Just when everyone thought Su Xi wouldn’t play defense.
Su Xi quickly switched with Jas on the run, moving to stand in front of Webber.
Chris Webber had once been the most talented power forward in the league. He could play inside and out, his style was flashy, and he could drive to the hoop for a monster dunk or score with his back to the basket. He also had outstanding playmaking abilities. This was why, despite being surrounded by three other superstar power forwards—Duncan, Nowitzki, and Garnett—he had managed to make the All-NBA Team a total of five tis over the past few years.
However, his knee problems had grown increasingly severe. He had lost much of his explosiveness, and his vertical leap had plumted.
It was hard to say he wasn’t making a big deal out of facing a rookie just to create so hype and prove he still had it.
He just happened to run into a tough opponent.
Little Sheep Su Xi was no little sheep. He was a ravenous wolf.
Su Xi stood before him with his arms spread wide, covering a huge area. Su Xi’s wingspan was extrely long for his height. His head was small, but his shoulders were very broad... He stood just under 193 cm, yet his latest standing reach was already 264 cm. For comparison, Michael Jordan, considered the player with the most ideal physique in basketball history, had a standing reach of 269 cm. Proportionally, Su Xi’s was even more astounding.
So, even though Su Xi looked a full head shorter than him, Webber didn’t dare attempt a simple pull-up jumper in his face.
He knew his own current level of explosiveness and leaping ability. This wasn’t a safe distance. ’What if this kid just blocks my shot outright?’
Amidst the screams and jeers of the crowd, Webber executed a quick pass fake to the inside. He swung his arm hard, then dipped his shoulder and drove forward aggressively. This combination was usually very effective against overeager big n.
But Su Xi didn’t flinch.
As Webber lowered his head and charged, Su Xi turned sideways to pressure him. Webber wasn’t weak, and his size advantage was obvious.
However, in the moving collision, Su Xi didn’t lose much ground, managing to stay glued to his man.
This ant Webber’s offensive rhythm was completely disrupted.
He took two quick steps toward the paint, but still couldn’t shake Su Xi’s tenacious defense.
He stopped on a di, about to go up for a shot.
But a hand had already shot down viciously, swatting the ball right out of his hands at waist-level just as he was bringing it up to shoot.
This was a live demonstration of the super-entangling defensive talent inherited from Gary Payton.
Body-to-body, sticky and strong. The strip was fast and vicious.
Webber’s shooting motion continued, but Su Xi was already gone with the ball.
Akco Arena erupted once more. Seeing Webber jump without the ball was an unbelievable and agonizing sight for everyone there.
Their King was being toyed with on offense by that arrogant rookie?
Su Xi sprinted past half-court with the ball. He yelled out for a play, and Jas froze for a second, not yet reacting. But Ricky Davis imdiately cut to the paint. From behind the three-point line, Su Xi threw a long lob. Davis caught it and threw down a two-handed monster dunk!
A strip! An alley-oop! A dunk!
Su Xi spread his arms wide, strolling calmly through the tidal wave of boos and curses in Akco Arena. As he reached midcourt, he even made a point to give an elegant bow.
Akco Arena was about to explode.
FUCK! SU-XI! FUCK! SU-XI!
The roar was deafening.
But it couldn’t faze Su Xi in the slightest. A faint, infinitely charming smile played on his lips.
In front of his TV, Larry Bird was so excited he felt like he could squeeze his own balls till they burst. As a King Bi of his generation, seeing Su Xi’s perfect display of swagger thrilled him to no end. He slapped Rick Carlisle’s thigh and yelled, "Did you see that? Did you see that?! That’s the heir to Larry Bird! That’s the piece of our dynasty puzzle I’ve been looking for! We’re going to bring him to Indiana!! Right now!!"
"Then what the fuck are we standing around for? I can’t wait to get my hands on him," Reggie Miller shouted as well. He was also a King Bi and loved Su Xi’s attitude toward the King’s fans. It reminded him of the ti he bowed to the New York fans and gave them the choke sign.
’Fuck, the NBA finally has an interesting rookie!’
At that mont, Reggie Miller’s spirits soared. He thought back to the eighties and nineties, a ti overflowing with talent and distinctive personalities.
Not like today, where, aside from a few exceptions, they were all goody-two-shoes.
Little Sheep Su Xi?
How could he possibly be called Little Sheep Su Xi?
He should be Su Xi the Big Bad Wolf.
Reggie Miller thought to himself.
HISS!
Rick Carlisle grabbed Larry Bird’s hand. "Stop slapping! I’m the one in pain here."
"OH-HO-HO!!"
Charles Barkley’s excited roar kept blaring from the television as he vocally supported Su Xi.
Under his passionate comntary, the fans watching at ho found themselves more and more drawn to Su Xi.
Clearly, this was a huge reversal.
Before the ga, everyone thought the handso Su Xi would be completely blown out by Chris Webber. But now...
"The ga’s just getting started! Chris Webber is about to turn it on!" Kenny Smith declared confidently. "No rookie humiliates an established superstar in his very first ga. Unless he’s Michael Jordan."
Mike Bibby brought the ball across half-court.
Adelman gave him a signal.
Just then, Brad Miller ca out to set a screen for Mike Bibby. Bibby quickly cut in from the side.
Su Xi moved around Brad Miller to give chase, only to find that Carlos Boozer had already switched onto Bibby!
At that mont, Su Xi had a bold idea.
He imdiately gave chase, quickly circling around Ilgauskas’s body.
Just as he expected, Bibby passed the ball. He dished it to Webber, who was trailing the play on the other side.
Webber caught the ball and leaped, heading straight for the basket. He was going for the dunk.
Against the old Webber, Su Xi wouldn’t have stood a chance.
But now, just as Su Xi had pointed out, he was no longer a transcendent talent. His jumping speed and height were both relatively average.
This gave Su Xi an opening.
Su Xi soared into the air, flying in from behind. He quickly caught up to Webber, and just as Webber was about to finish the dunk, his huge right hand slapped down hard on the ball.
The imnse force made Webber instantly lose control. The ball slamd against the backboard—BANG!—and ricocheted off. Su Xi landed quickly, then imdiately leaped up again, tipping the ball out toward the periter.
Jas grabbed the ball, and Su Xi took off in a dead sprint.
He unleashed his full explosiveness and speed, rocketing into the frontcourt. Jas threw the ball up—it was a little high. Su Xi jumped with all his might, barely catching the ball in mid-air with his right hand before forcefully slamming it through the hoop... BOOM!
Su Xi slamd the ball into the basket with one hand.
His right hand gripped the rim tightly as his body swung back and forth two or three tis before he stabilized his montum.
’I can’t take off so violently next ti,’ he told himself. ’My balance and coordination still aren’t good enough.’
But in the eyes of the fans, Su Xi’s play was pure dominance.
Hanging on the rim with one hand, swinging back and forth... it was like a god descending from the heavens.
SCREECH!
Su Xi landed on the court.
TWEET!
Adelman called a tiout.
Sacranto was completely stunned right from the opening tip!
Chris Webber had been completely and utterly dismantled on both ends of the floor.
Their pre-ga arrogance was matched only by their current bewildernt.
At that mont, every basketball fan watching had the sa burning question: What would this handso, arrogant, dominant rookie do next?
Was he going to tear down the temple of Sacranto itself?
...
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