The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 483 - 216 The Most Promising Episode of LeBron! _4

Chapter 483: Chapter 216 The Most Promising Episode of LeBron! _4

Anyway, they were playing two different systems.

Honestly, after Artest left, the Pacers’ first line of defense against LeBron was reduced to just Su Wan.

And as long as LeBron called for a pick and roll, it was easy for him to get an open shot.

Compared to previous encounters with the Pacers, LeBron seemed much more at ease, at least, he had a lot of control in his breakthroughs.

Just...

Once he charged in, the effect of his attacks under the basket weren’t very good.

Zach Randolph and Foster were standing under the basket, compressing the space, which made it very narrow for him even after he had broken into the paint.

In that tight space, he still had to avoid Zach Randolph’s 7’4" arm span and Foster’s interference...

It really wasn’t an easy task.

What Barkley wanted to say was, "When will LeBron finally develop a reliable mid-range shot? The Pacers’ defense can no longer cover him fully, and if he had a steady mid-range shot, he could completely tie up the Pacers’ defense, preventing the two big men from staying under the basket..."

The key was that when he had the ball, he had only one option, which was why Randolph and Foster could stay under the basket.

In fact, Randolph’s defensive habits and enthusiasm were almost non-existent when he first came to the team. But after Su Wan took away his shooting rights a few times, his initiative gradually emerged.

There’s no doubt Randolph could defend.

He and Marc Gasol formed the "grinders" of the Western Conference that year.

And even though Randolph had slowed down by then, there was really no perimeter player on the Warriors who could walk over him; if not for the referees suspending Randolph at the most critical game, it would have been possible for the Grizzlies to advance to a higher stage those years.

Declined mobility and still not being "walked over"... now it’s even less likely.

Plus, with Foster’s influence on the defensive end, Zach Randolph was now willing to play defense. - Actually, Zach Randolph is a bit like one of those kids who need "three moves by Mencius’ mother"; when he hung out with a bunch of "bad guys", he slacked off too. But when he teamed up with Little Gasol, who was an active defender before his knee injury, he also showed good defensive enthusiasm.

LeBron’s "Tank Collision," a hugely destructive tactic against other teams, was like a small iron rod smashing into a steel plate in front of these two.

Thankfully, the referees still gave him some whistles.

Otherwise, judging by LeBron’s expression, he probably would have lost all desire to charge at the basket.

In fact, when facing teams with heavy-duty centers, LeBron rarely made frequent dashes to the basket. He preferred to pass the ball after beating his man.

But in this game, Channing Frye and Quentin’s shots were cold, leaving him no choice but to head stubbornly for the basket.

In the third quarter, he drew fouls repeatedly and scored 11 points through free throws.

At the end of the third quarter, the score difference was only 5 points.

Su Wan taunted LeBron, "After the game, remember to hug every single referee. Without them, we wouldn’t have made it this far into the game!"

By the end of the third quarter, LeBron had already been given the opportunity to shoot 15 free throws, and his touch that night was good, sinking 13 of them.

Getting an extra 13 points out of thin air, it’s no wonder the score difference was down to just 5 points.

Faced with Su Wan’s "trash talk," LeBron chose the same as most players in the league...

Silence!

Su Wan looked at him and chuckled.

Okay, he didn’t expect to trigger LeBron into "The zone" mode.

Besides, do they even need "The zone" to play against the Cavaliers?

As soon as the fourth quarter began, Rick Carlisle had Su Wan and Randolph take turns with the ball for one-on-one plays.

Su Wan was up against Vince Carter or Quentin, neither of whom were defensive stalwarts anymore.

And the defenders on Randolph were even easier to bully.

Channing Frye, like most "High Post Guns," could only make his presence felt on the offensive end with long shots.

Defensively, there wasn’t much difference whether he was present or not.

Faced with Zach Randolph, he was almost guarantee to get pushed aside upon contact.

Mike Brown then had Vallejo take on Randolph.

Randolph actually had issues with these "big meat shields."

But Vallejo’s problem was that his movement was just too slow, and Randolph quickly picked up on this, no longer aiming for a goal on his power drives.

His main tactic was to surprise, and as long as the ball touched the rim, he felt confident in grabbing the offensive rebound before Vallejo could, then quickly taking the shot to finish the "second attack."

It’s not an exaggeration to say, Zach Randolph tore apart the Cavaliers’ interior in the fourth quarter, single-handedly scoring 11 points.

Helping the Pacers beat the Cavaliers with a score of 101 to 90, an 11-point victory.

Su Wan finished the game with 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Randolph, in this game, scored a "double-double" with 28 points and 15 rebounds. Of course, many of those rebounds were thanks to Foster’s boxing out.

The next day, the Indiana media described him with the words "hero."

When Zach Randolph saw the newspaper, he read the headline again and again.

In the past, the media always described him as a "cancer," a "parasite of the team"; this was the first time he was described as a "hero" by the media. A surge of unfamiliar emotions welled up in his heart. To this day, 70% of his motivation on the court was due to the Damocles’ sword that Su Wan held over his head.