The Best Point Guard

But when he thought about making a powerful move, he was inexplicably half a beat slow. He only turned halfway, shooting a sideways hook... CLANG!

The basketball hit the iron.

Su Xi charged into the paint and grabbed the rebound.

Then Su Xi raced up the court.

He quickly drove into the paint, forcing Miami’s defense to collapse. Just then, he passed the ball to the corner. He pinned Wade in the paint, fighting for position, as Crawford took the shot... SWISH!

He finally hit his first three-pointer of the game.

He was thrilled. He’d finally found his smooth, silky rhythm.

He held up three fingers toward Su Xi and made an OK sign.

The gesture’s meaning was simple: ’I’ve found my touch.’

A streaky shooter finding his touch is a terrifying thing.

So, Su Xi resisted the urge to make a substitution, even though he knew Zach Randolph probably couldn’t defend O’Neal.

However, on the next possession.

Randolph was still bodying up O’Neal. In fact, he was using his hips to grind into him, whispering from behind, "You feelin’ that, bro?"

He felt it!

O’Neal felt dirty.

But in reality, Zach Randolph was a simple guy. He just wanted to make a statement to O’Neal: ’We big guys can’t be disrespected. We have to stand up for all the big guys out there.’

’Stand up for my ass!’

O’Neal had no such confidence. He didn’t even try to back him down, just quickly spun for another hook shot!

CLANG!

It was a little short. Randolph grabbed the rebound and passed it to Su Xi. Su Xi accelerated into a fast break, charging into the frontcourt. He set up a pick-and-roll with David Lee, but at the very instant of the screen, he passed the ball to the wing. Crawford trailed the play, caught the ball, and immediately shot... SWISH!

His second three-pointer.

The whole arena erupted.

Crawford raised both hands, flashing two "OK" signs.

A tsunami of cheers washed over Madison Square Garden Arena.

Su Xi realized it then: Zach Randolph actually had a knack for defending O’Neal.

So, he suppressed the urge to make a substitution.

Meanwhile, O’Neal was also trying to adjust his mindset. He was a seasoned veteran, though his mentality wasn’t quite as steady as an old dog’s, like Duncan’s.

But he took a couple of deep breaths and quickly gave himself a mental pep talk.

He got the ball in the low post again. He forcefully pushed back, and Zach Randolph did indeed retreat half a step. O’Neal quickly spun around, but in that instant, Randolph, with a fearless spirit, took a step forward and thrust upward... The two met face-to-face... Randolph had essentially just given O’Neal a solid jolt from below.

O’Neal’s scalp went numb. He jumped, laid the ball in the basket, and then quickly ran up the court.

If he were a woman, he would have covered his face and run away.

But even as a man, he felt extremely uncomfortable, as if he’d been defiled.

The worst part was, Randolph was so brazen about it, he actually chased after him asking, "Was it big? Huh? Was it big?"

This conversation always reminded O’Neal of bad memories.

In his younger days, he’d often asked his female partners the same thing, until one day he asked an honest woman and never asked again. Because that honest woman had replied with disgust, "Do you think you’re bigger than a doorstop?"

After that, O’Neal never dated a woman over five-foot-four again.

He just liked them a little shorter.

As for why?

Only he himself knew.

Zach Randolph, however, felt none of this. He was a thick-skinned, indelicate person.

In the half-court set, Su Xi ran a high pick-and-roll with Randolph. With Crawford tightly covered by Wade, Su Xi passed to Randolph, who sank the shot from the free-throw line.

O’Neal couldn’t come out to defend him at all.

It’s hard for a super-sized center like him to leave the paint, especially now that O’Neal was older and heavier. His defensive range had shrunk even further.

Just like Yao Ming, he was a huge threat standing in the paint. But, a shooting power forward like Carlos Boozer could always punish him in a mismatch.

The game continued.

Wade attacked the paint and was fouled by David Lee.

He went to the free-throw line again and made both.

Su Xi and Crawford ran a crossing screen. Crawford, having made two threes, drew the defense with him. Su Xi seized the fleeting opportunity and shot a three... SWISH!

