Chapter 278 Bath Water Dispute

Zach Randolph’s strong goal was within the expectations of the New York Knicks coaching staff. They knew very well that the inside would become their weak link when facing the Pacers.

But it’s not a big problem!

because……

“Shh!”

Dio “dealt the ball” from a high position. The moment Paul George received the ball, Afflalo rushed in front of him. He immediately threw the ball to the right. Stephen Curry received the ball, raised his hand and made a fake move to shake off Jeremy Lin, then quickly passed the ball back. Paul George continued to make a large-scale transfer, and Suwan faced Leonard with the ball.

While holding the ball in his hand, he leaned forward, tapped the ground with his left foot continuously, and made a fake jump. The last move finally fooled Leonard, who had not reacted for several times, and he broke through from his side and made a mid-range jump shot.

The Pacers are strong inside, while the New York Knicks are strong outside.

As long as the Knicks’ outside offensive firepower can suppress the Pacers, he doesn’t need to make too many adjustments and can watch the Knicks win tonight and even the final victory of the entire series.

Of course, he had anticipated that this process would be difficult!
As expected, Jeremy Lin once again passed the ball to Leonard, who missed his mid-range shot against Suwan, and the “offensive rebound” was grabbed by Zach Randolph.

As soon as his feet landed on the ground, he jumped up immediately and Randolph scored another 2 points.

Watching the “Big Black Bear” score consecutively, the New York Knicks fans were surprised. No, this guy also played in New York back then. Is he so awesome?
When Randolph was in the New York Knicks, his averages were good, with 18 plus 11, which made him look like he was at the top of the league. But his efficiency was not high, and he was often invisible at critical moments.

He is a famous “data brush” in the alliance.

But now, watching him score so toughly under the basket, New Yorkers have only two words in their minds:

strangeness!

Suwan continued to educate Leonard, grabbing the ball with one hand and throwing it forward, tricking Leonard into turning his head, then raised his hand to shoot, but it was an “air relay” to Tyson Chandler.

“Bah!”

There was a loud bang.

Rick Carlisle shook his head slightly.

To be honest, although Leonard is only in his first year, he has grown rapidly on the defensive end and has become a more reliable perimeter defender than Afflalo. It can be predicted that by this time next year, he will become the representative of the new generation of perimeter defense in the NBA.

But now facing Su Wan…

He knew that Leonard couldn’t defend against Suwan, but he didn’t expect to be fooled by him.

At the end of the first quarter, both sides played smoothly with Suwan and Zach Randolph as the core of their respective offensive ends. The scores of both sides continued to rise. The New York Knicks took advantage of the first attack right and took a 3-point lead into the second quarter.

The Pacers have always had an advantage in the substitute rotation phase, but this time the score between the two sides was tied in the substitute rotation phase.

Because the New York Knicks’ bench rotation this year is also strong, Ray Allen, Artest and Vince Carter are all “veterans” in the league.

Their presence means that the New York Knicks don’t have to fear any team during the bench rotation phase.

After the main players returned in the second quarter, both sides increased their efforts in adjusting their formations. When the game came to the third quarter, the defensive intensity of both sides was comparable to the finals.

Interestingly, the New York Knicks chose to tighten the basket, limit Zach Randolph, and test the Pacers’ outside shooting; the Pacers chose to expand their defensive formation, blocking the New York Knicks’ three-point shooting and forcing them to attack the basket. They are very confident in Marc Gasol’s rim protection ability.

The effect of targeting was obvious. The New York Knicks’ outside shots missed consecutively, and they had to intensify their impact on the basket.

However, there is a reason why Marc Gasol has gradually become the best inside rim protector in the league since 12.

His height, wingspan and weight really make it difficult for the Knicks to score at the basket after a breakthrough.

The New York Knicks scored just 23 points in the third quarter.

This was their lowest scoring third quarter in this year’s playoffs.

It can be seen that the Pacers’ targeting is effective!
However, after the third quarter, the New York Knicks were still in the lead.

First, their targeting of the Pacers was also very effective.

Zach Randolph’s strong attack under the basket was very stable, but the crazy double-team forced him to pass the ball or take a fixed-point long shot.

The “Big Black Bear” has the ability to project.

only……

His shooting ability is not as good as his attack under the basket, which can be seen from his efficiency.

His shooting percentage at the basket is over 50%, while his long-range shooting is only around 45%!

It was also because his long-range shooting ability was not stable enough that the second point that led to the Knicks’ continued lead became the winning point, which was:
Suwan!

The Pacers expanded their defensive formation, which meant that they could no longer help Leonard with timely defense. Although Suwan could not continue to shoot three-pointers, his mid-range shot was a “god-like weapon.”

Under Leonard’s one-on-one defense, his offense was extremely sharp.

At 7 minutes and 45 seconds in the fourth quarter, Suwan completed a mid-range jump shot against Leonard at a 45-degree angle on the right side; at 9 minutes and 20 seconds in the fourth quarter, still facing Leonard, Suwan directly deceived him and made a mid-range shot in the confrontation, completing the “2 plus 1”.

When the referee blew the whistle, Leonard held his head in his hands, extremely upset.

The Pacers failed to respond to these two goals.

At the end of the game, the New York Knicks won their first game of the Eastern Conference Finals with a score of 114 to 104, a 10-point advantage.

The statistics of both sides in this game are:
苏万37分6篮板4助攻2抢断1盖帽；斯蒂芬-库里19分6助攻，3记三分球；保罗-乔治12分4篮板3助攻；迪奥9分6篮板11助攻；泰森-钱德勒11分11篮板；雷-阿伦14分，3记三分球；文斯-卡特12分，2记三分球；

林书豪14分5助攻；阿弗拉罗11分3助攻；莱昂纳德8分2助攻2篮板；扎克-兰多夫28分12篮板；马克-加索尔13分10篮板；小奥尼尔15分7篮板；比卢普斯12分4助攻；

It can be seen from the scores of the players on both sides that both have the firepower to blossom in multiple areas. The only reason the Pacers lost is that their “super giant” level is not enough.

