The longest river

Chapter 91 The Best Opportunity
Just like his reaction when he first heard that there was a trading option, Yang Shuai was naturally aware of this possibility.

only……

"It seems there's no difference, right?"

Will the Pacers' management fire Brown because of him?

Although the management values ​​him highly, Brown is a renowned coach who has just led his team to the conference finals for two consecutive years.

"If it were the beginning of the season, there would really be no difference, but now, it's different."

Vaccaro took another puff of his cigar as he spoke.
"Your Pacers-themed sneakers are selling like hotcakes, you shone on the All-Star stage, and your performance on the court..."

Don't forget you're just a high school student, but you've accomplished so much this season that has exceeded everyone's expectations, including mine.

As Vaccaro spoke, his habitually downcast eyes widened, and he became more and more excited as he spoke.

Even though he had such high hopes for Yang Shuai and was willing to risk his professional manager career for it, Yang Shuai still exceeded his expectations.

At this rate of development, Yang Shuai might very well become a basketball player on par with Michael Jordan.

After hearing what Vaccaro said, Yang Shuai thought about it and realized that he did indeed perform quite well in his rookie season.

Especially considering that they have a stubborn coach like Brown who is obsessed with defense.

Thinking of this, his previously depressed mood immediately dissipated.

It's actually pretty good that I can stay with the Pacers.

Because most teams in this era revolve their offense around the low post, even if he went to another team, he would likely only be able to serve as a shooter who spreads the floor on the perimeter.

But the Pacers are an exception, because of Miller's influence, they have a lot of perimeter tactics, including against the Heat, where Schmitz also showed his unique technical characteristics.

As for the issue of his coexistence with Miller, it wouldn't be a problem for him to play the starting small forward position until he gets rid of Miller.

In addition, he now has many teammates on the Pacers, and the environment is much better than at the beginning of the season.

So staying isn't a bad choice.

Of course, this is all contingent on Brown leaving.

But that will happen after the season ends.

With only four games left in the regular season, even if he knew the Nuggets management from before his time travel, it's impossible for them to fire the head coach at this point.

"So what you need to do now is play well for the rest of the season. Reggie's absence is a great opportunity for you."

Vaccaro reminded Yang Shuai.

If Yang Shuai can perform well in the first round of the playoffs, and even help the Pacers advance to the second round without Miller, it will greatly increase his market value.

Even if the Pacers do ultimately choose Brown for the new season, Yang Shuai's trade value will increase, and the new team will have to pay more to acquire him, thus increasing their attention to him.

After talking with Vaccaro, Yang Shuai's mood completely improved.

This basketball legend always manages to offer him the most effective guidance when he's feeling down.

After finishing their game against the Heat, the Pacers hosted the Hornets at home.

Because Yang Shuai openly defied him in the previous game, Brown removed him from the starting lineup for this game and only gave him 15 minutes of playing time.

As a result, Glen Rice of the Hornets had a hot hand, and no one on the Pacers could stop him, ultimately handing the Hornets a crucial victory and suffering their second consecutive loss.

A day later, they faced another challenge from the Warriors.

The Warriors' chances of making the playoffs in the Western Conference are slim, but there is still a theoretical possibility, so they haven't given up.

Moreover, compared to the Hornets, their wing lineup is actually much stronger, with "Madman" Sprewell and "Golden Left Hand" Chris Mullin.

As a result, Yang Shuai only played for 15 minutes, and the Pacers lost again because they couldn't contain his performance, turning their two-game losing streak into a three-game losing streak.

Actually, the team's loss due to the season-ending injury of their star player is not such an unacceptable thing.

But to paraphrase some fans, you were a championship contender, so it was normal for you to lose to the Bulls, it was understandable to lose to the Heat when your core players couldn't play, and it would be barely acceptable to lose to the Hornets, but now... you even lost to the Warriors!
If they keep losing, will they lose to the 76ers, the Raptors, and then no one will be able to beat them?

What are you even competing for the championship with? You might as well start preparing for the new season as soon as possible!

Around this time, Ernie Johnson also analyzed the Pacers' current predicament in the latest episode of "NBA Insider".

It all boils down to one point: the issue of how to use Yang Shuai.

As a commentator who was present at the game between the Heat and the Pacers, he knew all too well how the Pacers lost that game.

Moreover, with Miller injured, the Pacers have no reason not to give Young more playing time.

As a result, Yang Shuai's playing time has decreased instead of increased, which is completely illogical.

