The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 228 - 148: The Unsatisfied Zhu Fangyu_2

Chapter 228: Chapter 148: The Unsatisfied Zhu Fangyu_2

Joe Johnson, who had a field goal percentage of 45.3% for the new season, shot only 6 for 18 in this game, a shooting percentage of 33.3%, 12% lower than his average.

It’s clear how fiercely Artest had him locked down in this game.

How could he drive his teammates with passes if he was too busy taking care of himself?

After the game, Artest faced seven or eight reporters and four or five cameras, and it felt as if his heart suddenly filled up.

He felt completely invigorated:

"Lift him out, next!"

Additionally, this summer’s trade, Dior, returned to his old team for the first time and put up 11 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. His positive performance made it hard for Atlanta’s media to accept.

They cornered Dior in the player’s tunnel after the game, questioning him about such a dramatic change as if an ex-girlfriend were asking why they broke up, the look of resentment bringing Dior quite a bit of joy.

He had never thought about getting revenge on his "old team," but he didn’t expect that just playing as he always had would make them uncomfortable.

"The atmosphere in the Pacers is great, I’ve blended in very smoothly, maybe that’s why (my enthusiasm has increased)."

The Atlanta journalists rolled their eyes.

What, the Hawks’ atmosphere isn’t good? Atlanta’s vibe isn’t up to par? Should we start up the "Golden Club" again?

Atlanta is a city beloved by the wealthy, and here this Frenchman claims that the Pacers’ atmosphere is better; how ridiculous!

But his passing, so slick!

If he was still playing with Joe Johnson at the Hawks, who knows how beautiful that would look.

In the Atlanta media’s imagination, the Pacers returned from their expedition victorious.

This was their last game in November, and after defeating the Hawks, their record for November ended at 8 wins and 6 losses. If we put aside the preseason record of 1 win and 5 losses, the Pacers had a terrifying record of 7 wins and 1 loss since Su Wan’s return.

On the first day of December, Su Wan was at Conseco Arena for an exclusive interview with Erin.

After finishing the interview, Erin reviewed her notes and remembered something, "If not for the suspension, you’d have definitely been the Eastern Conference ’Player of the Month’ for November, what a pity!"

Now, the "Player of the Month" for the Eastern Conference was LeBron James.

He averaged 30.2 points for the whole of November, including 9 free throw attempts per game; he had 6 rebounds, with 5.3 defensive rebounds and only 0.7 offensive rebounds; he also averaged 4.5 assists, but had a high number of turnovers at 3.2 per game;

Coupled with Cleveland’s strong start to the season, at one point becoming number one in the Eastern Conference.

The team’s meteoric success made him overcome other competitors in the Eastern Conference and become the "Player of the Month" for the new season’s first month.

Cleveland’s media couldn’t contain their joy; they were already broadcasting it loud and clear with gongs, drums, and firecrackers.

Su Wan listened to Erin’s sigh but smiled indifferently, "It’s not a pity, wouldn’t it be more interesting to trounce this ’Player of the Month’ when the time comes?"

"By the way, why haven’t I heard any more news about your compatriot praising LeBron’s enthusiasm recently?"

"Because he hasn’t been saying it lately." Erin shared some news with Su Wan, "I heard from my colleague who works with the Cavaliers that Zhu has been having a tough time recently, the team has lost four straight, and both the head coach and other players think the problem lies with him, and his status on the team has significantly changed."

Su Wan was interested but unfortunately, Erin only knew so much; her colleague was also unaware of specifics—all those were matters occurring within the locker room, and no one dared to spill too much.

Including the reporters with close access like her; even if they knew certain things, they couldn’t speak of them, otherwise, they might not even be allowed through the arena doors the next day.

"Hey, Brother Du, it’s Zhu here, are you, are you asleep? Oh, oh, oh, I forgot, it should be the middle of the night there, my apologies, it’s nothing, nothing, I’m just making a casual call, ah, oops, I dialed the wrong number, you go back to sleep..."

Simultaneously, in Cleveland, Zhu Fangyu made a call to his former Big Brother from Guangdong Team, Du Feng.

He remembered the time difference only after the phone connected, and he hung up in annoyance.

He lit a cigarette and suddenly remembered the trainer had told him to quit smoking.

"Screw quitting!"

Yet, Zhu Fangyu, in a fit of temper, lit up the snuffed-out cigarette again.

A lungful of dense smoke provided Zhu Fangyu considerable relief.

His recent days had been far from satisfactory, in fact, they kept getting worse... In the first 6 games of the new season, he averaged 11.5 points and would make 1.5 three-point shots per game, he thought the NBA was just so, but from the 7th game of the regular season, he found the opponents seemingly knew his moves telepathically, they even knew where he wanted to shoot.

He suddenly felt even more out of place. In the last 8 games, his shooting percentage fell from 43.5% down to 30%, and his three-point shooting percentage dropped to a mere 20%. The most terrifying part was that in these 8 games, the most he scored in one was 8 points; the rest were scarcely bearable 1, 3, or 2-point performances, he couldn’t even stand to watch himself.

Catch and shoot was his only asset; with that gone, his other weaknesses became very apparent.

The players behind him competing for his small forward spot were brimming with ambition, eagerly trying to knock him from his starting position, they played harder in practice games than in actual games.

Mike Brown had already talked to him; if he didn’t regain his former condition, then his starting position might well be at risk.

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