He proudly announced his connection to Su Xi to the surrounding crowd and even asked Su Xi to sign the Syracuse University jersey he’d brought.

Su Xi obliged with a signature, then said to McNamara, "Hey, man. I got you Jessica Alba’s autograph. Call me after the game..."

For a moment, McNamara’s expression was a sight to behold.

It went from contorted to calm, then from calm to a smile, before he offered a silent blessing. ’You better be good to Jessica. Be gentle! And don’t use the same force on her that you’d use to bang against a center.’

Su Xi patted his shoulder, smiled, and returned to the court.

Jason Kapono had been temporarily promoted to the starting lineup for the night, taking Ricky Davis’s spot. This was a direct result of Su Xi’s strong recommendation.

The Knicks’ starting lineup tonight was: Charlie Ward, Alan Houston, Darius Miles, Kurt Thomas, and Dikembe Mutombo.

On paper, New York’s roster looked great. They had experienced veterans, shooters in their prime, and immensely talented young players. They even had former number two pick Keith Van Horn coming off the bench.

But... there was just something in the water in New York.

Experienced veterans came here just to enjoy the good life. Stars in their prime signed huge contracts and stopped putting in the work. And the talented young guns were too captivated by the glitz and glamour of New York to focus on improving.

Shortly after the game started, Darius Miles sincerely thanked Su Xi. "Jack, thanks for taking my place in that wasteland, Cleveland. I’m having way too much fun in New York."

"You’re welcome."

Su Xi replied calmly.

The game began, and Ilgauskas surprisingly won the tip-off against Mutombo.

The ball was tapped back to his side of the court.

James collected the ball. He didn’t pass to Su Xi, instead bringing it up the court himself.

From the wing, Su Xi motioned, asking if James wanted a screen.

But James waved him off.

He drove hard at Darius Miles, charging toward the rim, intending to put on a stunning opening show in the Mecca of basketball.

But Mutombo quickly slid over from the side, presenting a huge obstacle. James stubbornly drove right at him anyway, trying for an acrobatic layup.

His flexibility was average, and his coordination was nothing special either.

The attempt was clumsy.

Darius Miles came from behind and viciously swatted the ball away.

After all, Darius was a high school prodigy, with a draft comparison to Garnett. His talent was undeniable. This was despite the two so-called curses in the NBA: any player with a draft comp to Garnett or Larry Bird was doomed to be a bust.

But this block was a thing of beauty.

The ball was slammed onto the floorboards, bouncing high into the air.

"Some ’Chosen One’! I’m the real Chosen One!" Darius roared at James after the block.

Just as he was busy posturing, Su Xi slipped past Charlie Ward, grabbed the loose ball, accelerated into the paint, and with the Knicks’ interior wide open, he exploded upwards... BOOM!

He finished with a two-handed slam.

The hunter had become the hunted.

As Su Xi came down from the rim, he hit Miles with some trash talk: "You celebrated too soon."

But Darius Miles didn’t get angry. He just said, "I got no beef with you. You’re not the ’Chosen One.’ You should be thanking me for the assist."

It was almost like friendly banter.

James already felt insecure around Su Xi. Seeing Miles play along with him like this only made him more annoyed.

He couldn’t help but frown at Su Xi, demanding an explanation.

’How the hell am I supposed to explain this?’

Su Xi spread his hands helplessly.

’I was trash-talking Darius Miles! Technically, I was helping you roast him. If he’s going to suck up to me like that, what am I supposed to do? You don’t hit a guy who’s smiling at you, right?’

James was not pleased.

Back on defense, Su Xi was guarding Charlie Ward. Ward passed the ball to Alan Houston and then immediately ran to the corner. Ward was one of Jeff Van Gundy’s trusted favorites. To be a favorite of a guy like Van Gundy, you had to be rigid and execute the game plan meticulously. If the play told him to stay in the corner, he wouldn’t budge an inch.

Since Ward didn’t move, Su Xi couldn’t stray too far either.

Alan Houston shook Jason Kapono with a move.

James went for a risky steal, but the gamble failed. Houston passed the ball to Darius Miles, who drove into the paint, took a hop step, and threw down a two-handed slam.

With Carlos Boozer’s level of defense and Ilgauskas’s poor mobility...

