When pride still matters

Chapter 186 You and your Lord will die together
Morning of June 2003, 6

Today is the day of Game [-] of the Finals. Yu Fei got up early as usual and ate a nutritious meal prepared for him by his personal chef - this was Tim Grover's suggestion.Grover hoped that Yu Fei would hire a chef with knowledge of sports recovery to prepare four meals a day for him according to his needs.

It doesn't taste good, but that's the price of greatness.

Pork cutlet rice is not a “deliciousness” that can be enjoyed every day.

Yu Fei was eating breakfast while watching game advertisements on his laptop.

The most arrogant basketball player in the world is boasting again, and it's been going on for nearly 10 minutes and it seems like it will never stop.

"Do you need a big man inside?" he said.He frowned and pushed the basketball in front of the camera. "Then I'm yours."

In the past 10 minutes, Tim Duncan on the TV has tirelessly "emphasized" to Yu Fei how great, important and unstoppable he is.

"Do you need a guy who can score in the paint?"

As he spoke, there was incredible anger on his face - you were actually thinking about other people?
"Outside? Free throw line? Anywhere on the court? Do you need a shot-blocking master?" He rotated the ball on his finger and looked directly at Yu Fei in front of the screen. "You need an MVP to play for you? Then I'm your guy."

"Dominate anywhere on the court? Hey," he said sharply, "then I'm your guy."

Video is over.

Yu Fei shook his head and smiled.

"You've been watching it for 10 minutes." Lawson said strangely, "This commercial is less than 1 minute."

The video Yu Fei watched was an advertisement that Duncan shot for "Backyard Basketball" last year. He always felt that he had played on a small game website in his previous life.But that's not the point. The point is that Duncan lets people see another side of him.

The soul of the San Antonio Spurs has always been an example of a lack of public figure charisma in the professional basketball world. Although he is the most dominant insider after O'Neal, he will not be as cruel and cruel as Jordan, nor will he be as full of witty remarks as Ali. He doesn't have a strong personality like Tyson or other gods in the sports world.

He faced the world with a polite monotone and a bottomless lackluster style that symbolized his game, and never once made himself look ridiculous, let alone like most NBA players. Tell the whole world that "Heaven is the boss and I am the second child".He will not beat his chest like Garnett, nor will he choke like Miller, nor is he likely to play with a look that kills his opponents like Jordan. He is not interested in anything that is of public interest.

When the game is over, he'll just spout tired platitudes like a PR professional and flee the press room like a fire.

This is why Yu Fei watched this advertisement ten times with great interest.

He didn't know how much "Backyard Basketball" paid Duncan, or for what purpose Duncan accepted the advertising invitation. Hearing these words from this mouth was as surprising as hearing a mime star sing.

Yu Fei closed the notebook.

Although he has played five consecutive games with Duncan, he still knows very little about this powerful enemy.

However, after watching this commercial, Yu Fei couldn't help but think of what Duncan said after arriving in Milwaukee with the team.

"We will find a way to push the series to Game [-] and then find a way to win the championship."

Sounds very humble, doesn't it?Alliance No. 1 has to "find a way" to do something, and then "find a way" to do something else.

But Yu Fei believes that Duncan will start the full Buddha mode from the first second tonight.

"I'm starting to worry about our inside line."

How will the Bucks' weak inside line explode in the face of the real-fire Stone Buddha?

Lawson said carelessly: "Don't worry, Mason will take care of everything. If it doesn't work, let Leitner sacrifice to heaven."

St. Francis Training Center

Yu Fei on the training ground had only one sentence about tonight's game: "We must win. It would be too dangerous to delay it to the seventh game!"

"TD will definitely attack the inside with all his strength tonight. You are in big trouble."

"What a heck! Didn't you watch the previous games?" Mason said feeling good about himself, "That's just the way he is!"

You know, in the first five games of the Finals, Duncan averaged 24 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 blocks per game.

The only thing worthy of criticism is that the scoring explosion is not obvious enough. This is also what the Bucks are worried about. If Duncan really takes off all the burden and attacks the inside, he may have a century-level personal show like "God is wearing No. 23 tonight."

