When pride still matters

Chapter 289 Everyone is equal, except O'Neal

Pat Riley hasn't forgotten his excitement when he acquired O'Neal from the Lakers.

It was a big win for the Heat at the time, as they acquired the best player in the league for only Lamar Odom and Caron Butler plus draft picks.

This was not Riley's blind confidence in O'Neal. Basketball experts at the time felt that the environment in Los Angeles was demoralizing. If he were to go to a new environment, the shame of the Lakers choosing Kobe over him would inspire him to work as hard as before he won the championship.

As a result, although O'Neal's condition improved compared to the Lakers period, it was very limited. After one season, people knew that he was no longer "the most dominant in history."

Fortunately, Wade's rise made up for the gap caused by O'Neal.

Before tonight, Riley had always felt that, if not the best in the league, O'Neal was the main candidate for the league's No. 1 center.

That may be true, but Riley didn't expect O'Neal to be a glaring flaw in their game.

After Yu Fei hit a three-pointer on O'Neal's head, O'Neal's public execution entered a new stage.

Mutombo fouled O'Neal, and the Bucks moved Horry to the fifth position, and then let Granger appear at the fourth position. In this way, whether Yu Fei wants to play a 1-4 pick-and-roll or a 1-5 pick-and-roll, Pick-and-roll players all have the ability to shoot three-pointers from outside.

As long as he comes to the defensive end, O'Neal is like a female dog in spring, surrounded by a group of male dogs, all of whom have evil intentions towards him.

Horry hit a three-pointer, and Granger also hit a three-pointer. The Heat had James Posey fight back from the outside, while O'Neal wanted the ball to vent his anger, but was tactically fouled by Granger.

O'Neal missed both free throws, and Granger got the defensive rebound and gave it to Yu Fei.

In less than five seconds, Yu Fei made a three-pointer from the frontcourt.

Without even looking, Riley walked toward the technical table and yelled, "I want a timeout!"

What to do after a pause? The Heat have no relevant plans.

Riley just called a timeout based on his experience, and then looked at assistant coach Spoelstra, "Eric, do you have any suggestions?"

Spoelstra said: "Frye used a similar style of play to defeat Ben Wallace in the DPOYA year. Therefore, it is almost impossible for us to find a countermeasure on the defensive end."

Erik Spoelstra is not a talented coach in the traditional sense. He lacks the groundbreaking thinking that Riley admires, but this still does not prevent him from considering the Filipino-American as his successor.

He's going to be better than Jeff Van Gundy.

Because he is a basketball expert who knows everything.

If he says there's no solution to Frye's problems on the defensive end, then Riley will only think about things on the offensive end.

The best way to respond offensively is to get Wade back on the court.

This was Riley's choice too.

Since last season, the Heat have tended to perform stronger in games when Wade is at full strength, and this is even more true this season.

Moreover, they were tied with the Bucks in the first quarter under the leadership of Wade.

So Wade, who Yu Fei was thinking about, returned to the court.

But the mess O'Neal brought to Wade was really big enough.

In less than five minutes, the Heat went from being 1 point behind to 14 points behind.

To reverse this decline, Wade needs to perform even better than he did in the first quarter.

On the opposite side, the Bucks also changed their lineup.

George Karl predicted that Riley would replace Wade. Yu Fei said before that he wanted to compete fairly with Wade. Therefore, Karl only retained Horry inside, and Granger was replaced by Udonis Haslem.

Haslem wore a Bucks jersey on the court, especially against the Heat. No matter how you look at it, this scene has a strong sense of awkwardness.

However, this feeling belongs to Yu Fei alone, and only he knows what he has done.

After Wade came on the court, O'Neal's pressure was obviously released.

The team no longer relies on his inside singles. Even if the defensive end is called out, and the offensive end cannot ask for a large number of balls due to the "shark-cutting tactic", Wade will support him.

From a technical perspective, in addition to long-range shooting, Wade is already a perfect ball-handler under the existing rules.

One-on-one, he could eat anyone Bucks alive.

However, for a team that is 14 points behind, the main three-point ability is also a key point.

Wade's first shot was his signature muddle-footed move, and he scored with a throw to help the defense.

