Chapter 184: Chapter 17: [Before You Got a Concussion, Little Sheep Su Xi Was Already Concussed]

By the time Artest rushed out of the locker room to join the fray, Su Xi was already in the player tunnel giving an interview.

"I don’t understand why Ben Wallace would do that."

Su Xi told the TNT sideline reporter, "This isn’t the him I remember."

"I didn’t participate in the brawl. I’m the victim. I hope the league rescinds my penalty."

"I just made a great steal and was about to charge down the court when I was tackled to the ground. I scrambled frantically to break free—it was a reflex. Like a drowning person flailing their arms."

Su Xi continued, his face screaming, ’I’m so innocent.’ If he really did hurt his attacker, it was an accident.

The female reporter kept staring at Su Xi’s torn jersey. The muscle definition underneath made it hard for her to stay focused.

She nodded repeatedly. She also felt Ben Wallace had gone too far. Su Xi had only dominated him on the court, and Wallace lost his cool and attacked him, even getting Su Xi ejected in the process.

Truly villainous.

However, at that moment, TNT’s slow-motion replay revealed a few details: Ben Wallace had taken a punch from Su Xi, and Su Xi had also kicked him... This was the direct reason Wallace’s face was swollen like a pig’s head when he left the court.

But... from the footage, you couldn’t tell if Su Xi did it intentionally or if it was just part of his frantic struggle.

Besides, morally, emotionally, and logically, Su Xi was the victim.

After being repeatedly humiliated by Su Xi’s skills, Ben Wallace’s aggressive nature erupted, and he grabbed Su Xi, intending to solve everything with his fists.

Even from a legal standpoint, Su Xi was acting in self-defense.

So... TNT’s stance was entirely on Su Xi’s side, and the viewers at home had sharp eyes too.

Aside from Detroit fans, public opinion was overwhelmingly in support of Su Xi. Online, especially, everyone was saying: Even if Ben Wallace’s face got beaten into a pulp, he deserved it. Who told him to go after Su Xi? God bless the good guys; Su Xi’s struggles just happened to land on the aggressor.

No one sympathized with Ben Wallace.

Except for his attending physician.

His attending physician looked at Ben Wallace, who had a splitting headache and couldn’t even count three fingers waved in front of him. He thought, ’What in the world happened on the court to cause this?’

After watching the game footage, he learned that Ben Wallace had taken a kick and a punch from Su Xi, plus another kick from Tony Battie.

A conservative estimate: a moderate concussion.

Hospitalization it is.

That was the doctor’s recommendation.

After finishing his interview, Su Xi returned to the locker room.

The team doctor gave him a thorough examination and confirmed he wasn’t injured. A party broke out in the visiting team’s locker room. This victory was hugely significant for the Pacers.

It completely vindicated Larry Bird’s trade proposal.

It fully established the legitimacy of Su Xi’s role as the team’s tactical core.

It thoroughly solidified the team’s cohesion around Su Xi as its core.

The season wasn’t even halfway over, and less than a month after Su Xi was traded, everything had fallen into place, and he had won everyone over.

Artest personally twisted open a bottle of Gatorade for Su Xi, a gesture of his ’submission’.

It was a small, unspoken understanding between men.

In real life, men don’t just bow their heads in allegiance like they do in novels, declaring, "Big Bro, I’m with you from now on! I’ll give my all for you until the day I die!"

In some ways, Ron Artest was a lot like Dennis Rodman: critical of weak leaders but completely subservient to strong ones. When he was with the San Antonio Spurs, he bad-mouthed the Admiral relentlessly.

But when he got to the Bulls, he completely submitted to Jordan. Early in his time with the Bulls, Rodman had a terrible game and messed everything up. Afterward, he knocked on Jordan’s hotel room door for the first time and asked to borrow a cigar.

This proactive gesture was Rodman’s way of apologizing to Jordan.

Jordan understood completely without a word being said.

From then on, Rodman never caused trouble again. He even became the most consistent player of the Bulls dynasty. In some games where Jordan himself played poorly, it was Rodman who forcefully pulled them back.

Now, Artest was twisting open a drink for Su Xi.

Su Xi got the message, and everyone else in the locker room saw it too, understanding what it meant.

Su Xi tilted his head back and took a big gulp. He said, "Ron, if you had been on the court, Ben Wallace would’ve been carried out on a stretcher."

"HAHAHAHA, that’s for sure. The two of us together? We’d be unstoppable," Artest said with a hearty laugh.

Later, he asked Su Xi in private, "Jack, you fell on purpose, didn’t you? Ben Wallace taking a punch and a kick from you... I don’t think that was a coincidence. After all, you’re the man who put my dad in the hospital with one punch."

Su Xi just smiled, employing a uniquely Chinese way of handling things. "That’s not important. Let’s talk about my triple-double tonight instead. Also, do you think you can keep up with the fast-paced offense we ran in the fourth quarter?"

Never state things explicitly, leave plenty of room for imagination. You can interpret it however you want, but I’ll never admit to it. ’I did it, but don’t expect me to claim it.’

At the post-game press conference, Coach Carlisle strongly condemned the on-court violence. He said, "Jack suffered a cervical spine injury and a concussion. The doctor says he’ll need to rest for at least a week."

