The Best Point Guard

"So can we beat the Cavaliers?"

"We’ll know after we play."

Fifteen days after that conversation, Su Xi led the Knicks to Cleveland.

At this point, the Cavaliers were on a 16-game winning streak.

The Knicks, meanwhile, were on a 7-game streak of their own.

The Knicks currently led the Cavaliers by a single game. If they lost this match, the Cavaliers would move one step closer to first place in the East.

The game drew significant media attention, with ESPN broadcasting it live nationwide.

Before the game, most predictions favored the Cavaliers, as their roster was simply far stronger than the Knicks’.

The only reason the Knicks were still first in the East was their chaotic, run-and-gun style, which relied on disrupting their opponents’ rhythm to win.

They were a team with three major weaknesses: no defense, no rebounding, and no set-play offense.

How could a team like that possibly threaten the red-hot Cavaliers?

This was the general consensus.

However, even though public opinion favored the Cavaliers, the tone wasn’t harsh.

And why was that?

It was, of course, because they were afraid Goat Su Xi would make them eat their words.

Isaiah Thomas was as high-profile as ever before the game. He told the media, "Goat Su Xi and Shaquille O’Neal are old rivals. Su Xi once defeated the O’Neal and Kobe duo in the Finals, and he also beat the O’Neal and Wade duo in the Eastern Conference Finals. Now, O’Neal has found LeBron James. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens."

Though everything he said was true, hearing it laid out so plainly was extremely provocative.

For the Cleveland fans in particular, it felt like a deliberate provocation.

The Cavaliers’ morale had been shattered by Su Xi after they lost to the Knicks in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals. But now, with O’Neal’s arrival, they were like the newly rich, suddenly and loudly flaunting their power.

ESPN interviewed their fans.

"We stopped considering the Knicks a rival long ago. Little Sheep Su Xi is an arrogant man who thinks he’s omnipotent. But he’s not. LeBron plus O’Neal will absolutely beat him senseless."

"The Knicks are riddled with problems. Their head coach just goes around threatening everyone, acting like they’re still the reigning champs. In reality, this is the Cavaliers’ era now. LeBron and O’Neal—that’s a combination of epic proportions."

"We’re going to absolutely destroy the Knicks. We’ll show them that even if they come from the biggest city in the world, they still have to bow their heads here in Cleveland."

"Just you wait. After this game, the so-called ’Goat’ myth is going to be shattered."

"..."

The Cleveland fans were incredibly fired up.

This was characteristic of people from a smaller city.

It was also characteristic of a fanbase that, after being suppressed by Su Xi for so many years, was finally getting a chance to feel vindicated.

Over on ESPN, Larry Brown made his own bold prediction: the Cavaliers would have the game wrapped up before the start of the fourth quarter.

At that, Reggie Miller couldn’t resist a snide remark. "Isn’t it a little early to be calling for garbage time?"

Larry Brown shot Reggie Miller a glare. He knew all too well where this snarky bastard stood. Miller was always in Su Xi’s corner, always defending him. Without him, Larry Brown’s reputation would be much higher.

Because of Miller, whenever Larry Brown commentated on a Knicks game, he was widely seen as a jinx.

Some teams had even privately requested of Brown, "From now on, praise the Knicks more, not us. We can’t handle the jinx."

This was, without a doubt, a humiliation for Larry Brown.

But Larry Brown was resolute and never wavered.

TWEET!

The whistle blew, and the game began.

The Knicks rolled out their usual lineup: Kyle Lowry, Su Xi, Stephen Jackson, David Lee, and Channing Frye.

This had become their set starting lineup since Zach Randolph’s injury.

The Cavaliers’ lineup was: Gibson, Pavlovic, James, Ilgauskas, and O’Neal.

A twin-towers lineup, with two seven-foot giants.

It was clear they intended to force a half-court game against the Knicks.

TAP!

Channing Frye won the jump ball against O’Neal.

Kyle Lowry grabbed the ball and immediately fired a long outlet pass to Su Xi in the frontcourt. Su Xi caught it, pulled up right at the three-point line, and shot. Pavlovic’s trailing defense was completely ineffective.

