The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 277 - 168: Regular Season MVP Contest_2

Chapter 277: Chapter 168: Regular Season MVP Contest_2

Although the Pacers were far behind the Heat in terms of wins,

the momentum at the moment led Miami media to believe they had no worries about playoff rankings: "Other teams should be worried, the Heat’s current condition is the strongest in the League."

Dallas media had already started preparing fireworks, celebrating Dirk Nowitzki winning this year’s regular-season MVP in advance.

because the Western "Monthly Best Player Award" for February still belonged to Dirk Nowitzki.

"The German Tank" became this season’s first player to win "Monthly Best" for three consecutive months, and Dallas media saw this as a hint.

After a few months, Su Wan once again spoke up about the regular-season MVP: "It’s not about the number of (monthly bests). Everyone is clear about what should determine the regular-season MVP! I believe, when we meet Dallas, everyone will know who truly deserves this year’s regular-season MVP!"

This declaration directly ignited the final battle for the regular-season MVP and made the March 18th game, where the Pacers were visiting the Mavericks, a match that captured the attention of all America.

David Stern seemed to agree with Su Wan’s words, silently adjusting the Mavericks’ home game against the Pacers to nationwide broadcast.

When the media discovered this, they all began promoting the game as the "regular-season MVP battle."

However, before that, the Pacers had several key battles to fight.

Let alone tonight’s game against the Lakers.

The Lakers were still seventh in the Western, behind the Eastern second-ranked Pacers.

But the confrontation between Su Wan and Kobe was the focal point of the focal points.

After the last game where he left Michael Red in a shattered state of mind, continuously pounding the floor, Su Wan faced Kobe this game, and it was clear that his normal state wouldn’t allow him to hold on for extended periods. After the first half ended, Su Wan had 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, with a 40% shooting percentage, while Kobe, after being worn down by turns between him and Artest, had 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, with a 50% shooting percentage.

No way around it, this was Kobe, whose offensive capabilities had reached the zenith.

Can’t help but admit it!

Can’t avoid it!

"This is why you can only score 53 points, while I can score 81!"

Kobe also took the chance to flaunt his edge.

Then...

he found himself restricted again by "The Pacers Trident" led by Su Wan.

Both players’ scores and shooting percentages basically plummeted in the second half.

Su Wan cut down 18 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, with a 50% shooting percentage, while Kobe, encircled and confined, got 10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 turnovers, with a 40% shooting percentage.

Ultimately, both of their stats were about even.

From Su Wan’s perspective, it was definitely a draw.

Uh-huh!

That’s exactly how shameless he is.

When you’re in the mix, can you not call on brothers?

After this game, the "Iron Bucket Formation" of Su Wan, Artest, and the younger O’Neal once again shocked the entire League.

With Kobe’s performance this season, it was rare for any team to keep him under 30 points twice.

The Pacers did just that.

Kobe, who had scored 17 points in the first half of this game, ended up with only 27 points, 2 points less than Su Wan.

But after the game, Rick Carlisle said quite pretentiously: "I’m very dissatisfied with Ron’s recent defensive performance. I hope he adjusts his condition quickly. I want to see the energetic Ron from the beginning of the season."

Paul Pierce couldn’t help but swear, Are you a devil? Choosing this moment to demand Artest tweak his condition?

The Pacers’ next game was against the Celtics!

Paul Pierce was a textbook "ground-bound" player, relying on his enormous backside and exquisite one-on-one skills, making him a rare match on the wing.

The only thing he feared was probably "Beast-style" players like Ron Artest, who completely overpowered him in both size and strength,

just as an aging Michael Jordan was able to keep him in check exactly for this reason.

In the end, it was proven once again that animals are most sensitive to their natural predators.

Paul Pierce couldn’t muster any temper against Artest’s defense, going 7 for 17, and the team hardly put up any resistance before losing to the Pacers.

With a victory over the Bucks added to the mix, the Pacers were now just one game behind the Pistons after this "three consecutive victories."

And their next game would be against the Pistons, the same team they faced in the season opener.

Eastern Conference top battle!

This time the game was in Detroit.

Rick Carlisle once again used the "Small Lineup" as the starting formation, observing whether this lineup could exert sufficient dominance against the Pistons’ "Iron Bucket Formation."

The "small-ball philosophy" led by Reggie Miller and Stephen Jackson was incredibly effective last season.

One might have thought this game would be an easy win.

But the result...

The Pacers lost to the Pistons again with a score of 91-96.

The "Small Lineup" was completely off from beyond the three-point line, making only 3 out of 16 attempts. Naturally, such a three-point shooting percentage wasn’t enough to defeat a strong defensive team like the Pistons.

Rick Carlisle had now identified the root of the problem.

Although the Pacers had more three-point options this season, this season’s Calderon, Dior, and Artest combined couldn’t match even two fingers of Reggie Miller and Stephen Jackson in terms of stability and ability value.

The Pistons’ defense might appear to be "ironclad," but their approach was to "shrink interior defense without completely neglecting perimeter defense." Their aggressiveness in guarding was extremely fierce, and with the likes of Calderon’s three-point stability, it was difficult to consistently produce high-quality perimeter shooting against such a defensively strong team.

Playing against the Pistons was better suited for the Pacers’ regular-season lineup, then abruptly switching to the "Small Lineup" at a certain moment to catch the opponent off guard.

So the Pacers missed their chance to catch up with the Pistons in the standings.

But Rick Carlisle thought it was worth it.

Trading a regular-season game for playoff intelligence was worth it.

Facing the Heat Team next, Rick Carlisle had the same idea, continuing with the Small Lineup.

In the early February game against the Heat Team, Carlisle had already experimented with the "Small Lineup," resulting in Calderon being shut down by Gary Payton like a muggle, and the "Small Lineup’s" pace was continuously controlled by the opponent.

After the game, Carlisle locked himself in the dark room, and after much reflection, handed over the exterior line’s command to Dior.

The effect turned out to be very good, with the Pacers’ "Small Lineup" playing swiftly. Haslem’s agility after being spread out to the three-point line started to look clumsy. Dior truly became "Magic," dishing out five assists in a single quarter, and the American Airlines Arena experienced an early "downpour," ushering in the upcoming Miami rainy season.

Carlisle couldn’t have been happier.

This was exactly the effect he had envisioned from the "Small Lineup."

The Miami media, which had been touting "invincibility" for a month and a half, saw it vanish without a trace after this "downpour." They began to worry about facing the Pacers’ "torrential rain" in the playoffs!

However, they were relieved to see that the Pacers’ "Small Lineup" was not consistent from beyond the arc.

They hit a total of 17 three-point shots against the Heat Team, but upon the next game on the Denver Plateau, they instantly dropped to just six three-pointers for the entire game.

The "hand-checking" rule might have disappeared, but the League’s definition of a "cylinder," as well as the standard for calling fouls on shooting motions, still encouraged a principle of physical play.

This meant that the "small-ball" style of play couldn’t possibly be fully displayed in the League.

Rick Carlisle confirmed this once again.

Yet it remained an "ace system"!

After much publicity, March 18 arrived as scheduled, and having been testing the "Small Lineup," Rick Carlisle decisively fielded the Pacers’ regular lineup.

What a joke!

This was a key battle for Su Wan in the regular-season MVP race.

Even at a critical time for playoff preparation, he had to make way for this event.

Before the game, Rick Carlisle said, "If Su Wan can’t win the regular-season MVP this season, that would be really boring!"

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