The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 82 - 80 He Doesn’t Think So Anymore! (Second Update)

Chapter 82: Chapter 80 He Doesn’t Think So Anymore! (Second Update)

Su Wan knew how to tiptoe through Kobe’s minefields.

He said, "He is Kobe, not Michael Jordan," causing the "Little Flying Knight" to break down again.

Kobe had long been tired of responding; he wasn’t the type who enjoyed trading insults in the media. This time, he had replied again and again solely because Su Wan’s sharp tongue always provoked him to respond.

How could he not respond to this remark?

Kobe was genuinely angry. He said directly, "I hope this guy’s skills on the court are as strong as his mouth!"

On the 20th, as the team bus arrived at the Staples Center, early-arriving Los Angeles people immediately greeted Su Wan with a unified chorus of boos.

Seeing their righteous indignation, Artest had no doubt that the whole of Los Angeles now considered Su Wan "the most hated man."

And now, Su Wan had become the "public enemy" of both Detroit and San Antonio...

The season had only just passed the halfway point, and Su Wan had already made so many cities’ fans hostile—his trouble-making ability was truly something!

However, Su Wan didn’t take it to heart: "Even if I become the public enemy of the entire United States, it doesn’t matter..."

His base was in Indiana; as long as Pacers fans were all his supporters, then nothing was a problem.

Moreover, although the Los Angeles fans hated him now, if one day Su Wan became a player for the Lakers, their attitude would probably change 180 degrees immediately, offering up the most devout cheers.

Such are fans!

Loyal yet "fickle" fans!

Before the game, when Su Wan entered the Staples Center, Artest felt more than ever that all of Los Angeles saw Su Wan as the "public enemy." The immense booing was like a tidal wave entering his ears, and the fang-baring Lakers fans seemed as if they wanted to devour Su Wan alive.

Erin, who had won the right to conduct sideline interviews today, saw Su Wan sitting on the bench and curiously asked, "I heard that you didn’t give Kobe the court for warm-ups before the game?"

Su Wan was more surprised: "Did you see it in the reports?"

The incident had occurred less than 3 hours ago.

To better prepare for the game, Su Wan had come to the venue early to warm up, and as the saying goes, "adversaries are destined to meet," he arrived just as Kobe was also there to practice his shooting.

Initially, all was calm, and the two practiced shooting on their respective halves of the court.

About half an hour later, Kobe proposed switching sides, but Su Wan refused, as he hadn’t adjusted his own state yet.

That riled up Kobe, seeing the rookie Su Wan not understanding the unwritten codes of the world, he stubbornly stayed on Su’s side, and they practiced their shooting together.

With only one basket, the two simultaneously shooting was bound to cause their balls to collide.

Whenever this happened, Kobe would stare at Su Wan with eyes like those of a venomous snake.

Su Wan swore that at first, it was not intentional, but later... he mainly wanted to see if Kobe would glare every time. Plus, when Kobe glared, he didn’t shoot, so Su Wan could use these moments to practice his "quick shooting."

Gradually, Kobe began to retaliate.

The pre-game warm-up turned into a session of mutual interference. Dozens of basketballs scattered everywhere, and the two parted ways unhappily.

When Erin heard this, her already prominent lips involuntarily parted; she knew that Su Wan was a person who never easily backed down from anything. But she had not expected him to be so adversarial face to face with Kobe.

"This story, if it gets out, should probably improve LeBron’s mood, right?"

Erin wasn’t exaggerating.

If it weren’t for the "Eagle County incident," David Stern would have already been promoting Kobe as the "face of the League," the genuine "League’s pride," and NBA’s "superstar."

In terms of influence alone, Kobe had more than Su Wan and LeBron combined.

This was also why this "war of words" was so eye-catching.

The most explosive newcomer against the most influential guard, which media wouldn’t want to fuel the situation and make the topic even hotter?

During the Lakers’ player introduction ceremony at their home game, Su Wan also got to see Kobe’s popularity in Los Angeles.

To put it in a cliched way:

This was his city!

Today, Kobe’s face looked even sourer than usual.

The Lakers fans also knew why, so they sent up an even more fervent cheer, expecting Kobe to give Su Wan, this audacious rookie, a harsh lesson on the court.

But the frenzied atmosphere of the scene only made the Lakers’ team atmosphere more oppressive.

With a sulky-faced Kobe, nobody else dared to speak loudly.

Artest gestured to his good buddy Odom to say hello but saw Odom, typically carefree, acting like a "blind man." He discreetly gauged Kobe’s sight lines and persistently waved at Artest:

Forget it, forget it, let’s not today!

He was quite sure that if he went to greet Artest and they ended up losing the game, it would still be okay.

But if they lost...

Kobe’s look could dismember him in minutes.

Risking his life just to say hello really wasn’t worth it, especially with so many women waiting for him!

Before the game started, Rick Carlisle opened the Lakers’ starting lineup:

Point guard Chaki Atkins, shooting guard Kobe, small forward Caron Butler, power forward Odom, and center Chris Mimm.

Objectively speaking, the Lakers’ starting lineup this season had strength.

