When You Double-Team a Waiver Pickup, You've Already Lost!

Who?!

Who else could it be?

Naturally, it was Su Yan. Though he was half a step behind Stuckey, he was a little taller, a little faster, and had a little more explosiveness.

Those advantages stacked together.

Even after Stuckey got half a step on him, Su Yan could still catch up and disrupt the shot with a block.

Stuckey was too confident.

Or maybe... he was too eager to score on Su Yan, and that made him careless.

Su Yan chased him down and blocked his shot.

One steal, one assist, one block.

Su Yan had not only earned USD 2,600, but had also shown off some astonishing defensive ability.

A pretty boy?

Sorry about that.

Even if Su Yan was a pretty boy, he wasn't some nobody like Stuckey, free to mock and push around.

"COOL!"

Jon Barry's eyes lit up. He smiled and praised him. "Su Yan doesn't look like he can defend, but he's done a great job over these past few possessions."

"Amazing!"

Mark Jackson was surprised, too. "Stuckey can really play when he gets going.

But Su Yan defended him well. That impressed me.

He can defend, and his three-point shot is excellent. Su Yan's a waiver pickup? I think he looks more like an outstanding '3D Player'!!!"

"Su Yan's so good~ I love him~~~"

In the stands.

The gorgeous, sexy woman who wanted to spend the night exchanging basketball tips with Su Yan.

She screamed hysterically.

She'd been smitten with Su Yan's looks, but now he'd also shown his strength and manly side.

That only made her want him more.

She was so excited that she kept wriggling, making her chest bounce along with her.

The "wolves" beside her stared, then... silently memorized the hotel and room number on her banner.

On the court.

Su Yan had swatted the ball off the backboard.

Al Harrington grabbed it and gave Su Yan a thumbs-up before passing to Duhong to start the fast break.

Su Yan set up on the left wing, a good six feet beyond the three-point line.

As Duhong brought the ball up, he passed it straight to Su Yan and pointed at the rim. "Yan, hit another one. You've earned it."

Well, if you insist.

If you gave Su Yan a chance to shoot, sorry about that, but he was going to take it.

After all... he had to shoot to have a chance at earning USD 6,000.

One three-pointer, USD 6,000. Seriously, if the NBA had a reward system like this,

the Small Ball Era: Express Version would be underway within three days.

No, it would start right now.

"Whoosh~"

With a flick of his wrist, Su Yan launched another three without hesitation, brimming with confidence. It was the kind of terrible shot that would get a coach right in your face on any other team.

But now,

Su Yan's shot looked perfectly reasonable.

"Is he crazy? Another one? And from even farther out?!"

Prince was dumbfounded.

He wasn't defending him. It wasn't that he wasn't trying; it was just... there was no way to guard someone from this far away.

There's no way he'll make this one, either.

Prince looked back, praying, but this time even he wasn't sure he believed it.

The ball spun through the air.

Its arc was perfect, and it dropped straight into the net again.

"OH, NO!"

Prince was plunged into despair.

But the ball spun around the rim once and, by some freak stroke of luck, bounced back out. The three-pointer had missed!!!

"Close one, close one!"

Prince breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

If a waiver pickup hit three straight threes over his head, what would that say about him, one of the Pistons Five Tigers?

More importantly,

the coach would chew him out after the game.

Even though the three-pointer didn't go in, Su Yan's shot still gave the Pistons a real scare.

"Motherf*cker!"

Coach John Kuester broke out in a cold sweat, too.

Now he was completely certain that beneath Su Yan's handsome, dashing exterior lurked a cold-blooded three-point assassin.

"Turn up the defensive pressure on Su Yan!"

Kuester growled from the sidelines and flashed an "OK" hand sign.

The key to this signal was the three fingers, symbolizing the small forward position—number three—which was Su Yan's spot.

It was a signal the coach and players had agreed on before the game.

When the coach made that gesture, the players had to keep a close eye on Su Yan and step up the defensive pressure.

This sort of thing was common on the court.

Tapping your head, touching your ear, flashing a peace sign toward the sky—each gesture could stand for a different play or strategy.

Of course,

it was a secret only the players on the same team knew.

"Got it."

Prince and the other players nodded quietly, acknowledging the coach's signal.

Less than five minutes into the game, the Pistons sent Stuckey and Prince to double-team Su Yan.

Was this the kind of treatment a waiver pickup should get?

Did a pretty boy deserve this much attention?

The fans couldn't help marveling.

The fact was... once the defensive pressure ramped up, Su Yan's open looks from three quickly dried up.

But

for the Knicks, Su Yan was a "cherry on top"—almost like a "gift from heaven."

Whether he played or not, the team's existing strength remained unchanged.

Now that he was drawing two defenders, the Knicks' offense and defense both had more room to operate.

"When you double-team a waiver pickup, you've already lost!"

D'Antoni's lips curled into a confident smile.

He called a timeout, took McGrady off the floor—he drew attention but didn't contribute much—and put in... the offensively and defensively ferocious Wilson Chandler.

The former Knicks players started scoring more efficiently than ever.

Had they evolved?

Growing more confident was probably part of it.

But more than anything... it was Su Yan, drawing a double-team and putting fear into the other team!!!

The first quarter ended.

Though the Pistons had a slight edge in overall strength on paper, they were already down by eight.

By halftime, the Pistons were trailing by eleven.

At the end of the third quarter, the lead had grown to fifteen.

All season, the Knicks had been getting pushed around by their opponents, yet now they were up by fifteen and looked ready to blow the game wide open.

It was unbelievable.

What was this?... The world turned upside down.

"COME ON!"

Jon Barry was fired up. "The Pistons might not be a powerhouse anymore.

But compared with the Knicks, they shouldn't be a team that can be pushed around so easily.

If they're getting pushed around now, all I can say is... a team's strength can skyrocket when it has a powerful '3D Player.'"

"Exactly."

Mark Jackson smiled and nodded. "He's hit four threes in three quarters, and he's had a fast-break layup, too. That gives him fourteen points.

And he's been playing like a tireless warrior, showing so much energy that he's also picked up three rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block.

He's playing great."

He looked at Su Yan with nothing but admiration.

When someone was exceptionally good-looking, no matter their gender, everything they did came with a three-point advantage.

That was the power of good looks.

Su Yan was playing well and hustling, and on top of that, he was handsome. It was hard not to like him!!!