The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!

NBA's history of magnesium powder tossing dates back a long time.

Jordan used to like tossing magnesium powder at the scorer's table, covering the commentators and the statisticians in the dust.

Back then, commentators would wear masks and gas masks to counteract his teasing, which was an amusing pre-game episode.

After Jordan, Kevin Garnett also enjoyed coating his hands with magnesium powder and clapping forcefully, playing tricks on the technicians in front of him, and sometimes even raising his arms high. LeBron saw it once, thought nobody wanted it, and "picked" it up, turning it into his unique signature move.

Since high school, LeBron James had the habit of tossing magnesium powder before games.

However, during his rookie season, to maintain a low-profile and humble image off the court, he didn't toss magnesium powder very often. Even when he did, he would say "shyly", "It's all to respond to the fans' love for me."

With the new season starting, he intended to perform the magnesium powder tossing ritual before every home game.

For this, he specifically spent three hours studying the amount to toss, as well as the movements and angles of tossing.

As the game approached and the audience nearly filled the venue, he was about to show off, when Su Wan unexpectedly made the magnesium powder tossing gesture first, and he did it by jumping onto the scorer's table.

If his powder toss was the most domineering before, Su Wan's toss was not just domineering, but also brash and youthful!

Just look at the reaction of the crowd to know:

The cheers were thunderous!

The Cavaliers fans coated with magnesium powder in the front row were like the most devout believers, their faces showing manic love. They responded to Su Wan's "high platform dive" with the most energetic dancing and cheering.

"Today's young people are really bold!" Reggie Miller, sitting on the Pacers bench, noticed this scene as well. He thought he had been audacious enough as a rookie trash-talking Jordan, but looking at Su Wan, he felt he was actually quite modest back then.

"Don't fight with me for him, leave that rookie to me!" a guy with a face full of tough-looking flesh, looking "unhappy", with muscles bulging everywhere, said blankly, looking like a beast about to explode at any moment.

Someone next to him disagreed, "Ron, that rookie is clearly playing the two, you better think about how to deal with LeBron, that's what you should be doing as this season's best player."

"Stephen, don't be so stingy, I'll just match up against him for a few rounds to make him behave. Then I'll hand him back to you!"

"No way, I find his antics annoying too, I can handle him myself!"

The two competing for the chance to guard Su Wan were "Martial Saint" Stephen Jackson and "Beast" Ron Artest, who were the Pacers' defensive strongholds on the perimeter.

Especially Ron Artest, who had just won his first "Best Defensive Player Award" last season, snatching it from Ben Wallace, who was a two-time "Best Defensive Player Award" winner, which made it highly prestigious.

Currently in the league, speaking purely about defensive ability, he was the best on the perimeter.

Even the brilliant perimeter "scorers" would struggle against him.

He had never met Su Wan before and had no personal grudges; his reason for wanting to guard Su Wan was simple:

He wouldn't allow a rookie to be so audacious in front of the Pacers. Right now, those rookies should feel nervous about facing Ron Artest.

Instead of being nervous, they were utterly arrogant; no doubt about it, he would deal with him!

Su Wan was unaware that his plan had already succeeded, but he clearly understood that he was exceptionally high-profile now. If this didn't work, then it was time to play some daring "truth or dare." If he got egg on his face, so be it. When you're in the "world", how can you not get a few cuts!

Contentedly descending from the scorer's table, he saw LeBron James next to him, cradling magnesium powder in his hands like an ant.

"Are you going to toss it too? Then come on, show it!"

Su Wan stepped aside.

LeBron looked down at the magnesium powder in his hands and, in the end, just clapped haphazardly a few times, hastily ending it.

He gave up on tossing the magnesium powder.

Not to mention his 100 times practice before the game, even if he practiced it a thousand or ten thousand times, the effect might still not be a tenth of Su Wan's gesture on the scorer's table.

Unless he also stood on the scorer's table, otherwise, the fans would only feel it lackluster.

But if he also stood on the scorer's table, wouldn't that just be naked plagiarism?

One should know that Su Wan's magnesium powder toss was copied from him, but at least there was innovation. Moreover, standing on the scorer's table and shouting "This is my horse" was a classic scene from Su Wan's summer league. His combination didn't feel out of place at all.

LeBron, however, was different. He had never done such a conspicuous thing before. Being domineering on the court and low-profile off the court was his "persona".

