The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 315 - 182: Oh no, won’t my buddy end up becoming Stephen Curry?_6

Chapter 315: Chapter 182: Oh no, won’t my buddy end up becoming Stephen Curry?_6

In his own words... he’s not on the same level as Su Wan!

The reporter asked Su Wan to evaluate Artest’s performance during the game.

Su Wan said, "What else is there to say? He’s Indiana’s own Dennis Rodman!"

Artest also excitedly added, "As long as it’s a task given by the head coach, I will try my best to complete it. I believe in my ability and am confident I can fulfill the coach’s task. As it turns out, I did quite well!"

Su Wan refrained for a long time before he managed not to roll his eyes at Artest.

Now he’s flaunting his confidence again!

He really wanted to ask who it was that looked worried the moment they heard he was defending Nowitzki, gripping his hand, asking if he could really do it.

Of course, Su Wan understood why Artest was so worried.

Trailing by a large score of 0-1, losing another game would mean going to Dallas with a 0-2 deficit facing three road games—what’s the difference between that and going straight to your doom?

In essence, the whole team was placing their hopes of survival on Artest, who showed his rare ostrich traits in that moment.

Thankfully...

He withstood the pressure and became the perfect "x-factor."—even though his final stats were only 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists.

But anyone who watched the game knew how great his contribution was.

This was also reflected in the media coverage the following day.

All media covering the finals were surprised and shocked by Rick Carlisle’s strategy switch, with Artest’s restricting Nowitzki in the paint.

Bill Walton: "This is definitely one of the most miraculous strategic adjustments in the history of the finals. Ron has proven that this year’s Best Defensive Player Award should be his!"

Su Wan, looking at these external evaluations, felt somewhat familiar with the atmosphere.

Then he remembered...

Oh no, will my buddy end up being Stephen Curry?

However, after careful analysis, he realized the likelihood was not high.

First, he is a spokesperson for Nike.

Second, there’s no LeBron on the other team, so there’s no argument about the player who limited LeBron deserving the Finals MVP.

Additionally, while Artest did a great job defending Nowitzki, Su Wan alone demolished the Mavericks’ wings on the offensive end, which was a key reason they could easily win over the Mavericks by more than 20 points in game two of the finals!

All in all, his situation wasn’t going to turn into another Stephen Curry.

"19 shots for 6 baskets? So, that performance makes one a Regular Season MVP?"

"Everyone knows that a Regular Season MVP doesn’t spend an entire game facing man-to-man defense without figuring out a solution!"

"Clearly, Dirk Nowitzki has a long way to go before he can be considered for the Regular Season MVP!"

...

The NBA is indeed a game of rounds, which was once again proven.

After Indiana tied the series, the Indiana media viciously mocked Nowitzki’s poor performance in the second game.

However, judging from the reaction of the Dallas media and fans, even though Nowitzki had a poor performance and lost the second game of the finals, they were not very worried.

Just like Indiana’s media and fans were confident in Su Wan, they were equally confident in Nowitzki.

They were convinced that Nowitzki would strongly rebound in the third game, pushing Artest back out to the perimeter.

In their view, those who should really be worried are Su Wan and the Pacers.

The Dallas media confidently stated, "Su Wan will hear the most terrifying boos of his life, an experience he will never forget!"

As it turned out, they weren’t exaggerating.

On the night of the game, when Su Wan walked out from the visiting team’s tunnel, he was immediately drowned in a wave of boos, and Su Wan could hear many racially charged slurs.

Dallas fans were seemingly enraged to the limit.

With such an attitude, even Steve Nash would shiver if he were there.

And it was clear they weren’t trying to catch Su Wan’s attention. When Su Wan looked toward the most aggressive of the fans, the fan even raised his fist at him.

It was evident just how much they hated Su Wan.

Yet amid the boos, Su Wan, in the first round, scored the first points of the night for his team with his signature mid-range shot, and on defense, he didn’t forget to make a listening gesture, taunting everyone in Dallas.

This further fueled the wave of racist attitudes.

But the moment Nowitzki received the ball, the noise abruptly stopped. Every Mavericks fan watched expectantly, hoping he would deliver a strong rebuttal from the very first play.

They all wanted to make it known that Artest was not the best defender against him.

But the result...

What they saw was Nowitzki, just like in the previous game, completely scattered by Artest’s pressure, throwing the ball in a very stiff posture, making a "clang" sound. fгeewebnovёl.com

"Slap!"

Little O’Neal grabbed the rebound and passed it to Dior.

As Dior advanced, he quickly found Su Wan.

Stackhouse’s defense was timely, but Su Wan, nearing the basket, changed his pace and jumped early, forcibly challenging his explosive power. Known as "Jordan’s Junior" for his explosive power, Stackhouse’s jump was only half as high as Su Wan’s, making it a fool’s errand to try to stop him.

"Bam!"

Single-handed slam dunk.

Once again, Su Wan started the game scoring 4 points.

The Mavericks fans felt all too familiar.

Jason Terry knew very well that if this continued, it could really turn into a "replay" of the last game. He decided to try to break open the situation from his own position, circumventing Nowitzki, who was locked down by Artest.

"Swoosh!"

And it actually went in.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Yet Rick Carlisle made no tactical changes.

He didn’t believe Terry could fully replace Nowitzki’s role.

If he truly could "save the day" alone, he wouldn’t have been let go by the Hawks back in Atlanta.

Just a few rounds proved Rick Carlisle’s judgment was without any issues.

After this three-pointer, Terry’s next two attempts both ended in failure.

"The Jet" was indeed known in the league as a "Nervous Saber."

To save the Mavericks, they still had to rely on Nowitzki.

But he...

"Slap!"

Simply wasn’t up to it!

This time, changing his approach, Dirk caught the ball beyond the three-point line, then, as he closed in on Artest, he took a "slow three steps" towards the basket. Little O’Neal, guarding the rim, slapped Dirk’s shot so hard it left him without any fight.

Awesome!

Little O’Neal finally took his revenge for the frustrations of the previous games.

Once again, the pace of the game quickly shifted to the Pacers’ control, 111 to 98, and they ended up with a 13-point lead, overtaking the major score.

to 1!