The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 93 - 90: The Biggest CJB

Chapter 93: Chapter 90: The Biggest CJB

The Pacers team became even more energized with Su Wan’s cry of "Indiana, forever unenslaved." — Kidding aside, with the enthusiasm of the Indiana people right now, if anyone dared to drag the team down, they’d probably be too scared to step outside alone.

In the following period, the Pacers smoothly pulled off a "three consecutive victories." For them, having slipped to fifth in the Eastern Conference, this winning streak came very timely, lifting them back up to the fourth position.

During this streak, they defeated the Dallas Mavericks, who were currently third in the Western Conference, exacting their revenge.

Rick Carlisle said, "This is a very good sign. As long as our schedule isn’t as terrible as dog shit, we have the capacity to beat many strong teams in the league. We can also look forward to Reggie’s return, adding firepower to our bench!"

Improving their record was one thing, on the other hand, the Pacers also made a tactical breakthrough.

As mentioned before, little O’Neal really likes to drop down to the damned low post after pick-and-rolls.

Well, can’t blame him for that!

In the current league’s tactical philosophy, the low post threat is still the most indispensable on the court. Compared to court spacing, they value the team’s core’s ability to attract double teams on the high and low posts even more.

This trend blew through the league after the "OK" duo won "three consecutive championships." Just like after the Golden State’s "Five Small" won the championship, the league swiftly adopted more quick-paced "small lineups."

When the goal is to win the championship, it is inevitable to mimic the lineups of those teams that have already won.

But blindly copycatting is also taboo.

Little O’Neal could never become Shaquille O’Neal, and under those circumstances, his moving down to the low post wasn’t very significant. Rather, the "Smiling Assassin’s" designed "Space Four" suits him better.

Recently, it seemed Rick Carlisle finally realized this.

Or perhaps, he noticed that Su Wan’s breakthrough ability could reach new heights with tactical support.

In any case, he started asking little O’Neal to move towards the high posts or elbow areas after pick-and-rolls.

Little O’Neal was still reluctant at heart. He saw in the "OK" combo’s conflict, the struggle for the low post as a symbol of status. So now if Rick Carlisle wasn’t letting him drop down after pick-and-rolls, did that mean...

He didn’t dare to think about it!

In fact, if he really asked Rick Carlisle.

This representative of the "Academic School of Coaches" would pat his bald head, show a kind smile, and tell him, "Silly kid, I didn’t have that intention when I let you be on the low post!"

Rick Carlisle wasn’t sensitive to these things.

He was considering issues entirely from a tactical and player characteristic perspective.

If the team could get better, he would even put Su Wan on the bench. — Of course, whether he thought about it was one thing, whether Larry Bird would scold him was another.

With Rick Carlisle’s involvement, and Reggie Miller standing on the sidelines watching, little O’Neal could only agree to change his movement after the pick-and-rolls. After practicing it a few times, not only were Rick Carlisle and Su Wan satisfied, but little O’Neal himself discovered the tactic was indeed effective.

Not to mention Su Wan’s breakthrough ability had grown stronger, little O’Neal’s mid-range shot skills were still intact. Often, he would get a nice open shot and then make an easy basket.

Once he noticed this, he immediately became much less resistant to the tactic.

On February 8, the Pacers, playing at home, faced a much-anticipated showdown.

Not only were the United States’ fans paying attention to this game, but also the media in Huaxia paid great interest.

It was the "Chinese Derby" that fans in Huaxia had been eagerly anticipating since Su Wan was confirmed to join the league — Pacers vs. Rockets.

The "Chinese Derby" should have come earlier; if Su Wan hadn’t been traded by the Cavaliers, he would have met Yao Ming on the NBA court in early December. David Stern even gave that game "All over the United States broadcast" treatment.

At that time, media resources were not as developed, and "All over the United States broadcast" was a piece of "big cake." Each such broadcast was a precious resource, take the Cavaliers for example, they had only 15 "All over the United States broadcasts" in the new season, two of which featured the Cavaliers vs. Rockets.

Unexpectedly, the Cavaliers traded Su Wan in late November, so this "Chinese Derby" got postponed to February.

But good food is worth waiting for. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

By now, Su Wan had matured further, and the team’s strength was not just a notch above the Cavaliers. On the Rockets side, the "New OK Combination" of Yao Ming and McGrady was showing initial signs of synergy, making this "Chinese Derby" bound to be more exciting than any previous matchup.

Since the Rockets had no games for two days before this match and were resting in Houston, Alexander, aiming to save some travel expenses, didn’t have the team arrive in Indiana a day in advance, thus Su Wan missed the chance to take Yao out for a meal.

When the two met, it was already at the court.

As soon as they met, Su Wan gave Yao Ming a "Harden-style" bear hug; thankfully, Yao wasn’t as heavy as he’d be later on, and Su Wan, not yet a 200-pound fatty, leaped onto him and was easily caught.

Unfortunately, this scene wasn’t seen by Su Qun in the CCTV-5 studio, or else he would have another small story about Yao Ming and Su Wan to tell.

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