When pride still matters

Chapter 123 With Him Without Me, With Me Without Him

2001-2002赛季，华盛顿奇才队在最后一周的比赛里取得3胜1负，最终以43胜39负的东部第八战绩压哨挺进季后赛。

Their journey to the playoffs was dangerous. When Jordan suffered a season-ending meniscus tear, they had fallen from fourth to ninth in the Eastern Conference. Not long after, Richard Hamilton also suffered a groin injury. Indefinite truce.

Yu Fei became the lone star of the Wizards.

但他不负众望，在最后这段时间，带队打出了55%的胜率，个人数据也来到场均19.4分8.1篮板6.6助攻1.1盖帽1.2抢断，三项命中率为47%、83%、35%。

这份数据全面包围了1994-95赛季的格兰特·希尔，直追1979-80赛季的魔术师约翰逊，成为近22年来最全面的新秀表现。

How would Yu Fei rate his rookie performance?

"80 points. If you put aside the fact that we made the playoffs, I would give myself 60 points."

"Are the standards that high?"

"Because I have higher pursuits."

Then, the question arose again as to whether Jordan would return in the playoffs.

"I've said all that needs to be said."

Yu Fei refused to answer, and then the reporter asked him about his outlook for the playoffs.

Unfortunately, although the Wizards entered the playoffs, they were ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference and had to face the New Jersey Nets, which ranked first in the Eastern Conference, in the first round.

As the latest case of "moving the dead and moving the living", this year's Nets brought quite a surprise to professional basketball.

They are undoubtedly the best team in the East.

Reporters expect Yu Fei to make shocking remarks again.

But Yu Fei was very pragmatic this time: "I want to reach the second round, but for now, our goal is to win from the Nets."

Yu Fei is right, the Nets are very difficult to deal with.

In the first game of the playoffs, even if the Nets were first in the Eastern Conference and played eighth in the Eastern Conference, there was no way they could underestimate their opponent.

They used zone defense against the Wizards all game long.

There is no other reason than the zone defense is to restrict Yu Fei.

Yu Fei's shooting percentage from the outside is 35%. Although it is higher than the league average, it is still not accurate. Although he takes more mid-range shots, his shooting percentage also fluctuates. It is difficult to have a trump card in the playoffs. These effects require continuous training to strengthen.

At this stage, Yu Fei's most reliable skill is breakthrough.

If he has a good shooting touch and cooperates with roll call tactics, he will be almost unstoppable.

But today, the Nets' zone defense was to pressure Yu Fei and force Yu Fei's teammates to step up and score.

Yu Fei's teammates failed to find their shooting touch.

92 is better than 81
The Nets defeated the Wizards and won the first game.

After just playing this game, Wizards head coach Doug Collins felt that the two sides were not on the same level.

On the surface, there is only an 11-point gap, but based on the Nets' offensive rhythm, the 11-point gap is already huge.

The biggest gap between the two teams is on the defensive end. The Nets' zone defense is simply a work of art, and their rotations are also very skillful. Unless Yu Fei finds the shooting touch that killed the Lakers on that night, it will be difficult to deal with the Nets with the shooting threat of his teammates. defense.

The second home game that followed was almost the same process.

Something different was that Yu Fei tried to throw from outside the paint area, which had a certain effect, allowing him to score a team-high 24 points.

But his teammates didn't open up, and his 24 points were not enough to win.

In terms of offensive performance alone, the Wizards tonight were not even as good as they were in the last game.

In the last game, they scored 81 points when Yu Fei's offense failed. Tonight, when Yu Fei scored 24 points, the team scored only 75 points.

Of course, the Nets didn't score much. They scored 86 points.

86 is better than 75
Another 11-point gap.

This way of winning like boiling frogs in warm water makes the Nets' game almost unwatchable.

This season is the first season that the NBA has legalized zone defense. League executives who intended to suppress traditional inside lines did not expect that this would instead give the defense some additional conveniences.

A team with excellent defense can hold down the opponent's score very low through defense, which greatly hurts the enjoyment of the game.

However, the enjoyment of the game is not what Yu Fei needs to consider now.

He just wants to win.

The Nets' defense allowed him to clearly see his biggest offensive vulnerability.

Under playoff-level defense, his three-pointers do not constitute a positional threat.

Under the high pressure of the zone defense, the smooth mid-range shot was not reliable enough in the regular season.

But it's not his fault. He trained hard enough, but only in the last 1/3 of the regular season did he get truly unlimited firepower.

