The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 231 - 149: Who Can Even Tell You Apart from Dennis Rodman Now!_2

Chapter 231: Chapter 149: Who Can Even Tell You Apart from Dennis Rodman Now!_2

That relentless spirit immediately reminded Su Wan of a girl in high school who cried and begged to be his girlfriend.

Annoying.

Seeing they were determined to mark him, Su Wan didn’t force his shots, using his presence to continuously create opportunities for his teammates.

But then it got a bit disgusting...

The rest of the Pacers’ players were in disarray, but the Spurs’ perimeter defense still tenaciously focused on Su Wan.

As if not letting Su Wan get the ball was their greatest victory of the night.

On the sidelines, Popovich revealed a faint, wicked smile.

Sure, they were going to lose tonight’s game, but as long as Su Wan scored less than 20 points, far below his average of 27, then it was as good as a win for the Spurs.

It was like smearing shit on an egg.

When it came to being nauseating, Popovich was certainly an expert.

Things went smoother than he had anticipated, and the score difference quickly broke past 20 points. Under the relentless covering and trapping by the Spurs, Su Wan’s score was still hovering around 14 points.

He signaled the acting assistant coach with his eyes to take Tim Duncan out, declaring the game had entered "garbage time."

According to the unwritten rules of the game, the Pacers had to substitute their players too.

But unexpectedly to Popovich, Rick Carlisle didn’t make any substitutions, kept the starting lineup on the floor, and pushed the score difference to 43 points before finally replacing the Pacers’ starters.

Even at this point, Su Wan had only scored 20 points in the game, but...

The 43-point gap was like a brand on Popovich’s face, making it blaze red with shame.

Damn it, is this how you humiliate the Spurs?

Just wait until I rip into you after the game!

to 65, the Pacers ultimately left San Antonio with a 44-point major victory.

Popovich cursed loudly after the game ended, frankly stating that the Pacers had no respect for the unwritten rules, continuing to play their starters even after we had surrendered.

Rick Carlisle didn’t say that the other side didn’t even want to win; they just didn’t want Su Wan to score. So, what was wrong with winning by more points?

Instead, he feigned "surprise", "What? They declared they were giving up early? I didn’t know that. I saw their starters were still in all night, so I thought they were still trying to catch up! I was just about to praise the Spurs for being a resilient team. Even with several players suspended, they still showed a stubborn fighting spirit. Turns out... they had given up early, huh?"

Popovich was "flabbergasted"; in his mind, Rick Carlisle was not such a person!

How now...

He’s become so disgusting too?

And me not subbing? All my starters are suspended, how do I make substitutions?

Hmm...

Spending time with Su Wan does that to you.

Indiana, a bunch of bitches!

Popovich swore viciously to himself.

On the way back, Su Wan approached Jamaal Mosley, the lead assistant coach, "When we get back, arrange a coach for me, I want to improve my catch-and-shoot abilities."

The idea to improve his catch-and-shoot abilities hadn’t stemmed from being hounded by the Spurs; he had been considering it for a while.

What was most apparent upon his return this season...

Was that he had become stronger, of course!

At the same time, other teams had changed their defense against him, with delayed reaches, early double teams, and aggressive front-and-back pinches... They wouldn’t give him chances to play one-on-one so easily anymore.

He needed a way to handle the ball when facing double teams.

There were generally two ways: one was to improve his passing abilities; the other was to make his shot before being double-teamed, which meant improving his catch-and-shoot abilities.

After considering it, Su Wan chose the latter.

For one thing, the ’zone’ value he acquired for the new season was all put into developing his three-point shot...

And another, his Mid-range Shot Potential Value was already quite high; catch-and-shoot abilities were relatively simpler than shooting off the dribble. Just look at our Old Zhan, whose shooting was stiff, but corrected his shooting form and trained to have a decent catch-and-shoot ability.

Mosley was surprised to hear Su Wan’s proactive request, "Su, you might not know, but Rick was just about to talk to you about this. He also hopes you’ll practice catch-and-shoot."

