When pride still matters

Chapter 163 When the ghost returns
The closer some people get to the end, the less they can see themselves.

After the All-Star Game, Jordan flew to his home in Chicago overnight and held a party to celebrate his upcoming 40th birthday.

At the party, a middle-aged white rich man named Donald asked Jordan: "Michael, why do you have to come back? What a perfect ending in 1998. You already had the best way to end."

This is a way for Jordan to prove that he is old at heart: "My body may be 40 years old, but except for my body, everything else about me is very young."

Jordan forgot one thing. For basketball, the body dominates in most cases, especially for a superstar of the superstar era who has created tens of billions of dollars in profits for the leagues and companies he plays for in the name of the Flyer in more than ten years. in this way.

Then the Wizards began to self-destruct.

The first four games after the All-Star break were all on the road, and the Wizards only won one of them. During this period, Jordan's shooting percentage was a terrible 31%.

"We have a lot of good young players who should run and play," complained Sam Cassell.

Collins refused: "We need to find a way to help Michael's game. This (running and playing) is the worst plan."

Then there were complaints from No. [-] pick Kwame Brown, further creating confusion for the team.

Brown was benched against the Trail Blazers after taking a few shots that Collins considered out of his range and was not benched again that night.

A disgruntled Brown told reporters directly: "If it was Michael, he wouldn't have been taken off for a shot like that."

This seemed to make Collins furious. Brown's performance proved that he had been completely infected by Yu Fei and became rebellious and unwilling to obey and accept guidance.

However, if you want to be like Yu Fei, you must have the most critical thing - strength.

"Young people must learn to obey!" Collins emphasized.

When he said these words, the words Yu Fei told him before leaving DC flashed in his mind - be nice to Kwame.

Collins believes he has lived up to Yu Fei, and what he is doing now is the best thing for Brown.

Unless he is a young player like Yu Fei who has proven himself right away and quickly obtained franchises, a newcomer like Brown who has no desire to do so needs to understand that it is not that he can do whatever he wants, but that the team needs to What he can do is what he can do.

If he wants to stay in the league for a long time, this will be a position that suits him best.

A stubborn Collins, a Collins who has lost his own will, a Collins who has no control at all. Of course, such a Collins will ignore Brown's wails.

Brown's grievance lies in the double standards the team treats them and their stars.

Rather, it is the standards of Jordan and others. Collins has no requirements for Jordan and is extremely strict with others.

Brown's complaints opened the door to doubts about Collins and Jordan. Stackhouse activated his smart groin. Cassel, who couldn't play fast breaks, was depressed. The Wizards were about to collapse.

Then, Jordan scored 41 points against the New Jersey Nets, and it was like returning to his youth.

The Wizards can breathe a sigh of relief. If Jordan continues to bring this kind of performance, the playoffs are still within reach.

The reporter asked: "If the Wizards need you to score 40 points a night to win, can you do it?"

Jordan has indeed decided to strike out on his own, no longer playing nanny or partner to young stars.

"I will do my best to bring this team to the playoffs."

Jordan chose to increase his playing time and number of shots, but the situation still did not improve.

The Wizards' winning rate is usually only about [-]%.

Even in the Eastern Conference, they need at least a [-]% winning rate to possibly enter the playoffs.

Stackhouse was on and off, Cassell was complaining, and Jordan was roaring at the team like a tyrant.

In mid-March, the Wizards were five games behind the Magic.

At this time, Jordan's North Carolina mentor Dean Smith came to visit unexpectedly.

When Smith appeared in the Wizards locker room like Santa Claus, the 40-year-old Jordan suddenly looked like an 18-year-old, embarrassing his junior brother directly in front of the old coach, "Jerry, your development is not as good as expected, which proves the coach." That's right, entering the NBA too early will not do you any good!"

In front of Smith, Stackhouse could only smile.

"Look, coach, I shut up Jerry!" This was Jordan's way of proving to Smith that he could run the Wizards' locker room.

