The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!-Chapter 717 - 263: Is the Final Blow to Play LeBron James to Death Coming?_3
Chapter 717: Chapter 263: Is the Final Blow to Play LeBron James to Death Coming?_3
Jenna watched Scarlett, the focus of the entire court, and nodded with determined eyes:
"He could be replaced!"
In the end, with the two of them leading the charge, the atmosphere was full of fireworks as the Eastern All-Star team successfully crashed the party, winning the game 134 to 123.
Su Wan racked up 30 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists while Zach Randolph scored 30 points and 13 rebounds, and in the end, both hoisted this year’s All-Star MVP trophy together.
This was already Su Wan’s third consecutive year winning the trophy.
For Zach Randolph, it was his first time.
During the acceptance speech, Su Wan said, "I never expected that coming to Los Angeles would bring such pleasant memories; I think it will be an unforgettable All-Star Weekend."
Following Su Wan, Zach Randolph added, "Same for me."
After the game, when Scarlett was stopped by reporters and asked if Su Wan had ever drunk her bathwater, she smiled mysteriously: "That’s a secret."
And when a reporter asked her what Kevin Durant should do if he wanted to drink her bathwater, her face became serious immediately: "Let him ask Su Wan for it!"
With Scarlett’s popularity and these gossip-worthy questions, the news of Su Wan and Zach Randolph lifting the All-Star MVP trophy was overshadowed.
Netizens excitedly discussed the matter.
And a photo of Scarlett helping Su Wan up became a world-famous painting.
After a day of rest, the NBA regular season resumed.
On the first day back, with a bench performance of 29 minutes and 13 seconds, LeBron played brilliantly, scoring 23 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists.
Just looking at the stats, who would have guessed he was actually a bench player!
On the bench, LeBron found the feeling he had with the Cavaliers again.
That kind of freedom fascinated him.
However, the questions from reporters after the game had nothing to do with his performance on the court; they were all about how his groin injury healed so quickly.
From this, it was evident LeBron’s reputation value was really not what it used to be. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
In the past, when interviewing LeBron, reporters wouldn’t dare to tread so brazenly in his "minefield."
But now, reporters didn’t care about his awkward expression, they aimed to make LeBron lose his composure with their questions.
Wade also heard about this, and after finishing his interviews, he returned to the locker room to comfort LeBron: "Buddy, you don’t need to care too much about what the outside world says, believe me, as long as we can produce good results and ultimately win the championship, all these jeers will disappear. The mainstream voice of this world always supports the champion!"
Hearing Wade’s words comforted LeBron a lot.
Moreover, with Richie Paul’s advice, LeBron started to keep a low profile in the following days, and his performance on the court became more and more stable as he was free to play as he wished.
As he stabilized, the performance of the entire Heat Team became more stable as well.
Time moved on to March.
The rotation of the Heat Team gradually solidified, with Wade and Chris Bosh being the absolute core at the start, controlling the ball. Then, Spoelstra would substitute them out around the 8-minute mark of the first quarter, leaving the time for LeBron to shine.
This period was exactly when the opponents’ starters were fatigued or their bench was rotating in.
Facing opponents during this phase, LeBron could use his ample physical fitness to break through their defenses, and typically, the Heat Team would establish an advantage.
The media even coined a term for this period, calling it "LeBron time."
The Heat Team had an average point differential of around 8 points during this time.
It was a strong period for the Heat Team.
Then the second half would be a carbon copy, with the same setup but a different plan for the fourth quarter. He would let LeBron rest for the first 2 minutes, then play the final 10 minutes, utilizing the individual talents of the "Three Giants" to solve the problems.
Although at this time, LeBron’s presence still restricted Bosh and Wade’s ability to perform, their momentum was up and their personal skills compensated for the compressed playing space, so their overall impact was still considerable.
Data showed the Heat Team’s "Three Giants" outscored every team in the final 5 minutes on the court.
They truly looked like a "kingly army."
Their record surged.
By the end of March, they had even climbed to first place in the Eastern Conference.
This was quite different from the original scenario.
However...
The original Heat Team also won 58 games.
Now, with the addition of the offensive option David Lee and a more reasonable offensive hierarchy, the Heat Team winning four or five more games was not a big problem.
On April 15th, as teams finished their last regular season game, the top eight teams from the Eastern and Western Conferences were officially decided.
In the West: first were the Spurs, second the Lakers, third the Mavericks, fourth the Thunder Team, fifth the Nuggets, sixth the Blazers, seventh the Clippers, eighth the New Orleans Hornets.
In the East: first the Heat Team, second the Bulls, third the New York Knicks, fourth the Pacers, fifth the Boston Celtics, sixth the Orlando Magic, seventh the Atlanta Hawks, eighth the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Heat Team’s final record was 63 wins and 19 losses.
Not only were they first in the Eastern Conference, but they also had the best record in the entire league.
The Miami media, upon seeing the Heat Team lock in the first place in the East, boldly declared the next day: "Heat Team, Champions!"
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