Although he played well, it was just the regular season.

The focus is always on the next level in the playoffs.

The defeats in the first two games made Yu Fei understand that if he wants to win against the Nets, he must use all his firepower. It is impossible to expect his teammates to fire to relieve his defensive pressure.

Because the Wizards are a Lone Star team.

Only Yu Fei is a star.

When the lone star does not shine, those who follow him cannot find the feeling.

Now, the Wizards, trailing 0-2, have no way out.

In the era when the first round of the playoffs was still a best-of-five series, every game after that was a life-or-death battle.

In the afternoon of Game [-] against the Nets, Yu Fei came to MCI two hours early to shoot and warm up.

Anthony Lawson felt comfortable shooting the ball.

"Is the rim better at home?" Lawson joked.

At that moment, Yu Fei inexplicably remembered the famous saying of IG assistant Baolan: I have a reason to go to the World Championship.

"There was a reason I had to make it."

"what?"

"Many, the most important one is if we are swept, what do you think the old guy will say?" Yu Fei imitated Jordan's low tone, "Hey, I told you a long time ago, this team does not have me. No, Frye is too young, I am the soul of the Wizards!"

Lawson smiled dryly and did not answer. He also had an idea. If someone wanted to hold a Jordan imitation contest, Yu Fei should be able to get 100 points.

Oh no, skin color is an issue, so 1 point will be deducted to prevent him from being too proud.

That night, MCI was packed with people.

As much as Washington would love to see Jordan wearing a Wizards jersey and playing for them in the playoffs, having Yu Fei would be nice too.

Yu Fei originally fought to qualify for the playoffs this year. No matter what the outcome, they would support it.

Even if the Wizards are swept by the Nets tonight.

But Yu Fei will not give those pessimists a chance to say to themselves, "I knew you would be swept away."

At the beginning of tonight, Yu Fei scored a pull-up three-pointer against Corey Kittles, which showed that his touch was completely different from the previous two games.The Nets soon discovered this as well.

Yu Fei found his touch at home.

Of course they knew how much pressure Yu Fei, who combined with sudden shots, would put on the defense, so they adopted a rough defensive strategy.

However, Yu Fei, who returned to the home court as the Wizards' Lone Star, has the bonus of a star whistle.

The Nets' rough defense caused their foul count to skyrocket, which allowed Yu Fei to seize the opportunity to commit more fouls.

Another knock-on effect of the loss of control on the defensive end was that other Wizards players began to fall into their roles.

They have become accustomed to flying leadership.

They can only be themselves when Yu Fei delivers a stellar performance.

For Collins, this was a signature "test for a rising star" game.

Many unlimited rising stars will encounter an invincible opponent early in their first playoff journey. He will be frustrated, then rebound, win a game from the opponent, and eventually lose the series inevitably. .

When this new star becomes famous, people will look back and find that his greatness was foreshadowed as early as his rookie period.

Collins had a question in mind.

He wouldn't be surprised if Yu Fei grows into the best player in the league in the future.

By then, those who pursue him will look back and see tonight's game, the buzzer-beater against the Lakers, and his unyielding struggles against Jordan as signs that he is destined for greatness.

At halftime, the Wizards led the Nets by 7 points at home.

Yu Fei's data is close to a triple-double.

Collins asked Fei with concern: "Are you tired? Do you want more rest in the second half?"

"No!" Yu Fei shook his head, "We must ensure we win this game!"

"But you have to rest," Collins insisted.

Because Yu Fei only rested for 1 minute in the first half.

But Yu Fei insisted: "Unless we have a huge advantage."

In Collins' view, for a team like the Nets that relies on defense and relies entirely on Kidd's guidance for positional offense, their 8-point halftime lead is already considered a huge advantage.

But Yu Fei just wasn't worried.

Then, Yu Fei became more courageous in the second half, but the Nets lost their focus in the positional battle.

With the rotation opportunities brought by multiple defensive rebounds, Yu Fei quickly expanded his advantage to 16 points, and he could finally rest.

This advantage ultimately helped the Wizards win.

At the end, 94 to 81, the Wizards defeated the Nets with a 13-point advantage, making the score 1-2.

This victory inspired DC basketball fans. Yu Fei, who scored 35 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists, once again became a hero. He even felt that the reputation he earned by winning in the playoffs was greater than the previous victory over the Lakers. Even bigger.

Yu Fei's feeling was right, it was indeed the case.