What's surprising is that Jordan's voice is very sharp, like the accent of a young man.

This is Jordan as people have never seen it before.

Smith's appearance seemed to have really changed him, from an adult to a high-spirited teenager.

Smiling, Smith and Jordan strolled to the lockers and sat across from each other on folding chairs.

Smith asked about Jordan's mother, who said she was fine, and they chatted for a few more minutes about mutual friends and family members — the kind of pleasantries reserved for men who love each other but are separated by generations. They have almost nothing in common except respect and love for each other.But that's enough.

For Jordan, what he needs most now is people and things that make him feel young.Smith can do it. When he sees this beloved coach, he will unconsciously think of every bit of his college days.

Smith would do anything for the young man (in his eyes) and vice versa.Jordan was lucky at many points in his life, never more so than when he entered Dean Smith's world at age 18, where he was forever changed.As a freshman, he hit a crucial open jump shot to win the NCAA championship for North Carolina—and overnight, his life and character were forever changed.Even his name, he thought, seemed to have changed—from Michael Jordan to Michael Jordan.

It's enough to make some players intoxicate in self-worship and then completely lose themselves. Most players will reach the peak of their career on a night like that and then fall faster than a shooting star, unless they have someone like Dean Smith. Tell him what areas of his game he needs to improve on if he wants to become a truly great player.The day after winning the championship, Jordan showed up at the North Carolina gym and practiced shooting according to the coach's instructions.

Needless to say, Dean Smith's arrival helped the Wizards win the night.

They start to catch up from now on.

Before April came, there was only 2 wins away from the Magic.

Immediately afterwards comes the crucial position battle with the Magic. If they win, the winning difference between the two sides will be only one game, and everything is possible.

If they lose, the gap will be four games.

As a result, McGrady dominated the game, and the Bucks defeated the Spurs that night and returned to first place in the league.

Then came the press room.

Jordan had to hear the news again that the Bucks' record topped the league, and was forced to respond to questions related to Yu Fei. He knew that this was just the beginning.These question-asking bastards would also question their intentions and purposes of trading Yu Fei the next day.

Everyone knows that Jordan plays both the roles of owner and general manager in DC, so the trade of Yu Fei must be related to him.

The relationship between him and Yu Fei is notoriously bad, so everyone can guess the reason why Yu Fei was traded.

This is a personal vendetta.

The mighty Michael Jordan actually ignored the long-term interests of the team and sent away a promising super star for the sake of personal grudges. Is this what a dog should do?
The better Yu Fei plays, the more fierce his doubts about Jordan become.

Jordan got one thing wrong.

He felt that if they win tonight, the victory or defeat of Yu Fei and the Bucks will not matter. What people really care about is whether the Wizards are good or not.

They lost, so they're bad.

It's a pity that the media's attention never chased Jordan, but only chased the stars.

Even if Jordan himself makes 18 of 6, he still has reasons to hold his teammates accountable.

Have they really fallen to the point where they need an old man like him to score 40 points every night to win?
Jordan was furious in the locker room, "I could have stayed at home and played golf. I didn't need to accompany you bastards to be humiliated here! If you don't want to play, get off the court! If you want to play, then from now on You have to play a tough game from the beginning. If you are not mentally prepared, then you are not qualified to play professional basketball at all!"

"Don't think I'm threatening you!" At this moment, Jordan is a man-eating beast, and the natural bestiality of human beings has completely exploded. "I have a lot of fucking choices, and playing well is your only way out. If you If I don’t want to fight anymore, I can just sit in the field and smoke a cigar, I’m @#￥@#”

Jordan's rants and insults reflected another of his privileges.

From the moment he won the championship, he had the privilege of being a superior person. He could humiliate his teammates who were not performing well at will, just like when he once told the prisoners on the plane that Horace Grant was too bad and not worthy of the airplane meal. Scottie Pippen, who had a migraine, took a damn aspirin and went out to play and told everyone not to pass to Bill Cartwright because he couldn't score.

