Don't talk trash to him.

Chapter 143 The team is in danger, return quickly!

Reggie Miller also came to the scene today. When everyone received the rings from David Stern and took a group photo together in the center of the stage, some Pacers fans at the scene could no longer contain their excitement and burst into tears.

Reggie Miller waved to everyone again when he left the court, but didn't say much. Larry Bird was discussing the retirement of his jersey with him. Even if he had something to say, it would be more appropriate to leave it until then.

Su Wan looked at the first championship ring of his career.

Herbert Simon spent millions on this batch of rings, and in fact, at least $20 was spent on his championship ring.

The whole diamond on the ring is very eye-catching. When Su Wan wears the whole ring on his hand, he can clearly feel its weight, which is heavy.

Just as it means to Suwan, it means to all of Indiana.

Amid cheers, the game finally started, and the Pistons couldn't wait to get on the court and make a splash.

Looking at the Pistons players who were full of fighting spirit, Su Wan grinned with some difficulty.

He also realized belatedly that the Pacers suspended not only him, but also Foster. He was suspended for 4 games and could not play in the first 3 games of the regular season.

O'Neal successfully lost weight in the summer and now can't stand in the low post. If David Harrison could stand in the restricted area, his starting position would not be taken away by Foster. The "French Magician" has bounce, but he is better at rushing for rebounds and can't stand under the basket either.

In this situation, the Pacers will have a hard time defending the basket with the two Bens guarding it.

After the game started, Su Wan found that it was not just the rebounds under the basket that were difficult.

And then there's the offensive end.

Last season, the Pacers' tactical system basically started from him.

Without him, O'Neal Jr. can only hold the ball under the basket and attract double-teaming.

But the same thing goes, O'Neal Jr. has lost weight, and he has no way to gain a foothold under the basket and single out either Ben Wallace or Rasheed Wallace.

He now relies more on catching the ball after pick-and-rolls, or going to the basket to fight for "second rebounds."

Tinsley tried to play pick-and-roll with him several times, but the Pistons expected that Tinsley had no shooting ability and did not switch defense at all. Even if he did not get around the screen in time, he still insisted on defending his own opponent.

Tinsley was unable to take advantage of the open space he got during the period and punish the Pistons, which made them more determined to stick to their current defensive approach.

There was no other way, Rick Carlisle could only try the pick-and-roll between Artest and Jermaine O'Neal, and the result was...

Even more pulpy.

After the first quarter, the Pacers were trailing by 20 points at 23 to 3 at their home court.

O'Neal Jr. and Artest had their first quarrel after their conflict was resolved.

"After I set a screen for you, you couldn't get in, so why didn't you pass the ball to me? Why did you have to do it so recklessly? You couldn't hear me no matter how I shouted."

"I want to pass it on too. I'm looking for you, but I can't find you."

"I'm right on your right, how could you not see..."

“I really can’t see it!”

……

Tinsley glanced at Su Wan and said, "I feel much more comfortable with the two of them like this!"

Seeing how affectionate they were some time ago, he was really afraid that one day they would both come out together.

Sometimes quarrels can quickly resolve conflicts, but some problems cannot be solved by quarrels alone.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the pick-and-roll effect between Artest and O'Neal was still hard to describe. Rick Carlisle could only continue to change the formation, putting Artest at the second position and leaving the third position empty for Dio.

After this change in formation, the Pacers' situation on the court was no longer so chaotic.

And with Dio's passes and support, O'Neal Jr. began to exert his strength frequently in the interior.

Rasheed Wallace is already 31 years old and his athletic ability has declined a lot. Ben Wallace's height means that when he faces some athletic inside players who cut in, if he cannot get in position in the first place, he can only watch the opponent score goals frequently.

Even though he blocked a shot from O'Neal, he was unable to stop O'Neal from attacking the basket and scoring.

This was the smoothest period of the Pacers' offense.

The Indiana fans at the scene and the reporters on the sidelines all had a certain impression of Dio.

His silky passing movements and smooth escape from "little tricks" can all show his spirituality.

