Coach, Leave Him to Me. I'll Take Good Care of That Rookie

"Swish!"

Joe Smith answered right away with a mid-range jumper, helping his team tie the score.

The score was now 22–22!

It was the Cleveland Cavaliers' turn to inbound, and the ball went to LeBron James.

LeBron James dribbled it over half court himself.

The moment Su Yi saw him bringing the ball up,

he ran straight to the corner without a word, spacing the floor for his team.

There was really no point in running around when this guy was running the offense.

It was mostly just a waste of energy. Either he passed too early or too late, and even if the ball did reach Su Yi, it felt completely different from receiving a pass from a real point guard.

LeBron James: ???

Why wasn't Su Yi moving?

LeBron James didn't wait for Su Yi to get into position, but Su Yi wasn't even looking his way. He just stood there quietly.

Seeing that, LeBron James had no choice but to call for a screen.

Big Z immediately came out from the paint to set one for him. LeBron James used the screen, accelerated past his defender, and charged toward Atlanta's paint.

Zaza Pachulia jumped with both hands raised high.

LeBron James powered through Zaza Pachulia and forced up a layup.

"Clang!"

The layup missed.

"Tweet!"

But the referee's whistle sounded the very next second.

Zaza Pachulia was called for a defensive foul.

Zaza Pachulia looked at the referee in confusion, as if asking what he'd done wrong.

But the referee didn't even acknowledge him.

Just like that, LeBron James got two free throws.

"Clang!"

He missed the first.

"Swish!"

He made the second.

One of two free throws, giving him one point.

The score was now 23–22!

The Cleveland Cavaliers had taken the lead by one again.

It was the Atlanta Hawks' turn to run their offense from the backcourt. The ball went to Speedy Claxton, who quickly dribbled over half court.

As soon as he crossed half court, Speedy Claxton suddenly flicked his wrist, sending the ball flying toward the paint like a cannonball.

It landed right in the hands of Josh Smith, who was cutting into the paint.

Big Z didn't react in time. He hadn't even realized how Josh Smith had managed to cut in.

Josh Smith planted both feet and leaped high into the air. Mid-flight, he brought both hands down like hammers and slammed the ball through the hoop.

Boom!

The arena shook with the impact.

Josh Smith scored with a two-handed dunk.

The score was now 23–24!

The Atlanta Hawks had taken the lead in an instant.

"Arghhhhh!"

Philips Arena erupted. Fans cheered wildly as Josh Smith threw down the two-handed dunk!

At the same time, the big screen replayed the spectacular play.

The replay showed LeBron James losing track of Josh Smith, allowing him to cut into the paint and finish with the two-handed dunk.

Su Yi: ￣□￣｜｜

So this was what he was like in version 1.0.

It was the Cleveland Cavaliers' turn to inbound. The ball went to LeBron James again, and he dribbled over half court.

He directed his teammates as he dribbled, telling them where to go.

But Su Yi drifted into the corner, ran along the baseline from the right corner to the left, then stopped there.

His defender, Joe Smith, didn't dare let his guard down for a second. He kept a close eye on the rookie in front of him.

LeBron James ran another pick-and-roll with Big Z.

Big Z's massive frame once again screened Josh Smith.

LeBron James accelerated and drove toward the paint again.

This time, the Atlanta Hawks players all collapsed toward the middle.

Zaza Pachulia in the paint and Speedy Claxton on the wing both came over to help, trapping LeBron James.

LeBron James spotted them immediately and passed the ball.

It went to Eric Snow, wide open in the right corner.

For a point guard, it was no easy thing to have touched the ball only once in two possessions.

Eric Snow didn't hesitate. He jumped, hung in the air, and let the three-pointer fly.

The ball traced an arc through the air.

"Clang!"

He'd put a little too little on it. The ball hit the rim and bounced out.

"Mine!"

Drew Gooden leaped under the basket and snagged the offensive rebound.

Su Yi was heading back on defense, but when he saw that, he quickly stopped and called out, "Drew, the ball!"

At the sound of Su Yi's voice, Drew Gooden immediately stopped himself from jumping again and tossed the ball back out.

It went straight to Su Yi.

The instant Su Yi caught it, Joe Smith rushed over, trying to stop him from shooting the three.

But Su Yi took one dribble to the left the next second, quickly leaving Joe Smith behind.

Then he jumped, hung in the air, kicked his legs, and released the three-pointer.

The ball traced a graceful arc through the air.

"Swish!"

It dropped cleanly through the hoop.

Su Yi had made another three!

He'd played less than two minutes and had already hit two three-pointers, scoring six points.

He'd also helped his team take the lead.

The score was now 26–24!

There were only 3.3 seconds left. The Atlanta Hawks' final possession went to Joe Smith.

Joe Smith decided to go all out. He quickly dribbled over half court, then jumped with Su Yi defending him and launched a deep three.

If it missed, no harm done. If it went in, he'd be golden.

(LeBron James: If it misses, my shooting percentage drops. The real win is not shooting.)

The ball traced an arc through the air.

"Clang!"

It slammed into the front of the rim and bounced out.

With that deep three off the mark, the first quarter came to an end.

The score was 26–24. The Cleveland Cavaliers took a two-point lead into the second quarter.

"Sixth Man MVP! He came in and carried the team right away!"

"Su, have you secretly been working on your microwave skills? You get hot the moment you check in!"

"Su, does your three-pointer have GPS? You hit whatever you aim at!"

"Beautiful, Su! You changed the game as soon as you got in!"

Su Yi returned to the bench and was immediately showered with praise from his teammates and Mike Brown.

Who didn't love a player who could score the moment he stepped onto the court?

Atlanta Hawks bench:

"Josh, you're going to have to work tonight. From here on out, you'll be responsible for guarding Su."

The Atlanta Hawks' head coach patted Josh Smith on the shoulder as he spoke.

Before the game, the Hawks' head coach had already watched three of the Cleveland Cavaliers' games.

He'd realized that they had to limit Su Yi, or his team wouldn't have much chance of winning.

The Atlanta Hawks believed that the best defenders against shooters like Su Yi were quick, nimble, strong, and capable of holding their own physically.

And they had just the man for the job—Josh Smith!

At 206 centimeters tall and 109 kilograms, with outstanding leaping ability, strength, and agility, he was practically the ideal player to guard Su Yi.

"Coach, leave him to me. I'll take good care of that rookie."

Josh Smith patted his chest and promised.