The Best Point Guard

Reggie Miller was Su Xi’s former teammate. Su Xi had led him to two championships, remedying the biggest regret of his career. Even though ESPN wanted him to be a little more "objective," he truly couldn’t be.

Larry Brown, sitting next to him, was quite objective. He said, "The game has just begun. Little Sheep Su Xi’s individual scoring can’t change their overall disadvantage. They have no inside scoring, and they’ll have a hard time stopping the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are coming off a series of upsets. The Cavaliers’ morale is at its peak right now, while the Knicks’ fighting strength, affected by the suspensions, is still an unknown."

Larry Brown spoke with confidence, and his arguments were always well-reasoned. Plus, with his high status in the sport, what he said was very persuasive to most people.

Except when it came to games involving Su Xi.

Everyone knew about his history with Su Xi. They knew Su Xi had destroyed his championship dream and made him lose disastrously in his rivalry with "Jim Carrey."

So when he said things like this now, the audience at home was already desensitized.

The action on the court was also proving his judgment wrong.

The Knicks showed no signs of being demoralized at all; in fact, they were even more ferocious. It started with Jerome James fearlessly bodying up James head-on. Then, on the next possession, James drove into the paint, and Tony Battie stepped in front of him, falling straight back to draw an offensive foul.

After Tony Battie got to his feet, he gave James a cold look. "Some ’Chosen One’ you are. Don’t you even have the moves to get around a defender?"

The bad blood between Tony Battie and LeBron James went way back.

Back when he played for the Cavaliers, he had stood firmly on Su Xi’s side. After Su Xi was traded, Battie initiated a buyout of his contract and went to Indiana to be Su Xi’s enforcer. During the fight at the Auburn Hills Palace, he earned himself the moniker "Hu Su Bao," a title that brought him both fame and fortune.

Although Tony Battie’s playing time had been greatly reduced this season because of Randolph, he hadn’t slacked off on his training. ’What if another brawl like the one at Auburn Hills Palace breaks out? I can’t let Goat Su Xi take a hit, and I definitely can’t let the ’Hu Su Bao’ name be tarnished.’

So, he worked twice as hard on his conditioning.

He hadn’t needed that conditioning for a fight, but it was certainly paying off in the game.

He was quickly promoted to the starting lineup.

James’s face was livid. He looked at Su Xi’s henchman, filled with hatred. At the same time, he swore to himself that he would one day cultivate his own die-hard loyalists, his own squad of iron-willed protectors.

Back on offense, Su Xi and Tony Battie executed a pick-and-roll. Su Xi pulled up for a quick jumper... SWISH!

Six straight points for Su Xi.

James drove to the basket again, but Crawford stripped him clean on the way.

The defensive pressure from Su Xi was too intense, and James’s handle was only average. Add to that the pinpoint precision of Crawford’s gamble for the steal.

And just like that, the "Chosen One" was stripped of the ball.

Crawford threw a long pass to Hardaway, who was streaking down the court. Hardaway evaded the defense in the frontcourt and scored with a layup.

8-0.

Crawford then looked up, stared at James, and said with utter disdain, "Some ’Chosen One’ you are. My seventy-year-old grandma protects the ball better than you."

James’s eyes widened again.

He was furious.

TWEET!

The whistle blew. Mike Brown called a timeout.

They were down 8-0 to start the game.

James had already committed three turnovers. Mike Brown had a very bad feeling. He was worried the confident Cavaliers were in for a rude awakening from the Knicks, and even more worried they would lose the game.

He knew full well what Su Xi was capable of, both as a player and as a leader.

If he let the Knicks build momentum, a relentless storm was sure to follow.

So, he quietly adjusted his strategy. He had Snow act as the primary ball-handler, had James run quickly off the ball, and let the man in the middle, Ilgauskas, initiate the offense.

Mike Brown was level-headed.

At this point, from the commentary booth, Reggie Miller made a bold prediction: "The Knicks will win this game easily. The Knicks will take this series easily. The Knicks’ morale will keep getting better, and the Cavaliers’ will keep getting worse. This series will become a clear watershed moment in the careers of Goat Su Xi and the ’Chosen One.’ After this series, no one will ever think LeBron can be mentioned in the same breath as Goat Su Xi."

This statement left Larry Brown, who was sitting beside him, utterly astonished.

He said, "Reggie, I know you and Little Sheep Su Xi are close, and I know you really want the Knicks to win. But do you really think the Knicks can win this series? Don’t let the current score blind you."

"No, Larry. When you watch Jack’s games, you can’t just look at the score; you have to watch the momentum. He is an absolute master of momentum. Once he seizes it, he never gives his opponent a chance to breathe. Just you wait and see."

Reggie Miller understood Su Xi very well.

In truth, Larry Brown understood him well too. After all, as an opponent, he had been thrashed by him many times. He was well aware of Su Xi’s relentless nature once he had the advantage.

’But do the Knicks have that kind of mettle now? Can this ragtag group of Knicks compare to those elite Pacers teams? Can Su Xi really carry them?’

The whistle blew, and the game resumed.

The Knicks players returned to the court, each one full of swagger. They didn’t carry themselves like a team that felt its strength had been diminished in the slightest.

They still had that ’come and get it’ attitude.

In contrast, the Cavaliers didn’t look like the team that supposedly held all the advantages of timing and personnel.

The camera captured only anger on James’s face.

Snow brought the ball past half-court and passed it to Ilgauskas, who hit a jumper from the free-throw line.

Jerome James couldn’t get out to contest the shot.

Then, Hardaway brought the ball over half-court, ran a pick-and-roll with Tony Battie, and passed to Su Xi. Su Xi immediately fed the ball inside to Jerome, who had established good position. He turned, backed down Ilgauskas, and leaped explosively... BOOM!

He threw down a thunderous two-handed dunk.

In terms of physical condition, Jerome, having successfully slimmed down this season, was comparable to his prime. While his stamina certainly wasn’t what it was in his youth, he had no problem throwing down a dunk when he had good position.

The crowd roared for him.

He raised his hands high, waving to the crowd in all directions.

When he saw his son sitting by the scorer’s table, he couldn’t help but blow him a kiss. His son jumped to his feet excitedly, shouting, "Hey, that’s my dad! That’s my dad!"

Little Jerome was shouting at the side of the court, filled with pride.

Jerome James couldn’t suppress the smile spreading across his face.

If a reporter were to ask him at that moment, "Jerome, what’s the proudest moment of your career?"

This is it!

That’s what Jerome would have surely answered.

The ball went to Ilgauskas again, but this time he wasn’t so lucky. Just as Ilgauskas was leisurely taking aim at the rim, about to shoot, Jerome lunged over... and swatted the ball away.

Just then, Su Xi dashed out to grab the loose ball, streaking to the frontcourt. He drove into the paint, rose into the air, and slammed the ball through the hoop with both hands.

The lead continued to grow.

"This is an adult schooling a child. The Cavaliers are completely powerless to fight back. The last two teams they faced were too willing to play by the book, but the Knicks aren’t going to coddle them, and they certainly won’t play a conventional, set-piece game against them. With Goat Su Xi’s abilities, he’s more than capable of destroying them with his improvisation."

Reggie Miller said excitedly on the broadcast, "And what’s more, LeBron has zero advantage when matched up against Su Xi. That was already proven back when Su Xi was in Indiana."

Reggie Miller’s words made the James fans and Cavaliers fans watching at home very uncomfortable.

But Miller never minced words.

He continued, "What kind of ’Chosen One’ is LeBron James, anyway? He’s played for three seasons and still hasn’t even learned how to post up."

...