The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 310 - 182 Oh no, is he going to end up as Stephen Curry?

Chapter 310: Chapter 182 Oh no, is he going to end up as Stephen Curry?

"They performed well, so we lost the game, it’s that simple."

"I think our performance was quite good, but we were restrained by their style, and that’s an issue we can’t change."

"Plans for the summer? Let them enjoy the summer first. Falling in the Eastern Conference Finals is also a very long journey; they need some rest."

"I won’t continue to serve as head coach. This was only a rescue operation, and obviously, I failed!"

After the game, Pat Riley didn’t reveal much about his next moves, only announcing that he would resign from the position of head coach and refocus his efforts on his role as general manager. As soon as the interview ended and he returned to the team bus, he pulled out the statistics from the Heat Team’s five games in the Eastern Conference Finals.

His gaze traveled down the page and finally stopped at Shaquille O’Neal’s average stats:

In 5 games, he averaged 15.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks, with a field goal percentage of 52.3% and a free throw percentage of 50%, averaging 28.6 minutes of playtime.

These stats are those of a nearly first-tier inside player.

But definitely not those of a top-tier inside player.

Especially since Shaquille O’Neal’s salary for this season is 20 million.

And for the next three years, his salary will remain 20 million.

That money, Pat Riley didn’t want to shell out anymore...

His gaze returned to Conseco Arena.

For the second consecutive time, the Pacers lifted the Eastern Conference championship trophy, this time not in the narrow visitors’ tunnel, but right at center court.

The big screen at the venue gave a great close-up of the Pacers players and the trophy.

Every face was brimming with an excited smile.

This time, Ron Artest’s smile was uninhibited.

He was no longer just a spectator on the sidelines or someone who was only there to help the team in practice; he was standing on the court, providing tremendous help to the team both offensively and defensively.

The Pacers’ success this year couldn’t be separated from Ron Artest!

But their excitement was not just because they had won the Eastern Conference but also because they were about to enter the Finals, with only one last round of series games standing between them and the defense of their title.

That was the real reason for their excitement.

However, for the upcoming Finals, whether it was Bill Walton on ESPN or Barkley and Kenny Smith in the TNT studio, they all agreed that the Pacers would face a tough challenge.

The two teams in the this year’s Western Conference Finals were the Phoenix Suns and the Mavericks.

If the Suns made it into the Finals, then as "a buffed version of the Suns," according to Bill Walton, the Pacers could sweep them easily.

But now, after four games in the Western Finals, it was the Mavericks who were leading 3-1.

And the Pacers’ regular season record against the Mavericks was 0-2.

The Mavericks’ formidable outside shooting, coupled with the huge advantage of Nowitzki, always seemed to put the Pacers in a passive position.

That was their opinion, but Su Wan, in the face of all the Pacers fans at the venue, was seemingly brimming with confidence, "Just four more victories, and the O’Brien Trophy will still belong to the Pacers!"

A joke, the original champions were already defeated by him, and now facing the original "biggest losers" of the Finals, how could he not be confident?

The cheers in the venue reached their peak at that moment.

Mainly because the things Su Wan promised always materialized, and now that he said the Pacers would definitely win this year’s Finals, they believed there was only one possible outcome:

Indiana champions!

But the next morning, as soon as Su Wan’s pre-emptive claims of championship were reported in Dallas, they immediately drew scorn and curses, with the newspaper headlines not holding back:

"That Huaxia man who stole the regular season MVP has clearly been swept away by his victory in the Eastern Conference Finals."

"A team that was swept by the Mavericks in the regular season now claims they’ve already booked the championship is the best joke of the year!"

"Su Wan will become a complete clown after this year’s Finals!"

...

Looking at the angry reaction from the Dallas media, Barkley teased on Facebook, "Clearly these folks have forgotten about the advice Shaquille recently gave."

Then he too came under attack.

However, before taking down Su Wan, the Dallas people needed to watch the Mavericks cut down another "traitor":

Steve Nash!

Without any surprise.

The Mavericks, leading the series 3-1 after the first four games, returned home to win 118-107, beating the Suns by 11 points and taking the victory in the fourth game of the series.

As the final whistle blew, the image of Steve Nash’s bowed head could even become one of the most pleasantly satisfying moments in Dallas sports history this year.

Many fans knew that Toronto’s fans harbored a deep hatred for Vince Carter, not reconciling with him until he was nearly retired. But to be honest, the hate of Dallas fans towards Steve Nash was in no way less intense than Toronto’s toward Vince Carter.

In 2010, when Steve Nash made the All-Star game and showed up on the Dallas All-Star court, he even provoked a crazy chorus of booing.

It’s understandable why the Toronto Raptors detest Vince Carter; after all, the way Carter ended his "marriage" with Toronto was indecent, and coupled with the deliberate guidance of the Toronto media, it’s normal to see such deep-seated hate.

However, Steve Nash was actively let go by Mark Cuban who thought he wasn’t worth the money, and that’s why he went to Phoenix. One shouldn’t blame Nash for that.

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