The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!

"Damn? Why is it so hot!"

"I heard the air conditioning is broken!"

"Air conditioning is broken? With so many people, won't we suffocate later?"

...

On the night when the Heat Team was hanging by a thread, countless Heat fans arrived at the stadium early.

As soon as they entered, they felt something was off; a wave of stifling heat hit them.

At first, everyone thought the air conditioning had just been turned on.

When the stadium became bustling with the atmosphere like a sauna in the dead of winter, and they could even see mist in front of their eyes, the Miami people couldn't help but shout.

Then they received a shocking piece of news:

The stadium's air conditioning was actually broken!

The staff were working on repairs but had not yet found the cause.

This led to a chorus of complaints from the audience.

They were more worried about whether this unexpected situation would affect the Heat Team tonight.

Meanwhile, in the visiting team's locker room, Su Wan also learned about the stadium's broken air conditioning.

With the game approaching, this sudden incident made Su Wan's first thought that the other side was up to something!

It's not surprising for him to think this way, as such things have happened in the history of the NBA. "Red Priest" Auerbach used similar tactics, forcing half of the Lakers team to play in a stifling arena while needing to inhale oxygen.

Back in 2014, Popovich also turned off the central air conditioning during the finals against the Heat, claiming "the air conditioning was broken," causing issues for the Heat Team.

Now the Heat Team is down 0-2, and then the air conditioning breaks down in their first game back at home...

Su Wan didn't believe in such a coincidence.

Especially before this game, they had almost 5 days of rest.

These 5 days were enough for the Heat Team to check the stadium's air conditioning equipment a thousand times...

Overall, Su Wan was 100% sure that the Heat Team did it on purpose.

Knowing that they wouldn't be able to compete head-on with the New York Knicks, they could only use these "off-court maneuvers."

However, this move is a type of "hurting the enemy by a thousand, harming oneself by eight hundred, or even harming oneself by a thousand," with the other side at most preparing things like ice water or ice towels for use during timeouts. But in such a steamy place, these measures have limited effect.

Ultimately, it's a battle of wills.

Of course, they might have conducted some adaptive training in advance, but these things aren't something that can be adapted to once or twice.

Su Wan wasn't worried about such "off-court maneuvers."

He believed, when it came to a battle of perseverance, the New York Knicks had stronger tenacity than their opponents.

D'Antoni was very worried, he asked Mike Malone and Tyronn Lue how to deal with the stadium's broken air conditioning.

Mike Malone and Tyronn Lue's reaction was once again unanimous:

More rotations!

Anyway, this New York Knicks team had plenty of players who could play.

Upon hearing their opinions, D'Antoni didn't say anything at that moment.

Hmm...

As a typical representative of the "overworking the starters" type of coach.

D'Antoni's coaching style determined that he didn't understand what "frequent substitutions" meant.

However, Mike Malone and Tyronn Lue, this pair of "The Hidden Dragon and Rising Phoenix," did have quite a lot of research on this.

Great, tonight he would be "sidelined" again.

He had already become accustomed to this feeling of being "sidelined."

Before stepping out of the locker room, "Little Mustache" gave his final speech: "I think everyone has already heard about this incident. Tonight, the air conditioning at Heat's home court is broken, which means we'll be playing under 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Just hearing about it, you know this is going to be a tough process, but I believe, through what we've gone through, we can grit our teeth and overcome this process. This is our final hurdle against the Heat Team!"

"Everyone listen, when you feel like you can't hold on, think about the opponents, they're experiencing the same challenge as you!"

"This is an endurance game, when you have more willpower than the opponent, you'll outlast them!"

Upon hearing it's a game of endurance, Jimmy Butler, who had been sitting on the bench, was full of energy.

He wasn't interested in many things, but when it came to seeing who could last longer, Jimmy Butler was quite interested. He damn sure loved seeing who the toughest man was!

It's worth mentioning...

Since the summer when Jimmy Butler shaved his head, Su Wan had been insisting that he kept it shaved.

Besides letting his face bring "Dynasty fate" to the New York Knicks, Su Wan was also afraid of seeing him with some disastrous hairstyle. The hairstyle he got after leading the "Black Eight" Bucks in the summer really left Su Wan speechless.

Overall, "Bald Jiba" indeed looked more pleasing to the eye.

Actually, since his first appearance in front of the media this season, Jimmy Butler had already gone viral with his looks.

Just like later when the Lakers selected Max Christie, before he even played, everyone knew when he shaved, it would be a turning point for the League.

New York fans were also very friendly to Jimmy Butler.

Even though he hadn't had much playtime since his rookie season, whenever he appeared, New York fans would cheer for sure.

How should I put it...

It's a good omen!

Seeing his face, you tend to believe that the New York Knicks can definitely defend their title.

The "New York Times" directly referred to him as the "New York Mascot."