Chapter 266: Chapter 61: [Beating You Is No Big Deal]

His teammates swarmed him.

They mobbed Su Xi. Tonight, he was a superhero. He had dominated everything.

Back in his office, Larry Bird was on the verge of tears. This was exactly what he wanted.

Su Xi’s performance in the final moments tonight had him so excited he could barely contain himself. It was an incredible thrill.

This feeling was even better than when he used to dominate the court himself.

He had personally scouted Su Xi, gone against the grain, and paid a steep price to pry him away from Cleveland.

At the time, many people said Cleveland had won the trade by a landslide.

But now, Cleveland was watching the game on TV.

Su Xi had led the Pacers to the best record in the regular season, and now they had won the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals.

LeBron James smashed his remote. He was furious. Why was Little Sheep Su Xi always so lucky? The Pacers were on the ropes, about to be knocked out, but before he could even get on the court, Rashid Wallace gifted them a technical foul, then followed it up with a flagrant.

It was basically a self-destruct.

Because James had smashed the remote, the TV kept playing, indifferent to his sulking, even though he didn’t want to see Su Xi basking in the glory.

"Winning is what we’re supposed to do. We’ve been winning all along, haven’t we? Why would you even ask a question like that?"

A punchable smirk played on Su Xi’s handsome face. LeBron James was livid... ’Doesn’t this kid worry about being a bad influence on the youth with all this arrogance? If everyone acted like him, wouldn’t the basketball world descend into chaos?’

"Did I score that many points in a row at the end? I wasn’t paying attention to that. I never worry about my shot. When I want to score, no one can stop me."

Su Xi continued his cocky tirade.

This was his interview style.

And yet, female fans flocked to their TVs, trembling with excitement whenever they saw Su Xi acting all high and mighty.

James was trembling too, but not with excitement. He violently threw the pillow from between his legs, trying to block the TV screen.

But the Su Xi on TV just laughed heartily, as if mocking his futile efforts.

"If the Pistons can limit me, what are they waiting for? Are they waiting for us to go up 3-0 before they try to stage some epic comeback? HAHAHAHA." Su Xi roared with laughter, bending over.

James finally couldn’t take it anymore and walked over to turn off the TV.

Just as he turned off the TV, Su Xi ended his interview.

A reporter had asked him what he thought about Scarlett Johansson holding up his Rookie of the Year trophy.

He said, "No comment."

Then he left the reporters’ view and headed for the locker room.

The reporters rushed to interview Carlisle. Carlisle was thrilled. He said, "Jack did exactly what we wanted him to do. He’s a superstar. Those experts who said he couldn’t do this or that should take a good look at Jack’s dominance in the final moments tonight."

"Listen, I’m not mincing words. It was dominance!"

Carlisle did not hold back on the praise.

"Jack is the judge. When he bangs the gavel, the game is over." Reggie Miller praised Su Xi in front of another camera.

The Pacers were incredibly united internally. Moreover, no one denied that Su Xi was the team’s leader anymore.

Everyone loves Su Xi, everyone is a Hu Su Bao!

...

After the game, a rumor spread that Tony Battie had blocked the Pistons’ team bus, wanting to have a "chat" with Rashid Wallace. But in the end, Rashid didn’t get off the bus. Billups was the one who got off to negotiate with Tony Battie, reasoning with him calmly and persuasively.

Eventually, Tony Battie left after being persuaded by the on-site security personnel.

This small incident only circulated among some smaller media outlets and online. The mainstream sports media didn’t report on it.

They were all busy dedicating large spreads to the Pacers’ victory in the first game, analyzing the gains and losses.

Interestingly, in the post-game commentary, despite the Pacers’ victory, more experts were optimistic about the Pistons winning the series.

They believed the Pacers had played their best hand and reached their peak in the first game. Conversely, the Pistons had hit rock bottom, and things could only go up from here.

