Chapter 245: Chapter 51: A Great Victory, Covered in Glory

108–99.

The Pacers easily won their final game of the season, bringing their record to a historic 71 wins.

This was their best record in franchise history and the second-best regular season record in NBA history, second only to the 72-win record set by Jordan and the Bulls.

In fact, after acquiring Su Xi, the Pacers had only lost four games.

Because of this, many people said that if Su Xi had joined the Pacers from the start, they would have had a great chance of breaking the Bulls’ record.

This night belonged to Indiana. In their home arena, Conseco Fieldhouse, the crowd was in an uproar. Twenty thousand fans cheered in unison, the entire stadium electric.

This was their most successful moment ever. They had reached the Eastern Conference Finals twice under Larry Brown, and Larry Bird had also led the team to the NBA Finals... but tonight, every fan could smell a championship.

Even though Su Xi wasn’t on the court, the fans were still chanting one name in unison: "SU! SU! SU!"

Watching on TV, Su Xi was deeply moved.

His season with the Pacers had been a dream, and it was a mutually beneficial relationship. Although he hadn’t gained any new super talents related to his physical abilities after transferring to the Pacers, his skills and understanding of the game had improved by leaps and bounds.

"We will win the championship. We must win the championship. There’s no reason for us to fail again. This is our declaration."

Reggie Miller roared into the microphone after the game, his voice filled with ambition.

The shooting guard, known for his swagger and arrogance throughout the ’90s, was back in full force tonight. His eyes burned with killing intent and resolve. People saw in him the determination that had pushed Jordan aside to hit a game-winner, the ruthlessness of Miller Time, and the ambition and desire of a man who had sought a championship for over a decade without success.

Su Xi nodded in front of the TV.

This was his goal as well.

The championship was even more important to him.

It wasn’t just a simple honor; it was the ’source’ from which Su Xi could obtain subsequent super talents. It was also the contractual key to receiving Bird’s super sense of space, not to mention a historic bonus from Nike.

Su Xi turned off the TV. He walked out of Scarlett’s hospital room and opened the door to an even more arduous battle ahead.

...

The Pacers’ 71 wins made the front page of every sports media outlet the next day. The Pacers were, without a doubt, the biggest winners of the regular season.

Rick Carlisle was a shoo-in for Coach of the Year.

Between Su Xi and Artest, one of them was certain to be named Defensive Player of the Year.

Little O’Neal was sure to make an All-NBA Team; he was the third-best power forward in the league after Duncan and Garnett.

And then there was Su Xi, for whom the calls for Rookie of the Year were also very loud.

And while the sports media was dubbing this the ’Pacers’ Season,’ the entertainment media was frantically reporting on Su Xi and Scarlett’s commercial shoot, as well as the news that Scarlett was recuperating in Indiana after their car was rear-ended by a police vehicle.

This news sent the entertainment media into a frenzy; they were like sharks that had smelled blood in the water.

Almost every channel was discussing the great significance of this event. They conducted what looked like serious analysis, concluding that Scarlett had now gained the upper hand and turned the tables.

Su Xi was in no mood to care about this gossip.

He was in the training facility the very next day, together with his teammates.

Even though they had a three-day break, not a single player missed practice.

They were just that hungry for the championship trophy.

Besides, if a team with 71 regular-season wins couldn’t win the championship, they would be the biggest losers of all.

"The playoffs are different from the regular season. This is a series. The regular season is one-and-done games, so you don’t study each other enough. Whoever has more strengths wins. But the playoffs are about... whoever has fewer weaknesses, whoever doesn’t get their flaws exposed, wins."

Carlisle told Su Xi, "There are no weak teams in the NBA. The Celtics are strong. We can’t rest on our regular-season laurels. Right now, they’re gearing up to pull off an eighth-seed upset."

Over the past two days, Su Xi had received a file on all the Celtics’ perimeter players. It was incredibly detailed, recording each player’s shooting percentage from specific spots on the floor, their preferred spots to initiate a drive, the frequency of their pick-and-rolls, their tendencies in off-ball movement... The NBA’s vast database left no one with a place to hide.

Only then did Su Xi truly understand why Carlisle said the playoffs were completely different from the regular season. The regular season was a contest of strengths; the playoffs were a contest of weaknesses.

Su Xi’s own shortcomings were obvious right now.

This was also the very thing those basketball experts loved to criticize.

For the past few seasons, the Celtics had been built around the dual core of Pierce and Walker, and they were frequent playoff contenders. Before this season, however, Anthony Walker was traded, and Pierce was officially made the sole franchise player.

Su Xi was very familiar with the Celtics’ current second-in-command: Ricky Davis. He was the same guy who had once been at odds with Su Xi, but who had sought him out for a heart-to-heart when he was traded, and who had continued to speak up for Su Xi ever since—the ’20+5+5 superstar’.

With the Celtics, Davis had shed his former arrogance. He fully deferred to Pierce, was very cooperative from a tactical standpoint, and was even willing to be the team’s sixth man.

Besides his old acquaintance Ricky Davis, there was another old rival: Marcus Banks.

Banks had been selected by the Celtics with the thirteenth pick in the first round. He had been full of swagger before the draft and had even tried to make a name for himself by stepping on Su Xi at the Chicago camp.

But once he got to the NBA, he just faded into the crowd. He didn’t have any particular standout skills. Now, he was Atkins’ backup, averaging 5.3 points and 1.9 assists per game. He was no longer in the same league as Su Xi.