When pride still matters

Chapter 240 When it’s all over

This is the third time that George Karl has led his team to the finals. As a non-final debutant, he should be stable.

Yet he couldn't control himself.

He was as excited as he was when he coached the basketball team for the first time.

Eight years have passed since the defeat in 1996!

Eight years! How many eight years are there in life? Most basketball coaches’ careers last less than eight years.

Karl once thought he would never have a chance to repay his debt to Phil Jackson.

However, fate made them meet again on the biggest stage in the basketball world.

The day before the finals kicked off, Carl held an old newspaper in his hand.

It was a newspaper published by the Chicago Tribune after the Bulls won the championship in 1996. It spent a lot of space telling the story of the Bulls. The poster showed Jordan crying in the locker room while wearing brand new AJ shoes.

Phil Jackson was asked how he and his players overcame the 1995 loss and won the championship.

At that time, Phil Jackson, who had "only" four championships, said: "We have a strong internal motivation. As a coach, I just let them convert motivation into the energy of the game. This is through day after day. It's coaching and trust. If I were a crazy coach who just walked up and down the sidelines and yelled obscenities on the court. Maybe it would be different."

Carl knew from the first moment he saw this interview that Jackson was talking about him.

But what could he say? If you lose, you lose.

Whatever the winner says is right, on the other hand, the only thing the loser has to do is shut up.

No matter how well-founded you argue for yourself, it is still quibbling.

Carl vowed in 1996 that they would make a comeback and wash away their shame with the blood on the tip of their horns. But Carr and that Sonics team never made it back to the Finals.

On the contrary, Phil Jackson and the Bulls completed another three consecutive championships.

Then Jackson went to the Lakers and won another three consecutive championships.

Well, no one will say that Karl is Jackson's old enemy anymore-except Karl himself-except for Riley, no one among the current coaches can say that he is Jackson's old enemy. Sloan is not qualified, and Popovich is not qualified. Even Jackson believed that Riley was not qualified.

The person Jackson was trying to rival was Reed Auerbach.

What about Carl? Don't even mention it, it would be disrespectful to Jackson. Only Carr himself would insist that he was Jackson's nemesis. As a long-term NBA head coach, Carr has never been able to get rid of Jackson's nightmare. Whenever the NBA Coaches Association gathers, he will approach Jackson's friends and ask them about Jackson. He wanted to know what Jackson thought of him and whether Jackson knew how many times he had spoken out loud about him over the years.

Karl wondered if Jackson knew he won because he had Jordan and Pippen.

Does Jackson know that he can have OK in the Lakers, but all Karl has is Glenn Robinson and Ray Allen?

Because he has these best players, he wins championship after championship, so his coaching ability is better than everyone else. Is this really reasonable?

Carr never had the chance to ask Jackson face-to-face, but he already got the answer from this old newspaper.

Jackson attributed the strength of the Bulls and Lakers to his "mobility" rather than the strength of his players. If it were a crazy coach like Karl who could only roar and scream, neither the Bulls nor the Lakers would win the championship.

Well, here's his answer.

Karl has confirmed it again and again.

On this day, Yu Fei noticed the old newspaper in Karl's hand and asked, "Is there anything special about this newspaper?"

"It's nothing special." Karl said without changing his face. "It just happens that the person I hate the most is talking about his coaching skills."

Yu Fei asked: "Can I take a look?"

Carl brought the newspaper.

So Yu Fei saw Jordan's famous "Daddy, this is for you" locker room crying poster.

"It seems that the people we hate the most are in the same newspaper." Yu Fei felt that it was enough to read the poster and there was no need to read further.

Karl took back the newspaper and said to Yufei: "I don't care what the outside world says, I think we are far stronger than the Lakers. They are just a bubble with a gorgeous shell!"

Yu Fei joked: "The game won't be until tomorrow night. Isn't it a bit early for you to ask me to cheer you up now?"

"It's not early at all!" Karl said, "The Lakers are under pressure to win the championship. Outsiders think we will lose the Finals in five games. They say this is the most disparate balance of power in the Finals in 28 years."

Yu Fei was not interested in the finals 28 years ago, but he was surprised by the contempt from the outside world: "Are the experts serious?"

isn't it?

