The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 530 - 226: How Can One Sweep the World Without Being Disturbed at Home (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival Brothers)

Chapter 530: Chapter 226: How Can One Sweep the World Without Being Disturbed at Home (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival Brothers)

Along with the significant win, there were some discordant voices.

Some media personnel thought the Pacers’ starting lineup wasn’t quite reasonable.

In their view, the Pacers could have fielded a much more sensible starting lineup.

They had the conditions to do so.

However, after securing their first victory, the Pacers didn’t stop at one game, not two, nor three, or four, but they went on a "6-game winning streak."

In the half-month since the start of the new season, the team hadn’t lost a single game.

This troubled the media folks who believed the Pacers’ starting lineup needed improvement.

Finally, the opportunity arrived: on November 15th, the Pacers faced off against the New No.1 Pick Derek Rose-led Bulls away from home, performed poorly throughout, and lost their first game of the season.

After the game, reporters swarmed Su Wan, questioning issues with the Pacers’ starting lineup for the new season, suggesting Shaquille O’Neal shouldn’t be in the starting lineup.

Su Wan replied indifferently, "If a 6-win, 1-loss Pacers’ starting lineup has problems, then there isn’t a single team in the league without issues!"

A 6-win, 1-loss record put the Pacers on par with the Lakers and the Celtics, ranked first in the league.

Just this remark left the reporters speechless.

The media also asked Su Wan to comment on Derek Rose’s performance in the game, to which Su Wan said, "Without me, he would have been the youngest regular season MVP in NBA history!"

Upon hearing this, the media on-site were shocked.

Especially the Chicago local journalists, they couldn’t believe that the always arrogant Su Wan would speak so highly of Rose—they were so moved they almost rushed forward to give him a big hug.

How to put it!

If someone else had praised Rose like that, they definitely wouldn’t be so stirred up.

But coming from Su Wan, the compliment held so much more weight.

Another excited person was Shaquille O’Neal; as soon as Su Wan got back on the bus, Shaquille O’Neal saw him and immediately gave up his seat, saying, "Su, you really stand by your mates!"

He knew about Su Wan defending him in front of the media!

Honestly, given the previously fiery relationship between him and Su Wan, if Su Wan had decided to "kick him while he was down" and think he should be on the bench, it wouldn’t have surprised him.

But instead...

Unexpectedly!

Not only had Su Wan not done that, but he also defended him on camera.

Was this still the vindictive Su Wan?

"As long as you’re wearing the Pacers’ jersey, it’s my responsibility to back you up!" Su Wan disdainfully pointed at the seat Shaquille O’Neal had offered, telling him to sit back down, "Don’t block the way!"

Shaquille hurriedly sat back down with an awkward laugh, watching Su Wan go to his usual spot in the back.

In his mind, he couldn’t help but conjure up an image of a precocious, rugged-faced young man with a hairline that looked doomed in the future.

What would LeBron James say in the same situation?

The thought of LeBron’s hypocritical demeanor almost made Shaquille O’Neal want to throw up.

You have to wonder, both of them picked by Danny Ferri, why is there such a huge gap?

From the next day on, Shaquille O’Neal became more proactive in offense.

Whether it was Chauncey Billups with the ball or Su Wan, he actively moved up to assist with screens.

With his size, the quality of the screens was beyond question.

That forced the opposing team’s inside player to step out, switch, help defense or delay.

Both Billups and Su Wan now had the ability to pass the ball to the basket.

Zach Randolph’s increased Core Strength made his 1-on-1 abilities under the basket even more prominent.

Also, even if Zach Randolph couldn’t make the shot, don’t forget about Little O’Neal’s rim assaults.

The Pacers’ starting lineup offense suddenly became crystal clear.

Just like that...

Shaquille O’Neal’s time on the court was indeed limited to just 6 minutes!

Reporters quickly noticed Shaquille O’Neal’s change.

Had no choice, "disliking screens" was almost a tag for the "Shark."

His sudden active screening was strikingly noticeable.

Of course, some media thought this was just Shaquille O’Neal reacting to external criticisms and having a sense of urgency, a temporary adjustment he made.

No one could guarantee how long he could maintain this state.

They pointed to Shaquille O’Neal’s time with the Cavaliers as an example; when he first joined the Cavaliers, he was very proactive in cooperating with LeBron, but after a while, he retracted into the paint again. Although he started screening again later, it was clear to everyone that there had been issues between him and LeBron O’Neal. He was only actively cooperating with screening to get Gibson, who was supporting the outside, to pass to him.

Didn’t he shrink back in the paint again when he later went to the Brooklyn Nets?

These past cases were proof.

Shaquille O’Neal was someone who wouldn’t rise early without a profit.

Frightened, the "Shark" quickly reassured Su Wan that he would indeed keep up this energy.

Su Wan had supported him so strongly; of course, he had to contribute to the "community"!

Now in the locker room alone with Shaquille O’Neal, he solemnly corrected him, "Shaquille, let me set one thing straight, you’re not doing this for me. If you’re only being this active on the court because I defended you in front of the media, then you really don’t have to!"

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