When pride still matters

Chapter 175 Maybe I was deceived
After Yu Fei was elected MVP, the number of voices complaining about Duncan suddenly increased sharply.

Many people are wondering why the highly anticipated Yu Fei became an "MVP thief" overnight. In this regard, Yu Fei can only say that this is a "god" punishment!

Although losing the MVP is a big deal for Duncan, the Spurs should not be distracted by it now.

Different from the 3-0 lead that the Bucks had against the Nets, the Spurs and the Mavericks in the West began their first contest as old enemies in the new century.

The Mavericks, second in the Western Conference, relied on boss Cuban's gold-dollar basketball plan to accumulate a large number of quasi-All-Star players around Dirk Nowitzki. As a result, they failed to rely on lineup depth to win the league's first record. Not to mention, in the first round, the Trail Blazers almost completed the myth of letting three teams chase four.At the beginning of the semifinals, the Kings defeated the Kings and lost their home court advantage. Later, Chris Webber suffered a season-ending knee injury after the second game.The Kings, who lost their general, still reached the tiebreaker with the Mavericks.

If Webber stays healthy, there's a question mark as to whether the Mavericks can advance to the Western Conference Finals.

However, for a multi-giant team like the Mavericks, playing more games will also help with running-in.The problem is, luck doesn't always favor them.

In Game 40 of the Western Conference Finals, Nowitzki played [-] minutes and then, like Weber, got injured.

Nowitzki, who wanted to play through injury, was restrained by coach Don Nelson.

In this regard, Nelson's attitude is resolute: "Nothing is more important than Dirk's career, and I will not let him take any risks."

As a veteran coach who officially took charge of the coaching staff in the late 70s, Nelson's thinking of players as human beings is rare in the eyes of the older generation.

What is the thinking of an older generation?Just like Larry Brown, George Karl, and Pat Riley, it is okay to play with injuries. Bearing pain is one of the jobs of athletes. Taking risks?If you don't dare to take this risk, why are you still playing?
Nelson is obviously a man who has changed with the times, and he won't forget the 2000 Spurs who stopped Duncan from continuing to play in the playoffs after he injured his knee.Although the Spurs lost hope of defending their title, Duncan has stayed healthy since then.That same year, Grant Hill of the Pistons ignored an ankle injury and forced himself to play. From that point on, he was never healthy again.

Nowitzki's injury made the Mavericks lose their competitiveness.

Tim Duncan finished first in the Western Conference with an average of 28 points, 17 rebounds and 6 assists per game, leading the Spurs back to the Finals after four years.

Duncan, who is both strong and incomprehensible, looks as dazzling as Apollo. With the help of certain forces, before the start of the finals, the public opinion field is full of demons, almost declaring this season's MVP selection as the most scandalous event in history.

Yu Fei knew that this was God's punishment, and he even knew that it was the result of the full force of God and Nike's media power, but he was not convinced.

Then he looked at Duncan's statistics.

I won't talk about the regular season, because in terms of regular season performance alone, Yu Fei and Duncan are about the same. Although the MVP award is awarded in the regular season, his performance in the playoffs can be praised.

When Yu Fei read Duncan's data, he decided to shut up before the finals.

That’s just 25 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 blocks per game.
Is this data typed by humans?
Yu Fei admitted that Duncan was very strong, but he always thought that Duncan was the kind of macho man whose statistics did not reflect his strength. As a result, the statistics looked very strong, which showed that the opponent's MVP call was not entirely divine punishment.

It was indeed a pity not to win the MVP, but who allowed him to meet the Chosen One?
The inside is the Bucks' biggest weakness and the Spurs' biggest strength.

With Duncan's playoff status, it is certain that the inside will be blown up. The focus is on how to minimize the damage.

This is what the Bucks coaching staff cares about.

George Karl's countermeasure is to study Nets game tape.

Although the Nets are an inferior team that was captured by the Bucks eight times in a row during the regular season and playoffs, their zone defense is indeed worth learning.

From the time the Bucks swept the Nets to the start of the finals, for more than ten days, the focus of the Bucks' daily training was zone defense.

However, no matter how the Bucks practice, their zone defense is not half as powerful as the Nets.

Because the Nets traded Mutombo from Philadelphia in order to better implement zone defense.

It was originally reserved for dealing with Duncan, but he didn't want to die before he got out of the battle. The Spurs were sent home by the Bucks before they even saw him.

"The important thing is the timing of shrinking the defensive line and the intensity of the double-teaming!" Karl emphasized loudly, "You must know whether your defense is going to foul, and you must know whether you are going to foul before you do it."

"If you're going to foul" Karl swatted the ball away from Ray Allen's hand, "just hit me hard, don't be so fucking shy!"

Ray Allen said dissatisfied: "Don't use me as an example."

"Fuck you, Ray!" Since signing the "if you fart in front of your face" clause, Karl has become more straightforward and brutal when coaching. "Do you think you are better than Tim Duncan? He was in Pop Vic has nothing but scolding in front of him, so he can win the championship in the second season! If you want to reach the same fucking heights, you better shut up and listen to me!"

