The Best Point Guard-Chapter 50 - 48: [I Wanted to Get Along With You as a Defender]

Chapter 50: Chapter 48: [I Wanted to Get Along With You as a Defender]

BEEP!

The timeout ended, and the players from both teams returned to the court.

Neither Coach Jim Boham nor Coach Rick Banis made any substitutions. Both sides adopted the same strategy: dishing out a heaping serving of inspirational talk.

Jim Boham told Su Xi that he was a once-in-a-generation talent and that if he kept playing like this, he could easily dominate the lottery prospect.

Dominate?

The word felt foreign to Su Xi. He just wanted to have a good match against the talented TJ Ford and integrate his own abilities.

Still, the word ’dominate’ had a nice ring to it.

Rick Banis said the same thing. He told TJ Ford, "You’re a super-genius, a once-in-a-generation star. Why are you getting tangled up with a role player? Take him out with lightning speed!"

As he spoke, he arranged for Robinson to set a screen for TJ Ford.

When the game resumed, TJ Ford brought the ball up the court. As much as he wanted to destroy Su Xi, reason won out. A wise man doesn’t stand under a crumbling wall; he was afraid of getting stripped or blocked again.

Just as Su Xi squared up for a one-on-one, Robinson came up to set a screen for TJ Ford. Ford seized the opportunity and flashed past him.

He drove into the paint, shook off the switching defender, Craig, with a crossover, and laid the ball in with one hand.

It was a beautiful play.

It showcased his advantage in speed.

After scoring, TJ Ford let out a fierce roar. He then shot a cold glance at Su Xi. "You’ll never keep up with me."

On the sidelines, Iverson nodded repeatedly. He approved of TJ Ford’s lethal, one-strike style of play.

But some boos came from the Super Dome Arena.

The fans who were there for the spectacle weren’t buying it. They thought TJ Ford was soft. ’Little Sheep Su Xi squared up to go one-on-one, and you, a supposed super-genius, needed help? How embarrassing!’

Su Xi brought the ball into the frontcourt, where TJ Ford met him at the top of the arc, blocking his path.

’According to the scouting reports, Su Xi isn’t a player with a strong desire to score. Although he had shown some driving skills before, he’s more willing to let Antonio handle the offense...’

TJ Ford was still mulling this over.

But Su Xi was already making his move. With no fancy, flashy dribbles, he suddenly took a jab step... his explosive power bursting forth completely.

TJ Ford immediately lost a third of his defensive position. He quickly turned sideways to try and body up, but Su Xi had already stepped forward... THUD!

With just one collision, he was shoved aside.

He couldn’t withstand Su Xi’s strength at all.

It was like a rhino trying to take on an elephant, only to become the elephant’s stress ball.

The United States fans loved this kind of tough, physical collision. The powerful display from Su Xi sent the entire arena into a thundering applause.

As Su Xi charged into the restricted area and Robinson quickly came over to help on defense, Su Xi suddenly stopped... Although his center of gravity was slightly unstable, he then executed a quick spin move... His body was incredibly flexible. He spun away from the defense, leaving Robinson helpless as he watched Su Xi flick the ball out with one hand... SWISH!

It dropped straight through the net!

In a single offensive play, Su Xi showcased two talents: power and flexibility!

The basket made the Super Dome Arena erupt.

They loved seeing Su Xi take on and beat two players by himself, unlike the previous possession where it took both TJ Ford and Robinson to get past Su Xi.

’Way to go, Little Sheep Su Xi!’

’Now that’s an answer-ball!’

The Super Dome Arena was in an uproar. From that moment on, the neutral venue had become Su Xi’s home court.

Everyone was hoping Su Xi would win.

This was popularity.

After scoring, Su Xi raised his hands high, and the entire arena roared like a tsunami: "SU! SU! SU!"

In less than three minutes, Su Xi had already conquered the picky fans of New Orleans.

At that moment, the big screen focused on the court’s restricted area. People saw Su Xi, after raising his hands to a chorus of ten thousand cheers, walk over to TJ Ford and say something. Everyone saw the color drain from TJ Ford’s face.

