Su Wan probably understood the reason Bruce Bowen resorted to dirty tricks.
His physical condition was just too mediocre.
Without making some big moves, it was impossible to intimidate the opponent.
Then, it wasn’t a matter of whether he could get into the "Defensive Array" anymore, there was a high chance he wouldn’t even be able to stay in this League.
Of course, knowing the reason was one thing, but that didn’t mean Su Wan could understand this kind of behavior.
Let alone forgive it!
Actually, aggressive plays were a characteristic of the ’90s.
But being aggressive didn’t mean you could play dirty and disregard other players’ well-being.
Didn’t everyone want to survive in this League?
Everyone was struggling within the rules; constantly playing dirty outside of them, did these players expect a happy ending?
Anyway, Su Wan had made up his mind, as long as Bruce Bowen pulled a career-ending dirty trick, regardless if he succeeded or not, he’d be sending him to the hospital for a while.
And this time, it wouldn’t be something trivial like a minor fracture.
The last time, he just flipped Bowen over and didn’t follow up with a punch.
But this time, he wouldn’t be so careless...
Back in Indiana with the team, the first thing Su Wan did was sleep soundly. When he woke up, it was already the afternoon of the next day; he had slept a full 12 hours. After waking from that sleep, he felt refreshed, and his body had never felt so comfortable before.
It wasn’t just him, but everyone’s spirits during the training looked completely different from when they were in San Antonio.
Particularly Reggie Miller.
He looked as if he had reversed aging by 10 years.
Which was...
He was already 30!
Now Su Wan had a profound understanding of Miller’s "old age."
"What’s with that look?" Miller was annoyed.
Su Wan, "Nothing, just suddenly realized your professional career really hasn’t been easy."
There was nothing wrong with what he said.
But there was a strange feeling, and although Reggie Miller couldn’t put his finger on it,
he was sure Su Wan was mocking him and responded with an international friendly gesture.
From the atmosphere, it was evident that even after losing the second game of the series, the Pacers’ mood was still good, quite relaxed.
No wonder, they had three home games coming up!
They still had a chance to lift the trophy on their home court.
Artest was a bit late today, and when Su Wan was about to criticize him for his slackness, he heard him say mysteriously, "You guys know what? The hotel where the Spurs stayed had a fire last night, and a bunch of people had to evacuate their rooms in the middle of the night. They were all messed up for half the night, including those Spurs bastards. A few who like to sleep naked didn’t even have time to get dressed and spent nearly half an hour standing outside the hotel, bare-assed."
"That bad, huh?"
Su Wan had been complaining to the media about their experiences in San Antonio these past two days so he knew the Spurs would be given a ’warm welcome’ by the fans in Indiana.
But he hadn’t expected the fans to be so crazy.
To actually resort to arson, this...
Su Wan felt he needed to reevaluate the "Spiritual Power" he had in Indiana!
After training and on the way back, Su Wan also saw some photos of the Spurs players naked in the newspaper; he could only say, the photos could have been clearer!
On the day of the game, Popovich lashed out at the hotel in front of the media, also complaining about a variety of bizarre things they encountered, even going as far as to declare, "This is the most disgusting Finals away game I’ve ever played!"
The Indiana reporters, one by one, showed a "Deng Chao yo yo yo face," internally scoffing:
"We just learned it from you guys in San Antonio!"
"Most disgusting away game, how many Finals have you played to say the worst!"
"More disgusting than you could be?"
...
Other media reporters noticed the lifeless appearance of the Spurs players and could guess the kind of targeting they faced.
To which they could only say:
They had it coming!
Mainly because the Spurs’ path this year was too "dark," taking out the opposing Core Players in various ways.
And still having the gall to repeat the same old excuses post-game, like "Bruce Bowen is a good person", "He’s just a bit too aggressive," "These things happen in the playoffs" – as if the Houston and Seattle media weren’t disgusted enough.
Other cities’ media hated this kind of behavior just as much.
After all, if they don’t speak up now, when it’s their turn, nobody will speak up for them.
Actually, just the media from Indiana, Houston, and Seattle condemning the Spurs already seemed like the All over the United States media were closing in on the Spurs. But Popovich was not flustered at all, his long NBA career told him that as long as he ultimately won, he would be greeted with flowers and applause.
What could other reluctant media say at this point? "An inglorious victory," but what did that count for?
Nothing!
Popovich had never heard of the saying "One man’s success builds on the sacrifice of many," but that was the principle he adhered to.
The outcome of all the turmoil off the field was that in the third game of the series, the Spurs were completely out of form. The Pacers, back on home court and having rested for two days, started with momentum from the outset.
Especially Stephen Jackson, who had only made 1 out of 6 three-point attempts in the previous game, and that one shot was made when the game was already decided. But today, back on home court, he hit consecutive three-pointers right from the start.
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