"Signature sneakers?!"
Blake Su's eyes lit up.
There was not a single NBA player who did not dream of having his own signature shoes. Blake Su was no exception. And... this day seemed to have come a little early.
After all, while every player envied having a personal signature shoe, plenty of stars did eventually get one.
But... players who received their own signature shoes during their rookie season were rare. Up to now, only four players in the entire NBA had done it.
First and foremost was the "God of Basketball," Michael Jordan.
Then came "Jordan's Successor," Grant Hill. Although injuries ultimately ruined him, there was no denying that when healthy, he was terrifyingly strong.
The third was "The Answer," Allen Iverson. In his rookie season, wearing his own Reebok shoes, he used a double crossover in a regular-season game to shake off Jordan.
That became one of the most classic moments of his career.
And the last player to have his own signature shoes as early as his rookie season was "The Chosen One," "King James," LeBron James.
Those four players were all superstars who were already at the top the moment they entered the league.
And now... Blake Su, who was about to have his own signature shoes and had already earned the title of "the league's top active center," was also moving down the path toward superstardom.
Of course, calling Blake Su over today was only to tell him the news and let him take a quick look at part of the design concept for the "Blake Su I."
In addition, they told Blake Su that he would be consulted during the follow-up design process. If he had ideas of his own, he could bring them up, and the designers would work them in reasonably.
Blake Su gladly agreed.
...
That night.
8 p.m.
The Suns' matchup with the Cavaliers began.
After "King James" LeBron James left, and after his capable helper, Maurice Williams, went to the Clippers, the Cavaliers' current roster was truly miserable to look at.
There was no arguing with their record at the very bottom of the Eastern Conference.
In their last meeting, the Suns had slaughtered the Cavaliers. Tonight, with the Suns playing at home, the Cavaliers seemed to have even less of a chance.
But... could there be an upset?
That was what Cavaliers fans were hoping for.
However... only 4 minutes and 12 seconds after the game began, Blake Su, Curry, and Nash unleashed a 17-4 run and gun fast break storm, leaving the Cavaliers dizzy and completely lost.
In the second quarter, the bench rotation steadied the situation. Once the starters returned, even though Curry's touch had cooled, the Suns still had Blake Su as their rock-solid finishing point.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
Nash kept distributing the ball, and Blake Su kept firing away. Against a Cavaliers team with no one who could put even a little one-on-one pressure on him...
"Swish, swish, swish!"
Blake Su attacked the rim and pulled up from outside, pouring in 34 points in the first half, along with 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.
The Suns continued to widen the gap. By halftime, they were already leading by a full 19 points, and the game was once again heading toward a third-quarter blowout.
During halftime.
After the second half began.
The Cavaliers, a tanking team with no star and no leader, had completely lost their composure. They had no idea how to limit Blake Su, and no idea how to beat the Suns.
Collapse.
In the third quarter... after only 5 minutes and 11 seconds, the lead had reached an astonishing 28 points.
"Beep, beep!"
Alvin Gentry called timeout and first took Curry and Blake Su off the floor, giving those two the maximum possible protection while leaving Nash on the court to control the game.
However...
"Beep, beep!"
On the following Cavaliers possession, Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott also called timeout. Knowing there was no way back, he decisively replaced all five players.
He gave up on the game early.
In the end, the Suns once again slaughtered the game with an 18-point margin, completing the season sweep of the Cavaliers without "King James" LeBron.
At the same time, they claimed their 18th straight win.
This victory was exactly what the outside world had expected before the game.
...
Two days later.
The Suns traveled to Denver and arrived at the Nuggets' home court. Tonight, they would challenge the Nuggets on the road.
Although the Nuggets had added three fierce players in Chandler, Gallinari, and Felton, without Anthony and Billups, they were gradually losing their grip on the fifth seed in the West.
Even so, in the eyes of fans and the media, tonight's game still had something worth watching.
Because... Denver was also at high altitude, even higher than Salt Lake City. The last time Blake Su played in Salt Lake City, he suffered from "altitude sickness."
His performance had not been good.
If he still had "altitude sickness" tonight, then the Nuggets would have a chance.
However, the fans and media were overthinking it.
After the last game at the Jazz's "Devil's Home Court," Blake Su had gone through specialized training to adapt to "altitude sickness." With his physique, he adjusted very quickly.
So even though Denver was also a high-altitude area, Blake Su had no real issues.
The Nuggets, who had originally held a sliver of hope, felt half their hearts go cold the moment they learned Blake Su was fine. A wave of unease settled over them.
They felt they were going to lose tonight.
Uh...
In fact, their guess was right. If they had been a little more confident and removed the word "felt," then they would have been completely correct.
Yes.
The Suns marched into Denver carrying an 18-game winning streak and unstoppable momentum. Like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, they once again clocked out after three quarters.
They blew out the Nuggets.
Blake Su played 31.3 minutes tonight and easily put up a near triple-double of 28 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks, leading the team to an early finish.
In the final quarter, although all of the Nuggets starters were still on the floor and wanted to struggle for a while, the gap was simply too large. With three minutes left before the final buzzer and the deficit still huge, head coach George Karl could not stand watching any longer and waved his hand.
He surrendered.
With no suspense left, the game directly turned into garbage time. The Suns ultimately handled the Nuggets with ease and took the win.
With that, the Suns defeated the Cavaliers and Nuggets back-to-back, claiming their 19th straight victory. They were now only one game away from recording two separate 20-game winning streaks in a single season.
...
The next day.
March 1.
Morning.
The Suns' practice facility.
The players came to the arena for training as usual, actively preparing for their matchup two days later against the surging Knicks.
After seeing the Knicks' recent strong performances, Coach Alvin Gentry took this matchup extremely seriously. He walked onto the court and gathered the players together.
He made a point of stressing it.
Whether it was securing the 20-game winning streak or facing the Knicks, who had forcefully assembled their Big Three, they absolutely had to take this matchup seriously.
"Yeah!"
Everyone agreed.
The Knicks, who had taken down the Bulls and Celtics in succession, were definitely not a team anyone could look down on.
After Alvin Gentry finished giving his instructions and left, George went to the restroom to take care of some urgent personal business. When he came back, he was holding his phone and shouting excitedly:
"Good news, good news!"