Free Web NovelChapter 384: Chapter 120: The Playoffs Arrive
Kobe’s face was darker than a thundercloud. No special editing was needed; the contrast between the two men alone was enough for the audience to sense their emotions. One was triumphant, the other was grinding his teeth in frustration.
The tension and animosity were far more palpable than in some third-rate Hollywood movie.
"Thanks to the NBA, thanks to Denver, thanks to my Eastern Conference teammates, and thanks to Little Sheep Su Xi. Little Sheep Su Xi is the best guard I’ve ever played with."
"He has incredible offensive firepower, great court vision, and he’s also clutch when it matters most."
"Half of this MVP trophy belongs to him."
O’Neal delivered his acceptance speech, and as he spoke, he motioned to pull Su Xi up onto the stage.
Su Xi beat a hasty retreat.
He didn’t want to be in the spotlight.
’Kobe’s face is already that sour. And I’m supposed to go up there and get all buddy-buddy with O’Neal? Isn’t that just provoking Kobe on purpose? Knowing his personality, he probably wouldn’t call me for weeks.’
O’Neal then launched into a long, passive-aggressive speech, saying things about how happy he was in Miami, how he’d "found himself," how much he’d enjoyed this year’s All-Star Game, and how he was finally playing the kind of basketball he wanted to play...
He had turned a perfectly respectable All-Star awards ceremony into his personal breakup soapbox.
After the awards ceremony, Su Xi slipped away at the first opportunity, but unexpectedly ran into Kobe in the players’ tunnel.
He awkwardly waved at Kobe.
Kobe walked over. "Your offensive game has improved a lot."
"Have you been studying Iverson’s game? That drive into a pull-up jumper you did looked just like him. A 6’3" Iverson."
Kobe was analyzing it from a purely technical standpoint.
Su Xi was taken aback. ’I haven’t. I’m just copying you.’
’But on second thought,’ he mused, ’with my explosive speed, maxed-out flexibility, and incredible coordination and agility, it makes sense that my game would look like Iverson’s.’
"If you can’t guard me, just say you can’t guard me. First you say I’m copying you, then you say I’m copying Iverson. I’m just a superstar in a league of my own," Su Xi deliberately goaded Kobe.
This was how he and Kobe communicated.
Kobe actually liked Su Xi’s cocky attitude.
"Fine. I hope you’re still this cocky the next time we face off," Kobe shot back.
"That’ll have to wait until next season," Su Xi said honestly. "We won’t meet again in the regular season, and meeting in the playoffs will be even harder."
Kobe’s chest visibly puffed out. He was clearly furious.
"Come to the Lakers next season. I’ll teach you how to play ball," Kobe said, reining in his anger.
Su Xi patted Kobe’s shoulder. "Let’s talk about it during the offseason."
...
That evening, Su Xi met up with Megan Fox at the Colorado Airport.
Su Xi and Jermaine O’Neal were taking a flight back to Indiana, while Megan Fox was heading to Tennessee.
Megan Fox confidently walked over to greet Su Xi, her demeanor natural and poised.
Su Xi chatted with her just as naturally. After talking for a bit, he even signed her jersey.
And this time, they finally exchanged contact information.
Jermaine O’Neal watched from the side, dumbfounded. He had assumed Su Xi had at least hit a home run with Megan Fox, but he never expected them to be so polite with each other, only just now exchanging phone numbers.
On the plane back to Indiana, Jermaine O’Neal couldn’t help but say to Su Xi, "I really thought you and Megan Fox had been together for a while now. I can’t believe nothing has happened between you two."
"I’m either playing a game or on my way to one. Where would I find the time for all those ’stories’ to happen? The media just makes things up," Su Xi said in frustration.
"Actually, if you wanted ’stories’ to happen, you could have a half-dozen of them on every road trip. A lot of women who approach us are just trying to hook up with you..." Jermaine O’Neal said.
Su Xi changed the subject. "Jermaine, do you think we can win the championship this season?"
"Of course! Ron is about to rejoin the team, we’re already number one in the East, and we’re about to be number one in the entire league," Jermaine O’Neal said with immense confidence. "Who can even challenge us in the East? Even in the West, only the San Antonio Spurs are a threat. We’re practically invincible!"
Jermaine O’Neal was extremely confident.
It wasn’t even blind confidence.
The Pacers were indeed very strong this year, and Su Xi’s development was progressing at an even faster rate. Although when he freelanced, it sometimes conflicted with the team’s overall offensive and defensive flow.
But whenever he integrated himself back into the system, the Pacers immediately transformed into one of the league’s premier two-way teams.