At this moment, he completely coincides with the Bulls period, but it completely violates the original intention of his comeback. He came back in the name of teaching young people, but he has played the role of a tyrant and dictator for a long time.

There are seven games left in the regular season. In the fifth to last game, they will face Yu Fei's Bucks for the last time this season - if they do not make the playoffs.

Kwame Brown looks at the calendar every day, hoping that April 4 will come soon.

He believed that was Yu Fei's last reckoning with Jordan.

Before that day arrived, the Wizards had a record of one win and one loss, while the playoff rivals, the Magic, had a record of 2 wins and 1 loss - leaving the Wizards with only a theoretical possibility of advancement.

The Magic have 4 games left and the Wizards have [-] games left.The Magic lost all four games and the Wizards won all five. This is DC's only way to advance to the playoffs.

At this critical moment when not a single game could be lost, the arrival of the Milwaukee Bucks made many people sentence the Wizards to death in their hearts.If you want to say who is the person on the planet who least wants the Wizards to enter the playoffs, the answer is generally acknowledged to be the Bucks' star Yu Fei.

On April 2003, 4, Yu Fei flew to Washington with the team.

On the plane, "Milwaukee Sentinel" team reporter Trevor White sat next to Yu Fei, and he asked questions about the Wizards.

"Fry, to be honest, if the total was 100, how much personal emotion would you put into tonight?"

"200." Yu Fei said, "My mother lives here, and I have several friends here. I love it here as much as I hate it."

What White really wants to ask is what Yu Fei thinks about Jordan's recent frequent belittling of his teammates in front of the media.

However, Yu Fei didn't seem to want to answer questions related to Jordan because he was asked too many questions.

Therefore, White didn't ask, and he didn't think he could ask anything.

The moment the Bucks' plane arrived in DC, the media at the scene was extremely excited.

There are not only local Washington media here, but also media from other places.

It was obviously a game between the league's No. [-] team and the Eastern Conference's No. [-] team, but the media's attention on and off the court was as if a pair of old rivals were meeting in the finals.

Lawson and Clark stood in front of Yu Fei, blocking dozens of microphones that were about to blast Yu Fei's face.

"Tony, there's no need for this." Yu Fei said, "I can answer a few questions."

So Lawson personally selected a media outlet - a reporter from the "Washington Times" was able to ask Yu Fei: "Fry, what do you think of the Wizards' current situation?"

Yu Fei glanced at the other party and said, "I don't have any special opinions."

"The Wizards currently need to win five games in a row to hope to advance to the playoffs. Tonight's game is equivalent to a life and death battle for them. Will this factor affect your participation in the game?"

Yu Fei blinked and smiled kindly: "I didn't know about this originally, but now I know, so it may have some impact."

"Michael has been publicly criticizing his teammates recently. What do you think of this?"

"For a guy to call his teammates a mule after a loss and not reflect at all on his poor performance, that's normal."

"Okay!" Lawson seemed to be holding back on challenging a master and ended the interview when the media asked enthusiastic questions. "This is the airport. Frye doesn't want him to affect the order of the scene. If you still have questions, you can ask him during the game." Ask in the media room after it's over and Frye will answer all your questions."

As Yu Fei's fame grew, his status in the league also increased. As one of his closest friends, Lawson also received some privileges that he should not have.

He can scold reporters, decide who can interview Yu Fei off-site, and control the interview time.

Although neither Yu Fei nor Lawson admit it, they are indeed developing in the direction of Jordan and Tim Grover.

This is something franchise players and those close to franchise players are bound to face.

After leaving the airport, Yu Fei went home to meet his mother.

Although mother and son live in two places, Yu Fenglin is very satisfied with her situation. With her son providing start-up capital, her store is doing well in DC and she is busy all day long.She doesn't care about how her son is playing basketball or who he has conflicts with.

In her opinion, even if Yu Fei can't survive in the NBA, as long as he takes good care of the money he earns, he has nothing to worry about for the rest of his life.

