The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 60 - 59 You guys must talk more often in the future

Chapter 60: Chapter 59 You guys must talk more often in the future

Returning to Indiana from Philly, the Pacers had two days to rest and prepare for the upcoming "Christmas Day Game."

Close to Christmas, the Pacers arranged community service to give back to the fans, with the most popular amongst Indiana fans, Su Wan, and the least favored by the Pacers’ "die-hard fans", Artest, becoming representatives of the team.

Upon learning about this, Walsh rushed into the general manager’s office,

"You want to see Ron become the focus of public opinion again for hitting a fan?"

From his perspective, the completely untrustworthy Ron shouldn’t be appearing in public right now.

Larry Bird, however, remained calm as he put on the Christmas hat that a fan had just given him. He looked at himself in the mirror, decided it didn’t look too bad, and planned to take it home to amuse his grandchild. He waited until Walsh’s rage had subsided before saying, "Don’t worry, with Uncle here, nothing like that will happen."

You really trust him, did he win the "Nobel Peace Prize"?

If it had been before, Walsh would have certainly responded with such sarcasm, but after Su’s arrival, he had seen the changes throughout the city and couldn’t refute Bird’s words.

Meanwhile, the car arrived at its destination, and Artest hesitated, afraid to get out. Su Wan shook his head speechlessly at Artest’s demeanor, "Right now, you look just like a decent woman who’s cheated with her husband’s best friend!"

Artest was in no mood for jokes; he was genuinely worried: "Uncle, won’t the fans gang up on me later?"

"I don’t know about the fans, but if you keep wasting my time, I might!" Su Wan opened the car door and stepped out first. Seeing that nothing happened, Artest hurriedly followed, sticking close to Su, almost ready to hug his arm.

At this moment, he was like a helpless little girl.

The situation did not betray me.

"Ron, you need to show your vulnerable side to the Indiana fans," Su said. "Tell them how much you are hurting, that you indeed did something foolish, but it was because the other person disrespected you first. Everyone deserves respect, right?"

Su’s words left Ron Artest stunned, and after a moment, he showed an expression of sudden realization.

It turned out that Artest wasn’t entirely foolish.

In the following meet-and-greet with the fans, he expressed his apologies while woefully sharing how miserable his recent experiences had been before emphatically concluding, "If I had known the consequences of hitting someone who disrespected me, I absolutely would not have done such a stupid thing. I would have controlled my anger, yes, he did break the spectator code, but he is a spectator, and no matter what, I should not have retaliated physically, even though what he did was truly disrespectful and hurt my pride!"

Others might not have realized, but Su, after watching Artest’s performance, for a moment also thought:

The League’s punishment was really too harsh!

Isn’t a season enough?

And now the playoffs too?

As someone privy to the situation, even he felt this way, which shows how empathetic Artest’s pleading was.

At that moment, the fans on-site realized that Artest was also a victim.

Like the Pacers...

The event ended smoothly without any incidents, and when Artest got back in the car, his expression was one of satisfaction. He could feel that all the Pacers fans present had softened their attitude towards him after his tearful speech.

He wanted to take Su out for a drink.

Su refused because he planned to head back to the gym for some extra practice.

Artest was baffled: "Buddy, you really don’t have to be so disciplined. Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve, even Washington will take a holiday!"

Su replied, "I’ve been receiving more and more criticism about my shooting lately. I need to adjust as soon as possible!"

"Are you always this humble?" Artest felt like he was seeing a different side of Su for the first time.

"If the criticism is correct, I’m still willing to listen," Su said as he stepped out of the car, adding, "And I’m from Huaxia, we don’t celebrate foreign holidays, see you!"

Conseco Arena was quiet.

Today, Rick Carlisle gave everyone a day off.

But when Su arrived at the practice court, he unexpectedly saw young O’Neal.

He had come for extra practice too!

Young O’Neal was even more surprised than Su; he knew Su had gone to do community service.

He was well aware of how exhausting community service can be, and it’s not just about making an appearance. Yet Su had rushed back to practice.

"Why so surprised? Are you hiding a woman in the gym?"

Su was the first to speak up, breaking the silence with a direct gaze, pretending to look around, searching for the woman he mentioned, which successfully brought a smile to young O’Neal’s face. In this moment, he saw a side of Su that was unusual—an ability to be comically humorous.

Was I too wary of him before?

Young O’Neal had always felt threatened by Su’s "parachuting" into the team and becoming the tactical core. In his mind, the Pacers was "Miller"--post Reggie Miller’s retirement, it would be "O’Neal."

But Su’s words in the locker room on his first day left him with no fucks to give.

He didn’t dare to challenge or provoke at such times, and could only watch as Su stepped up, step by step.

And kept a growing distance from Su.

It was his way of protesting: he accepted that everyone was working hard to win games, but did not accept Su just becoming the boss of the Pacers.

That was supposed to be his spot.

