This Was Only the Beginning

"Su!" "Su!" "Su!"...

At 7 p.m. on November 9, the Cleveland Cavaliers welcomed the Chicago Bulls to the Quick Loan Center Arena in Cleveland.

As he came out, Su Yi had thought he would be booed. After all, public opinion hadn't been very kind to him over the past couple of days.

But to his surprise, he wasn't booed at all.

Su Yi was a little surprised. The next second, the corners of his mouth lifted. It seemed the Cleveland Cavaliers fans were real fans.

Unlike LeBron stans, who neither bought tickets to watch games in person nor watched the games at all.

In the end, they just held up their stat sheets and shouted, "LeBron is the GOAT!"

Amid the cheers, Su Yi walked from the players' tunnel into the arena.

After the grand introductions, both teams hurried through their warm-ups.

Once warm-ups were over, the starters took off their warm-up jackets and walked onto the court.

Su Yi was still a reserve for this game. He sat steadily on the bench, quietly watching the game about to begin.

"Beep, beep."

At the sound of the whistle, the game officially began.

Both teams started slowly, missing shot after shot over the first two minutes. Drew Gooden finally broke the scoring drought with a putback.

After Gooden's putback, both teams began to find their scoring touch.

They traded baskets, neither side giving an inch!

"Su, Damon, get ready to check in."

Halfway through the quarter, the score stood at 10–9, with the Cleveland Cavaliers up by one.

Mike Brown was the first to look for a change.

Su Yi and Damon Jones immediately took off their jackets and went to the scorer's table to check in.

Su Yi was a little nervous. After all, the Atlanta Hawks had figured out how to contain him in the previous game: put a player like Josh Smith on him!

But once he got onto the court and hit two three-pointers in a row, Su Yi finally relaxed.

There weren't that many players like Josh Smith in the league, were there?

Besides, his physical tools at shooting guard were among the best: he stood 198 centimeters tall, had a 221-centimeter wingspan, and weighed 101 kilograms.

To shut him down completely, you'd need a defensively skilled player who was taller than him, had a similar wingspan, and was a whole level above him athletically.

Late in the first quarter, the Chicago Bulls tried putting Luol Deng on Su Yi. But Deng, who stood 206 centimeters tall and weighed only 100 kilograms, was too slight—Su Yi knocked him flying!

He couldn't contain Su Yi's off-ball movement at all.

Mike Brown nodded repeatedly as he watched. He had thought the previous game might have affected Su Yi.

But now it seemed it hadn't.

So Mike Brown gave Su Yi more opportunities, though whenever Su Yi checked in, Damon Jones was on the court with him as well.

During practice, Mike Brown had found that Damon Jones was the best fit for Su Yi.

Whenever Su Yi got open, Jones would pass him the ball without hesitation, no matter where he was on the court.

It was a completely different story with Eric Snow or LeBron James instead of Jones.

After the previous game went to overtime, Mike Brown and his assistants had gone out of their way to watch the replay. Afterward, they didn't even know what to say!

LeBron James was entirely to blame for the loss.

And yet?

Neither the media nor James himself seemed to think he should take responsibility.

Some fans had even turned their anger on Su Yi, who had played only four games. Mike Brown was so angry that he wanted to have a serious talk with LeBron James.

But in the end, he held back for the sake of his seven-figure salary.

After all, this was Mike Brown's first head coaching job in the NBA.

"Beep, beep."

At the sound of the whistle, the first quarter ended.

With Su Yi and Damon Jones on the court, Jones handling the ball and Su Yi as the primary scorer, the other three starters supporting them, the Cavaliers launched into a smooth, flowing attack.

They poured in 22 points in the second half of the quarter.

They scored 32 points in the quarter.

Su Yi shot 4-for-5, including 3-for-4 from three, finishing with 11 points and 1 rebound. Damon Jones shot 2-for-2 and had 4 points, 5 assists, and 1 steal. The two of them accounted for most of the points in the second half of the quarter.

With them leading the way, the Cleveland Cavaliers finished the first quarter ahead 32–18, building a 14-point lead and laying the foundation for victory.

As the game went on, Su Yi took more shots whenever it wouldn't hurt the team. He wanted to boost his stats and raise his standing on the team.

In the end, the Cleveland Cavaliers crushed the Chicago Bulls 115–94, winning by 21 points and earning their fourth win of the season. Their record now stood at 4–1.

Su Yi shot 9-for-15, including 5-for-10 from three, and scored a career-high 23 points, along with 4 rebounds and 1 steal.

After the game, he earned plenty of praise from reporters and fans.

Mike Brown couldn't help smiling broadly, either.

Over the next three games, Mike Brown gave Su Yi more playing time and appropriately reduced LeBron James's time with the ball.

As a result, Mike Brown noticed the team's offensive efficiency climbing rapidly, as though the rest of the players had suddenly come to life.

On November 11, the Cleveland Cavaliers hosted the Boston Celtics.

They beat the Boston Celtics 104–93, winning by 11 points.

Su Yi shot 7-for-14, including 4-for-7 from three, and scored 18 points, with 3 rebounds and 1 block!

On the 13th, the Cleveland Cavaliers traveled to New York to face the New York Knicks on the road.

They won 102–94, beating the New York Knicks by 8 points.

Su Yi shot 8-for-13, including 3-for-8 from three, and scored 19 points, with 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block.

On the 15th, the Cleveland Cavaliers arrived in Portland to take on the Portland Trail Blazers on the road.

The Cleveland Cavaliers won 100–87, beating the Portland Trail Blazers by 13 points.

Su Yi shot 8-for-17, including 3-for-7 from three, and scored 19 points, with 2 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocks.

They notched four straight wins, bringing their record to 7–1 and holding firm at the top of the Eastern Conference.

This left the Cleveland Cavaliers fans thrilled. They had never expected to see the team become the Eastern Conference's dominant force one day.

With the team winning and Mike Brown and his teammates praising Su Yi after every game, plus Su Yi putting up impressive stats each time, the praise just kept coming.

Across the four-game winning streak, he averaged 19.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.5 steals, and 1 block.

Public opinion changed completely in the blink of an eye. Now, everyone was praising Su Yi.

"Su is our super sixth man! He comes off the bench and changes the game!"

"The king of efficiency! He gets on the court and starts scoring like crazy, giving the other team no room to breathe!"

"Who says rookies need time to adjust? Su carries the whole game!"

"The secret weapon behind the team's winning streak? His name is Su!"

"Our bench scorer is better than the starters. The Cavaliers struck gold!"

"The biggest reason behind the team's four straight wins—a nuclear weapon hiding on the bench."

"..."

Xu Rui personally went to the airport to pick up this future superstar and bring him home. On the drive back, she praised Su Yi nonstop until his ears were practically numb.

But Su Yi stayed calm. After all, this was only the beginning.