The Best Point Guard

Su Xi spoke with righteous conviction, far more forcefully than any of the pundits.

TNT’s Barkley and Kenny Smith never expected Su Xi to lash out so directly.

This was likely the first time Su Xi had ever publicly discussed his private life and relationships.

"I conduct myself with integrity. I train hard every day, and my skills are constantly improving. I don’t go to bars or nightclubs, I don’t care for so-called ’socializing,’ and I have no bad habits that could harm my professional career. Those who say I don’t respect basketball or the NBA should come forward and apologize to me. Could you all earn so much money without me? You make a living by commenting on me. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you."

"And another thing—if the Knicks and I don’t deserve to win, then who does? Are there really that many people out there with higher moral standards than me?"

Su Xi had unleashed a tirade.

He had been holding it in for a long time and had finally found an opportunity to fire back at the boring and foolish members of the media.

Barkley listened, clutching his head. He thought Su Xi was just too intense.

Kenny Smith felt the same way.

Afterward, however, Su Xi’s tone became more guarded.

This was because they started asking if the Knicks could sweep the Miami Heat tonight.

"It’s hard to say. We’ll do our best to get the win. But at the same time, Miami won’t want to end their season like this. I heard what Pat Riley said. I think they’re ready to fight with their backs against the wall."

"So, are you saying the Knicks aren’t confident they can win?"

"No. I mean that this is going to be an extremely intense game. Both sides will bring their A-game, and both sides are determined to win."

With that, Su Xi went off to practice his shooting.

It was a classic verbal hit-and-run.

Barkley just smiled and said, "Go get ’em, Jack."

He wanted Su Xi to win. He’d always been one of Su Xi’s most die-hard supporters.

Even though he and Jordan were friends, he thought it was utterly foolish for Jordan to come out and make passive-aggressive comments about Su Xi. Other people might not know how messy Jordan’s private life was, but Barkley sure did. They were old comrades-in-arms when it came to "partying."

By comparison, Su Xi was practically a saint. He was just dating Hollywood starlets. What’s wrong with dating?

Besides, no one knew for sure if he was even dating two actresses at the same time.

He might be dating one today and another tomorrow.

As long as you didn’t catch him in the act with two, or even three, actresses at once, you couldn’t call him a player.

SWISH!

SWISH!

SWISH!

Su Xi’s touch was incredible—smooth and silky.

This gave him even higher hopes for the game tonight; he felt he could deliver a great result.

Back in the locker room, Zach Randolph was performing his newly learned "Oriental dance." His movements were surprisingly graceful, and he claimed it was the Peacock Dance.

"After we finish this series, I’ll have my dance troupe perform for you guys."

Randolph’s "Oriental dance troupe" had even started booking commercial gigs across New York State. In his own words, they were close to breaking even.

Of course, this was in no small part due to the generous patronage of Knicks owner James Dolan. Dolan himself enjoyed watching dance in his spare time. Once known as New York’s number one prodigal son in his youth, he’d lost his taste for "vulgar" women as he got older and his body could no longer keep up. Now, he preferred something a bit more... refined.

It was all about projecting an air of high-minded sophistication.

His teammates all chimed in, vowing to finish off Miami tonight.

If the Miami Heat were fighting like a cornered beast, driven by desperation, the Knicks were fired up with soaring morale.

They were brimming with confidence, believing that nothing could stand in their way.

It was a powerful self-assurance.

This confidence forged the very soul of the Knicks.

Everyone on the Knicks, from top to bottom, believed that nothing could halt their advance.

TWEET!

The whistle blew, and the game began.

When the TNT cameras cut to the court, the crew was delighted to find Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Alba—the very same two who had come to blows at Miami International Airport—sitting courtside. The only thing was, one was on the left side of the court, and the other was on the right.

And as the camera panned slightly, they discovered Megan Fox sitting right behind Scarlett Johansson.

Fox was also one of Little Sheep Su Xi’s rumored girlfriends, though she wasn’t as high-profile as Scarlett or Jessica. Still, she had been photographed with Su Xi on multiple occasions.

Fox had also once commented on Su Xi’s... vigor.

"Little Sheep Su Xi is a true role model for all men. These three were ranked 1st, 4th, and 7th on the ’World’s Most Beautiful Faces’ list of 2005. What’s more, they are currently the three absolute sexiest actresses in all of Hollywood. Countless men are crazy about them."

