The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 129 - 107: Stop making a fuss; can this even be considered a rival?_2

Chapter 129: Chapter 107: Stop making a fuss; can this even be considered a rival?_2

Su Wan felt that he could become the first rookie in NBA history to win "Rookie of the Year" without having to "repeat a grade."

After all, the ’04 class was lackluster, and while his performance couldn’t exactly be called "one of a kind," it definitely stood out from the flock, especially after scoring 54 points in a single game near the end of the season, which made Okafor concede. Su should have been the top choice for all the media involved in voting for "Rookie of the Year."

He was not pleased, and neither was the Chicago media.

They had no qualms about Su Wan becoming "Rookie of the Year."

In terms of popularity, exposure, or stats, Su was the best.

But...

"Ben couldn’t get even one vote? He’s averaging 15.5 points per game. If it weren’t for sacrificing for the team by moving to the bench, he could have had even better stats. The league shouldn’t overlook Chicago in order to deliberately generate controversy!"

What the Chicago media meant was that Su Wan could take the "Rookie of the Year," but it wasn’t such an undebatable victory.

You media people should at least cast a couple of votes for Ben Gordon!

Whether it was because Barkley held a grudge for his only loss in the finals to the Bulls or he’d become a genuine fan of Su Wan, Barkley took the lead in the counter-attack: "As far as I know, a Chicago media member was involved in the final voting, but he didn’t vote for Ben Gordon. Even your own reporter didn’t vote for him, so what’s there to complain about? Furthermore, Ben Gordon didn’t go home empty-handed!"

Barkley was referring to "Best Sixth Man of the Season."

Ben Gordon was the prime "hot favorite."

That afternoon, the league announced the final results, and without any surprise, Ben Gordon became the first player in NBA history to win "Best Sixth Man of the Season" in his rookie year.

He made history.

This strengthened the Chicago media’s resolve, insisting that at least Ben Gordon’s name should have been on the list since everyone recognized his contribution from the bench.

If he could win "Best Sixth Man of the Season," why couldn’t he get even a single vote in the "Rookie of the Year" election?

As the Chicago media continued to bring up this topic, the upcoming game between the Bulls and Pacers took on a new hype—the matchup between Ben Gordon and Su Wan.

The "Chicago Sun Times" brazenly declared, "Let’s see if this super rookie who got over 97% of the votes can suppress Ben Gordon’s offense!"

Here, the Chicago media played a trick; they didn’t mention whether Ben Gordon could stop Su Wan, only his offense, as they were well aware that defense was Ben Gordon’s weak point, the real reason he was on the bench.

Otherwise, the combination with Hinrich would have been the season’s most famous "scoring dispensers," and the team wouldn’t have made it to the playoffs!

Scoring was Ben Gordon’s forte.

Facing reporters, Ben Gordon also confidently promised to demonstrate his capabilities.

But Su Wan didn’t even bother to respond; with his current perspective, he had no interest in his peers.

"Offensive Attributes:

Field of View: 54→60（70）; Dribbling: 76→82（95）; Passing: 58→59（60）; Breakthrough: 70→78（95）; Layup: 63→70（80）; Dunk: 68→70（70）; Basket Under the Basket: 55→65（67）; Close Shot: 60→62（68）; Mid-range Shot: 64→75（95）; Three-point: 56→60（62）; Free throw: 75→76（80）; Post-up: 45（65）; Off-ball Movement: 59→60（70）;"

"Defense Attributes:

Defensive Rebound: 60→61（65）; Offensive Rebound: 55→58（63）; Off-ball Single Defense: 70（73）; On-ball Defense: 72→73（78）; Help Defense: 73→74（79）; Steal: 66→68（74）; Block: 52→53（60）; Pick and Roll Defense Awareness: 78(78);"

After a season of improvement, his dribbling had reached All-Star level, his breakthrough was just 2 points shy of All-Star level, and his layup, dunk, and mid-range shot had all reached starting player level.

With "The Zone" mode activated for full bodily control and peak condition, wouldn’t he be setting his sights too low to still pay attention to rookies?

Of course, not paying attention didn’t mean not dealing with it when necessary.

April 18, the Pacers welcomed their first playoff battle at home.

The Bulls were the newly emerged "Youth Army" of the season, with main point guard Hinrich picked 7th in the first round of the ’03 draft, just behind Wade and Chris Kaman, and the wing Luol Deng also a rookie this season, while inside players Eddie Curry and Tyson Chandler were top-four picks from ’01. Add to that the rookie Ben Gordon off the bench... It was the Bulls who created a "youth storm" this new season, breaking into the top eight of the Eastern Conference.

This was a year of commemoration, as it marked the Bulls’ first playoff appearance since Jordan’s retirement.

Seven years had passed in a flash, and Chicago itself might not have expected they would flounder for so long without Jordan, making playoff appearances a luxury.

Facing such an inexperienced "Youth Army," Rick Carlisle had arranged an oppressive defense from the start.

Hinrich, who averaged 15.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 1.6 steals this season, indeed showed signs of discomfort; not only was he unable to pose a threat with his positioning, but his direction also confused his teammates when they were moving without the ball.

Hinrich, just into the league, was regarded as a versatile "combo guard," and opponents were particularly wary of his breakthrough and passing skills.

But after two years, once they deciphered his "formulaic command," they realized... freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

The kid had a limited array of breakthrough moves and lacked a broad field of view for passing; it was entirely possible to tactically restrict his performance.

Gradually, Hinrich was demoted to a bench role and, as time went on, couldn’t even secure that – eventually fading out of the league during his prime years, becoming a regret in the hearts of Chicagoans.

Another issue he had was that facing tough defense easily threw him off his game, as was happening now; under his command, the Bulls were increasingly disorganized, and their first round of offense ended hurriedly with a missed shot.

In stark contrast, the Pacers’ counter-attack was well executed, the tactical points cutting through the Bulls’ defensive positioning. Su Wan found himself mismatched against Hinrich, easily outmaneuvered him with explosive power and speed, and passed the ball to Foster inside, assisting him with a vicious dunk.

With that dunk, the Pacers’ momentum grew even more fierce.

With 6 minutes and 45 seconds left in the first quarter, they had built a 6-point lead.

The Bulls’ head coach then called a timeout and sent Ben Gordon onto the court.

As the team’s Sixth Man, Ben Gordon often entered the game when the team needed help the most, and then with his precise shooting, he would help the team catch up or stabilize the situation.

It was because of many such moments that Chicagoans had grown quite fond of Ben Gordon.

In fact, before Windy City’s own Derek Rose joined the Bulls, Ben Gordon was the post-Jordan era Bulls’ fan-favorite guard.

They saw the shadow of Jordan in Ben Gordon.

Especially that "Big Heart".

Seeing Ben Gordon take the floor, the local Chicago sports commentators immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Ben’s in, standing up from the bench to open the game for the Bulls just like we’ve seen countless times this season, it’s time for him to save the team again!"

Boos rose from the Conseco Fieldhouse crowd.

They recalled what Ben Gordon had said in interviews, wanting to prove himself.

Su Wan waved his hand at them:

Calm down, you think he’s a worthy opponent?

Su Wan swiftly proved his point:

During the Bulls’ offensive play, Hinrich found Ben Gordon breaking through.

Ben Gordon leapt high to receive the ball, but just as he was about to shoot, Su Wan’s hand covered the ball.

One slap and the ball was blocked right out of his hands.

"The zone" mode activated, a face-to-face block was that simple.

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