Zach Randolph is currently at least in the top 3 in the league at the power forward position, but in the entire league he is probably only in the th or th place.

And Su Wan is the undisputed No. 1 in the league!

In addition, Bill Walton said: “From this game, we can also see that the influence of inside players on the outcome of the game is not as great as before. Now the team that wants to win the championship must have an outstanding outside player!”

This is only half true.

Traditional inside players like Zach Randolph have indeed had less influence on the game.

This is because the current league is more mobile, various offensive and defensive techniques and tactics are more mature, and the quality of the players is improving, resulting in the team now having stronger control over those inside players who only have the ability to attack under the basket.

Of course, people like Shaquille O’Neal have to be counted separately.

After all, the peak “Shark” could push over the defender and complete a dunk before the double-team arrived.

In addition…

The dominance of those technically versatile inside players in the game is still phenomenal.

For example, Olajuwon is still the king of controlling the game in this era.

After the game, a reporter asked Leonard how it felt to play against Suwan in the playoffs. Leonard was silent for a while, then uttered two words:

“No solution!”

When Indiana fans saw the newspaper the next day, they also shook their heads helplessly.

This is what Su Wan is like.

However, we just finished the first game and already have this feeling. Is it too fast?
After all, there are at least three games to play!

Now I feel at a loss. After the second game of the series, will we just say, “Fuck my basketball dream, give me the ball, I’m going home”?
Their worries soon became a reality.

The second game of the Eastern Conference Finals was still played at the home court of the New York Knicks.

In this game, since both sides knew each other’s weaknesses, they used targeted defensive formations and meat grinder-like defensive intensity from the very beginning.

Amid this defensive intensity, the New York Knicks lost confidence starting in the second half of the third quarter.

They missed eight consecutive three-pointers.

The Pacers, on the other hand, took advantage of the Knicks’ scoring drought and slowly improved their scoring rate. At the end of the third quarter, they were leading by 6 points.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the image of the Rockets missing 22 consecutive three-pointers in the future Western Conference Finals appeared in Su Wan’s mind.

He forcibly took over the game and started a one-on-one with Leonard.

Leonard, who was unstoppable at the beginning, became more and more serious, and his defensive enthusiasm became stronger and stronger. On that expressionless face, anyone could see the following words:

I must guard against him!
But as Suwan continued to score goals through his defense, the expression on his face gradually changed from positivity to doubt and confusion.

At the end of the game, Su Wan scored 16 points in the final quarter, helping the team reverse the score and win another victory with an 8-point advantage, bringing the overall score to 2-0.
When the buzzer sounded, only three questions remained on Leonard’s face:

who am I?
where am I?
what am i doing?
Barkley looked at Leonard’s skeptical look and said with some heartache: “For a rookie, meeting Suwan in the first season of his career, I really don’t know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing!”

Looking at it from a positive perspective, seeing the “ceiling” of this league makes a rookie like Leonard, who has good potential, especially one who made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in his first year, full of awe for this league and will not lose his original intention to move forward just because he made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in his first season.

But on the bad side…

This may also cause players to give up on themselves.

Especially Su Wan tonight…

If Barkley were Leonard, he would definitely have this thought:

Even if I only sleep 8 hours a day and train hard, I still shouldn’t be a match for this guy, right?

Leonard is not the only one who is helpless.

Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol and others also had helplessness written all over their faces.

It’s really uncomfortable for a guy like Su Wan to go from being a teammate to an opponent.

Two days later, the third game of the series arrived.

The home team this time is the Indiana Pacers.

Su Wan said before the game: “This is the Eastern Conference Finals. If I hear boos from the audience, I won’t be surprised. It’s not a big deal. We are opponents now. I know this very well.”

Then, when he entered Conseco Fieldhouse that night, he was booed.

But it was just boos.

Especially when these boos were combined with some shaking posters of Su Wan, it became even more funny.

Then the game officially started.

The Pacers did not change their lineup, but the New York Knicks did, putting Ray Allen in the starting second position, taking Paul George off, and moving Suwan to the third position.

Facing the Pacers’ wing players Afflalo and Leonard who has not yet developed excellent ball-handling skills, the New York Knicks’ wing defense does not have too many hidden dangers.

Compared to defense, they clearly needed more stable three-point shooting in the second game.

Therefore, Mike Malone boldly proposed to put Ray Allen in the starting lineup.

This change of formation was effective from the very beginning. The first attack was a three-pointer by Ray Allen, which hit the target steadily.

Rick Carlisle shook his head slightly.

He carefully studied the New York Knicks’ offensive tactics and found that they often used Suwan to contain the offense at the beginning of the game, helping Stephen Curry to get into the groove, thus having a more far-reaching impact on the offensive end.

Therefore, he made very detailed defensive arrangements for the New York Knicks’ first offense.

Stephen Curry failed to catch the ball on the first attack tonight. Just when he breathed a sigh of relief and felt happy that his tactical goal was achieved, Ray Allen’s three-pointer stunned him.

Xiba!

This tactic is actually “nesting dolls”.

Use Suwan’s defensive containment to create space for Stephen Curry.

Use Stephen Curry’s movement to create space for Ray Allen to receive the ball.

So damn…

My balls hurt!

The good thing about championship teams is that most of the veterans they attract can become x-factors.

This was reflected in the original Ray Allen.

That three-pointer was really…

It is no exaggeration to say that it changed the fate of the “Big Three of the Heat”.

In this game, Ray Allen also used his three-pointers to make the opposing head coach frown.

However, the Pacers players, returning to their home court, are in very good shape tonight.

Jeremy Lin responded to Ray Allen’s three-pointer against Stephen Curry.

There was a sudden burst of cheers at the scene.

It can be seen that Jeremy Lin is very popular in Indiana.

