Chapter 234: Chapter 45: As Expected of the Player Most Hated by Superstars

Next up was the gauntlet.

The San Antonio Spurs came to Indiana. They were last year’s champions, and the greatest power forward in history, Tim Duncan, was at the peak of his powers, his dominance off the charts. No one dared underestimate their strength. Some even thought they still had a chance to fight their way out of the West, even with the Lakers boasting their ultra-luxurious "Fab Four."

Rick Carlisle had barely slept the entire night in preparation for this game.

But when the game started, the Pacers discovered that wasn’t the case at all.

The greatest power forward in history, Tim Duncan, was resting...

The anticipated clash of titans never materialized. Popovich barely even played his starters.

The Pacers had wound up for a powerful blow, only to punch a fistful of cotton.

They took the win with ease.

After the game, Popovich praised the Pacers, saying they were worthy of being the number one team in the regular season.

Carlisle, however, didn’t know how to respond. He could only say that San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich was unfathomable.

After playing the Spurs, the Pacers were set to face their most important away game yet, against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves were first in the West. Under the leadership of Sanders, they had formed their "Big Three" lineup this season, making qualitative leaps on both offense and defense and vaulting into the ranks of the West’s super-teams.

Of the Timberwolves’ "Big Three," Su Xi had beef with two of them.

He had utterly humiliated Garnett and Cassell in the All-Star Game. This was especially true for Garnett. Now, whenever Garnett saw a "Top 10 Plays of the Season" segment, he would be filled with rage, because the clips of Su Xi dunking on him and throwing himself an alley-oop off the backboard were always included.

Moreover, after the All-Star Game, Garnett was constantly being ’cyberbullied.’ Teenage fans on the internet were attacking him, some using even filthier language than Garnett himself. Every time Garnett played an away game, fans of Scarlett and Jessica would be there, chasing him down and cursing him out.

Garnett was frustrated and furious, and public opinion wasn’t on his side either. This was the most stifling moment of his career.

Therefore, on the list of players in the league who hated Su Xi the most, Garnett would definitely rank in the top five.

A week before the game, Garnett had said in an interview: "Rookie of the Year is definitely LeBron James. Who represents the future of the NBA? LeBron James. We have to look at things with a long-term perspective."

"In fact, LeBron is a phenomenal star. He has a complete offensive arsenal. He’s unstoppable on the court, and everyone fears his talent."

"And off the court, he’s a role model. He doesn’t have any messy scandals. He loves his family, is passionate about charity, and works hard to give back to the community. He’s the kind of quality idol we should be looking up to."

Garnett didn’t mention Su Xi’s name once, but every sentence was about him.

If that was just a subtle jab,

then Garnett was far more direct when discussing another ’award’.

This year, the four players with the most buzz for Defensive Player of the Year were: Ben Wallace, Garnett, Artest, and Su Xi.

Because Ben Wallace had already won DPOY two years in a row, according to the unwritten rules, his chances of winning it again this year were slim.

So, the competition would be between Garnett and the two Pacers guards.

This season, the Timberwolves were holding opponents to an average of 89 points per game, and Garnett, as the defensive anchor, was indispensable. Although he was averaging ’only’ 2.2 blocks and 1.5 steals, his intangible impact was enormous.

The Pacers, this season, were holding opponents to an astonishing 83.5 points per game, a feat inseparable from the defensive abilities of Su Xi and Artest.

Su Xi was averaging 3.2 steals per game, first in the league, while Artest was averaging 2.0 steals, fourth in the league.

In addition, Su Xi was averaging 1.1 blocks per game, and Artest was averaging 0.7 blocks.

It wasn’t just their stats that were good; their actual defensive results were even better. One very clear statistic stood out: none of the top ten guards in the league managed to put up their season averages when playing against the Pacers, and their field goal percentages dropped by an average of seven percentage points.

"The Defensive Player of the Year should be someone who leads the entire team’s defense. Locking down the perimeter is a simple matter. As everyone knows, the most important defensive area is the paint. The one who controls the paint controls the entire court."

"The Pacers are a team defense; they’re strong defensively at every position. It might be fair to say they’re the best defensive team this season. But if the DPOY trophy is given to Ron or Su, I won’t accept it."

The race for every award this year was heating up.

Everyone had started playing the ’saying it outright’ game.

After Garnett made these remarks, Artest fired back: "I think the regular season MVP should be between Jack and Shaq. Jack led his team to the best record, and Shaq’s dominance is still unstoppable. You can’t just call someone the best in the world because he can ’do a little of this, and a little of that’."

Artest’s words proved one thing: lately, he’d been studying Sun Tzu’s Art of War more than his boxing footwork. It was a classic stratagem: attack your enemy’s valued territory to force them to abandon their own attack.

The league would never award both the regular season MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year to the same person.

You want DPOY, Garnett? Then you can forget about the regular season MVP.

Artest was attacking the very foundation of Garnett’s campaign.

Garnett had won a record three consecutive Player of the Month awards this year; the regular season MVP was practically in the bag for him.

Currently, his only real competition was Duncan and Kobe.

O’Neal, whom Artest had mentioned, wasn’t even in the top five. The Shark had been coasting pretty hard during the regular season. As for Su Xi, he wasn’t even on the list.

...

When the Pacers arrived in Minnesota, they were greeted at the airport by the boos of Timberwolves fans. Their jeers were especially harsh for Su Xi.

After all, Garnett was the one true god of the Target Center. How could they not share a common hatred for Su Xi after he had humiliated Garnett so badly at the All-Star Game in Los Angeles?

Su Xi didn’t pay it any mind at all.

When an ESPN reporter found him, he said nonchalantly, "I don’t think the result of this game will be any different from the All-Star Game. The only thing I’m curious about is what excuse they’ll come up with after they lose."

"I remember at the All-Star Game, they said their team chemistry wasn’t good enough and that my teammates were too strong."

"Heh."

Su Xi’s smile was laced with sharp-edged mockery.

Mike O’Connor’s influence on him had been immense, seeping in subtly over time.

"So, how do you respond to Garnett’s arguments about the Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards?" ESPN asked the key question.

They would air the interview footage right before the game started. This would give the ratings a substantial boost.

"I have no response," Su Xi said with a shrug. "He’s not a judge."

"Honestly, I’m not interested in these boring debates at all. I just hope Garnett can give me something exciting on the court, instead of always putting all his energy into that trash mouth of his. Let your game do the talking. If you’ve got the guts, come crush me with your talent!"

Su Xi trash-talked directly to the camera: "Man up. You can get it up, Kevin!"

With the playoffs approaching, Su Xi’s desire for talent had reached an unprecedented height. He hoped that Kevin Garnett, a holder of multiple super-talents, would inspire the fusion and upgrade of his own super-talent, which had long been stagnant.

This was why he had called out Garnett directly on camera.

’Garnett, you’d better get angry.’

Su Xi thought to himself.

When the reporter showed the interview clip to Garnett, he absolutely exploded with rage.

The reporter hadn’t even had a chance to add any fuel to the fire.

He was already grinding his teeth, his voice filled with indignation. "Just you wait. You’re all going to see how this arrogant little punk walks to his own destruction."

"I! WILL! NOT! SPARE! HIM!"

Garnett unleashed his fury without reservation.

When ESPN aired both interviews before the game, fans in front of their TVs grew excited.

It wasn’t just fans of the two teams; neutral fans also had their eyes glued to the screen. It had been a long, long time since they’d seen a showdown this charged with tension.

Su Xi truly was the player most hated by superstars.

...