The Best Point Guard

Chapter 433: Chapter 8: The Passionately Burning Curry

Then, it was as if a terrifying, crimson line appeared on a man’s neck, blood slowly seeping out.

Su Xi drove into the paint... BOOM!

Once he jumped, he was unstoppable.

He slammed the ball into the rim with both hands, the immense force making the entire basket support submit.

Madison Square Garden Arena erupted with a colossal wave of sound. They were struck by this philosophy of beautiful violence.

Su Xi was like a sharp blade, slicing through the defense. After driving into the paint, he became a sledgehammer, smashing the opposition’s resolve to bits.

New Yorkers loved this violent aesthetic.

They rose to their feet, roaring with all their might. That violent dunk alone was worth the price of admission.

The socialites and wealthy ladies who had come to see him were, in the instant Su Xi viciously slammed the ball, assaulted by an explosive burst of powerful hormones. One by one, they clamped their legs together, stomping their heels and letting out irrepressible screams.

It was as if they could feel the same pleasure as the three great Hollywood sex goddesses: Scarlett, Jessica, and Fox.

’This impact... It’s enough to send you to heaven.’

’The nightstand would probably get smashed to pieces.’

No wonder those high-and-mighty female stars were always bickering in the media, yet not a single one of them dared to call Little Sheep Su Xi a player or say a bad word about him.

’Who would dare?’

’He’s a precious treasure.’

’I’m here on this earth, I’ve got to enjoy myself!’

After landing, Su Xi didn’t celebrate. He just high-fived David Lee.

The game continued.

Steve Nash continued to push a fast-paced offense. Su Xi managed to limit him to some extent, but the Knicks’ defense in other positions was weak. Even with the quality of Nash’s passes diminished, they couldn’t stop the Suns.

Stoudemire, in particular, repeatedly singled out and punished the young David Lee.

When it came to defense, David Lee was utterly clueless.

His main contribution was ’effort’.

He was from the same school of thought as Derek Fisher.

He looked very serious, his defensive stance was textbook, but a few fakes from his opponent and he’d be left in the dust. He was like a gentleman with no self-control; a seductive woman only needed to give him a few looks and breathe on him lightly—she wouldn’t even have to take off her pants—and he would have already surrendered his weapon.

On the Knicks’ side, Su Xi was the main act. Giving back to the fans, he repeatedly used his physical gifts to drive to the basket and finish with dunks.

He forced the Phoenix Suns to constantly collapse their defense in the paint. They even subbed in Shaun Marion to bolster their defense, but it had little effect.

The two teams were evenly matched in the first quarter.

When the second quarter began, Su Xi started to orchestrate the team. But he didn’t just simply pass the ball to his teammates and let them play iso-ball. Instead, he initiated screens with David Lee.

David Lee was a good kid. He was skilled at securing defensive rebounds, even if his defense was terrible.

On offense, the quality of his screens was also quite solid, and he had a mid-range jump shot.

That was an unexpected surprise.

Because he hadn’t shown this strength in training camp, but in a real game, he could actually sink the shots.

Su Xi ran a few plays with him.

The efficiency was very high.

It was even a bit like a carbon copy of the Nash-Stoudemire combo.

Besides running screens with David Lee, Su Xi also started passing to the perimeter, dishing it to Jalen Rose, Quentin Richardson, Crawford, and others.

When Jalen Rose got the ball, he wasn’t decisive. He liked to go one-on-one for a bit first.

After Quentin Richardson got the ball, he was very decisive, shooting immediately, but his touch was off.

Crawford’s touch was great, but not only did he play iso-ball, he liked to play iso-ball for a long time.

’What a bunch of characters.’

So, in the second quarter, even though the Knicks clearly had the momentum, they were still neck and neck with the Suns.

56-58.

The Knicks entered the locker room with a 2-point lead.

The first half alone had gotten Madison Square Garden Arena buzzing. Although the Phoenix Suns weren’t using all their starters—mostly having starters on the floor with rookies to familiarize them with the tactics—they were, after all, last season’s West champions.

