The player who received the "Monthly Best Player Award" along with Su Wan was Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks.
After "Little General" Avery Johnson took over, his iron-fisted approach to the team’s defense had already shown results by the end of last season, leading them to a seven-game battle with the Rockets.
Following a series of trades and adjustments during the summer, the Mavericks formed the "New Three Musketeers" led by Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, and Josh Howard. They currently hold a record of 26 wins and 4 losses, ranking first in the league.
In December alone, the Mavericks had a record of 14 wins and 2 losses. Nowitzki averaged 27.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1 block per game, with a shooting accuracy of 47.2%, three-point shot accuracy of 30%, and free throw accuracy of 91.2%!
Without Tim Duncan in the Western region, Brand from the Clippers became the standout power forward.
Brand has really risen!
As for Kevin Garnett...
Most media argued that it would be time to discuss his performance on the court and whether he could compete with Nowitzki only when the Forest Wolf climbed out of their "second-to-last in the West" position.
Besides, if they were to compare all aspects including salary, Kevin Garnett truly had no competition.
Dirk Nowitzki earned only 13.84 million US dollars this season, while Kevin Garnett was the league’s highest paid at 21.12 million.
With such a high salary, the Forest Wolf still ranked second to last in the West...
Well, that’s "tough"!
NBA’s two biggest deceptions:
Kevin Garnett’s toughness and LeBron James’s versatility.
Many media sources claim this season might be the pinnacle of Dirk Nowitzki’s career.
In fact, he is also Su Wan’s biggest rival for the regular season MVP.
Currently, the two players rank first and second on the regular season leaderboard.
Thanks to his return from suspension, Su Wan led the Pacers on a strong rebound, swiftly climbing to first place on the regular season MVP list, surpassing all competitors, a position he has held until now.
Dallas media were dissatisfied, arguing that Su Wan was merely "manipulating the system," and that Nowitzki’s role on the Mavericks was only more significant.
Indiana media, inheriting Su Wan’s infuriating confidence, bluntly stated, "If you’re so confident, let Dirk Nowitzki rest on the bench for half a month and see what kind of impact it has on the Mavericks without him; then after he returns, see if he can lead the Mavericks to a quick rebound like Su Wan!"
Listen to that, does that sound reasonable?
With the Mavericks on such a good roll, who would suspend their key player just to prove his importance?
Also...
The team’s chemistry is a mysterious thing.
It’s there when you say it’s there, and gone when you say it’s not.
Just look at the briefly glorious 03-04 season of the Forest Wolf.
They weren’t dominantly strong from the start that season; it was after an internal dispute in December that they suddenly hit a winning streak, becoming unstoppable, ultimately finishing first in the West for that season.
Yet, in just one summer, with the same players, the team’s competitiveness plummeted, not even making the playoffs.
Those corn growers from Indiana are utterly ruthless!
Su Wan wasn’t surprised by the targeting from the Dallas media.
It’s a common league occurrence.
To push their city’s star to win awards, besides fiercely praising their own player, they criticize and disparage competitors.
This is quite like the later "fan wars," albeit more sophisticated as the internet developed. Sometimes it’s not direct criticism, like when a drama series becomes popular, instead of outright saying how bad that drama is, they might compliment the other actors in the series. fгeewebnovёl.com
Just like that classic phrase from a certain community, "Paul Gasol was recognized as the league’s best power forward at that time."
But often because their own main players were not up to par, they couldn’t praise them too harshly. They had to leave room for improvement, even giving birth to a classic theory, which started with the statement: "Tim Duncan can be strong, but not too strong, because he once gave XX a bald head and a crew cut in the finals..."
Compared to them, the Dallas media were still at a rudimentary stage, but it was the cryptic diction of the Indiana media that suited Su Wan’s style.
This is the power of an example!
Indiana, go ahead and learn, just like the others, without a peep!
For this reason, Su Wan did not even bother with the Dallas media.
In the first game of January, the Pacers continued to dominate, smoothly defeating the Orlando Magic, achieving their revenge.
Last time, empowered by Francis’s "mid-court three-pointer" which led to a final kill and boastful words from Howard, who this game only managed 14 points and 8 rebounds, was completely outperformed by Junior O’Neal’s 25 points and 12 rebounds.
After the game, Howard couldn’t even utter a word, whereas Junior O’Neal wasn’t about to let him off easily, "If that’s the level of your performance, it’s not going to attract media attention. Sometimes, when no one’s paying attention, you need to look and see where the problem really lies!"
As for Su Wan, he had ignored Howard from start to finish.
Although they were from the "same year’s draft," they were not on the same level, and ignoring him would only infuriate this "No.1 Pick" of 2004 even more.
Tonight, Su Wan’s "The zone" was triggered by him.
In the end, Su Wan attempted 24 shots, made 13, with one three-pointer out of three attempts, made all four of his free throws, scoring a total of 31 points, along with six rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block.
That block was a significant one delivered to Howard.
Seeing Su Wan perform so well in the first game of January, Barkley said, "Clearly Su Wan has made significant progress this season!"
Kenny Smith nodded in agreement, pointing out the differences in Su Wan’s play this season compared to last, "This season, Su Wan is more focused on scoring. When the ball’s in his hands, his first aim is to put the ball in the basket."
"His style now is purely that of a swingman!"
"Moreover, both his breakthroughs and his shooting have improved since last season, especially his mid-range game, which has really stabilized a lot."
"He seems to be practicing catch-and-shoot abilities lately. Although ball handling remains his most skilled and frequent mode of attack, we can see that in the last two games, the frequency of mid-range and three-point catch-and-shoot attempts has started to increase, with 4 to 5 attempts each game."
"The frequency isn’t high, and currently, the efficiency isn’t good enough either, but don’t forget, his mid-range shots were also honed this way!"
Bill Walton analyzed the Pacers’ recent strength from the perspective of the team:
"There’s no doubt about Su Wan’s growth, a point I’ve been emphasizing!"
"But at the same time, the additions of Jose Calderon and Boris Dior were also key to this team’s transformation."
"Their small lineup has been playing more cohesively now. Many times, they have pulled away from their opponents using that lineup. I’ve previously made an inappropriate comparison, thinking they could be seen as an enhanced version of the Phoenix Suns. I have to reiterate my point now, this is an enhanced Phoenix Suns!"
On the offensive end, Dior and Calderon have filled the weakest organizational link.
As for defense, with Artest as the defensive spearhead, the Pacers’ defensive system, focusing on "soft grinding and hard fizzing" on the perimeter and "super agility" on the inside, has developed more tacit understanding since Artest, Junior O’Neal, and Su Wan formed a solid trio.
Their triple-teaming almost seems like the legendary "Jordan-Pippen trap," with an overwhelming sense of oppression.
It’s the significant improvement in both Su Wan and the team’s aspects compared to last season, and filling in the original gaps, that led to the Pacers once again stringing together a seven-game winning streak.
Su Wan, in the upcoming schedule, scored over 30 points in three consecutive games, including one over 40.
But the most eye-catching player in the league wasn’t him.
It was:
Kobe Bryant!
Returning from suspension, his firepower reached new heights, with three games over 50 points, four games over 40, two game-winning shots, a streak of making 62 consecutive free throws, averaging 14.8 points in the fourth quarter...
On January 22, his solo performance reached its peak:
shots, 28 made, 13 three-pointers with 7 made, 20 free throws with 18 made, he scored a whopping 81 points, leading his team to "slay the dragon!"