Marbury was miserable!

He discovered he couldn’t guard Su Xi.

And he was actually trying to defend him.

Right now, the consensus around the league was that Marbury was strong on offense and weak on defense, but in reality, his one-on-one defensive ability was quite good whenever he put his mind to it.

But tonight, Su Xi was killing him, and it was making him miserable. He was defending with everything he had and still couldn’t stop him.

In his view, Su Xi’s skills were only slightly above average. Although his posture when lowering his center of gravity for a sudden change of direction, as well as his pathing while in motion, were reminiscent of Isaiah Thomas’s style, they weren’t yet top-tier. He lacked that supreme, razor-sharp deadliness Isaiah Thomas had, where every step was like a stab from an assassin.

But the thing was, the guy’s explosiveness and speed were top-tier in the league. On top of that, his body was exceptionally flexible... Sometimes, even when it looked like he hadn’t gotten past him completely, his body would somehow contort around him... And even if he couldn’t get around, the guy’s strength was enough to just shove him aside.

Marbury was very strong for a point guard.

But he was a whole level below Su Xi.

This left Marbury feeling utterly dejected; he felt like he had all this strength but nowhere to use it.

So, he had to get it back on the offensive end. Marbury was still in his prime. He was a top-tier point guard who perennially averaged 20+ points and 8+ assists. This was an era where stats weren’t as inflated; if you transported him 20 years into the future, he’d be putting up around 28 points and 11 assists per game, definitely putting him in the top tier of the league. In fact, he was currently on a supermax contract in the NBA.

Marbury’s one-on-one skills were exceptionally strong. His driving ability was excellent—his crossovers, changes of pace, and ball-handling while driving were all top-tier in the league, though his sense of rhythm was a little lacking. His shot release was quick, and he had a complete arsenal of moves in the mid-range. He could get to the rim at will, but his finishing ability there was only average, though he was very good at drawing fouls.

That’s why he was regarded as one of the NBA’s elite one-on-one players. At the point guard position, the only person in the league today who could consistently beat him in a one-on-one matchup was probably Allen Iverson.

But.

He was having a miserable time being guarded by Su Xi.

Because Su Xi wasn’t afraid of good technique; he was afraid of good rhythm.

Rhythm is a hard thing to describe in words. When Su Xi defended Iverson, Kobe, or Ginobili... his one-on-one defense wasn’t nearly as effective. That was because they each had their own unique rhythm that Su Xi, due to his physical attributes, found difficult to lock down.

But against someone like Marbury—who had great skills and a quick, accurate mid-range shot—he wasn’t as worried.

He managed to stop Marbury on two consecutive plays.

Although Marbury then scored on the next two possessions, the Knicks’ overall offensive rhythm had been disrupted.

Marbury was trapped in a vicious cycle of trying to prove himself.

The more pressure Su Xi applied on defense, the more desperate Marbury became to score.

He was getting heated.

The two teams weren’t on the same level to begin with, and the Pacers quickly pulled away with the lead.

At that moment, Stephon Marbury wasn’t the only one getting heated in Madison Square Garden Arena. So were Isaiah Thomas, James Dolan, and Scarlett Johansson.

Isaiah Thomas and James Dolan had already popped open celebratory drinks in their VIP box. The better Su Xi played, the happier they became. Especially when Su Xi drove past Marbury, the Smiling Assassin couldn’t stop praising him. "Look at how brilliant Little Sheep Su Xi is! I only taught him for three hours, and he’s already this incredible. I’ve never seen a player who learns and understands the game so quickly."

The more Isaiah Thomas praised Su Xi, the happier the team owner, Dolan, became. Sipping his red wine, he lamented repeatedly, "You really know basketball, Isaiah! If you had been our general manager back then, would Jack have ever left for another team? He was the rookie I had my eye on from the very beginning, the first one I ever valued so highly—my cornerstone!—and those two pigs just let him go."

The more the two of them talked, the more emotional they got, and the more they found themselves on the same page.

Meanwhile, courtside, Scarlett Johansson was becoming more and more animated. At first, she had just been sitting there, excitedly sharing her giddy feelings with Jennifer Aniston.

As the game went on, she started to "argue" with Spike Lee—a friendly bout of trash talk.

Whenever Marbury scored, Spike Lee would talk trash to Scarlett Johansson: "See that? The Son of New York will always be the Son of New York! Little Sheep Su Xi is just a rookie; he’s nowhere near the level of a proven superstar."

And when Su Xi made a beautiful driving layup, Scarlett Johansson would stand up and shout back at Spike Lee, "Your ’Son of New York’ looks more like the Son of a Little Sheep! He can’t stop Jack at all! I can tell who the real superstar is with just one look."

"No, you just have a thing for the handsome guy. Scarlett, I bet you want to go on a date with Little Sheep Su Xi. You’ve been blinded by love. But as a veteran NBA fan, I advise you to stay away from them. Their private lives are just as messy as those Hollywood playboys."

With the New York Knicks losing ground, Spike Lee started acting like a life coach. He said, "You’re going to get hurt, unless you just want a taste of an NBA player’s athletic body."

"No, Mr. Great Director Spike. You only know NBA players like the Son of New York. You don’t know Little Sheep Su Xi," Scarlett Johansson said stubbornly.

She was just like a rebellious teenage girl, ignoring her parents’ advice and completely swept up by love.

Spike Lee sighed, feeling a sense of pity for the young star who had started as a child actress. He couldn’t help but say, "Your career is on the rise right now. You’d better not go around looking like you’ve been blinded by love."