Of course, from the team’s tactical standpoint, Su Wan having catch-and-shoot ability would greatly enhance Calderon or Dior’s passing threat.

Plus, once he acquired catch-and-shoot ability, coupled with the "bankrupt version" of Stephen Curry and Artest, with stiff shooting but capable of hitting 40% of three-point shots, the offensive spacing for the Pacers would be very good.

The word "spacing" has been on Rick Carlisle’s lips lately.

No doubt, he was influenced by Su Wan.

True to the man who first grasped the concept of "small-ball," his ability to embrace new things was fast.

As for why Rick Carlisle didn’t entertain the idea of having him practice passing,

Su Wan thought about it and decided it must be because his shooting talent was too strong, making Rick Carlisle forget the other options.

Yes, that must be it.

After defeating the Spurs, the Pacers smoothly took down the Bobcats, and then they faced a game full of gimmicks.

Chris Paul, who was dissatisfied with Su Wan for bombarding the entire "05 generation" during the preseason, arrived with his New Orleans Hornets.

Before the game, the reporters asked Chris Paul if he was confident about this match.

He said directly, "I’ve been looking forward to this game for a long time."

Chris Paul’s confidence was not without reason.

If the "04 generation" peaked from the outset with Su Wan, then Chris Paul was that peak for the "05 generation."

As of now, he was averaging 16.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 7.8 assists, and 2.2 steals per game!

If someone made up a "16 plus 5 plus 7 plus 2" stat line, Chris Paul would also be among the historical top new stars.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have the mind for it, nor did he have such an agent.

Even so, he was still the most eye-catching focus of the "05 generation."

And after the first few games, he was getting a bit too full of himself, believing that the NBA was just as he expected, nothing much. He was more convinced than ever that he could show Su Wan a thing or two, making him never underestimate the "05 generation" again.

The game quickly began.

The Pacers, playing at home, had the first offensive possession.

Su Wan took the ball and ran a Cross Movement with Tinsley outside the three-point line, wanting to mismatch and play one-on-one against Chris Paul from the get-go, setting the tone for the game.

Who knew that Chris Paul, truly inflated with ego, didn’t shy away but instead stepped up to confront Su Wan.

Is this the young "58 Cannon"?

Stubborn to a scary point!

He didn’t dodge, and Su Wan had no reason to hesitate.

He made a strong Breakthrough with the ball.

The moment they made contact, Chris Paul started pulling at his jersey.

Right!

This is the "Dirty 58 Cannon"!

Su Wan wasn’t the least bit surprised by his little trick, casually giving him an elbow to the chest so he’d feel the League’s welcome.

At this point, Paul’s hands were already clutching at Su Wan’s waist, just about to exert force, when a "thud" from his chest caused so much pain that he stiffened on the spot.

Su Wan, who easily broke through, faced the Hornets’ hesitant interior defense and smoothly released a steady Mid-range Shot.

Scoring straight away, the crowd erupted in cheers.

Passing by the still dazed Chris Paul, Su Wan didn’t immediately deliver the classic "Welcome to the NBA."

Because the initiation ceremony for the "58 Cannon" had just begun...

"Chris, Chris!"

Hornets’ head coach Byron Scott, seeing Chris Paul still stunned in place, cried out anxiously.

He finally came to his senses, and Scott breathed a sigh of relief.

The Hornets’ counterattack was underway, and Su Wan was about to take the initiative to switch on defense to guard Chris Paul.

But then, Artest let out a "heh" and, loudly claiming "let the best defensive player handle that rookie," moved over to Chris Paul.

Su Wan immediately shouted, "Who can even tell the difference between you and Dennis Rodman now!"

Artest’s idol was Rodman—although Su Wan wasn’t sure if Artest liked Rodman for his on-court performance, or because he simply wanted to date a pop diva, for that sort of flamboyant off-court scandal.

Artest had specifically bought Rodman’s jerseys, and normally at this time, he would have been sent to the Kings, immediately choosing number 93, a number Rodman had worn.

Hearing this, the joy in Artest’s heart grew even more.

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