But My Three-Pointer's No Slouch Either!

The home gym:

"Congratulations, Host. Speed has increased by 1 point."

Speed: 78–79!

"Congratulations, Host. Explosiveness has increased by 1 point."

Explosiveness: 76–77!

"Congratulations, Host. Strength has increased by 1 point."

Strength: 75–76!

"Congratulations, Host. Vertical leap has increased by 1 point."

Vertical leap: 77–78!

"Congratulations, Host. Agility has increased by 1 point."

Agility: 75–76!

Lately, Su Yi had been spending all his training time improving his physical attributes. During this morning's workout, the system kept chiming with one attribute increase after another.

Su Yi could barely contain his grin. In an instant, he felt another surge of strength flow through his body.

He trained for a full two and a half hours before finally stopping.

Su Yi quickly showered and changed, then headed to the home therapy room. "Cutler, sorry for the trouble."

With that, Su Yi lay down on the massage table.

The therapist, Cutler Garland, immediately began massaging him, saying, "Boss, you're too polite. It's my job."

"It was just a polite thing to say."

Su Yi replied lightly.

After all, they might have grown up with different ideas of what was polite.

A little after three in the afternoon, Su Yi arrived at the Quick Loan Center Arena to prepare for tonight's game.

Their opponent tonight was a Western Conference powerhouse, the New Orleans Pelicans Hornets.

After drafting Chris Paul last season, the New Orleans Hornets had quickly become a playoff contender.

Unfortunately, they fell just short, finishing last season with a 38–44 record. That wasn't enough to make the playoffs in the West.

The New Orleans Hornets' front office knew this, so they made a move over the summer.

They completed a sign-and-trade with the Indiana Pacers to acquire Peja Stojakovic.

The New Orleans Hornets received cash in the deal, while the Indiana Pacers got Andrew Betts, a rookie the Hornets had selected in the second round of the 1998 draft.

Peja Stojakovic signed a five-year, $64 million contract with the New Orleans Hornets.

The sharpshooter's arrival greatly improved the New Orleans Hornets' standing in the West.

He was averaging 17.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists, helping the team to an 11–9 record.

To deal with the 206-centimeter sharpshooter, Mike Brown changed the starting lineup.

"LeBron, you're moving back to small forward tonight. Your job is to limit Peja."

In the locker room, Mike Brown looked at LeBron James.

LeBron James: "..."

Mike, I'll remember this!

LeBron James couldn't help but nod.

Mike Brown then turned to Larry Hughes. "Larry, you'll play point guard tonight. I want you to limit Chris. Understand?"

"Got it!"

Larry Hughes nodded.

At that, Eric Snow and Damon Jones looked ready to cry.

Watching Mike Brown, Su Yi felt like he was different from the one he remembered from his previous life. Wasn't Mike Brown supposed to be good only at defense? Wasn't he supposed to do nothing on offense but give the ball to LeBron James?

It seemed all of that was wrong.

Maybe Mike Brown had been timid in his previous life, but now he was throwing his weight around.

Su Yi's lips curled into a faint smile.

Then he looked over his teammates.

If LeBron James could drag a bunch of scrubs, ball hogs, and flawed but talented players all the way to the Finals in Su Yi's previous life, how could these teammates—including Mike Brown—possibly be bad?

Time flew by, and before long it was seven in the evening.

As the arena announcer introduced the players and the fans cheered, the Cleveland Cavaliers, playing at home, filed out one by one through the tunnel.

As always, LeBron James was the last to emerge.

Su Yi didn't mind. You had to take things one bite at a time.

He was already quite satisfied to have become the team's offensive centerpiece.

The so-called team leader?

Did he care?

No, he didn't.

So what if someone else was the team leader?

He was still there to support Su Yi.

The greatest second option in history—LeBron James.

Scottie Pippen: ???

Su Yi: Sorry, I'll fix that right away.

The second-greatest second option in history—LeBron James.

Scottie Pippen: (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

After the introductions, both teams began warming up.

During warmups, Peja Stojakovic quietly watched Su Yi on the other half of the court.

Peja Stojakovic was already a terrifying shooter, averaging 2.6 three-pointers made per game on 40.8% shooting from beyond the arc.

But the superstar rookie Su Yi was even more terrifying, shooting an astonishing 53.8% from three and averaging 3.8 makes per game.

As another three-point specialist, Peja found that incredibly compelling.

As Peja watched Su Yi warm up, he sank one three-pointer after another.

A look of shock crept over Peja's face. Just how many threes had Su Yi made now?

"Peja, what are you looking at?"

David West came over, curious.

Peja Stojakovic had been standing there without moving for several minutes.

"That rookie's a beast from three!"

As soon as he said it, Peja Stojakovic jumped in place, hung in the air, kicked his legs, and launched a three-pointer.

The ball traced a beautiful arc through the air.

Swish. It dropped neatly through the hoop.

Peja Stojakovic's lips curled up as he declared, fired with competitive spirit, "But my three-pointer's no slouch either!"

David West was utterly confused and scratched his bald head.

Whatever. He'd leave him to it and get back to warming up.

Even though the season had only been underway for a month, every early-season game was crucial for the New Orleans Hornets.

They needed to rack up wins while other teams weren't taking things too seriously.

Otherwise, things would get rough after the All-Star break.

That was especially true in the West. Almost every season, the teams battled tooth and nail after the All-Star break.

Even the race for the top eight was brutal, with every game feeling like a Game 7.

The gap between teams in the West was small, especially from first to fourth, and from fifth to eighth.

The East, by contrast, was nowhere near as competitive. Usually, the standings were mostly settled after the All-Star break.

The only fiercely contested spot in the East was eighth.

Warmups ended, and both teams' starters took off their warmup jackets and stepped onto the court.

The arena announcer took the opportunity to introduce the starting lineups to the fans in attendance and watching on television.

The Cleveland Cavaliers' starters: Larry Hughes, Su Yi, LeBron James, Drew Gooden, and Big Z.

The New Orleans Hornets' starters: Chris Paul, Devin Brown, Peja Stojakovic, David West, and Tyson Chandler.

Su Yi murmured the name of his matchup: "Devin Brown?"

Devin Booker's dad? Heh!

(Devin Booker: Is that any way to talk?)

Before the game, Su Yi hadn't really paid attention to the name of his matchup.

Most of his attention had been on the other four starters.

"Beep! Beep!"

The whistle sounded, and the game began.