The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 616 - 243 He Absolutely Can’t Be the Second_2

Chapter 616: Chapter 243 He Absolutely Can’t Be the Second_2

Either his personality was too mild, or he feared confrontation.

Marvin Williams belonged to both categories.

Small O’Neal was just good at defending this type of player.

As for Al Horford, the "blind spot detector" at the five spot, he could hold his own and help defend, but he was not top-notch in either area.

Randolph was more afraid of those powerful, heavyset inside players, like Perkins.

Horford clearly wasn’t that type, and Zach Randolph had no problem facing him.

Of course, the strength of the Hawks team also lay in: fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Their bench had Jamal Crawford.

That was the main reason the Hawks ranked third in the Eastern Conference regular season.

Their offensive firepower was abundant.

The Heat Team was completely suppressed in a firefight and ultimately lost the series.

Rick Carlisle was well aware of this, so to win against the Hawks, either limit their firepower or unleash more ferocious firepower than them. He did not hesitate:

Bring up the Italian Cannon!

A firefight?

Let’s do it!

See which side had more ammunition.

From the beginning, the Pacers focused all their energy on the offensive end.

Under Billups’ orchestration, Pacers players stepped up to score one after another.

The first quarter had just reached 3 minutes and 13 seconds, when all five Pacers on the court, including Afflalo, had scored.

But the Hawks were equally fierce in their attack, firing on multiple fronts.

By the end of the first quarter, the score was 32 to 29.

Neither head coach changed tactics, apparently satisfied with their players’ performances.

The first half of the second quarter continued to be a deadlock, but in the latter half, Su Wan began to frequently isolate for one-on-ones, and Joe Johnson couldn’t stop him, only managing to respond.

But in terms of scoring explosiveness, there were only a few in the league who could wrestle with Su Wan:

Kobe, Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and the regular season version of Kevin Durant.

Joe Johnson was not on that list.

Of course, this was normal; if Joe Johnson were at Su Wan’s level, then the Hawks wouldn’t be called the "Civilian Five Hawks."

With the Hawks’ current lineup, if led by a second-in-command of Su Wan’s caliber, they could at least guarantee a spot in the finals.

But this season, the Hawks climbed to third in the East, largely thanks to Joe Johnson, the "train head."

Bill Walton commented, "Joe Johnson is quite excellent, but when compared to Su Wan, he falls a bit short."

By halftime, the Pacers had extended the lead to nine points.

The Hawks had never lost at any other time except when it was crucial for a superstar to stand up, where they lost by 6 points.

Kenny Smith said, "This is the biggest difference between the postseason and the regular season!"

During the regular season, when a "leader" couldn’t reach the upper limits of their ability, the team could still compensate, but in the playoffs, it’s much harder for role players to help compensate for the "leader."

In the playoffs, it largely comes down to which side’s "leader" is tougher!

Those who lost in upsets all had an absolute core that wasn’t tough enough.

The 2007 playoffs with the Mavericks being "Black Eight" proved this, and this year, the Cavaliers being "Black Eight" proved it again.

Marion’s injury was a fact, but so was LeBron James’ poor performance in the "do or die" game!

And on the other side, Derek Rose was tough when it mattered.

Coming into the second half, the Hawks began defending against Su Wan.

As a result, Su Wan wasn’t contained, but rather their own tempo became chaotic.

In the fourth quarter, Su Wan scored 10 consecutive points, finishing the game with a total of 39 points, helping his team to a decisive 118 to 98 victory over the Hawks.

Besides the 39 points, Su Wan also had 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.

Joe Johnson could compete with him in the first half, but as the Hawks’ head coach changed tactics in the second half, his performance on the offensive end dipped.

Su Wan had to admit, the responsibility he carried in this game was much smaller than that of Joe Johnson.

Most of the time, he just needed to finish plays and defend his position.

Joe Johnson, besides personal offense and defense, had to fill the role of organizer and passer when Crawford was on the court and Mike Bibby wasn’t.

Many people didn’t realize that Joe Johnson, known as "Single King," was actually a "two-guard" similar to Billups, who didn’t need to keep the ball in his hands for long.

The only difference is, Billups was better at the "Magic Ball" style of play, while Joe Johnson mastered the "back-to-back single."

It could be said that the "Hawk King" was a very useful "second-in-command."

His abilities as a core leader were slightly lacking.

It was originally impossible for him to directly counter Su Wan, and in the second half he took on even more responsibilities, unable to keep up with Su Wan’s firepower, which was understandable.

He finished with only 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Compared to his regular season performance, this data wasn’t much different.

It’s just that in the playoffs, merely sustaining a regular season performance level was only All-Star caliber!

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