There were three reasons: First, Su Xi’s stamina issues. Second, the Pacers couldn’t beat the Pistons when Su Xi wasn’t on the court; Little O’Neal was still too soft. Third, Su Xi couldn’t possibly be as divinely accurate as he was in the final moments of Game 1 every single time, nor would he get so many free throws, and Rashid Wallace certainly wouldn’t keep getting flagrant fouls.

This coincided with Larry Brown’s comments at the post-game press conference.

Larry Brown was still dapper as ever, still carrying himself with the air of someone who had victory in the bag.

He said to the cameras, "This was an unexpected loss. We have nothing to debrief."

"We can’t possibly play as poorly as we did in the final moments every game."

"This loss is more meaningful to us than a win would have been. We’ve learned so many valuable lessons from this defeat."

"I don’t think Rashid intended to injure Su Xi in the final moments. They don’t have any beef. It was a normal defensive play; he just couldn’t keep up with Su’s speed. It’s hard to avoid losing control like that... after all, this is the most physical league in the world. We’re not playing women’s basketball."

Larry Brown was still as arrogant as ever.

This attitude of his was met with a chorus of boos in Indiana. Even though he had led the Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 90s, he had now lost everyone’s respect.

All of Indiana was criticizing his remarks.

Furthermore, the Indiana media was calling for Rashid Wallace to receive an additional suspension.

Su Xi’s "fandom circle" was also protesting Rashid Wallace’s barbaric actions, demanding the league make a fair ruling.

...

Su Xi watched the basketball analysis on TV for a long time, feeling bewildered. ’Did we lose the game? Last night?’

He asked Mike O’Connor, confused.

O’Connor said, "No, Jack, we won. And your shoe sales skyrocketed again tonight."

"Nike is wiring the ten-million-dollar bonus they’re activating to our account this Wednesday."

O’Connor continued, "I’m just thinking, if you win the Finals MVP, will Nike cry with regret? This will be the highest single-year endorsement fee they’ve ever paid."

"No, they’ll be crying tears of joy," Su Xi said, raising an eyebrow. "The ones who’ll be truly crying are in Cleveland."

He was joking.

But O’Connor said, "Oh, by the way, Carlos and Kapono are arriving in Indiana tonight. They’re coming to cheer you on in person."

Akabu were Su Xi’s best friends on the Cavaliers.

However, from the sound of it, neither of them planned to continue their careers with the Cavaliers.

Although the Cleveland front office and LeBron James were very sincere in their hopes of keeping Carlos Boozer. Boozer’s style of play was an excellent fit with James.

But, even though Boozer’s agent had once made a verbal agreement, Boozer himself had other ideas. From the moment Su Xi was traded, he no longer wanted to stay with the Cavaliers.

He could cash in now. As a second-round pick, he could sign a ten-million-a-year contract, just like Arenas. Why would he stay in Cleveland to be the King’s servant?

Boozer wasn’t the only one wanting to leave Cleveland. Tinsley was also clamoring for a trade, and Stephen Jackson had long since declared he wouldn’t enter any contract extension negotiations with the Cavaliers.

If both of them left, it would be like the Cavaliers had traded Su Xi for a handful of air and some draft picks.

Unlike Carlos Boozer, who didn’t want to stay with the Cavaliers, Jason Kapono was someone the Cavaliers weren’t keen on keeping. After this year’s draft, the newly-formed Charlotte Bobcats would get a special expansion draft. This meant every team had to make a few players available for the Bobcats to choose from.

Kapono was confirmed to be on that list, and Charlotte had already been in contact with him.

A tall three-point shooter is a hot commodity anywhere.

Su Xi was feeling pretty annoyed right now. He didn’t know when Reggie Miller would finally relent.

No matter what strategy he tried, nothing worked.

If he had Reggie Miller’s three-point ability, the Pacers’ tactical spacing would be out of this world. Then Larry Brown could shove his arrogant act where the sun don’t shine.

...