Chapter 609: Why Won't Little Sheep Su Xi Take the Bait?

Chapter 609: Chapter 95: Why Won’t Little Sheep Su Xi Take the Bait?

Su Xi had 14 points.

The gap between the two hadn’t actually widened.

So, Su Xi wasn’t worried at all.

During halftime, Kobe specifically trash-talked Su Xi, “Your title as the league’s number one player is a joke.”

Su Xi laughed and said, “Right now you’re acting like a jilted easy-girl.”

Kobe flew into a rage. He actually jumped on Su Xi’s back, grabbed his neck, and shook him hard a couple of times to vent his frustration.

If they hadn’t always been on such good terms, the head referee would have really thought they were starting a fight.

Su Xi threw him off and said, “Vanessa will definitely get mad if she sees you like this.”

“What would she be mad about?”

“She’d say, ‘You have the energy to shake other men, but you don’t know to come home and shake me…'”

After saying this with a laugh, Su Xi quickly ran towards the locker room.

Kobe was seething.

Just then, a TNT sideline reporter quickly pulled him aside.

“Hey, Kobe. The first half is over. What’s your assessment of Little Sheep Su Xi? It doesn’t seem like you two had any intense head-to-head battles tonight, which is completely different from what you claimed before the game.”

“That’s right, Jack Su is a coward. He doesn’t dare to go one-on-one with me. He’s afraid to compete against me. He knows he can’t beat me, so he’s chosen to hide.”

Kobe said, “From now on, don’t call him the number one player in the league.”

“But the Knicks are up by 11 points. If they win the Finals, Jack will have his fourth championship, maintaining an undefeated record in the Finals since entering the league. That’s a great achievement that has never been accomplished in NBA history.”

“First of all, he won’t win the championship. Second, if he doesn’t beat me, he’s not the number one player in the league.”

Kobe’s words sounded a bit like he was just being difficult.

Some fans watching on TV were muttering: ‘Why does he have to beat you? Today, you jump out and say Jack isn’t as good as you one-on-one, so he’s not the number one player. Tomorrow, some three-point shooter will come along and say Jack’s shot isn’t as good as his, so Jack’s not number one. The day after, James will show up and say Jack doesn’t weigh as much as him, so Jack’s not number one.’

‘Isn’t that just being deliberately unreasonable?’

“Shaq said you’re the best teammate he’s ever had, and he’s supporting you like never before. Do you have anything to say to him?”

“He figured it out too late,” Kobe said coldly. “I’ve already found the best center in the world to partner with. His name is Yao Ming!”

With that, he ended the interview and walked toward the locker room.

In the broadcast booth, Barkley and Smith were stirring things up.

OOH-HOO-HOO!!!

“Shaq, are you regretting it now? Kobe said his best teammate is Yao Ming! You must be hurting right now, huh?”

Barkley was rubbing salt in O’Neal’s wound.

Kenny Smith didn’t miss a beat, adding, “Shaq. It looks like you really did figure it out too late. If you and Kobe had just cooperated sincerely back in the day, where would Yao Ming be? And the NBA wouldn’t be dominated by Jack Su! You’re a great sinner of American basketball!”

Smith’s comment really took it to the limit.

After hearing that, O’Neal did indeed rub his head. Then he said, “Kenny, that statement is completely baseless. We’re not taking on that much responsibility. Although, if you put me and Kobe together, we could definitely beat Jack Su to a pulp.”

But Barkley said, “So, how did you guys lose to the Pacers back then? I mean, you guys didn’t even win the championship when you had Carl Malone and Gary Payton.”

“Weren’t we feuding internally at that time?” O’Neal said matter-of-factly. “If it were the 2002 version of us, could the Pacers have won?”

“In the 2002 West finals, you were almost eliminated. If it weren’t for the refs’ help, you would’ve been going fishin’ after Game 6.”

Barkley reeled off the facts as if he knew them by heart.

The Lakers’ win that year was indeed controversial. They were pushed into a corner by the Kings, finally winning the game on free throws, and then came back to win in Game 7.

To this day, the people of Sacramento still hold a grudge against the Lakers and the league over it.

Chris Webber also often cites this as the biggest regret of his career.

