He had caught up with so predecessors in this aspect and was about to beco a mber of the "Defense President Mountain."
However, winning the "Best Defensive Player Award" this ti was t with so sneers.
The New York Tis wrote, "Ben Wallace’s taking this Best Defensive Player trophy should be indisputable, if not for the last six minutes of the series’ fifth ga two days ago!"
The Indiana Star wrote, "If Ben Wallace is the Best Defensive Player of the season, why didn’t Su Wan even make it into the Best Defensive Lineup?" They were still indignant that Su Wan hadn’t made it into the "Best Defensive Array."
This ti they were quite confident.
However, the topic didn’t persist for long.
That evening was Ga 4 of the Spurs versus SuperSonics series, and Bruce Bowen’s foot slide that led to Ray Allen’s exit from the ga beca the headline of the sports section in the dia the next day.
"Ray Allen suffers from Bruce Bowen’s foot slide, childhood friend also couldn’t escape misfortune. Ray Allen: I will never forgive him, never!" — ESPN;
"Su Wan’s self-defense was too light. He should have followed and stepped on him one more ti, and no one would bla him for doing that." — Seattle Sentinel;
"Another major player injured for the SuperSonics, only Rashard Lewis is left from the regular starting lineup, a season that excited countless SuperSonic fans ends in such a sigh-provoking result" — TNT Newsflash;
The news of Bowen causing another player’s injury sparked widespread discussion.
Reporters specifically went to Conseco Arena to ask Su Wan for his opinion.
They expected Su Wan to say sothing impassioned, but Su Wan replied, "This incident happened in the ga between the SuperSonics and the Spurs, and the injured person was Ray Allen. The attitude of the other mbers of the SuperSonics is what’s most important; my words have no impact on this matter."
The reporter tried a different angle: "What if it had happened in a ga between the Spurs and the Pacers?"
Su Wan said, "Then I would definitely make the Spurs pay!"
"What if it were you?"
Su Wan laughed, "If Bruce wants to go to the hospital, I don’t mind him coming after , but this ti, I can’t guarantee he would be out in a month."
"Is that a threat?"
"Kidding , buddy, if threats worked, then Bruce Bowen wouldn’t repeatedly play dirty!"
...
The outside world was outraged, but as Su Wan said, nothing happened in the fifth ga between the Spurs and the SuperSonics.
Ray Allen’s injury didn’t seem to rile up the SuperSonics.
They even avoided Bruce Bowen, as if he were so unavoidable curse.
Little did they realize it was this kind of retreat that made Bowen and those pulling his strings even more unscrupulous.
In the end, as the final ga ended, the already understaffed SuperSonics, now missing a formidable "machine gun," quickly lost any suspense in the matchup.
Before this ga, the Spurs had already secured a 3-1 lead, and after this ga, they advanced to the Western Conference Finals with a large score of 4-1.
But after the ga, no one cared about the result; the questions from reporters still revolved around Bruce Bowen playing "dirty" again.
Popovich maintained the sa stance, "That’s Bruce’s style, I believe other teams would be pleased to have Bruce. Their current dissatisfaction is only because they don’t have Bruce Bowen!"
Tim Duncan also said, "Bruce is a good guy, an absolute good guy. I’ve always believed this, and as for what happened on the court... injuries are part of the ga and can’t be avoided. We hope Ray Allen is okay and recovers quickly; we look forward to his continued performance on the court."
This statent full of "love and peace" directly amused Su Wan.
He realized that when he’s feeling down in the future, he could watch more of the Spurs’ post-ga interviews.
Clearly, the aggressor and the beneficiary were speaking as if "we forgive Ray Allen," as if they were the "victims."
Barkley was furious, "Repeatedly saying the sa thing makes it seem insincere, you should sincerely apologize to Ray Allen, and all the players injured because of Bruce Bowen’s ’dirty tricks’!"
Popovich, who was drinking black coffee for a pick--up and studying the next round’s opponents, almost sprayed out his coffee when he saw Barkley’s remarks.
Why is this old buddy so naïve still?
Will a sincere apology "resurrect" Ray Allen?
Victory or defeat is the main the of this League.
No wonder he’s never won a championship!
Popovich has always believed:
No matter what happens in the process, as long as the final result is lifting the O’Brien Cup, there will be no shortage of flowers and applause.
This is his "way to the championship", as well as his "way of espionage".
Whatever ans serve the final result are good ans!
In the eyes of the League, the Spurs are their own...
In fact, the news about Bruce Bowen’s infamous "black hand" move lost heat even faster than Popovich anticipated.
As the Spurs advanced to the next round and the SuperSonic Team was eliminated, dia attention gradually shifted to the two remaining matchups.
The battle between the Phoenix Suns vs. the Rockets and the Wizards vs. the Heat Team beca the main focus of dia reports in the next few days.
On May 6th, the clash between the Wizards and the Heat Team in the Eastern Conference was the first to conclude. After five gas, the Heat Team decisively beat the Wizards 4-1 at their ho court, successfully advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.
In their first year with Shaquille, the Heat Team made it to their first Eastern Conference Finals since the 96–97 season.
This made the Miami dia believe even more in Pat Riley’s shrewd trading eye.
Rember, it was a risky "team-shaking trade" perford while in the semifinals, and even with soone like Shaquille O’Neal, considering his age and a lengthy major contract, it wasn’t an easy decision to make.
But Pat Riley, he did it decisively.
With such a general manager, fans can feel at ease.
And in the eyes of most Miami dia, they had already reserved their spot in the finals for the Eastern Conference.
Although Su Wan’s performance in the last ga of the semi-finals was stunning, they believed it wasn’t a state he could achieve every ga.
What’s more, Dwyane Wade is not Billups, and certainly not Hamilton. His ball-handling and scoring ability is not easily contained, especially this season’s even more improved Wade!
On the periter, they have a "big man" who is no less than Su Wan.
On the inside, their advantage is even more apparent.
Little O’Neal is just Little O’Neal. In front of Shaquille O’Neal, he’s just a "little brother".
A simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, even with just a basic roster analysis, the Heat Team facing the Pacers definitely has the upper hand.
They predict that the Heat Team will handle the Pacers within six gas, then embarking on their first finals journey in team history...
The day of the ga arrived quickly, but the headline grabber wasn’t the ga itself.
It was Su Wan...
The latest issue of "Sports Illustrated", released that day, featured Su Wan with his arms crossed, staring intently at the cara. Next to him was the very prominent Chinese characters:
"Absolute State"!
And next to that, a line of small English text clarified the four Chinese characters:
The zone!
This was Su Wan’s first ti on the cover of "Sports Illustrated," and with a the related to "The zone" and his pose being the "arms crossed" action, the issue was a complete hit and frenzy among fans.
Many fans even blocked Su Wan at the entrance to the Miami Arena, asking him to sign this issue of "Sports Illustrated".
The level of excitent was evident.
The first ti Su Wan t Shaquille and Wade on the court, the "Shark" curiously asked, "Buddy, can you really get into The zone? What does it feel like?"
Su Wan smiled faintly and replied, "You’ll know once the ga begins!"
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