The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 89 - 87: I hate sneaky people like Bruce Bowen the most ( - 9)

Chapter 89: Chapter 87: I hate sneaky people like Bruce Bowen the most (Chapter 9)

The game started with a burst of enthusiastic cheers from the crowd.

Because Su Wan had taken the initiative to switch onto LeBron James, looking at him with a provocative face.

Paul Silas looked surprised.

Although what Su Wan had just said to him had made it clear that Su Wan would match up against LeBron in this game, he hadn’t expected Su Wan to stand in front of LeBron right from the start.

Was he so eager to slap LeBron in the face?

"Come on, high schooler, let me see if you’ve improved in the last two months!"

Su Wan’s words were irritating, but what was more glaring than his trash talking was his defense...

Facing LeBron who was already standing on the three-point line, Su Wan didn’t get up close but gave him a considerable amount of space, LeBron could shoot just by raising his hand.

"What, don’t you dare shoot?" Su Wan continued to provoke.

LeBron had shooting ability.

But it was the ability to catch and shoot.

Towards the end of his career, he once became one of the league’s top catch and shoot three-point shooters.

The main reason was that his catch-and-shoot movements were more coherent; he didn’t need to make too many adjustments.

This was also another reason Su Wan dared to give so much space:

When LeBron had the ball, if he wanted to shoot, everyone in the world could see it coming.

His gather was just too big!

Such obvious catching motion and a slow shot, even if Su Wan took a nap, he could rush up in time to contest it.

LeBron felt humiliated once again.

This time, he was even more upset because it was Su Wan himself who was humiliating him!

Just like him, the commentators from Cleveland sports stations felt insulted, and they roared angrily, "Shoot him, LeBron, shoot him, let Su Wan know how formidable you are, make him not dare to underestimate you again!"

Their frenzied appearance easily reminded one of the "blowhole-spraying whale" from the future.

Unfortunately, LeBron didn’t respond to Su Wan’s contempt with a shot as they wished. He was still observing his teammates’ positioning, patiently waiting for an opportunity.

In the words of LeBron’s fans: This is called basketball IQ.

From a bystander’s perspective: This is called timidity!

No wonder even the little Kalami on the Magic Team bench dared to shout at him, "Get a real championship ring."

Sometimes being too reasonable means losing some dominance.

Like now, when the ball was passed from his hands, immediate jeering laughter rose from the crowd. Many Pacers fans disdainfully waved their hands, is this "The Chosen One"? Su Wan was provoking him like this, and he still didn’t dare to shoot.

Not daring to shoot was one thing, but the key was...

During his hesitation, the 24-second shot clock had dwindled down to only 10 seconds.

"Big Z" got the ball but didn’t even have time to plant his feet before he had to look for someone to pass to. —If he attacked in the last 5 seconds again, he would definitely be frenziedly double-teamed by the Pacers.

But such a hurriedly forced shot also came too rushed, the ball bounced off the rim and fell into Jermaine O’Neal’s hands.

Tinsley took over the ball and pushed the counterattack quickly.

The Cavaliers’ transition defense was still decent, he didn’t find an opportunity, so he passed the ball to Su Wan, who had steadied himself on the right wing.

"Come defend me, you high schooler!" Su Wan spoke up again, taunting LeBron.

LeBron didn’t dare confront his provocation head-on, but shouted to McGinnis who stood in front of Su Wan, "Jeff, don’t mind his shot, just defend his breakthrough!"

He wanted Su Wan to taste the humiliation of being left unguarded.

Only...

McGinnis obediently followed the instructions, even though Su Wan was standing on the three-point line, he gave a big step, allowing ample space. Without hesitation, Su Wan stepped forward to the right, pulled up for a mid-range jump shot.

The ball dropped steadily through the net.

"Jeff, how could you listen to a high schooler?" Su Wan spread his hands towards McGinnis, wearing a look of incomprehension. —After more than 20 days of training, Su Wan’s mid-range shot had improved, reaching a score of 70.

This was already the ability of a starting level for mid-range shots, coupled with the experience he had been accumulating these days.

Although being left that open didn’t guarantee a 100% hit rate for Su Wan, he had enough confidence to take the shot.

Sometimes, scoring is directly proportional to confidence.

The more confident you are, the more decisive your shooting becomes, and the cleaner the ball sinks through the hoop.

