The Best Point Guard

When the Knicks went up 2-0, and in blowout fashion at that.

No basketball expert held out any hope for LeBron James and his Cavaliers.

They could only say with feigned regret, "LeBron James’s style of play is completely shut down by Little Sheep Su Xi. Even if he rules the rest of the league, he can’t overcome the Knicks."

It even had a bit of that tragic ’I conquered the world, only to lose to you’ feel. Fucking ridiculous.

The media really were James’s lackeys, through and through.

Su Xi didn’t even comment on his opponents after the game. When pressed by reporters, he said, "I have nothing more to say. My game said it all."

And really, what was there to say? He’d just slaughtered them for the second time. Anything more would be pointless.

The whole world knew the Knicks were unstoppable. There was no way the Cavaliers could halt their advance.

Even with the Knicks missing two of their big men.

Su Xi and his teammates rested in New York for a day before heading to Cleveland.

Team owner James Dolan traveled with them, fully prepared to clinch the title at Quicken Loans Arena. He had even bought supplies to celebrate in Cleveland.

Meanwhile, a heavy air of sorrow permeated the small city of Cleveland.

But not for Carlos Boozer and Stephen Jackson.

The two former Cavaliers had come to the small city specifically to witness Su Xi’s victory. Boozer was very close to Su Xi. After Su Xi was traded, Boozer rejected the Cavaliers’ contract offer, even though the team painted him as a traitor. But in Boozer’s own words: "You guys traded a super rookie like Little Sheep Su Xi. Why the hell should I bust my ass for you? The moment Little Sheep Su was traded, I decided I was leaving. I have no interest in being the Emperor’s vassal."

Carlos Boozer was now thriving with the Jazz, earning a huge salary as the team’s second-in-command. It was the perfect gig: less work, more money, high status, and low responsibility.

Stephen Jackson had been sent to the Cavaliers as part of the three-team trade involving Su Xi. He’d been miserable with the Cavaliers and constantly clashed with James. He naturally refused to re-sign, later joining the Pacers and winning a championship with Su Xi.

He proved that LeBron James was no match for Su Xi.

Now, he was here to witness once again that James wasn’t even worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as Su Xi.

For the Cavaliers fans, this was a cruel reality.

Because once, both Su Xi and James had been their players.

But now, Su Xi was returning to Cleveland, leading an army whose iron hooves threatened to trample their new home arena.

Some fans were filled with regret. They regretted the decision to trade Su Xi. Some even fantasized about what could have been. If Su Xi hadn’t been traded, with his and James’s combined abilities, who in the league could have possibly stopped them?

Many in the media shared this fantasy. Their most conservative projection was a guaranteed six-peat, instantly kicking off a Cavaliers dynasty.

But they overlooked a crucial prerequisite: Did James have the magnanimity for that? Would James have been willing to play Pippen to Su Xi’s Jordan?

Of course not.

James had initially seen Su Xi as his Pippen. They’d even had a honeymoon period. But as Su Xi’s influence grew, James’s jealousy burned uncontrollably, and he had Su Xi traded. You could even say he’d sold him for pennies on the dollar.

Everyone knew the rest of the story.

Who could have imagined the fallout from the trade would be so massive, or that the boomerang would come back so hard?

In their first playoff run since acquiring James, the Cavaliers had charged into the Eastern Conference Finals as a dark horse, only to face Su Xi and suffer a complete and utter collapse.

The story was the stuff of legends.

Game 3 was held at Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavaliers’ new home court. They had moved here from the old Gangsa Arena after a change in ownership.

The facilities were top-notch.

They had hoped to create a miracle here.

But now...

No one had any confidence in victory.

Even back on their home court, every analysis had made it clear: Su Xi simply had James’s number.

TWEET!

The whistle blew amidst the cheers of the Cavaliers fans.

The game began.

Jerome and Ilgauskas met for the opening tip.

The Knicks won possession. Hardaway brought the ball past half-court and passed to Su Xi, who cleared out for an isolation play. Hughes was still the one defending him; James no longer wanted to guard him.

Hughes couldn’t guard him at all. Su Xi toyed with his footwork in the post, then hit him with a simple step-back into a fadeaway jumper. The ball swished through the net.

With Su Xi’s current offensive prowess, Hughes’s one-on-one defense posed virtually no threat.

Su Xi scored with ease, then picked up James on defense.

James moved without the ball.

Hughes went one-on-one against Ariza, but his jumper clanked off the rim.

Tony Battie secured the rebound and passed it to Su Xi, who immediately started the fast break. He charged into the paint and used a sudden pump fake to send James, who was trying for a chase-down block, flying past him for an easy layup.

Su Xi knew James inside and out, like the back of his hand.

It was like he had a bird’s-eye view of the entire court.

The game continued.

The Cavaliers continued to stumble while the Knicks’ momentum was overwhelming.

The excited, roaring Cavaliers fans started to thin out after halftime. They grew quiet, then Zen-like, completely detached from the world. And then, their numbers just kept dwindling.

An Eastern Conference Finals game was playing out with the intensity of a preseason matchup.

Charles Barkley couldn’t help but quip on television, "If the Cavaliers started the playoffs with 100 points of momentum, they’re ending it with negative points. They are simply not worthy opponents for the Knicks."