The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 312 - 182: Oh no, won’t my buddy end up becoming Stephen Curry?_3

Chapter 312: Chapter 182: Oh no, won’t my buddy end up becoming Stephen Curry?_3

Small forward...

Su Wan did have a good idea, now the question was whether Rick Carlisle would agree.

"Academic School coaches" often stick to strict discipline, and Su Wan wasn’t sure whether Carlisle would go for it.

But who knew...

"Let’s give this strategy a try!"

Carlisle agreed readily.

To the point that Su Wan really wanted to say, "Do you want to think it over?" ƒгeewebnovёl_com

He had prepared many reasons to persuade Carlisle.

But now, not one was needed—it was quite frustrating!

Having too high a status in the eyes of the head coach sometimes wasn’t a good thing; it was really easy to feel a lack of accomplishment.

After a day of training, the second game of the Finals continued at Conseco Arena.

The Pacers fans who arrived early at the venue, just like last time, greeted the Mavericks with a torrent of boos. It seemed they were not affected by the previous loss at all.

Of course, that was only on the surface.

In fact, many Pacers fans had spent the whole previous day at home, pouring over analysts’ discussions online, fraught with worry.

But once those fans arrived at the square outside the arena and saw Su Wan on the advertising wall, their nerves eased.

Even though many media outlets were saying that this was the first time this season that the Pacers had lost the opening game of a playoff series—a bad omen—seeing Su Wan made them believe that no matter how tough the situation, they could get through it.

Before the game, the latest interview with Su Wan was released; fiercely, in front of ESPN’s camera, he declared, "We are not going to Dallas with a 0-2 record."

The Indiana natives were even more convinced.

They would definitely not lose this game!

However, the Mavericks, having won the first game, were clearly much more confident facing the skyful of boos, with faces filled with composure and calm.

No wonder...

Having secured the first victory of the Finals, even if they lost the second game, they would still have three home games coming up, with every opportunity to eliminate the Pacers in Dallas.

If they managed to win tonight’s game as well,

they could even have David Stern wait in Dallas to present them with the trophy in advance.

This was also why, after the first game, so many media outlets were favoring the Mavericks.

Not to mention that the Mavericks had a perfect record against the Pacers this season, the schedule was in their favor too, making the Pacers appear even more vulnerable.

The big screen at the venue displayed the starting lineups for both teams.

The Mavericks had no changes.

But when they, along with the Pacers fans, saw the starting lineup for the Pacers tonight, they were stunned.

The Pacers were going straight for a "Small Lineup" as their starting.

The Indiana natives had seen such adjustments before.

But...

Was the big screen broken?

Why was Dior playing small forward and Artest at power forward?

The Mavericks were also puzzled, thinking the big screen had made a mistake.

When the referee blew the whistle and the players took the court, both the Mavericks and the audience confirmed that the big screen was not broken, and the Pacers were indeed matching up Artest with Nowitzki for the night.

Could this really work?

At that moment, the big screen turned to a calm and collected Carlisle on the sidelines with his arms folded; however, his constant tapping on his elbow didn’t escape Kenny Smith’s eyes: "Looks like Rick doesn’t know what effect this lineup change will have either!"

The chatter in the stands went silent as the referee’s whistle blew.

Little O’Neal won the jump ball against Dan Piel.

The Pacers had the first possession.

Amidst the cheers, Calderon brought the ball up the court, facing Jason Terry. His intention to call for a pick and roll with little O’Neal was read immediately, and before "Jet" could completely block him, he passed the ball to Su Wan.

Su Wan faced Stackhouse, a "North Carolinian" who once bragged to the media "I’m not afraid of Jordan" — this was a tweak by Johnson to increase perimeter height, specifically aimed at Su Wan.

But at 32 years old and 198 centimeters tall, Stackhouse’s height was adequate, yet with his diminished explosive power, he barely caused any trouble for Su Wan.

In the last game, Su Wan had broken through him like a sieve; perhaps it was because the Mavericks had the last laugh that "Little General" thought this wasn’t a fatal flaw, and they continued to insist on this defensive tactic.

Su Wan didn’t hesitate; with an "in&out" dribble, he shook Stackhouse’s center of gravity, and when he moved his feet, Su Wan drove hard and forced a breakthrough.

Stackhouse hurriedly shifted sideways, leaning forward at the same time, wanting to establish contact with Su Wan.

In the swingman category, his strength was definitely above average. If he could force a confrontation, Su Wan’s drive would stutter, even if just for a second, it was enough time for the interior defense to react.

But most of the time, Su Wan would leave Stackhouse behind before any physical contact could occur.

"Swish!"

The opening attack was a secure hit.

The cheers filled the entire arena instantly.

But whether it was Su Wan or Rick Carlisle, their gazes didn’t relax at that moment.

They were well aware, the success or failure of tonight’s game still depended on Artest’s defense against Nowitzki.

Last game, the Mavericks started with Nowitzki to open the game, so tonight’s first offensive move for the Mavericks also went to Nowitzki.

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