When pride still matters

Chapter 101 Jordan’s dream comes true

After defeating the Pacers, the Wizards' morale was greatly boosted. They won two more games and immediately faced the last day of 16 with a record of 13 wins and 2001 losses.

On December 2001, 12, Wizards owner Abby Pollin hosted a dinner for the players and coaching staff.

At the banquet, Pauline raised his glass and mocked himself: "Early before the start of the season, I predicted that we would enter the playoffs. At the boss summit, almost everyone was laughing at me. Now look at where we are. ?Where are we?”

Wes Unseld chimed in: "We're fourth in the East, Mr. Pauline!"

"Fourth in the East!" Pauline laughed, "Fourth in the East! We can be better! As long as we are under the outstanding leadership of Michael and Doug, we can do better!"

He then moved on to thanking specific people, especially the two he named emphatically.

He praised Jordan as the best leader the Wizards have had since Unseld. The nearly 40-year-old Flyer is still a role model for everyone.

“We all know we wouldn’t be here without Michael!”

Yu Fei listened to Paulin's words without saying a word, with some thoughts popping up in his mind from time to time.

Couldn't have gotten here without Jordan?What if I don't average 16 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists per game?
Pauline then thanked Collins: "Doug is a smart coach and he does a great job," especially in terms of destroying Kwame's confidence and randomly arranging the starting lineup. "He likes to work hard, and I like that about him. He shows the players every day what's important." What's important?Kneel down and call Jordan daddy? "It's tough defense, teamwork and hard work! You can tell from the past few games, they've learned it all!"

Collins was excited, as if his work had been appreciated.

"Of course, this is also inseparable from the efforts and dedication of other players, such as..." Is it finally my turn?Go ahead and thank me profusely, you're welcome. "Rip, I really like this young man, he reminds me of the 'Greatest Generation' that we have so few left, he works hard like a 'Greatest Generation' every night and never complains." Damn Yellow Tooth Troll, do you think he doesn't want to complain?He just doesn't have the guts! "And poor Christian Laettner, he even broke his bones. His absence is a big loss for us!"

Okay, okay, even the Sword Tomb is in front of me, right?
Paulin's "snubbing" in his speech was what Yu Fei had expected.

Who made him refuse the big boss's solicitation?

If he had accepted Pauline's recruitment, the big boss would definitely put him in the order of Jordan and Collins today, but he didn't. Then the big boss could only treat the man who really brought changes to the team as if he had lost his memory. The young and up-and-comers are last.

"Of course, there are also some outstanding young players, Tyron, Frye, Kwame. Your performance is equally important to the team." What should I do? I really want to use the foie gras on the table to block the smell of this yellow-toothed troll. Mouth told him to stop talking. "Really, I'm proud of all of you, and happy for myself!" Be less happy, a boss like this will only bring misfortune. "We finally have a team to be proud of! Michael built them and the folks in DC are super excited to see the Wizards at MCI because you guys keep getting better and winning games. We are competitive , and that's mostly due to Doug and Michael. This is how we should be performing. Now, I'm looking forward to the playoffs in a few months. I think we'll get there. I mean, let's keep going! Let's Let's keep going! And, like I say to everyone, I know Michael will lead us there!"

Well, it's finally over. Yu Fei can eat normally like a normal person without caring about what the boss is saying.

"Washington Times" team reporter Thomas Flynn seized this rare opportunity to have close contact with the boss.

Because Steve Wyche of the Washington Post was the reporter identified by Jordan, Pauling was not close to him. Instead, Flynn, the Times reporter who temporarily opened a back door to join in, was the media person Pauling was willing to contact. .

Flynn came to Pauline and asked, "Do you and Michael have regular contact, Mr. Pauline?"

"We keep in touch." Paulin gave a general answer.

That's not the answer Flynn wants, but what does he want?

In DC, Jordan-labeled merchandise sells out of the shelves quickly.The price of his jerseys ranges from US$35 to US$169, and the market is booming.And in the last two away games of the three-game winning streak, as is often the case at MCI, people chanted his name - Michael, Michael - and it was not just an inspiration, it was a feeling. Pleasurable slogans are more respectful than fanaticism.Sometimes when he makes a soft layup instead of dunking, some fans will boo him, a soft boo, not an expression of anger, just a friendly expression of disappointment: most of the boos come from those who are carrying A burdened middle-aged fan.

Reality has eroded Jordan's idol.Even on his good nights, some fans leave games feeling oddly lost, thinking they've missed something, but it's hard to pinpoint exactly why.Their boredom had nothing to do with Jordan's production, but simply an experience issue: a night of picturesque fadeaways brought them far less enjoyment than a tomahawk dunk.The art of Air Jordan does not lie in the total number of points scored, but in the word "flying man", but he is about to lose the magic of flying man.

Collins revealed to Steve Wyche that people tend to be dissatisfied with Jordan's desire: "A lot of people say that Michael no longer flies high and does spectacular moves in the air like he did in the 1991 Finals, but so what? What about that? I don’t think this is a problem, he is just older, and older people will do older things. Is there anything difficult to understand about this?”

I really like what Jordan said: Age is not a problem, it is an excuse for sissies and people like me.

Yu Fei ate quietly and hardly spoke.

Flynn's attempts to get bad things about Jordan out of Pauline seemed laughable to him.

