The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 223 - 146: This Team Has No Su Wan_2

Chapter 223: Chapter 146: This Team Has No Su Wan_2

The classic "Nash-Little Si Pick-and-Roll".

The arena erupted in cheers, which quickly turned to shouts of astonishment.

No sooner had Little Si stepped down from the rim and started heading back, did Little O’Neal pass the ball to Dior.

Dior took the ball and pushed forward quickly, successfully finding Su Wan with a flamboyant "Single-handed Push".

The ball bounced long, and at the moment it fell to the ground, it passed between Marion’s legs on defense, and Su Wan on the right side got the ball and charged with power towards the hoop, soaring over the US Airways Center, his single-handed slam dunk made the Phoenix Suns’ basket "explode".

In less than 4 seconds, faster than the Suns’ 7-second offense, the Pacers completed the counterattack.

There was only one inbound pass and one pass.

On ESPN’s commentary desk, Bill Walton was stunned, "This round, the Pacers looked more like the Suns than the Suns themselves."

The Suns, in their imitation of the Suns, took second place.

However, when it comes to a fast pace, the Suns are definitely no slouches.

Steve Nash followed and came over, after receiving the inbound, he rubbed his soles on the ground, then licked the fingers that had touched the soles, slapped the ball hard, and quickly moved towards the frontcourt.

Don’t mind the action that is almost as disgusting as Ma Lin’s service motion before a game.

The long hair of the running Steve Nash truly fit his nickname "Son of the Wind".

Sometimes, there is indeed some kind of metaphysics between players and teams.

The "Son of the Wind" from "Sun City" is like that.

Then take a look at Chris Bosh’s neck, long like a brontosaurus’s—how could he not become the "Dragon King" of the "Northern Land"?

Little Si once again stepped up to execute the pick-and-roll with Nash.

The newly-minted regular season MVP noticed that the Pacers’ defense was contracting this round, quickened his breakthrough steps, and as soon as the Pacers started to collapse, he swiftly passed the ball across—still no-look, but the pass landed precisely in Stephen Jackson’s hands.

"Future Captain" hit it home with one stroke, helping the Suns continue to maintain the score.

After that play, the Suns quickly retreated on defense, Dior saw it all and didn’t wait in the backcourt this time, he ran with the Suns’ players all the way to the frontcourt.

His attitude was very positive.

No usual lethargy.

That’s the serious Dior!

As long as he gets involved, he plays with enthusiasm.

In fact, when Dior first came to the Pacers, he didn’t have high expectations; last season’s Pacers was pretty much a two-man show starring Su Wan and Little O’Neal, and the others were basically just standing around waiting to catch the ball, shoot a three-point shot, or cut to the basket for a score.

That was not his definition of "Happy Basketball".

But unexpectedly, during scrimmages, Rick Carlisle had been exploring new lineups, and Dior’s ability to handle and control the ball also got activated, becoming part of the Pacers’ tactical system, with a good role to play.

Here we have to talk about the "beautiful misunderstanding". Rick Carlisle thought Su Wan’s physical fitness wasn’t up to par, so over the summer, he had been studying videos of these new players to find their strengths, to take other pressures off Su Wan, letting him focus strictly on offense.

The game Su Wan returned to two days ago proved that if he focuses on his personal offense, he is unstoppable.

Many of his unnecessary ball-handling duties had to be handed over.

Of course, Rick Carlisle had to admit, whether it’s Calderon’s steady control or Dior’s ability to seize opportunities in the fast break, they were all surprises in this game.

He didn’t expect the effect of pairing these players together to be so good.

The ball in Calderon’s hands meant a naturally slower offense for the Pacers.

Su Wan moved to the wing to get ready to receive the ball. His Suns defender was named Raja Bell, known for "locking down" Kobe!—if you thought he was just another ordinary "Kobe terminator", you’d be wrong; he really locked him down! Straight-up "Locking Throat" had Kobe completely baffled.

