The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 73 - 71: The Barking Dog

Chapter 73: Chapter 71: The Barking Dog

"What frustrated Michael Reid the most was that the Pacers were all setting the stage for Su Wan, while his teammates at the Bucks, from Mo Williams to Mason, would hardly pass once they got the ball and preferred to go for the bucket themselves."

"The Bucks currently rank twelfth in the Eastern Conference, and it was evident they hadn’t accomplished anything this season."

"Since they couldn’t produce good results, they had to make their statistical performance look better."

"Going solo was the most accurate description of this team at the moment."

"Reid usually didn’t rely so heavily on his teammates, but facing Su Wan’s opposition, simply demanding the ball was ineffective in creating any meaningful impact, and he had to rely on his teammates’ passing."

"On nights when Michael Reid’s gameplay was smooth, the other Bucks players were more willing to pass to him, seeing as he was nominally the ’boss’ of the team, but when he was being outplayed from the start, they had enough reason to ignore his movement."

"After the first quarter ended, Su Wan had already created a significant gap from Reid, scoring 11 points along with 2 rebounds and 3 assists; Reid only managed 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and had 5 shots with only 1 basket made."

"And that was the closest Reid ever got to catching up with Su Wan in the entire game."

"After the second quarter ended, Su Wan had reached 18 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists; Reid had 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists."

"After the third quarter, Su Wan had 28 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists; Reid had 8 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists."

"At the end of the game, Su Wan achieved a career high of 41 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists; Reid only had 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists, with 5 turnovers."

In the entire arena’s cheers, Su Wan accepted an interview, "Michael looked totally unspirited tonight, or else I could have definitely hit 50 points," he said, referring to how he trash-talked Michael Reid the entire game, but Reid didn’t respond even once. Not just Reid, the entire Bucks team turned mute today, completely ignoring his trash talk."

The host asked him, "Is this a rebuttal to Bill Simmons?"

Su Wan looked puzzled, "Who is Bill Simmons?"

The host laughed, "I think you know who he is; he wrote an article about you that sparked a lot of controversy."

Su Wan said, "So he made money off me, there are many like him."

The host asked another question, "Do you think tonight’s game will change his opinion?"

Su Wan said, "I used to have a dog that loved to bark at people, and to this day, it hasn’t stopped that habit."

Post-match interview.

"I never said I was more deserving than uncle; I have always admired him, he’s a phenomenal rookie!" — Reid talked about his eligibility to start as an Eastern All-Star over Su Wan.

"Alright, I think now Bill Simmons should shut up!" — Reggie Miller thought Su Wan’s performance was enough to dispel all doubts.

"That’s uncle, he made it to the All-Star starters because of his performance on the court," — Ron Artest continued to support Su Wan after the game.

"That dumbass Bill should come to Indianapolis to see, then he wouldn’t have any doubts about uncle’s popularity!" — A veteran Pacers fan commented in a post-game interview.

The next morning, Su Wan’s performance of 41 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists dismantling Michael Reid also made the headlines.

Except for Bill Simmons, most media experts acknowledged Su Wan’s position as the top-placed Eastern Conference guard in the first round of All-Star voting.

"Jokingly, he’s the ’third greatest’ rookie in history!"

"His talent is initially proven."

"Otherwise, he would have faced ridicule when competing with LeBron for a spot."

"However, even with that, they hadn’t expected Su Wan to deliver such a powerful performance amidst Bill Simmons’ skepticism."

"To think Michael Reid, one of the more robust fighters in the new generation, was considered the Bucks’ new leader; they saw his potential and comfortably traded Ray Allen away. Although it’s his first year as the nominal boss of the Bucks and he’s still adjusting, his average of 23 points and 44% shooting still showed ’boss-like’ performance; to let Su Wan crush him so completely was unexpected."

"Bill Walton said, ’Su Wan has the traits of a Super Star, such players often deliver stronger performances when faced with doubts.’"

Old Walton’s words weren’t wrong!

"Indeed, from Michael Jordan to the earlier Larry Bird and others, they tended to perform better when doubted."

"To mention Bird, who, faced with journalistic doubts about his left hand, indeed played using his left hand throughout a game against the Blazers — until the decisive fourth quarter, when he finally switched to his right hand, scored a 30-point triple-double, and led his team to victory."

"And left behind that classic line, ’Saving the right hand for the next game against the Lakers.’"

"That’s what a ’Super Star’ looks like."

"Whether or not Su Wan genuinely possesses ’Super Star’ traits isn’t something that can be concluded just because he scored 41 points against a below-average team."

Bill Simmons sneered again, "The fourth in the East defeated the twelfth; is it really worth praising to such an extent? With a partner like Jermaine, Michael could perform better!"

"The Indianapolis Star published a sarcastic article immediately, using Su Wan’s vivid analogy: ’Look, that old dog has started barking again!’"

Bill Simmons had a reason for his provocative output; in the next game, the Pacers would be heading to San Antonio to challenge the Spurs, the second-ranked team in the Western Conference.

"The Spurs have been strong recently, losing only to the Rockets and the Kings in their last 12 games, winning the remaining 10—an even better record than the League-leading Phoenix Suns."

"Bill Simmons believed that the Spurs would surely give Su Wan a tough time."

"With Popovich’s expertise in dealing with rookies, perhaps Su Wan, who scored 41 points against the Bucks, might not even reach 14 points next time. He already had a headline ready titled ’Huaxia rookie can only bully the weak.’"

"After seeing Popovich’s statements before the game, he felt even more reassured."

"Popovich mentioned Su Wan before the game: ’He’s the best rookie of the 2004 class, his style seems mature, and at times on the court, he feels like a machine that never makes mistakes. I’m looking forward to playing against him.’"

"While it seemed all commendatory, Bill Simmons knew well that the harsher Popovich praised a rookie, the tougher he planned to target them."