Chapter 216: Chapter 33: [To Seek Unity Through Struggle]

That night, Su Xi witnessed Jason Kapono become the All-Star Three-Point Contest champion, and he was genuinely happy for Ah Ka. Then, in the main event that followed, his teammate, Pacers reserve point guard Fred Jones, defeated Jason Richardson to be crowned the Dunk King.

Fred Jones was ecstatic after being crowned the Dunk King. He clamored to take Su Xi, Artest, and Little Ao to a nightclub to celebrate properly.

Su Xi politely declined.

He had no interest in going to nightclubs. No matter how enticing they made it sound, he remained unmoved. In the end, the three of them went out to cut loose.

Back at the hotel, Su Xi watched a highlight reel of Magic Johnson’s passes. He had chatted with Magic Johnson for a bit on the sidelines earlier. Magic Johnson was quite friendly and suggested Su Xi work on elevating his passing game. If he could learn to lead his teammates with the ball, the court’s flow would become even smoother.

Su Xi’s assist numbers were good. His ability to penetrate and create scoring threats was very strong; once he created a mismatch, he could get the ball out in time. However, his ability to lead teammates and orchestrate plays with his passing was far from that of elite point guards, masters like Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, and Magic Johnson.

That was why Magic Johnson felt it was a bit of a shame. If Su Xi, with such a strong ability to attack the rim, could also develop the skill to lead with his passes, then the ’Point Guard’ lineage would truly rise to prominence.

The NBA had produced many combo guards with incredible individual skills. The Eastern Conference Team had two this year: Allen Iverson and Baron Davis. Looking at their assist numbers alone, both were very good. But without exception, they were players who prioritized scoring over passing.

But in Magic’s eyes, Su Xi wasn’t like that. That was why he wanted to offer Su Xi a few pointers.

But because it was crowded and noisy, the two didn’t get to have a deep conversation.

When Su Xi got back to the hotel, he had Mike O’Connor find a highlight reel of Magic’s, and he began to study it.

Magic Johnson was truly worthy of his title as the greatest point guard in history.

His greatness wasn’t simply because he was tall and had an advantage, as some people claimed. Over the years, the NBA had seen so many supposed successors to Magic, but none could fill his shoes. Most of them ended up transitioning to play small forward or even power forward.

Currently, LeBron James was also considered to have the potential to be Magic’s successor.

LeBron James did indeed have great court vision and was a willing passer.

However, when it came to leading the offense with his passes, he was still a long way off.

As Su Xi watched the tape, he couldn’t help but marvel. ’How on earth did he make a pass like that? How many pairs of eyes does Magic have? And his passing technique is so brilliant. Some of his passes look ordinary, but their actual effect is absolutely sublime.’

After watching, Su Xi’s admiration for Magic grew even stronger.

He was, after all, a historical giant who, along with Larry Bird, had dominated the 80s.

Su Xi’s physical abilities had already reached the top tier of the league; he could be considered a gifted athlete.

But in terms of skill, he was still lacking in many areas.

He only possessed Gary Payton’s incredible talent for pestering defense and Isaiah Thomas’s incredible talent for playing with a low center of gravity and exceptional rhythm.

While this already guaranteed his abilities were on the fringe of All-Star level—and in some specific situations, even more useful than an All-Star—he still needed to further strengthen his skills to take the next step.

...

The All-Star Game arrived as scheduled on Sunday night.

Earlier that afternoon, Coach Carlisle laid out some plays. The three Pacers assistant coaches—Mike Brown, Dan Burke, and Ron Rosstan—divided the players into three groups and went over the tactics.

Su Xi was placed in the point guard group, where a cheerful Mike Brown explained the plays to him, Jason Kidd, Baron Davis, and Allen Iverson.

However, Iverson didn’t practice; he just stood there listening.

Baron Davis acted like he couldn’t care less. He kept his headphones on, and when Mike Brown physically demonstrated a move, he just casually mimicked it a couple of times.

Jason Kidd was the most ’dominant’ of them all. The man ranked as the number one point guard in the league actually started schooling Mike Brown instead. He claimed there were problems with every single one of Mike Brown’s plays.

It was a good thing Mike Brown was so good-natured. Any other coach wouldn’t have been able to stand his bossiness.

But anyone familiar with Jason Kidd knew he was the type who liked to boss around coaches. He once led a team effort to isolate a head coach in the locker room and eventually got him fired.

This sort of thing was common in the NBA. When a superstar wanted to undermine a head coach and get him canned, there were plenty of ways to do it. They didn’t even need a public confrontation. All they had to do was let themselves get a little out of shape, be lazy in practice, and play nonsensically on the court. After about ten losses, management would replace the head coach.

The NBA was becoming more and more of a superstar’s game. Superstars were growing increasingly powerful, and players like O’Neal and Duncan had abilities that could completely transcend any tactical system.

Teams like the Pacers and the Detroit Pistons, where players were completely bound by a system, were becoming increasingly rare.

In reality, the league also encouraged superstars to lead their teams.

Because it was a commercial league, it needed to create stars with massive influence.

This was why a worried Gary Payton had told Su Xi last night, "Jack, I heard the league is about to change the defensive rules. Next season or the one after, they might not even allow our style of pestering defense. I heard that when an offensive player initiates an attack, the defender won’t even be able to touch his body with their hands..."

Su Xi thought it sounded absurd. "Is that even basketball anymore?"

"The league wants to encourage offense. Games where teams only score seventy or eighty points put the audience to sleep," Gary Payton said. "You need to adapt as soon as possible. This era will soon no longer belong to defensive players."

