Chapter 614: Larry Brown's Directional Adjustment

Chapter 614: Chapter 98: Larry Brown’s Directional Adjustment

Su Xi held a four-way meeting, and it was very successful.

Despite television reports claiming Su Xi possessed a kind of “Asian-supremacist” arrogance, that he had wronged three Hollywood starlets, and that he was a classic love-’em-and-leave-’em type.

But now, he had presented his ‘four-way plan’ and received the full consent of the three women involved—along with five-star reviews.

With great power comes great responsibility.

This was a universally applicable truth.

Moreover, truth is determined by the range of one’s cannons.

Su Xi just so happened to have the perfect range and a cannon powerful enough to match.

Under his all-night bombardment, they were unable to resist and could only sign a treaty of peaceful coexistence.

In fact, they had already learned to watch out for and support one another that very night.

They discovered that they simply couldn’t handle Su Xi one-on-one. Even when they teamed up, they still couldn’t gain the upper hand.

Under these circumstances, they became sworn sisters.

Su Xi had not only achieved a tactical victory, but a strategic one as well.

He finally had a united and stable home front, allowing him to go out and conquer the world without any reservations.

In fact, this stable home front brought him an unexpected reward.

After completing the four-way meeting, he discovered the fusion of his Super Offensive Technique had increased from 97 to 98, and was on the verge of hitting 99.

He was just a hair’s breadth away.

Su Xi instantly gained a deeper understanding of offense. He felt like he had leveled up.

This gave him even greater confidence for the upcoming game.

He even believed he could defeat Kobe.

In the very way Kobe would want it most.

Why?

Even though Su Xi was only at a 98 while Kobe was at a 99.

But Su Xi’s physical conditioning was better. Moreover, Su Xi was a threat to drive, a threat to pass, and a threat with his off-ball movement.

These threats were all genuinely integrated into the offensive system, so the defense had to divert some of their focus.

Therefore, Su Xi was brimming with confidence.

‘No wonder they say you should start a family to establish your career. So this is what they meant.’

‘This is the power of family!’ Su Xi mused happily.

Su Xi clenched his fist.

…

The Lakers arrived in New York. The New York media has always been a sharp-tongued bunch, and they were never polite to their opponents.

Especially with the Knicks being so dominant, they were extremely scathing toward every team in the league—incredibly arrogant and overbearing.

It couldn’t be helped. People from big cities tended to have a touch of that disease.

When the Lakers arrived at the airport, a swarm of reporters rushed over to question them.

“Kobe, do you think the Lakers have any chance of avoiding a sweep? Would getting swept in the Finals be the biggest disgrace of your career? After all, you once said second place makes you the biggest loser!”

“Phil, do you think the Triangle Offense is obsolete? When you don’t have the best player in the league on your roster, do you feel helpless? Doesn’t your current sorry state prove that you’re just a coach who can only win a championship with the number one player in the league?”

“Maybe you should come look for a job with the Knicks. Seriously!”

“Yao Ming, do you understand now why the Chinese Team won the gold medal? It wasn’t because you were so great—it was because of Jack!”

“Good luck. You’re about to get the one thing you want least…”

“…”

These reporters were even more venomous than the Los Angeles media. Truly worthy of a classic, major city.

Kobe, for his part, just started cursing.

Yao Ming, however, remained calm and claimed he didn’t understand English.

Phil Jackson clenched his fists.

All of this made headlines in the New York media, which created unprecedented pressure on the Lakers before the game even started.

Even Su Xi thought they had gone too far after seeing the reports.

He believed this would only provoke the Lakers, who would surely come back even stronger, because hatred is often a better motivator for team unity than glory.

Su Xi was powerless to change the New York media’s ways.

All he could do was push his teammates to train even harder.

The closer you get to victory, the easier it is to let your guard down.

…

For the first time in a year, Madison Square Garden Arena was once again hosting the Finals. Ecstatic New York fans packed the entire arena, while countless more cheered and screamed outside. The surrounding bars were overflowing with people, all of them there to watch the game.

For New York, basketball had transformed from the city’s shame into its glory. The team’s popularity was starting to rival that of the Yankees, and in some respects, had even surpassed it.

Both TNT and ESPN were broadcasting the game live from the arena.

In fact, all the way from across the Pacific, CCTV had also sent a commentary team to broadcast live from the scene.

Su Xi agreed to a pre-game interview with them.

When facing the media from his home country, Su Xi was always exceptionally warm and friendly.

He told the CCTV cameras.

“I’m ready to win the championship.”

“Yao Ming is playing very well with the Lakers, but he hasn’t reached his career peak yet. I believe he’ll hit his peak next season. When that happens, he’ll definitely be the best center in the league.”

“But the Lakers can’t beat us. We’re very confident about that.”

“Kobe and Yao are a good match. But aside from Yao and Kobe, their other players are pretty average. It’s not like our team—over here, everyone can play, and every one of our guys is an elite.”

“So, the Knicks will win.”

“The duel between me and Kobe is, frankly, a boring game. But I’ll humor him. I’m going to dominate him in every single way until he has no choice but to admit defeat.”

“Everyone, just watch the game. I’m confident that the excitement today won’t disappoint any of you.”

Su Xi was the picture of gentleness in front of the CCTV cameras.