Don’t you see how many benefits Jordan has brought to him?Even if he is dissatisfied with Jordan, he will not show it publicly.

Unless Jordan can no longer help him make money.

However, Yu Fei does not feel that Jordan still has a lot of appeal to the new generation of fans, because Jordan has not played basketball for 17 of the past 5 years, and 5 of the 3 years occurred in the last three years.Three years is enough time for some stars to emerge and take 6's place that originally belonged to him.

In the latest All-Star voting, Jordan's popularity clearly lagged behind Iverson, Carter, Kobe, O'Neal and Garnett.

It can be said that Jordan has lost the favor of children and young people, and thus lost his control over advertisers.His core audience now skews older, but even among that group fascination with him has waned.Even Nike has said it will use young athletes to promote Jordan's upcoming $200 new shoes.Despite being the best player in basketball history, he has become stale today among a young and fresh fan base.The harsh truth is that he lost admirers at the same rate as his jumping ability.

In the New Year, the Wizards flew to Toronto, Canada to challenge the Raptors.

This is a focus war.No matter what words are used to praise Vince Carter in 2001, it is not an exaggeration. He was the media's designated successor to Jordan, but he was tired of this kind of praise, and Jordan did not like him as his successor because he Not defensive.

Although they are both from North Carolina, Jordan obviously does not want another player like him to appear in North Carolina. Due to the past grudges between the two sides, Carter was dazzling tonight, scoring 22 points in the first half.

Then in the second half, when Carter passed Jordan in one step, Yu Fei suddenly flew out from the side, knocked Carter down in the air, and blocked him.

It was a foul, no doubt about it.

Yu Fei is a rookie, and Carter is a superstar and at home, so the referee will not miss this penalty.

Yu Fei also simply raised his hand and admitted his foul.

For a star with some arrogant attributes, being fouled like this shows that the opponent is impatient and he is about to respond with all his strength.

However, Carter is a person with "no anger", and Yu Fei's rough foul is like a basin of cold water, dousing his fighting spirit.

Carter's shot was losing its feel, and frustration was sweeping through him.

Yu Fei had to lament that not having a strong heart will make players choose to retreat when encountering problems. Carter is this kind of person, and this happened when he led the Raptors to the playoffs for the first time. Show - At that time, Tracy McGrady was still on the team, and it was Carter's take-off year. They faced the Knicks in the first round. Although they were struck out, the points difference in every game was very close, but Carter was in those expectations. The moment he became Jordan but didn't become Jordan, he passed the ball.

Tonight, Carter originally wanted to prove that his young self was not comparable to the aging Jordan. He also did well in the first half, but Yu Fei's violent foul directly extinguished his fighting spirit.

Then, when Jordan's layup was violently blocked by Carter, the referee also blew the whistle.

As a result, Carter laughed at the referee: "You can continue to save him. This is a good way to help him escape from the predicament."

Jordan gave him a cold look, and suddenly, everything changed.

It's hard for Yu Fei to say what has changed in Jordan. He is still the same annoying old man. Tenosynovitis is the source of all his unstable performances. However, Jordan can suppress Carter on both ends of the offense and defense, making mid-range shots, breakthroughs and even pull-up three-pointers. , when he was excited, he even used the signature trick that he only used before retiring for the second time.

This is the Jordan that Wizards players are familiar with.

He often finds this form in training and rarely in games.

Unlucky Carter ran into the muzzle of the gun.

No matter how well he played in the first half, it means nothing now.

Carter, who fell into collapse, began to shoot a large number of three-pointers. None of these shots were missed. Yu Fei collected these long rebounds and led the team to counterattack as fast as the wind.

Yu Fei dunked on his own and also passed the ball to Hamilton. In the end, even Jordan enjoyed the fun of counterattack.

Since Yu Fei started in the starting lineup, this is the game where their chemistry has been the best.

上半场仅得4分的乔丹下半场狂砍26分，全场30分4篮板5助攻，带队取得四连胜。

After the game, Carter, who did not want anyone to "misinterpret" the game, said stubbornly: "This is a game between Toronto and DC, and MJ and I are just one of them."

Why did Carter suddenly understand the truth of team sports that the individual is just part of the team?

Would he have said that if he had pinned Jordan?
Yu Fei explained the violent foul he gave Carter: "It was an accident. I went for the ball."

No one was happier than Jordan.

"He's a tough guy to deal with," Jordan pretended. "It took me half the game to understand his tendencies."

The smile on Jordan's face as he says this is clear and the elation is unmistakable, embodying what he told Steve Wyche in his office at the Verizon Center a year ago. change.

Finally, Jordan said with a winner's tone: "I studied him a little bit at halftime and took away his rhythm. He still needs to improve his defense."

So Yu Fei’s rough foul doesn’t matter?Where is Yu Fei?
"We have a good feeling between us and he takes my coaching and, you know, I've been trying to coach him and he's not the type to take other people's opinions easily, but I'm starting to see that in his structured offense. Changes." Jordan ended the conversation with a vague but positive tone: "I think he is fully understanding the game, and I hope he can learn from this game."

The Wizards, who are firmly ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference, everything seems to be going well. With the perfect leader Jordan, the top second-in-command Hamilton, and the rising super star Yu Fei, they are better than Sports Illustrated predicted before the season (seventh in the Eastern Conference). New Year Will there really be something new?

(End of this chapter)