Chapter 261: Snake Eating Tactic

After the Suns and Thunder game:

Numerous NBA legends shared their thoughts on the match.

Miller: "This is undoubtedly one of the most classic games in history, and Wade Dong is the greatest three-point shooter of all time."

Jordan: "Wade Dong's game-winning shot reminded me of the 1996 Finals, Game 6, when I hit the game-winner over Cassel!"

Olajuwon: "In our era, no one could get so close to a 5x5! But Wade Dong has already achieved it once."

Kobe: "The Suns are a great team, but the Thunder deserve our respect too. Go, Durant!"

...

Post-game Press Conference:

The Thunder's Big Three were still feeling down during the interview, especially Westbrook, who was more upset than Durant and Harden.

Both Durant and Harden's contracts were expiring, and they might leave the Thunder this summer in pursuit of a championship or a bigger contract.

The dream of building a Thunder dynasty seemed to be fading, and the three brothers would soon part ways.

When asked if he would stay with the Thunder this summer, Durant replied, "Losing the Western Conference Finals has made me depressed. I need some time to get over this feeling, so I don't want to think about these issues for now."

This was a non-answer, which was typical of Durant's personality; he preferred to address issues on Twitter rather than answer too many questions during interviews. 

The question of whether Durant would leave the Thunder would likely be answered after the Finals, as many superstar contracts were expiring this year. Players like Paul of the Clippers, Durant and Harden of the Thunder, and Anthony of the Knicks, all failed to make it to the Finals.

This summer, would they choose to join a strong team for a championship run or stick together for comfort?

Or would they stay loyal to their current teams and continue the one-city-one-player fight?

Currently, the Suns were one of the few strong teams with salary cap space for next season. Wade Dong's salary of $41 million was the highest in the league.

Other players on the Suns had relatively lower salaries. Curry was still on a rookie contract, Nash had a veteran contract, and players like Tucker and Gortat were not highly paid. Middleton and Green were still rookies.

...

After sweeping the Thunder, the Suns returned to Phoenix.

The Eastern Conference Finals were still ongoing.

The Heat and Bulls were battling it out, and the winner of the first two games would face the Suns in Phoenix. This was the confidence of a 73-win team.

Ginobili had been looking worried these past few days.

During team practice, Wade Dong noticed his distress and asked, "Something on your mind?"

"Hmm..."

Ginobili nodded, "The Elevator Door tactic has been banned by the league, and I've been thinking about new strategies."

Kerr laughed, "Good thing you shaved your head; otherwise, you'd have lost all your hair by now. "

"Dong, do you have any good tactics in mind?"

Ginobili turned to Wade Dong, who had come up with the Elevator Door tactic and the 'Death Five Small' lineup. Although they were implemented under his and Kerr's command, many key elements were Wade Dong's ideas.

Wade Dong thought for a moment and said, "I do have an idea, inspired by a game I often play."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, all his teammates gathered around, "Dong, you play games even without mobile data?"

"What game do you play?"

"World of Warcraft?"

"Starcraft?"

"DOTA?"

"League of Legends?"

"..."

"We can team up..."

His teammates were guessing wildly, but Wade Dong shook his head, "The game I play doesn't require a team."

"What game is it?"

"Snake Eating!"

Curry: "???"

McDyess: "!!!"

Green: "..."

Wade Dong's choice of game was beyond his teammates' understanding. They suddenly realized that Snake Eating wasn't a team game.

Wade Dong asked curiously, "None of you have played Snake Eating?"