Su Xi didn’t say anything, but he felt a sense of urgency.

After schooling Mike Brown, Jason Kidd went to find other players. He wanted to try some new tricks.

Clearly, he not only disrespected Mike Brown, but he didn’t have any respect for Carlisle either.

Jason Kidd’s arrogance wasn’t the showy, posturing kind. He was the type who appeared calm on the surface, but demanded that everyone listen to him.

He played a major role in the breakup of the "Three J’s" in Dallas back in the day. The so-called story about the Three J’s fighting over a woman was just tabloid gossip; the real reason was that Jason Kidd wanted the team to run his way.

You couldn’t say his way of thinking was wrong. At least, after he was traded for Stephon Marbury, he led the Brooklyn Nets to the Finals for two consecutive seasons.

Jason Kidd started orchestrating his own link-up plays among the Eastern Conference All-Stars, completely outside of the Pacers’ tactical system.

In the locker room, Baron Davis was talking loudly with Tracy McGrady and Ben Wallace, discussing how someone had "snuck into" this year’s All-Star Game.

Don’t be fooled by their glamorous public personas; in the locker room, they were just as petty and small-minded as anyone else.

Tracy McGrady had been on decent terms with Su Xi, but ever since Su Xi took his starting spot, he had become sarcastic and passive-aggressive.

The conflict between Ben Wallace and Su Xi was irreconcilable, and Su Xi had no intention of making peace with him.

Although back in Detroit he had been loudly proclaiming his desire for revenge and to make Su Xi pay in blood, he was relatively calm when he saw Su Xi in the locker room. In fact, it was Ron Artest who kept provoking him with challenging looks.

The situation in the Eastern Conference locker room was now a bit complicated. Su Xi, Artest, and Little Ao were natural allies as they were all Pacers teammates. Furthermore, the entire coaching staff was from the Pacers.

Rick Carlisle was a young head coach with a relatively short tenure in the NBA. Moreover, he had no coaching pedigree. In a league where coaching trees and connections mattered, he basically had no one backing him.

He didn’t want to get on the bad side of these superstars. When Jason Kidd was openly organizing players to run his own plays, Carlisle just smiled. After all, it was just a show, an unimportant exhibition game. They could play it however they wanted. Realistically, there weren’t many set plays to begin with.

So, before the game, he even told the three Pacers players, "Let’s just take it easy in this game and let them do the work. We should conserve our energy. Our record in the second half of the season is more important. Setting a new franchise record is the top priority."

His suggestion was very reasonable.

Many past All-Star head coaches had done the same thing, letting stars from other teams play more while their own stars rested as much as possible.

Little Ao had no objections. He was naturally low-key and reserved, with no desire to be in the spotlight.

Artest agreed as well. His playing style was simple and unflashy, like a heavy, edgeless sword. If he were to really let loose, it wouldn’t fit the All-Star atmosphere.

But Su Xi shook his head. He said, "Coach, we have to cherish this opportunity. ’Seeking unity through compromise will destroy unity; seeking unity through struggle will preserve it.’ My grandfather often told me that. I think it’s very appropriate here."

When Carlisle heard Su Xi’s words, his body visibly jolted. The phrase had struck a nerve.

He had indeed been trying to seek unity through compromise.

’But would compromise earn him unity, or contempt?’

Carlisle didn’t know.

"Let’s see how things play out when the time comes," Su Xi said.

Carlisle accepted Su Xi’s point of view.

Besides the "Pacers Alliance," the other major faction was the "Ostracize Su Xi Alliance." Tracy McGrady, Davis, and Ben Wallace were its core members. Vince Carter, being McGrady’s cousin, also leaned in their direction.

Then there was the faction of Jason Kidd, Pierce, and Martin, who didn’t align with anyone and weren’t close to anyone.

Iverson was on good terms with Su Xi, and Reid even more so; he could even be considered half a mentor to Su Xi. Su Xi had learned his left-handed shot from him at a training camp in Chicago.

...

Night fell. The Staples Center in Los Angeles was buzzing with excitement, a cacophony of voices filling the arena. The cameras panned across the courtside seats, revealing a sea of celebrities and stars.

The TNT cameras paid special attention to two of Su Xi’s rumored girlfriends. One was Jessica Alba, who claimed to be Su Xi’s official girlfriend, sitting courtside with a haughty expression, draped in expensive fur. The other was Scarlett Johansson, who wore a form-fitting qipao that showcased her perfect figure with an Eastern elegance. Sitting next to her was Hilary Duff, America’s sweetheart, all smiles.

In this way, she was telling the public that the rumors about her and Su Xi were baseless.

Otherwise, why would she be seen laughing and chatting beside Scarlett Johansson?

The pre-game gossip had already captured everyone’s attention.

Then, TNT began its live broadcast of the All-Star player introductions.

It started with the reserves from the Eastern Conference Team. Ron Artest was the first to be introduced. He stepped onto a small stage and walked onto the court, surrounded by a group of cheerleaders... The NBA really has a sense of ceremony.

After Artest, Jason Kidd, Davis, Reid, Pierce, Martin, and McGrady were introduced one after another.

Next came the starters.

Allen Iverson was the first to appear, followed by Vince Carter, Ben Wallace, and Little O’Neal. The final player to be introduced was Su Xi.

When Su Xi took the stage, the entire arena erupted in a deafening roar, and screams filled the Staples Center.

This was why he had become the all-time leading All-Star vote-getter.

He brought many fans who didn’t originally watch basketball into the arenas.