Polis Media investigated this and found an interesting situation:

One of the important reasons why Jeremy Lin is popular in the Pacers is his skin color. The honor that Suwan brought to the city made Indiana people feel very close to Jeremy Lin. So much so that they were very receptive to him.

It is worth mentioning that Jeremy Lin has become the starter of the Pacers this season, and his jersey sales are currently ranked second in the team, second only to Zach Randolph, and the gap is not very large.

When Billups’ form declined and he was unable to be the starting point guard for the Pacers, Nate Robinson was very dissatisfied with Jeremy Lin’s starting position, which caused some conflicts within the team.

The fans immediately stood up for Jeremy Lin, and the management decisively traded Nate Robinson for a second-round pick to show their firm attitude towards Jeremy Lin’s starting lineup.

When Su Wan knew about this, he had an idea:
Maybe this time Jeremy Lin can have a more successful career than before.

He didn’t meet expectations originally because the team always let him go when he was questioned.

For example, after the “Linsanity” was released, Carmelo Anthony returned from injury and was very unhappy with Jeremy Lin holding the ball, so he “fought” with him and left. Then when he joined the Rockets, he had another ball holding issue with James Harden, and then the Lakers…

Eh?
Ok!

It’s not unfair that our brother Hao lost.

What a difficult SSS opponent this is!
There is no one he can compete with.

Now with the Pacers, he is in a much better situation.

Billups is a player who is willing to “lead the new”, and the whole city loves him because of his skin color. If nothing else, at least he can stay stable until the end of the next contract, so there should be no problem.

A stable playing environment is also very important for a player’s growth.

Of course, Su Wan would be happy to see Jeremy Lin gain a foothold in the NBA.

After all, the more yellow skin the better.

After Jeremy Lin responded in this round, other Pacers players also stepped up and continued to respond to the New York Knicks’ offense in the following time.

Each one feels hot to the touch.

After the first quarter, they were leading by 4 points. At the end of the first half, they extended their advantage to 8 points. Even at the end of the third quarter, they were leading by double digits.

But there was no sign of prematurely popping champagne in the audience.

The players on the Pacers also looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

No wonder, they were leading in the last game going into the fourth quarter, but the result was…

Su Wan worked alone and won the game.

Although they led by a larger margin in this game than in the previous one.

But the 10-point difference…

It’s really not safe!

When Su Wan was still the “Son of the City” of this city, they had witnessed Su Wan complete an even more incredible reversal.

At this moment, watching Su Wan walk onto the court with a serious face, ready to start the fourth quarter of tonight’s game, they all had the same thought in their minds:
Oh, so this is what it feels like to be on the opposite side of Su Wan and lead into the fourth quarter?
I’m really panicking!

And after the start of the fourth quarter, they became even more panicked.

Su Wan made a three-pointer as soon as he came on the court, narrowing the score to 7 points.

Leonard stood with his hands raised, his face full of helplessness.

The people of Polis in the audience looked at Leonard’s helpless expression on the big screen and also showed helpless expressions.

They have seen Leonard’s performance over the past year, and they think that selecting Leonard with the 15th pick in the first round is definitely a good pick.

As for why it is a good sign…

Stable state, active defense, and low-key off the court!
Each of these adjectives means that this person will do great things in the future!

Let’s put it this way, this season so far, Leonard has given them the following feeling:
Doesn’t look like a newcomer!
result……

When facing Su Wan, he immediately revealed his immaturity as a newcomer.

Barkley could even see that Leonard was already a little hesitant.

This means that after this series is over, Leonard will need some time to recover from the aftereffects of this game…

But the Pacers are in really good shape tonight.

After Suwan scored a goal, they quickly counterattacked.

The score difference hovered between 8 and 10 points for about 7 minutes, until the last 3 minutes, when Suwan made a mid-range shot, returned to the defensive end, predicted in advance, and accurately stole Zach Randolph’s pass.

“This is a really bold steal!”

Bill Walton saw it clearly. If Suwan failed to steal the ball, Leonard would be able to directly make a three-pointer when the ball was in his hands, and the New York Knicks would fall into a passive position.

What can I say?

Artists are bold!
“Bah!”

With Su Wan’s one-handed slam dunk, the score difference suddenly returned to 4 points.

The next round became a crucial round for the Pacers. Rick Carlisle saw that the New York Knicks’ defensive momentum began to suppress the Pacers with Suwan’s shot, so he quickly called a timeout and arranged the next round of offense very carefully.

The ball moved smoothly and finally landed in the hands of Zach Randolph.

As soon as Randolph got the ball, he turned around and used a “half hook” shot to avoid Suwan and Dio’s hands blocking his head and scored a goal.

The point difference returned to 6 points.

Zach Randolph roared fiercely.

Then he looked at Su Wan.

Since Suwan left the city, what Zach Randolph has to do is to become the new owner of this city after Suwan.

But Su Wan was too dazzling, and all he could do was to follow in Su Wan’s footsteps and do what he had done for this city.

For example, at a moment like this, stand up and respond to your opponent.

Even if this opponent…

It’s Su Wan!
At least at this moment, Zach Randolph had a feeling that he tried hard to become “Suwan”, and he finally became “Suwan”!
he wants……

Hold on to this win tonight.

But he also knew that this was not easy.

Su Wan looked into his eyes and could see Zach Randolph’s determination.

Their experience when they first became teammates was not a pleasant one, but since Suwan knew that Zach Randolph had the attributes of a “prodigal son”, he was not surprised that he became so reliable in critical moments and became Indiana’s “gatekeeper”.

However, he wanted to enter this year’s finals, and there was only one way forward, so…

Defeat!

Randolph!
In the continuous between-the-crotch dribbling, Suwan was facing Leonard, but in his eyes, he saw Zach Randolph who was about to pounce on him.

This is definitely not a guy who can be so aggressive on defense in New York.

But on the Pacers, Suwan believes that he will definitely pounce on it.

Leonard is going crazy.