Besides, what starters did the Knicks even have?

The Knicks fans themselves didn’t know which players should be called starters.

Anyway, aside from Su Xi, everyone else felt about the same.

In the locker room, Isaiah Thomas was summarizing the first half’s successes and failures. Thomas was good at summarizing; he could break down the game logically and hit on the key points, like interior rebounding, the chemistry on the perimeter, and of course, his main emphasis was still on defense.

However, he was not a man who commanded respect.

He was the type to fool around with the players, becoming one of them. In short, his words carried little authority. The rookies might listen to him, but the veterans all treated him like one of the guys, or, like Marbury, thought he was ’insincere’.

All in all, the locker room had some pretty big problems.

Su Xi wondered if he could poach a couple of defensive coaches. The Knicks’ current assistant coaches were all holdovers from last season’s staff.

Fundamentally, the Knicks hadn’t undergone any truly meaningful reforms yet.

Besides acquiring the superstar Su Xi.

Su Xi remained silent in the locker room, calmly observing everything. This was the preseason; the more he could figure out now, the better.

The young guys, like David Lee and Channing Frye, sat beside him.

Interestingly, Eddie Curry was now also gravitating towards them. He spent less time with Jerome and the others now, although he still often shot the breeze with them, bragging about how many young Brazilian models he’d been with the day before.

They even exchanged tips and tricks as if they were experts.

But you could tell his interest in those things wasn’t as strong as before; they didn’t bring him much pleasure anymore.

Instead, he felt a greater sense of satisfaction when he was close to the younger group.

"If Brother Eddie had played in the first half, he would have destroyed Stoudemire," David Lee said. "I don’t think he’s that different from me, just a bit better in explosiveness, speed, and ball-handling ability."

David Lee said.

"With Brother Eddie’s talent, if he and Brother Jack were together, we’d be leading by over 20 points by now. The preseason is a chance for us young guys, and we have to cherish it,"

Channing Frye added.

Their words all reached Eddie Curry’s ears.

’First a "Brother Eddie," then a "Brother Jack." Isn’t this kind of joy better than spending money on women?’

’But,’ he worried a little, ’if I get exposed, will they stop respecting me like this?’

’I fucking knew I should have worked out during the offseason.’

He even felt a trace of regret.

The second half began.

Su Xi stayed on the court. The person guarding him switched from Steve Nash to Eddie House.

The Phoenix Suns’ rotation was very active.

The pace of the game was fast for both sides.

Both teams went back and forth. Neither was defending, nor did they have much ability to defend.

The score rose quickly.

Five minutes into the third quarter, Stoudemire took the ball and drove hard from the wing into the paint. David Lee quickly planted his feet to defend. Stoudemire exploded upwards, his incredible leaping ability and power launching him into the air. He slammed hard into David Lee, sending him flying, and Stoudemire completed the violent dunk!

After the basket, he beat his chest in excitement.

Even amidst a chorus of boos from the crowd, he shouted loudly, "This is my house! This is my house!"

Stoudemire had lived in New York for a time as a child and had always considered himself a New Yorker.

BZZT!

Isaiah Thomas called a timeout.

Su Xi helped David Lee back to the bench.

The team doctor came over to check on David Lee, asking about his condition.

His teammates also comforted the rookie, hoping he wouldn’t be too affected by it.

At this moment, David Lee’s eyes were fixed pleadingly on Eddie Curry.

They clearly said: ’Brother Eddie, get revenge for me.’

Eddie Curry’s breathing grew heavy. Men are creatures who need to ’be needed’. For a man, the greatest failure is ’not being needed’.

Now, Eddie Curry received this intense plea from his little brother.

He patted Isaiah Thomas’s shoulder. "Put me in."

Isaiah Thomas froze, not comprehending at first, until Su Xi gave him a look.

"Alright, Eddie, you get in there and get some payback for David. Let that guy know whose the fuckin’ house this is!"

Isaiah Thomas really knew how to play things up.

Those words set Eddie Curry’s passion ablaze.