Yu Fei doesn't understand. Isn't the restraint they showed against the Lakers in the regular season not obvious?

"So, you know what to do?"

This level of underestimation can only make experts doubt their own IQ if they are severely slapped in the face. Whenever the Lakers show some competitiveness, even if they lose in the end, they will say that the Lakers lose because of internal strife.

Yu Fei will not give them this chance.

2004年6月 6日晚 9:00威斯康星州密尔沃基布拉德利中心

Before the game started, the media asked the head coaches on both sides what they thought of each other.

ESPN wanted to use the 1996 Finals to remind Phil Jackson of the past.

But Jackson doesn’t cherish that time: “It was a long time ago and I’m just focused on the present.”

So, what impression does he have of Karl?

"George is very passionate, very energetic, and I think that's why the Bucks are so strong."

Jackson's answer was very official and contained no personal emotion.

Because Carl really didn't impress him in the past, which is clearly different from Carl's strong feelings about him as his old enemy.

"I have never forgotten the defeat in 1996. This was the opportunity God gave me. He wanted me to take revenge." Karl said sincerely, "I think this is my last chance, so I will pursue victory at all costs! "

The Lakers really forgot how miserable they were taught by the Bucks in the regular season.

Only veteran Rick Fox felt uneasy.

But his personal emotions are irrelevant to this super team that will either win or fail.

The game started.

Everything the Lakers longed for, OK blowing up the court, Payton and Malone doing their own thing, role players working their way into the wind—none of that happened.

The most valuable experience the Bucks learned from the opponent after defeating the Pistons was the use and layout of the iron barrel formation. The iron barrel formation they displayed tonight was much more mature than the second time they faced the Lakers in the regular season.

Accustomed to the confrontation in the Western Conference, many people in the Lakers struggled when facing a team like the Bucks that dared to fight with the Pistons.

In addition to stacking iron barrels to compress the singles space, the Bucks also have another important point when defending, not to double-team.

Whether it's Kobe's singles or O'Neal's low-post attack, there are no double teams.

The existence of the Iron Barrel Formation has greatly reduced Kobe's singles space. Although the Bucks do not have Prince, a tall and long-armed wing spider who specializes in defense, Sprewell is better than Prince in single defense. More experienced and skilled players.

Against O'Neal, the Bucks were accurate and failed to cooperate, so Karl boldly used wheel battles against O'Neal's defense.

Mutombo, Gazuric, Pachulia, Laettner and even Haslem, every Bucks insider has a role to play. Although they will be defeated as long as they defend alone, O'Neal's teammates cannot Get the ball to him on time.

When OK was fighting on its own and unable to break the situation, the Lakers' long-term inability to integrate their combat capabilities and make the system take shape emerged.

Regardless of winning the championship or not, Gary Payton has stated that he will not stay with the Lakers because he cannot play the triangle offense.

Tonight, Payton completely isolated himself from the system, failing to make any sporadic singles or jump shots.

Karl Malone is troubled by a knee injury that occurred in the Western Conference Finals and cannot bring any help except shooting from the high post.

The scary thing is that the only shot he can make, he couldn't make it tonight.

Lakers supporters expected a carnage to come.

Only by tearing the Timberwolves apart on a national live broadcast like they did in the Western Conference finals can the Lakers prove that the Bucks, the Lakers' nemesis, are completely untrue.

However, Lakers fans quickly became disappointed.

At the end of the first half, the Bucks led the Lakers by 55 points 46-9.

At the beginning of the second half, Yu Fei hit consecutive three-pointers, broke through and called O'Neal, and finally knocked down Karl Malone in a pick-and-roll attack, glided into the paint like a flying swallow, and faced O'Neal's shot blocker for a dunk and scored.

This is "the world after Game 5."

Game 5 against the Pistons established Yu Fei's absolute confidence. He fearlessly attacked the Lakers' defense, and even knocked Malone down in a mismatched outside confrontation, which aggravated his knee injury.

The Lakers moved Malone and tried to find a replacement on the bench.

However, no matter who comes, it is not enough to threaten the Bucks.