He could clearly feel that Su Wan didn’t have him in his eyes, which aroused his competitive spirit, but as he watched Su Wan’s continuous hip thrusts, his center of gravity gradually shook.

then……

One step away!
Leonard saw clearly the direction of Su Wan’s breakthrough, but he couldn’t follow him because when Su Wan really revealed his intentions, his center of gravity had already been shifted to the other side.

He had no way of adjusting the direction of his movement and could only watch Su Wan pass him in one step.

Zach Randolph really came up to defend, and as Suwan stepped out with his right foot, he passed the ball in his right hand to his left hand from behind.

It was after seeing his action that “Grizzly Bear” realized that he had made a wrong judgment.

“Bah!”

With a “pseudo step” similar to Wade’s, Suwan got rid of Leonard in one step and then passed Zach Randolph who was actively defending in another step.

The score difference is back to 4 points.

Mike Malone was directing the Knicks’ defensive movement on the sidelines. He repeatedly performed the “closing the door” motion. Obviously, he wanted to shrink the defense and prevent Zach Randolph from getting the ball.

The limitations of traditional inside players in influencing the game were once again revealed at this moment.

Randolph had no choice but to pass the ball to Afflalo on the outside.

The three-point shot bounced out of the frame.

The moment Suwan held the ball, some Pacers fans began to hold their heads.

“Bah!”

With only 39.5 seconds left, Su Wan made a direct attack.

The strategy was successful, and the mobility problems of the “Black and White Bears” caused the Pacers’ defense to be very poor in this round.

But the Pacers, who needed them to grab rebounds, couldn’t let them retreat early.

This is an unsolvable weakness.

However, none of this matters anymore. The most important thing now is…

The Pacers were only leading by 2 points. If they couldn’t hit the ball in this round, they would most likely be defeated!

Rick Carlisle decisively used the last timeout and then carefully planned the next tactics.

He set up two consecutive fake screens and made a real screen to help Jeremy Lin get the ball. At the same time, he gathered everyone at a 45-degree angle on the right and then dispersed directly. The purpose of doing this was to prevent the New York Knicks from knowing Zach Randolph’s moving route at the first time.

This move was very successful.

Randolph received the pass from Jeremy Lin and made a layup directly.

The ball hit the backboard and bounced towards the basket. There was a cheer at the scene, and then the ball turned half a circle on the basket and fell out again.

“Snapped!”

Tyson Chandler protected the rebound.

Zach Randolph was thumping his chest in frustration, and then he heard Rick Carlisle yelling, “Foul!”

Only then did he realize that the person who grabbed the rebound was Tyson Chandler.

But at this time the ball also passed from Chandler’s hands to Su Wan’s hands.

His foul was a little late.

The referee blew the whistle, but the New York Knicks coaching staff called a timeout.

The time is 14.4 seconds, which is enough time to complete a buzzer-beater.

Zach Randolph’s face was filled with helplessness.

He missed the layup at the crucial moment, committed a foul a beat too late… He had two chances to win the game, but he made mistakes both times.

This made him feel very guilty.

The New York Knicks have a very strange lineup:

Suwan, Stephen Curry, Ray Allen, Vince Carter and Diaw.

Obviously, this only considers the lore.

No, that’s not right…

They may have done this on purpose so that they could expand their formation to block the opponent. After all, they were only two points behind, so they could accept it even if the game was tied and went into overtime.

Rick Carlisle’s mind was spinning, and one thought kept popping up in his mind:

Did I arrange it wrong?

But when the referee blew the whistle and the New York Knicks’ final attack began, he realized that he had overthought…

The ball was in Curry’s hands and then quickly transferred to Ray Allen’s hands. Then Suwan successfully broke through the double-team of the Pacers. The next second after catching the ball, he turned his head and shot a three-pointer, which went into the net.

“Uh-huh!”

The slight sound of the net swishing silenced the entire venue.

It’s that simple!
Leonard didn’t lose his defensive position either.

But just can’t prevent it.

Su Wan’s voice echoed throughout the arena:
“Return to defense!”

“Hurry back to defense!”

“The game isn’t over yet!”

By the time the Pacers had completed their serve, the New York Knicks were already in man-to-man position.

After Su Wan made the three-pointer, there were less than 2 seconds left in the game.

Jeremy Lin’s “backcourt three-pointer” shot didn’t even touch the rim. The whistle sounded and the fans in the stadium hugged their heads or pursed their lips.

The Pacers, playing at home, were leading by 10 points at the end of the third quarter, but were overturned by their opponents and lost by 1 point.

And the one who completed the near-game-winning shot in the last 1.9 seconds was Su Wan, the former “Son of the City”!
He is still himself, even if he wears a red jersey, his dominance is still unparalleled in the league.

Ok……

Losing to Suwan is the only comfort for the people of Polis tonight.

After the game.

“This is Suwan, this is his night!” – Jeremy Lin talks about Suwan’s “near buzzer beater”;
It can be clearly seen that this is the evaluation of Su Wan made by opponents who have never been teammates with him.

Let’s take a look at what other Pacers players are saying…

“When Suwan shot, I knew it was going to be a three-pointer!” – O’Neal
“When Zach missed that shot, I knew we were going to be defeated by Suwan.” – Marc Gasol;
“When we were up by 10, I knew we were going to lose tonight!” – Rick Carlisle
As for Zach Randolph, he blamed himself:
“We had a chance to hold on to win tonight, but I didn’t take advantage of it. This is my responsibility. I take full responsibility for tonight’s loss!”

Seeing him blaming himself, a reporter from Indiana said to him, “Zach, don’t take it to heart. In fact, even if you scored that goal, I feel we would still lose tonight. This is Suwan. He has magical powers!”

Don’t ask why you are so optimistic.

The answer is 3-0. It seems that this series has no result yet, but it is actually over.

As a reporter from Indiana, he is still very satisfied with Zach Randolph’s performance.

Maybe the expectations were low enough…

When Suwan left the city two years ago, most of the Indiana media thought the Pacers would be stuck in a quagmire. They didn’t see anyone who could take over the team after Suwan left.

