Don't talk trash to him.

Chapter 26: Doing Things That Old Birds Can't Stand
"The strongest player in the 04 class is from China? This newcomer is even stronger than Yao Ming back then. The point is, he is only 19 years and 116 days old, 4 months younger than LeBron!" - ESPN News Express;
"Will the next pair of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen no longer be a joke? Chinese rookie Su Wan showed amazing form in the preseason! Isaiah Thomas should die to apologize, otherwise how could he be so stupid as to trade the first-round pick in 04." - The New York Times;
"The uncertainty of Su Wan has been reduced a little bit. The first letter of the Cavaliers' lottery ticket that originally had the third prize written on it is now ONE!" - "The Bleacher Report"
"I really think that my uncle and I are the same kind of people. You see, we always say things that seem ridiculous but are extremely correct, but we can always put on eye-catching performances on the court!" - TNT commentator Charles Barkley's evaluation of Suwan on a talk show.

"He's improved a lot, I think that's why he came here, he's more talented than me." - Yao Ming on his performance in the preseason;
"Uncle is still improving, I believe he will become a star in this league." -- Paul Silas gave Suwan an S grade for all his performances in the preseason;
"He showed his abilities, he performed very well, we are working hard to get used to each other, we are beginning to understand each other, this is why he can perform well, and of course this is the most important reason why I can perform well. We will definitely be the best partners!" - LeBron James' latest evaluation of Suwan.

The huge exposure has made Suwan's popularity in the United States soar. From the number of followers on his Facebook, we can see that he currently has 10 followers. This has been increasing since the preseason. Obviously, his performance has won over many people.

However, Su Wan is very clear that the great exposure is entirely due to his outstanding performance, which forms a sharp contrast with the struggles of other high-ranking rookies in the 04 draft. Once he can no longer continue to play such a performance.

Then the current exposure will become a "sharp knife" stabbing at himself.

The praise now will turn into ridicule, he will become a "flash in the pan newcomer", his previous outstanding performance will be considered that other opponents do not value him, or do not understand him. His ability will be degraded to the dirt.

and also……

Being fat first is not fat, and being fat later is overwhelming.

Even if his performance can remain stable, if someone from the 04 class performs better than him in the future, he will become that person's "stepping stone".

In short, even a regular season game has not started yet, the road ahead is long and difficult, and it has just begun. Su Wan did not take such a large exposure seriously.

After the entire preseason, not only did he not get carried away, but he actually felt a little more troubled.

Causes of trouble:
In six preseason games, he only turned on "The zone" mode four times.

Now there are few newcomers who dare to challenge him.

This means that when the regular season comes, if he wants to turn on "The zone" mode, he will have to provoke those old birds.

but……

The chance of success in provoking an old bird is high, but the risk is also high!
If they provoke us and we can’t defeat them even if we turn on “The zone” mode, that would be extremely embarrassing.

So Su Wan can't always be the one who provokes others. He has to let those old guys provoke him first.

If he wants others to provoke him, he has to do something that these old birds don't like. What should he do? Su Wan leaned against the back of the locker room chair, his head against the locker door, and his drooping eyelids pushed open the locker room door. He glanced over and saw LeBron finished the interview and came back.

"Uncle, are you done with the interview?"

"Um……"

"The opening match is tomorrow. How is it? Are you nervous?"

"well enough!"

"You have to believe in yourself. With your ability, you can do it!"

"I feel so too!"

Ever since Suwan performed well in the preseason and caused heated discussions, becoming the most dazzling player in the 04 class, LeBron James' attitude has become more friendly again.

This change did not surprise Su Wan. LeBron is an old "master of changing faces". He has always been very friendly with talented teammates.

But whenever your performance drops and your condition declines, he will not even call you when he runs away. At most, he will send you a text message to tell you: my buddy is gone, and his departure is quite sudden. The even worse "brothers" will only find out about his death when they see the news during a dinner party.