Everyone was curious about what Su Xi had said.

That included ESPN commentator Chatford and the thirty million viewers across the United States.

"I was going to play nice and just be a defender, but all I got in return were taunts and trash talk. Alright, no more pretending. I’m laying my cards on the table. I’m going to bulldoze you with my strength, one possession at a time."

Su Xi left a final word in TJ Ford’s ear: "You shouldn’t have provoked a slow guy like me with your speed. You’ll have to bear all the consequences."

The first sentence made TJ Ford feel angry and fearful. But the second one made his eyes light up. ’That’s it,’ he thought, ’I’ll use my speed to wear you down.’

So, after receiving the ball, he immediately pushed the pace.

He reached the frontcourt and immediately launched a quick attack. As expected, Su Xi couldn’t keep up with his pace. He drove into the restricted area and, facing help defense from Hakeem, hit a difficult floater.

Sigh!

John Thompson sighed.

Beside him, Iverson thought his esteemed mentor was sighing for Su Xi’s sake. He couldn’t help but say, "This Little Sheep Su Xi is already playing great. He just can’t keep up with the pace, nothing to be done about it. He’ll be an excellent half-court defender in the future."

John Thompson just smiled and didn’t reply. He wasn’t sighing for Su Xi; he was sighing for TJ Ford.

He had been a coach his entire life, and a defensive coach at that.

He knew exactly what was happening on the court.

’Little Sheep Su Xi lives up to his reputation. His basketball IQ really is on another level.’

Su Xi brought the ball past half-court, still using his body to bully TJ Ford. But this time he went to the wing. Aivei came to double-team him. He pushed through both of them, continuing his drive, then passed it out to Josh Peis on the perimeter.

Josh Peis released the shot as slowly as a catapult, with no defenders in front or behind him... SWISH!

It’s good.

The point deficit widened further.

On the next possession, TJ Ford continued to push the pace, even accelerating from the backcourt. His teammates were having trouble keeping up with his tempo. Moreover, his teammates were all products of a more academic, tactical mindset, preferring to settle into the half-court and build chemistry through set plays.

But TJ Ford left them behind.

This time he drove to the basket and was double-teamed by Carmeron Anthony and Hakeem. He had no chance to shoot, so he alertly threw the ball off of Antonio, sending it out of bounds.

At this point, Coach Rick Banis realized something was wrong. He signaled for TJ Ford to slow the pace.

’Don’t put the cart before the horse.’

But Su Xi was right there, goading TJ Ford. He said, "If you can’t even handle a defender like me, why should the NBA believe you’re worthy of a lottery pick?"

Su Xi was going for the psychological kill.

He was forcing TJ Ford to make a choice.

TJ Ford made his choice.

After getting the ball back, he quickly changed direction and accelerated sharply... This time, Su Xi managed to stay with him for half a step... Su Xi’s incredible explosiveness allowed him to compensate for his lack of top speed at close range. But after two strides, TJ Ford had shaken his defender.

But by then, Carmeron Anthony had already rotated over to provide help defense.

Su Xi quickly switched onto James Thomas. Thomas stood 6-foot-5 and weighed 234 pounds—a heavyweight forward with great strength.

But Su Xi could hold his own against him. Although there was a big size difference between them, the gap in strength wasn’t as apparent.

SMACK!

Carmeron Anthony got his revenge, swatting TJ Ford’s shot out of bounds with one hand.

The Super Dome Arena was once again filled with cheers.

The coordination between Antonio and Su Xi was seamless.

James watched from the sidelines, his eyes green with envy.

He was thinking: ’Jack is totally my kind of player. He can body up on defenders and switch quickly... My athleticism is way better than Cameron’s. If I partnered with him, I could get 5 blocks a game.’

’His power-based playstyle is a perfect fit for me. On offense, with the two of us attacking on parallel fronts, who in the entire league could stop us?’

LeBron James found himself coveting Su Xi more and more.

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