Chapter 592 87: [You Must Marry an American Girl]

Whether Kwame Brown could be successfully turned around was still unknown, but the Knicks had certainly succeeded in tearing the Magic Team apart.

They played a little better in the second half than the first, but the Knicks played even better, because they brought Zach Randolph into the game as well.

Earlier, Kenny Smith had been muttering that Milicic's ball-dominant performance was only possible because Su Xi had given up possessions. He argued that if Zach Randolph entered the game, Milicic's performance would likely be greatly diminished.

It was as if they did it just to slap Kenny Smith in the face.

Zach Randolph and Milicic put on a clinic, demonstrating what it meant to complement each other, to be both powerful and playful, to dominate both inside and out.

Randolph's low-post scoring was stronger than Milicic's. Randolph was like a black bear, muscling his way through the paint.

Milicic was like a polar bear, weaving in and out of the paint. The two brought out the best in each other.

The Magic's frontcourt was in utter misery. On offense, Howard was shut down by Milicic. On defense, he had Zach Randolph backing him down and scoring at will.

One exploited his limited offensive arsenal, the other preyed on his lack of lower-body strength.

'Those two are just nasty.'

The Magic Team quickly laid down their arms and surrendered. The speed of their capitulation was reminiscent of the once-mighty French Empire.

No one takes the French Team to overtime.

111:96.

The Knicks won without any suspense, and they even showed some mercy at the end.

Milicic posted a near-triple-double in this game with 21 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. His efficiency rating was incredibly high, and his usage rate ranked first among all centers.

All the advanced stats pointed to one thing: he was a high-volume, high-efficiency center.

Moreover, he was pioneering a new style of play for the center position.

After the game, Stan Van Gundy said pointedly, "Milicic's performance exceeded my calculations. I originally thought his potential had been completely drained by Detroit."

Stan Van Gundy was a master of deflection, pure Teflon.

'In any case, Milicic already looked like a bust when he got to the Magic Team. It doesn't have much to do with me.'

'If you're going to blame someone, go after Larry Brown.'

This just goes to show that there are no fools among the head coaches who make it in the NBA.

None of them are pushovers.

As for when the New York reporters asked him to comment on the trade…

Stan Van Gundy's lips were sealed tight as titanium. "Of course it was a win-win trade," he said, his voice firm. "We got the power forward we desperately needed, and the Knicks got the center they desperately needed. You couldn't ask for a more wonderful piece of business."

"Actually, it was a three-way win. Milicic came out a huge winner, too. I have to admit, I put too much faith in the experts. I thought a player who'd been labeled a bust by the authorities wasn't worth developing, but the Knicks thought otherwise, and that's why they've succeeded."

Stan Van Gundy's words were harsh.

For Larry Brown, at least.

Because compared to the Knicks' direct mockery, Stan Van Gundy's roundabout, indirect confirmation was far more cutting.

But Stan Van Gundy didn't care. He just didn't want the fire to spread to him. If someone had to get burned, it might as well be Larry Brown.

Better you than me, as the saying goes.

It was a universal truth.

Finally, a reporter asked him, "Do you think Milicic can help the Knicks reclaim the top spot in the East?"

"I don't make predictions."

"What if the two teams meet in the playoffs? Who do you think would have the bigger advantage, the Magic or the Knicks?"

"The Magic, of course. We have more room for adjustments and greater flexibility."

Stan Van Gundy said with righteous conviction.

Indeed, they also had plenty of room to slide down the standings.

In contrast to Stan Van Gundy's artful way with words…

Isaiah Thomas put on a masterclass in the art of profanity.

He could barely string a sentence together without dropping an F-bomb. He was ecstatic. "This is the motherfucking Knicks! This is motherfucking Milicic! This is the goddamn super-battleship led by the motherfucking Goat Su Xi! And we haven't even properly fired up the engines yet!"

"Why did Milicic have this breakout? Because the ugly duckling was a swan from the very start! It's just that some stupid bastards treated him like an ugly duckling and laughed at him."

"We should all be shouting that person's name! He needs to come out and apologize. If he had given Milicic a chance back then like the Knicks did, Detroit might have won a championship long ago!"

Isaiah Thomas was laying the mockery on thick.

But this time, he had the support of the Detroit fans, and even the entire state of Michigan. Everyone agreed with him. 'That's right,' they thought. 'If Milicic had been developed like this from the start, would we have been eliminated by Indiana in the playoffs? Little Sheep Su Xi wasn't nearly as terrifying back then as he is today.'

But that damn Larry Brown destroyed everything.

In the 2003 draft, the Pistons had their very own Chosen One.

The more the Pistons fans thought about it, the angrier they became. The Detroit media also joined the crusade against Larry Brown.

Suddenly, all the skeletons in Larry Brown's closet were being dragged out into the open.

The media treated Larry Brown brutally.

Meanwhile, the Knicks were charging ahead. With his Ren and Du Meridians now open, Milicic's chemistry with the team grew stronger by the day. The Knicks' true power began to blossom intensely as the season neared its end.

This caused the Knicks' ranking to skyrocket, and their odds of successfully defending their title shot up as well.

With an eight-game winning streak, the Knicks reclaimed the top spot in the East.

Across the entire league, they were second only to the Los Angeles Lakers.

In the East, this meant the Knicks had secured home-court advantage for every playoff series.

The final standings in the East were: Knicks, Knight, Magic, Pistons, Pacers, Raptors, Bulls, and Wizards.