And Rick Carlisle found that he was a very smart player. Facing Prince, he tried to force the opponent to win. If he faced Rasheed Wallace who was slower, he would directly speed up and complete the breakthrough.

In other words, I am only familiar with the various scoring methods, but I cannot say I have mastered them.

Otherwise, his threat with the ball would definitely be much greater.

However, this is the case with "all-around forwards" like them who have no ambition. They can do everything but are not proficient in anything.

But the Pistons' newly appointed head coach Philip Saunders is also a very famous person. Kevin Garnett grew step by step into the regular season MVP under his leadership, and even Chauncey Billups' transformation was inseparable from his help.

The Timberwolves' journey to the Western Conference Finals in 04 was also achieved under his coaching.

His rich experience allowed him to immediately see the biggest problem of Dio, who performed well:

There is not enough coordination with other players on the Pacers.

Many of his passes are common tactical moves.

With the Pistons' defensive capabilities, it is not difficult to cut off these "tactical landing points".

Dio made three consecutive pass errors.

Rick Carlisle also knew that his "surprise buff" was gone.

In the second half, the Pacers' situation became increasingly unfavorable. They frequently lost backcourt rebounds, which made the Pistons' outside players more daring to shoot. Hamilton became more and more popular the more he shot, scoring 14 points in a single quarter.

The camera immediately turned to Reggie Miller, who was successful in limiting Hamilton in last season's playoffs.

If he were still wearing the Pacers jersey today, would Hamilton's outburst have happened?

The suspense of the game completely disappeared with Hamilton's outburst. In the end, the Pistons defeated the Pacers by 98 points with a score of 87 to 11, successfully putting a damper on Indiana's "Night of Receiving Championship Rings".

Rick Carlisle was interviewed after the game: "The importance of Jeff Foster and Suwan was reflected tonight, especially Suwan!"

He felt that this game had demonstrated Su Wan's importance.

But he soon found that it was too early to say this.

The Pacers lost the first game of the season. In the second game of the season, the Pacers challenged the Washington Wizards. Before the game, O'Neal and Artest said that they would definitely win the game. As a result, under the leadership of Arenas, Caron Butler and Antoine Jamison worked together. The three of them scored 71 points in total, directly crushing the Pacers. The Wizards won the game 93-85.

Without Larry Hughes competing with him for the ball in the backcourt, Arenas fully demonstrated his "two-guard" characteristics.

Caron Butler and Jamison opened fire early with his passes.

After Artest and O'Neal Jr. finally defended these two people, "Agent 0" also switched to "offensive mode" at this time, scoring all kinds of unreasonable goals. He scored 14 points in the final quarter alone, and scored 29 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists in the whole game, becoming the brightest star in the Washington night sky.

The name "Washington's Three Musketeers" was officially established.

Washington: Thanks to my friend from Los Angeles for sending me the "Straw Boy"!
The defending champions started the game 0-2.

In the third game, the Pacers continued their "road trip" and they would challenge the Los Angeles Clippers.

Last season, the Clippers ranked only 11th in the Western Conference and were a complete underdog.

Indiana Media: We should win this time, right?
Artest and O'Neal were still confident before the game, saying that this game would definitely be the Pacers' first win of the new season.

result……

89 is better than 98!

The Pacers lost to Los Angeles and suffered a three-game losing streak.

“船长”埃尔顿-布兰德狂砍28分12篮板，03年首轮第6顺位，一度让帕特-莱利纠结应不应该选择他的克里斯-卡曼抢下14分11篮板。

The two of them wreaked havoc in the Pacers' interior.

O'Neal's confident look before the game turned into a look of doubt about his life at this moment.

Doubts arose in his mind:
Should I not lose weight?

He found that after he lost weight, he was basically outmaneuvered by the inside stars he faced.

It can only be said that without a "pick-and-roll ball handler" and a "positioning partner" under the basket, it is indeed difficult for an inside player like O'Neal Jr. to perform well.