Yu Fei couldn't wait to continue the duel with Wade. After halftime, he called for a 1-2 pick-and-roll, dribbled the ball continuously, swayed left and right, retreated to the three-point line and hit his third three-pointer of the night. point.

Wade's score not only failed to narrow the score, but Yu Fei's counterattack widened the score difference to 15 points.

Subsequently, the Bucks' zone defense limited Wade's breakthrough to passing the ball.

From the outside, Payton missed a three-pointer.

The Heat's pursuit of points was interrupted, and the Bucks' fast break began in an orderly manner under the control of Yu Fei.

Even though the Heat had three people retreating to the backcourt, they were unable to organize an effective defense on the spot because Yu Fei's attraction was too great, and almost all the Heat players' attention in the backcourt was on him.

Yu Fei only needs to go deep into the penalty area to compress their defense into a small area and then pass the ball.

It was Ariza who enjoyed the bonus of fast break. With Yu Fei attracting firepower in front, he could catch the ball and do things easily. He once again showed his amazing physical fitness and ended the counterattack with a dunk.

"Dwayne, continue." Yu Fei said provocatively, "attack like you did in the first quarter, let me see how far you can go."

Somehow, Yu Fei's interest in Wade suddenly surpassed O'Neal.

From Wade's perspective, he seemed to have attracted O'Neal's hatred to himself, but he didn't know what he did to make Da Fei angry.

"Don't mind, Dwayne." O'Neal suddenly felt relaxed and acted like a big brother. "That person is just an unreasonable mad dog."

With Wade drawing firepower, O'Neal returned to normal.

Suddenly, O'Neal caught the ball and Haslem stepped forward to double-team. The Shark, who was well prepared, hit the ground at close range to Walker, who hit the basket and scored.

This is the Heat's comfortable rhythm. Wade on the outside can defeat his opponents alone, and O'Neal on the inside can attract firepower and create opportunities for his teammates. Normally, this is the Heat's favorite way to play.

If they are not 13 points behind now, the situation is definitely favorable.

But being 13 points behind is different.

Especially when facing a team like the Bucks that plays at the pace of the small ball era, falling behind by double digits and then relying on the gravity of the core to steadily score 2 points in a positional battle is not enough to quench your thirst.

Because the Bucks who are in the state always pursue three points in one round.

"Dwayne, why don't you attack?" Yu Fei asked mockingly, "You don't expect that pig, do you?"

Wade didn't know how to answer.

Then, Yu Fei called a 1-5 pick-and-roll and named O'Neal again.

This time, Wade and O'Neal double-teamed Fei at the same time, which was a risky move because the Bucks' No. 5 position was Robert Horry, the most famous big-hearted role player in the league.

As a result, Yu Fei relied on his uncanny movement control skills to sway like a dragon under the double team of two people. In the end, he used O'Neal's bulky body as a legal mobile pick-and-roll, accelerating to the left - that was O'Neal's Defend the strong side.

O'Neal could neither react nor help Wade delay Yu Fei. In the end, he accidentally stuck Wade with his body.

Yu Fei's amazing performance made the Bradley Center excited, and this was not the end. The moment Wade was blocked by his teammates, Yu Fei stepped on the three-point line at the top of the arc with the tip of his right foot, retreated significantly to a distance of one meter outside the three-point line, and then fired a golden rooster independent three-pointer with a little backwards. It flew out into the faces of Wade and O'Neal.

"Bang!"

It was actually a three-pointer off the board!

"!￥!@#￥"

Nothing on the basketball court excites fans more than when a superstar shines.

The roar of "MVP" from the Bradley Center made Yu Fei's body seem to be filled with a god-like brilliance. Every Bucks fan who was lucky enough to watch him play will never forget this night.

Frye Yu was one against two, and he was as relaxed as bullying high school students, toying with the top combination of internal and external stars in the East.

"Dwayne, I really like what Kwame said. Those who follow dogs will only eat shit, but those who follow wolves will have meat." Yu Fei looked at Wade indifferently, "Your choice surprised me. You actually If you decide to partner with a pig, do you know what will happen to each pig?"

"It's very simple." Yu Fei said coldly, "Be eaten by someone like me."

