The Best Point Guard-Chapter 103 - 30: [Shaq Did It Too]

The Cavaliers had a total of seven preseason games this year. After playing the Pistons and the Bulls, they traveled to Milwaukee for another game, then played their fourth in Indiana.

After that, they flew to California to play a game in Oakland, followed by one in Sacramento, and finally traveled to Los Angeles. Their last preseason opponent was the Los Angeles Lakers.

In Milwaukee, Su Xi had 7 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block, helping the team win by a 3-point margin.

In Indiana, Su Xi put up 9 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block, but the team lost to the Pacers by 7 points.

In these two games, Su Xi continued his previous performance, acting as the strongest first line of defense at the top of the three-point arc. In Milwaukee, his old rival TJ Ford failed to break through Su Xi’s airtight defense and could only score off of his teammates’ screens. Although Ford finished the game with 13 points and 6 assists, his efficiency was low while being guarded by Su Xi.

In Indiana, Larry Bird brought a large group of management, including the Pacers’ owner, to watch the game from the sidelines. Rick Carlisle was also reminded to pay close attention to Su Xi’s every move.

Su Xi was the best-performing Cavaliers player in that game. Although LeBron James scored 22 points, his efficiency was low, as he forced many shots against the Pacers’ intense, physical defense.

Su Xi, however, thoroughly enjoyed this kind of tough contact. He was simply everywhere, like a perfect test-taker filling in his own answer in every blank space. He made things very difficult for the Pacers.

If not for Ricky Davis, LeBron James, and Su Xi each missing a three-point shot, the Cavaliers would have had a chance to beat the Pacers in that game.

"To be frank, Little Sheep Su Xi and the Cavaliers are a bad fit. They don’t have the same style," Rick Carlisle commented after the game.

But he didn’t elaborate, as it was, after all, another team’s business.

Paul Silas had, in fact, also noticed this problem. He was extremely fond of Su Xi, even more so than LeBron James. After all, he was a disciple of Chuck Daly.

Su Xi was constantly working to unite his teammates on the court, and so was LeBron James, but LeBron’s efforts were all things that produced immediately visible results.

Not Su Xi. He did the dirty work, the thankless jobs. He was a barricade at the top of the arc. And he frequently switched onto the opponent’s toughest player to guard. When he didn’t have the ball, he would set screens and move actively without it.

But, for the most part, this work was useless.

Because his teammates all played very selfishly. Carlos Boozer loved stats, Ricky Davis loved stats, and LeBron James loved stats too. Ilgauskas wasn’t as obsessed, but he didn’t have the ability to do much else; when the ball came to him, he was expected to finish the play. Silas would get nervous if he even dribbled the ball one extra time.

So, in Oakland and Sacramento, Su Xi’s stats plummeted.

Against the Golden State Warriors, Su Xi only managed 6 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block.

This was because the Golden State Warriors played a very loose, free-flowing style.

Fan the Madman and Jason Richardson were their backcourt duo, and they just went for it the moment they got the ball... Su Xi had truly never encountered this kind of opponent, one that played with pure, chaotic randomness.

This brand of bullshit basketball was contagious. The Cavaliers, who already lacked discipline, started playing for themselves and were even worse.

In the end, the Warriors defeated the Cavaliers, relying on their extensive experience in playing bullshit basketball.

After the game, Fan the Madman, Van Exel, was still talking big in front of the reporters: "Is this the so-called ’Genius Terminator’? Was Little Sheep Su Xi even guarding me? I didn’t feel a thing."

But the reporters had pictures.

It even made the Top 5 plays.

It was one of Su Xi’s few highlights from the game. Fan the Madman used a screen from Dampier to drive into the paint from the side. He spun past Boozer and jumped up for a layup.

Su Xi flew in from the side and snatched the ball right out of the air as Van Exel released it.

The mid-air collision with Su Xi caused him to stumble on his landing, and he retreated to the side in embarrassment.

His post-game comments were purely to save face.

Su Xi didn’t pay him any mind.

"To be honest, the Warriors don’t have any genius players," Su Xi said, annoyed by the Oakland reporters who kept bringing up his ’Genius Terminator’ label.

So Su Xi decided to just tell it like it is... Fan the Madman couldn’t even trigger the fusion of Su Xi’s super-speed talent, so how could he be considered a genius? He was just flattering himself.

This statement made the Warriors very angry.

Interestingly, the folks over in Sacramento just had to stick their nose in it. Before their game, Chris Webber said in an interview: "I’m looking forward to seeing Little Sheep Su Xi’s performance in this game. I also want to ask him, does the Kings team have any genius players? It seems like whenever he has a bad game, he just says the opponent has no geniuses, right?"

Chris Webber’s grudge against Su Xi came from off the court. Playboy had ranked the most handsome stars in the NBA, putting Su Xi in first place, with a two-tier gap before players like Chris Webber were even mentioned.

Weber was considered handsome for a black man, and he was very famous. In college, he had gained nationwide acclaim as the leader of the Michigan Five, was later drafted number one, signed large contracts, and had good commercial value. After joining the Kings in ’98, he initiated a gorgeous, free-flowing offense. His personal stats always hovered around 20+10+5.

For years, the Kings had been a powerhouse in the West, and a very influential one at that.

After all, their style of play was so beautiful.

They had taken the Princeton offense to a new level.

Before the game started, Su Xi hadn’t heard Chris Webber’s trash talk. Back in 2003, information still traveled a bit slowly. This was why Su Xi was investing heavily in the internet industry; the internet would make information travel much faster.

In this game, the Cavaliers were completely played with.

