The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 299 - 179: What Shaquille Envies_2

Chapter 299: Chapter 179: What Shaquille Envies_2

The feeling of witnessing history, no matter how many times, was always so wonderful.

"MVP!"

"MVP!"

"MVP!"

And as Su Wan lifted the regular season MVP trophy high, the unified chant rose from the crowd.

The cheers were so loud, Shaquille O’Neal, sitting on the bench, felt the ground beneath his feet tremble ever so slightly.

Was this the "Son of Indiana" Su Wan?

Shaquille couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy because even though he had clinched three consecutive championships, he could no longer garner such cheers anywhere.

The fans of the Magic viewed him as a "traitor," Lakers fans had fallen out of love with him, and as for the fans of the Heat Team...

Their eyes were filled more with Dwyane Wade.

Entering the league in ’92 until now, after 14 years, Shaquille O’Neal suddenly felt like he had been busy for nothing.

He hadn’t lacked for honors, and he had enjoyed moments of glory that only a few top NBA players could reach.

But what the Shaq of now was missing, it seemed, was a throng of "diehard fans!"

The young Shaq didn’t care about this, believing that with his ability, he could earn a huge following of diehards no matter where he went, but as he aged, he yearned much more for the feeling of being held in all the fans’ hearts.

But it seemed he would never have it again...

Shout, shout, what are you shouting about!

It’s damn annoying!

Envy turned into irritability, and the "pettiness" of Shaquille O’Neal flared, filled with a stronger desire to turn this stadium into a "library."

"Come on, guys, let’s quell this stadium’s noise!" His shout made Pat Riley turn his head slightly, revealing a faint smile.

If it were possible, he really would suggest to the league that, during this round of the Eastern Conference Finals, they should give Su Wan an award every day.

Because that way, without doing anything, he could witness a "Shark" full of fighting spirit.

During the last two regular-season games against the Heat, Rick Carlisle had gathered quite a bit of intelligence by using a "Small Lineup" as starters. But tonight, at the start, he still stuck with the Pacers’ usual lineup.

The goal was to let Foster wear down Shaq’s physical fitness in the paint first.

Over the summer, Shaq had succeeded in shedding weight, but his considerable heft was still there; 360 pounds and 320 pounds didn’t make a huge difference in terms of physical exhaustion. It was probably just a formality to show his attitude; the symbolism was greater.

Su Wan approved of Rick Carlisle’s thinking.

Originally, in the ’06 Finals, the Mavericks had used Dan Piel and Dior to take turns wearing down Shaq, to the point where Shaq didn’t play well in the Finals, only averaging 13.7 points.

That scoring hardly qualified even as the "third leader."

A humiliated Shaquille O’Neal, in a fit of spite, attacked Dan Piel’s body odor, claiming it distracted him from the game.

It was clear that the war of attrition tactic was quite successful, and Shaquille O’Neal simply had no way to break it.

Foster was also eager, full of desire to take down the "Shark" today.

The Heat Team, on the other hand, hadn’t changed their lineup; the backcourt was Gary Payton and Wade, small forward was James Posey, and inside were Haslem and Shaquille O’Neal.

The Pacers won the tip-off.

Tinsley passed the ball to the frontcourt, and Su Wan asked for it right away; Wade came up to defend closely. Foster, at this moment, moved toward the three-point line.

Since the strategy was to drain Shaquille O’Neal’s fitness,

Everything from personnel to tactics had been laid out clearly.

Shaquille O’Neal saw that the Pacers had changed the "set-up" with Su for the pick and roll, and his expression changed at once, reluctantly following out high. Just as he got to position, he saw Su Wan circling the screen, heading straight for him.

His eyes suddenly filled with panic.

Fortunately, Wade quickly weaved through beside him, blocking Su Wan’s path.

This timely "screen navigation" surprised Rick Carlisle; with Foster plus Shaquille O’Neal’s size, it really wasn’t easy for someone to weave through on time.

The panic on Shaq’s face then turned to joy.

Worthy of the "Flash," it wasn’t in vain that he was given this nickname.

Su Wan, however, just went for a jump shot.

