The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 269 - 164: I Haven’t Scored 50 Points in a Single Game This Season, Have I?_2

Chapter 269: Chapter 164: I Haven’t Scored 50 Points in a Single Game This Season, Have I?_2

For the Conseco Arena, which hadn’t been soaked in the "Championship Golden Rain" for decades, last year’s singular instance was far from enough.

But soon, this issue wouldn’t be an issue anymore.

Considering that the Mavericks are currently first in the league, if the Pacers were to become the second, then in the finals, they would most likely become the team with the better record.

The reason...

Think about it carefully!

Of course, this was the viewpoint of Indiana media.

For Su Wan, the first regular season MVP in the history of the Pacers, the team was all in, even if it meant becoming sworn enemies with Dallas, just to help Su Wan seize the narrative in public opinion.

Similarly, the Dallas Mavericks were unlocking this first in their team’s history as well.

Su Wan was puzzled by one thing, he remembered that Dirk Nowitzki should have won his MVP next season, which was absolutely his most glorious regular season.

This year’s contender for the regular-season MVP was supposed to be Steve Nash. It was this season that he won another MVP trophy, becoming the next point guard after "Magic" to win consecutive regular-season MVPs.

Why was there not much noise about him now?

Then, when the Pacers faced off against the Phoenix Suns, he realized, right, Little Si wasn’t out for the season this time!

Steve Nash securing his second "regular season MVP" wasn’t because the Suns excelled for the second consecutive year.

It was because Little Si was out for the season, along with Joe Johnson’s departure, significantly weakening the team. In such a situation, Steve Nash still led the Suns to finish second in the Western Conference.

All major media personnel were astounded, and Nash smoothly secured his second consecutive regular season MVP.

It was this MVP that solidly established Nash’s status as the absolute core of the Suns.

It was also after this that the talk emerged that Little Si only excelled with Nash’s support, making the top-tier NBA frontline seem out of reach without Nash. This led to the Suns’ management hesitating when offering a renewal contract in 2010, leading to Little Si moving to the New York Knicks and proving that he didn’t just rely on Nash; in fact, Nash was holding him back in his solo performances in the frontline!

If it weren’t for injuries, the New York Knicks would have remained competitive for a long time in 2010.

The injury that should have affected Little Si was avoided this time, leaving the future of this duo uncertain.

Little O’Neal showed a strong offensive desire before the game tonight, and Su Wan supported him fully to put on a good performance, while Calderon and Dior took every opportunity to help him perform slam dunks.

Just in the first half, Little O’Neal performed seven or eight dunks on the Suns.

He got so ecstatic that he went chest-to-chest with Little Si, almost causing a brawl.

Su Wan merely watched with a smile.

In the street, what goes around, comes around.

How Little Si confronted others back in the day, tonight, others confronted him just the same.

The course of the game was also similar to the last time both teams played.

It was always a tight game until the end of the third quarter, with a difference of around 6 points, very tense.

Su Wan stepped up, and after two minutes of "Full Power," the difference reached around 10 points, which remained until the end amidst an exchange of scores.

Bill Walton said, "If the last game couldn’t prove my point, this game certainly should. Pacers’ Small Lineup is just an enhanced version of the Suns, and what the Suns lack is precisely their sharpest weapon!"

At the end of the game, the score was 125 to 112.

Both teams were scoring almost throughout, with no defense, making the final high score somewhat exaggerated for the era.

Little O’Neal finally scored a "super double-double" with 30 points and 15 rebounds, outshining Little Si’s 21 points and 9 rebounds. At the critical moment, he blocked Little Si and afterward, declared his victory, "I think now, everyone should have no objections—I am an enhanced version of Amare!"

This time, Little Si had no retort.

Because tonight, he was outplayed in every aspect.

But this doesn’t mean he won’t have his say in the future.

Just wait, once the Suns win next time, it’ll be his turn to lash out.

Having tackled the annoyance that had troubled him for two months, Little O’Neal, now free from irritants, smiled more.

On February 27th, the Pacers faced their last game of February.

After the All-Star weekend, they had only lost two games so far.

Coming back from the four-day All-Star break, everyone was somewhat negligent, which cost them an extra game than their previous losing frequency, but compared to most teams in the league, they were still in good shape.

Unfortunately, the Pistons were not among those teams—they remained ahead of the Pacers by three victories.

The Indiana Natives’ last opponent in February:

The Milwaukee Bucks!

At the start of the season, two rookies from the ’05 class were discontent with Su Wan’s trash talk and responded—one of whom, nicknamed "58 Cannon," was previously beaten up in Indiana and then again in New Orleans.

Recently, whenever a reporter brought up Su Wan, he quickly changed the subject, behaving much more tamely.

However, Su Wan was skeptical about Chris Pao’s sudden quietness, suspecting it wasn’t so easy for him to back down. Maybe he saw there wasn’t much chance this season and was waiting for the next season to retaliate.

Having dealt with one, he naturally couldn’t let go of the other.

The "top pick" Bogut was selected by the Bucks.

Speaking of Bogut, he was another notorious guy.

Not just in the NBA but also internationally, he had been disrespectful towards the Huaxia Men’s Basketball Team. fгeewёbnoѵel_cσm

Even if he didn’t respond to Su Wan, Su Wan wouldn’t let him off the hook.

Not to mention, he did respond now.

That left nothing more to be said.

It’s just that this old guy was somewhat lucky—during a previous game between the Pacers and the Bucks, he got injured a week before and ultimately missed the game.

In that game, Su Wan scored a whopping 39 points, and the Pacers won by nearly 20 points.

After the game, Bogut told the media, "If I had been there tonight, Su definitely wouldn’t have entered the Bucks’ zone so easily!"

That just added a new grievance to old ones.

Before the next game, reporters asked Bogut, "Do you still think that Su Wan scoring 39 points last game was because you weren’t there?"

Bogut’s expression was particularly annoying, "Of course, I respect my teammates, but there are many things I bring to the table that they can’t replace, so tonight, with me here, Su cannot score higher."

Erin was among the reporters interviewing, and when she heard Bogut’s cocky statement, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

Isn’t that nonsense?

Isn’t 39 points high enough?

So, not hitting 39 points means your defense is successful?

Such a cheap guy!

Erin saw right through Bogut’s true nature in a second.

However...

Erin quickly ran to tell Su Wan about Bogut’s words.

She thought that this time, Bogut might not escape being humiliated.

For most players, 39 points is a tough number, but for about five or six players in the league this season, 39 points isn’t out of reach.

Su Wan, averaging 27.8 points per game, was among them.

This season, Su Wan reached a career high with 30 games scoring over 30 points, and eight games with over 40 points.

She believed that Bogut’s words would give Su Wan extra motivation to increase his 40-plus point games to nine this season!

Sure enough, when Su Wan heard what Bogut said, he flashed a mocking smile, then Erin heard him ask, "I haven’t scored 50 points in any game this season, have I?"

Erin nodded obediently.

Su Wan said, "Then you can start writing the headline for tomorrow’s report now. Bogut’s role on the court is to let Su Wan score his first 50-plus of the season!"