The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!

But who would have thought that it was precisely the rule modification that sparked the Clippers' competitive spirit and unleashed a burst of energy in the next two games that hadn't been seen in the previous matches.

Barkley said, "I highly suspect the real intention of the officials was to eliminate the Forest Wolf, otherwise, I really can't understand why the officials would anger the Clippers!"

Isn't it obvious that they want to make the Clippers players feel humiliated?

And yet, the Clippers happen to be a bunch of "All-Stars," each with a very strong sense of self-esteem!

Shaquille O'Neal then said again, "Facts have proven that LeBron indeed does not have the ability to play as a Point Guard, nor the capability to be the core engine. The Forest Wolf, with Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard as the inside combination, fell in the first round of the playoffs. I don't know how many people still believe in LeBron's abilities, but now... it's time to wake up! At 28 years old, LeBron has once again shown us that he is not fit to be the outside core of a team; he is more suited to be the third leader. The Forest Wolf needs to find another outside core!"

Barkley said, "You yourself said he's Scottie Pippen, isn't that enough!"

Shaquille O'Neal retorted, "Charles, please give Scott some respect. LeBron definitely doesn't have Scottie's capabilities!"

Seeing Barkley's indifferent look, Shaquille O'Neal counted on his fingers and asked, "Do you think LeBron has Scottie's defensive ability?"

Barkley thought for a while and shook his head.

Shaquille O'Neal asked again, "Do you think LeBron can play alongside Michael like Scottie did?"

Barkley thought for a while and shook his head again.

Shaquille O'Neal continued to ask, "Do you think LeBron has Scottie Pippen's interpersonal skills?"

Barkley continued to shake his head.

Shaquille O'Neal put his hands down, "Alright, discussion over!"

The view that LeBron is inferior to Scottie Pippen is established.

While Shaquille O'Neal believes that LeBron can only be the "third leader" of a team, LeBron and Howard are also facing criticism from reporters in the player passage.

Howard, upon hearing those criticisms about himself, directly said, "I don't know why I couldn't get the ball in the latter half of this game. I don't know the damn answer to this problem. I only know there was someone crazily taking shots, and then we lost, so... regarding why we lost the game, you should be asking that person!"

LeBron faced even more criticism.

But, it's not his first time answering similar questions, so:

"My teammates didn't play with much energy today, I wanted to inspire them but failed."

"I scored 38 points, my plus-minus was +5, and I didn't make any turnovers in this game! I've done everything I could, but basketball is a team sport, victory or defeat isn't something I alone can decide!"

"The only thing I can decide is to continue improving myself this summer!"

In answering the question about the League suddenly changing rules, LeBron finally couldn't hold back and angrily said:

"Why does everyone think it was me who caused the rule change? If that's true, then I shouldn't be the one eliminated now! Please stop these boring comments, it really isn't funny at all!"

While LeBron was answering questions...

At League Headquarters, Xiao Hua sat in his office, holding his forehead with one hand, painfully closing his eyes and thinking deeply.

He really couldn't understand...

Is this BYD LeBron really so hard to support?

This time, he didn't care for face and changed the rules mid-series just to allow them to eliminate the Clippers and advance to the second playoff round.

But the result...

LeBron was still eliminated!

Thinking back to the past few years of rule modification for LeBron, Xiao Hua felt he was utterly foolish.

No way!

Can't continue to support this guy.

This guy isn't worth supporting.

He shouldn't pin hope on this guy, he needs to find a new protégé.

This time, he should patiently observe...

Afterwards, he directly blocked LeBron and his agent's phone numbers.

Back to the visiting team player passage, LeBron had finished the interview and returned to the locker room, where Kevin Garnett sat alone, head down, seemingly not noticing LeBron coming in.

Ever since losing the regular season game to the New York Knicks, he had a premonition that the decision he made in summer was not right.

But he really didn't expect to fall in the first round of the series!

Not being able to win the championship is a wide difference compared to falling in the first round...

If he fell in the Western Conference Finals or the Finals, he would feel there was still a chance.

But now, falling in the first round, thinking about his form throughout the series, he now has only despair in his mind.

What?

You want him to think about the million-dollar annual salary that has been paid?

Well...

It's already paid, what's there to think about salary!

Now his mind is filled with the regret of not getting the championship!

This let him feel very frustrated.

He didn't notice LeBron entering the locker room, similarly, LeBron just glanced at him, picked up his stuff, and left. To him, Kevin Garnett, such a "burden," wasn't worth comforting or anything, it's too wasteful of his emotions!