The Best Point Guard

Chapter 369: Chapter 113: [If You Don’t Know How, I’ll Teach You.]

Now *this* was real, proper trash talk.

Su Xi stared at James, at this former teammate he was once so close with, before they parted ways due to James’s jealousy.

Su Xi knew exactly what to say to get under James’s skin. He was very clear on James’s personality.

James wasn’t a bad person, of course. He was just a basketball king who was used to seeing himself as the singular, superior one, someone who wouldn’t allow any peer to surpass him.

"My shooting percentage is higher than yours."

James shot back at Su Xi.

He shadowed Su Xi down the court, taking on the primary defensive assignment.

Su Xi paid him no mind.

At this point, James’s one-on-one defensive skills weren’t fully developed yet. He relied more on his physical gifts to defend.

Against Su Xi’s current on-ball offense, this level of defense could somewhat contain him, but they were still evenly matched.

Su Xi loved it. It was a chance to gain experience and insights. And if he missed, he might even get some offensive stat points. After all, James was a Super Talent.

So, when James squared up in a one-on-one defensive stance, Su Xi’s joy surged.

James could always help him out in some way.

With the ball, Su Xi executed a brilliant jab step. Although James’s defensive awareness didn’t keep up, his physical gifts were so good he could recover even after making a mistake.

Su Xi was excited.

An irrepressible smile spread across his face. After the jab step, he quickly transitioned into a crossover, his body faking one way in a sudden flash. James followed on reflex, using his strong, wide body to block Su Xi’s path.

It was a borderline foul, but the head referee didn’t blow the whistle.

The collision threw Su Xi’s body slightly off-balance, just like how James’s dribbling rhythm would fall into chaos under contact when Su Xi defended him. Su Xi was strong, but his frame and weight were no match for James’s.

However, his way of handling it was completely different from James’s.

Su Xi’s ball-handling skills were miles ahead of James’s. He quickly pulled the ball back, his body immediately following with a spin, slicing through James’s defense like a curved blade to the throat.

James scrambled to step up and defend, but Su Xi had already jumped. His seemingly ferocious, lunging block attempt merely fanned the air.

Su Xi got the shot off.

After landing, he still held a cool pose.

James landed and turned his head. SWISH!

The ball pierced the heart of Cleveland.

A pang of pain shot through James’s heart. ’He! He! He actually worked hard in secret behind my back.’

"When did you learn Jordan’s move?"

he asked Su Xi.

"Learn from Jordan?" Su Xi’s brow furrowed.

"Then did you learn from Kobe?" James asked again.

"I’m a Finals MVP and an Olympic gold medalist. I don’t need to learn from anyone. Whatever move works, I use it. They come to me naturally," Su Xi said nonchalantly.

"You..." James was suddenly at a loss for words.

He felt even more frustrated. ’People really do change,’ he thought. ’Little Sheep Su Xi, you’ve changed. You became arrogant after winning Finals MVP.’

Just then, Su Xi asked James again, "Can’t you do that? You still don’t know how to do a post-up into a turnaround, step-back fadeaway jumper?"

James took a deep breath and said in a calm tone, "I don’t need to."

"I can teach you," Su Xi said.

"I don’t need you to!"

"I really can teach you."

"I really fucking don’t need it. Fuck!"

James cursed!

Then, Eric Snow executed Mike Brown’s first law: ’LeBron James is always right. If he throws a tantrum on the court, give him the ball.’

James got the ball.

He charged forward immediately. He was going to prove with a dunk, ’I don’t need all that flashy, roundabout, turnaround bullshit that isn’t even decisive. A real man just gets it done. You take the ball, you drive, you knock away the defense, and you slam it into the hoop. Isn’t that also two points? Are your two points somehow more noble?’

Under normal circumstances, James’s logic held up.

But these weren’t normal circumstances.

In the league today, anyone faster than James wasn’t as explosive. Anyone more explosive wasn’t as strong. And even if you matched James in strength, explosiveness, and speed, you could never predict at which point in his layup he would deviate from a standard drive.

That was why James was averaging 27.5 points this season.

He was already a bug-level small forward in this league. With one signature move, he could dominate everyone.

In his current form this year, Artest could no longer guard him. Artest was strong, but his speed and explosiveness were a notch below James’s. Besides, Artest excelled in set-play defense, not against a direct assault.

But Su Xi could.

Su Xi was the one player in the league today who best countered James’s style of play, bar none.

First, Su Xi was no weaker than James in physical confrontations, although a full-power charge from James could still give him trouble. But James’s own dribbling rhythm would also be affected. Su Xi’s speed and explosiveness were on par with James’s, while his flexibility, agility, and coordination were even slightly better.

In terms of talent, James only *looked* stronger than Su Xi.

In the areas you couldn’t see, Su Xi had his own advantages.

Furthermore, Su Xi also had Gary Payton’s pestering defensive talent.

So, when James started his drive, his rhythm was broken after just two steps.

Even though he had just been swearing up and down that he didn’t need those flashy moves, facing Su Xi forced him to come to a screeching halt, spin around, and even sneak in an extra fucking step before jumping to get the shot off!

Su Xi could only force him to shoot off-rhythm; he couldn’t completely shut down his shot.