The Best Point Guard-Chapter 102 - 29: [First Blood! Second Blood! Why Am I Listening to Him So Much?]

Chapter 102: Chapter 29: [First Blood! Second Blood! Why Am I Listening to Him So Much?]

Prince was sent to the hospital. Covered in blood, he looked ghastly.

After two of his key players were injured back-to-back, Larry Brown pulled all his starters in the second half and let the bench play.

In the second half, the Cavaliers firmly seized control of the game. The five starters—Su Xi, James, Ricky Davis, Carlos Boozer, and Ilgauskas—played for a few minutes, and the result was great: it was a total blowout.

In the end, the Cavaliers secured their season-opening victory at Gand Arena, 99–83.

LeBron James played 27 minutes, shooting 7-for-15 from the field to score 18 points, with 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.

Su Xi played 28 minutes, shooting 5-for-12 to score 14 points, with 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks, and 1 "first blood."

Both played exceptionally well, each having their own highlight moments and demonstrating their physical superiority at their respective positions.

The Pistons’ number-two pick, Milicic, paled in comparison. His physicality was nowhere near NBA-level, he had no specific role in their tactics, lacked positional awareness, and struggled mightily in the paint, clearly out of sync with the other players. In 19 minutes of play, he only managed a pitiful 3 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 block.

"I don’t know what to say. I’m not a big man, so it’s hard for me to comment. I wish him success."

Su Xi said this after the game when asked to compare himself to Milicic. He also offered some encouragement for Milicic: "You shouldn’t judge a player by a single game. He’s still a kid—only 18 years old and full of limitless potential. He’s the youngest in our draft class."

Su Xi sounded very serious, almost like a seasoned veteran. But in reality, he was the third-youngest player in the 2003 draft class; the second-youngest was LeBron James.

He rated his own performance in his first game: "A 60. A passing grade. It was my first game."

On the other hand, LeBron James gave himself an 85. "I could have done better," he said, "but this is still pretty good. We got the win, and we sent the fans at Gand Arena home with smiles and hope."

Then, a reporter asked James for his most memorable moment of the game. He replied, "My monster dunk in the third quarter. That bucket made me feel my talent bursting out. I saw the defender back off; that’s the highest praise you can get."

When Su Xi was asked the same question, he said, "Prince getting injured and leaving the court covered in blood. Competitive sports are brutal. It taught me a lesson."

The reporter was a bit stunned. ’Teach yourself a lesson with someone else’s blood? And you’re the one who drew it!’

While getting stitches in the hospital, Prince told a reporter from Fox Television Network, "I’ll be back. Next time we meet, I won’t give Little Sheep Su Xi any chance for a cheap shot. I’ll make sure he feels some pain."

He gritted his teeth.

The reporter, embellishing the story, relayed Prince’s vow of revenge to Su Xi.

Su Xi said, "First, I regret that he was injured during the game. Second, it was a normal defensive play; none of the three referees called a foul. Finally, if he still wants to come at me, then let’s go. We have to resolve his resentment somehow. But he’d be better off bringing a strong teammate with him. I’m much stronger than he is."

Su Xi said this with utter sincerity.

But sometimes, sincerity is what cuts the deepest. Otherwise, why would they call it a finisher?

In the eyes of the Pistons, this was like rubbing salt in the wound for Prince. It was tantamount to pointing a finger in his face and saying, ’You’re not good enough. If you want revenge, you’ll need backup.’

It’s hard to say Su Xi didn’t mean it, because what he really wanted was a chance to go up against Ben Wallace: the strongest bench-presser in the league, a man of incredible power.

The Pistons players held a grudge against Su Xi after the game, but their head coach couldn’t praise him enough.

He said, "This kid was born to do this. He’s an incredibly unselfish team player. He’s tough, he’s diligent on defense, and he plays perfectly with his teammates on offense. If you want to say LeBron James is the Chosen One, sure, his style of play is more like a superstar’s. But if you ask me who I like more, my answer is Little Sheep Su Xi."

This praise didn’t make Su Xi particularly happy, but James was delighted.

This was exactly what he wanted.

After the game, assistant coach Stephen Silas gave Su Xi a comprehensive technical report on his performance.

Stephen Silas was the son of head coach Paul Silas. This is quite common in the NBA; there’s usually a relative of the head coach on the assistant coaching staff.

But Stephen wasn’t some incapable person riding his father’s coattails. He had a serious work ethic and a deep understanding of basketball strategy, even though he was only 30. (The Cavaliers’ assistant coaching team had three people: Little Bob Tangwald, Mark Auski, and Stephen Silas. Besides Mark, who passed away early, the other two had promising futures. Tangwald later went to China to coach the national team, and Stephen Silas became the head coach of the Rockets.)

Stephen Silas was responsible for coaching LeBron James and Su Xi on their individual skills and tracking their tactical tendencies. He was also in charge of the team’s pre-game preparations, tactical drills, management and development of the offensive and defensive systems, and he oversaw the team’s scouting department.

After reading the detailed technical report, Su Xi finally understood why so many rookies hit the "rookie wall."

It was just so detailed.

"You used a jab step three times all game. You led with your right foot every time."

"You favor turning to your left."

"Before you go for a steal, you have a subconscious tell where you swing your right hand back."