"That's right." Yu Fei catered to Mason and said, "He can only score points, grab rebounds, pass penalties and block shots. He is not comprehensive at all and can't compare with the old guy!"

Mason smiled: "I like to hear that."

"So can you hold off Duncan tonight?"

"I can try my best. What if I block him?"

"You're going to get the first ring of your career."

"Okay, okay!" Mason shouted excitedly, "Limit TDs, smash the Spurs inside, I am the person you are looking for!"

Yu Fei wanted to ask him if he had also seen the Duncan advertisement.

But in the end, he didn't ask because it didn't matter.

Later, Yu Fei wandered around the training ground.

Take a look at Ray Allen's practice, poke fun at Devin George who wants to get rid of Allen but can't, and then ask Michael Redd for any appropriate Bible verses to use against a guy like David Robinson. people.

As a devout Christian, Reed said: "The Bible is not meant to be used as a curse."

"There is something wrong with your understanding." Yu Fei said, "This is not a curse, it is a warning. Please teach me a lesson."

Reed looked at Yu Fei helplessly and could only say: "You are like warm water, neither cold nor hot, so I will spit you out from my mouth."

"Where's the source?"

"'Revelation 3:16'."

"This is a good sentence. If that guy chants sutras to me again, I will give this sentence to him. Is there anything else?"

For the Bucks veterans, if the Finals can end tonight, that would be the best ending.

Therefore, everyone is preparing seriously for the war.

Tyrone Hill, who came over at the trade deadline, is extremely strict with pre-game training.

Laettner also practiced hundreds more shots than usual.

Dan Gazulic continued to lift weights in the gym, but this was obviously temporary. His previous beatings by Duncan and Robinson were definitely not because he did not lift weights on the day of the game.

But if he finds it useful, who's going to stop him from collecting a cheap consolation prize?

With nothing to do, Yu Fei went to Sprewell and made an appointment for a bullfight.

Compared to others, Sprewell was a bit taciturn today.

Considering that Sprewell failed to win the championship in 1999 because he lost to the Spurs, it is not difficult to understand his strangeness.

But Yu Fei was still wrong.

"Have you paid attention to the Spurs' bench?" Sprewell asked. "Have you paid attention to their coaching staff?"

Yu Fei said: "I know Popovich."

"What about the rest?"

"unfamiliar."

Sprewell's expression changed, "You talk about me choking every day, but in the end you don't even know who I choked?"

As it turns out, the fans who shout about Lao Da Lao every day may not be able to tell the name of Lao Da Lao's handsome woman in Ying County.

Yu Feipi said with a smile: "Isn't it a coincidence that the person you choked happened to be an assistant coach of the Spurs?"

"Not an assistant coach, he is Popovich's assistant." Sprewell said, "How happy would it be if I could defeat the Spurs and win the championship in front of him?"

It seems like everyone on the team has a reason to win tonight.

The BUFF is full.

Will the Bucks win tonight?

Yu Fei would not go to the Bradley Center with such optimism.

When the Bucks arrived at the home court, all parties were nervously setting up the scene.

Yu Fei was not idle and started to warm up as soon as he arrived at the scene.

After 20 minutes, the scene was set up, and fans who had been waiting outside the stadium for a long time rushed into the scene immediately.

Then, as one of the main partners of the NBA, ABC arranged three seats around the court, and on them sat their live commentary team for the night, namely Brad Nessler, Bill Walton and Tom Tow Tom Tolbert.

Since the live broadcast camera was pointed at the Bucks' court, Yu Fei also teased Walton with the ball during training.

Especially when they ran out of things to talk about the 2003 draft, Yu Fei suddenly said to Walton: "If Luke is not selected as the No. [-] pick, I think there is no need to hold the draft."

And this is just a small episode before the game.

Before the war came, the atmosphere at the scene was already filled with the smell of gunpowder.

The Bucks first humiliated Duncan by holding a banner on the sidelines, "The real MVP will prove everything, and the ghosts of San Antonio will only wail."Secondly, the simple Midwestern fans spitted at the Spurs.

In addition to ordinary fans, there were also many big names gathered at the scene, which are rare guests at the Bradley Center.

