The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!

With a commanding 3-1 lead, the New York Knicks were just one game away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.

ESPN posted an article saying, "Joakim Noah's trash talk has destroyed the Bulls' entire season's effort."

TNT echoed, "Joakim Noah, oh Joakim Noah, why did you have to provoke Su Wan?"

Of course, the media comparison was even more obvious with Derek Rose.

For the most part in this game, he played equally to Su Wan, and even led New York for the majority of the time. But in the final moments of decision, Su Wan completely outplayed him on both sides of the ball.

Barkley was besieged by the New York media.

Since when did a regular season MVP become consolation for the losers?

Since when did not needing the regular season MVP trophy to prove oneself become an excuse for not getting one?

You're kidding me...

Su Wan indeed had three regular season MVP trophies.

But he...

Had never won this award as a member of the New York Knicks!

In the history of the New York Knicks, only one player had ever won the regular season MVP in a Knicks uniform, and that was Willis Reed in the 1969-70 season.

A full 41 years ago!

That's just too long ago!

New York media and Knicks fans were eager to see Su Wan break this awkward record for them.

This year's Su Wan was definitely hopeful. Before the season started, the general consensus was that this team was a first-round playoff team, probably around the sixth to eighth in the Eastern Conference.

But in the end, the New York Knicks finished with 58 wins, ranked third in the East, and with the Bulls failing to hold onto the top spot in the East, odds of Su Wan receiving the award surged.

The most important thing was, Su Wan clinched the "Scoring King" with an average of 36.4 points, in addition to 6.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game, a 48.5% shooting percentage, a 42.3% three-point shooting percentage, and an 87.4% free throw percentage.

He scored an astonishing 83 points in a single game!

The New York Knicks were the only team this year that didn't lose a game at home.

Putting these achievements together, even if Derek Rose had the "New Star" bonus, the odds of the two getting the "Regular Season MVP" were split.

So the New York media were sensitive now.

Even though they knew that voting had ended and the results were lying there, waiting to be announced, still...

They didn't want to hear such nonsense from Barkley.

Barkley quickly said, "I just empathize with Derek's situation; I know all too well how sad it is for a great basketball player to encounter another more outstanding player in his time!"

I'm a diehard Su fan!

New York Knicks secured the match point, and in the other Eastern Conference semifinal matchup, the Heat Team vs. Pacers, they welcomed their fourth game.

On the Pacers' home court.

Interestingly enough, like the Bulls, with home-court advantage, the Heat Team was trailing 1-2 in the series, and if they lost this "away" game, they would fall into a 1-3 deficit.

Before the game started, there was tremendous pressure on each member of the Heat Team.

On the other hand, the Pacers were full of fighting spirit.

One reason for this:

Su Wan said he wanted to meet in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Lil' O'Neal had already addressed this issue with the media: "It's definitely an interesting thing, and we look forward to it happening!"

And the momentum of both sides also affected their start.

Right from the get-go, the Pacers scored consecutively with their dominant inside play, leading by a score of 12-6 at over 5 minutes into the first quarter.

In contrast, it was much tougher for the Heat Team to score. As long as they got the chance for a one-on-one play under the basket, they could score, but for the Heat Team, getting points was evidently more difficult.

Their first offensive play was handed to Chris Bosh near the baseline corner to initiate the game.

But nearly turned over.

Chris Bosh, like Kevin Garnett, couldn't inflict much damage upon the likes of Zach Randolph and Lil' O'Neal in the paint to perform as a top "Space Type 4"; he still had to get past the Pacers.

It wasn't until Wade drove to the basket that the Heat Team got their first point, indicating their difficulty.

The reason for their struggle was the lack of a marked spacing.

Chalmers' three-point shooting was decent in the regular season, but it plummeted every year in the playoffs.

Exhibiting the utmost inconsistency with his three-pointers.

As for James Jones...

He was originally benched in the playoffs because his defensive issues were magnified, and his three-point shooting couldn't maintain the regular season's stability.

These issues led to the Heat Team's spacing, which was okay in the regular season, becoming extremely cramped in the playoffs.

The Pacers could boldly double-team Wade and Bosh.

Spoelstra's strategic change was to pack the paint and leave the Pacers' outside shooters open.

But Billups and Afflalo's three-point shooting was something Chalmers and James Jones could not compare with, and they had been truly tested in the Finals, showing no stage fright in the playoffs.

The common trait all "low seed miracles" in the past had was:

Plenty of experience, and each team's core players were still at their peak.

Like the '95 Houston Rockets, who said, "Never underestimate the heart of a champion," or the original '11 Dallas Mavericks.