The only problem is that Yu Fei doesn't care about the person he's dating. It's been several years and he can't even see his girlfriend.

Yu Fei expressed helplessness about finding a girlfriend. He also wanted to find one, but how could it be that easy?I chatted with my mother about some family issues, then left and checked into the hotel as required.

In the afternoon, Yu Fei participated in training.

After the training, Yu Fei ate something and went to MCI with Lawson for shooting training.

Someone on the Wizards team knew that Yu Fei would come to the game venue early for training.

That man is Kwame Brown.

"It's so nice to see you alive." Yu Fei teased him.

Brown knew his situation and responded to Fei's jokes with a smile.

"How are you? How are you doing lately?" Yu Fei asked.

Brown feels that there is nothing wrong with him. Although it is difficult to get rid of the ridicule of parallel imports, he does not receive less money and does not need to shoulder the burden of the team's progress prematurely like Yu Fei, which is good.

In Washington, people who lose will look for Jordan. If they lose too much, people will ask why Jordan traded for Yu Fei. As for him, the No. [-] pick, no one takes him seriously.

Although the greatest insult in the world is to be ignored, if you are willing to be ordinary, you can also have the happiness of being transparent.

"If you win tonight, our season is over." Brown said meaningfully, "The remaining four games will become that person's retirement tour."

"It sounds a bit cheap for him, but it's the best arrangement for me."

Yu Fei looked at Brown and remembered his rookie season again.

As a rookie, he led the team into the playoffs when the team's number one and number two players were reimbursed one after another, and in return he was traded.

This account must be settled with them tonight.

Brown said nothing more. He could see that Yu Fei's fighting spirit was even higher tonight than when he first met the Wizards at the beginning of the season.

That night, ABC, TNT and ESPN all broadcast the game live across the United States.

In addition, all countries around the world that have NBA copyrights will also broadcast live simultaneously.

The personal feud between Yu Fei and Jordan began last year, and gradually intensified and was reported by all parties. It has already become a breaking incident in the basketball world.

During the warm-up period, there was no communication between the two sides.

Fans could not see the friendly interaction between the two teams' stars in the center circle.

Ten minutes before the start of the game, Yu Fei and Jordan accepted a live interview with ABC.

ABC asked Yu Fei: "What's the secret to your rise this season?"

"We respect each other. I mean, our team used to bring internal conflicts to the outside world to stimulate ourselves to make changes. But now, we don't do that anymore. If I have a problem with so-and-so, I will take it personally. If you tell him something, you will correct it, and if you don't, you will encourage him. This frank and mutual way of getting along has benefited the whole team."

"The Wizards are the first NBA team you played for. How do you feel about them?"

"No, I'm just focused on the Bucks."

"So, this game is not personal?"

"Of course it's personal." Yu Fei faced the camera and made no secret of his desire for revenge. "I know how I ended up there."

Jordan was asked in front of ABC cameras whether his previous public criticism of his teammates would cause internal alienation.

"The truth always hurts." Jordan found a reasonable footing for himself. "Sometimes you have to say things that may hurt. You have to look in the mirror and say it to yourself or others. That's why we say there is speech. The reason for freedom is that sometimes we need to stop and listen and take stock of ourselves. In the end, you may say that is nonsense, but only by speaking out can the problem be solved."

"Do you want to talk about Fry?"

"Do not."

"What about tonight's game?"

"We will win."

Although the Bucks are No. [-] in the league, and even though the Wizards' previous two games with the Bucks ended in disastrous defeats, Jordan still has to issue a declaration of victory because this is the only way for the Wizards to retain their playoff hopes.

10 minutes later, the starting lineup of both sides took the field.

Yu Fei glanced at Jordan and asked sarcastically, "Are your mules full tonight?"

Jordan said coldly: "You will know later."

Yu Fei snorted with a smile.

The players on both sides took their respective positions, and the referee brought the ball to the center circle. This game concerning the fate of the Wizards' season was about to begin.

(End of this chapter)