"Jack, if we keep this up, we can win at least five straight championships!" Jermaine O’Neal said excitedly. "There hasn’t even been a five-peat dynasty in modern basketball!"
Su Xi just smiled.
He didn’t respond.
Because he had already decided to leave Indiana after this season.
’He had hit a personal plateau and wanted to keep growing. Staying with Indiana meant he could keep winning, but there was no challenge left.’
’Besides, the basketball market in Indiana was definitely on the small side.’
Since last November, Nike had been dropping hints every now and then, hoping Su Xi would leave Indiana for a team in a bigger market.
Now, the entire league was waiting with bated breath.
Su Xi was the biggest fish in the 2005 free agency class.
...
With Ron Artest’s return, the Pacers’ roster became even stronger.
The team’s winning percentage climbed steadily.
Su Xi also gradually abandoned his "shot-chucking" style of play. For one, as his offensive skills became more advanced, it was getting harder to level them up. For another, the system now required high-quality, high-difficulty missed shots.
When the Pacers set up their offense, few teams bothered to triple-team Su Xi anymore. Even the frequency of double-teams was decreasing. Instead, they were willing to adopt the self-destructive "Jordan’s Law" against him.
Time flew by, and soon it was March, then April.
With a 121-108 home victory over the New Jersey Nets, the Pacers officially concluded their 2004-2005 regular season.
Despite the infamous "Malice at the Palace" brawl and the long stretch where Su Xi was focused on honing his individual offensive skills, the Pacers still managed to rack up 63 wins, finishing first in the East.
The Miami Heat ranked second in the East with 59 wins.
In third place were the Detroit Pistons.
Fourth, the Chicago Bulls.
Fifth, the Boston Celtics.
Sixth, the Washington Wizards.
Seventh, the Philadelphia 76ers.
And eighth, the New Jersey Nets.
The Cleveland Cavaliers once again finished ninth in the East. It was a tough pill to swallow, as both they and the New Jersey Nets had 42 wins. However, the Nets held the tiebreaker with more head-to-head victories. Furthermore, the Cavaliers were stuck in the brutal Central Division—with the Pacers, Pistons, and Bulls all hailing from the same division, their fourth-place finish within it meant they were bitterly eliminated.
In a way, however, this was a stroke of luck for the Cavaliers.
If they had managed to snag the last ticket to the playoffs as the eighth seed, they would have had to face Su Xi and the Pacers in the first round.
Given Su Xi’s vindictive nature, the Cavaliers would have inevitably been humiliated.
But while they might have thought this privately, they were anything but forgiving in public.
The Cleveland media whined and complained, protesting that the format was unfair and that teams with the same record should play a tiebreaker game to decide who advances. They claimed being eliminated this way was unjust...
But the rules had long been established, crystal clear for all to see.
A loss is a loss.
The Eastern Conference playoff picture was set.
So was the Western Conference.
The surprise first seed in the West went to the surging Phoenix Suns, who overtook the San Antonio Spurs in the final stretch of the season.
But the Spurs’ strategy was an open secret. They were known for carefully calculating their position before the playoffs to engineer the most favorable matchups for their advancement.
Resting their key players before the playoffs was also standard procedure for them.
The Seattle SuperSonics were third in the West.
Fourth, the Dallas Mavericks.
Fifth, the Houston Rockets.
Sixth, the Sacramento Kings.
Seventh, the Denver Nuggets.
And eighth, the Memphis Grizzlies.
Looking at the standings, it wasn’t hard to see why finishing second in the West was arguably the best position to be in.
What was surprising was that last year’s Western Conference regular-season champions, the Minnesota Timberwolves, didn’t even make the playoffs this season.
This was partly due to the fierce competition in the West, but it also served as clear proof that Kevin Garnett’s leadership skills were far inferior to those of Tim Duncan, or even Dirk Nowitzki.
While Garnett had immense energy and was great at firing up his teammates by shouting and roaring on the court...
...leading a team takes far more than just a few roars.
The Timberwolves’ fate was deeply tied to Garnett’s contract, but when it came to him being a leader, something always seemed to go wrong. Stephon Marbury had played well alongside him and achieved good results, only to turn on him and leave. This season, Latrell Sprewell’s contract renewal negotiations became a public mess, and in the end, the Timberwolves were the ones who suffered.
However, in the media reports, it was almost always Marbury and Sprewell who were accused of being insatiably greedy. No one ever criticized Garnett.
What people didn’t realize was that Garnett’s own two massive, nine-figure contracts were the root of all these problems.
...