Cheers rose again in the arena, the Pacers fans knew that shooting was Su Wan’s weakness, and seeing LeBron defend Su Wan in the same manner, they wanted to see him embarrass himself. For a while, they were quite worried, but it turned out that Su Wan was not LeBron. When the media started criticizing his shooting, he worked hard to improve it, and in just a little over two months, it seemed to have paid off.

LeBron’s face grew even darker.

But he had to face another open shot from Su Wan.

Damn it!

LeBron steeled his heart and "released his cold arrows," but as he caught the ball, Su Wan, who had backed off a step, rushed up to him. Instead of stretching forward, Su moved his hands as high up as possible.

This was a defensive technique he had developed on his own.

If he reached forward, it looked more intimidating and could disrupt the shooter more, but it was also easy to become the opponent’s "aiming frame," many players in the League specifically practiced shooting with a defender in their face.

They adjusted their trajectory based on the defender’s outstretched hand.

Su Wan reaching straight up, with his long arms, could equally disrupt the shooter’s line of sight.

But what he didn’t expect was...

Seeing Su Wan’s speed as he rushed up, LeBron, the ball in hand, chickened out, not daring to take the shot. He glanced left and right before passing the ball to McGinnis. The taunting from the audience could no longer be suppressed at this moment; it flooded over Conseco Fieldhouse like a tidal wave.

McGinnis, amidst this chorus of boos, was like a leaf in the ocean, his mind in chaos. He didn’t even know how he’d shot the ball, only to see it hit the rim and bounce out.

Big Z fought hard for the rebound underneath the basket, but Foster was a heavyweight player as well, and being slightly shorter, he was able to use his lower center of gravity to push him out from under the basket.

Little O’Neal faced Drew Gooden and with ease—short of grabbing the ball with both hands—he secured the rebound.

The Indiana fans in the crowd, one after another, gestured for him to quickly pass the ball to Su Wan. They couldn’t wait to see Su Wan continue to put LeBron in his place.

Little O’Neal intended to pass the ball, but looking at the excited Pacers fans on the sidelines, he couldn’t help but think:

It was supposed to be me first...

But he passed the ball anyway!

Tonight, against his former team, it was supposed to be Su Wan’s "night to shine."

Just as against the Blazers, the team was prepared to create opportunities for him.

Little O’Neal understood in an instant.

It wasn’t that he was magnanimous, but he had faced such moments countless times before.

The same sentiment echoed in his heart; he had immense respect for Su Wan, but he couldn’t happily relinquish his position as the "top dog."

Thankfully, a phrase Reggie Miller always muttered reminded him:

Don’t disrupt unity, everything is for the championship!

"Ball!"

Little O’Neal shouted as he passed the ball to the moving Su Wan.

The cheers got even louder.

Su Wan advanced past half court with the ball, and seeing the Cavaliers unsteady, he rapidly initiated the offense. Newell at the right elbow set a screen that slightly delayed Su Wan’s progress. LeBron stood firmly just outside the Reasonable Collision Zone, ready to draw an offensive foul if Su Wan dared to continue his breakthrough.

But what he didn’t notice was that Su Wan had glanced to the side and then lobbed the ball towards the basket.

Was he really thinking of himself as the "God Shooter"?

LeBron couldn’t believe that Su Wan would make the shot and quickly turned to grab the rebound. However, a shadow flashed by him, Pacers’ number 7, Jermaine O’Neal.

Su Wan had spotted his cut to the basket and that’s why he lobbed the ball towards the hoop, setting Jermaine up for an alley-oop.

LeBron, realizing that the airborne Jermaine already had the ball in his hands and if he dunked it, it would be over his head, instinctively reached out to push Jermaine’s waist.

He had had enough humiliation for one night, he didn’t want any more!

Jermaine, who was about to dunk the ball, lost balance after the push and crashed to the ground. Fans at the baseline covered their mouths, and by the pained expression on Jermaine’s face, it was evident he had hit hard.

LeBron didn’t look at Jermaine but first secured the ball, ensuring possession before turning innocently to the fallen Jermaine, as if he had no idea why any of it happened.

"Fuck your mom, high school kid!"

But at that moment, a curse in Chinese erupted from behind him, LeBron spun around, and was met with a kick that knocked him to the ground.

It was Su Wan.

He looked furiously at LeBron: "The person I hate the most is sneaky players like Bruce Bowen, so you’re fucking learning from him and playing dirty, huh?"

If you don’t want to play fair, then let’s not play at all!

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