O’Neal Jr. seems to have that sense of responsibility, but his strength and age are not enough.

They didn’t expect Zach Randolph at all, and more media believed that Zach Randolph would become a bad contract.

But in the end, he really became a qualified leader.

During this period they reached the Eastern Conference Finals twice.

Now that Jeremy Lin has grown up, Leonard has shown his ability to become the core of a team…

In their opinion, Zach Randolph has done well enough.

He helped the Pacers survive the most difficult period of pain and completed a relatively smooth transition. Of course, they also have to thank Su Wan. If he hadn’t exchanged so many chips, the Pacers would not have such a group of young talents!
The next morning, the news of Su Wan’s buzzer beater began to spread across the United States.

The entire network was hotly discussing Suwan’s dominance in the fourth quarter.

This is where Suwan shines the most in this series.

Although everyone is already very clear about this.

But this kind of thing, just like LeBron’s fun, is always new!

Various praises filled the major media.

It’s no wonder that a group of people are so emotional, because the New York Knicks won the past two games too heroically.

Suwan exploded twice in the final quarter to help the team complete the reversal.

Especially in New York…

Stories like this made Suwan’s jerseys sell out again.

Ever since he became a legend by scoring 83 points in a single game, his jerseys have rarely been on sale. Basically, as soon as a batch is made, they are sold out.

This is again!
New York fans are going crazy.

Spike Lee was so excited that his eyes welled up with tears: “It’s not without reason that God made us sink for ten years, and that reason is Su Wan!”

As for the Indiana media, most of them are already summarizing the season. Reaching the Eastern Conference Finals this season and losing to Suwan again is considered a satisfactory result for them.

They accepted the setting that “Su Wan is a mountain they cannot cross.”

In Indiana, Suwan is even more “GOAT” than Michael Jordan!
How can a “goat” be defeated so easily?
The only regret may be that they failed to beat Suwan even in one game in this series.

What was unexpected was that even though they were trailing 0-3, the Pacers continued to maintain their strong momentum from the previous game at home.

Zach Randolph, who missed a layup at the last critical moment of the previous game, worked particularly hard in this game. This time they entered the fourth quarter with a 14-point lead.

And when the same situation comes…

In the last 3 minutes of the game, Suwan narrowed the gap to 5 points. Zach Randolph did not let the opportunity slip away this time. He successfully seized the opportunity and scored not once, but twice at critical moments.

Ultimately, he helped the team hold on to their home court with a 99-point margin of 96-3, avoiding being swept by the New York Knicks.

When the final whistle sounded, Randolph clenched his fist and growled…

This time, he finally did it!

Even if it’s just one game.

Even if the score has become 3-0, winning the game tonight will not help.

but……

At least he won’t think so often about the layup he missed at a critical moment two days ago.

In the audience seats, every Polis person also showed a satisfied expression.

It is a kind of consolation that you don’t have to watch the team being eliminated on the spot.

More importantly, they saw Zach Randolph’s determination and efforts at critical moments, and they had more recognition for Zach Randolph.

At least for them, this victory was not completely useless.

They like Zach Randolph even more.

Next, the battlefield of the Eastern Conference Finals returns to the New York Knicks.

The other Knicks players who had been a little sluggish in the previous two games finally found their form tonight. Together with Suwan who performed as steadily as ever, they encountered almost no obstacles. In the end, they won the fifth game of the series with a score of 108 to 93 and 15 points, and changed the score to 5-4!

Cheers filled the entire Madison Square Garden as soon as the buzzer sounded.

The New York Knicks made it to the Finals for the second consecutive year!
Amid the cheers of the audience, Suwan hugged Leonard who was right next to him.

Leonard, who is known for his “facial paralysis”, has lost all hope in life after playing five games.

It’s no wonder he looked like that. It’s really…

too difficult!
This series was really tough for him!

From the eagerness to try in the first game to “Let me die” at this moment, the emotional change alone is enough to express what he has encountered in this series.

As a first-year rookie, he is now full of awe for the Eastern Conference Finals.

Su Wan didn’t say much to him.

Words like “the future is yours” don’t seem suitable for him to say.

He is only 26 years old now!
Not only is it his now, but Leonard’s future is also his.

Finally he said to Leonard: “I think you will get used to it!”

Leonard’s originally depressed face suddenly lifted up and looked at Su Wan with a look of surprise, as if he couldn’t believe that such vicious words would come out of Su Wan’s 36.5-degree mouth.

He wanted to ask:
Are you the devil?
Now he believes that Fu Manchu is real!
Su Wan ignored him, threw down some trash talk, and walked towards Zach Randolph.

“Good job, man. I didn’t expect you to be so competent!”

It can be clearly seen that Suwan’s remarks immediately put a smile on Zach Randolph’s “refugee face”.

To be honest, the moment Su Wan said this, Zach Randolph himself had a feeling that he worked so hard just to hear Su Wan’s recognition of him.

Well, he also forgot how incompatible he and Su Wan were in the past!
The Eastern Conference Finals came to an end.

Suwan reached the finals for the fourth consecutive year.

Now we are only 4 games away from defending the title!
After the game, Suwan was interviewed and the media asked a popular question: “Suwan, do you prefer the Thunder to reach the finals or the Clippers?”

Su Wan said: “It’s all the same. For me, it’s all about facing the challenge of the new generation!”

The Western Conference Finals has just finished 4 games and the score is very tense. Both teams have won 2 games each. Tomorrow they will start the “Decisive Battle” in Oklahoma.

Su Wan’s only hope is: “No matter who it is, I hope they can decide the winner sooner!”

The first sentence is a bit disdainful of these two teams, and the last sentence is even more…

Others don’t know, but when Kevin Durant saw Suwan’s remarks the next day, he was furious.

But Kevin Durant had just taken off his pink backpack at this time and was still in a relatively “shy” stage. He did not overreact to the media. But when he returned to the locker room, he said to his Thunder teammates:
“Come on, guys, let’s win this game, then eliminate the Clippers, enter the finals, and teach that Chinese guy a lesson!”

