When pride still matters

Chapter 283 Your next step

As the Memphis Grizzlies beat the surging Milwaukee Bucks at home, Jerry West was sitting in his usual spot, high above the court in a corporate suite at Pyramid Arena.

At every Grizzlies home game, he sat alone, with no one there to witness his pain or hear his litany of profanities. Tonight, the Grizzlies, who had everyone on their toes, unexpectedly led the Bucks by a big score. If anyone looked closely in the suite, they could just happen to see the light coming through the suite and see a smile on West's face.

But this is the NBA, where magic happens.

The Grizzlies can take a big lead over the Bucks, and the Bucks can also show why they're so good, with controversial superstar Frye Yu playing like a god, eating away the Grizzlies' lead.

Even when the team was at its best, West was the most nervous person. Seeing that the strength of the team was about to be overwhelmed by personal heroism, he quietly walked out of the room, lowered his head, walked through the corridor, and came to a place where people were waiting. You can watch the night view of the city through the window in a corner you won’t get close to.

Just when he thought the Grizzlies were going to collapse like they always do, somehow, his team won the game by a narrow margin, and the team's light shone brightly in Memphis.

You can't win alone, and West understands that.

Whether it's Frye Yu tonight, or the Wilt Chamberlain who has been recalled by God, or the best player in the 70s, Kareem Jabbar, these powerful individuals have proven basketball time and time again. It's not a one-person game.

No one could imagine West's life in Memphis since he spent 44 years in Los Angeles.

But for West, he found the vitality of life here.

For a person prone to self-destruction, nothing could be more important than this.

"Mr. LOGO, you obviously won, why don't you look unhappy?"

West broke away from the intense mental internal conflict, returned to the dark reality, and glanced at the young man who disturbed his "reflection".

"Because we almost lost."

The Grizzlies losing to the Bucks is not unacceptable.

Winning is a surprise.

Yu Fei began to feel that his charm was not enough, and West did not greet him with a smile like other celebrities.

Speaking of which, this might be their first face-to-face conversation.

"If under normal circumstances, our two teams play ten games, Memphis will win tonight at most." Yu Fei said, "I think you should feel happy about this victory."

There was no trace of positivity on West's face.

Under normal circumstances?

Under normal circumstances, he should have won at least five championship rings as a player, but the reality is that he only won one.

These so-called normal situations are just the psychological expectations set by the egomaniacs who are common in professional sports. What is the actual situation? There will never be a so-called normal situation. Teammates who usually hit every shot will miss an unguarded opportunity in the tie-break. The invincible giant Goliath will withdraw midway through the fourth game of the finals tie-break because of a foot injury. The seemingly non-threatening lame only needs to limp onto the field in the finals tiebreaker to inspire his teammates to win everything.

What is normal? West really doesn't know.

"So you think tonight was an abnormal situation because your teammates didn't perform well. Do you think your performance was good enough to win?"

West left Yu Fei speechless.

Only two Bucks scored in double figures tonight, Yu Fei scored 50+10+7. No matter where this game goes, it is worthy of the saying "The destruction of Shu is not the crime of a general". How can you say this from West? Come out, it seems that he did not do well enough?

Yu Fei asked: "Do you think there is anything else I can do?"

West said coldly: "If someone concentrates the ball in his own hands, then it is his obligation to lead the team to win. While carrying the ball, he should also bear the heavy responsibility of winning."

Normally, Yu Fei has a rebellious attitude towards the church, because those critics would only find fault with him, saying that he could not do this well or that he could not do well.

But West's take on the matter surprised him.

The one who scored 50+10+7 should be blamed on you for losing. Who made you the core player with the ball?

To Yu Fei's own surprise, he somewhat agreed with West's statement.

The essence of the ball-holding core is that if it is strong, it will lead to four, and if it is poor, it will drag one.

The success of the ball-carrying core depends not only on his own strength, but also on the dedication and sacrifice of his teammates. Tonight, Yu Fei's personal abilities were maximized, but he did not lead his teammates.

That's what West means.

You should play well, but if you can't lead your teammates, you are the original sin of being a core player with the ball. If you can't lead your teammates, why should you be a core player?

"You have a point."

Yu Fei's abrupt answer made West stunned for a moment.

West didn't expect Yu Fei to understand what he said, and he wasn't interested in giving any advice. He just said it casually.

Moreover, Yu Fei didn't seem to agree with him at all.