"Shut the hell up! I'm going to kill you!" O'Neal, who had lost his mind, couldn't bear the humiliation and roared with red eyes. "I don't want to hear any more nonsense from your stinky mouth@#￥"

O'Neal was unsurprisingly ejected.

This goal indirectly led to O'Neal's ejection and became the decisive moment of the entire game.

From then on, all the Heat did was to narrow the point difference rather than turn defeat into victory.

Nothing shows this best than what Wade said to Flynn at halftime: "Fry, you are a little too serious. I am me, and Shaq is Shaq. I don't agree with what he said. I I can’t decide who stays and who goes, I just treat everyone the same.”

"Oh, then our situation is different." Yu Fei in this form was something Wade had never seen before. "I will only treat people like pigs and dogs the same way I treat pigs and dogs. Not everyone's character is worthy of my treating them with human standards."

Wade gradually understood the changes in the way Yu Fei treated himself.

Just because he and O'Neal work together, Yu Fei wants to suppress him too. What kind of outrageous revenge is this?

Yu Fei walked away, and Wade could only turn around.

Then, there was basically no suspense in the second half of the game.

Without O'Neal, the Heat lost their strong point inside. Although Wade performed very well, the point difference was too big. The Heat were not a team that could score explosively in a short period of time through a rain of three-pointers.

The Bucks always held a lead of more than 15 points until the end of the game: 114 to 98, the Bucks defeated the Heat at home, and the Bucks achieved consecutive kills against potential championship competitors in the East and West.

Post-match interview

Shaquille O'Neal complained about Yu Fei's various degrading behaviors during the game: "This man should not continue to be in the league! He should not be an MVP, nor should he be a role model for children like a good gentleman! He should be banned permanently!"

Unfortunately, O'Neal's indictment of Fly was widely understood as a helpless wail.

"I do not respect him," Yu Fei said, "but why should I respect him? He is a blatant bastard who makes racist remarks against all Asian Americans. Why do you act like he is a victim? He deserves everything that happened to him, and anyone who complains about this bastard is either an idiot or a racist."

This is where Yu Fei is impeccable. He always brings it up just when people are about to forget that O'Neal has made racist remarks, thus showing that his revenge is just and making the matter more deeply rooted in people's hearts.

The reporters felt Yu Fei's sensitivity to O'Neal's issue and wanted to ask other questions to lighten the atmosphere.

"As a Bucks player who played for Milwaukee, why did you become DC's anti-drunk driving ambassador? What's the story?"

Yu Fei is already a mature star, and he has a face that can be switched at any time: "My mother lives in DC. Strictly speaking, it is my third hometown and the starting point of my career. I have a home there. , so it just happened naturally.”

"As the NBA's only anti-drunk driving ambassador, what do you think of this mission?"

"I think this is the basic standard to measure whether a person respects and loves himself." Yu Fei said, "If you are drunk, you should not do anything, especially drive, because this will not only hurt yourself, but also cause harm to yourself. Innocent bystanders pose a fatal risk."

Such standard mandarin, it can be said that it is watertight.

There were no questions for O'Neal, and there was nothing to talk about in the Bucks' victory over the Heat. The reporters had no choice but to turn to the future.

In the Christmas Day game soon, the Bucks will have their second game of the season with the Cavaliers at home.

"Are you looking forward to playing LeBron James again on Christmas Day?"

"To tell you the truth, this is the game I am most looking forward to in the rest of 2005." Yu Fei smiled, "You know, LeBron is my little brother."

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“Knicks rookie Nate Robinson clashes with teammates over a dollar bill.” —The New York Times

"Seattle SuperSonics President Walker publicly stated for the first time before the game against the Rockets that if the team does not receive a positive response from the city of Seattle or the state before the end of this season, they will consider moving their home court to another city." — —The Seattle Times

"Fry Yu has been selected as the NBA's best-dressed man of the week for six consecutive weeks. The 23-year-old is not only the hottest star in the NBA, but also a trend-setting fashion master!" - "ESPN Fashion"

“LeBron James’ mother Gloria was arrested on drunken driving, disorderly conduct and other charges.” — The Washington Post

(End of this chapter)