The Best Point Guard-Chapter 97 - 25: [I’m from Guangdong]

Gordon Gander watched the bustling scene at training camp. Reporters jockeyed for prime interview positions, staff hurried to accommodate them, and players moved from one spot to another, camera flashes following their every move.

He was in an excellent mood.

Two years ago, he wouldn’t have dared to dream of a scene like this.

’The Chosen One from the East, Su Xi, and the Chosen One from the United States, LeBron James—the two biggest media darlings of the 2003 class are both on my team.’

’The Cavaliers are about to take flight!’

Gordon Gander had a strong feeling.

The media from China made every Cavaliers player feel like a star. They reveled in being asked questions and having cameras focused on them.

Even Ricky Davis, who had just argued with Su Xi in the locker room, was all smiles when facing the Chinese reporters. "Yes, I think highly of him," he said. "He’s a good guy. I believe he’ll have an excellent career."

Anyone who’s made a name for themselves in the NBA has, at the very least, enough emotional intelligence to put on a good face for the cameras.

Off-camera, however, was another story.

Throughout the morning, Su Xi felt like the PR manager was dragging him from one camera to the next, and he was asked pretty much the same questions every time: what did he think of Cleveland, what were his impressions of the Cavaliers, and what were his expectations for the new season.

The only remotely difficult question came from the Ohio Fox Sports Network. "Jack, how will you handle the relationship between LeBron and Ricky Davis? If they both call for the ball at the same time, who are you going to pass to?"

Su Xi’s answer was, "I’ll follow the head coach’s tactical plan."

A safe, steady answer.

After the media cleared out that morning, the team’s official season portraits were scheduled for noon.

The Cavaliers’ player roster for the year had been tentatively set.

Centers: Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Desagana Diop

Power Forwards: Carlos Boozer, Newble Eira, Li Nailong

Swingmen: LeBron James, Ricky Davis, Jason Kapono

Guards: Su Xi, JR Bremer, Kevin Ollie, Shandon Anderson

On paper, the roster was quite ordinary. Stacked up against the rest of the league, they qualified as a uniquely weak team.

The competition Su Xi faced wasn’t fierce. JR Bremer and Kevin Ollie were both undrafted players, and Shandon Anderson, after signing a cushy veteran contract, had long since checked out. The guy walked into the locker room looking flabby, his face practically screaming, ’Why haven’t they bought out my contract yet?’

For the team photos, Su Xi was naturally included in the starting five.

Su Xi, Ricky Davis, LeBron James, Carlos Boozer, and Ilgauskas posed for a photo that would become a classic.

Initially, they were all supposed to stand in a row, with James taking the center spot. But then Ricky Davis went and sat down on a small stool in the front. The image instantly changed to him as the big boss with four bodyguards standing behind him.

Just then, James spoke up. "Jack, you’re a guard too. Go sit in the front."

Hearing this, Su Xi quickly sat down on the other stool.

Carlos Boozer, ever the savvy one, smoothly handed the basketball he was holding to Su Xi. "Jack, you’re the point guard. You should have the ball."

And so, the photo was set: Su Xi sat in the front, holding the basketball, with Ricky Davis sitting to his other side.

The photographer pressed the shutter, capturing the classic image.

This would be the image used for the Cavaliers’ official promotions all season.

Everyone in the picture was smiling.

But head coach Silas, standing just off-camera, thought to himself, ’These guys are all fucking slick. It looks like Jack is the only simple one here.’

’A little simplicity is a good thing.’

’After all, didn’t he just become the focus of this entire photo?’

That afternoon, the Cavaliers held a tactical practice.

Silas came prepared with a full suite of defensive strategies. But after just one practice session... the starters had been carved up by the reserves, their defense looking like Swiss cheese.

How to describe it?

Su Xi’s defense was decent; he could lock down the top of the arc. But he couldn’t cover for the other four, who were all defensive liabilities.

Back in high school, nobody ever taught James how to play defense. His fundamentals were terrible, and he had a habit of gambling for steals. As for Ricky Davis, don’t even mention it. His defense was on par with Carlos Boozer’s... and when Boozer was at Duke, Coach K used to chew him out for it. The only thing Boozer did well was hedge on the pick-and-roll. His on-ball, help, and rotational defense were all so bad you could drive a truck through the holes.

You couldn’t say Ilgauskas was a bad defender, but you certainly couldn’t call him good. He was only slightly shorter than Yao Ming, but far less agile. His help defense could be summed up by the idiom "waiting by the stump for a rabbit"—he just stood there and hoped for the best.

Still, when he planted himself in the paint, few dared to challenge him. His height was his greatest defensive asset. Beyond that... he had nothing.

So, it was understandable that the Cavaliers’ starters were getting sliced to ribbons by the opposing guards.

Eventually, the starters got used to it. James even began to enjoy himself; as soon as one of the smaller guards drove to the hoop, he could start his hunt from behind. He racked up two chase-down blocks and was thrilled about it.

By the end of the full-court practice, Silas had come to a grim realization: ’This isn’t a defensive team at all, it’s a goddamn offensive juggernaut.’