Brooks felt Durant’s high fighting spirit, so he arranged a lot of ball-holding one-on-one tactics for him at the beginning of the game that night.

The angry Kevin Durant was also in good shape, and he made consecutive shots at the start of the game. He scored 12 points in the first quarter and helped the team take a 7-point lead.

At the end of the game, Kevin Durant scored 36 points, helping the team win the “decisive battle” with a 10-point advantage. The Thunder led 3-2.

The Clippers, standing on the edge of the cliff, returned to their home court and adjusted their condition very well. However, Kevin Durant was in even better condition in this game. He finally scored 41 points and broke through the Clippers’ wing alone. In the end, the Thunder team won two cities in a row with the momentum of a tiger descending from the mountain, successfully eliminated the Clippers 4-2, and made it to this year’s finals.

This is also the first time in the Thunder’s history that they have reached the finals.

But what excites the media even more than this is the status of Kevin Durant.

Especially in the two games after the Knicks advanced to the finals, Durant’s “kill anyone who stands in his way, kill anyone who stands in your way” attitude was simply…

The Oklahoma media was extremely excited. They shouted directly to the New York Knicks and Suwan: “New York, don’t think you are safe. Kevin Durant and the Thunder are here!”

In addition to local media, many other media people are also optimistic about this Thunder team.

In their view, Kevin Durant has undergone a complete transformation in this year’s playoffs.

It’s not just the last two games of the Western Conference Finals, don’t forget…

The Thunder also eliminated Kobe and the Lakers this season!
This was Kevin Durant’s previous nemesis, but now he has completely defeated his biggest rival in the past two years, entered the Western Conference Finals, and now the Finals, achieving a breakthrough in his career.

These are all proof of Kevin Durant’s transformation this season.

It is for this reason that they all believe that Kevin Durant will bring a lot of pressure to Suwan in this series, and even make Suwan fall in the finals for the first time…

Barkley looked at the sudden wave of public opinion from the outside world, and somehow, he suddenly thought of the public opinion clash between Michael Jordan and the “Glider”.

The situation now is very similar to that time.

Suwan, who is already the best player in the league, stands tall in the East and is in the same position as Michael Jordan.

Maybe the godhead is much more stable than him.

But their heights are the same, both are the best in the league.

Kevin Durant, like the “Glider” at the time, has performed outstandingly in the Western Conference. Although he and Suwan are not in the same position, their play style of holding the ball on the wing destined them to be compared together.

Now it depends on whether Kevin Durant is really capable, or if he is like the “glider” back then and is defeated when he meets Su Wan…

Su Wan also felt this momentum.

But he knew very well who was behind this.

Except David Stern…

Who else could it be?
Without all this hype, this year’s finals would indeed lack buzz.

David Stern also didn’t expect Yao Ming to be out for the season. He felt that the Lakers and the Knicks would meet in the finals, but…

He could only turn his gun around and aim at Kevin Durant, trying to raise his status as quickly as possible.

The good news is that Kevin Durant’s performance in the last two games of the Western Conference Finals was indeed eye-catching, which made the public opinion behind him seem less abrupt.

Judging from the reaction from the outside world, fans are still looking forward to the finals.

However, after David Stern carefully studied the outside public opinion, he discovered that it was true that these fans were looking forward to the showdown between Suwan and Kevin Durant.

only……

The reason they are looking forward to it is not simply “Suwan VS Kevin Durant”!
Kevin Durant’s “bath water remarks” last year and the scandal between Suwan and Scarlett were mentioned again, especially Scarlett’s statement “If Kevin Durant wants to drink my bath water, he can go to Suwan”, which made this confrontation between Suwan and Kevin Durant full of gimmicks.

The NBA officials don’t know what they call this game, but the public calls it:

“Battle of the Bath Water”!
Kevin Durant saw it all.

As soon as the Western Conference Finals ended, the Thunder rushed to New York.

Since the Eastern and Western Conference Finals ended very early, the Finals will not start for another five or six days. During this period, in addition to training, Kevin Durant stayed in front of the computer and had fierce online discussions with netizens:

“That’s a rumor. Do you understand what a rumor is? Have you seen them appear together again after that?”

“Su Wan has definitely never drunk Scarlett’s bath water, I can be sure of that!”

“I’m not a fan of Kevin Durant, but I have a friend who is a fan of Kevin Durant, and I believe what he said! Kevin Durant is definitely more attractive!”

“Let’s wait and see. After this game, the legend of Suwan will be ended by Kevin Durant!”

……

Kevin Durant was really angry about the comments made by some netizens these days.

But what makes him happy is that there are still many media outlets that are optimistic about him.

After seeing these news, Kevin Durant’s self-confidence soared.

He believes that this season is the “time of change” for the league, and he is the one who will drive Suwan off the throne of the league’s top spot:
Kevin Durant!
Soon, the first day of the finals arrived.

This time of year is the most watched moment in the NBA.

And this year is no exception.

Especially this year’s finals also involved a Hollywood actress:
Scarlett!
It is even more…

And when the “Black Widow” appeared in the audience seats on the sidelines, it became a “killing” scene.

There are many female stars present tonight, as well as many big celebrities and some “big freeloaders”, including the three Kardashian sisters.

But the most eye-catching person in the audience was Scarlett!

Kim Kardashian looked at Scarlett who kept appearing on the big screen and said to Jenna next to her, “Did you see that? Did you see that? This will be your exposure from now on. Since you are sure that Su Wan is waiting for you to grow up, you have to learn to wait for the right price!”

A few days ago, Jenner loosened up a little and wanted to throw herself into Griffin’s arms, but Kim Kardashian asked her to think about her career.

Getting Su Wan is more effective than getting ten Griffins!
Jenna was also jealous of this exposure.

Just bear with it for a few more months…

Then the boos from the audience became louder, and the Thunder players walked out of the visiting team’s player tunnel.

