The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!

LeBron returns to Miami.

LeBron has been eagerly anticipating this day.

Especially after winning the "November Monthly Best Player Award" and being touted by league media as "one of the strongest duos of the season," he's even more impatient to confront Heat fans and ask, "Now, do you regret it?"

Just thinking about the expressions on Heat fans' faces when they hear that makes him secretly delighted.

Unfortunately, he couldn't come back at the peak of his spotlight.

But his current spotlight isn't bad either...

In the game against the New York Knicks, the Forest Wolf exposed their lack of shooting ability on the perimeter.

Teams facing the Forest Wolf in the following games copied this defense entirely to use against LeBron, but it didn't work as obviously.

It wasn't just one game; it was like that for several consecutive games.

LeBron's shooting performance in these games wasn't astonishingly good. But as long as opponents didn't take his shooting seriously and gave him enough space, he could still make them pay.

Barkley, after watching a few of LeBron's games, overturned one of his previous conclusions: "It's clear that over the years, LeBron's shooting has improved, but for some reason when he faces Su Wan, he becomes extremely unconfident in his shots!"

Shaquille O'Neal gave him the answer: "The reason is he's been scared by Su Wan. So every time he faces him, he unconsciously gets nervous, which puts too much pressure on him, making him very cautious when shooting, to the point of resistance!"

Coincidentally, Karl Malone was sitting among this episode's commentary guests.

Hearing this from Shaquille O'Neal, Barkley asked Karl Malone, "Buddy, have you ever been in such a situation? After playing the '98 Finals?"

Karl Malone thought for a moment: "I only had one thought then: Well, that's Michael. But if the Jazz Team played another round with the Bulls, I believe the game would still be very intense."

What he meant was:

Losing to Michael Jordan, for him, wasn't something shameful. But it didn't mean he would be afraid of Michael Jordan.

However, he could understand why LeBron would be so afraid of Su Wan: "If I faced an opponent I've never defeated in my career, no matter if it was the regular season or playoffs, and I've never won, I would try to avoid scoring in ways I'm not good at, just like LeBron James doesn't dare to take shots easily when facing Su Wan!"

"Just like when I faced Michael, I would think about not holding the ball as much as possible!"

He still hasn't let go of that moment when he was crucially stripped of the ball.

The discussion slowly drifts, but that's just TNT's commentary style.

Freewheeling!

The talk about LeBron being scared by Su Wan and not daring to take shots has sparked outside debates, which agree with the sentiment:

Every time LeBron faces Su Wan, he may seem full of fighting spirit, but in fact, every time he encounters Su Wan, his playstyle tends to regress to the "04 Young James" stage. This says enough.

Many media during the pre-game of the Heat vs Forest Wolf matchup, directly "enlarged" the question to LeBron: "LeBron, do you not dare to shoot in games against Su Wan because of Su Wan's influence?"

LeBron strongly objected: "Every opponent requires a different strategy. I adjust my shot selection based on the opponent, which doesn't mean I'm afraid to shoot. That's a ridiculous thing!"

Then he fiddled with the book in his hand, showing a strong desire for reporters to ask about it.

No way, his recent remarks like "New York Knicks has a player called The Great Wall?" and "I'm an NBA player, why read books?" have turned him into somewhat of an "airhead giant" in the eyes of quite a few fans.

This doesn't match the "high-IQ player" image his team has been building.

After much pondering, his team's solution was to make him hold a book during interviews to project a "book-loving" image. Through this process, the impact of previous "airhead" remarks could slowly be mitigated.

LeBron's constant signaling paid off as a reporter noticed his book: "LeBron, why do you carry a book casually?"

LeBron was overjoyed inside but still kept a calm face. Holding up the book, he told the reporter, "You mean this book? Reading has always been my hobby. I love reading the most."

Hearing this, all the reporters were stunned, looking at each other, unsure of what he's getting at.

"For example, what I'm currently reading..." LeBron raised the book in his hand.

The classic...

"The Godfather!"

"I love this piece of work, a masterpiece!"

The reporter, seeing him so emotional, then asked him a question: "LeBron, can you quote a classic line from The Godfather?"

"Uh, 'The Godfather'? Uh... uh... there are too many, many famous lines and quotes... to sum it up, it's... uh..." LeBron started stuttering in response to the reporter's question.