Against different opponents, a scorer had to choose different ways to attack—and switch freely between them at any moment during each possession.
Anyone who could do all that while maintaining a respectable level of efficiency was already an outstanding scorer.
Clearly, Jalen Brunson had reached that level.
Next came another Knicks possession.
Rose slowly dribbled across half court.
Meanwhile, Chen Xi reached out and tugged Toppin's arm.
"Buddy, let's switch assignments in a minute. I'll guard Sochan, and you chase Vassell."
"Got it."
Toppin agreed without a second thought.
When it came to Chen, an absolutely outstanding floor general, his first instinct was usually to follow instructions.
He had hardly ever seen Chen Xi make a bad call. Given the Knicks' terrifying winning percentage this season, crediting Chen with eighty percent of their success would hardly be an exaggeration...
Their brief exchange over, they turned their attention back to the offense.
Chen Xi caught the ball on the right wing again, then went to work against Vassell's on-ball defense.
After a stationary between-the-legs crossover, he took a hesitation step to the right, followed it with a front crossover toward the top of the key, and successfully drew Brunson over for an attempted double-team before passing to Rose.
Rose attacked immediately upon receiving the ball, accelerating into the paint. Facing Wemby's defense, he executed an extremely wide front crossover, then accelerated again into the lane, drawing Wemby back under the basket before kicking the ball to George in the weak-side corner.
George caught it and used a shot fake to get Kuminga leaning upward, then put the ball on the floor and drove inside.
He gathered into his final steps and took flight. During his brief glide through the air, he tried a double-clutch hand switch to avoid Wemby's long arm