"He’s only going to get better!"
"And you guys?"
"You’re getting older!"
"The era that belonged to you is drawing to a close..."
"Paul, Kevin, and Ray... this could very well be your one and only chance. The last chance. Whether you can seize it is up to you!"
"I believe we can definitely make it to the Finals!"
The effects of "Rivers’ Extra Strength Chicken Soup" were very apparent. The fighting spirit of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen soared to unsurpassable heights at this mont. As for Paul Pierce... he needed to take a dump again!
Thibodeau hadn’t slept for two nights, but he finally managed to compile Su Wan’s shooting hot zones for this season and marked the "overlap areas" in particular.
Obviously, these were Su Wan’s favorite "shooting hot zones" of the season. Whether in the playoffs or the regular season, he liked to shoot from these areas.
Then ca the strategy for targeting Su Wan.
"No matter whether Su Wan has the ball or not, we need to initiate physical contact to ensure he’s expending energy every second he’s on the floor!"
"Also, don’t give him the opportunity to shoot mid-range. Drive him towards the basket!"
"We must double-team him continuously!"
"Use a revolving defense to delay him. Don’t let his breakthroughs be that easy!"
...
All these defensive strategies were aid at Su Wan.
The Celtics were putting all their chips on the bet that the other Pacers didn’t have the ability to step up.
And Thibodeau’s gamble paid off...
With Su Wan facing heavy targeting, the other mbers of the Pacers simply didn’t have the ability to step forward.
Randolph exploded in one ga of the series, and even that was beyond the three-point line. His preferred close-range assaults were completely stifled in this series. The intense physicality also made him extrely uncomfortable.
From the fifth ga of the series on, he was dizzy!
Including the last ga where he managed to make 2 of 3 free throws, but ultimately he only scored 13 points.
He was dizzy.
And the others were no better off.
After Artest left, their entire backline defense fell apart. Anthony Parker couldn’t handle off-ball runners like Ray Allen at all.
As a result, when Su Wan was defending Paul Pierce, he still had to help cover Ray Allen constantly.
Honestly, even though Su Wan only played 44 minutes of the ga, if we’re being real, he was more tired than LeBron Jas who played the full 48 minutes.
Another reason the Pacers’ role players didn’t perform well was that Diaw, Millsap, and the other players were all taking on larger roles than before.
The greater the role, the greater the pressure, and their lack of experience started to show.
Su Wan worked hard to fill these gaps.
But with his own physical fitness not fully recovered and facing the Celtics’ concerted targeting, his performance in this ga wasn’t very good in this respect.
The ga moved into the end of the third quarter. This ti, the Celtics led by 17 points, more than any previous occasion.
But they still couldn’t afford to be careless.
They had lost the last ga despite a 13-point lead. Was a 17-point lead in this ga really secure?
Sure enough, with an intense desire to "survive," Su Wan entered "The zone" mode once again.
But this ti, he only maintained it for less than 8 minutes before exiting "The zone"...
He was just too tired!
Although the gap was narrowed to only 6 points.
As soon as he left "The zone" mode, the Pacers’ montum in closing the point difference ca to an abrupt halt.
Ultimately, the ga ended with a score of 98 to 90...
The Celtics defeated the Pacers by an 8-point advantage.
But even as the buzzer sounded, the "Three Giants" of Boston still looked on edge, until the cheer filling the entire North Shore Garden finally made them realize the ga was over, they had won!
My God...
That was tough!
Although the previous two rounds had gone to Ga 7.
The feeling was different.
During the first two rounds, as long as they had a lead of more than 10 points, they were certain that the ga was won.
But facing the Pacers, even with a 17-point lead, they still felt it was not secure.
They were like the runner in "Temple Run," who could only survive by running endlessly...
The ntal pressure this created for them was imnse.
"Phew!"
Kevin Garnett exhaled deeply, then burst into tears.
He thought he would cry only if they made it to the Finals and won.
But after the ga ended and they won against Su Wan, he couldn’t help but cry.
This was definitely the opponent that had put the most pressure on him.
Without a single one of his brothers, he couldn’t have won.
Ray Allen stood expressionless, waiting for his teammates to high-five him. Yet, despite his stoic façade, one could occasionally catch a glimpse of his heartbeat racing and deep in his eyes, a profound sense of relief.
He was a man who did not wear his emotions on his face.
But at this mont, he couldn’t control his expression; such was the impact Su Wan had on him.
Winning the ga brought no joy, only the relief that followed unease.
As for Paul Pierce, seeing the final score confird, he too let out a long breath, his spirit completely relaxing at that mont, and along with the peace in his body and mind, so did his sphincter muscle relax.
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