"What did Jack do wrong in this game? Should he not have scored 28 points against the Pistons’ brutal defense? Should he not have connected the whole team for an astonishing 16 assists? Or should he not have, at a point guard’s height, fought with all his might in the paint for 10 rebounds? Oh, that’s right, he also had 6 steals and 2 blocks. Are these the mistakes that earned him retaliation, that got him punched in the face?"

Carlisle was furious, demanding accountability.

At the Auburn Hills Palace post-game press conference, facing a room full of reporters, he looked just like a mother hen protecting her chick.

Of course, he knew Su Xi wasn’t hurt.

But it wouldn’t make sense if Su Xi didn’t suffer some kind of ’injury’ at a time like this.

Carlisle finished his tirade. The Detroit reporters below knew they were in the wrong and didn’t ask any more questions.

After all, it was a fact that Ben Wallace had gone berserk and lunged at Su Xi after the steal.

Besides, Su Xi was so small, and Ben Wallace was so strong. Even if Su Xi was caught on camera kicking and punching him, how much could Su Xi’s fists and feet really hurt? Wallace used to be a five-star football player. Better pray for Su Xi.

A TNT reporter asked about the extent of Su Xi’s injuries.

Carlisle gave a long, exaggerated answer, then stressed that Indiana would absolutely appeal the decision to the very end to get justice for Jack.

Finally, the TNT reporter asked a very interesting question: "Coach, the Pacers lost both of their previous two games against the Pistons. Tonight, however, the Pacers won. What do you think was the deciding factor for the victory?"

"Do you even have to ask? It was Jack. He got a super triple-double: 28 points, 16 assists, 10 rebounds, plus 6 steals and 2 blocks. I don’t think anyone besides Jack could put up numbers like that at the Auburn Hills Palace. Not Jason Kidd, not Tracy McGrady, not Allen Iverson... no one! This is why I believe Jack can be an All-Star starter."

"Of course, that’s also the reason he ended up with a concussion."

"The Pistons are very good at applying pressure. They don’t just like to pressure the ball-handler; they like to pressure off-ball players too."

"We lost our previous two games because they suffocated the rhythm of our scorers in the mid-range."

"But now, we have the smartest point guard in the entire league. He can powerfully attack the paint, and he can easily penetrate the defensive line with the ball."

"The Pacers’ offense was firing on all cylinders with him connecting everything. That’s why we won. And it’s why we’ll keep winning."

Carlisle gave Su Xi the highest praise.

Fifteen minutes later, Larry Brown appeared at the same press table.

Larry Brown looked to be in low spirits.

TNT asked him about the on-court violence from Ben Wallace. He said, "We can’t label it as on-court violence from Ben Wallace just yet. Five minutes ago, we received the official diagnosis from the hospital. A severe concussion. He’s been hospitalized."

"You have to understand, two Pacers players were ganging up on Ben Wallace. He had to be helped off the court, while the other two walked off on their own. So, can you really say this was a one-sided assault by Ben Wallace? That’s not fair. The media needs to report responsibly."

Larry Brown was trying to win back some ground in the court of public opinion.

But before he could announce Ben Wallace’s concussion, Carlisle had already announced that Little Sheep Su Xi had one.

So, there was nothing shocking about it.

Moreover, Su Xi was undeniably tackled by Ben Wallace. Given his physique, anyone with eyes could see who would get the worse end of the deal in a tangle with Ben Wallace, a man known as the league’s strongest muscle-bound beast. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

When Larry Brown saw the media’s lukewarm reaction, with even the local reporters staying silent, he grew a little frustrated. ’Isn’t Ben Wallace pitiful enough?’ he thought. ’He gets trash-talked by Little Sheep Su Xi on the court, then gets a concussion that leaves him seeing stars in a hospital bed, and nobody cares? No one feels sorry for him?’

The TNT reporter then asked Larry Brown another interesting question: "Coach. Before this game, the Pistons beat the Pacers twice, both at home and away. But tonight, the Pacers won by a large margin. What do you think was the reason for this outcome?"

"Little Sheep Su Xi!"

Larry Brown blurted it out. "He’s an incredibly cunning point guard. He’s a master of psychological tactics, and his trash talk is number one in the league. He made Ben lose his cool tonight. He had our backcourt running ragged all night. He’s an extremely insidious guy; everyone has underestimated how dangerous he is."

"Uh... so you’re saying he beat the Pistons with his mouth?" the TNT reporter asked, summarizing Larry Brown’s main point.

"Yes. That’s exactly it," Larry Brown said with great sincerity.

But laughter began to spread through the room.

It sounded like an April Fool’s joke.

"Carlisle said it was because you couldn’t stop Su Xi’s drives, that he seized the opportunity to activate his entire team, and that your pressure tactics were ineffective against him..." TNT continued to fan the flames.

"I don’t see it that way," Larry Brown interrupted. "A point guard who can’t shoot off the dribble, who has no mid-range game, and whose drives are just straight lines with no variation... why couldn’t we stop him? That’s ridiculous."

Larry Brown was very unhappy.

And then, he stopped taking questions.

Larry Brown’s departure from the press conference meant the game had officially come to a close.

However, the story of Su Xi’s super triple-double and the violent incident at the Auburn Hills Palace quickly hit the sports media headlines, and the public outcry spread like wildfire.

Just then, the entertainment media also broke a bombshell story.

It would directly alter the course of the All-Star voting process.

...