Chapter 226: Chapter 40: Green Mountains Cannot Block the Eastward Flow

Su Xi sped down the court, once again driving into the paint and drawing the defense of Kirilenko.

Su Xi quickly passed the ball out to the three-point line. Artest caught it, pump-faked to get past Ray Allen’s help defense, and passed to Reid. Reid took the open shot... SWISH!

The three-pointer was good.

The East extended their lead.

Su Xi was like a sharp, swift dagger plunging straight into the opponent’s heart. And just as the Western Conference Team reached out with both hands to grab the dagger, two arrows from behind pierced straight through their shoulders.

Carlisle watched from the sidelines, dumbfounded. He realized he had still underestimated Su Xi’s abilities.

He knew Su Xi could run a fast break, but he never expected him to be *this* good at it. Give him a few decent teammates, and he would take the speed to a whole other level. This speed wasn’t just about how fast he personally pushed the break, but also about the velocity of his passes.

"I’m absolutely certain that under Su Xi’s leadership, the Eastern Conference Team is playing a brand-new style of basketball," Magic Johnson said on TV. "This is even crazier than Showtime."

The game continued.

Su Xi continued to lock down Cassell.

The 34-year-old Cassell and the 19-year-old Su Xi were both first-time All-Stars. Su Xi was the leading vote-getter and a starter; Cassell was a reserve.

While it was hard to say if Su Xi would be voted in as an All-Star starter again in the future, one thing was certain: Cassell would never make another All-Star team.

He was completely outmatched by Su Xi, unable to cope.

He was like a frustrated turtle, afraid to stick its head out of its shell.

His style of play was completely countered by Su Xi. The physical advantage he prided himself on was nothing to speak of in front of Su Xi.

Su Xi had some trouble dealing with guards who relied on speed and rhythm, but against a traditional, old-school point guard like Cassell, he had their number every single time.

Even Jason Kidd, sitting on the bench, couldn’t help but feel a little worried. He kept wondering, ’If I were out there on that play, could I have stopped him?’

Cassell could only pass the ball to Brad Miller.

Miller used to be the center for the Indiana Pacers, so he knew Jermaine O’Neal well. After joining the King’s system, his high-post playmaking had only gotten stronger.

He pump-faked on Jermaine O’Neal at the high post, then lobbed the ball toward the paint.

Garnett was aggressively sealing off Pierce, having established very deep post position. If he caught the ball, he could easily turn and throw down a powerful dunk.

But just as the ball was about to fall into his hands...

Su Xi shot forward.

He snatched the ball away right from under Garnett’s nose.

Miller was very familiar with the Indiana Pacers’ defensive schemes, but he didn’t know how to account for the new variable that was Su Xi.

"Run!"

Su Xi shouted, and the Eastern Conference players took off at a dead sprint.

Su Xi made a beeline for the paint, causing both Kirilenko and Garnett to hesitate.

The moment they hesitated, Su Xi exploded upward and slammed the ball through the hoop with his left hand.

Sanders had no answer.

He simply couldn’t come up with a counter-strategy.

The man considered a strong contender for Coach of the Year was now like a fish on a chopping block, completely powerless to fight back.

They had originally planned to teach Su Xi a harsh lesson in the final moments, to mercilessly put this so-called top vote-getter in his place.

But now... they were the ones getting hammered.

Sanders glanced at the three giants on the bench, a plea in his eyes. ’Help the Timberwolves out, won’t you?’

In his eyes, if those three giants were willing to get on the court, they could undoubtedly turn the tide in an instant.

But, Yao Ming’s ankle hurt.

The Shark’s big toe hurt.

Duncan’s tooth hurt.

Besides, for the Shark and Duncan, the Minnesota Timberwolves were potential rivals, and so were the Indiana Pacers. As Su Xi led his team with this brand-new strategy, they were content to just sit on the bench and watch.

As for the solemn promise Garnett had made, reality had left him empty-handed.

’What’s it got to do with us?’

All was peaceful, and they were above the fray.

"Looks like Jack’s creating a new normal again," Barkley said. "The guy was born for the big stage. He’s always giving the NBA’s old guard a slap in the face."

"That’s our guy, the player who dropped a monster quad-double in his very first regular-season game. All those people hoping he’d be isolated, shut down, and benched tonight are in for another disappointment."

Barkley said on TV, glowing with vicarious pride, "Why didn’t I make a bet with Kenny tonight?"

