The Best Point Guard

And now, that man had arrived.

Yao Ming!

In the entire basketball world, no one was a better fit for Kobe than Yao Ming.

Tonight, the courtside at the Lakers game was packed with celebrities.

Many A-list stars had come to watch.

The most dazzling sight of all was Vanessa, Jessica Alba, and Megan Fox sitting in a row.

Kobe had gotten the tickets for all three of them.

Alba and Fox both looked radiant, their skin exceptionally smooth. After their intense encounters with Su Xi, their skin had become better and better, smoother and smoother, completely free of the graininess or roughness common among Caucasian women.

This was one of the reasons they were so obsessed with Su Xi.

Vanessa clearly hadn’t expected to be sitting with two of Little Sheep Su Xi’s rumored girlfriends. What was even more unexpected was that these two, who should have been at each other’s throats, were intimately linking arms and even sharing a drink.

’Since when did they become this close?’

’Can something so personal really be shared?’

’It seems a lot of the rumors on TV are fake. Little Sheep Su Xi seems so upstanding. How could he possibly be dating so many female celebrities at the same time, like the tabloids claim?’

That wasn’t his style.

’Kobe should really learn from him.’

Meanwhile, on the court, Kobe was saying to Su Xi, "Jack, you had me get those tickets for your two girlfriends?"

"Yeah."

"How did you manage it? They’re not even fighting? My god, they’re even sharing the same drink. Good God, did you...?"

Su Xi just smiled.

He didn’t answer.

But in a way, that was an answer in itself.

Kobe just couldn’t believe it.

BEEP!

The whistle blew, and the game began.

The New York Knicks’ starting lineup was: Kyle Lowry, Su Xi, Stephen Jackson, David Lee, and Zach Randolph.

The Lakers’ starting lineup was: Smush Parker, Kobe Bryant, Luke Walton, Lamar Odom, and Yao Ming.

Yao Ming easily won the opening tip against Randolph.

Parker brought the ball past half-court, and Kyle Lowry met him, his defense aggressive.

Su Xi had encouraged him to be proactive on defense and even had Gary Payton teach him defensive techniques.

Buoyed by this encouragement, Kyle Lowry wasn’t afraid to make a move, disrupting Parker’s dribble.

Parker quickly passed the ball to Kobe.

Kobe isolated for a one-on-one against Su Xi.

Su Xi shadowed him closely, but Kobe’s fake still created a sliver of space. He went up for a fadeaway, and with Su Xi’s block just a hair short, Kobe dished the ball into the paint. Yao Ming caught it and turned for the dunk.

Randolph was no match for Yao Ming.

But Randolph quickly inbounded the ball to Lowry. Lowry took the pass and sprinted down the court, reaching the frontcourt in an instant. He made a quick drive to the hoop but was cut off by Kobe. Lowry tried to bump him out of the way but couldn’t break through, so he passed to Su Xi. Su Xi caught the ball, flashed into the paint, and rose for a dunk. Odom didn’t dare get in his way, and could only watch as Su Xi threw it down.

The game opened with two Chinese players attacking the rim.

On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, the fans in China were ecstatic.

This was a true clash of titans.

Meanwhile, on television, Reggie Miller said bluntly, "This could very well be a preview of this year’s Finals. I have a gut feeling the Lakers can make it out of the West. The East will still be dominated by the Knicks."

"On that point, I have a different opinion."

Larry Brown unhesitatingly took the opposing side to Miller.

He had become an official TV analyst for ESPN. Although Su Xi and the Knicks had thoroughly made him eat his words last season, it didn’t stop him from getting a long-term contract from ESPN. This was because he truly had strong professional abilities and held a high status within the industry.

Although, thanks to Su Xi, his commentary on Su Xi and the Knicks was seen as a reverse jinx.

But that was exactly what ESPN wanted.

ESPN and Su Xi had a very bad relationship. This year, Su Xi once again skipped the ESPY Awards ceremony hosted by ESPN. His agent had arrogantly told them, "If you don’t apologize for your past remarks about Su Xi, we will not attend any of ESPN’s ceremonies and will even refuse to answer questions from ESPN."

O’Connor was just that arrogant.

He didn’t even tone down his temper when facing the God of Basketball, Jordan. You couldn’t expect him to be pleasant to ESPN.