How can there be a lofty young superstar who scores 50+10+7 in a single game and still feels that the loss is his fault?

It would be good if he didn't go back to the locker room and lose his temper with his teammates. “I didn’t do well in some places, but I think there are some games that are unwinnable. No matter how good I play, we will inevitably lose some games, what do you think?”

West stared at Yu Fei and insisted on his own point of view as always on these unquestionable words: "In games with a score difference of less than five points, there are no inevitable factors of failure. It must be that the core players have not done enough. "

Well, Yu Fei gave up.

Yu Fei's original intention was just to say hello to West. He didn't want to find a mean old man to hold an offline meeting for him.

But West opened the conversation himself, which made Yu Fei want to have more discussions with him on this topic.

“What do you think I could do better?”

Yu Fei believes that he needs to listen to the advice of a third party, because there are only praises for him within the Bucks.

His teammates basically had no objections to him. George Karl, who had raised some objections earlier, believed that this was the future development trend of basketball after accepting his big-core style of play. Therefore, even if some problems were discovered in the process, It is also necessary trial and error to develop new play styles.

West seems to be a legend who treats himself very harshly and has profound insights into basketball. Yu Fei hopes to hear his views.

Yu Fei was right about West.

Since retiring, West has been a benchmark for other sports executives, not just NBA executives. He has a keen eye for players' talent and a firm intuition for their determination to compete. He negotiates honestly and rarely appears insincere.

However, as savvy as West was as a front office, deep down he made a raw deal with himself. The terms were: If the team won, he would give all credit to the coaches, players and his staff; he even refused to participate in the championship parade. On the other hand, if the team loses, the entire burden falls on his shoulders. After all, West is the architect of the team. If the infrastructure is defective, shouldn't he be blamed?

This is a habit he developed as a player. If he shoots a 15-for-14 night, he won't be happy about the 14 shots he made and will repeatedly question why he missed that shot.

The pursuit of perfection became West's greatest curse.

At this time, hearing Yu Fei's question, he felt a trace of ridicule in his heart.

He didn't expect that a young star like Yu Fei would be interested in his opinion, but why would he give advice to a damn Chinese guy just because he was the famous Frye Yu?

So what? This person has been spoiled. He not only broke the unspoken rules of professional basketball development for many years, but also ignored his own social responsibilities and completely lacked the consciousness that a celebrity should have.

West could not forgive people like Yu Fei for refusing to be called up by the national team for the sake of vacation. For people of their generation, participating in the national team is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It is the highest honor, and Yu Fei is like this people easily turned down the opportunity to fight for their country.

"You don't need my advice. I have nothing to say to you."

West said as coldly as Yu Fei's enemy.

The atmosphere suddenly changed.

"Then...goodbye." Yu Fei said politely, "Thank you for telling me this."

Yu Fei is not dissatisfied with West's moodiness. After all, he is an old man with a bad temper. How can he still argue with others?

Just when Yu Fei was about to leave with Lawson, West said again, "Have you tried a low post attack tonight?"

Yu Fei remembers not.

"No." Yu Fei answered truthfully.

West's transformation from cold old man to wise man takes less than half a minute: "This is your next step."

"My next step?"

West didn't want to explain more and turned around to leave.

Lawson came over and asked, "The LOGO man looks very difficult to talk to."

"Actually, he was fine at first, and then he suddenly seemed to have a problem with me." Yu Fei said helplessly, "I suspect he is a Gemini."

Lawson found it funny that Da Fei didn't know how bad his reputation was.

It is normal for a stubborn old man like LOGO Man to have opinions about him.

Yu Fei and Lawson came outside the arena together, called a taxi, and prepared to go to a nearby Michelin restaurant for a late-night snack.

Along the way, West's last suggestion echoed in Yu Fei's mind.

The post was his next step.

For the Bucks, it is the basic strategy of the game to allow Yu Fei to avoid getting involved in physical fights in the low post, but for tonight, if Yu Fei can kill the Grizzlies inside in the low post, it may be able to change the situation.

But this is just a sample of one game, is it really necessary to change it?

The season is still long, and Yu Fei is eager to try.

He is not the superman with the all-round historical talent that Xiao Zhan has. Therefore, he must make himself technically flawless. If the low position is his main problem at present, then start practicing.

PS: There is only one update today. Adjust the update. Today’s second update will be adjusted to tomorrow’s update, so three chapters will be updated tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)