Chapter 357: Chapter 107: [I Don’t Understand Offense, But Neither Will You]
’Did I piss off Little Sheep Su Xi? What did I say to set him off?’
Tracy McGrady was a little confused.
But he quickly took off in long strides. His steps were sharp, unleashing his full explosive power and speed. Stephen Jackson was a tough defender, but his natural talent was miles behind Tracy McGrady’s. He used his body to forcibly bump McGrady off his path.
Tracy McGrady stumbled but still managed to get past him.
Just as he thought he had a clear path to the basket, Artest stepped up and got right in his face.
If it were Kobe, he would have definitely used his skill and willpower to power through Artest.
But Tracy McGrady wasn’t Kobe. He had more faith in his own talent.
He stopped on a dime and pulled up for a jumper... There was no way Artest could block him.
And it was true, Artest couldn’t block it.
But Stephen Jackson came flying in from behind, grabbing both man and ball in mid-air and slamming him down.
The guy was as vicious as a killer.
TWEET!
The referee blew his whistle for a foul.
He raised his hand, not arguing the call.
’So what if it’s a foul? It’s not like I got ejected.’
Artest put his hand out and gave Stephen Jackson a high-five. "Great play, my man! We need defenders like you."
Jackson took the opportunity to hug Artest. They were the two toughest basketball players in Indiana.
Add Su Xi to the mix, and the three of them could suffocate every perimeter player in the entire league.
Together, they were a defensive iron curtain.
Add to that Little O’Neal, a master of interior help defense who bullied the weak and feared the strong, and Foster, the "white police officer" who was always ready for a fight.
In theory, the Pacers had the best defensive players in the league. When they acquired Stephen Jackson, Larry Bird even dropped a curse: "Fuck! Our defense is now like a stud putting a plastic bag over his partner’s head in the bedroom. Suffocating!"
Tracy McGrady was getting that exact feeling.
As he walked to the free-throw line, he felt every Pacers player staring at him with ill intent. He was very familiar with that kind of gaze. It was like when he was a kid walking through a Black neighborhood, and there would always be a few guys leaning against a corner, their eyes scanning every passerby.
That time and this time felt exactly the same.
’Damn it. How the hell did I disrespect Jack?’
CLANG!
Tracy McGrady missed the first free throw.
He shook his shoulders, then took his second shot.
SWISH. He made it.
Su Xi brought the ball past half-court. As he entered the frontcourt, Tyronn Lue was still the one defending him.
The highlight of Tyronn Lue’s career was when he dogged Iverson in the 2001 Finals. Although a photo of Iverson stepping over him is widely circulated, the fact is that Iverson was still affected by his defense in that series.
However, Su Xi was not Iverson.
Su Xi wasn’t about to play Iverson’s game with him.
Although Su Xi was arguably one of the top three players in the NBA at driving to the basket, he didn’t use those moves. Instead, he treated Tyronn Lue as a whetstone for his comprehensive offensive skillset.
How could Tyronn Lue possibly stop Su Xi’s offense?
Although Su Xi’s on-ball offensive skills weren’t fully polished, going against a physically limited point guard like Tyronn Lue was like a hot knife through butter.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Su Xi delivered three lightning-fast bumps, his raw power paving the way for his unrefined post moves. He instantly spun around his defender.
Then he rose up for the shot.
SWISH!
The fadeaway jumper found the net.
There wasn’t much sense of accomplishment in it, but... man, it felt good.
A melon plucked by force may not be sweet, but it still quenches your thirst.
Seeing Tyronn Lue’s sorry state, Jeff Van Gundy’s heart ached for him. He glanced at the bench. Who else did the Rockets have? Bob Sura.
Bob Sura wasn’t a pure point guard either.
Back in China, he was the player Yao Ming’s fans disliked the most, because he was so arrogant. The only player on the Rockets he had any respect for was Tracy McGrady; he didn’t give Yao Ming the time of day. He considered himself the team’s number two star.
In his mind, Yao Ming was ranked below him. Asking Yao Ming to set a screen was doing him a favor. Letting Yao Ming go for an offensive rebound was giving him a chance.
Jeff Van Gundy thought about it but decided against putting Sura in. Although Sura’s name sounded a bit like Su Xi’s, they were not cut from the same cloth. The guy was a shoot-first, stats-first player.
’Guess I’ll just have to let poor Lue suffer a while longer.’
’If it really comes to it, I’ll have to put the burden on the veteran, Jim.’
Tracy McGrady got the ball again, and Stephen Jackson immediately pressed up on him, looking just as menacing. He spread his arms wide in an aggressive defensive stance. Tracy McGrady gave a pump fake and made a quick drive; the scoring champ still had a few tricks up his sleeve.
He used his league-best "super second step" to blow by Jackson and drive to the hoop. As he jumped for a layup, the Pacers’ internal Dunk King, the "white police officer" Foster, leaped up to "enforce the law," crashing right into him.
According to Newton’s laws of motion, there was no way he could withstand an object with greater mass.
The moment they collided, he quickly tossed the ball to Yao Ming.
As he landed, he stumbled badly.
Yao Ming caught the ball and was about to dunk when Little O’Neal, stalking him from behind like a mantis hunting a cicada, swatted the ball down with one hand.
The master of bullying the weak and fearing the strong was especially good at blocks from behind.
The ball was knocked out of bounds.
Yao Ming was a little upset with himself.
But Tracy McGrady, standing nearby, felt no such emotion. He even frowned at Yao Ming, thinking that Yao had missed a golden opportunity.
Just as Yao Ming was about to get even more down on himself, Su Xi suddenly walked over and said, "Tracy, if you had passed to Yao earlier, it would have been a dunk. You passed too slow. As expected of a scoring champ, you still don’t know how to play with a superstar center."
"You’re no different from Kobe."
Su Xi shook his head, his tone a perfect mix of coldness, disdain, and casual indifference.
In that instant, Tracy McGrady’s composure finally cracked.
