The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 680 - 256: 60 Plus... Is this really the end of the game for Su Wan?

Chapter 680: Chapter 256: 60 Plus... Is this really the end of the game for Su Wan?

Su Wan couldn’t watch the end.

He just couldn’t take it anymore.

Watching the Heat Team’s game was truly a meal spoiler!

He scoffed down three sandwiches and even ordered a McDonald’s.

To help digest, he had a deep conversation with Ivanka in her study.

When he turned off the TV, the score was 63 to 72, with the Heat Team trailing by 9 points.

The next morning, Su Wan flipped through the sports section of the New York Times. The headline read, "LeBron’s return helps the Atlanta Hawks ’upset’ the Heat Team 98 to 88."

What a malicious headline!

Su Wan paid special attention to the player stats from both teams.

Especially the Heat Team’s:

Wade made 7 of 17 shots, 1 of 3 three-point shots, and 4 of 6 free throws, scoring a total of 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists;

LeBron James made 8 of 20 shots, 1 of 3 three-point shots, and 3 of 3 free throws, scoring 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists with 6 turnovers; freēwēbηovel.c૦m

Chris Bosh made 5 of 14 shots, 0 of 4 three-point shots, and 2 of 2 free throws, ending up with just 12 points, 1 rebound, and 2 blocks;

...

Ah, it was the Heat Team Su Wan remembered.

Especially Chris Bosh.

Before, he’d been so aggressive that Su Wan could barely recognize him.

But it took just one game with LeBron to revert him back to "normal"!

Su Wan checked online for media commentary on the game, and unsurprisingly, there was a chorus of mockery.

Prior to the game, Miami media had heralded LeBron’s debut as "the official grand finale of the League!"

Barkley promptly responded after the game, "Whether the League ends or not, I don’t know, but it seems like Miami’s definitely had their finale!"

Bill Walton commented, "This game clearly shows us that basketball isn’t just about adding talents together; whether their styles fit is very important!"

Shaquille O’Neal reiterated his point: "You can always trust LeBron to not let you down when it comes to disappointment!"

The Cleveland Plain Dealer stated, "LeBron has talent, but it’s limited to a lineup built entirely around him. He can’t adapt to others, which was already proven in Cleveland!"

Besides these familiar faces, countless other media pundits chimed in.

The storm was brewing...

But Su Wan knew the real challenge lay ahead.

The NBA is a round-based game: LeBron could lose one match, but by winning the next, the tide of public opinion could quickly turn.

Then, most of the criticism would likely morph into praise for the Heat Team.

LeBron was well aware of this, so after losing the debut, he wasn’t too flustered, he just went from "confident" before the game to "humble" after, "We still need some time to gel, but I believe everything will work out! We’ll show our true strength!"

Wade stood by LeBron, "We all know his abilities. This isn’t just his challenge, but one for all of the Heat Team players. We will overcome it together, I’m certain of it!"

Spoelstra repeated what he’d said before the game, "He hasn’t played in a while, and we lacked practice together. We need some time; one game doesn’t say much."

In the afternoon, Su Wan went to Madison Square Garden and was asked for his opinion on LeBron’s poor debut and his post-game remarks. Su Wan said, "Having confidence is good, and he made logical points, but the key is... can they really gel?"

Su Wan’s words proved prophetic.

The Heat Team quickly faced their second game with the "Three Giants" united, hosting the Lakers. They lost again by a margin of 9 points, 93 to 102, suffering "back-to-back defeats."

The game once more saw meaningless passing between Wade and LeBron, and hesitancy when offensive opportunities arose.

Additionally, Chris Bosh grabbed just 2 rebounds for the second game in a row, sparking heated discussion.

Before LeBron’s return, Bosh was averaging 10.8 rebounds, ranked seventh in the League.

But after LeBron came back, his average dropped to just 1.5 rebounds...

The contrast was stark.

And it wasn’t just rebounds where Bosh had shrunk.

In these two games, he also averaged only 12.5 points, 10 less than his average for the first 30 games of the season.

That’s a significant "shrinkage"!

And it all started with LeBron’s return.

ABC commentator Hubie Brown mentioned during the game, "LeBron’s return has affected Chris Bosh the most!"

Mitchell, Bosh’s former coach, and winner of "Coach of the Year" thanks to Bosh, said, "The Heat Team now is not allowing Chris Bosh to be himself. By making LeBron comfortable, they completely sacrificed Chris Bosh. Please respect Chris, he was once seventh in the regular season MVP standings, he’s no worse than anyone!"

Amidst the flurry of heated discussions and support for Bosh, the Heat Team next faced the Thunder Team away. Kevin Durant scored an explosive 40 points, nailing mid-range and three-point shots over LeBron in the final moments, leading the team to a 109 to 95 victory, with a 14-point difference.

After this "three-game losing streak," some Miami media couldn’t sit idly by any longer. They started denouncing Spoelstra, claiming he didn’t know how to utilize the "Three Giants."