"Your shot release is slower than the NBA average. Compared to other guards, it’s significantly slower."

"You attempted three contested layups after driving to the basket but only made one. This shows your body control in the air isn’t good enough, which will affect your shooting, your finishing, and even your defense. In fact, that’s also why you knocked Prince over. You need to work on your coordination."

"When multiple teammates are open, you have better court vision to your left. Out of four such passes, you passed to the left three times."

"..."

After reading the report, Su Xi felt as if he’d been put through a scanner on the court. ’I have absolutely no secrets.’

Then he asked Stephen, "What about LeBron? Is his report this detailed?"

"His is even more detailed. But there’s still a difference between you two. When other teams analyze your data and create a specific game plan for you, you’re easier to target. It’s harder to shut down LeBron because his physical gifts are better—or rather, more well-rounded. Plus, his size advantage is greater than yours."

Stephen Silas told Su Xi, "So, you need to work even harder on your skills to make yourself more unpredictable. Keep it up, Jack. You can do it."

Su Xi nodded. ’Of course I have to work on my skills. But... I can’t give up on LeBron, my cultivation furnace.’

...

After the first game, things started to change.

While traveling to Chicago for an away game, Su Xi had another run-in with Ricky Davis. On the team bus, Davis suddenly threw his bag forward. "Rookie, carry my bag."

Su Xi immediately turned and glared back at Ricky Davis. Just as Su Xi was about to stand up, Davis said, "What are you spacing out for? Jason Kapono."

Ah Ka froze. ’What is this, ’when giants fight, the little guys get trampled’?’

But he still obediently picked up the bag. This was part of the NBA’s rookie hazing culture, something most rookies had to endure.

With the exception of a "Chosen One" like James, even he was sometimes asked to do things.

Su Xi’s situation was different. The team’s veterans, Ilgauskas and Kevin Riley, were good guys who never hazed rookies. The team’s self-proclaimed leader, Ricky Davis, now had complicated feelings about Su Xi. When Su Xi glared at him, he couldn’t help but picture Su Xi knocking Prince out of the air—the gruesome, bloody sight was as bad as it gets.

There was also another thing... he was gradually discovering that as long as he listened to Su Xi on the court, he got a lot of easy buckets. His much-criticized efficiency had skyrocketed.

The change was taking root in his mind, little by little.

However, the lack of chemistry between James and Ricky Davis was becoming more and more apparent.

In the game against Chicago, they frequently ran to the wrong spots in the offense, and the starting lineup’s play was clunky. The offense only ran smoothly when Su Xi was the point guard with James acting as a slasher, or when James was on the bench and Ricky Davis was the shooting guard.

Su Xi had no chemistry issues with either of them.

In the words of Stephen Silas: "Jack plays more of a ’team’ game."

The Cavaliers won that game by 5 points.

The Bulls were also a young team. As soon as he got to the Bulls, Syracuse took over playmaking duties, much to Su Xi’s envy.

Syracuse was using Jay Williams’s playbook from last season. Although he wasn’t as talented as Jay Williams, he was mature and steady, and played pretty well.

He played 38 minutes, putting up 15 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals.

However, in the final moments, Su Xi completely shut him down. He failed to get a shot off on two straight possessions, and on one of them, Su Xi stripped the ball from him directly, sealing the victory.

In this game, Su Xi’s stat line was 9 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block, and another "first blood."

The one who got injured and drew "first blood" this time was Eddie Curry.

Eddie Curry’s nickname was the "Little Shark," but other than his portly physique resembling O’Neal’s, the comparison ended there. After running a pick-and-roll with Syracuse at the free-throw line, he received the pass.

It was a big-on-small mismatch, and he started backing Su Xi down into the post.

Su Xi was strong, but the Little Shark’s size advantage was immense; he weighed around 145 kilograms, and even with a solid base, Su Xi couldn’t hold his ground. ’I hate these kinds of players,’ Su Xi thought. ’Not only can I not stop them, but it doesn’t even help me fuse my power.’

Eddie Curry backed him down for three steps before making a slow, lumbering turn, which gave Su Xi an opening.

As he went up for a layup, Su Xi leaped and swatted the ball... which ricocheted straight back into his face.

The next second, Eddie Curry was clutching his nose as blood gushed out.

After the game, a media personality joked, "Plastic surgery clinics should form a strategic partnership with Su Xi. In two games, he’s sent two opponents to the cosmetic surgery ward. Prince needed 17 stitches, and Eddie Curry needs surgery to fix his broken nose..."

"He’s not doing it on purpose. I had a close-up view both times."

After the game, Ricky Davis told the media, "The kid just plays hard-nosed defense."

Internally, the Cavaliers’ James, Davis, and Su Xi were at each other’s throats, but to the public, they were all smiles, praising one another.

What did that prove?

"They’re so fake."

Carlos Boozer stated, hitting the nail right on the head.

Su Xi just smiled. He felt the intensity of the locker room infighting had been downgraded. Davis was still loud and blustery on the surface, but on the court, he was actually quite cooperative. In the locker room, he would mostly just go through the motions of being confrontational, and Su Xi would play along.

"Ah Zhan, when are we going to play one-on-one?"

Su Xi constantly reminded his "furnace," his hunger for talent was intense.

James always said, "Later, later."

And so the wait continued, all the way to Los Angeles.

...