So, this season, the battle between Su Xi and ESPN continued.

Larry Brown had received a long-term contract because of this, and he would continue to stand in opposition to Su Xi.

"The Knicks are significantly weaker than last season. I don’t think they can get out of the East. And while the Lakers have improved by getting Yao Ming, their other positions aren’t outstanding. They’ll very likely lose to the San Antonio Spurs..."

Larry Brown continued his long-winded analysis.

His monologue was a sharp contrast to the exciting offense and defense happening in the game.

The teamwork between Kobe and Yao Ming was brilliant; they were truly a match made in heaven.

Kobe and Yao Ming could both be considered ’old-school’ players, and the tactics Phil Jackson devised were perfectly suited for them.

Their offensive and defensive efficiency was extremely high.

They executed the inside-out, dual-core playstyle to perfection.

At the same time, the Knicks’ offensive firepower was also ferocious. They were playing pure run-and-gun basketball.

The two teams went back and forth, neither giving an inch as they traded baskets.

The score see-sawed back and forth.

At the end of the first quarter: 32-31.

The visiting Knicks were up by one point.

However, any fan who knew anything about basketball could tell that the Knicks were only leading because they were shooting well. Their play was still rather chaotic.

The Lakers, on the other hand, were purely executing high-level tactics, and their offensive firepower was intense.

Yao Ming and Kobe complemented each other perfectly, elevating the play of Lamar Odom and Luke Walton.

If Parker weren’t such a liability, always making boneheaded plays, the Lakers would be even stronger.

After the first quarter, Su Xi came off the court and made a point to walk over to Yao Ming. He asked him, "Da Yao, how does it feel playing for the Lakers? Better than with the Rockets, right?"

Yao Ming nodded.

It really was.

Although Tracy McGrady and Kobe were once called two of the greatest talents of their era, and Tracy McGrady was even held in higher regard than Kobe by Adidas. Tracy McGrady was also considered to have stronger playmaking abilities than Kobe.

But playing with Tracy McGrady was definitely not as comfortable as playing with Kobe.

Kobe’s will to attack was stronger. He liked to take on the tough assignments, and at the same time, he would pass to Yao Ming when necessary.

He was also willing to help draw the defense away from Yao Ming.

With Kobe on one side of the floor, the defense didn’t dare to double-team.

Naturally, that made it much more comfortable for Yao Ming to play.

In reality, the main reason was that Tracy McGrady’s commitment to the game wasn’t as high as Kobe’s. Kobe’s focus made things easier for Yao Ming.

Tracy McGrady’s laid-back style only made things more comfortable for himself.

As Su Xi passed the courtside seats, he made a point to greet Jessica and Fox.

He high-fived each of them.

At that moment, Reggie Miller was saying on TV, "The people calling Jack a playboy need to wake up. If he were really a playboy, how could he so openly high-five two female celebrities? And even have them sit together? Isn’t he afraid a fight would break out?"

"The truth is, Jack doesn’t even have time for dating. He’s always training at high intensity. That’s why he evolves every single season."

"He didn’t isolate much in the first quarter, but you can clearly see that he’s polished his offensive skills to be even more precise. I think many of his techniques have already reached a master level. Even his post-up game just now—I couldn’t tell the difference between him and Kobe. In fact, I think he’s even more of a threat than Kobe."

"Because Kobe’s passing isn’t as good, and neither is his physical strength."

On television, Reggie Miller was singing Su Xi’s praises, as always.

He didn’t care in the slightest about ESPN’s overall stance; he was going to say what he wanted to say.

This was also an important clause in his contract with ESPN.

ESPN kept him around, in fact, because they hoped to use him to mend their relationship with Su Xi.

But judging from the current situation, that possibility was very low.

When Su Xi returned to the bench, Isaiah Thomas suddenly said, "Jack, maybe we should push the run-and-gun even more crazily. We need to let the Pacific Division know that we’re the team that’s best at it."

Su Xi looked up, a little surprised. He hadn’t expected Isaiah Thomas to be so supportive of the run-and-gun offense.

Isaiah Thomas smiled. His inner thought was: ’I also want to be a super offensive mastermind, one who is known for both substance and flair.’

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