The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 379 - 195: Su Wan and LeBron, A Reflection on Leadership Qualities_5

Chapter 379: Chapter 195: Su Wan and LeBron, A Reflection on Leadership Qualities_5

If the Lakers had previously been merely a first-tier favorite for the championship, they now had reason to claim the top spot.

After all, they had cut down the Pacers, the team with the best record up to that point.

At least that’s what the Los Angeles media were saying, "The era of Los Angeles belonging to Kobe opens today—it officially begins!"

The Pacers’s shooting was much worse tonight than their regular season norm.

After all, it was the last game of a "five-game road trip."

Consecutive away games posed a great challenge to players’ ability to adjust their form.

If "back-to-back" games are a one-off torment, then consecutive "away" games are a prolonged torture, one that becomes increasingly severe as the schedule progresses.

For a team like the Pacers that relied heavily on their shooting, the effect was even greater.

But these were the reasons from the perspective of the Pacers.

Most media outlets wouldn’t be so considerate to think from the perspective of the Pacers.

They thrived on chaos!

Since the Lakers had won, they were now heralded as the most likely team to win the championship.

After all, wasn’t it more compelling to hype up the NBA?

Su Wan also scored 32 points that night, equalling Kobe’s performance. But on such a night, just this performance alone clearly wasn’t enough for the Pacers to escape from Los Angeles with a victory.

But he didn’t blame his teammates, nor did he attribute the loss to the schedule.

Of course, he did not say the loss was inconsequential; they were still the team with the best record in the league.

The Lakers were strong this year, and any influence in meeting such a formidable team in the playoffs could be key to the final result, including the record during the regular season.

If they had won this game, they would have been more confident facing the Lakers in the playoffs.

Now that they had lost, the psychological advantage lay with the Lakers.

When reporters asked Su Wan about the reason for the Pacers’s defeat, he simply said, "My fault!"

A reporter said, "But weren’t you the best performer for the Pacers tonight?"

Su Wan replied, "I was also the one who lifted the Finals MVP trophy for this team. Being the best performer is what I should do. Tonight’s loss of the Pacers indicates something lacking on my part, and it’s something I need to pay attention to!"

What he hadn’t expected was that his comments would cause such a stir the next morning...

Somewhere there was news that LeBron had a talk with Shaquille O’Neal under the auspices of Mike Brown, aiming to eliminate the friction between them and restore the harmony and friendship of the beginning of the season.

Shaquille had his demands; he wanted LeBron to take on the responsibility as a leader and to stand up and admit his shortcomings after the team lost.

But LeBron refused!

Such news was bound to stir up debate.

Now, combined with Su Wan’s remarks after the Pacers’s loss, it created a stark contrast.

Skeptical voices enveloped LeBron once again.

The "king" was totally numb!

He had reduced off-the-court comments recently, as Bill Walton had suggested, focusing all energy on the games.

Even though he still wasn’t getting along with Shaquille O’Neal, with his "high basketball IQ," his stats had started to recover during this period, averaging 23.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game.

The Cavaliers were "winning more than losing."

It was clear to everyone, even though the new season’s schedule was just over half done, that the order of the top two in the Eastern Conference was pretty much set; aside from the Pacers and Cavaliers, no other team could close in on these positions.

He had thought the previous criticism would quietly fade away, but to his surprise, he found himself embroiled in controversy again.

"I’m very clear on what kind of leader I should be, and I don’t need to be like anyone else. I always demonstrate my responsibilities as a leader through my actions. People who see me correctly can notice this!"

LeBron had to speak out for himself.

But it would have been better had he remained silent because, after he spoke, many reporters revisited LeBron’s comments after losses, finding that he either praised the opponents for being too strong or noted where the Cavaliers could improve. frёewebηovel.cѳm

But when they won, it was all about how LeBron had played...

And during those nights where they won and he didn’t perform well, he still highlighted how the defensive attention he drew gave his teammates easier scoring opportunities.

Only on those nights where everyone saw him post absolute dazzling stats did he begin to praise his teammates.

But everyone knew that the next day’s headline was guaranteed to be about him.

LeBron...

Was he really such a person?

Bill Duffy could only ask LeBron to shut up again.

And the Nike representative pulled his endorsements with lightning speed.

Shaquille O’Neal was overjoyed, posting on Facebook:

"Truth cannot be concealed!"

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