D'Antoni knew fast breaks.
He hypothesized a pairing of Su Xi and Stadumier, which was indeed very plausible. In fact, the most suitable power forward for Su Xi's current playstyle was a face-up, attacking player like Stadumier. Little O'Neal was a bit too technical.
But how could Su Xi possibly go to Phoenix?
Let alone team up with Stadumier.
D'Antoni had spoken a bunch of pointless truths.
The media didn't take his words seriously either. The Indiana newspapers just cherry-picked a couple of lines praising Su Xi's fast-break ability and published those.
No one cared what D'Antoni said.
Everyone was looking forward to the epic showdown between the Pistons and the Pacers.
…
"I have to fuck him up."
Rashid Wallace was shouting at Larry Brown before they left for Indiana. He was known in China as the 'Roaring Celestial Venerable'. 'Celestial Venerable' was a bit of an exaggeration of his status, but 'Roaring' was literal.