A clean hit.

This Knicks lineup was playing with an increasingly silky-smooth flow.

It was supposed to be a rotational lineup, but they were playing like starters.

And they were completely shutting down Miami.

On the other end, Wade’s pull-up jumper missed.

Randolph got the rebound.

Pat Riley was getting agitated on the sideline. He pounded his fist into his palm, gesturing at O’Neal. "Shaq, use your presence in the paint! Dominate them!"

He was unhappy that O’Neal had gone out to set a screen on that possession. In his view, O’Neal should have been in the paint, demanding the ball for a post-up. ’This is the time to show your dominance, so what are you doing running around on the perimeter?’

O’Neal now had an image in his mind he couldn’t get rid of. He had a psychological block.

He wanted to take a breather.

But the Knicks decided to strike while the iron was hot. Crawford got another opportunity. First, Su Xi used a high screen from Randolph to drive into the foul lane. Then, Crawford used a screen of his own to get open. Su Xi quickly passed him the ball. SWISH!

The three-pointer went in.

Crawford’s third three-pointer.

The Knicks’ lead expanded to double digits.

Pat Riley called a timeout.

He had to make an adjustment.

If he let the team keep playing like this, there was no telling what would happen.

He couldn’t just throw away the first game like this. This was like being a fucking frog in slowly boiling water. The Knicks were taking them down without even revealing any of their trump cards, which was a disaster for the Heat’s strategic planning.

’Even a loss has to have some value.’

Just then, Randolph returned to the bench, and Eddie Curry ran over to him. "Zach, how are you defending O’Neal so well? You’ve turned the Big Shark into a little dolphin."

Jerome James also pricked up his ears, desperate to know the answer. His whole body ached from being battered by O’Neal.

Zach Randolph blinked. "I didn’t think it was that hard to guard him," he said. "Just played normal defense. Maybe he’s just having an off night."

This explanation obviously didn’t hold water. O’Neal’s game didn’t really rely on having a "good touch" or not.

Su Xi frowned. He seemed to have guessed something, but he decided not to say it out loud.

’What if I say something, it backfires, and O’Neal gets desensitized to it? That would be bad.’

’Better to just let Randolph keep doing what he’s doing.’

Meanwhile, Pat Riley was telling O’Neal, "Shaq, you need to get fired up! This is the playoffs! Go eat Randolph alive. He’s no threat to you."

Shaquille O’Neal nodded.

But it was a bit mechanical.

"Are you sick, Shaq?" Wade whispered from the side. "You seem off."

"No."

O’Neal shook his head. He had to overcome his own psychological block by himself.

He wouldn’t tell anyone about this matter.

After all, it was one of those things a man just couldn’t talk about.

The whistle blew, and the game continued.

The Heat Team executed Pat Riley’s game plan, feeding the ball to O’Neal.

O’Neal got the ball. He tried to clear his head of the unpleasant thoughts, forcefully backing his defender down. Two bumps were all it took to clear a path. He turned, ready to throw down a monster dunk... when Su Xi leaped up from behind... SMACK!

Su Xi stripped the ball clean from O’Neal’s hands, like a hawk snatching its prey.

O’Neal was caught completely off guard.

Su Xi was already sprinting down the court with the ball.

Wade gave chase relentlessly. But Su Xi didn’t drive inside the arc. He pulled up sharply behind the three-point line and took the shot... ’If I miss, the strip was still a win,’ he thought. ’If it goes in, that’s just a bonus.’

SWISH!

The three-pointer went in.

The ball ripped through the net.

The point difference widened further.

Pat Riley sighed helplessly on the sideline. He had been arguing heatedly with the referee, insisting that Su Xi had fouled. But now, with the three-pointer made, he suddenly lost all interest in the argument.

"The Heat are in trouble. They’re very likely going to lose this game, and what’s more, they’re going to lose without even knowing how it happened."

"You can’t quite say where Miami is weak, or what they’re doing poorly."

"And you can’t quite say where the Knicks are strong, or what they’re doing particularly well."

"And yet, the score is what it is."