The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!

Although Su Wan didn't know how big a contract Nike and Adidas had offered Dior before, he assumed it wouldn't exceed this number.

No shortage of media outlets caught wind of this news, prompting them to ask Su Wan for his thoughts on the matter.

Su Wan laughed absurdly, "Do I really need to have an opinion about this kind of thing?"

The leading journalist pressed on, "Do you think there's a certain factor in Huaxia shoe brand signing Boris, because he is your teammate?"

Just waiting to set me up, huh?

Su Wan said, "If getting such a big contract was simply because he's my teammate, then I wouldn't need to play basketball anymore—I could just introduce all the players in the league to the Huaxia shoe brand. The referral fees alone would rank me on the Forbes list. Boris's performance deserves an endorsement contract."

"Don't forget, even LeBron has a shoe endorsement. Based on Boris's performance this season, why couldn't he sign a similar shoe deal?"

Is this really turning towards Old Zhan?

The reporters on site were all stunned:

Their awareness of Su Wan's disdain for LeBron was renewed.

As the schedule moved into April, the New York Knicks had already led the Western's first-place Spurs by six wins and were a whopping nine games ahead of the Eastern's second-place Bulls, allowing them to start resting and adjusting for the playoffs.

In the East, the most intense competition was between the third-place Pacers and fourth-place Heat Team.

Neither wanted to face the Knicks early in the semi-finals, hence they were in the midst of a fierce "race for position."

Initially, with the Heat Team's occasional locker room crises, it seemed the Pacers had locked down the third spot in the Eastern.

But by late March, news came from Miami:

Pat Riley had specifically called for a 40-minute team meeting in the locker room.

No one knew what was discussed there.

Only Pat Riley and the Heat players knew.

Clearly, they had a confidentiality agreement as everyone was tight-lipped about the meeting.

Then, from the end of March, they regained the momentum they had at the beginning of the new season, and by early April, the win gap between them and the Pacers had shrunk to just two games.

By April 10th, the gap in victories was down to just one.

Unfortunately, on April 11th, the Pacers secured a win in their last game, declaring the "race for position" over with the Heat Team falling just short.

On April 12th, as every team in the league finished their last game of the season.

The 2011-2012 "Shortened Season", which was so hellish that even the journalists were astounded, officially ended its regular season. Like every year, the playoffs would kick off in three days.

The top eight teams in both Eastern and Western conferences were therefore settled.

Last season's defending champions, the New York Knicks, ended this season with a record of 52 wins and 14 losses, ranking first in the league.

The San Antonio Spurs followed closely with 50 wins and 16 losses, placing second in the league.

They were also first in their respective divisions.

On the East side, behind the Knicks was the Chicago Bulls with a record of 49 wins and 17 losses.

Last season's "dark horse" who once charged to the first spot in the Eastern continued their dominance this season.

The Indiana Pacers were third in the East.

Last season, the Pacers finished fourth in the East.

This time they advanced further, mainly because...

They used their 15th overall pick to select a perfectly fitting wing cornerstone:

Koren Leonard!

Don't look at his average of only 9.6 points per game for the season so far; his field goal percentage is 49.7%, three-point shot percentage 37.5%, and free throw percentage is 77.3%.

In addition to 9.6 points, he averages 5.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.

The "Indiana Starlight News" believed that "Koren could potentially become the new wing cornerstone of the Pacers team after Su Wan."

From this, it's clear how much the Pacers value the rookie Leonard.

Su Wan also recognized Leonard's capability.

Playing basketball is definitely not a problem; the only problem is when he doesn't play.

However, his previous absences were due to his complex injuries. Those injuries were compounded by the neglect he faced from the Spurs' medical staff after being injured and not treated properly from the start.

It was the irresponsibility of the Spurs' medical team that led Leonard to lose trust in any team doctor.

And then there was the meddling of his uncle, the "troublemaker."

It made Leonard become like "stinky tofu":

Off-putting yet irresistible!

Now with the Pacers, perhaps his fate would be rewritten.

The Miami Heat ranked fourth in the East with a record of 43 wins and 23 losses.

This record was definitely not satisfying for Miami's media.

Remember, they had the best record in the league last season!

However, Pat Riley had already warned all Miami media not to stir up the emotions of the Heat players and pit them against each other. Hence, their reporting was primarily encouraging.

The first round of the playoffs for the top four in the East were:

First in the East, Knicks vs. eighth in the East, Philadelphia 76ers; second in the East, Bulls vs. seventh in the East, Orlando Magic Team; third in the East, Pacers vs. sixth in the East, Atlanta Hawks; fourth in the East, Miami Heat vs. fifth in the East, Boston Celtics;