The Best Point Guard

Chapter 430: Chapter 7: The Genius Persona Has Been Hyped Up

Eddie Curry got himself into trouble.

After the opening of training camp, he was pulled over by the police for speeding on his way back to Long Island. What’s more, they found guns in his car.

He claimed that the weapons were all registered and that he had a license to carry, saying he only used them for hunting in the offseason. However, the police discovered that one of the guns was unregistered.

This landed him in legal proceedings.

Although it was a minor case and plenty of lawyers were willing to take it on for him.

But for this kind of news to break on the very first day of training camp was a disappointment to many. The sentiment in New York City was thick with calls for Eddie Curry to be kicked out.

Eddie Curry’s physique was also subjected to relentless criticism.

Turn on almost any local New York sports channel, and you would see a tirade against Eddie Curry.

An ordinary person would never be able to withstand such an overwhelming media assault.

But it seemed Eddie Curry was already used to it.

He showed up at the training facility the next day as if nothing had happened, and the Knicks Club didn’t intervene.

Formal training began that day.

Although Isaiah Thomas seemed to have a devil-may-care attitude and was overly familiar with his players, his tactical mindset was very orthodox, even academic. He demanded set-piece offenses and emphasized defense, with his system placing a heavy focus on player coordination.

When Su Xi saw the playbook, he almost thought he was still in Indiana. But once practice started, he immediately felt a completely different atmosphere.

Besides Su Xi, there wasn’t a single person in the entire gym who possessed a competent level of defensive skill.

Several times, Su Xi had his opponent backed into a corner. All it would have taken was a teammate coming over to trap them to complete the defensive play. But there was absolutely no chemistry to speak of.

Su Xi used to play with defensive stalwarts like Artest and Stephen Jackson.

Now, alongside him were Crawford and Quentin Richardson.

He used to be a hunter; now he was a babysitter.

Before a single practice session was even over, Su Xi felt an intense wave of frustration.

’The Knicks are even worse than the Cavaliers,’ he thought. ’They really are a complete mess.’

Isaiah Thomas ran over and said to Su Xi, "Don’t worry, Jack. Everyone’s just back from the offseason, so they’re not in shape yet. Once we get through the preseason and get our conditioning right, we’ll be a real force."

Su Xi shook his head.

He said to Isaiah Thomas, "I don’t think we should even bother trying to work on defense. Let’s just get our offense figured out first."

The biggest difference between Isaiah Thomas and other head coaches was his flexible bottom line.

"No problem, Jack. That’s exactly what I was thinking. I’ll have a new playbook ready by tonight," Isaiah Thomas said, thinking on his feet.

Su Xi nodded.

Starting that afternoon, Su Xi began to push the offensive tempo. He started with pick-and-roll plays, gradually figuring out his teammates’ comfort zones.

The training intensity increased.

For overweight players like Eddie Curry and Jerome James, the pressure was immense.

They were starting to show signs of slacking off.

But Isaiah Thomas opportunely issued new internal team rules. He forbade players from missing team scrimmages without an injury, and missing a certain number would result in internal disciplinary action from the club.

The management hoped to use this method to force the players to be more motivated.

After practice, Su Xi found Eddie Curry. He asked about the lawsuit and told him, "Don’t let this stuff affect you. We’re going to be relying heavily on your performance in the paint this season."

Eddie Curry was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected Su Xi to value him so highly.

"Your offensive skills are incredible. Even without losing weight, you could dominate ninety percent of the centers in this league," Su Xi continued. "With your kind of talent, all you need to do is maintain that soft touch. It’s normal to not train all the time and to slack off now and then. Geniuses are all like that. Only the clumsy birds have to fly early. They always think the early bird gets the worm, but they don’t know that some birds can wake up at noon and still eat steak."

Su Xi patted Eddie Curry on the shoulder.

Eddie Curry was dumbfounded. No one had ever spoken to him like that before. People were always telling him he wasn’t disciplined, that he had to work harder, that he needed to live up to his talent. Others said if he just tried a little harder, he could be a superstar.

But Su Xi was telling him: you don’t have to work hard; you can wake up late and still eat steak.

’He’s actually complimenting me!’

A warm feeling instantly washed over Eddie Curry.

Deep down, that’s what he thought too. He had finally met someone who understood him: ’If you’re a talented genius, why bother staying in shape? Why train hard every day?’

But when he turned around, he saw Su Xi already doing extra practice. Su Xi was practicing his mid-range jumper; he had put in extra work yesterday too.

Watching Su Xi quietly putting in the extra work, the younger guys—Nate Robinson, Trevor Ariza, Channing Frye, and Turiaf—silently joined in beside him.

The young guys enjoyed the lively atmosphere. They practiced with great energy, talking and laughing as they did.

Eddie Curry watched them. Truthfully, he wanted to join in too.

He wasn’t old; he had entered the league straight out of high school. He had already played five years in the NBA, but he wouldn’t even turn 23 until after December of this year.

This was why Isaiah Thomas had given him a huge contract, and why so many people still believed he had a bright future. He was actually more than two years younger than Yao Ming.