The boost to his coordination talent greatly improved Su Xi’s body control, especially his accuracy on layups after losing his balance under contact. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Su Xi was also shooting relentlessly in this game. He and Iverson traded blows, attacking each other’s paint.

With Carlisle’s encouragement and his teammates’ support, Su Xi frequently drove into the paint. The 76ers didn’t have a Kevin Garnett.

Su Xi’s strengths were on full display.

In 25 minutes, Su Xi took 19 shots and made 11, scoring a new career-high of 27 points. Extremely efficient.

"Exactly. This is how you should play, Jack. I feel that if your stamina improves a little more, you have a real shot at scoring 40," Carlisle encouraged Su Xi. "We need a tough player who can drive from the top of the arc, get into the paint, and tear the defense apart."

Su Xi nodded.

His talent level was already very high, and he had many mismatch advantages.

In fact, he now felt his technical skills couldn’t keep up with his physical gifts.

The game where they defeated the 76ers became a turning point.

In the next seven games in December, Su Xi scored 21, 22, 19, 18, 20, 25, and 19 points, respectively.

This was all achieved while averaging only 25.5 minutes per game. It was an astonishing scoring efficiency. Keep in mind, in this season, the league’s top scorer, Tracy McGrady, was only averaging 28 points, and the second-highest, Iverson, was at 26. This wasn’t the no-contact style of play from a decade-plus later; these were points Su Xi earned by banging his body against defenders.

Su Xi’s stamina was limited, so he focused most of his energy on offense, which caused his numbers in steals, assists, and rebounds to dip.

However, the Pacers went on an 8-game winning streak as a result.

The Pacers were just too good.

Just as Carlisle said, they could afford to accommodate an inefficient scorer, let alone Su Xi, whose drives to the paint were a huge help to their overall strategy.

"We can finally understand why Cleveland traded Little Sheep Su Xi. Is there any difference between Little Sheep Su Xi and LeBron James right now? I feel like they’re playing the same brand of basketball. The only differences are that LeBron is taller and a better passer, while Little Sheep Su Xi has better handles."

The New York Media commented sourly before New Year’s Day. It was a classic case of sour grapes.

The Knicks had selected Su Xi with the 8th pick in the draft, but now his achievements had nothing to do with them.

The New York Media had long since exposed that James Dolan flew into a rage over the draft-night trade. Subsequently, during the period when the Knight were looking to trade Su Xi, the Knicks pursued him aggressively but ultimately came up empty-handed.

Now, seeing Su Xi form a triumvirate with LeBron James and Carmeron Anthony among the new generation of players left a bad taste in their mouths. This was especially true after Darius Miles was exposed last week for carrying two models in a nightclub while playing a game involving pouring red wine. They hated the two bastards who made the original trade even more, repeatedly dragging their names through the mud.

It got to the point where even Isaiah Thomas was starting to look good in their eyes.

Isaiah Thomas appeared courtside at the game between the Pacers and the Brooklyn Nets.

The Pacers lost this game to the Brooklyn Nets, failing to secure their ninth straight win.

Jason Kidd did a great job containing Su Xi in this game. He constantly funneled Su Xi toward Kenyon Martin, an excellent interior help defender, who made Su Xi struggle on offense.

Furthermore, Jefferson had an outstanding performance tonight, hitting consecutive three-pointers.

Additionally, Su Xi’s stamina issues became another reason for the loss. By crunch time, Su Xi had no energy left. Jason Kidd got past him twice with post-up moves.

In the end, the Brooklyn Nets won the game.

Su Xi took 21 shots and made 7, finishing with an inefficient 17 points.

Although it’s normal for NBA players to have their ups and downs, and none of his teammates expressed any dissatisfaction, he felt terrible about it himself.

After the game, Su Xi asked for time off. He was going to shoot a commercial and had also made plans with Jessica Alba.

As he went to the parking lot to look for the car Mike O’Connor had arranged for him, he ran into Isaiah Thomas.

The Smiling Assassin had been shouting at him from the sidelines all night, giving him pointers on how to handle the ball. He had been acting more like a coach than Carlisle.