The last time the Wizards won in the playoffs was 14 years ago, in the 1987-88 season, when they were still called the Bullets.When owner Pauline renamed the team the Wizards in the summer of 1997, they only entered the playoffs once and did not win.

In other words, Yu Fei won the Wizards' first playoff victory in team history.

However, happy times always fleeting.

Two days later, when they faced the Nets again at MCI, Yu Fei received the highest level of treatment from his opponent - Jason Kidd personally led the defense, and the zone defense team was waiting on him, and all the wings were used to take turns to fight Yu Fei.

The two series are not at the same level. If a weak team wants to create a miracle, the only way is to rely on the big breakout of its stars (or the opponent's key figures are injured). Mature stars may be able to break out continuously, but this kind of power It's unlikely to happen to a rookie.

Yu Fei still scored 23 points and 8 rebounds, but the Nets controlled the overall situation.

88 is better than 74
3 is better than 1
The Nets eliminated the Wizards on the road.

Wizards postgame interview
"I'm telling you, this is the greatest season in the history of the Wizards! I'm telling you, no team will ever make the playoffs after losing their first and second most important players like we did, and We're being led by a rookie! That can't happen again! I'm so proud of my players, every one of them deserves it!" - Doug Collins on this season.

"After going through this period of Frye leading the team independently, I feel like I know him a lot better. He is special, probably the most unique rookie I have ever seen, he is the most unique rookie I have ever seen. A hard worker and the most unyielding person I've ever met, and also the hardest person I've ever met to coach (smiling). If he can grow up with a team that's all about him, I think we'll Seeing the best of him. But being in (DC), it's hard, we have MJ, we have Rip, Frye is the No. [-] guy, but he's proven himself and that experience makes us believe he can carry the load. , whether in DC or elsewhere." - Doug Collins on Yu Fei.

"I feel like I suck. I'm sorry for Frye. It's all my fault." - Jasidi White talks about being beaten inside by his opponent.

"MJ always stands up front and yells, he has experience and that's his most valuable asset, and Frye started the same as me, he hasn't won anything, so he can go with me and that's The difference between him and MJ." - Kwame Brown comparing Yu Fei and Jordan.

"All criticisms against him (Yu Fei) are unfair. He is just a rookie, but he is our scoring leader, rebounding leader, assist leader and even steal leader in the playoffs. Without him, the series would be in the third game. End. Maybe for you, there is no difference between the end of the fourth game and the end of the third game, but I tell you, there is a difference. He did his best. He gave us a reason to walk out of the court with our chests and heads up. Without him, None of this is going to happen." - Tyronn Lue responds to media criticism of inconsistent flying offense.

"Frye almost averaged a triple-double in the first round, and then you guys are here criticizing his inconsistent shooting? Are you kidding me?" - Christian Laettner fumed in the media room.

On the night at the end of the season, Yu Fei did not accept a live interview with NBC. Instead, he was given the opportunity to have a quick interview with team reporter Thomas Flynn in the player tunnel.

Flynn asked him five questions.

"What do you think was the reason for losing tonight?"

"The other team is better than us as a team, that's all."

"A lot of critics have been saying lately that you're a version of Lamar Odom with inconsistent shooting. What do you think?"

“Did Lamar’s team make the playoffs?” (Not a question)
"No."

"Then I have nothing to say."

"Kenyon Martin thinks you're overly praised, and the results of this series prove it, what do you think?"

"I don't think his speech goes well with his Chinese tattoo (tattoo: worrying about gains and losses)."

"What do you think of the rumors outside? About you and MJ."

"This is the last night of the Wizards' season. Can you please not mention MJ?"

"Okay, last question, what are your offseason plans?"

"Oh, well, I guess I'll be very busy. Well, I'm sure I'll be very busy."

This is the fate of a super star who had his sneaker company recoup his money in his rookie season.

The interview was over, and Yu Fei was going back to the locker room. He still had a press conference to attend.

Flynn thought of the recent rumors and the irreparable rift between Yu Fei and Jordan. He really felt that the Wizards' seemingly bright future would completely change this summer.

"Fry, I have one more question."

Yu Fei stopped and turned around, "Don't push yourself too far, Thomas."

"This is the last question."

"Go ahead."

"Would you consider repairing your relationship with MJ?"

"no way."

This indirectly answers the ultimate question surrounding Thomas Flynn's mind.

With him without me, with me without him.

This is the final outcome of the relationship between Yu Fei and Michael Jordan.

(End of this chapter)