When he walked out, Scarlett turned her head to look at him, but she only looked at him once and quickly lowered her head.

Looking at Kevin Durant again, after noticing that Scarlett also came to the sidelines tonight, his mouth couldn’t help but pout, and he almost turned into a “gorilla” in an instant, and then the fighting spirit in his eyes burned.

He was already full of energy, and at this moment he wished the game could start right away.

Then the home team players’ playing time.

Su Wan walked out amid the cheers of the audience.

Scarlett looked up, and this time her eyes followed Su Wan directly until Su Wan sat down on the bench. She suddenly noticed a burst of booing in the audience. She looked up in confusion and happened to meet her own eyes on the big screen.

This time the noise got louder.

She also covered her face shyly. She knew very well how long she had been staring at Su Wan.

But so is this man.

Didn’t you notice the look in her eyes?
He didn’t even look at her!

She actually just wanted to look at Su Wan.

What Scarlett didn’t notice was that Kevin Durant was also one of the people who witnessed this scene.

This feeling of being violated by his husband almost made him grit his teeth, and he immediately said in his heart:

I’m going to like 10 hot chicks’ Twitter photos tonight.

This was a little punishment for Scarlett.

It’s time to give her a sense of crisis!

At the same time, in tonight’s game he…

Must win!
At this time, the big screen on site showed the starting lineups of both sides.

The New York Knicks returned to their original starting lineup and brought Paul George back to the starting lineup.

When it comes to dealing with the young and energetic Thunder team, Paul George is more effective than Ray Allen.

The Thunder’s starting lineup is:
“Westbrook at No. 1, Sefolosha at No. 2, Kevin Durant at No. 3, Ibaka at No. 4, Perkins at No. 5!”

After Jeff Green was traded, the Thunder’s lineup became more reasonable.

The starting lineup is capable of both offense and defense, and except for Westbrook and Kevin Durant, no one else needs to hold the ball, ensuring that one ball is enough to play with.

It is for this reason that James Harden was sitting on the bench.

But this also ensures that the Thunder still has plenty of firepower during the substitute rotation phase.

“beep!”

The buzzer sounded, and the much-anticipated first game of the finals officially began.

Tyson Chandler faced Ibaka and successfully gained the first attack for the New York Knicks.

Dio walked to the top of the arc as usual, but saw Kevin Durant coming to defend instead of Ibaka.

As a power forward with the height and wingspan of a power forward, Kevin Durant also has higher mobility than Dio and can completely cover Dio.

This is Brooks’ attempt at a change of formation.

In his opinion, the New York Knicks’ ball movement is so smooth, which has a lot to do with Dio’s too easy matchup.

As for Ibaka’s mismatched defense…

Paul George is better at catching and shooting and cutting, and his ability to get rid of the ball without the ball is not very good.

Ibaka can still handle this type of wing.

But what Brooks didn’t notice was that Tyronn Lue and Mike Malone on the sidelines both showed “mysterious smiles.”

Dio also acted out of character when facing Kevin Durant. He did not “deal the cards” at the top of the arc, but instead directly held the ball and forced the shot at the top of the arc.

The current “Xiao Shuai”‘s overall confrontation ability has improved a lot compared to when he first entered the league.

But if compared with a power forward like Dio, his ability to fight is still a little weak.

In fact, this can also be seen from Kevin Durant’s dunk while holding the ball.

He often dodges inside defenders and uses his long arms to complete dunks. In the confrontation, there are often crooked pictures…

Even Kevin Durant in his prime did not completely solve the problem of confrontation ability.

The most crucial point is that his center of gravity is too high. In addition, his tonnage is not that of a “traditional inside player”. Once a confrontation occurs, it may not be that his strength is crushed, but his center of gravity may simply float away.

In short it’s very difficult!
We can also see this from Dio’s confrontation with him this round…

But Dio rushed to the inside and turned around and threw the ball out, and Suwan received the ball and faced Sefolosha.

Briefly describe this guy:

Afflalo of the Thunder!

Is a standard “3D player”.

He originally became the NBA’s “Best Defensive Second Team” in the 09-10 season.

But even so, he still felt pressured facing Su Wan. The moment he received the ball, he immediately lowered his center of gravity and assumed a defensive posture.

Just noticing his reaction, Su Wan took the ball and shot directly.

Sefolosha quickly stood up and jumped, leaning forward, but Suwan had already shot the ball and it fell smoothly into the basket.

3-0!

The first ball of the game was scored by Su Wan.

The cheers from the sidelines were louder than usual.

Westbrook got the ball in the backcourt, ignored Kevin Durant’s request for the ball, and attacked with the ball himself. Stephen Curry resisted for a while, but he was pushed in.

It looked like a dunk, but Westbrook jumped straight up one step in front of the legal collision zone with a stiff posture, like a “zombie”.

coming!

Westbrook’s iconic “zombie jump shot” during his prime…

“Dangdang!”

Gorgeous blacksmithing!

Ibaka competed with Tyson Chandler for the rebound, and the ball was finally caught by Dio next to him.

Perkins stood still the entire time, watching Dio secure the rebound.

This season, Perkins averaged 4.7 points per game after joining the Thunder, with a shooting percentage of less than 43%.

As an inside player, he doesn’t even have the talent to “eat the cake”.

His only role is to compress the space under the basket…

But when facing Tyson Chandler, he couldn’t even show this function. He couldn’t stop Chandler’s flying pounce at all.

Dio took the ball and quickly launched a counterattack.

Another problem with Perkins emerged.

His speed of returning to defense was too slow, and Dio noticed this and immediately observed the position of his teammates.

At this time, Kevin Durant rushed in front of him and slowed down his advancement.

Dio seemed to have eyes on his arms and passed the ball to the side. When the ball was about to fly out of the baseline, Su Wan grabbed the ball and accelerated towards the front court.

Just raise your hand outside the three-point line and shoot a “chase three-pointer”!
The ball went straight into the basket in a slightly flat arc.