SWISH!

The ball sank through the bottom of the net.

Su Xi drew first blood.

He was just as audacious as ever.

But his efficiency was actually high for a volume scorer. He was averaging 41.3 points on 42.6% shooting—high production at a respectable efficiency. Moreover, even in the team’s run-and-gun system, Su Xi’s usage rate remained in a tier of its own, far and away the highest.

Su Xi hit the three.

The Cavaliers refused to get drawn into their pace.

They looked as if they were already used to the Knicks’ limited bag of tricks.

LeBron James received the ball in the backcourt and slowly brought it up the court.

Larry Brown had surrounded him with two shooters in Gibson and Pavlovic, with Pavlovic also handling tough defensive assignments on the perimeter.

As James reached the frontcourt, Ilgauskas came to the free-throw line to set a screen for him.

James used the opportunity to drive quickly into the paint, and the Knicks collapsed on him in a double-team.

He quickly dished the ball to O’Neal. O’Neal caught it, knocked Channing Frye aside, and threw down a thunderous dunk... BOOM!

It was simply unstoppable.

David Lee already had a tough time defending Ilgauskas, and he couldn’t handle James either; his defensive ability was merely average.

And James was the most powerful driving small forward in the league, like a charging tank; ordinary big men didn’t dare to meet his full-force collisions head-on.

What’s more, there was now an incredibly dominant O’Neal waiting in the paint.

A 7-foot-3 giant with a mid-range jumper was setting a screen for him, while inside, arguably the most dominant center in history, still at the tail end of his prime, was there to finish the play.

This was so ridiculously perfect for him, it was like a match made in heaven.

The fact that the league approved a trade for O’Neal centered around Larry Hughes was utterly absurd.

The Miami Heat had basically swallowed a poison pill, screwing over the rest of the league in the process.

’I’d seen this play on TV before, and it didn’t seem so bad,’ Su Xi thought. ’But seeing it live... damn, this is perfectly tailored for James.’

’No wonder they’ve been on such a winning streak. No wonder they managed to beat the Lakers.’

’In fact, for the Lakers to have pushed the Cavaliers to the final seconds was an incredible feat in itself.’

’As far as this single play went, it felt unstoppable. Physically unstoppable.’

Isaiah Thomas stood on the sideline, rubbing his chin and thinking, ’If all four of our centers—Zach Randolph, Eddie Curry, Tony Battie, and Jerome James—were here, could we handle this?’

’He didn’t even dare to wonder if his current frontcourt could hold up. After all, the Knicks’ big men were Channing Frye, David Lee, and Millsap on the bench.’

’They went from having more than enough big bodies in the paint last season to now, where their two starting bigs barely scraped together four hundred pounds of muscle between them.’

’Channing Frye, in particular, looked half O’Neal’s size standing next to him.’

But then, just as quickly—SWISH!

Channing Frye drained a three-pointer.

The Knicks’ style of play was the polar opposite of the Cavaliers’.

The Cavaliers played slow, while the Knicks played fast.

The Cavaliers hammered away in the paint, while the Knicks’ bigs fired away from behind the three-point line.

"The team that controls the paint is the team that controls the game!"

Larry Brown declared on television, spouting a classic basketball aphorism.

The game continued. James once again charged into the paint and passed to O’Neal. O’Neal backed down Channing Frye and sank a turnaround hook shot.

On the other end, David Lee hit a shot from the free-throw line after a pick-and-roll with Lowry.

Both teams started the game shooting with high efficiency.

But their styles were diametrically opposed—one team floating on the perimeter, the other attacking the rim.

Many people said the Knicks’ style of play wasn’t sustainable.

The Cavaliers could maintain their efficiency, but the moment the Knicks’ shooting went cold, it would be game over.

As if to debunk that very notion, Su Xi began attacking the paint in the latter half of the first quarter.

He did so despite the Cavaliers having two giants in the paint, and despite James being known as the best chase-down blocker in the league.

But each time, Su Xi managed to score and get away unscathed.

The two teams traded blows.

The first quarter came to an end.

32-30.

The Knicks held a two-point lead.

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