The Best Point Guard

Chapter 360: Chapter 108: The Pacers’ Road Trip (2)

Although Su Xi recovered quickly on defense, he was still a step slow.

SWISH!

The three-pointer went in.

Nash was all smiles.

The Phoenix Suns’ starting lineup was: Steve Nash, Quentin Richardson, Joe Johnson, Shaun Marion, and Stadumier.

This was a small-ball lineup with great mobility.

In a half-court set, however, they were somewhat at a disadvantage.

Su Xi overpowered Nash’s defense and drove to the basket. Stadumier, who had a history with him, tried his best to defend, but his efforts were futile—he just wasn’t cut out for defense. With a simple shoulder fake from Su Xi, Stadumier jumped prematurely. Su Xi then slipped under the basket and threw down a thunderous dunk.

The game continued.

The Pacers had trouble adjusting to the Phoenix Suns’ offensive pace.

Stadumier pulled up too far out, and Foster couldn’t cover that much ground.

This allowed Stadumier to hit a shot from the high post.

Back on defense, they basically just gave up.

Little O’Neal posted up Shaun Marion. Marion just swiped at the ball as Little O’Neal spun, and when he couldn’t get the steal, he just gave up, letting Little O’Neal drive to the basket for a dunk.

A quick inbound.

A revolutionary style of play.

The Phoenix People called it "run and gun."

Su Xi was very interested in this.

He stuck close to Nash. Nash was incredibly good; his passes were quick, his court vision was wide, and his passing technique was exquisite.

In terms of passing and assists, even with the spatial awareness talent he’d received from Magic Johnson, Su Xi was still a tier below Nash.

Su Xi’s passing was serviceable, maybe upper-mid-tier.

Nash’s passing, on the other hand, was Hall of Fame-worthy.

Moreover, his ability to penetrate was strong, and he was a threat both with his pull-up jumper and his shot from beyond the three-point line.

This made Su Xi marvel at the wonder of basketball. ’It’s a team game; you don’t have to be perfect at everything. But as long as you are exceptionally strong in one area, reaching the absolute pinnacle, and have a tactical system perfectly suited to you, you can definitely become a legend.’

’Just like Nash.’

In the first half, both teams went back and forth with great intensity. In the second half, the Phoenix Suns suddenly caught fire in the third quarter. They took 11 three-pointers and made 7 of them. By the end of the quarter, they had opened up a 15-point lead.

But in the fourth quarter, under Su Xi’s leadership, the Pacers played a steady game, starting with their defense. Every player gave it 100%. After two weeks of games to get adjusted, their bodies were finally getting into game shape. On top of that, Su Xi had evolved again, Stephen Jackson had integrated seamlessly, and they already had a solid system in place.

The Phoenix Suns soon understood what Finals-level defense felt like.

The Pacers stuck to them like a shadow, erasing the 15-point deficit in just 9 minutes.

The final three minutes were like death by a thousand cuts, as they slowly, slowly dismantled the Phoenix Suns.

The Phoenix Suns had no energy left to fight back.

However, the game left Su Xi with a deep sense of respect. He knew the Phoenix Suns were still in their early stages; given time, they would become an even more terrifying offensive weapon.

An offensive weapon born purely to score and dominate.

After the game, Su Xi went to talk with Carlisle. "We have to keep up with the times. We need to study their playstyle. The league is cracking down on defense now, clearly encouraging offense."

Carlisle agreed wholeheartedly.

Carlisle wasn’t a purely defensive-minded coach. He didn’t belong to any particular school of thought, had no ideological baggage, and wasn’t bound by old conventions. He could change his coaching direction at any time.

After defeating the Phoenix Suns, the Indiana Pacers began another long flight, heading to Denver, then Portland, and after that... they flew across half the United States to New York.

This was standard procedure for a long season.

In Denver, the Pacers secured an unremarkable victory. Su Xi’s college friend, Carmeron Anthony, played very well. He was composed against the defense of Stephen Jackson and Ron Artest. He was a classic forward with a rich arsenal of scoring moves, strong, and unafraid of contact.

The victory was unremarkable. The whole trip to Denver was uneventful, with the only memorable little incident being Stephen Jackson and Ron Artest getting photographed going in and out of a famous bunny-girl club in Denver.

This kind of exposure didn’t harm NBA players at all. On the contrary, it actually earned them a good reputation among their peers.