Because Malone is not the decisive player tonight, currently only scoring 4 points, and the defensive end is Yu Fei's experience baby. Whenever the game can't be opened, there will be a 1-4 pick-and-roll roll call blast.

In the fourth quarter, O'Neal, the Lakers' best performer, was fouled for the sixth time by Yu Fei and left the field directly.

At this point, the first game of the finals entered garbage time.

于飞出场39分钟，暴砍40分11篮板7助攻，延续了季后赛的强势表现，并带领雄鹿在主场以109比92战胜湖人。

"It seems like we won't be beaten 4-0 by the Lakers as those so-called observers predicted. It's really exciting."

Yu Fei immediately mocked those sports writers who were optimistic about the Lakers.

And these people are now concentrating their firepower on Kobe.

Although it seems that he is making excuses for himself, who asked Kobe to give them a chance?

面对斯普雷威尔这样的老匹夫，科比全场30投11中砍下27分。反观奥尼尔全场15投13中砍下35分15篮板。

Isn't it clear who is undercover, who doesn't want to win, and who is dragging the Lakers down?

Putting aside Malone's 4 points in a single game, Payton was 5 of 1 in the heavyweight category, Fisher was a terrible 9 of 0, and Fox checked this person's 0+0+0 performance. Isn't it all Kobe's fault? , why not pass the ball to O'Neal, why?

Yu Fei returned to the locker room, high-fived every teammate, and said loudly: "There are three more games! I want to sweep them all!"

How arrogant does it sound to sweep the Lakers? That is said to be the most talented team in the salary cap era. Is it really possible to sweep them?

"Everyone said before the game that the Lakers were going to sweep us. Wouldn't it be interesting if we turned around and swept the Lakers?" Sprewell came up with a brilliant idea, "I want to collect all the articles that were optimistic about the Lakers before the game. , make a bound volume after the finals, and sell it in bookstores in Milwaukee!"

Yu Fei was amused after hearing this: "Spree, you are a fucking genius, I want to order a thousand copies!"

The Bucks are happy inside because they know the Lakers are no different from the regular season. They are very close to defending the championship.

Yu Fei's performance of 40+11+7 in a single game in the finals established his reputation as the best player in the league.

When they defeated the Spurs last season, Yu Fei was not even considered the best player in the finals because experts believed that Duncan's overall influence was higher.

As the recognized best player in the league so far in the new century, O'Neal was obviously inferior to Yu Fei in the first game of the Finals. His 35+15 data could not cover up his helplessness and incompetence when facing pick-and-roll attacks.

ESPN's number one writer, Mark Stein, wrote an article titled "If 21-year-old Fulai becomes the best in the league."

Stein reviewed the three seasons of Yu Fei's career so far, extracted his honors, and asked at the end: "If the Bucks create the biggest upset in 33 years (21), the -year-old Frye will become the winner of two consecutive championships." The absolute core, he will have the qualifications to enter the top ten players in history. From this perspective, maybe we are witnessing the birth of the next GOAT."

The personal relationship between Stein and Yu Fei is well known, so it seems a bit biased for Stein to make such a comment.

However, it was Stein's reminder that everyone discovered that although Yu Fei was not qualified enough, he already had several key honors.

If he wins again this year, his two consecutive championships will be enough for him to enter the ranks of "one of the greatest in history."

When Yu Fei heard that Stein was openly discussing whether he might become the GOAT, he just lamented that it was helpful to have a good relationship with the media.

There's nothing wrong with the matter of two consecutive championships. The GOAT will be loaned. The fourth right is simply nonsense (deep) and confusing (my) words.

Although it is not good to open the champagne in advance, Yu Fei feels that during the finals, except that the FMVP cannot be awarded before the winner is decided, everything else is easy to say.

Unlike the Bucks, the Lakers' external public opinion and internal environment are both harsh.

Due to years of rule, the Lakers have made countless enemies, and it has basically reached the point where "when the Lakers are in trouble, everyone praises them."

The "Los Angeles Times" did not forget to pay respect to the home team. They wrote an article called "The Alarm Bell is Ringing," which roughly means that fans should not panic. The Lakers championship is as safe as a dog. They just underestimated the enemy in the first game.

So, the second game of the finals came.

Tonight, OK played a performance that fans are familiar with.