O’Neal quickly said in anger, “That’s complete nonsense. Anyway, me and Kobe won three championships together.”

“Jack Su has three championships by himself, and he’s about to get his fourth.”

Barkley said.

ARGH!!

O’Neal was on the verge of a breakdown, letting out a frustrated cry.

The entertainment value of the show was off the charts.

The audience watching on TV burst into laughter.

At that moment, a TNT executive watching the broadcast not only laughed out loud but also had a new idea: ‘If O’Neal retires, we could totally sign him to the network. His chemistry with Barkley and Smith is way stronger than his chemistry with Malone, Kobe, and Payton was.’

…

In the Lakers’ locker room, Kobe Bryant was agitated.

He wanted to lash out, but he had no one to lash out at.

Because the Lakers had actually played very well today; no one deserved to take the blame.

The reason they were trailing by double digits was that the Knicks were just too strong.

Every position on the Knicks was producing at an elite level or higher. How were they supposed to compete with that?

Before the new season started, everyone thought the Knicks’ roster was weak. More than half of their championship lineup was gone, and some players were out for the season with injuries.

But somehow, they just kept getting stronger as they played. The rookies got more and more impressive, and even the busts were turned into gold.

Now their team’s roster depth was number one in the league.

They were overflowing with talent at every position, and the transition between veterans and new players was incredibly smooth.

Phil Jackson frowned and said to Kobe, “Is Jack Su really not taking the bait at all?”

Kobe shook his head helplessly. “He’s not the Jack Su I used to know anymore,” he said. “This guy will abandon even his pride for the sake of victory. He’ll truly stop at nothing.”

Hearing Kobe say this, Yao Ming, who was standing nearby, was completely stunned.

The surrounding teammates also found it a bit absurd.

‘Jack Su is just playing a normal game, how is that “stopping at nothing”?’

‘The one who’s stopping at nothing is you, okay?’

‘You’re the one provoking Little Sheep Su Xi.’

‘You’re the one being unreasonable.’

…

Meanwhile, Su Xi was organizing a halftime session of criticism and self-criticism.

But he felt something was off tonight.

Because his teammates were all trying to persuade him.

“Jack, you can’t give up the chance to destroy Kobe because of us. Go, Jack! Go kill Kobe, shut his mouth!”

“We can absolutely grab all the rebounds for you. You should go for the one-on-one, you should go conquer Kobe. As the God of Basketball, you have no reason to tolerate his provocations.”

“We can still win.”

“We’re willing to turn the world upside down, just to set your reflection straight!”

“…”

One cheesy line after another.

To be honest, Su Xi was very moved.

Didn’t he want to take on Kobe?

Of course he did.

However, he didn’t fight battles he wasn’t sure of winning. He wanted to wait until the team had an absolute advantage before having a peak showdown with Kobe.

He absolutely could not let his peak showdown with Kobe turn into a trap the Lakers had set for the Knicks.

That was exactly what the Lakers and Kobe were thinking.

How could Su Xi let them get their wish?

Su Xi had always had a big appetite; he wanted both the fish and the bear’s paw.

BEEP!

The whistle blew, and the third quarter began.

Both sides sent out their starting lineups.

Kobe got the ball and once again went one-on-one against Su Xi.

He used his jab step to probe Su Xi’s defense, then suddenly pulled up for a jumper and shot the ball… SWISH!

It went in.

Kobe was truly the most skilled offensive player on the planet, bar none.

Su Xi defended him to the absolute limit, but still couldn’t stop him.

When it came to tough, iso scoring, Kobe was number one in the world.

Back on offense, Su Xi took the ball from Lowry. He also executed a quick jab step, and the moment Kobe retreated, he quickly went into a shooting motion.

Kobe quickly shifted his center of gravity back up.

Su Xi abruptly changed direction, then came to a sudden stop… SWISH!

It went in.

Su Xi was more athletic, but the completeness of his technical skills was still a notch below Kobe’s.

Therefore, he needed an extra move.

To a layman, it looked like Su Xi used more moves, connected them more smoothly, and looked more stylish.

But in reality, Kobe’s was more refined.

“Come on, Jack, let’s go all out.”

Kobe shouted to Su Xi.