"But right now, they’re all crazy for one man: Little Sheep Su Xi."

Charles Barkley shook his head, a sudden wave of sadness washing over him. "If only I were as handsome as Jack," he said. "Back in the day, I always wanted to date Madonna."

"Get real, Charles. Even if you were as handsome as Jack, you’d never land Madonna. Jack isn’t just good-looking; he’s got insane skills in the bedroom. A legend as great as Jordan couldn’t win Madonna’s affection back in the day because of a ’size’ issue. You think you could? It’s a well-known fact that fat guys are notoriously... undersized..."

Kenny Smith delivered a scathing roast.

It had audiences all across America roaring with laughter.

But if Eddie Curry, Zach Randolph, and Shaquille O’Neal had been standing there, they certainly wouldn’t have been laughing.

Eddie Curry would have been cursing up a storm.

Randolph would have dropped his pants.

And Shaquille O’Neal would have just trained harder.

And right now, those three big men were standing on the court.

The Knicks’ starting lineup was Hardaway, Su Xi, Ariza, Randolph, and Curry.

The Miami Heat’s starters were: Wade, Posey, Walker, Haslem, and O’Neal.

Having put his coaching career on the line, Pat Riley had rolled out a brand-new starting lineup.

TWEET!

The referee tossed the ball into the air.

O’Neal and Curry leaped simultaneously. The two big men collided in mid-air. O’Neal got a hand on the ball first, but it was tipped over to the Knicks’ side.

Hardaway took control of the ball, slowly bringing it up the court.

Wade came up to press him. Wade’s defense was incredibly aggressive; he constantly used his body to disrupt Hardaway and close his space.

Hardaway was slim. He had lost weight this season to improve his athleticism.

He was almost as lanky as he had been in his rookie season.

Therefore, he struggled with physical contact.

But his ball-handling didn’t.

Even under pressure, he steadily dribbled the ball to the top of the arc, then used his superb court vision to pass it to Su Xi.

As Su Xi caught the ball, James Posey rushed up to defend him frantically.

His defense was wild, with nearly every move bordering on a foul.

This was the kind of iron-willed defense Pat Riley demanded.

He had relied on this very system to run rampant back when he coached the Knicks, earning them the moniker of the "New York Gang."

But Posey had picked the wrong man to get physical with.

Su Xi simply barreled right into him, throwing his body hard at Posey. Before Posey could even try one of his dirty little tricks, Su Xi had crashed into him full force. Su Xi then turned his back, using his body to muscle Posey and push him further in.

Once, twice!

Posey felt like he was being shoved by a wild beast.

All he could do was give ground, step by step.

Just then, Su Xi abruptly spun around and put up a fadeaway jumper... SWISH!

Stronger than you, more skilled than you, and more accurate than you.

Don’t like it? Tough.

Su Xi shot Posey a cold glance. His aura was one of complete dominance—the air of a true ruler.

James Posey couldn’t even muster the will to defy him. ’Getting dominated by Goat Su Xi is to be expected,’ he could only tell himself. ’I just have to work harder. If I can pose even a slight defensive threat, that’ll count as a win.’

Back on the other end of the court.

The Heat adopted a nearly identical offensive strategy.

The ball went to O’Neal, who powerfully backed down Eddie Curry.

Eddie Curry was strong, too.

O’Neal backed him down for three steps before making a quick spin.

He wasn’t as agile as in his youth, nor did he have the same explosive power.

But he was still a cut above Eddie Curry.

It was a difference in pure talent.

O’Neal spun past Curry, leaped up, and slammed the ball through the hoop with one hand.

After the basket, he also shot Eddie Curry a cold glare, as if he were still the unstoppable dominator of old who would mow down anyone in his path.

The game was filled with tension from the opening tip.

Megan Fox also sensed something unusual in the air. She suddenly leaned in toward Scarlett Johansson’s ear and whispered, "You smell like Jack. Were you with him last night?"

Scarlett turned her head and frowned. She was about to retort, ’That’s a rather forward question. Are you jealous?’

But then she remembered Su Xi’s words, took a deep breath, and composed herself.

"You can smell that?"