Kobe made 27 of 14 shots and O'Neal made 20 of 10 shots. Both of them overcame the problem of narrow space caused by the iron barrel formation.

However, the offensive problem has been solved, what about defense?

Kobe's defense is naturally not a problem, and the Bucks have no intention of using him as a breakthrough.

When playing against the Bucks before, the Lakers' defensive breakthrough has always been O'Neal.

Yu Fei suffers from a disease that makes him feel extremely uncomfortable when he sees O'Neal doing well, so starting from the second quarter, he named O'Neal a lot.

This makes O'Neal exhausted. Although there are some teammates who can help him avoid being attacked by Yu Fei, most of the time, he has to face this problem alone.

O'Neal's response was not ideal. He first bet on Yu Fei's touch and saw the pick-and-roll but did not go out. As a result, Yu made 4 of 4 shots from the field, and then O'Neal began to help defend in the high post. So Yu Fei scored 7 times in the next 4 rounds and caused two fouls by O'Neal.

O'Neal's problem with guarding pick-and-rolls is so serious that whenever the Bucks call a pick-and-roll, Lakers supporters feel that the round is over.

O'Neal, who couldn't solve the pick-and-roll, ended up fouling too many and left the game with six fouls.

When O'Neal left the game, Yu Fei had a feeling that this year's Lakers did not receive "extra preferential treatment" from the league as they did in the past.

After O'Neal left the court, the "you play one, I play one" game between him and Kobe could not continue.

Except for OK, the Lakers did not have a third person to score in double figures.

Payton once again turned into an ice shooter, Malone dragged his injured knee and made 10 of 3 shots. Fisher and Fox both scored less than 5 points.

O'Neal was broken through on the defensive end, and the rest were unable to attack, which wasted Kobe's strong offensive and defensive performance.

107 is better than 94

The Bucks won two games in a row and took a 2-0 lead.

"Part of it is expectations." Fox said the reason for the Lakers' poor performance on the road. "We expected to win everything easily this year; so when we didn't win, it looked like there was something seriously wrong with us."

"It's not a switch between deciding to play well and deciding not to play well."

Phil Jackson seems to want people to believe that the Lakers were blown away by the Bucks because his players didn't want to play well.

"It's a matter of self-sacrifice. Sometimes we choose to sacrifice ourselves for the good of the team, and other times our focus turns to individual achievement."

O'Neal's performance was as Fox said: "We expect to win easily because that's how we've played in the Finals in the past."

The Lakers' arrogance and arrogance exceeded Yu Fei's imagination.

So far in the Finals, except for O'Neal, no one in their starting lineup has a shooting percentage higher than 40%, and no one on the bench has a shooting percentage higher than 50%. And then you blame this on "you don't want to play well"?

The overly arrogant remarks of the Lakers team indeed attracted criticism from the whole country.

They decided to keep their mouth shut until Game 3 came around.

Prior to this, the only good news was that Malone, who completely disappeared from the Finals due to a knee injury, decided not to go to the hospital for examination. He was called a real warrior, but Mr. Warrior only said that he would not accept examination and did not say that he would continue to play. .

Bigger cracks are growing within the Lakers.

After reviewing the second game, the players naturally discovered that O'Neal has completely become Yu Fei's wealth code. If the offense cannot be opened, they will call a 1-5 pick-and-roll call.

Those embarrassing roll calls made O'Neal look so awkward.

This reminded some Lakers veterans of when O'Neal first arrived in 1996, when he was so flexible, slender, and full of athleticism. What now? He looked a little fat, moved slowly, and defended sloppily. He was crazily humiliated by Yu Fei without realizing it. He even dared to interrupt the video analysis meeting and accused others of not helping him defend.

"How much do you want me to do? I can't be 100% offensive and defensive!" O'Neal roared, "I just want to win the next fucking game. I don't want to watch this shit anymore!"

Kobe sarcastically said: "The game tape exposed your inability to face Frye's offense, so you don't want to watch it, do you?"

"Fuck you, you have no right to teach me how to play ball!" O'Neal roared hatefully.

The two people could hardly be in the same room together. O'Neal left the video analysis room, and Kobe said with hatred: "He is just overrated! He is Frye's X slave! This Bitch, I can't stand him anymore!"

