The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!

Su Wan's confidence wasn't unfounded.

In "the zone" mode, his strength in the Summer League was that of a "Supermodel Monster."

Moreover, he had just been observing the rookie "Twin Stars."

Howard's talent was visibly raw, but he hadn't filled out yet, and despite a broad frame, he still looked thin and tall.

Under the basket, when faced with physical confrontations, his insufficient bulk and muscle density were glaring issues.

Furthermore, having started out as a point guard, Howard only switched to small forward during his junior year of high school. In the summer of his senior year, he grew to 2.06 meters tall and was forced to transition to an inside player role. Having only played power forward for one year, he still played like a perimeter player, focusing on ball-handling and passing. It was exactly this basketball experience and style of play that earned him the nickname "Little Garnett."

However, his ball-handling and ability to distribute the ball, when put on the stage of the Summer League...

Were flashy but impractical, riddled with frequent turnovers.

Just like his later performances in the "Small Island League."

In fact, it was even worse!

Take this game for example, in the first half alone, he had already made three turnovers. No wonder after he entered the NBA, he humbly took on the role of a "blue-collar inside player," living off his explosive physical fitness.

A "top pick" like him was not Su Wan's concern.

What he needed to pay attention to was Jamal Nelson, who had graduated from his senior year.

Actually, after the regular season began, Little Nelson's rookie season performance wasn't as good as Howard's.

The "Young Beast" thrived in the Magic Team system, averaging 12 points per game with a field goal percentage of 52.4%, plus a "double-double" with 10 rebounds. However, Little Nelson went from starter to benchwarmer, taking nearly half a season to become a stable and important rotation player for the Magic.

His stats slowly climbed back to 8.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3 assists per game.

His biggest issue was his below-average height at 1.85 meters, yet he didn't possess any of the advantages that smaller players often have, such as explosive power, agility, or speed. His advantages were:

Significant bulk, a strong body, and the ability to forcefully Breakthrough in confrontations.

Unfortunately, these advantages were hard to be recognized as his characteristics when he first entered the league. No wonder his rookie season went by unnoticed.

But on the stage of the Summer League, against less intense opponents and less gifted talents, these advantages could be well demonstrated.

Calderon simply couldn't withstand his Breakthroughs in confrontations.

In the first half, the Magic were leading by 12 points partly because he kept isolating Calderon and scoring one-on-one.

Restricting him was the first key to flipping the game.

The second key was Su Wan's own performance on the offensive end.

In one-on-one situations, as long as he entered "The zone" mode, Su Wan was confident he could blow past all of the Magic's perimeter players.

The problem now was, Howard was still inside.

Though only a "Young Beast," as the future first player in NBA history to win the Best Defensive Player Award three seasons in a row, his defensive instincts were innate. Calderon's struggles to guard Little Nelson in the first half were his own problem, but the restriction of after-pick-and-roll Breakthroughs had a lot to do with Howard's help defense.

Su Wan estimated that once he was on the court, Howard would focus all his attention on him.

Therefore...

He made a request to Ma Long, asking Calderon to continue starting in the second half.

Ma Long had no objections, and neither did Calderon. Even though he played 15 minutes in the first half, his experience in professional matches meant this level of physical exertion was nothing. He was fully capable of playing the entire game.

When Su Wan entered the game, there was a noticeable stir in the stands.

This much-anticipated "Summer League" game reached its climax.

"Just a 12-point lead and you can't even use it," Su Wan glanced at Little Nelson in front of him, then toward the approaching Howard, and yelled, "No wonder Dream Six took Emeka Okafor but didn't bring you, the 'No.1 Pick'!"

Why is he targeting me?

At that moment Howard saw Su Wan walking up to Little Nelson and, worried he might be at a disadvantage, hurried over, only to be met with a verbal "blow."

This was the second time Su Wan had suggested Howard was inferior to Okafor and didn't deserve the title of "No.1 Pick."

"Don't get cocky, you'll get wrecked, you bitch!" he angrily cursed.

Hmm...

This was the brazen and bold Howard!

His provocation took the "lower body" route, and his trash talk was just as low—years later, in the 2020 Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Jazz, he once directed "lower body" trash talk at the Nuggets bench and nearly got ejected by the referees.

"Heh~"

Su Wan chuckled lightly, targeting Howard paid off as expected.

The system's notification rang in his mind:

"Ding, host is receiving trash talk, system activated, 'The zone' mode initiated."

This chuckle, in the ears of the Magic's "Twin Stars," felt bitterly annoying, inflaming both of them further.

"Just wait until he gets the ball, I'll stick to him immediately and force him inside. Dwight, I'm looking forward to you giving him a Block!"