Things like this happen from time to time. Although the scene is not harmonious, it is much better than Karl's previous method of complaining to reporters and then indirectly setting the pace.

2003/6/4

Milwaukee, Bradley Center

It's the opening day of the NBA Finals, and the Spurs are on the court early.

40 minutes before the game started, the Bucks also came to the scene.

Then there are the teams of various live broadcast platforms, as well as various activities organized by ABC for the game.

Since this was the Bucks' first return to the Finals in 32 years, they invited Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, No. 1 in franchise history, to take a symbolic jump ball.

Kareem held the ball, and the crowd cheered loudly, as if they had seen the bald old man play with their own eyes.

"So you are Lou Alcindor." Yu Fei was confused when he heard the name for the first time. Later, he inquired and found out it was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

I have to say that Kareem Jabbar is much smoother than his original name.Yu Fei's greeting did not make Kareem Abdul-Jabbar happy. He did not like his original name: "No, Lou Alcindor has left. There is only Kareem Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the world."

"Oh fine."

who cares?
Yu Fei rolled his eyes, and then watched Kareem Abdul-Jabbar throw the ball. David Robinson and Ray Allen only jumped symbolically.

Because this is a tribute and does not determine who owns the ball.

This may be the most common and boring way to pay tribute in the NBA. Yu Fei sincerely suggests that the old men in the league office use their brains and think about it. Who wants to watch such an irrelevant pre-game game?It would be better to hold an actuarial contest "How many bald spots does Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have?"

Yu Fei's whim and Kareem left together.

Afterwards, the referee of this game, George Karl's favorite Dick Bavetta, came to the center of the field and threw the ball up.

Gazulic jumped up hard and successfully won the ball for the Bucks.

Yu Fei caught the ball and quickly rushed forward. Taking advantage of the Spurs' defensive formation and everyone's unsteady footing, he stopped on the spot and shot a jumper.

2 is better than 0
"Bruce, didn't you fucking eat? Did you let him shoot so easily?"

Different from the regular season, the Spurs pitted Bowen and Yu Fei against each other from the start.

But after the opening, Yu Fei rushed too fast and Bowen didn't have time to get on top, so the attack ended.

The Bucks' zone defense was open, and even though the Spurs were positioned on the outside, they still had to rely on Tony Parker to use his speed to force a breakthrough to the basket, collect the ball, turn around and layup.

Sprewell couldn't keep up, his movements were also slow, and he was actually hit by Parker in front of him.

2 is better than 2
Every time Yu Fei was scored in front of someone, Sprewell would consciously pass the ball over.

Therefore, if Sprewell is successfully singled out, Yu Fei will also give up possession of the ball in the next round and let Sprewell decide how to play.

This is the tacit understanding between them.

Parker's advantage against Sprewell is also Sprewell's advantage against Parker.

Parker's strength is speed and agility, while Sprewell's strength is explosiveness and physical confrontation. He accelerates and starts, maybe only a small step ahead of Parker, but as soon as his body grinds forward, the Frenchman enters the "trust Duncan" stage.

Sprewell's goal was easily blocked by Duncan.

Yu Fei picked up the ball on the floor and also chose to challenge Duncan. As a result, the opponent did not move at all. He just stood in place and relied on his wingspan to interfere, causing the Bucks' second attack to miss.

The Spurs counterattacked like a wind, and Stephen Jackson scored a dunk in the frontcourt.

2 is better than 4
"Great defense from Tim Duncan!"

"Since the start of the playoffs, he has blocked 5 shots per game and limited the shooting percentage of every opponent who shoots in front of him to less than 20%. What a terrifying defender this is!"

Looking at Duncan, Yu Fei inexplicably remembered the "six-dimensional map" created by the Japanese friends for the empire's destruction dragon.

There seems to be no weakness.

If placed in the small ball era, Duncan's weakness is his shooting range.But in the big ball era, this is not a problem at all.

However, because of Yu Fei's existence, the Bucks became a pioneer in tactical innovation.Therefore, as long as Yu Fei's performance is not abnormal, the Bucks are capable of playing the game in the style of the small ball era.

Yu Fei stood still in the front court.

Ray Allen dribbled the ball from the backcourt across half court and handed the ball over directly.

Outside the three-point line, Yu Fei discovered that the Spurs chose to let Bowen take a big step to create a more favorable defensive space.

This is because [mathematical formula] Popovich is sure that Yu Fei cannot seize the half-step space and pull out his hand like McGrady did.

Since the game had just begun, since his opponent had given him a chance, Yu Fei felt that he had no reason not to try his skills.

Bowen's expression suddenly changed, because Yu Fei made a decision after considering it for less than two seconds.

He voted!
As a wing ball-handler, Yu Fei's shooting speed is very fast. If Bowen takes a big step, he will not have time to react.

"Shh!"

Yu Fei's outside three-pointer was accurately hit.

Then, he looked at Popovich with a hint of provocation, "Should I make it a little bigger? Maybe the shot I just made was a hit?"

It's really like being blinded.

Ray Allen, who got an assist out of nowhere, said this in his heart.

(End of this chapter)