Ben Wallace wanted to kill Su Xi.
But Su Xi remained unfazed, moving with casual confidence.
Billups stood before him, treating him like a formidable opponent. He no longer dared to look at Su Xi as just so unremarkable rookie. He applied defensive pressure with his full concentration, which made Su Xi very happy.
Billups’s defense was his whetstone, perfect for improving his integration with his ’Super Low Center of Gravity Rhythm’ talent.
He probed slowly, patiently searching for an opening. The mont he found a sliver of space, he suddenly shot out a jab step.
Joe Dumars watched from the sideline, his heart pounding. He cursed inwardly, ’Damn it, he’s carrying on the Pistons’ legacy himself! Weren’t they saying he just plays with his body? Weren’t they saying he’s just a smaller, poor man’s version of Jas with worse vision and passing?’
This ti, Su Xi didn’t just use skill; he also leveraged his physical strength.
Because his technical skills weren’t yet refined enough to get past Billups on their own.
But technique combined with physicality? That was enough to let him spin right past Billups.
Billups had clearly funneled Su Xi to the left elbow, and Prince was already galloping over to help.
And yet, the kid ca to a screeching halt and suddenly began to spin... His spin move was extraordinary. His upper body and the ball rotated with incredible fluidity, while his lower body was noticeably a beat slower. But it didn’t matter—he simply used his raw power to muscle past Billups.
His upper body was all chemical finesse.
His lower body was all physical force.
Billups couldn’t handle it.
He could only watch helplessly as Su Xi broke free, leaving him to pass the defensive assignnt to Ben Wallace.
Ben Wallace was coiled with pent-up frustration, waiting for Su Xi to co to him.
But Su Xi drove into the paint, stopped short before even getting close, and quickly went into a shooting motion. Wallace knew it was a trap, yet he couldn’t stop himself from lunging forward... He’d taken the bait.
Su Xi dished a bounce pass to Little O’Neal, who elegantly perford a spin move while undefended and laid the ball into the hoop with his left hand.
Ben Wallace let out an angry snort. The stupid defensive mistake sent him into a rage.
"What’s wrong? Not happy?" Su Xi sincerely asked the ashen-faced Ben Wallace.
Ben Wallace shot him a vicious glare, his ferocity on full display.
"Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it."
Su Xi comforted.
He was treating him like a child.
Even though Su Xi was the rookie.
But with an aura like that, it was clear he was the one schooling Ben Wallace.
Ben Wallace had never hated anyone this much in his entire life. He wasn’t even this furious when his mother made him wear a dress for a talent show as a kid.
"Big Ben’s defense is way below his usual standard tonight," Larry Brown remarked, turning his head to Joe Dumars.
Joe Dumars nodded. He had noticed it too.
The ga continued.
Both sides ramped up their defensive intensity. Billups forced his way to the free-throw line, used a hesitation move to create so space, and sank a floater.
Then, Su Xi ran the set play, passing the ball to Little O’Neal. Little O’Neal took on Ben Wallace one-on-one but was forced back by Wallace’s strength, causing him to miss his floater.
"Little Ao, you need to be tougher."
On the way back to their side of the court, Su Xi reminded Little O’Neal. "Ben Wallace just looks tough. You’re half a head taller than him. Keep the ball high and attack over him; there’s nothing he can do."
Little O’Neal nodded humbly, taking it in.
The atmosphere on the Pacers’ side was strange. Su Xi was clearly a rookie, and a mid-season trade at that, yet he was able to command everyone’s respect.
Because he was tough as nails on the court!
He was tough, he was a man’s man, and when that testosterone was pumping, a player like Little O’Neal—skilled but with a timid personality—could hardly refuse to follow his lead.
Ben Wallace had almost no answer for tall centers with a solid base. When Yao Ming played against him, it was like an adult playing with a child. It was like taking one of Li Ka-shing’s blank checks to the bank—the only limit to how much you could withdraw was the size of the bag you brought.
Ben Wallace couldn’t handle players like Duncan or O’Neal either.
After all, his actual height was only 202 cm, possibly not even that.
As the league’s top defender, Ben Wallace’s abilities were beyond question. But even the fiercest beast has a weakness.
The Pacers’ own beast, Artest, was currently being run ragged by Prince’s constant motion. As the best periter defender in the league today, Artest had his own flaws: his defense on off-ball players was far less effective than his one-on-one coverage.
Prince would run a full circuit without even touching the ball.
On the other side, Hamilton was also in constant motion. Their running patterns were like one was tracing the shape of a dragon, while the other was drawing a circle.
This was a huge test for the Pacers’ team defense.
On top of that, the Pistons had Okur, who could shoot from the high post, and Ben Wallace, who could set high-quality off-ball screens.
The Pistons were tough to defend.
CLANK!
Billups’s jumper clanked off the iron, and Foster secured the rebound.
The ga continued.
Both teams entered a tense stalemate, trading bricks and going at each other with bruising, physical defense.
At the 6:37 mark of the quarter, Su Xi was subbed out.
Sitting on the bench, he was panting heavily and gulping down a sports drink.
The physical toll was enormous.
Su Xi’s impact on both ends of the floor was obvious. On offense, he was the only player on the Pacers who could drive into the paint and force the defense to rotate.
On defense, he had to shut down the source of the Pistons’ offense.
He was both the tip of the spear and the first line of defense.
How could he not be exhausted?
When Su Xi left the court, the Pacers were leading 14-8.
As Su Xi went to the bench, Pistons head coach Larry Brown turned to Joe Dumars and said with pointed seriousness, "If only you’d listened to my advice! I knew he was the one from the mont I saw him, but you all thought I was joking. Now you’ve really gone and drafted a joke."
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