The Lakers' nightmare continues.

6 April

The Bucks were about to fly to Los Angeles on a special plane.

Before the plane took off, Yu Fei called Paris Hilton in front of his teammates: "Hey, Paris, if we win the championship in Los Angeles, what kind of grand party do you think I should celebrate with?" A championship?”

The video princess said excitedly: "If it were me, I would invite all the Hollywood stars to my party!"

"I like your idea, even though I don't know that many celebrities, but I will reward myself with a big party!"

Afterwards, Yu Fei hung up the phone and faced the surprised expressions of his teammates and said, "I'm not the only one who thinks we can sweep the Lakers in Los Angeles, right?"

The atmosphere on the plane suddenly became much more lively. Although sweeping the Lakers in F4 sounds a bit surreal, what if it comes true? This will be a slap in the face to the idiots who call themselves basketball experts.

That night, the game kicked off at 8:30 p.m.

Yu Fei arrived an hour early. Now he is very familiar with Staples Center and does not need to spend as much time getting familiar with away games as he did in his rookie season.

There is only one reason why it came so early. The NBA entertainment department decided to make a short film called "Generation Inheritance" for Yu Fei and James.

The moral of this short clip is that Yu Fei is dominating the NBA and James is the next one to do it.

Their ages are so close, sooner or later, the NBA will be dominated by them.

So, will they bring another legendary competition history to the world like the Magic Birds in the 80s?

James is willing to talk about the future because he only has the future to talk about now.

Yu Fei seemed absent-minded because he didn't need to think about the future.

Last season's championship has put him ahead of his peers. If he wins again this year, his comparison target will no longer be the scumbags who have entered the league in recent years, but those who need to consider their historical status. people.

Although Yu Fei was not committed, the program was a great success.

NBA audiences love the concept of a "21st century version of the Birds Showdown."

Then came the crucial third game of the finals.

The Lakers, already trailing 0-2, have no retreat, although the fans still have full confidence in them.

Hollywood celebrities gathered in the VIP area of ​​Staples Center tonight.

The reason they like the Lakers is that the Lakers are very strong and can always bring victory. As celebrities, it is normal to support the team that is bound to win.

Down 0-2? That's because the Lakers were too careless, and they were given a black whistle on the road. The Bucks led the Lakers 66-40 in free throws at home.

On the road, things should be back on track.

However, things did not develop as they thought.

For some reason, the Lakers gave up the triangle offense at the beginning tonight.

They don't move the ball or run tactics. Except for the hobbled Malone, whoever gets the ball goes straight to singles.

Nowhere is this more evident than with Gary Payton.

For a season, he complained every day that he was not compatible with the triangle offense.

Phil Jackson had already foreseen this. Payton may still have All-Star ability, but he has never been suitable for playing the triangle offense. Once that discomfort intensifies, the conflict becomes public.

A lot of dribbling, a lot of forging, and the Lakers have the momentum to be defeated at home.

At the end of the first half, the Bucks were on the offensive, leading the Lakers by 60 points 44-16.

Later, word came out that the Lakers held a limited-attendance internal meeting at halftime.

A ten-minute conversation in the locker room between Fox, Fisher, Kobe, O'Neal and Jackson.

Fox said bitterly why the team no longer plays the triangle offense? They should play the triangle offense because they have won three consecutive championships with it. Then, Kobe promised that he would pass the ball to O'Neal, and O'Neal said that he would destroy the Bucks' penalty area.

Fisher? The master of the triangle offense will replace Payton in the Lakers' starting lineup in the second half.

Regardless of whether the legend is true or not, whether this meeting is real or not, the Lakers fought against the Bucks in the third quarter, scoring 22 to 21 in a single quarter.

This is the first time since the start of the finals that they have won points in a single quarter.

Even if it's just 1 point, even if it's just 15 points, that's exciting.

The Lakers were not without desperate situations on their way to winning three consecutive championships, such as Game 2000 of the Western Conference Finals in 2002 and Game of the Western Conference Finals in . They ultimately proved that they were the better team.

However, things seemed to be different tonight.