...this wasn’t the least bit surprising.

"LeBron, you’re not gonna be the ’Chosen One’ with defense like that."

Darius Miles was really getting into it with James tonight.

He was constantly taunting him, the trash talk never-ending. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Back when Miles was on the Cavaliers, he and Davis were pretty tight. They’d often team up to pad their stats for fun. With Ricky Davis being traded that afternoon, Miles felt a pang of sympathy—the fox mourning the death of the rabbit. So, it was only natural for him to take out his frustration on James.

Su Xi brought the ball up the court, and LeBron James put his hand out, calling for the ball.

But Carlos Boozer was wide open in the paint. Su Xi immediately fed the ball down low, and Carlos Boozer caught it and threw down a powerful dunk.

"Get me the ball next time," James told Su Xi in a low, intense voice as they got back on defense.

Su Xi nodded.

Miles was very active tonight, even showing off an uncharacteristically good mid-to-long-range jumper.

He got the ball from Charlie Ward after a pick-and-roll and immediately pulled up, sinking a long two-pointer with his foot on the three-point line.

"That one’s for you, Cleveland!"

he yelled at the Cavaliers’ bench after the shot went in.

Su Xi grabbed the ball to inbound it and passed it directly to James.

Then, he started moving off the ball.

James brought the ball up the court and was immediately tied up by Darius at the top of the arc.

Miles had incredible physical gifts; he was a lanky monster with long arms and legs.

But the finer points of his defense were still raw.

Then again, so were the finer points of James’s offense.

They were a match made in heaven—as opponents.

In the end, James’s possession ended with a traveling violation.

Darius Miles clapped loudly, continuously goading James.

James was already on edge, and the constant provocation only made him more frustrated.

Just then, Su Xi saw his chance and stole the ball from Charlie Ward right at half-court.

James was about to sprint downcourt, ready to catch a pass from Su Xi for a powerful, vindicating dunk.

But the moment Su Xi got the steal, he passed the ball to a streaking Kapono.

Kapono pulled up from a meter beyond the three-point line and let it fly... SWISH!

He hit it.

"Great pass, Jack!"

Kapono shouted his praise to Su Xi.

Just then, Miles whispered the most lethal piece of trash talk into James’s ear: "LeBron, the Cavaliers are better without you. Little Sheep Su Xi looks more like a leader than you do. The GOAT is definitely better than the King!"

That remark struck a nerve. Burning with rage, James bumped Darius with his head.

Darius deliberately exaggerated the contact, flopping backward.

It was a beautiful piece of acting. The head official came over and gave LeBron James a warning.

James threw his hands up, looking aggrieved. "I just nodded."

That statement left a bad impression on the referee. ’If it were anyone else, I’d have T’d them up already,’ he thought. ’And he has the nerve to lie right to my face. You "nodded" right into the guy’s chest. You’re over two hundred pounds, you trying to act all cute and cuddly?’

Miles continued to mess with James’s head.

He kept running his routes. When an Alan Houston shot clanked off the rim, Miles crashed the boards for a putback.

As they retreated on defense, James criticized Carlos Boozer for not boxing out.

Boozer nodded in agreement, saying he’d be sure to watch for it next time.

But on the court, Su Xi and Kapono, who were close with Boozer, could read the look in his eyes. They knew he was unconvinced.

The game continued.

Su Xi and Boozer ran a pick-and-roll, and Boozer hit a jumper from the high post.

The two teams traded baskets for the next few possessions.

Six minutes into the quarter, Su Xi came out for a rest.

He was currently averaging 27 minutes a game, needing to rest after just a few minutes of play. Su Xi’s stamina was Stephen Silas’s biggest concern.

James, on the other hand, was a different story. Even though he was just a rookie, he was already averaging 37 minutes a game. As long as the game wasn’t too physical, he had no problem playing all 48 minutes.

But tonight was intense.

Darius Miles was on him constantly, messing with his head the whole time.

Su Xi stretched on the bench, then turned to speak with Stephen Silas.

"I’ve noticed a problem."

Stephen Silas frowned. "After Ricky Davis left, the ball movement didn’t get any smoother. Without Davis in the mix, you and LeBron have actually become less compatible."

Su Xi nodded.

He’d felt it too.

...

...