The private lives of NBA players were even more colorful than one might imagine.

"I don’t know if it’s because of the Colorado Plateau, but the girls here in Denver are noticeably deeper. They’re definitely deeper than the ones in Indiana. Not just here," Stephen Jackson said, pointing to his throat, then to his crotch. "Down here, too."

"It’s because of the geography. The Earth is amazing; it subtly modifies the human anatomy," Reggie Miller spouted nonsense with a straight face. He was the team’s old veteran but never set a good example. "Next time we’re in Denver, you guys have to bring me along for this human experiment."

Neither Artest nor Jackson refused.

Then, in Portland, they conducted another "body painting experiment."

The Pacers easily took care of the Trail Blazers. The Trail Blazers were now known as the "Jail Blazers," having amassed a gang of problem players like Ruben Patterson, Little Stadumire, Zach Randolph, Darius Miles... and others. Speeding, drunk driving, brawling, illegal possession of controlled firearms, police showing up at training camp for urine tests, going to nightclubs to "hold a memorial service for an aunt"...

The guys here were real sweet-talkers.

During the game, a fight almost broke out.

But the Pacers had the upper hand. They had the momentum, and these bruisers weren’t afraid of the Trail Blazers’ druggies.

Jackson and Artest took the lead, flanked by Batty and Little O’Neal. Before Little Flying Mouse Stoudemire could even get over, Ruben Patterson was already being pulled away by Zach Randolph.

They weren’t on the same level.

Just listen to the trash Jackson was talking—it was all authentic gangsta slang.

And if a real fight had broken out, the Trail Blazers probably wouldn’t have been able to handle it.

They won the game. And after a win, of course, it was time to have some fun.

Portland is known as the City of Roses, a true garden city. Naturally, the media then reported on the Pacers’ group trip to "gather honey."

Su Xi was taken by Nike to visit their headquarters. Thanks to Su Xi’s skyrocketing fame and the massive sales of his signature shoes, Nike was desperate to sign a new contract with him. They even offered to let him keep the half of his contract salary they had already paid, free and clear.

The new contract they offered was for 150 million USD over 10 years.

Fifteen million USD a year. Sounds pretty solid.

But Su Xi wasn’t a fool.

’Only an idiot would sign that kind of contract with Nike.’

The bonuses in Su Xi’s current contract were incredibly lucrative. What’s more, after meeting the conditions, Su Xi would also get a direct share of the profits.

million sounded like a lot, but spread over ten years? It would be a massive loss.

And even with this, James’s camp was still protesting endlessly, saying Nike was playing favorites and was trying to make Su Xi their top star.

Nike was practically begging Su Xi on their knees.

They even offered to build a building for Su Xi and name it after him.

Su Xi wasn’t interested in any of that; he was only focused on the bonuses.

So, the meeting ended in a friendly yet awkward atmosphere.

On the long flight to New York, Su Xi was flipping through a newspaper when he saw an article. Artest, Jackson, Miller, Batty, Little O’Neal, Anderson... had all visited the Diamond Club together. Miller had even brought a female companion back to the hotel for the night.

’Miller, you old dog, you really know how to play.’

"Tony, how did you get corrupted too?" Su Xi couldn’t help but criticize Tony Battie.

Batty replied with a straight face, "I was viewing the matter with a critical eye. And my eyes only saw art. The condoms there had rose patterns painted on them. I like the colorful girls; it’s a satire on racial discrimination. With every thrust, I thought about the plight of Black people picking cotton back in the day..."

Little O’Neal, speaking from experience, chimed in from the side, "No, Tony. I think you only think about our suffering brothers to last longer... The girls in Portland are too tight..."

"Yes, it’s determined by geography. The moon’s tides affect the United States mainland, and the currents of the Pacific Ocean have unknowingly reshaped the bodies of Portland’s women..." Reggie Miller continued his deadpan nonsense.

Su Xi was speechless.

But listening to their descriptions, his own imagination began to... run wild a little.

’Maybe when I get to New York, I should try something fun too.’

’Get Scarlett to cosplay as Catwoman?’

’And I could dress up as a Steel Warrior?’

The thoughts of the young are truly wild.

Of course, the reason Su Xi could be so relaxed was that the Knicks really weren’t worth his time to prep for.

They were just that bad.

...