The new head coach of the Pistons, Larry Brown, came to the scene. He was not here to play, because he is also the new head coach of the US men's basketball team. In his eyes, Yu Fei and Duncan are important parts of his dream team.

Then there's Jason Kidd, the 360-degree fan who's entangled with the Spurs.

Kidd is the one who really comes for vacation, but choosing Milwaukee for vacation is hard not to make people wonder - are the Spurs really going to get the league's best point guard to join them in the offseason?

As for celebrity Yu Fei in the entertainment industry, he immediately recognized Christina Aguilera. Last year's Grammy Best Female Singer was not a local, but she wore Yu Fei's jersey on stage to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" 》.

"I didn't know you had so many fans." Mason said unexpectedly.

Yu Fei shrugged, what should he say?Although he is the second MVP player in the history of the Bucks, Wisconsin, where Milwaukee is located, is an area with fewer basketball fans in a broad sense.

Therefore, even if Yu Fei attracts all the basketball fans in the region as fans, it is a very small number for a big basketball state.

This is the reason why Yu Fei is obviously very popular across the country but cannot be reflected in the market value and commercial income except the Bucks.

Even though Aguilera has a voice that spans four octaves, her performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was off-key, which, of course, doesn't hurt.

The pre-match session ended and the starting players from both sides came on stage.

At the beginning, Duncan missed the jump ball and the Bucks got the ball.

Sprewell took the ball and attacked inside like a madman.

Duncan and Robinson both interfered to no avail, and saw Sprewell score a layup.

2 is better than 0
The Spurs played very cautiously in the opening game, neither letting Duncan play inside nor Robinson playing in the high post.

Their first attack was to have Duncan go to the high post to support Stephen Jackson in the pick-and-roll.

However, after Duncan blocked the pass, he spread the pass, but did not get a return pass from Jackson.Because Jackson passed the ball to Yu Fei's knee.

The situation on the court was extremely chaotic, and Yu Fei collected the ball through a scramble.

Jackson wanted to put pressure on Fei nearby, but the result was in vain.

Yu Fei's ability to control movement is enough to resist defensive pressure, allowing him to bring the ball to the frontcourt safely.

However, Yu Fei can feel the difference between the Spurs' defensive approach tonight and the previous games.

Yu Fei glanced at the referee Dick Bavetta and wanted to see if he had another whistle today.

Therefore, although Jackson was on tight defense, he was still shaken away by Yu Fei's change of direction. The outside defense was out of position, and the Spurs' interior twin towers took up important positions and all appeared to block the sky.

Yu Fei made basic contact with them and moved the ball toward the basket by switching hands for a layup.

No hit, no whistle.

The referee's standards and the league's expectations can be seen in just one round.

Especially if a referee wants to blow a body hair whistle, they will let that information get to them in the first round.

Since there is no whistle for this round, every similar round from now on will not get a whistle.

Therefore, Yu Fei's focus shifted from attacking the basket and causing damage in the fifth game to trying his best to score every goal.

The defeat in the Battle of Tianwangshan was not without any benefit to the Spurs.

At least they figured out one thing, that is, a team like the Bucks with a large number of sharpshooters, as long as the strength is enough, they can also strike hard.

Therefore, in this sixth game, the Spurs cannot guarantee that physical contact, defensive intensity, confrontation and physical combat will be at the highest level.

Things like defensive strength are relative, just like it is easier for a couple to achieve great harmony in the world if they are in tune with each other in bed.

The Spurs have increased their intensity, and the Bucks must also increase their intensity in order to cope.

As a result, both sides defended fiercely, and the offensive efficiency naturally plummeted.

Sprewell opened the game with a goal, but it wasn’t until three and a half minutes later that the first glimmer of a second goal entered the Bradley Center.

Popovich couldn't stand the constant misses in the field game. He stood on the sidelines, stretched out his hand, pointed his thumb down at his eyes and yelled.

This is the Spurs' "Thumb Down 4 Ice" tactic. The specific content is very simple. Duncan goes to the low post and others consciously pull away to create space for him to play singles.

This is like a religious activity at a Spurs game, serious, serious, and effective.

Duncan received the ball from Parker, first observed the surrounding situation, and was in no rush to attack.