After this game, Artest started to complain to the media: "Our inside line was blown up. No one can win a game like this."

When O'Neal heard this, the sensitive boy felt a little unhappy.

On the bus back, he glanced at the seat next to Artest and sat towards the back of the bus.

Tinsley was slightly stunned. Although he couldn't stand the affectionate look between these two people, this cold and aloof look was not what he wanted to see.

Su Wan also noticed this when he got on the car. Of course, he already knew what was going on. He slapped Artest on the back of the head and cursed, "Fuck you, play your own game first and then talk about others!"

In fact, losing to the Clippers did not come as a surprise to Su Wan.

In the 00s, the only time the Clippers entered the top eight in the Western Conference and ranked higher than the Lakers happened this season.

Brand played the best season of his career, and with the outbreak of Chris Kaman, the Clippers' inside line this season is not inferior to any team in the league.

Even if Foster and O'Neal Jr. play together, they may not be able to gain much advantage.

What's more, it's just O'Neal Jr. now.

More importantly, Artest himself played very poorly in this game, making only 10 of 3 shots and scoring only 8 points.

Artest and Suwan also had a falling out: "Isn't it all your fault? If you hadn't been suspended, would we be like this?"

At this moment, the whole car was quiet, including O'Neal, who was sulking in the back seat, with his eyes wide open.

In fact, Artest regretted what he said and shrank his head. From his expression, it was clear that no matter what Su Wan said next, he would not talk back.

Su Wan laughed angrily: "Okay, you're right, Ron, I'm the boss of this team! Then you keep losing, and wait for me to fish you out of the bottom of the sea. It just so happens that I'm going to get the regular season MVP this season!"

Sure enough, Artest didn't dare to continue speaking.

He was well aware that he had spoken out of turn.

Su Wan was suspended, not because he was self-centered and impulsive like him.

He did not drag the entire team to be buried with him.

It doesn't make sense to blame Su Wan for the loss.

He was also hot-headed at the time.

What Suwan didn't expect was that Artest didn't dare to say anything, and O'Neal came to plead for him: "In fact, Ron is under a lot of pressure. Many media are mocking him, thinking that the Pacers won the championship without him, but suffered three consecutive losses with him. It's normal for him to have a bit of temper."

Is it normal again now?

So why were you looking so disdainful just now?

Or is this the latest play between you two, and I am a part of it?
Seeing that everyone was on the bus, Su Wan stood up and clapped to attract everyone's attention. Artest also turned around and looked at him.

"I know the Pacers are going through a difficult time now, and the media outside are saying all kinds of things, but this is the NBA. Losers can only be questioned, ridiculed, and mercilessly mocked, so we have to strive to be winners. But the more times like this, the more we have to unite as one, believe in our teammates, and believe in yourself. Of course, if you don't believe in yourself, it doesn't matter, just believe in me!"

"Even if you really end up losing six games in a row, it doesn't matter. Everything will be fine when I come back!"

"If anyone taunts you, you should fight back fiercely and tell them that we gave up a Finals MVP. If you still can't win, you should disband as soon as possible, or be relegated to play in the NCAA!"

"Remember, a loss on the court is not a real failure. 82 regular season games are so long, it is normal to lose. Giving up resistance is the real failure. Indiana people will never stop fighting!"

With Suwan's words and Foster's comeback, the Pacers returned to their home court with one heart and one mind and defeated the challenging New York Knicks.

The "defending champion" finally got the first victory of the new season.

Irene felt sorry for them.

Unfortunately, the feeling of winning did not continue, and the Pacers lost to the Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks.

There was no way. The Suns were the final second in the Western Conference, and the Dallas Mavericks were the last team from the Western Conference to enter the finals. The Pacers without Suwan really had no way to resist.

And just like that, the first half of the new season ended.

No one expected that the Pacers, who had topped the power rankings in various charts before the start of the season, would rank 1th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 5 win and losses.

Four words can describe the attitude of the entire Indiana towards Suwan:

The team is in danger, return quickly!

The third update is here.


(End of this chapter)