched over to guard him personally.

Nan Murong had come to Mount Shaoshi.

Qiao Feng began to dominate the game, and it was as if he’d turned on a loudspeaker.

The cheers from the crowd were like a roaring tsunami.

The Cavaliers held on for a few minutes in the first quarter, but after that, the floodgates opened.

They were completely unable to organize a decent offensive set.

With James having gone cold, they didn’t even look like a functional team anymore.

The point deficit widened rapidly.

The Knicks fans grew more and more ecstatic, even starting a massive chant: "Welcome to New York!"

For the Cavaliers, this was the ultimate irony.

They had come to fight for the Eastern Conference Championship, yet they were being treated like a charity case, there to give away an easy win.

They had intended to take advantage of the Knicks’ weakened inside presence, to loot a burning house.

Instead, they had suffered a double loss, discovering they were no match for the Knicks at all, even with the home team handicapped in the paint.

The gap in the score widened quickly.

At the end of the first half, they were down by 17 points.

At the end of the third quarter, they were down by 25.

The fourth quarter became semi-garbage time.

James looked completely dejected, like a wilted flower.

He just couldn’t do it. He just couldn’t rise to the occasion.

Even though the head referee was giving him favorable calls, letting many of his travels slide. But against Su Xi, it was as if he was facing his natural predator. It didn’t matter that the rules restricted Su Xi from using his hands on defense, or that Su Xi was so much shorter.

But Su Xi’s base was too solid, his speed too great, his explosiveness too powerful, his vertical leap too high... Everything James had, Su Xi also had. And everything James lacked, Su Xi possessed.

In a situation like this, how could he possibly beat Su Xi?

The physical advantages James held over others meant nothing against Su Xi.

And the technical skills he lacked became a fatal weakness that Su Xi exploited relentlessly.

James was heartbroken. If he knew the stories from China’s Three Kingdoms period, he would surely be reminded of Zhou Yu.

’Oh, cruel world! If you already created me, James, why did you also have to create a Little Sheep Su Xi?’

’Without Little Sheep Su Xi, I would be the true Chosen One! Who could possibly defend against me?’

In the latter half of the fourth quarter, James sat on the bench.

He was silent, his gaze vacant.

He had no choice but to accept the grim reality.

The reality that he was, it seemed, truly not worthy of being compared to Su Xi.

He even felt a pang of regret. Why did he have to fight his way to the Eastern Conference Finals? If he hadn’t made it this far, perhaps he could have held onto his illusions a little longer.

But the time had come to face the music.

The most brilliant moment of his career had been reduced to a footnote in Su Xi’s legend.

’Am I about to get swept?’

Nan Murong seemed to already know what was coming next.

BZZZT!

When the final buzzer finally sounded, James let out a sigh of relief.

Madison Square Garden Arena had long since erupted into a sea of celebration.

It was another massacre.

The Knicks once again had the last laugh.

Goat Su Xi raised his hands high, and the entire arena roared like a tsunami.

He was already the greatest, most exciting basketball player in New York history.

No one had ever captured the hearts of the people like he had.

The Su Xi era had officially begun!