Chapter 230: Chapter 43: [The Surging Pacers]

Su Xi was sick of the pointless arguments on TV, so he wanted to put them to rest.

He figured his way of doing it was pretty good.

...

The Indiana Pacers had cleaned up at the All-Star Weekend. The moment Su Xi stepped into first class, he saw Fred Jones flaunting his Dunk King trophy.

"Hey, Jack, where are your two MVP trophies?" Jones asked.

Su Xi smacked his forehead, just now remembering that he’d left both trophies at Jessica’s house.

"I forgot them," Su Xi said plainly.

"You actually forgot such important trophies? Jack, if I were you, I’d sleep with them every night," Jones said. "I’ve been sleeping with this trophy for the past two days."

"Jack gets to sleep with two sexy Hollywood starlets. Why would he hug a cold trophy?" Little O’Neal quipped.

A direct KO on Jones.

Jones clutched his chest as if he’d been shot. "My mistake. I was being shallow."

Once the plane reached cruising altitude, Carlisle came over to Su Xi to talk strategy. "I studied the tape from the fourth quarter last night, and I noticed your passing has improved immensely. It’s why we had such a comfortable lead."

"So, going forward, we should increase our use of the fast break. We especially need to pick up the pace when you’re the one leading the counterattack."

Carlisle said, "I’m thinking, with your defensive ability, we should design a couple of plays for you to help out on defense in the paint, grab the rebound yourself, and immediately push the counterattack."

Carlisle loved to study strategy. Unlike those head coaches who just kept a few play cards in their pockets, he was constantly updating his playbook, evolving with the game, and he was willing to trust his players.

"We can give it a try," Su Xi said.

After gaining Magic Johnson’s "Super Spatial Awareness" talent, Su Xi’s passing mechanics hadn’t improved, but his court vision and passing instincts had taken a quantum leap. Most importantly, he could now make decisions with the ball instantly instead of just making routine, by-the-book passes. Fast breaks would amplify this advantage.

Carlisle took out his clipboard and started diagramming plays with Su Xi.

Carlisle explained the strategy from a coach’s perspective, and Su Xi was completely absorbed. He soon felt his integration with the "Super Spatial Awareness" talent improve even further.

Su Xi was ecstatic. ’This feeling of leveling up anytime, anywhere is amazing.’

’No wonder they say the Point Guard is the brain on the court, a second coach.’

They talked strategy for the entire flight. Artest, sitting nearby, had wanted to join in, but after a while, he was sound asleep. For his brain, it was a critical overload.

"Jack, after this All-Star performance, no one is going to treat you like a rookie anymore."

"You stole the show this All-Star Weekend. And you pissed off a lot of superstars. They might not say anything, but from now on, the level of defense you’ll be facing won’t be the same as before."

After they finished with the strategy talk, Carlisle patted Su Xi’s shoulder. "From now on, you’re the biggest banner for Indiana. You have to be ready for it."

Su Xi nodded. "Of course." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

He was ready.

The sports media might have labeled him a ’madman’ and criticized his domineering style of provoking everyone, but Su Xi wasn’t just being mindlessly arrogant. Everything he did was the result of careful calculation.

According to the Little Elf’s upgrade model, he had to offend every powerful superstar. It was the only way for him to fully integrate his talents.

"But you don’t need to worry," Carlisle continued. "The Pacers are a formidable team. We complement each other. Looking across the entire league, there isn’t a single opponent we need to fear."

Even at thirty thousand feet, Carlisle had every right to say that.

With the best record in the league, they had the strength and ambition to take down even powerhouses like the Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, and Detroit Pistons.

...

The February games rolled on, and the Pacers’ victory march never faltered.

Their winning streak continued.

With the improvement of Su Xi’s "Super Spatial Awareness" talent, the Pacers were firing on all cylinders. They didn’t lose a single game until mid-March, in a matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks.

They immediately went on another winning streak, locking in a playoff spot early on.

Starting in mid-March, the Pacers were listed as the second-favorite to win the championship.

The top spot belonged to the Los Angeles Lakers, who were ranked second in the West. Even though the Lakers’ regular-season record wasn’t as good as the Minnesota Timberwolves’, no one would underestimate the power of the OK Combination, especially since they also had Malone and Payton.

Payton’s style of play didn’t quite fit the triangle offense, but after Malone returned from injury, he became their new pillar, playing a vital role within the system.

All the basketball experts were saying that another Lakers championship was a foregone conclusion.

Just like with their previous three-peat, as long as they made it out of the West, no team in the East could stand against them.

The third-favorite was the Minnesota Timberwolves, fourth was the Detroit Pistons, and fifth was the San Antonio Spurs.

But for the Indiana Pacers, all this talk was just noise. Their last five regular-season games were against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the San Antonio Spurs, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Phoenix Suns, and the Detroit Pistons.

Four home games, one away.

The away game was against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

All five of these games would be nationally televised.

Because this five-game stretch was absolutely insane.

Every single game was a marquee matchup.

The Cavaliers were in a final dogfight for a playoff spot. As the season drew to a close, press releases about LeBron James winning Rookie of the Year were flying all over the place.

At the same time, so were the voices of doubt.

Of the consensus "Four Kings" of the ’03 draft class—Su Xi, Carmeron Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James—he was the only one who hadn’t secured a playoff spot. All it took was 38 wins to get the eighth seed in the East.

The competition wasn’t exactly fierce.

But the Cavaliers were still three or four wins short, making every remaining victory crucial.

A narrative was already starting to form. Since James was one of the few players in history to average 20-5-5 in his rookie season, with stats of 21 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.5 rebounds.

"Statistically, LeBron is in a class of his own. We’re picking the Rookie of the Year, not the regular season MVP. Whoever has the best stats should get the award."

Mike Breen was hyping up James on ESPN.

ESPN and ABC were the two national media outlets most eager to sing James’s praises.

But Artest quickly jumped in to rebut, "Only an idiot would think 20-5-5 is more impressive than 16-9-7-3-1."

Su Xi’s season averages had reached 15.8 points, 9.3 assists, 7.5 rebounds, 3.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks.

These numbers were clearly more well-rounded.

Su Xi’s rebounding numbers had skyrocketed in the second half of the season, as Carlisle had him crash the boards more often to initiate the fast break himself.

He had 11 triple-doubles on the season, far ahead of anyone else.

Jason Kidd was second with only 6.

In fact, many people said that if Su Xi really went all out to chase stats, he was the only player with a shot at averaging a triple-double for the season.

Or if Su Xi had better stamina and played 35 minutes a game, he would also have a chance to average a triple-double.

Su Xi’s all-around game spoke for itself.

"In terms of stats, he can’t beat Jack. In terms of record, he’s even further behind. He can’t compare to Wade—Miami was at the bottom of the league last season, and now they’re in the playoffs. The Nuggets, led by Cameron, and the Cavaliers were the two worst teams last season. They had the same starting point, but the Nuggets have already clinched a playoff spot in the West."

"And don’t forget, Jack led the Pacers to the best record in the entire league, and now they’re pushing for the 70-win club!"

"Most importantly, when Su Xi left the Cavaliers, their record was good for fourth in the East."

"Do I even need to spell out where the problem is?"

Ever since the ’Chen Bridge incident,’ Artest had become the vanguard of Su Xi’s defense team. Tony Battie was even worried a few times that Artest was going to steal his spot as Su Xi’s number-one protector.

While Artest’s comments didn’t get much play in the mainstream media, they sparked heated discussions on the burgeoning internet forums.

Because he was spitting facts.

Just then, the Cavaliers arrived in Indiana for what would be the final showdown between Su Xi and James this season.