When pride still matters

Chapter 188 Waiting for my triumphant return

Yu Fei and Duncan are like two styles of the same thing.

Duncan is full of Millennial style, tenacious, team-first, and advocates the basketball concept of "pass the ball one more time."

The Bucks, who also prioritized looking for open shooting opportunities, played a different kind of basketball under the leadership of Yu Fei.

Duncan didn't touch the ball for long, he was part of the collective, the most important part, but still one of the collective.

But Yu Fei is everything to the Buck.

He handles the ball, calls pick-and-rolls, initiates every possession and ends most possessions.

Judging from the number of shots, Yu Fei is not selfish.

But his possession of the ball is astonishing.

This way of playing challenges the concepts of academic basketball experts. The essence of team sports is broken. The Bucks game becomes essentially a cake-sharing game. Yu Fei holds a knife and gives a bite to whomever he wants. .

As far as Popovich is concerned, there's nothing uglier on the court than this.

This is a selfish move in the name of team.

This is the reason for Yu Fei's data explosion.Whenever Popovich thinks about Duncan losing to Yu Fei in the MVP vote, he will be so angry that he can't even drink red wine.

In order to suppress Yu Fei's performance, in the second quarter, with Bowen and Duncan's arrangements outside, the Spurs used zone defense throughout the entire game, freeing up three-point opportunities in the two bottom corners from time to time.

The Bucks did find an opportunity in the corner, but they couldn't make a three-pointer from the corner.

Due to distance issues, the corner three-pointer is the easiest three-pointer in theory.

But the feel is sometimes so mysterious.

Sprewell hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc, but missed a three-pointer from the corner. Reed's previous corner three-pointers reached 50%, but tonight he missed consecutive three-pointers.

Needless to say, Ray Allen couldn't make a three-pointer from any position tonight.

On the other hand, the Spurs also have no shooting feel, but they are not a team obsessed with shooting.

Everyone surrounded the indestructible and omnipotent Duncan.

Duncan's offensive feeling is not good, but his presence in the interior is too strong. Whether it is the protection of defensive rebounds or the pressure on the Bucks on offensive rebounds, the Spurs have more room for correction.

Yu Fei clearly saw the difference between the big ball era and the small ball era.

The small ball era is strictly faster, more accurate, and smoother, while the big ball era is tougher and taller.

Under normal standards, small balls can reduce the dimensionality of big balls, but once they enter the playoffs, teams like the Spurs will make full use of version answers to forcefully limit the shooting feel of teams like the Bucks on the defensive end and physical confrontation. to a level similar to one's own.

When the Spurs' lead reached 5 points, Yu Fei stopped passing to the outside.

Four minutes before halftime, Yu Fei first scored a jumper from the free throw line, and then succeeded in a throw-in against Duncan's defense.

After scoring 4 consecutive points, the Spurs' aggressive offensive momentum was interrupted, and the two sides started to see each other again.

In the first half, the Spurs' final attack was executed by Duncan.

Mason was afraid of fouls, so he only interfered and did not dare to exert pressure.It was his teammate who was responsible for applying pressure - Yu Fei ran in from the high position, blocked Duncan's strong side hand, and gave Shi Fo two options.

Either pass to an open teammate on the outside or finish with his left hand.

The Bucks' overall shooting percentage in this game was only 35%, and the Spurs were even worse, only over 30%. Therefore, passing the ball was not an option for Duncan. He would rather use his left hand for the final attack.

This is also Yu Fei's ultimate goal.

Duncan is well-known in the basketball world for his basic skills, but through in-depth matches in the finals, Yu Fei discovered that his free throws were inaccurate, and compared to his right hand, his left-handed offense was rough.

Duncan put the basket with his left hand under strong interference and missed.

Yu Fei got the defensive rebound and passed a long pass to Sprewell who was about to leave with only 5 seconds left in the first half.

Sprewell's feet seemed to be on hot wheels, rushing forward quickly.The only Spurs player to return to defense was Tony Parker, but due to his limited size, it was impossible to stop Sprewell.

1.4 seconds before halftime, Sprewell scored a layup.

48 is better than 47
The Bucks struggled to overtake the score.

This mutual fight has become a competition of wills between the two sides. Who can endure more, who dares to hit the ball to the basket, who can seize the opportunity better, and who can control the direction of the game.

In the 12 minutes of the second quarter, at least 8 minutes were controlled by Duncan. Yu Fei caught up in the last few minutes to avoid letting the Spurs enter the second half with the lead.

At the same time, it also proved that the Bucks can play with this intensity.

Maintaining this intensity is the Spurs' way to win, but if they cannot maintain the intensity, once the Bucks' shooting feel picks up, their doom will come.

After halftime, ABC compared the data between Yu Fei and Duncan.

弗莱·于，上半场打满，10投6中，砍下18分7篮板7助攻1抢断3盖帽。

蒂姆·邓肯，上半场打满，10投5中，砍下14分8篮板5助攻5盖帽。

"We all know that Larry and Magic are the most iconic rivals in NBA history, but in fact, their peak periods were staggered, and they have never had such a head-to-head confrontation on the court. Frye and Tim The duel will definitely go down in history!”