That remark got under Kenny’s skin.

Having kissed a donkey’s ass and then gotten his face licked clean by that same donkey, Kenny was like a freshly neutered tomcat—easily agitated and emotionally unstable. "Charles, what the hell are you talking about? Don’t think Little Sheep Su Xi has this victory in the bag. It’s far from over."

As Kenny said this, the East was up by 9 points.

Two minutes later, the East was up by 13.

Kevin Garnett was, at present, indisputably the best player in the league. He excelled on both offense and defense, was incredibly versatile, and sat at the top of the MVP rankings. He had already won Player of the Month for December and January, and would likely take February’s as well, setting an NBA record.

However, he wasn’t the kind of player who could single-handedly decide the outcome. He wasn’t the guy who could take the ball on offense and just kill the game.

And Sanders’ slow reactions and tactical incompetence only widened the gap between the two teams.

After receiving Magic Johnson’s ’Super Spatial Awareness’ talent, Su Xi was getting more and more comfortable with his run-and-gun offense.

In the process, his fusion with the ’Super Spatial Awareness’ talent was becoming faster and more fluid. He was mastering it.

It was a positive feedback loop.

Carlisle had been standing on the sideline for a while now with his hands on his hips, wearing a massive, self-satisfied grin.

As for the established superstars sitting on the Eastern Conference bench, their spirits were low. The team’s lead had nothing to do with them.

Jason Kidd even slapped his thigh and muttered, ’Damn, we’ve become the backups. *We’re* the ones being isolated!’

Who would have thought?

They had originally planned to isolate Su Xi, only to be reverse-isolated by him.

Not only would tonight’s victory have nothing to do with them, but they would also be on the receiving end of taunts and ridicule.

And Artest wasn’t exactly known for his subtlety; he’d shot more than one strange smile in their direction.

’How does Little Sheep Su Xi end up with all the good stuff?’

Tracy McGrady felt gloomy and frustrated.

’How can those Western superstars just stand by and watch Garnett get beaten black and blue? I thought superstars were supposed to have each other’s backs.’

’Aren’t they just handing this to Su Xi on a silver platter?’

’Are we really creating a narrative of "an era with no heroes, allowing a nobody to rise to fame"?’

’Are all these people just going to be his stepping stones?’

The more Tracy McGrady thought about it, the more upset he became. He stood up and asked Carlisle, "When can I get in the game?"

Carlisle turned and gave Tracy McGrady a strange look.

’Is that a question you should be asking?’

’How dare you.’

’You didn’t step up when things were tough. Now that victory is in sight, you want to come out and reap the rewards?’

Carlisle flashed a Jim Carrey-esque smile and said, "Just wait a little longer. The West can’t hold on for much more. As soon as we hit garbage time, I’ll put you in."

That was a savage move by Carlisle.

But then again, wasn’t Tracy McGrady just an All-Star reserve this year?

Putting a reserve player in during garbage time—was there a problem with that?

Tracy McGrady shot Carlisle a glare, returned to his all-too-familiar spot on the cold bench, and sat down with his brothers in misery.

When the camera panned over to them, their smiles were gone.

In contrast, the Western Conference bench was having a great time.

Yao Ming, the Shark, the Stone Buddha, and the German Tank were all chatting and laughing. Nowitzki was even imitating Jermaine O’Neal’s earlier three-point attempt... though it had gone in, the shooting form was hideous, like a girl’s.

This sparked a wave of laughter from the Western Conference bench.

The game entered its final moments.

Sanders instinctively looked to substitute his players and declare the start of garbage time.

But when he took a closer look, he saw that none of the Western Conference players wanted to go back in, either.

Sigh.

He sighed. He truly had no way to crack Su Xi’s fast-paced, run-and-gun offense. He had tried many adjustments, but none had been much use. Su Xi’s ability to attack the rim was powerful, and his passes after penetrating were ’weird,’ yet precise. He could always, with speed and decisiveness, find the one teammate the defense was ignoring.

As the game wound down to its inevitable conclusion, Garnett was powerless to stop it.

He had wanted to punish Su Xi.

But instead, he had become Su Xi’s stepping stone.

On the final possession, he met Su Xi head-on. He wanted to have the last word.

’At least block this guy once.’

So, he said to Su Xi, "Do you dare go one-on-one with me?"

Su Xi waved his teammates away, clearing the floor for an isolation play.

’Afraid of you?’