Atkins, known as the "Wandering Man" of the league, had ample experience.

Caron Butler and Odom had made it to the second round of the playoffs with the Heat last season and were important components of the team, with Odom even having been selected as "Player of the Month" on the Heat. However, their lineup’s lack of cohesion, combined with Kobe’s "divine skills" not yet being fully developed, resulted in them currently ranking twelfth in the Western Conference.

This became apparent right from the start.

Chris Mimm had won the ball for the team, and just as Atkins had crossed half court, he saw Kobe signaling for the ball.

Used to chaotic play with the ball, he had no choice but to pass it.

But once he passed the ball, he was practically useless.

On the other side, seeing Kobe with the ball, Caron Butler prepared to catch and shoot. Later, this move would help him become one of the "Three Musketeers" with the Wizards.

However, Kobe and Arenas were not the same type of player.

Arenas was one of the league’s best dual-purpose guards, combining personal attack and passing excellently.

Kobe...

His passing required him to deliberately observe the positions of his teammates.

In later games, to prove his passing ability, he tried to achieve a triple-double several times. However, each time his team lost.

In his more mature years, Kobe couldn’t use passing to break open games, and it was even more so now, resulting in Caron Butler just standing by and watching.

It seemed like he was creating space for Kobe, but in reality, he wasn’t.

The Pacers’ defensive formation was still spread around Kobe, and any thought of a breakthrough by Kobe would immediately turn Su Wan’s one-on-one defense into a double team against him.

Thinking about it, even if he didn’t verbalize it, Kobe probably understood by now how much space Shaquille O’Neal had created for him.

Su Wan glanced at the positions of his teammates behind him with his peripheral vision and started with close guarding right away; Kobe displayed his skilled dribbling and breakthrough techniques.

In terms of skills, Kobe had no weaknesses, even though he hadn’t learned the "Dream Step" yet. His offensive skills were plentiful:

Isolation face-up, pick-and-roll ball-handler, transition offense, post-up play, spot-up driving, catch-and-shoot around screens, hand-offs, backdoor cuts... Except for off-ball screens, he could score through almost any approach.

And to utilize all these offensive maneuvers in game, one must possess a wide array of offensive skills.

At present, Kobe hadn’t yet mastered the "Dream Step," thus isolation face-ups were his most frequently used offensive tactic, accounting for 37%!

What does that mean?

Even the future "League’s Scoring King," Kyrie Irving, had only 21.4%...

The person with the highest isolation percentage was Jamal Crawford, who, with his signature "behind-the-ball jump-step," became the player with the highest viewer appreciation in the league for ball-handling offense, yet his isolation plays were only 25.3%!

People described Carmelo Anthony as a "natural scorer" and then used "Kobe" to describe a "natural scorer."

Kobe, faced with Su Wan’s tight defense, wasn’t flustered. Instead, he used his elbow, comparable to Ma Long’s, to fiercely hit Su Wan during their body contact. He thought that would make Su Wan back down.

But unexpectedly, Su Wan just grunted, stiffened a bit, and then continued his close defense.

Kobe’s forced shot from isolation did not go in.

Little O’Neal grabbed the rebound.

"Is that all you’ve got?" Su Wan gritted his teeth and asked.

At this moment, his chest was throbbing with pain.

The nickname "Little Malone" wasn’t for naught.

Fortunately, he had always been jostling with Artest, and his ability to withstand elbow strikes had peaked. He knew Kobe’s elbow was a show of power, but strong confrontations like that hardly intimidated him.

It was a common occurrence for him.

Curiosity flickered deep in Kobe’s eyes.

His opinion of Su Wan had changed somewhat.

He had thought that Su Wan would surely complain that his elbow was dirty, but...

What he hadn’t anticipated was that Su Wan would then ask for the ball himself and even provocatively gesture at him, stirring boos from the crowd and provoking Kobe to immediately close in on him. He wanted to show Su Wan the "close wrapping" ability that he had learned from Gary Payton.

But the moment Kobe approached, Su Wan quickly crouched and lowered his center of gravity, ready to forcefully break through.

Kobe reacted quickly, swiftly thrusting forward.

Then...

"Uh ah!"

He couldn’t help but grunt.

While lowering his center of gravity for the breakthrough, Su Wan, who had a similar build to Kobe, also forcefully used his elbow, landing it right on Kobe’s stomach.

Even though there were eight pack abs, how could they withstand such a charged elbow?

Kobe felt like he was about to vomit last night’s dinner.

Su Wan instantly created space between them, broke through with a layup, and scored successfully.

"You can talk to the ref!"

Su Wan, having scored, looked back at Kobe indicating the referee’s position.

He was confident enough because his elbowing was within his "cylinder"!

Rather than saying he elbowed Kobe’s stomach, it was more that Kobe had aggressively pressed in, and his stomach had hit Su Wan’s elbow.

The only difference...

Su Wan did it intentionally.

Interesting, huh~

Kobe licked his lips, his face showing frenzy; he had thought this would be a boring confrontation, but now...

He didn’t think so anymore!

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