The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 94 - 90 The Biggest CJB_2

Chapter 94: Chapter 90 The Biggest CJB_2

The courtside was packed with media tonight. Originally, this game was not scheduled for "nationwide broadcast," but with Su Wan’s arrival, David Stern naturally bumped it up.

The Pacers had very few "nationwide broadcasts" this season, only a total of 10 games.

This is the disadvantage of not having a "superstar" on the team.

However, the Indiana media now believed that next season, their number of "nationwide broadcasts" would definitely increase because they had Su Wan.

O’Neal looked more serious than usual.

Before the game started, Rick Carlisle must have heard some intelligence from Su Wan, as he surprisingly switched to guard Yao Ming.

He had guarded the "Eastern Little Giant" before, his lower limbs as solid as old tree roots, which made him quite helpless, as if he was pushing against a thick wall.

Who would want to hit a wall for fun?

That’s "self-harm"!

Seeing his lack of confidence, Rick Carlisle said, "Su will explain the specifics to you, you have to be confident, this game, you will be the secret weapon!"

Hearing "secret weapon," O’Neal’s eyes lit up, and his expression went from somewhat troubled to full of fighting spirit: "Don’t worry, Coach, I’ll definitely get the job done!"

"???"

Rick Carlisle immediately showed a "Nick Young" face. No way, does it really work like that?

Su Wan really had a knack for uniting people!

Yeah, having O’Neal guard Yao was Su Wan’s idea. After hearing Su Wan’s suggestion, Rick Carlisle agreed to it, but he worried that O’Neal wouldn’t want to guard Yao, yet Su Wan had given him this line.

He didn’t feel much from it, but unexpectedly, this line had such a big impact on O’Neal.

The man immediately went from being dejected to extremely excited, even better than being high!

"Su, tell me, how do you want me to guard your fellow townsman?" O’Neal approached Su Wan proactively.

Su Wan said, "It’s simple, guard him from the front!"

Jeff Van Gundy arrived, and the first phase of Yao Ming’s weight gain showed results. Today, when Su Wan met Yao, he noticed he had bulked up a lot. But from what Su Wan knew, this wasn’t Yao’s ultimate form, as he would continue to gain weight this summer.

Then his slow footsteps revealed a weakness.

Jerry Sloan immediately arranged a "front-guarding" package for him.

The Jazz Team had become a hurdle the Rockets could never overcome, turning into a nightmare for Rockets fans over the years. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

"Is that all?" O’Neal hesitated for a moment.

Su Wan nodded: "That’s it!"

Even though he was feeling incredibly confident, O’Neal’s gaze flickered slightly but thinking about Rick Carlisle’s "secret weapon," he could only secretly pep talk himself: Rick said so; there must be a reason; I’m stronger than I think; this defense will definitely work; I will succeed!

The starting lineups for both sides were soon displayed on the big screen.

The Pacers’ starting lineup hadn’t changed.

The Rockets’ starting lineup was: Point Guard "Mickey Mouse" David Wesley, Shooting Guard Bob Sura, Small Forward McGrady, Power Forward Juwan Howard, Center Yao Ming;

Just looking at the frontcourt, this was a decent starting lineup.

But if you add the "defensive giveaways duo" from the backcourt, the entire frontcourt lineup needed to be at their peak.

Unfortunately, 32-year-old Juwan Howard’s physical condition had declined severely.

Despite his scoring efficiency not dropping much, his field-goal percentage was still at 45%, almost unchanged from last season with the Magic Team. However, his scoring methods had become limited.

Originally, he could play face-up, back-down, and had a very beautiful ability to organize play, ranging from positions three to five, dubbed by Pat Riley as the "All-Around Forward." It was this ability that made him the NBA’s first "Mr. Billion."

Otherwise, do you really think NBA owners’ money comes from thin air?

His backing skills were gone, and he rarely had the opportunity to organize with the ball in hand; his talent was gradually disappearing.

On the offensive end, all that was left was shooting.

His defensive ability had plummeted. It wasn’t much to begin with, and now it was completely gone. Otherwise, how could Morris Taylor snatch an average of 23 minutes of playing time from him?

In a starting lineup, three "defensive weak links" spelled trouble. One could imagine how much pressure the "New OK Combination" faced on court.

For the Rockets to rank fifth in the Western Conference was really not easy at all!

What, do you say the Lakers’ "OK Combination" had lousy teammates too?

But as lousy as they were, they at least knew to look to the "OK Combination" for leadership. Now look at the Rockets’ backcourt; they acted as if they wanted to handle all the ball possessions themselves.

Bob Sura took 8.3 shots per game, David Wesley 9.8 shots per game, while Yao Ming only took 12.2 shots per game, just 2.4 more shots than David Wesley.

It seemed they really didn’t have Yao Ming in their eyes!

This is the result of being too nice... You talk about loyalty to Big Black, and he immediately lords it over you, acting like he’s the top dog of the team.

Of course, Yao Ming had more burdens than Su Wan, so naturally, he couldn’t act as recklessly as Su Wan.

Everyone knew, before entering the NBA, Yao Ming talked big too, like when he commented on Tyson Chandler, "I can play him casually. If he can make it to the NBA, so can I!"

The arrogance of youth, fully displayed.

It was precisely because of such a situation with the Rockets that Su Wan was very clear that as long as they contained Yao Ming, winning this "Huaxia Derby" wouldn’t be a problem.

Some might say, the Rockets still had McGrady, a two-time consecutive "Scoring King"!

Well, let’s put it this way!

Su Wan couldn’t tell who was the bigger jerk, the McGrady who won the league "Scoring King" yet aimed for the "No.1 pick," or someone like LeBron who played an average of 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists, stood beside a peak All-Star inside player, and still couldn’t make it to the Eastern Conference playoffs.

When the game necessitated McGrady to step up and save the team, he surely wouldn’t disappoint the opponents.

Really, stop bringing up the 35 seconds 13 points, like Edwards said, having only that one game to show for a 14-year career is indeed an irony.

Of course, that game had a significant impact on McGrady.

After being traded from the Magic Team to the Rockets, that game helped him to win over his teammates and subsequently secure his position as the team leader. At least based on shooting rights, it was so, as he averaged 21.3 shots per game.

If we talk about NBA transfers, among many players that were most delusional and arrogant, McGrady could definitely rank in the "top three historically." Others, including LeBron at least came up with the "8 points, relinquish command" move, and called out "Brother, save me" to ease his way to the top.

But McGrady, he just ignored Yao Ming outright, naturally assuming himself as the Rockets’ boss.

It was said that he even instigated teammates to isolate Yao Ming later.

As a result, he became the one isolated by the whole team.

That 35 seconds, 13 points made him truly think of himself as "God."

From his increasing obsession with "dry pull-up jump shots," it was evident; it seemed as long as he found his shooting rhythm, he could solve all problems. Yet, his "dry pulling" hurt the team far more often than it saved them.

This point was perfectly demonstrated in this game.

Facing Stephen Jackson, instead of thinking about exploiting his speed advantage to assault the inside, he kept showing off his outside "dry pull."

The highest shooting percentage in a season of his career didn’t exceed 46% for a reason!

And tonight, his shooting was even worse than usual; by the end of the first half, his shooting percentage was a miserable 3 out of 11.

Yao Ming was in good form, 4 out of 5 shots, plus 3 out of 3 free throws, scoring 11 points by halftime.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t get the ball and could only stand on the court, watching the team’s deficit grow.

The halftime whistle blew, and the Rockets were trailing by 11 points, 41 to 52.