In 2000, they had a unified OK. At that time, Kobe could also challenge Scottie Pippen and send O'Neal the greatest alley-oop in playoff history.

In 2002, they still had referees taking care of them, but tonight, even at home, their free throws lagged behind the Bucks, and OK's unity in the third quarter was like a patient's flashback, which lasted for a short period of time. Reminiscent of the good times they had, and then.

Kobe Bryant is determined to live up to the role he got from Eagle County.

What role is that?

A rapist, a demon, a villain, a man who creates internal chaos, gives the team hope and destroys it completely.

Tonight, O'Neal was invincible in the paint, but in the fourth quarter, Kobe ignored his advantage time and time again and chose difficult jumpers and pull-up three-pointers with no accuracy.

When Kobe went crazy, Yu Fei was on the court, and he was right next to Kobe.

Somehow, he could actually understand what Kobe was doing.

An indisputable fact is that Kobe's only purpose in doing this is to win FMVP.

Whether it is Jordan, whom he imitates everywhere, or O'Neal, who is incompatible with him, their crowns are inlaid with gems named MVP. Kobe had an urge to prove himself in his heart. He wanted to win his own FMVP. No matter what situation the Lakers were in, he selfishly wanted to prove himself.

Tonight, O'Neal scored 32 points and 20 rebounds, but took 0 shots in the last half.

Kobe shot 32 of 14 from the field and 11 of 3 in the final quarter.

Lakers fans at Staples Center watched the Lakers collapse on the court and lose Game 22 by points.

Just like that, the Lakers stood on the edge of the cliff.

0 is better than 3

Their reversal is only theoretically possible. This is one of the most unchallengeable myths in NBA history.

No team can win four in a row after losing three in a row.

Mike Wise, a sportswriter for The Washington Post and co-author of O'Neal's autobiography, wanted to provide some comfort and encouragement to his friend.

Just on the court, Wise said to O'Neal: "Shaq, you and Kobe need to work together. You can still win this game. Although the Bucks are very strong, I think."

Enough was enough. After watching Kobe's "performance" in the fourth quarter, O'Neal had lost his enthusiasm. He waved his hand to signal Wise to shut up.

Then, his eyes fell on the distance, the woman who was kissing Yu Fei in front of the live broadcast camera - Christian Hendricks. She chose a suitable dress tonight, which fully highlighted her funnel-shaped figure. .

This bastard is really blessed!

"I gotta say," O'Neal said, looking into the distance, "that bastard woman is really hot!"

In an instant, Wise knew that the Lakers were finished.

Even he's still hopeful, while O'Neal is making comments about the girlfriend of his archrival/hater.

No more hustle and bustle.

The Lakers have been sentenced to death.

Two days later, on June 6, Game 12 of the Finals began at the Staples Center.

The desperate Lakers chose to make Stanislav Medvedenko the team's starting power forward.

The mediocre Ukrainian is unfortunate. Once, it was his supreme honor to be a member of the Lakers' F4 side. Now, he is forced to deal with the selfish Kobe, the uninterested O'Neal, the confused Payton and the mediocre Kary. M Rush fought together.

Medvedenko is 25 years old and joined the Lakers in 2000. He is the second European player to play for the Lakers after Divac. At first, the Lakers' scouts hoped that he would be half Vin Baker (footwork) and the other half Divac (ball intelligence). In the end, they found that this man had Baker's self-discipline and Divac's about 10% of the ball. business.

Letting such a person be the starter in the Finals itself shows that the Lakers are in despair.

Then the desperate race began.

Yu Fei's torture of O'Neal continued.

In the first quarter, O'Neal took the initiative to help defend Yu Fei because he was called on, and was fouled twice.

Phil Jackson actually didn't replace him.

Then, Yu Fei quickly caused O'Neal's third foul. This foul convinced Yu Fei that even within the league, they did not want to see the Lakers win the championship. This whistle is proof.

It's not that the Bucks took advantage, but that the Lakers didn't get any care from the referees in the Finals, which is abnormal.

But this cannot be blamed on the league. Kobe is still facing a lawsuit, and it seems that the other party has a lot of evidence. As long as the case is prosecuted to the end, the rape charge may be confirmed. If the Lakers win the championship and then everyone finds out that their leading player is in jail, how serious a blow will it have to the image of the league⑵?