At this moment, everyone realized that only Haslem and little O’Neal were left under the basket.

"Clang!"

Missed!

Haslem’s aggression was fierce, but his height at 2 meters and 3 centimeters seriously compromised his ability to box out for rebounds against his opponents. Little O’Neal successfully grabbed an "offensive rebound" and finished with an off-the-glass layup on the other side.

The Pacers’ opening play was Su Wan’s signature "Assist Theory."

When it was the Heat Team’s turn to attack, Wade took the ball to the frontcourt, facing off against the newly minted "Best Defensive Player Award" winner, Ron Artest.

Wade frowned involuntarily when he clashed with him.

His breakthrough had two treasures:

One was speed; the other was confrontation;

Even if he couldn’t shake his opponent on the first step, he could still use outstanding physicality to push his defender away.

But against Artest, he ran into his bane.

The "Beast" not only had quick lateral movement, but his physicality was also at the top level for a small forward.

Wade kept pressing up to the free-throw line but couldn’t get past Artest, so he jumped up amidst the confrontation and went for a "high platform dive."

"Clang!"

The ball missed.

"Tweet!"

The referee whistled.

"Foul on Pacers number 23!"

Artest looked exasperated, watching Wade get up from the floor expressionlessly, and muttered in his heart,

Why the hell didn’t you break your damn neck!

No matter the circumstances, everyone hated flopping.

"Swish!"

"Swish!"

Wade calmly sank both free throws. His regular season free throw percentage wasn’t actually very high, only 78.3%, barely passing for a guard. But entering the playoffs, his free throw shooting increased to 80%!

A mere 1.7% improvement might not seem much.

But the way something is perceived when priced at $9.98 is different than when it’s $10.

78.3% and 80% are also different; "Flash" now stepped to the free throw line with much more confidence.

Pat Riley nodded slightly, not so much celebrating the successful free throws, but more importantly, Artest had picked up a foul early on, and that had opened up the game dramatically.

Whether Rick Carlisle continued to have Artest defend or switched someone else, it would be a reactive move. Pat Riley could seize more initiative.

However...

Watching Su Wan continue to run pick-and-rolls with Foster, trying to draw Shaquille O’Neal out of his "goblin nest," the "Divine Calculator" once again contorted his brows.

As the Heat Team’s head coach, he knew all too well how much Shaquille O’Neal detested stepping out for perimeter screens.

It seemed to be a matter of pride rather than strategy.

Sure enough, the "Shark" hesitated on this play. Seeing this, Pat Riley quickly signaled Haslem to step out.

Su Wan lowered his shoulder and broke through, elbowing Haslem aside and launched a quick shot in a "horseback shooting" stance.

It was right about this time that Wade had just gotten past Foster and was looking for Su Wan.

The "clang" turned his head toward the backboard.

He saw Shaquille firmly pinning Little O’Neal behind him, looking up at the basketball bouncing off the rim.

It was so big, so round, within reach...

"Shaquille!"

Wade shouted seemingly as a reminder.

As Shaquille O’Neal leaped, he saw someone burst forward, the number 99 jersey on the jumper rising rapidly like a flag hoisted.

"Bang!"

He instinctively reached out, but the rim already echoed with the sound of impact.

The powerful two-hand slam dunk made Shaquille O’Neal flinch, and then he felt a kick on top of his head. Looking up, he saw Su Wan’s foot.

He immediately got agitated and rushed towards Su Wan, looking for an explanation, but fortunately, the referee was right there, and with the Heat Team players all standing in his way, Su Wan was unfazed: "Shaquille, you know what a dead whale is called? A ’whale fall.’ So what do you call a dead shark?"

Shaquille struggled even harder. What does it matter what it’s called, kicking me in the head is not okay, he thought, while complaining loudly to the referee: "Isn’t that a foul? Is this Su Wan’s NBA? He hit my head! Don’t you see it?"

"Just watch the replay, you moron!" Su Wan couldn’t be bothered with him and cursed before walking away.

Shaquille looked up and realized that after Su Wan’s slam dunk, he had lifted his leg intentionally to avoid Shaquille’s head. But in his panic, he had collided with Su Wan’s foot instead.