Sensitive as he was, Su could feel the faint hostility from young O’Neal.

If he were Tang San, young O’Neal would already be on a path to death.

Fortunately, he wasn’t Tang San.

He could understand.

If he were in the same situation, he would also resist.

It was a process that needed time.

What mattered was that young O’Neal hadn’t done any scheming during this process.

That was enough!

No one can be liked by everyone.

He was willing to compete fairly with all.

That was the absolute confidence of a showoff!

But Su Wan might not have anticipated that his little joke would actually change little O’Neal’s attitude.

The first to notice this was Rick Carlisle the next day.

Since ten days ago, he had been preparing for this "Christmas Battle," during team practice sessions, he increased the pick-and-roll drills for Su Wan and little O’Neal to get them accustomed to each other on the floor.

The progress had been slow, and the results weren’t great.

But today, during practice, he found that the pick-and-roll between the two was significantly better.

Especially for little O’Neal, who was much more active than before.

The pick-and-roll is a tactic where the big players give more.

"Did you guys go out together yesterday?" Rick Carlisle asked Su Wan after practice.

Su Wan told the truth, "When I got to the arena, I happened to see Jermaine practicing extra, so we chatted for a bit."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"Then you guys definitely need to chat more often."

Overnight, not only little O’Neal’s attitude toward Su Wan changed, but also Pacers fans’ attitude toward Ron Artest.

"Do you know, Larry, just now there were dozens of Indiana fans running to the fan plaza with banners protesting, defending Ron Artest, saying that the league’s punishment for Ron was too harsh, damn it, can you believe this is what those people, who were threatening to burn down Ron’s house before, are saying now?"

Walsh was stunned when he heard the news, and he immediately rushed into Larry Bird’s office. Finding him not there, he quickly pulled out his phone and dialed, waking up an irritated Bird who cursed,

"Then you should charter a flight for these guys to protest at the NBA headquarters, instead of calling me with this stupid disturbance. I’m not working today!"

"Beep beep beep!"

The busy tone came through the line, but Walsh was in a great mood.

When Ron Artest heard about this, he was also overjoyed. On Christmas Day, he prepared a special gift for Su Wan to express his gratitude: a "Green Water Ghost."

For Artest, who had been fined his whole season’s salary, it was like cutting off a huge chunk of his own flesh.

"If you still don’t think it’s enough, Uncle, I can write a song for you!"

"Get lost!"

Su Wan cursed, not too pleased. What did he think he was, Taylor Swift?

Nevertheless, he accepted the "Green Water Ghost."

"Now get lost, don’t affect my warm-up. I need to kick those Detroit brats’ asses for you tonight!"

To win this game, Su Wan came to the arena four hours early to warm up with some shooting.

Why was he so eager to win this game?

The reason was simple, it was an opportunity to unify the whole of Indiana even more. Nothing creates a deeper "comradeship" than struggling together and defeating a fierce rival.

Even Rick Carlisle, who rarely speaks "chicken soup," shouted in the locker room, "All of Indiana is watching. We must win this battle!"

All that can be said is, people who are not good at giving "chicken soup" should just avoid it.

Because if "chicken soup" is used incorrectly, it can turn into "poison."

Like now, Rick Carlisle’s speech made everyone feel an increase in pressure. — Losing in front of their home crowd would be so embarrassing!

Seeing the atmosphere was off, Su Wan sent Erin a text message:

— You should be here for the interview today, right? Come to the locker room now.

Erin didn’t reply to the text, but in less than five minutes, she appeared panting at the locker room door, with her chest heaving markedly, drawing stares from the guys.

"I might need to do an interview for a few minutes, can everyone please keep their voices down?"

Su Wan’s words silenced the locker room, Erin looked astonished; she knew what this implied.

Soon, she asked the question Su Wan hoped she would ask, "Uncle, everyone is paying attention to this game. Do you think you will lose? (If you lose) Will that become a pressure for you?"

The already quiet locker room grew even more silent.

Reggie Miller, little O’Neal... everyone unconsciously turned their heads, curious to hear his response. They were worried about this hypothetical turning real, and they felt the pressure mounting.

Su Wan said, "I won’t feel any pressure. We are just a weakened lineup. We gave the opposition the season’s best defensive player, a near top-tier forward. The pressure should be on the Pistons. If they lose to a Pacers team like this, it’s just proof that their championship in June was luck, capitalizing on the turmoil in the OK combination!"

What a vicious tongue!

But all the Pacers players present got a kick out of it.

And Su Wan’s words also made them realize:

Right!

They are at full strength, and we are just a weakened lineup.

Losing this game would be normal, but winning? That’s a victory worth its weight in gold!

What’s there to be nervous about!

The atmosphere in the locker room was no longer so tense.

Erin completed her mission smoothly and was ushered out by Su Wan.

Su Wan returned to the locker room and locked the door. Now, he just hoped that Rick Carlisle wouldn’t show up again before the game started.

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