LeBron could tell Su Wan was being perfunctory. He was not that thick-skinned at this moment. Seeing that Su Wan was unwilling to talk more, he did not continue. Su Wan looked at his back, but his eyes gradually brightened:

Now, there’s a way to make old hands upset!

In a good mood, he opened the attribute panel and added all the 4 zone points he had gained in the four preseason games to the "ball control" potential.

The potential of "ball control" has increased significantly, from 64 points to 77 points.

The ball control ability had reached 60 points and the speed of improvement had slowed down. The effect of the next training will be accelerated.

13.3 zone points plus the remaining 3 zone points, after this injection, only 1 points were left. But it didn't matter, because...

Regular season, it’s here!
The NBA 04-05 season officially kicked off on November 11.

There are 3 league matches on the first day.

Among them is the Houston Rockets, who formed the "New OK Combination" in the summer.

During the offseason, Houston, which had already shouted the slogan "Rockets Championship", eventually lost to the defending champion Detroit Pistons 79-87 on the road.

“新OK组合”发挥稀烂无比，麦迪火箭队首秀33.3%的投篮命中率只拿到了18分2篮板1助攻；姚明更是只有8分3篮板，投篮命中率22.2%。

It can be seen during the game that Yao Ming has gained weight again this summer, which has affected his touch. Many shots that he could have put in were not scored in this game. There was no tacit understanding between him and McGrady.

In addition, we can see that the Rockets' system is not smooth and many other problems.

Bill Walton commented on the game. He said after the game: "It will take a long time to see this lineup play to its full potential."

In addition to this game, there was another game that also attracted great attention from the outside world.

That is:
Nuggets VS Lakers!
This summer, Houston formed the "New OK Combination", while Los Angeles' "OK Combination" ended up falling apart. Not many people were surprised by this result. Since Kobe said "Shaq did it too", it was inevitable that the two of them would go their separate ways. The failure of the "F4" group to win the championship last season was the last straw that broke the camel's back. Pat Riley seized the opportunity and used Caron Butler and Odom as the main trading chips to successfully bring Shaquille O'Neal to the South Coast.

The "City of Angels" has become Kobe's city as he wished.

This is his first game as the "big boss".

Everyone can see that Kobe wants to prove his ability, and his performance is also good enough, with 25 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists, of which the points and assists are the highest in the team. Chris Mihm is the "X factor" tonight. He averaged 6.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in the Cavaliers last season, and he got a "big double-double" of 23 points and 12 rebounds in his first game with the Lakers.

With their combined efforts, the Lakers defeated the Nuggets and got off to a good start.

Kobe said after the game: "As long as I want, Los Angeles can have a new Shark anytime"

On November 11, after the league's opening game, it was the Cavaliers' turn to play their first game of the new season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers played their first game of the new season at home against the tough Indiana Pacers, who lost to the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals after a seven-game battle last season.

They were the only team that played a full seven games with the Pistons in last season's playoffs, which shows how strong they are.

This season, they are preparing for the championship.

The Quicken Loans Arena, which had been vacant for several months, became particularly lively today.

Many Clevelanders who had not been to the stadium since April last year were surprised to find that next to the advertising wall with the huge poster of LeBron James, there was another advertising wall with Suwan catching the ball with one hand.

They did not rush to the stadium, but stood in front of the posters and asked their companions to take photos for them.

Before the preseason, Su Wan's dissatisfaction with the ball made them dislike this Chinese newcomer for a while. But after watching Su Wan's performance in the preseason, they thought that Su Wan should have more opportunities to hold the ball, as he had the ability to do so.

There was almost a traffic jam in front of the poster.

Fortunately, the stadium security noticed something was wrong and evacuated everyone in time.

By the time this group of fans entered the audience stands, the players of both teams had already entered the field.

There was a sudden uproar in front of the technical platform, and Su Wan stood on the platform and suddenly opened his arms. As he raised his hands, white magnesium powder scattered everywhere, sparking huge cheers.

LeBron: ???

(End of this chapter)