“three!”

Amid the shouts of the live commentator, Su Wan returned to defense and high-fived the young fans on the sidelines, making the young fans giggle.

Kevin Durant looked at Scarlett first.

Sure enough, Su Wan’s actions attracted her attention and she smiled.

This cunning Chinese man!

Kevin Durant was more forceful in asking for the ball this time. Westbrook hesitated for a moment, but still gave the ball to Kevin Durant.

Although nominally, this is Kevin Durant’s team, but few media noticed a situation:
Westbrook has already surpassed Kevin Durant in field goal attempts this season.

To put it bluntly, Westbrook’s playing style is also a “data cake” style.

The only difference between him and LeBron is:
When he faces media questions about his stats, he will say bluntly: “If my teammates don’t grab the rebound, then I will grab it. If my teammates don’t shoot, then I will shoot!”

He never shied away from this.

And he regards this as his “basketball way”.

LeBron is the type who says “I never care about statistics”, but when the game time is almost over and the winner has been decided, he makes a meaningless “iron-blooded two-pointer” that can only improve his own statistics.

Then his fans would make the stolen data he had accumulated over time into a pile of dazzling “dog shit” and show off as his proudest asset.

As soon as Kevin Durant got the ball, Su Wan stepped up to defend him and kept making physical contact. This almost caused Kevin Durant to lose the ball. He turned around awkwardly, protecting the ball behind him, and he couldn’t help but want to ask:
no……

Isn’t this person afraid that I will break through directly?

Before he had a lot of ideas.

With a “click” sound, Kevin Durant felt his hands were empty. He subconsciously looked for the ball, but saw that Su Wan already had the ball in his hands.

What the hell!
Kevin Durant hurried to chase, but Suwan was faster and in the end he very experiencedly stopped him behind him before jumping high.

“Bah!”

Successful dunk!

“Ho ho ho ho ~”

Kevin Durant gasped and watched Suwan return to defense beside him.

“If you’re only capable of this, you won’t be able to drink Scarlett’s bath water!”

As they passed each other, Kevin Durant felt his face burning when he heard Suwan’s trash talk.

So shameful!
This is no different from Su Wan shitting on his face.

He was eager to get back at the plate.

But Su Wan’s confrontation with him just now left him with lingering fears.

In this round, he did not ask for the ball directly, but chose to stand on the wing, wait for the opportunity, make a “double change of direction” run, and then catch the ball as soon as he got rid of Su Wan…

No!

You wait a minute!
Russell!
He was thinking about waiting for the opportunity. When Westbrook saw that he didn’t come to receive the ball, he turned his head and looked at the basket, and then he couldn’t move his eyes away…

Still break through with the ball!

Tyson Chandler stood one step outside the reasonable collision zone in time in this round.

Unexpectedly, Westbrook took a step to the side while moving at high speed and accurately found Perkins.

“Snapped!”

Ok!

This is not a good passing option.

Tyson Chandler turned his head and slapped Perkins’ shot to the ground, and successfully protected the ball.

Dio wanted to catch the ball at the first opportunity, but Ibaka stood between two people and successfully bought time for the other Thunder players to retreat.

Su Wan simply took the ball directly from the backcourt.

Sefolosha waited for him to cross half court, but Suwan waved at him and challenged Kevin Durant: “Come on, Kevin, stand up like a man, so you can have a chance to drink the bath water!”

This time the sound was very loud and the audience on the sidelines laughed.

Scarlett rolled her eyes.

You’re going to die!

What Kevin Durant couldn’t stand the most was this kind of “trash talk”. He waved at Sefolosha with a sullen face, then stood in front of Suwan.

Reporters at the scene took photos one by one.

Compared to Suwan defending Kevin Durant, Kevin Durant defending Suwan right now has more of a “bath water battle” and a “challenge to imperial power” flavor.

Su Wan did not make any unnecessary moves. He just rushed forward with the ball. His non-ball-holding hand leaned on Kevin Durant. While the two were in physical confrontation, he elbowed Kevin Durant hard in the chest.

Durant grimaced in pain, but he did not lose his position and still held on to the end. Suwan jumped in the air and passed the ball to Tyson Chandler next to him.

“Dangdang!”

Kevin Durant jumped twice and successfully delayed the game.

It should be super handsome, right?

Kevin Durant couldn’t help but laugh when he thought of Scarlett looking at him “1 defend 2” handsomely…

“Bah!”

Kevin Durant, who was still flying in the air, only heard the sound of the basket exploding, which made him shrink his neck unconsciously.

Then he felt a force coming from behind, causing him to stagger and fall out of the field.

The audience seats at the scene seemed to explode, and the cheers were deafening.

Kevin Durant turned his head and saw Suwan loosen his hands and fall from the basket.

If he looked at the big screen, he would see…

The offense of this round was being replayed on the big screen. When Tyson Chandler took the ball and shot, Suwan had already gathered his strength and jumped up.

Therefore, he caught the ball in his hands as soon as it fell out of the basket, and it was a direct “two-handed slam dunk”.

At the same time, his entire body was riding on Kevin Durant.

This is where the impact Durant felt came from.

The cheers at the scene became louder.

Because now everyone saw clearly what Suwan did to Kevin Durant.

Amid the excited cheers, Brewster called a timeout.

There is no way. The Thunder haven’t scored a single point yet. If they call a timeout again, I’m afraid the game will collapse from the start.

As a “young army” that made it to the finals for the first time, the Thunder’s condition was very unstable.

As the head coach of this “youth army”, Brooks also understands that this is a big challenge for the team!

However, he suddenly discovered a problem:
Kevin Durant seemed to be breathing louder than usual.

Is it possible…

He thought back to what the New York Knicks had just done to Kevin Durant on both ends of the floor…

At the same time, Mike Malone tapped the tactical board and said excitedly: “Very good, very good, just defend like this, continue to confront Kevin Durant, consume his physical energy, and make him unable to rest on the court!”

(End of this chapter)