The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 705 - 261: Even as a Substitute, He is the ’Chosen One

Chapter 705: Chapter 261: Even as a Substitute, He is the ’Chosen One

The game started amid the crowd’s booing.

At the beginning, everything seemed normal. Although there was booing, the game wasn’t fiercely intense.

The Heat Team’s overall strength was far superior to the Cavaliers.

Additionally, without LeBron causing trouble on the court, the Heat Team quickly established a 10-point lead.

But once LeBron entered the game, the atmosphere became tense, and the Cavaliers’ players began to play more aggressively.

LeBron stumbled nearly every time he caught the ball, and every confrontation met with vigorous defense.

The Cavaliers made some trades during the summer, but many were not so easy to offload, leaving faces that once called LeBron "Big Brother." And it was these faces that were ruthless, some movements seemingly aimed not at the ball.

LeBron grimaced in pain, but the fouling players just nonchalantly raised their hands, indicating they had fouled.

At this moment, the crowd would erupt in cheers.

The Cleveland fans clearly had the attitude, "As long as you hit LeBron, you’re a good player for our team."

Finally, the game ended in a devastating 21-point loss for the Cavaliers, but LeBron’s bare arms were covered in visible scratch marks. This sight inflamed the Cleveland fans once more, who relentlessly booed LeBron.

LeBron walked past them with the posture of a victor.

Barkley, watching his haughty manner, sarcastically commented, "If I were LeBron, I might not have that kind of confidence!"

Does this guy really not think he’s done anything wrong?

After the game, LeBron criticized the Cavaliers’ players, "They weren’t playing basketball; they were just venting their anger!"

Perhaps feeling that wasn’t enough, he then tweeted, "I know, the boy from Akron will never truly be accepted by Cleveland. I’ve always known, but still hoped. Clearly, I was wildly mistaken!"

A strong scent of drama filled the air.

The next day on Twitter, Shaquille O’Neal posted, "If I were a Clevelander, I would never forgive LeBron!"

Su Wan saw this tweet and, thinking of the original Cleveland fans, just shook his head, smiling.

He once thought about going to Cleveland to block LeBron’s retreat.

But now, thinking about it, such an idea was ridiculous.

He wasn’t a Clevelander and had no ties to Ohio. Moreover, he had been rejected by this city. If he went back just to spite LeBron, the sacrifice would be too great.

The most important thing was...

Even if he did go back

and he said outing loud, "Cleveland, this is for you," and successfully disgusted LeBron,

and then left Cleveland,

he would turn to see Clevelanders welcoming LeBron James back.

Then it would be his turn to feel disgusted!

So last summer, he never considered the idea of returning to Cleveland.

On January 21st, the New York Knicks went to Chicago to challenge the current first in the league, the Bulls.

Before the season started, when Derek Rose declared his intention to aim for the regular-season MVP award, even with Su Wan’s endorsement, the media was still skeptical.

But as the new season commenced, Derek Rose’s increasingly noticeable performance, along with the Bulls’ seemingly transformed team strength, slowly turned his MVP talk into reality.

During this season, Derek Rose’s popularity also skyrocketed.

The All-Star starting vote entered its third round.

Derek Rose shockingly ranked second among Eastern Conference guards.

He even pushed Dwyane Wade behind him.

His momentum was formidable.

However, the Bulls’ impressive record wasn’t only due to Derek Rose’s transformation but also thanks to a person who joined the Bulls last summer as the new head coach, Tom Thibodeau.

His arrival had significantly enhanced the Bulls’ defensive capabilities.

Tom Thibodeau’s coaching style in 2011 was exactly the same as in 2024.

To describe it in one sentence:

He saw himself as a "plantation owner" and turned these black players into their ancestors.

The only difference was that their ancestors picked cotton in the fields, while these players played basketball on the court.

In the playoffs, it was common for core players to play more than 40 minutes.

But in the regular season, playing over 40 minutes was rare, except for LeBron, who turned "data padding" into his lifelong career where usually core players played around 36 minutes in the regular season.

This season, Derek Rose’s average playing time soared to 37.4 minutes, and he used Ruhl even more ruthlessly, averaging 39.8 minutes.

These two were the Bulls’ "offense and defense."

The entire Bulls’ playstyle revolved around them.

The Bulls’ offensive strategy this season resembled the Philadelphia 76ers of 2001.

Back in 2001, the 76ers concentrated all shooting rights into Allen Iverson’s hands.

This season, the Bulls did the same with Derek Rose.

Therefore, speaking of shooting percentages this season, Rose was not as efficient as in the previous two, with an average shooting accuracy of 44.5%, nearly 4% lower than last season!