The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 363 - 192: Cleveland’s "Sword Guard" Rebels. _4

Chapter 363: Chapter 192: Cleveland’s "Sword Guard" Rebels. _4

Kenny Smith added another comment, "This is the first time in LeBron James’ professional career that he has been outscored by Su Wan with a 58-point differential!"

"Isn’t this supposed to be the strongest Cavaliers team of the new century? Why can’t I feel it at all?" Su Wan shouted from the bench, just loud enough for the reporters from Cleveland to hear.

Before the game, they were brimming with confidence, but now they wished they could just find a hole to crawl into.

In their professional careers, there had never been a more embarrassing moment than this.

The 58-point differential was also reflected in the player statistics of both teams.

After the game, the Pacers players had the following stats:

Su Wan: 40 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, including five three-point shots;

Young Shaquille O’Neal: 25 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, including two three-point shots;

Artest: 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, including three three-pointers;

Anthony Parker: 11 points, with 9 from three-point shots;

Calderon: 11 points, 6 assists, and two three-pointers made;

Dior had 9 points but dished out 10 assists, sinking one three-point shot;

As for the remaining Millsap, Tinsley, Foster, they all scored 9 points...

Taking into account Millsap’s one three-pointer, tonight the Pacers threw in a total of 17 three-pointers!

Now looking at the Cavaliers:

LeBron got 20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, but also had 8 turnovers, and a shooting percentage of just 40%, around 8% lower than usual;

Shaquille O’Neal had 15 points, 7 rebounds, with a high shooting percentage of 60%, but his free throw accuracy was an eye-watering 30% with 3 out of 10 made.

The two shooters scored the same as Shaquille O’Neal, and their shooting percentage was as high as 50%!

This was mainly because the Pacers’ defense was focused on LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal, with little attention paid to those two.

And apart from them, none of the others scored more than 5 points.

Starting player Gibson had only 3 points and 1 assist.

Such a performance was obviously not enough to satisfy Mike Brown, who after the game sharply criticized Gibson: "He was completely off his game. He needs to seriously think about what he can do for this team. Right now, he looks as if he’s not prepared at all! His performance tonight was disappointing!"

But the journalists on the scene were not easy to deal with; they didn’t want to listen to Mike Brown talk about Gibson, a rookie whose full name they didn’t even know. Their target was LeBron and Shaquille!

"The team lost by 58 points. Is it really just because this rookie didn’t perform well?"

"It seems like there was some argument between LeBron and Shaquille during the game. What happened between them?"

"This kind of defeat was unexpected for everyone. Mike, do you think the Cavaliers’ style is being countered by the Pacers?"

"This game revealed huge incompatibility issues between LeBron and Shaquille. Mike, do you think this problem can be solved?"

Mike Brown’s forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat. As the journalists’ questions grew increasingly incisive, his face became more and more flustered.

Because he couldn’t answer any of their questions.

"I am really disappointed in Daniel!" he could only continue to criticize Gibson.

On the other side, Shaquille O’Neal was also having a tough time.

When the final score was set and they lost to Su Wan again by 58 points, he really felt the urge to retire on the spot.

But...

"Shaquille, do you think you still have the ability to earn $20 million?"

"Shaquille, you had an argument with LeBron during the game, which made the score difference get completely out of control; as the highest-paid player on the Cavaliers, do you think you should take responsibility for this defeat?"

"LeBron needed the pick-and-roll, but you refused to cooperate with him, and this wasn’t the first time it happened. Shaquille, do you consider yourself to be part of the problem on the court for the Cavaliers?"

When these journalists, obviously with their own agendas, stood in front of him asking these malicious questions, he knew very well that if he didn’t fight back, by tomorrow morning, the full responsibility for the Cavaliers’ loss would be placed on his shoulders.

"I am well aware of what I can bring to this team. I’ve created a Dynasty with the Lakers, everyone knows that, this is the confidence I have. I have the experience of success, and I want to share this experience with everyone on the Cavaliers, including LeBron. But it takes time. Tonight was a rout; we all have our responsibilities. My responsibility lies in the fact that I didn’t steer the game in the direction I believed we could win. I backed down. If I doubt everything that brought me the championship and don’t stick to what I believe is the right path, that’s the biggest loss for the Cavaliers! I will stick to my path in the future, this game is a warning from God!"

When in doubt, think of the O’Brien Cup!

Shaquille O’Neal laid it all out there: I am the ’emperor of three consecutive championships;’ who is that champion in your mouths?

The champion of some high school league?

It’s not that I don’t cooperate with him; it’s he who doesn’t cooperate with the right path, playing proper basketball!

Then these journalists with ulterior motives had nothing to say.

They couldn’t say Shaquille O’Neal’s championship experience was outdated, could they?

Whether or not it made sense to say that.

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