"Unbelievable."
Even the composed and calculating Pat Riley couldn't contain his shock, he clutched his slicked-back hair with both hands.
What stunned him wasn't Luke Bamot's powerful dunk, it was Snoopy's surgical drive.
With a strange, almost elegant movement, he cut through the defense of both Kansas big men and, deep in the paint, delivered a pinpoint bounce pass that bloomed right at the center.
That play had all the makings of a true point guard.
"His body coordination has improved again, though his upper body's still stiff," Riley observed, while mentally running his usual precise calculations. He was interested in Snoopy but not enough to pay too high a price for that interest.
The biggest uncertainty surrounding Snoopy in the NBA had always been whether he could recover his coordination and agility.
That drive just now showed clear progress.
Up to this game, Snoopy hadn't attempted a single isolation drive. From Darren Collison's previous interviews, everyone knew his sudden growth spurt had thrown off his coordination to the point where he couldn't execute even basic moves smoothly.
Yet just now, he'd blown past both Darrell Arthur and Aldridge.
Granted, those two bigs had high centers of gravity and Arthur had even been faked into the air earlier but there was no denying the sharpness of Snoopy's drive.
He didn't bulldoze through like Westbrook with wild, explosive force; instead, his style was different, using speed and rhythm to carve through the defense with controlled bursts.
"His draft stock just jumped to at least the top 20," said Stephen Kerr, GM of the Suns, his expression serious. "For a run-and-gun team, he's an irresistible fit."
"Then… are we trading up for him?" senior scout Snyder asked nervously.
Kerr didn't answer, he didn't have to.
With a drive and assist like that, anyone still hoping to wait for Snoopy in the late first or second round was delusional.
The NBA has never lacked bold, risk-loving general managers.
While execs around the league crunched their numbers, the TNT trio were losing it on air.
"Good lord! Snoopy just pulled off a point guard–style drive! He took down Darrell Arthur and Cole Aldrich back-to-back!" Ernie Johnson exclaimed from the commentary desk. "We've never seen him do that before, is he secretly a point guard?"
"Honestly," Kenny Smith said, "that's one of the weirdest drives I've ever seen. He keeps his back and neck stiff as a board, like he's carved from wood, but his calves and knees move with insane speed. And those long arms? The way he controls the ball is almost artistic."
"It reminds me of Ron Artest," Kenny added. "That guy used to charge straight ahead, chest out, like a Spartan warrior."
"You mean Ron Artest, the same guy who broke Jordan's ribs in practice with one drive?" Charles Barkley interrupted. "No, no, no, they're totally different. Artest took massive strides and attacked like a runaway bull, no finesse at all. But Snoopy? His footwork is almost like dancing, those quick, slicing mini-steps paired with that motionless upper body… it's just smooth, almost graceful."
Barkley's praise was full-throated.
Meanwhile, over at NBC, their commentators dismissed it as a fluke, they claimed Snoopy had simply caught Arthur off guard, and that under normal circumstances, Arthur's mobility would've stopped him cold.
Back on the court, Mario Chalmers missed a floater. Westbrook snatched the rebound.
This time, Snoopy had already boxed Aldridge out of the paint.
As Westbrook pushed the ball up, Chalmers and Robinson sprinted back for Kansas. Snoopy quickly motioned for Russell to slow the tempo.
Once in the half court, Snoopy took position at the free-throw line to receive the pass.
Kansas head coach called for Darrell Arthur to step up on Snoopy, while the other four players shifted into a zone, a defensive compromise, clearly.
If Snoopy passed to Westbrook here, and Westbrook broke the defense before kicking it back outside, Kansas's defense would be exposed.
But Snoopy didn't make that pass.
First, he wasn't sure Westbrook would give it back.
Second, he knew one drive wasn't enough to make Kansas shift their whole defensive focus, they needed to feel it.
Third, he just found Darrell Arthur insufferable.
So when he caught the ball, he faced Arthur head-on.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The ball echoed sharply against the hardwood, heavy and deliberate, like an orc's war drum pounding before battle.
Arthur tensed immediately. Despite the scouting reports saying Snoopy couldn't dribble-drive, he now had no choice but to focus every nerve on defense.
Then.
Thump!
Snoopy took a small step left. Arthur instinctively slid back half a step.
But in the same instant, Snoopy's left foot lunged forward, and, Thump! the ball whipped between his legs, switching hands to the right.
Arthur hurried to slide over, terrified of being beaten clean by that between-the-legs crossover.
To his credit, his lateral quickness wasn't bad.
But for Snoopy, it was still too slow. As Arthur reached full recovery, Thump! Snoopy reversed sharply, the ball slicing back to the left while his right foot darted forward like lightning.
Whoosh!
A blur, a body in motion.
Two dribbles. Three steps. Arthur was already behind him.
Snoopy drove into the paint, Aldridge sliding over to help.
In one motion, Snoopy whipped the ball out and Bryan Wright, arriving right on cue, rose and fired.
Swish!
Nothing but net.
Another clean assist.
He met Arthur's furious, teeth-gritted expression and smiled.
He loved that look, that mix of rage and helplessness on an opponent's face.