The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 400 - 200: The Tortured LeBron, The Impact of Shaquille’s Absence.

Chapter 400: Chapter 200: The Tortured LeBron, The Impact of Shaquille’s Absence.

LeBron didn’t know whether he should be happy or not.

The Cavaliers had won tonight’s game and entered the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in his career.

From that point of view, he should be happy.

But...

Shaquille O’Neal was injured!

With the last 2 minutes of the fourth quarter remaining, he held his large rear end in pain as he left the court.

The player he had been up against, Antonio McDyess, stood by with a look of astonishment, watching him twist his mountain-like body into an extremely awkward posture. McDyess had heard that Shaquille had lost weight, but he was still a "mountain." However, it wasn’t Shaquille’s size that had stunned him; he was puzzled:

Did I really...

Touch him?

The scene of Shaquille’s injury was also replayed on the spot.

The footage showed that there was indeed contact between the two, but such contact should not have caused Shaquille such pain.

However, injuries can sometimes be bizarre, just like Allen Iverson getting hurt by a slap from a teammate while celebrating.

Shaquille’s pain was real!

Watching him limp off the court, LeBron’s first thought was...

In the next round of the Eastern Conference Finals, they would face Su Wan and the Pacers.

Me, alone, against Su Wan?

A sense of panic rose inexplicably in his heart.

Not only was he panicked, but the fans in Cleveland were also on tenterhooks.

Shaquille O’Neal’s performance in the six games of the Eastern Conference semifinals was there for all to see; the combination of Rashid Wallace and Antonio McDyess simply couldn’t stop him.

He averaged 20 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.

In the key fifth game, he scored 28 points and 13 rebounds, a throwback to his performance in the year 2000, making even the most critical Clevelanders forget his season salary of 20 million.

Damn right, he was worth 20 million.

Because...

LeBron had been struggling tremendously in this series, or rather, since his return from "injury," he had been trying to integrate into the team but was unable to fit in, and had struggled throughout. You just couldn’t rely on him to carry the Cavaliers.

Now Clevelanders could only hope that Shaquille O’Neal’s injury wouldn’t affect the Eastern Conference Finals.

When Danny Ferri learned of Shaquille’s injury, he was also immediately concerned about Shaquille’s MRI results, which turned out to be negative, indicating that Shaquille didn’t have any serious problems.

Nobody knew just how disappointed Ferri was when he found out the results.

Yes, he had hoped Shaquille O’Neal’s injury would be severe enough to prevent him from playing in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Only in that way could Shaquille’s value, which had been built up with difficulty against the Pistons in the semifinals, be maintained instead of plummeting after playing against the Pacers!

He was still banking on selling Shaquille at a good price!

Indeed, he knew that, consequently, LeBron James would be left utterly unsupported and subjected to a humiliating series.

But...

His reputation was already bad enough!

In the public’s eyes, Su Wan was his bane, LeBron’s.

What difference would one more abysmal series make?

If Shaquille’s value was preserved, Danny Ferri would be able to get better chips for LeBron James.

Unfortunately!

God had other plans, and Shaquille O’Neal’s examination showed nothing was wrong...

Sigh!

Just as Danny Ferri was feeling regret, he heard from the team physician that Shaquille still felt uncomfortable in the buttocks and experienced significant pain with movement.

He suddenly realized something and took the initiative to see Shaquille and have a brief chat.

"It looks like you really can’t play!" Ferri said at last, with deep meaning.

Shaquille nodded: "Yes, Danny, it seems I can only disappoint the fans in Cleveland!"

"No, without your performance in the semifinals, we wouldn’t have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. Rest up, Shaquille, I support your decision!"

When he left, a smile flickered across the corner of Danny Ferri’s mouth:

Good, very good!

Shaquille doesn’t want to play, no, he can’t because of his injury, and that’s just perfect!

This way, his value is preserved.

And his trade work in the summer can be better completed.

It’s just that this means, LeBron James is destined for a beating...

But no matter!

Let LeBron suffer a little more, the infamy he will bear.

After all, with strong reinforcements next season, he’ll be the one rolling in the benefits.

Suffering now will lead to ecstatic tears later!

Hmm...

And so, without LeBron’s knowledge, Shaquille O’Neal and Danny Ferri had already made preparations to sell him off.

Of course, the two had different ideas, Danny Ferri for a better tomorrow. As for Shaquille, he did it to prevent LeBron from making the first move, and instead, he was making his own proactive move.

Plus, he was very clear that he truly couldn’t beat this Pacers team.

Someone had to "take the blame," so why shouldn’t it be LeBron?

Soon, the outside world also learned of the news that Shaquille O’Neal would miss the Eastern Conference Finals due to injury.

The already doubted Cavaliers were now even less favored.

There was no way around it, the Heat Team had managed to beat the Pacers, but the Cavaliers?

Ever since Su Wan left the Cavaliers, they had never beaten the Pacers.

Whether in the regular season or in the playoffs...