Because of the Pacers' strong team discipline and the lack of developed online media at the time, the public was unaware of Yang's confrontation with Brown during that game. But precisely because of that, head coach Brown was suddenly thrust into the spotlight.

Furthermore, Brown is unlikely to clarify anything in front of the media. Would he be asked to tell the outside world that he reduced Yang Shuai's playing time because Yang Shuai offended him with his words?

That would only make him seem narrow-minded to outsiders, and serve no other purpose.

Finally, under immense external pressure, and with the last two games against the Hawks and Trail Blazers being crucial, Brown could no longer remain stubborn.

In both matches, Yang Shuai started and received ample playing time.

对阵老鹰队，杨帅贡献了18分7板3抢断2盖帽，自己发挥出色的同时，也把和他对位的老鹰当家球星史蒂夫·史密斯限制的仅得了12分还有4次失误。

The Pacers also won a close game, 89-87.

This victory is crucial because after their previous losing streak, their record had fallen to the same level as the Hawks.

After winning this crucial matchup, their record against the Hawks this season improved to 2 wins and 1 loss. This means that even if they have the same record in the end, they will be ranked ahead of the Hawks because of their head-to-head record.

In the final game against the Trail Blazers, Yang Shuai had a standout performance on offense, hitting five three-pointers and scoring a career-high 28 points, helping the Pacers defeat their opponents 104-99.

Because it was an away game, Yang Shuai was even blocked by local fans after the match due to his performance.

Portland is a place where basketball is the most popular sport among the four major leagues, and the fans' enthusiasm is beyond imagination.

But it's all worth it.

After winning the final game, the Pacers secured the last spot in the upper half of the Eastern Conference, thus establishing home-court advantage in the playoffs.

Because of their previous three-game losing streak, they were unable to overtake the Cavaliers. In addition, in this era, the Eastern Conference only had two divisions, the Atlantic and the Central Conference, so they could only finish fourth.

Even if they manage to get past the first round, they will still have to face the Bulls in the second round.

This season's Bulls are a phenomenal team, achieving a record of 72 wins and 10 losses, setting a new NBA record for the best regular season performance.

33岁的乔丹在复出的第一个完整赛季里，以49.5%的投篮命中率和42.7%的三分命中率（场均3.2次出手），场均得到30.4分6.6板4.3助攻2.2抢断。

Defeating this Bulls team would be an incredibly difficult task.

And this is assuming the Pacers make it to the second round.

Because they are ranked fourth, their first-round opponent is the Knicks, who are ranked fifth.

If they finish third, their first-round opponent will be the Hawks.

Although the Knicks and Hawks are only one game apart in terms of wins, the two teams are very different in terms of competitiveness.

Furthermore, despite the Pacers' 2-1 lead in the regular season, that was with Miller on the court, and now Miller won't be playing in the first round.

Just like at the beginning of the season, he had a great hand, but due to Brown's stubbornness, he ended up playing it terribly.

However, this result is not actually a bad thing for Yang Shuai.

Just like Vaccaro said before, he now needs to prove himself in the playoffs.

This value, besides being determined by one's own performance, is also related to one's opponents.

Putting aside their strength, the Knicks are miles ahead of the Hawks in terms of public attention.

Playing against a team from New York is like having your own spotlight on you.

Furthermore, there is good news for Yang Shuai: despite the tight schedule, he still managed to raise his explosiveness-related attributes to their maximum before the playoffs officially began.

This will undoubtedly be a huge help to him in the playoffs.

Moreover, he also received an important honor before the playoffs officially began.

Unlike before Yang Shuai's time travel, NBA season honors in this era were not announced after the season ended, but rather during the playoffs.

The first batch of awards announced were all related to rookies.

This year's Rookie of the Year award went to Damon Stoudemire of the Toronto Raptors, who averaged 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 9.3 assists per game this season and received over 60% of the votes.

Yang Shuai ranked fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting, behind Stoudemire, Sabonis (31-year-old veteran), Joe Smith, and Michael Finley.

This position isn't high, but the quality of this so-called "weak draft class" is exceptionally high. Behind him are a host of outstanding rookies such as Rasheed Wallace, Kevin Garnett, Jerry Stackhouse, and Antonio McDyess.

杨帅在自己的新秀赛季里出战74场（首发6场），场均出场26分钟，以46%的投篮命中率，43.1%的三分命中率，场均贡献13.8分3.6板1.4助攻1.5抢断1.1盖帽。

His scoring ranks third on the Pacers, behind only Miller and Schmitz.

He was also selected to the All-Rookie First Team for his performance.

(End of this chapter)