How to describe the pre-game atmosphere between the Pacers and the Pistons.
The New York Times said this, "If there were a ranking for NBA rivals, the Pacers and the Pistons would surely be at the front of the list."
Barkley said, "I have no doubt that this series could ignite a second ’Malice at the Palace’!"
The Los Angeles Times said, "Fans gearing up to watch the Pacers versus Pistons playoffs, take note—if the live feed is suddenly cut, don’t be surprised; it’s just due to a bloodbath on the court!"
...
And all this became tangible in the first game of the series: dozens of security personnel stationed beside the stands, and despite this, the relentless booing and the sight of agitated fans ready to storm the court at any moment.
The "Malice at the Palace" had filled both teams with hatred.
But now, that hatred wasn’t just because of the "Malice at the Palace." Su Wan’s shout during the "Christmas Day game," "Detroit, a bunch of weaklings who fight when they can’t win at the game"; the "Shoulder Bump" incident of the All-Star Weekend; and countless times of mutual bickering had piled up this hatred into a deep-seated vendetta impossible to resolve.
Compared to the rivalry between the Lakers and the Celtics, the current face-off between the Pacers and the Pistons could be seen as small fry, because even when the Purple Gold Dynasty clashed fiercely with the Green Army, one wouldn’t worry about an outbreak of conflict.
It was different for the Pacers and the Pistons. Some betting companies even opened special odds, betting on whether this series would erupt in conflict.
The very fact that betting companies offered such odds showed how deep the enmity between the two sides was.
And at least eighty percent of the boos were aimed at Su Wan.
In this city, Su Wan was the most unwelcome player. Even Artest, who had assaulted a Pistons fan, seemed insignificant next to him.
The reason was simple:
His comments consistently belittled the city’s players and head coach, which amounted to a slight against the culture of the city, something Detroit people couldn’t tolerate.
No joke, some of them genuinely wished Su Wan dead!
Yet at this moment, Su Wan made a "listening" gesture towards them, as if their unbearable obscenities were the most beautiful music in the world to him.
His gesture of provocation was directed where the boos were loudest.
The fans in that direction were also the most agitated.
Seeing Su Wan’s provocative gesture, they immediately got more excited, flailing about, and inadvertently, one fan’s swinging fist hit another fan. That fan, also agitated, was hit out of nowhere and immediately turned around, cursing angrily, while the one who threw the punch wasn’t easy-going either and retorted right away. If their exchange were to be translated into Northeastern dialect, it would go like this:
"Are you blind, why the shove!"
"You’re the blind one, can’t you see there’s someone next to you, bro!"
"What are you doing!"
"What are you doing!"
"Try staring at me again!"
"I’ll stare all I want, what’s it to you!"
Then it escalated to more intense shoving, until security promptly arrived, pulled the two fans apart, and escorted them out.
The game hadn’t even started, and the Pistons fans already suffered a "reduction in numbers."
"Is this what the Pistons’ fans are like?" Su Wan found it amusing.
Artest, looking at him, was itching to ask:
Bro, do you really not know how to spell ’nervous’?
Don’t let his burly appearance fool you, if he had to provoke the Pistons fans at a time like this, he definitely wouldn’t dare.
The referee approached Su Wan at that moment, with a bitter smile he said, "Su, I know what kind of person you are, but tonight, can you not add to our burden? We all don’t want a basketball game to turn into a brawl, right?"
The sincere tone left Su Wan without a reason to refuse.
He was a reasonable man, who wouldn’t deliberately court trouble as long as others clearly explained the stakes to him.
Immediately, he stopped paying attention to the spectators beside the court, which made the three referees breathe a sigh of relief.
But soon, they became tense again.
Because as soon as Ben Wallace made his appearance, he encouraged even louder boos from the crowd to provoke Su Wan. Not only that, he also intended to walk over and make some provocative gestures toward Su Wan.
It was clear that the Pistons players harbored even more hostility toward Su Wan than the fans did.
No wonder, after Su Wan’s remark about "weaklings who resort to fighting when they can’t win at the game," that label became stuck on them.
Now nobody called them tough anymore, just sore losers...
With a temperament like Ben Wallace’s, how could he tolerate such a label stuck on him?
He wanted nothing more than to tear Su Wan, the "chief culprit," to pieces.
The referees could only repeat the same admonitions to Ben Wallace.
Of course, their approach to Ben Wallace was much sterner, more a warning than an admonition.
Ben Wallace knew that vexing the referees before the game wasn’t wise. Scratching his head, he showed a simple, honest smile, his go-to move for feigning innocence. It used to work wonders; now, well...
Milicic sat on the bench, watching Su Wan warm up calmly amid the never-ending jeers.
He really wanted to go over and greet Su Wan, but the excessive reactions from the Detroit people in the crowd scared him, deterring him from approaching.