Commentators from various TV stations all praised Yu Fei and Duncan.

As one of the major cooperation platforms of the NBA, ABC will not let go of the professionals who come to the scene in person.

They first interviewed Larry Brown, the head coach of the US Men's Basketball Team. ABC wanted to know whether Yu Fei and Duncan would be key members of the Dream Team under his leadership. "Every head coach who has the opportunity to coach Tim and Frye is lucky." Brown said calmly. "If the time comes, I believe fans can see them wearing the jersey of the US team."

"So, who do you think performed better?"

"From the data point of view, they are not evenly matched." Brown said, "However, in my personal opinion, Frye's performance can be scored as 99 points, while Tim's score is 100 points."

"why?"

Brown began to talk at length about Duncan's contributions on the court.

Larry Brown's answer is not surprising at all.

Duncan represents a kind of political correctness on the basketball court.He plays the game the right way, making every possession sound and making his teammates comfortable, and even though his games are boring, he always wins.

This aura of "being right no matter what" has surrounded Duncan for a long time, and he finally crossed the OK Lakers mark this year and embarked on the road to prove himself.

However, while being recognized, they were left behind by the judges with voting rights. This also proves the hypocrisy of the fourth estate. Their support for the absolutely correct basketball style represented by Duncan remains only in words.

Their actual performance is no different from those superficial fans who think Spurs games are boring.

In addition to Larry Brown, ABC also interviewed Jason Kidd, who is surrounded by rumors.

As the big fish in this summer's free market, Kidd's choice to come to Milwaukee to watch the Finals is an obvious hint.

Since Kidd refused the Nets' early contract extension during the season, rumors that he would join the Spurs as a free agent in the offseason have been flying everywhere.

Showing up at the Bradley Center tonight was like telling the world that he was ready to join a 60-win Western Conference team.

ABC's reporter asked about Kidd's current situation and the rumors from the outside world.

As a veteran, Kidd knows how to deal with the media.

He won't reveal any information until he officially joins the free market.

Finally, an ABC reporter asked about the game.

"What did you think of Frye Yu and Tim Duncan's first half performance?"

Kidd immediately said: "In my opinion, they all performed at the MVP level, especially TD."

Kidd followed the same path as Larry Brown.

Unlike Brown, he showed not only admiration for Duncan, but also some flattery in his words.

"Tim is the best player currently. I actually don't care about his statistics, because no matter how bad his performance is, he can get you 20 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks. The statistics really don't reflect his performance. Value, you can see how willing his teammates are to fight for him, he is the kind of person who can trust his back..."

Kidd realized that his praise of Duncan was a little too much, so he tried to make up for himself: "Well... I know what I said sounded like a hint, but I didn't mean anything. I just want you to know what I think in my eyes." What is TD like?"

Where's Fry?
"Fry is also very good, he is a very good player."

Yu Fei didn't care what the professionals at the scene thought of him and Duncan.

If he were to compare himself with Duncan, he would admit that Duncan is currently better, but he is not playing badly either.

The most pressing problem facing the Bucks right now is the foul problem inside.

Starting center Dan Gazulic committed two fouls, and the two main fours, Anthony Mason and Tyrone Hill, both committed three fouls.

The inside is the Bucks' weakest point, and they must be prepared for a single-point breakthrough by Duncan in the second half.

The inside line is the gateway to defense. Once it is broken through, it will be difficult to fight back.

Thinking of this, everyone couldn't help but feel pessimistic about the prospects for the second half.

"Don't be downcast. Did I not play well enough in the first half?" Yu Fei said to Mason, "Old man, what are you doing at EMO?"

Mason looked at Yu Fei with wide eyes.

He didn't know if this young man had no empathy, or if he really didn't know that he could be on par with Duncan in the first half. It was all because of the hard work of the big guys inside?
If Duncan really opens up the situation, it will be more than just "this" data.

However, it is their duty to withstand Duncan.

Yu Fei's performance really gave everyone a shot in the arm.

"Stop talking nonsense there!" Mason said to himself, "If we can't withstand the second half..."

Yu Fei interrupted Mason's speech: "Then I will make their outside line unable to withstand it first."

This isn't the first time Mason feels he's close to a championship.

In 1994, he felt the same way.

Then, John Starks' war criminal-level performance ruined everything.

can i trust him
Mason gritted his teeth and said as if squeezing words out of his mouth: "You will have a chance to prove this soon!"

Mason doesn't believe in cause and effect. He only knows that he gave everything for the championship, but this dedication was not rewarded.Now, standing in front of him is an opponent of the 94 Dream level. The suffering he suffered in 1994 must be suffered again.

The question is, will he get the redemption he didn't get in 1994 this year?

What if Yu Fei ruins everyone's dreams like John Starks?

"Okay, whoever is hesitant like an old thing, just stay in the locker room and don't go out. Now, I want to return to the court. I hope that the people standing around me are a group of people who want to win." Yu Fei Zhang Yang He smiled and said, "As for those cowards who can't believe that we will win, and are even afraid of losing this game, just kneel here and wait for my victory!"

(End of this chapter)