The Lakers were already restrained in terms of style, had no whistle to help, coupled with internal strife within the core, and role players being muted one after another, it looked like they had no chance of winning.

Before halftime, Yu Fei singled out Kobe Bryant from the outside, dribbling continuously and then retreating to score 3+1.

That shot gave the Bucks a 19-point halftime lead over the Lakers.

Although there is still the second half, the Bucks are already confident of victory.

The second half was fun time for the Bucks, show time, a chance for some to reckon with others.

Ray Allen prepared a series of speeches, the core concept being that if he replaced Kobe, he could also win three consecutive championships with the Lakers.

George Karl is about to get his revenge on Phil Jackson.

He won't mind someone saying that he won the championship because he had a player like Yu Fei.

As he has been saying before, didn't Jackson win so many championships all because of Jordan and OK? Didn't Riley's ability to win so many championships rely on Magic and Skyhook? Going a step further, isn't it because of Bill Russell that Auerbach can win so many championships?

Don't tell anyone!

How the hell do you want a championship without a superstar? Go eat shit!

Of course, there is also Yu Fei's revenge on O'Neal.

How could he miss beating up a drowned pig?

The roll call continued, and O'Neal quickly committed five fouls and then stopped defending.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Lakers trailed by 30 points.

Kobe turned on his lone hero mode and didn't pass a ball, as if he could really save the world.

In the end, his ineffective isolation plays just fed shit to his teammates and the crowd.

When the Lakers fell behind by 35 points, Jackson asked for a timeout, and the big screen showed Kobe's arrogant face.

He didn't feel he was wrong at all.

That cocky face is like asking all Lakers supporters: Is this shit delicious?

After that, Yu Fei, who scored 32 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, was replaced.

Seeing the Lakers F4 fall into this situation, he felt no emotion at all.

This is a good story and very educational.

This is about if the team boss can't manage the team well, if the head coach can't clarify the core, and if the team is full of shameless old bastards like Payton who want championships and status, then you can't succeed.

One minute before the end of the game, fans began to leave.

Then, a minute of garbage time passed quickly.

When the buzzer sounded, Yu Fei let out a breath.

The final score was 113 to 83, and the Lakers suffered a 30-point defeat at home.

Karl rushed to the court like a child who got a Christmas gift and hugged Yu Fei hard: "Well done Frye! After tonight, Shaq will shut up forever! He can never raise his head in front of you again!" "

"What about you, George?" Yu Fei asked, "Have you settled your grudge with Coach Jackson?"

Karl actually said: "What did you say? There is no grudge between us. I only know that my coaching career started in the summer of 2002, so you'd better call me youth coach!"

Youth coach? Yu Fei looked at Karl's hairline.

Well, what he says is what it is, why should you care about the crazy words of an old madman who has a big revenge?

Bucks players, coaches and team staff began to celebrate on the court.

The Lakers are a different story.

The only one crying over the loss was Rick Fox, who could barely complete a sentence.

Probably, he is the only Laker player who still has a sense of honor. He knew this game signaled the end of an era.

Karl Malone was dragging his injured leg with a lot of thoughts. He wanted to know why he gave up the glory of one man and one city to come here.

Gary Payton is the most famous loudmouth in the NBA, but in recent games, his mouth has been sealed.

Especially tonight, he didn't say a word.

Phil Jackson was interviewed. The reporter wanted him to talk about the situation within the team and why the Lakers failed so miserably.

Jackson didn't want to talk about internal team matters, but he did have something to say about the failure.

"This is not the way we wanted to end," Jackson said. "A great group always beats a great group of individuals. We became a group of individuals at the wrong time and that's why we failed."

The atmosphere in the Lakers locker room was as silent as a morgue.

After Kobe took a shower and left with his bodyguard, O'Neal didn't say anything. Their relationship completely collapsed.

This is the reason why they failed miserably. They don't have a boss, and no one can say "this is my team." If O'Neal was the boss, he should get an early contract extension from the team, but he didn't. What if Kobe was the boss? No, Kobe was never the boss. It wasn't then and it isn't now. Not only is he not the boss, but he is also a cancer of the team. He is also a person whose future is precarious. How can a criminal who may go to jail at any time become the boss of the team?