Naturally, such a tough guy wouldn’t keep quiet, Su Wan hadn’t even started trash-talking him, and this guy was already "blasting off" at the start of the game like he was on steroids, not sure if he watched the last game.

But if he really did watch the last game and still had such courage, Su Wan had to give a like to his Facebook no matter what.

However, this game, Su Wan didn’t directly enter "The Zone" like in the last one, the Suns’ performance tonight was very solid, the offensive momentum was very cohesive, clearly aiming to play a game of attrition.

He needed to deliver a "one-stroke decision" at the key moment.

Moreover...

Playing at a high-tempo pace is naturally more exhausting than playing a set offense. Even though he improved his physical fitness over the summer, in such a fast-paced game, the amount of time he could maintain performance actually hasn’t changed much from last season.

After all, they’ve also ramped up their speed this season.

These are all consumptions.

"Pop!"

Entering set play, Calderon called for a screen by Little O’Neal, and then the two executed a play similar to the just-witnessed "Nash-Little Si" coordination.

Calderon charged to the basket, attracted the help defense, and then passed the ball to a trailing Little O’Neal, assisting him to complete a two-handed slam dunk.

This play shocked not just the commentators, but also the Phoenix Suns fans:

Are you guys from Korea?

Did you just steal that from us?

At halftime, both teams found themselves at 47 to 51, with the Suns narrowly leading by 4 points.

The key to the Pacers’ lag...

Their lineup had just been experimented with in training camp and was still in the process of meshing, which meant there were occasional lapses in coordination; this required more game time to smooth out.

But being only 4 points behind was definitely acceptable for the Pacers.

Because in the second half...

Su Wan was going to transform!

The deadlock of the third game continued, at 7 minutes 34 seconds into the third quarter, Rick Carlisle called a time-out, and the ball was officially given to Su Wan.

Raja Bell, 1.96 meters tall and weighing 95 kg, as an undrafted player in ’99, signed his first NBA contract in ’01, and gradually honed his defensive and three-point shooting abilities.

Joining the Suns marked the beginning of the peak of his career.

By the following year at this time, he would rise to fame as a member of the "All-Defensive First Team."

It’s fair to say that at this point, Raja Bell was quite mature.

Even without the "All-Defensive First Team" accolade, he had reached the level of the near "All-Defensive Team."

But...

It was useless!

Su Wan went full throttle, his "cross-step" shake accelerated, fast and sharp, leaving Bell bewildered. He initially wanted to attempt a steal, but amidst Su Wan’s dribbling, he didn’t dare make a move.

He hadn’t watched the Pacers’ game against the Grizzlies, but he did see Su Wan’s move that sent Dante Jones tumbling to the ground. That play was ranked number one in "NBA’s Top 5 Plays of the Day."

Su Wan started with the same "cross-step," then suddenly stopped, flinging Jones three meters away.

It was this moment of hesitation that allowed Su Wan to effortlessly complete the breakthrough. Marion came over to help, but Su Wan passed the ball over his head to Dior, who easily cut to the basket for a layup and scored.

After completing that play, the next possession saw Su Wan once again taking on Bell one-on-one.

This time, Bell forcefully created body contact. In the skirmish, Su Wan slowly carved out a position for himself, then pivoted with force, shaking him off to the rear.

Raja Bell’s core strength was actually quite good, and last season’s Su would have probably struggled against this year’s Bell.

But after the grueling summer training, Su’s stability in tough confrontations had improved significantly, and the moves he performed achieved the desired effect.

With a clear path ahead, Marion didn’t dare to step up, and Su easily scored.

In the following time, Su consistently displayed his individual ability, combining penetrations, shooting, and passing to lead the Pacers on a 10-point run, while the Suns, during this period, experienced a "fluctuation in touch."

The gap gradually widened, and by the end of the third quarter, the Pacers had taken an 8-point lead.

This was their largest lead of the game so far.

Bill Walton said, "In the past 8 minutes, the biggest weakness of the Suns has been exposed. This team lacks a player like Su Wan who can forcefully resolve critical moments on his own!"