The Cavaliers’ playstyle trended towards everyone playing for themselves. Su Xi was constantly trying to be the glue, hoping to connect the team together.

The effect was not very good.

The Kings, on the other hand, presented a situation where ’everyone gets to play with the ball, and everyone knows how to pass’.

A few times, Su Xi switched onto Chris Webber. Webber was still very threatening from the high post, and although his physical gifts weren’t what they were in his prime, he punished Su Xi with consecutive step-back jumpers.

This became the ammunition for his post-game boasting.

"Being handsome doesn’t do you any good," Chris Webber said. He had 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists in 32 minutes, with both high volume and efficiency. "But I’m a little disappointed. I actually scored so many points on Little Sheep Su Xi. This must mean... I’m not a genius. I wasn’t even terminated by him. Sigh!"

When Su Xi saw this news in Los Angeles, his hands were trembling. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

He had finished the game with 8 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block. For a number 8 draft pick, it was a decent, if unremarkable, performance.

What made him uncomfortable was that during the game, he hadn’t focused his full attention on Webber. He had to be ready to provide help defense on other players at any moment, so he hadn’t played physical against him.

Besides, Chris Webber really wasn’t a genius player anymore.

He was overflowing with talent when he was younger, but that didn’t mean his talent hadn’t diminished over the years due to injuries and age.

’What’s with the passive-aggressive bullshit?’

Su Xi called LeBron James. "Ah Zhan, we’ve got four days off in Los Angeles. Let’s get some good one-on-one games in."

But James just waved his hand on the other end of the line. "No, Jack. I really don’t have the time right now. I’m about to meet the most beautiful woman in Hollywood. She’s shooting a commercial with me. Heh heh! Jack, want me to introduce you?"

"Forget it. I’m only interested in training," Su Xi said, his enthusiasm dampened.

"Hey, don’t be like that, man. Don’t always be thinking about basketball; you can’t sleep hugging a basketball. You need women. You need the nourishment of love. By the way, what do you think if I wear workout clothes to show off my perfect body? Don’t all girls like muscular guys?" LeBron asked Su Xi. "And if I throw a suit jacket over it, wouldn’t that be a total knockout?"

"I don’t have any experience chasing women. Usually, they’re the ones who chase me," Su Xi told James sincerely.

ARGH!!!

James roared on the other end of the phone and hung up in frustration. ’What kind of person is he? Is being handsome such a big deal?’

The Cavaliers’ last preseason opponent was the Lakers. After playing them, they would return to Sacramento for their first regular-season game against the Kings.

Thanks to LeBron James’s immense popularity in the United States and Su Xi’s crazed following in Asia, this game would be broadcast nationally on TNT and also transmitted live back to China.

Chris Webber’s comments about Su Xi were also hyped as a key point of interest.

Su Xi lay in his hotel room for a while, then made a call to Kobe Bryant.

Kobe was still in the midst of the controversy from July.

It had done significant damage to his image; some brands had even canceled their partnerships with him. While Nike hadn’t gone that far, they had postponed the release of Kobe’s signature shoe and weren’t doing any promotion for him.

Although Kobe was in the middle of personal trouble, his team had become unprecedentedly strong. Taking advantage of the Lakers’ defeat by the San Antonio Spurs in the West semifinals last season, both Karl Malone and Gary Payton had joined the Lakers, forming a super-deluxe "galactic battleship."

Karl Malone and Gary Payton had been suppressed by Jordan for most of their careers, then later blocked by the combined forces of O’Neal and Duncan. Now, at the tail end of their careers, they had no choice but to team up.

Teaming up was a bit shameful, but not having a championship ring would be even more so.

When the call connected, Kobe Bryant didn’t sound dejected at all. "Hey, Jack, come hang out at my place. We’re about to have a party. Vanessa was just talking about you."

Then, he asked for Su Xi’s address.

About 40 minutes later, a yellow Lamborghini pulled up in front of the hotel. Su Xi went downstairs, got into Kobe’s car, and they sped off towards Kobe’s mansion.

"I happen to be throwing a party today. Gary Payton, Devin George, Rick Fox, and Bill Walton will be there."

Kobe explained. He had basically formed his own crew on the Lakers now, a group of teammates he was closer with. Everyone else had been recruited by O’Neal. This season’s Lakers had a dual-leadership structure.

Kobe and O’Neal’s relationship had completely shattered last week.

O’Neal had made some sharp, veiled criticisms about Kobe’s July incident.

Kobe Bryant had said that famous line to the media: "Shaq did it too."

Kobe was a hothead. He believed O’Neal had no right to comment on his business, and besides, he had been set up. He felt O’Neal fooled around even more, he just hadn’t been exposed.

But the media didn’t see it that way; they hyped it up relentlessly. It got to the point where Phil Jackson decided to make them both cool down, banning them from playing in the last three preseason games.

So, Kobe was holding a team party just before the regular season officially began.

When Su Xi called, Kobe immediately remembered his little brother from the NCAA. Moreover, Su Xi had been dragged into it back in July, taken to the police station for questioning with him, and had verbally supported him. True character is revealed in hardship. He had always said Su Xi was his good brother.

Now that Su Xi was calling, of course he had to pull Su Xi over.

Even if Su Xi was about to represent the Cavaliers in a game against the Lakers.

"Actually, I was looking to play some one-on-one with you," Su Xi said in the car. "We never finished our game from July."

"Hey, my little brother, don’t put all your energy into basketball. You need to have a life of your own, too."

Kobe advised Su Xi.

After he said this, the car fell silent for a moment. Because Kobe himself found it unbelievable: ’I’m actually advising someone else not to put all their energy into basketball?’

Damn!

’This is insane!’

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