After that, the Bucks went back to the locker room to change into championship T-shirts before returning to the scene.

They held the cup at Staples Center.

There is no suspense in the FMVP selection process. Yu Fei, who averaged 36.8 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists per game, was unanimously elected as the Finals Most Valuable Player.

Back in the locker room, they splashed out champagne like they did last year.

In addition to the reveling players, there were many reporters at the scene.

In an interview with the New York Times, Ray Allen, who rarely had fun, was asked how the Bucks overcame physical and mental exhaustion and successfully defended the championship.

He replied excitedly: "You can see the difference between us and the Lakers. They have too many arrogant and conceited players. You can't see any team spirit in them! But you can see the difference between us and the Lakers." See the teamism in people! We know we can count on each other, everyone's goals are aligned, and most importantly, we don't have privileged people, we don't have condescending assholes, and you won't see Frye constantly reiterating it like OK The Bucks are his team and he wouldn't stand in front of you and say that, absolutely not. That's why we can defend our championship!"

Almost everyone accepted the interview, except Yu Fei, who sat aside and refused to be interviewed by the reporters who rushed into the locker room.

When Yu Fei saw Sprewell soaking his legs in an ice bucket the moment he entered the locker room, and the opponent's body was covered with "souvenirs" left by Kobe, he poured champagne on the opponent's legs.

"Spree, it's all worth it." Yu Fei said.

Sprewell smiled lightly and said: "Yes, it's so worth it. I hope we can come back another year!"

Another year? Yu Fei doesn't know what will happen next year, he just wants to enjoy the present.

Just when Yu Fei decided that he would not accept an interview with anyone, he saw Mark Stein in the crowd, a writer who publicly claimed that he was expected to become GOAT, and fully expected to be the first lucky person to interview Fry Yu.

Yu Fei smiled and nodded, "Mark, you can ask a few questions."

"I know you've answered this question many times, but I need to ask again, have you changed your mind about being on the Dream Team?"

Yu Fei answered simply: "I won't play for Larry Brown."

Stein mentioned his previous article.

"I have said before that if the Bucks win two consecutive championships, you will become a GOAT candidate. Considering that you are not 22 years old, this is really crazy. How do you think about this?"

Yu Fei really wants to win this title, but when he is crowned GOAT, he always pays attention to his name. If he always declares himself GOAT, or says like Paul George that there are many GOATs, wouldn't it be chaos? Today there is a GOAT in life, tomorrow there is a GOAT who changes teams, and the day after tomorrow there is a GOAT who sets records. Where do so many GOATs come from?

"I'm not going to talk about it until I win six championships."

Stein really didn't know whether Yu Fei was a big talker or just pretending to be a big talker. For such a popular topic, he actually gave the most unattractive answer.

Afterwards, Stein asked some questions that he had prepared in advance, and Yu Fei answered them all, but the content of his answers was not what Stein wanted to hear.

At this point, Stein confirmed that dear Da Fei probably entered the sage mode because he won the championship again, and his sharpness was restrained. Today is really not a good time to ask questions.

Just as the interview was coming to an end, Stein was thinking about what kind of question to end with, and then he saw Ray Allen walking over with champagne, which gave him an idea.

"Frye, do you think the Bucks are your team?"

"Of course," Yu Fei looked at Stein strangely, "Why do you ask that?"

Stein said in front of Ray Allen: "I always thought that you were not the kind of person who would stand in front of others and say, 'Look, this is my team.'"

Ray Allen's expression changed. Of course he knew this was what he had just said.

At least Ray Allen was right about one thing.

Yu Fei was not standing in front of Stein. He was sitting there lazily and quietly saying the words that some people thought he would never say.

"This is my team." Yu Fei said, "It has to be."

⑴ The upset 23 years ago was when the Rockets crushed the defending champion Lakers in the first round of 81. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has since embarked on the path of no return to becoming the star of (Moses) Malone.

⑵ In the 2004 Finals, the number of free throws between the Lakers and Pistons was 111 to 171.

PS: There is only one chapter today.

(End of this chapter)