Su Xi crushed JR Bremer like an elephant stomping on a balloon. LeBron James left Kevin Ollie in the dust. Ricky Davis was constantly getting open looks on the wing... Even though he and Su Xi had clashed in the locker room, on the court the two of them were a perfect match. Their chemistry was excellent.

Second only to the chemistry between Su Xi and Carlos Boozer, that is. Those two were thriving, running all sorts of pick-and-roll plays. Boozer was incredibly strong, setting high-quality screens that Su Xi used to initiate the offense. If a play broke down, Su Xi could always dump it off to Boozer for the finish.

With Su Xi running the point, James was also able to take flight from the wing, catching an alley-oop and throwing down a dunk that nearly bent the rim.

And Ilgauskas was the anchor. While his skills and one-on-one game were nowhere near Yao Ming’s, his open-shot percentage was excellent. He was like a fixed artillery piece—once he got a clean pass, he was almost impossible to stop.

Paul Silas couldn’t help but marvel.

He muttered to himself, ’May the great Chuck Daly forgive me. Please don’t blame your student for abandoning his defensive roots this season. I really have no other choice.’

’With this roster... it would be a crying shame not to go all-in on offense.’

After announcing the end of practice, Paul Silas hurried back to his office and began rewriting the playbook that very night.

Su Xi stayed behind in the gym for extra practice. Ah Bu and Ah Ka were right there with him. Ah Zhan had been there too, but his off-court obligations were endless. He had to leave early for a hotel ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Before he left, he made a point of finding Su Xi. "Jack, I saw what happened in the locker room today," he said. "Thank you. You’re a true friend. I know you did that to help me stand up to Ricky Davis, and I won’t forget it."

He patted Su Xi’s shoulder. "Come to my place on Saturday. Frank got you a brand new notebook. And I’ll practice with you for a bit."

"Okay, thanks, Ah Zhan," Su Xi said, reaching out to pat the back of James’s head.

James frowned slightly. "Don’t pat my head when there are people around. It undermines my authority. And why do you call me Ah Zhan?"

"I’m from Guangdong," Su Xi explained. "People from there like to put ’Ah’ in front of a name to show closeness."

"Hmph. Then don’t call Carlos Boozer and Jason Kapono ’Ah Bu’ and ’Ah Ka’ anymore."

"I can’t do that," Su Xi said. "They’re my friends, too." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Can’t I be the special one?" James’s eyebrows shot up, his domineering aura flaring up again.

Su Xi replied, "Fine, I’ll just call you LeBron then."

"No! Call me Ah Zhan!"

James was just tying himself in knots.

He waved goodbye to Su Xi.

...

Su Xi, Kapono, and Boozer continued their shooting practice. Su Xi was always eager to learn from others’ strengths.

He believed that you reap what you sow.

Take his ball-handling, for example. He’d spent the last three months in Los Angeles specifically training that skill, and now it was already at an elite level in the league. With his long arms, he could dribble the ball with masterful proficiency. It might not have looked particularly graceful, due to his own issues with agility and coordination, but it was effective. And... when you compared it to James’s, Su Xi’s dribbling actually looked quite refined.

The practice session had actually been a huge wake-up call for Su Xi. The guy he’d been matched up against, JR Bremer, might have been an undrafted player, but he was incredibly fast and agile. A quick look at his resume showed he was the fourth-leading scorer in the 2001-02 NCAA season.

As Boozer said, "In the NBA, every nobody was once the king of some other league."

It was absolutely true.

This shattered any sense of superiority Su Xi had about his own talent. He now realized he still had a long way to go. Some of the media pundits had actually been right: in the NCAA, Su Xi had a mismatch advantage, strong enough to bully centers. But in the NBA, that wouldn’t fly. He could hold his ground against someone like Boozer, but if he tried to guard Ilgauskas, Ilgauskas could school him with his slow-motion jumper. What’s more, the average NBA guard’s agility, coordination, and speed were on another level—like an 85 rating or higher across the board. Aside from his above-average flexibility, Su Xi’s other physical attributes were lagging, and that would be a real test for him.

Thus, his desire for ’talent’ grew even more desperate. He had to get faster, stronger, and more explosive. He had to become more agile, more coordinated, and more flexible.

The three of them practiced until eight o’clock before heading back to their neighborhood together.

They spent the evening at Boozer’s house, where his girlfriend made them dinner. Afterwards, they played some video games.

The three of them were kindred spirits; aside from an appreciation for women, they had no other vices.

It was why they became such fast friends.

「Time flew.」

After a full week of training, the preseason was just around the corner.

Before it began, Su Xi received an invitation to James’s "Imperial Palace" in Bass Town.

Su Xi made a point of going over around noon. James’s house was truly impressive—massive in scale, it really did have the vibe of a South Korean imperial palace.

James drove Su Xi around the entire estate on a golf cart.

After the tour, Su Xi dragged James to his luxurious home basketball court.

’No matter what, we’re playing today.’

Before the regular season started, Su Xi hoped to take his physical gifts to the next level.

’James, you are the Chosen One, after all.’

’You’d better make a fine cauldron for me!’

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