The pre-game spotlight was stolen, and LeBron James sat back on the bench gloomily. Su Wan had already entered the court to warm up, and catching a glimpse of this scene on the bench, he thought of something quite interesting:

"In the future, the 'Chosen One' will make his most difficult decision, bringing his talents to the South Coast. When the walls came tumbling down and everyone turned against him, the media said LeBron skipped pre-game warmups altogether in favor of his powder-toss ritual. Was he seeing the 'material' now?"

Clearly, LeBron didn't know that his current self-indulgence would, at some future point, become evidence in the accounting of his history.

At that moment, the big screen in the arena presented the starting lineups for both teams:

"Cavaliers: Point Guard LeBron James, Shooting Guard Su Wan, Small Forward Ira Newell, Power Forward Drew Gooden, Center Big Z;

Pacers: Point Guard Jamal Tinsley, Shooting Guard Stephen Jackson, Small Forward Ron Artest, Power Forward Jermaine O'Neal, Center Jeff Foster;"

Then, with the referee's whistle, the starters for both teams entered the court, and "Voice of the Knight" Joe Tate at the commentary table immediately adjusted his microphone:

"Ladies and gentlemen, you are witnessing a historic moment. Su Wan, the NBA's first Chinese perimeter player, is about to have his first NBA career game. This is also the first game in NBA history where a Chinese player starts as a part of the main lineup. The professional career of number 99 on the Cavaliers, from this moment, officially begins!"

LeBron felt stifled once again.

Pre-game had already been overshadowed by Su Wan, and now the entrance segment became Su Wan's historic moment.

He took a deep breath, determined to establish his presence from the outset.

The greatest exposure in Cleveland had to focus on him.

However, the Pacers were in one of the strongest phases of their team history. Last season, they had achieved the highest number of wins in the league with 61, and despite the disappointment of being halted at the Eastern Conference Finals, they retained their entire roster over the summer, aiming for the team's first Championship Trophy in the new season.

Their goal was the championship, while the Cavaliers aimed for the playoffs.

The gap between the two teams' levels was palpable.

In the first possession of the game, LeBron James, holding the ball, drove in for a breakthrough but was intercepted head-on. His pass to the right was slapped away by the following Artest, and the Pacers easily completed the counterattack.

A turnover to start off with.

LeBron gritted his teeth and called for a pick and roll with Big Z. He had just rounded Big Z when Artest was already waiting for him on the other side.

At his peak, Artest had two deadly weapons: his strong body and his quick lateral movement.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been the league's most dreaded "perimeter iron gate" during this period.

But to lock down LeBron, the Pacers had another "killer move":

That was the "block passing" strategy planned by sideline coach Rick Carlisle.

LeBron had several "natural enemy coaches" in the league, from Popovich, who shaved LeBron's 'bald' in the Finals for the first time, to Zhuge Malone with his various 'flame extinguishing' tactics, and in between, Coach S who was especially familiar with LeBron due to his coaching.

And then...

The often overlooked Rick Carlisle!

The 2011 Finals were a classic representation of his conquest over LeBron.

Indeed, coaches of the Academic School very well understood that someone like LeBron James, a typical "non-traditional point guard," did not have substantial organizational abilities. His passing relied on his "breakthrough pass."

As long as one could stifle his drive, one could predict when he would pass, and hence roughly determine the path of his pass.

"Snap!"

LeBron James's second pass was nearly stolen again, but luckily Newell managed to capture the ball. Su Wan smartly circled behind to receive the pass, and then directly drove the ball in for a breakthrough.

The space under the basket had been opened early due to LeBron's pick and roll call.

As he drove directly in, Stephen Jackson who had been following him was forced to switch to Newell, leaving Su Wan matched up against the Pacers' weakest perimeter defender, Jamal Tinsley, who was only 1.90 meters tall.

Tinsley's defensive advantage lay in his physical confrontations; in 1v1 situations, he was rarely outplayed.

The downside was that he lacked a sense of team defense—meaning he had no awareness for help defense.

So by the time he realized Stephen Jackson was about to switch with him, Su Wan had already leveled with him at the shoulder. Having established his position and with an advantage in both size and strength, Su Wan executed a "reverse dunk" over Tinsley, scoring.

As the dunk was completed, Su Wan roared loudly, and upon landing, he fiercely pounded his chest toward the spectator stands, preemptively employing LeBron James's future favorite "King's Step."

Frequent passing errors had cooled the atmosphere inside the venue, but that moment brought it back to a boil.