Chapter 125: Chapter 45: Can’t We Talk About the Triangle Offense When We Get a Room?

"Elite physical attributes. Above-average passing vision and ability. Can hit open shots. Left-handed. Fast on the drive with an excellent first step. Calm-headed and doesn’t force shots. Mentally tough, a natural-born leader. All-time great defensive potential. Top-tier pressure defense. His ability and instincts for steals are already among the best in the league."

Before the game, the Clippers’ starting Point Guard received Su Xi’s scouting report from an assistant coach.

Kenyon Dooling studied the report carefully, from strengths to weaknesses: "Hasn’t showcased his ability to create his own shot. Unstable shooting through contact. Poor mid-range performance. Rarely calls for isolation plays. Not a strong scorer in one-on-one situations."

"That’s it?"

Kenyon Dooling said to Assistant Coach Jimmy Ain.

Jimmy Ain nodded. "He’s only played one official game. This is all we could gather."

"This kid doesn’t seem all that great. How did he manage to get a massive quadruple-double? So weird."

Dooling muttered.

In fact, quite a few NBA players shared his sentiment.

While Dooling was studying Su Xi, Stephen Silas was discussing Dooling with Su Xi, though he didn’t have anything good to say. "...The Clippers’ team-building has been a complete mess these past few years. They’ve been trying this ’youth movement’ since before the new millennium. They drafted Odom, Michael Olowokandi, Quentin Richardson, Kenyon Dooling, and Darius Miles, and also traded for Maggette... and so on. They just let these young talents develop freely, growing without any structure. Even a player with Kenyon Dooling’s level of talent was just left to his own devices."

"As a result, almost none of them reached their potential. It was a complete waste of time."

"That’s why the coaching staff wants you to hurry and figure out your role on the team,"

Stephen Silas told Su Xi.

"Time flies. It only takes three or four years to go from a highly-touted young phenom to a ’jack of all trades, master of none’ that teams give up on."

Stephen Silas was very concerned about Su Xi.

...

Once the game began, Su Xi was matched up against Kenyon Dooling.

Kenyon Dooling was 6’3" and 190 pounds, with a 6’6" wingspan. His physical measurements were decent. He was the 10th pick in 2000, and last season he averaged 6.4 points, 1.6 assists, and 1.3 rebounds per game. Nothing to write home about.

Su Xi put him in his place right from the start. As Dooling pressed up on him, Su Xi made a sudden, powerful move that sent the slender guard sprawling. He then exploded into the paint and jumped, colliding with Elton Brand. Brand managed to stop Su Xi’s layup, but he landed awkwardly. Su Xi himself was surprised; he hadn’t expected the short center to be able to absorb the full force of his explosive drive.

He stepped up to the free-throw line and sank both shots.

Dooling was a classic "jack of all trades, master of none." On both ends of the court, he wasn’t a player who could decide the outcome of a game.

On offense, Dooling’s main scoring tools were pull-up jumpers and spot-up shots off screens. He relied a bit too much on his jumper, but his shooting percentage wasn’t even high.

His speed and leaping ability were decent, but he couldn’t handle physical contact well, so he wasn’t much of a threat when driving to the basket.

On the defensive end, he had quick feet and an excellent wingspan. He liked to play tight, on-ball defense, but his positioning was mediocre at best. When defending players without the ball, he was practically a liability.

After just 6 minutes on the court, he was yanked and sent to the bench. Old Mike Dunleavy was absolutely furious, unable to contain his rage. Dooling had been completely dominated by Su Xi, getting the ball stolen from him 3 times and committing 2 turnovers in those 6 minutes. This led to the team falling behind 6-21, a 15-point deficit.

What more was there to say?

During the timeout, Su Xi returned to the bench and asked Stephen Silas why he had even compared him to that guy.

Stephen was pretty embarrassed. He had only meant to use him as an example; he never expected Dooling to look so pathetic in front of Su Xi.

The Clippers subsequently brought in the Serbian player Jalric, a tall Point Guard at 6’7", but he didn’t have any advantage in the matchup against Su Xi either.

Su Xi led his team, who played with great discipline. The Clippers, however, were still the same old sinking ship, continuing their tank for the 2004 number one draft pick.

128-98.

Su Xi led the Knight to a resounding victory, putting up a superb stat line of 17 points, 13 assists, 6 rebounds, 5 steals, and 1 block.

While not as stunning as his quadruple-double debut, his performance over the first two games was the best of the 2003 rookie class.

The biggest news from the game wasn’t Su Xi’s outstanding performance, but what happened after the final buzzer. The beautiful star Jessica Alba, who was sitting courtside, suddenly stood up, opened her arms to give Su Xi a hug, and even took the initiative to kiss him on the lips.

This sent the Los Angeles media into a frenzy.

Jessica Alba was a rising star in Hollywood. Many people adored her for her sexy and beautiful looks; she was even ranked seventh among the "100 Most Beautiful Faces in the World."

Was she now publicly dating Little Sheep Su Xi? 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The entertainment media hadn’t known who Su Xi was before, but after the kiss in the Staples Center, everyone knew that Jessica had found herself a handsome basketball player for a boyfriend. Moreover, this young man was pretty good and had a bright future ahead of him.

The story’s news value skyrocketed.

If Jessica Alba had just been seen feeding cake to some handsome, tall young man, it would have been standard celebrity gossip. But the combination of sports and entertainment made the news value explode.

Su Xi was asked about it after the game.

He frowned. "Aren’t you supposed to be asking me questions about basketball? Don’t you think that steal I had on Maggette in the third quarter was technically difficult? I even finished that play with a slow Eurostep layup, shaking off Maggette’s block attempt."