In the fourth quarter, Jason Kidd even shot back at the Smiling Assassin, "Even if you were playing, you wouldn’t be able to stop me."

That remark infuriated Su Xi.

But Isaiah Thomas coolly dismissed Jason Kidd from the sidelines with a single sentence: "Talk trash to me when you’ve won a championship and a Finals MVP."

Now, running into Isaiah Thomas here, Su Xi smiled and nodded at him. He added, "Thanks for the pointers on the court. I guess I didn’t quite grasp the essentials."

"No, you’re already excellent. You’re better than I was at 19."

Isaiah Thomas extended his hand, and they exchanged a dap handshake and a chest bump.

Just then, the Little Elf that had been dormant in Su Xi’s mind for a long time woke up. It prompted: ’Acquired Super Talent detected: Super Low Center-of-Gravity Rhythm.’

Su Xi was startled, his eyes widening as he stared at the Smiling Assassin.

Isaiah Thomas gave a smile and said, "Don’t be surprised. I’m not being sarcastic. The media has completely ruined my image; they all think I’m some kind of villain. But in reality, I’m a sincere person."

"You seem to be in a hurry. Where are you headed?" Isaiah Thomas asked.

Su Xi subconsciously answered, "The Hilton Hotel in Manhattan."

"That’s on my way. Want a ride?" Isaiah Thomas offered.

"Okay." Su Xi nodded, agreeing as if on some strange impulse. "Thanks."

Once in the car, he called Mike O’Connor to tell him he was already in a car heading to New York and that he didn’t need to arrange a driver for him anymore.

Isaiah Thomas chatted with Su Xi for a while about the local culture in Indiana. After all, he used to work there and was very familiar with the Pacers. You could say he was the one who assembled the core of the current team.

He did not have a good impression of Larry Bird at all.

"That guy just relies on being one of the Indiana People, just like LeBron relies on being one of the Clevelanders. Cleveland traded you, and Indiana kicked me out. They reaped the fruits of my labor and then claimed I wasn’t the one who planted the tree. It’s ridiculous."

As Thomas spoke, he sounded like a child who’d had his favorite toy stolen. He was furious.

Su Xi didn’t know how to comfort him. He just said, "Do you all-time great superstars also argue like children?"

"HAHAHAHA," Thomas laughed heartily. "Of course. Sometimes we argue even more intensely, and more childishly. At the drop of a hat, we’ll get a bunch of guys together to freeze someone out."

"And you’re that ’someone,’ right?" Su Xi teased.

"Nope. Before Jordan became the so-called God of Basketball, I was the one who got a group of guys to freeze him out. I wouldn’t even pass him the ball in the All-Star game." Isaiah Thomas spoke with relish. These old tales were part of the NBA’s history, a reason fans remained hooked.

Su Xi burst out laughing. Then he said seriously, "I think you’re pretty badass. You’re the only one who’s beaten Jordan, Magic, and Bird. By the way, you’re listed at 185cm. Are you really even 1.8 meters tall?"

"Of course I am," Thomas said firmly. "I once had a great measurement of 180.5 cm barefoot in the morning."

Su Xi first chuckled, then his expression turned to one of genuine respect.

To achieve so much at such a short stature, only to be defined solely by the "Bad Boys Legion" and reduced to being the background villain for the God of Basketball.

It was all a bit lamentable.

"Lately, Carlisle has been making me watch your game tapes," Su Xi said. "He wants me to learn a more direct and lethal style of attack from you."

"He’s got good taste," Isaiah Thomas commented. "He’s a good coach. You can learn a lot from him."

"But learning skills from watching tape is a bit ridiculous. If you want to learn, I’ll teach you. That’s what you’re missing right now. Your speed, strength, and explosiveness are all excellent, but your technique is just average. That’s why Jason Kidd was able to herd you into traps," Isaiah Thomas said seriously. "My secret is actually very simple: lower your center of gravity... and flash right past them! WHOOSH!"

Isaiah Thomas described it with great animation.

Su Xi was beside him, both shocked and pleasantly surprised. He said to Thomas, "Are you really willing to teach me your ultimate technique, the super-low center-of-gravity rhythm?"

...