Su Wan, LeBron, Wade, Carlo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Dwight Howard.
Many journalists therefore believed that it was ti for a change of guard in the League.
After February, the Pacers’ overall condition stabilized quite a bit, coupled with fewer injuries, their record beca stronger. After losing two gas, they managed a "6-ga winning streak" to finish all their pre-All-Star Weekend gas with 6 wins and 2 losses.
The All-Star Weekend was held in Phoenix.
Originally, this year was supposed to feature the classic "OK" duo lifting the All-Star MVP trophy together, burying the hatchet with a smile.
But influenced by Su Wan, the "butterfly," this scene obviously wasn’t going to happen again.
However, Shaquille O’Neal’s "robot dance" at the opening was still retained.
Seeing Shaq dance, you would know what a nimble fat man looked like.
This was Shaq’s most visible mont over the course of the All-Star Weekend.
Then there was his beef with Howard again...
It started when Howard’s classic "Superman Dunk" 2.0 version took the stage at the Dunk Contest, leading him to be associated with the nickna "Superman."
This made O’Neal quite upset, "There is only one Superman in the League, and that’s , Shaquille O’Neal. That kid from Orlando isn’t even fully grown yet!"
He found a reason for allowing Nate Robinson to dunk over him.
Howard was puzzled, "I really don’t know what I did to offend him! Why does he have to treat like this!"
From Howard’s perspective, if I want to call myself "Superman," I’ll call myself "Superman."
If you want, you can call yourself "Superman" too!
I’m not stopping you from calling yourself "Superman"!
Su Wan believed that Shaquille O’Neal hated Howard not only because he used the nickna "Superman," but obviously also because the people in Orlando loved Howard.
This sumr, the Magic Team offered Howard an early contract renewal: a 5-year, $85 million deal with an average annual salary of $17 million.
Without a doubt, this was a maximum salary contract using "Bird Rights."
The Magic Team’s speedy issuance of such a max contract to Howard reminded O’Neal of the unpleasant past.
Back then renewing my contract, there was so much hesitation. Even the "Orlando Sentinel" had launched a poll asking fans "Is O’Neal really worth $20 million?" Now renewing Howard’s contract so readily, what does that an?
Does that an I am less than Howard?
No wonder he targeted Howard...
That’s just how petty Shaq could be.
But the proud Shaq couldn’t outright say that he was still bothered by Orlando’s actions back then.
He had to look for other reasons to target Howard.
Su Wan vanished during the All-Star Weekend, not caring about his "Ticket King" status. He only showed up courtside on the day of the All-Star ga.
During this ti, he bumped into Elsa Gonzalez at the hotel.
In the future, she would be known as a "famous Hollywood vase," notorious for her scandals with various celebrities.
These included sports figures like Cristiano Ronaldo and Klay Thompson.
At that ti, however, she was just 19 years old, having just made a na for herself in xico. Her trip to the United States was partly to explore Hollywood opportunities, and partly to unwind. As luck would have it, she t Su Wan while checking into the hotel.
With just one look, both silently agreed and entered Su Wan’s room.
What followed was deeper interaction, lasting two whole days. On the third day, feeling refreshed, Su Wan, who had already planned to play well, saw LeBron also eager to win the All-Star MVP. He went all out scoring 38 points to lead the Eastern All-Stars over the Western All-Stars and secured his second career All-Star MVP trophy.
Afterwards, David Stern announced that the next All-Star Weekend would be held in Indiana.
At that mont, Su Wan was left with only one feeling:
The All-Star MVP trophy ca too early.
That night, Su Wan didn’t return to the hotel but went straight to Indiana with Shaquille O’Neal and Zach Randolph.
Randolph felt his first All-Star Weekend was still too short and from now on, he was considered an "All-Star Player" too!
This was the honor he had always dread of but seed unreachably eager for, yet he had achieved it in his first full season since officially teaming up with Su Wan.
Su Wan...
He really was the guiding light!
After All-Star Weekend, the free market closed, and a trade happened in the League:
Brooklyn Nets sent Jide to the Mavericks for Devin Harris.
This trade didn’t spark much discussion.
Everyone knew that Billy King had wanted to trade Jide for a day or two, and likewise, Dallas had been disappointed in Harris for more than a day or two.
Then, the regular season kicked off again.
After resting for four days, the Pacers suffered a "three-loss streak," followed by a "six-win streak."
In March, they t the Cavaliers again.
Before the ga, the Cavaliers received the unwelco news that LeBron Jas was suffering from back discomfort and would miss the ga.
Coincidentally, right after this news ca out, Su Wan also ca down with the flu and would miss the ga.
Upon hearing this, LeBron Jas imdiately said to Mike Brown, "Coach, I can do it!"
With Su Wan absent, the Cavaliers saw their chance to beat the Pacers right before them, and he didn’t want to give it up.
However, sohow this news was leaked the morning of the ga.
After hearing this, Su Wan told the dia, "I feel my body is fine, so I’m very likely to play this ga!"
LeBron was already warming up, but when he saw Su Wan also warming up in his training suit on the court, he ended up shouldering his own ga and missed it.
What annoyed him was...
Although Su Wan ward up in his training suit, he didn’t play.
In the end, both of them stayed off the court and watched their teammates fight.
The final score was 103-100, with no LeBron passing, but Channing Frye hit the crucial three-point shot, helping the Cavaliers beat the Pacers by a margin of 3 points, and finally ending the Cavaliers’ streak of "11 regular-season losses" against the Pacers.
At this crucial mont of breaking this embarrassing record, LeBron Jas could only sit on the court, biting his nails.
However, the Cleveland dia now felt that if the Cavaliers encountered the Pacers in the playoffs, the result would definitely be different.
Even in April, when the two teams t for the third ti this season with Su Wan in the lineup, the Pacers avenged themselves with a 14-point margin and successfully limited LeBron’s performance.
They still thought so.
Moreover, the Lakers also regained respect at the Pacers’ ho ground, ending the regular season in a 1-1 tie.
Only Boston Celtics faced a major defeat in their first encounter of the season, losing heavily in two subsequent gas by a total of 70 points!
Many dia outlets were saying that if the Celtics wanted to make it to the finals this season, they could now only hope that other teams would eliminate the Pacers from the playoffs first!
On April 15, the Pacers defeated the Jazz Team, securing their last ga of the season and ending their record at 65 wins and 17 losses!
The top eight of the Eastern Conference was thus determined:
First Pacers, second Cavaliers, third Magic Team, fourth Celtics, fifth Hawks, sixth Miami Heat, seventh Detroit Pistons, and eighth Chicago Bulls.
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