On his own, no matter how hard he fought, he could not carry a championship contender.
Even the toughest fighter could not take on an entire dynasty alone.
He could train like a madman day after day, honing himself to the limit.
But he could not force his teammates to possess the exact same hunger to win.
The Pacers had a solid system, smooth team rotations, and strict defensive discipline.
But the team lacked a reliable second or third scoring option.
Once the opposition locked him down, the entire offense immediately stalled.
That was the root of their four-year cycle of failure.
Miller slowly bent down and picked up the basketball that had rolled away, his fingertips brushing over its rough surface.
The obsession that had once sustained him was quietly changing.
He no longer simply blamed his opponents for being too strong.
Nor did he merely regret going cold at crucial moments.
He had seen the reality clearly.
The Pacers, sustained by him alone, would have a hard time getting over the mountain that was the Knicks.
If he wanted to challenge for a championship, the road before him had reached a dead end.
It was time to make a change.
Two thoughts constantly pulled at each other in his mind.
The first path was to remain in Indiana.
But the current roster could not remain unchanged.
The front office had to show courage, use its trade assets, and bring in another superstar to fight alongside him.
He was no longer willing to shoulder all the pressure alone.
He needed a partner on his level, forming a two-star core to contend against the terrifying combination of Li Fei and Jordan.
But he also knew just how scarce elite superstars were.
It would be extremely difficult to lure a big-name