Little Nelson communicated with Howard about the defensive details.

As Su Wan had expected,

Little Nelson pressed close, while Howard waited in the paint "like a rabbit in a trap."

However, even though the previous plan was executed perfectly, as soon as Su Wan, who had activated "The zone" mode, got the ball, he was entangled by Little Nelson and couldn't shake him off. With his height advantage, he could only drive inside. Yet, as Howard stood on the white line of the Reasonable Collision Zone and saw him jump, jumping along, the airborne Su Wan twisted his body and found Calderon outside the three-point line.

The Spaniard's stable shooting revealed itself at this moment.

A standard hand form, perfect arc, and the ball swished through the net.

It was a three-point shot!

The point difference suddenly returned to single digits...

"No wonder they let Jose play," Ma Long realized.

Obviously, Su Wan had anticipated that the "Twin Stars" on the other team would join forces to restrict him.

But...

He actually knew that Calderon had a steady shot; it seems he's been paying close attention to his teammates all along!

Tonight, Ma Long would submit his summary report on Su Wan's first three games.

Having completed the previous two games, Su Wan had shown his exceptional instant combat capabilities. With his current ability, becoming a rotation player or even a regular on the Cavaliers' team this new season wouldn't be an issue at all.

The only flaw, or rather, a hidden danger,

was his overly flashy character.

Flashy to the point of being somewhat arrogant.

But judging from the start of this second half, Ma Long revised his opinion; this guy liked to stir things up, it was true, but he was also capable of anticipating possible situations and making thorough preparations for them.

In three simple words:

He's smart!

As offense and defense switched on the court, Little Nelson advanced the ball to the frontcourt, and Su Wan took Calderon's place, standing in front of him.

1.83 meters against 1.98 meters, the 15cm height difference was enough to showcase footwork flexibility, but it was Su Wan, who had ultimate control over his body, who seemed to be more agile than Little Nelson.

After continual changes in rhythm failed to shake Su off, Little Nelson gritted his teeth, lowered his shoulder, and like diving into the water, took a hard plunge downward. He used his head to force his way under Su Wan's armpit and open a path to the basket.

However, he did manage to get in.

Embarrassingly, Su Wan hadn't lost his position, and his outstretched hand continued to hover above Little Nelson's head. Like a dark cloud looming, it weighed heavily on his mind.

Little Nelson was never a good passer, especially in his first year in the NBA with an average of 3 assists per game, and yet with 1.5 turnovers per game, giving him a woeful assist-to-turnover ratio of 2!

Consider that "White Chocolate," with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.1 during his rookie season was famous for making people anxious with the ball, and even Jason Williams, known for erratic on-court passing, was better. This clearly showed how poor Little Nelson's passing vision was.

In his panic, he couldn't see his teammates anymore, his mind fixated only on how to put the ball in the basket.

"Slap!"

But Su Wan had been waiting all along.

With his strong control over his body, he calmly waited until Little Nelson's feet left the ground before leaping up with all his might, slamming the ball against the backboard with a fierce swat.

Little Nelson, who had hoped to see Su Wan get blocked, was instead hammered by Su Wan with a heavy shot.

The violent scene was eye-catching.

The venue instantly turned into a boiling sea.

As Su Wan landed, his hand remained up, grabbing the falling basketball, and "going behind his back" to avoid Howard's "Ghost Hand Steal," instantly creating a counter-attack situation.

Little Nelson and Howard were both under the basket at the moment, and the three other Magic Team players returning to defend, though their minds were clearer, all had their eyes on Su Wan, trying to stop him.

Su Wan found Calderon again, who hesitated for a moment before taking an open three-point shot.

"Swish!"

The second consecutive three-pointer hit the mark.

And the point difference was quickly just 6 points.

"I have no doubt that once you enter the NBA, you can become the greatest shooter in history," Su Wan said to Calderon as he returned on defense, pointing at him.

"If someone continues to create chances for me like this, I think I can!" responded Calderon, with full points for emotional intelligence.

"It seems I might have come on too early!"

Su Wan then turned his attention back to the Magic Team's "Twin Stars," placing one hand on his hip and the other spread out in a "what can I do, I'm just that strong" pose. He really looked like he deserved a good beating!

Only this time, both Little Nelson and Howard, their faces red with effort, had no words to counter.

The facts spoke for themselves; in less than a minute and a half since the start of the half, the point gap had shrunk from 12 points to just 6. With this momentum, Su Wan wouldn't need half a quarter to close the remaining gap.

Ma Long was dumbstruck; now he understood what "blazing fire simmering down" meant. Wasn't this fire a bit too intense?

It could dry up the water!