The Bucks' zone defense and double-teaming troubled him greatly in the previous games. He must ensure that he has a comfortable singles environment.

Once he saw that the Bucks had no intention of shrinking their defense, he boldly attacked inside.

Anthony Mason held on for dear life.However, there was nothing he could do other than keep his body in a defensive position.

Duncan hit the ball three times in a row, came to the right position to collect the ball, turned around and made a jumper, hitting the ball off the board.

2 is better than 2
Yu Fei dribbled the ball to the frontcourt. The scoring drought in the past three and a half minutes can prove how suffocating the Spurs' defense is. His teammates are constantly hammering, and his touch has been worn away by the constant body contact.

Stephen Jackson regards defending Yu Fei as a big deal. Although he is not a defensive hero, he will not spare any effort.

Yu Fei raised his hand to call Sprewell's pick-and-roll, forcing the Spurs' mismatch.

When the defender in front of him was replaced by Tony Parker, Yu Fei collected the ball and shot a three-pointer over the Frenchman's head.

"Shh!"

5 is better than 2
For the Spurs, this three-pointer ended not only the Bucks' scoring drought, but also the defensive deployment on the outside.

If Yu Fei is allowed to open up the situation, then even if they restrict all the other Bucks, it will be of no avail.

Because Yu Fei once scored 60 points in three quarters at DC, his explosive scoring power is unquestionable.

Popovich made a prompt decision and asked Bowen and Jackson to switch defenses.

Anyway, the rest of the Bucks' touch has been exhausted to a certain extent. The key is to concentrate on putting pressure on Yu Fei and preventing him from getting out of shape.

The Spurs' counterattack was led by Parker.

The Frenchman relied on speed to get past Sprewell. His petite body seemed to be unable to pose a threat, just like a sheep entering a tiger's mouth, but the Bucks' inside line was too concerned about Parker.

David Robinson quietly came from outside the paint area to the bottom of the basket. After Parker broke through to a certain depth, he passed the ball directly to the old captain.

Robinson caught the ball and dunked with both hands.

5 is better than 4
After the first 4 minutes, Yu Fei found that they did not whistle, and neither did the Spurs.

This is both good news and bad news.

The good thing is that the league does not intend to help the Spurs drag the series into a seventh game. The bad news is that as long as this standard is maintained, the Spurs can continue to gain advantages.

It's impossible for a shooter to maintain his touch under this intensity, and if he wants to play inside, the Bucks don't have a rim protector, but the Spurs have two of the league's top rim protectors.

The advantages of the Twin Towers are so great!

It must be struck.
Yu Fei made up his mind.

So who to hit?Duncan is determined and not the kind of person to be easily shaken.

The answer is obvious. Yu Fei looked at David Robinson who was dancing the last dance with evil intentions.

This veteran who has played for the Spurs throughout his career was angry about his contract last season and frequently messed it up. Now he has figured it out and knows that he has few games to play. Instead of blaming others, he should give it a try and do his best to lead the team. Retired with two rings.

If it did, it would be the best ending.

Yu Fei called Dan Gazulic's pick-and-roll and named David Robinson.

Although the admiral is old, he still has good athletic ability. It is not easy for Yu Fei to beat the big one. The two of them entered the paint area side by side.

Yu Fei held the ball with both hands and pushed up against Robinson's body.

Robinson no longer cared about anything else, he just waved his hand, trying to block Yu Fei. If he succeeded, it would severely dampen the morale of the Bucks.

But this time he didn't hit the ball. Instead, he hit Yu Fei's shoulder hard. The snap was audible to people around him. Yu Fei endured the burning pain in his shoulder and put the ball into the basket with an angry roar.

"Beep!!!"

For such a blatant foul, the referee must blow it.

After landing, the furious Yu Fei pushed Robinson away and cursed: "You, an old dog who only knows how to hug his thighs, have only used this trick after playing football for so many years?"

"No matter what," Robinson did not dare to face Yu Fei directly, "it is up to the Lord to seek revenge, and the Lord will surely retaliate."

Yu Fei said loudly: "I am the one who wants to retaliate against you. You and your master should die together!"

(End of this chapter)