When pride still matters

Chapter 378 Christmas Eve

In the Christmas game between the SuperSonics and the Cavaliers, the balance of the first half was broken in the second half. In the third quarter, the Cavaliers showed signs of fatigue. In the fourth quarter, Yu Fei scored 10 points in a row at the beginning, including 8 points. It was obtained on James' head. This move directly sent the game into garbage time.

All the fans in the Key Arena stood up and cheered.

They knew how bad the relationship between Yu Fei and James was, so they took out the prepared support tools when the team secured the victory.

They held up countless signs that read: 26 to 0. LeBron, maybe next time?
In terms of data alone, James is actually only slightly inferior to Fei.

他拿了34分10篮板10助攻，而于飞则砍下42分11篮板10助攻。问题是，他又输了。

As long as he loses, the data means nothing.

James' losing streak to Flying has become a cultural phenomenon.
LeBron is a generational talent who can be as famous as Frye, but he has never defeated Frye.

When will he win? Does he have a chance to win? What if he never wins?

“I thought I performed well and the difference tonight was overall.”

James euphemistically expressed that he did not lose even if the team lost.

But the media didn't like what he said: "Don't you think the fact that you never defeated Frye affected your reputation?"

"No." James denied, "It was the Bucks and SuperSonics that beat me, not him."

"You want to say that even if Frye scored 70 points in front of you, this is still a team victory, not a personal victory?"

"Yes, because the game is for five people."

James had a lot to say when it came to personal failures, and he even referenced one of Jordan's most famous commercials.

"Do you think MJ was successful as a basketball player?"

The reporter who asked the question couldn't help but nod. Even reporters in Seattle couldn't deny Jordan's success.

"MJ is the most successful basketball player in history, but even MJ only won six of them in his nearly 20-year career, and he also missed 12345 shots. So, I don't think at this stage Failure will affect my future."

The reporter blinked and thought, you're right, but MJ's career didn't last 20 years. In fact, he only played 15 seasons because he retired twice, but asking a guy who didn't go to college to figure this out seems like A little difficult.

There have been many changes to the narrative surrounding James in recent times.

Yu Fei's continued strength has forced the James camp to hold on in terms of public opinion.

Moreover, because Yu Fei voluntarily left Milwaukee and came to his hometown, it set up a moral obstacle for James to stay or leave in the summer of 2009.

People like Frye Yu who think they have no morals can give up the opportunity to win three consecutive championships and return to their hometown. How can you abandon your hometown for a greater chance of winning?

This is the main public relations direction of James himself and his team recently.

They need to hint to the outside world over and over that James is a latent dragon trapped in a small pool in Cleveland.

Give him a bigger stage and a better team, and he will not be worse than Yu Fei.

Yu Fei will not let the public opinion position be occupied by his opponents.

"I think the significance of 26 wins and 0 losses is that as a star, he never used his influence on the court to change the outcome of one of the games. He can say that his team is not good enough, and he can also say that basketball is a team sport, But countless cases show that star players can directly affect the victory of the game. I have given him 26 opportunities and he has never stepped up once. Now he wants to blame his team for not being good enough? Well, this is what I am familiar with LeBron will always have excuses of one kind or another. The only thing that remains unchanged is that he refuses to admit that he sucks." Yu Fei said with a mocking look, "In fact, he really sucks."

Then, a Cleveland reporter said angrily that the Cavaliers had played a very good performance tonight, but they just couldn't sustain it in the second half. This was not LeBron's problem.

"When I scored 10 points in a row in the fourth quarter, what was LeBron doing? You want to talk about the balance of power in the first half?" Yu Fei continued, "I can only say that when the cat doesn't want to play with the mouse, The mice don’t stand a chance.”

Yu Fei's style as always.

He is not the kind of person who will sugarcoat a scene, let alone leave any dignity to his opponents.

Once he has a grudge with him, he just wants to defeat his opponent on the court and then continue to expand the results off the court.

After participating in the post-match activities, Yu Fei returned to the Key Arena.

Returning with him are Lawson, Brown and Jake Sikma.

Yu Fei wanted to spend an extra half hour practicing low positions, so he needed Brown to practice with him.

The reason why they were evenly matched with the Cavaliers in the first half tonight was because Yu Fei focused on the low post, but the effect was not good.

"Da Fei, if I were half as diligent as you, I would be better than Chris Webber." While flattering Fei Fei, Brown also boasted.

Yu Fei wanted to echo him, but looking at Brown's sexy little hands that made people feel sad, he really couldn't speak without conscience.

"Da Fei, there is no problem with your footsteps anymore." Hikma commented after watching Yu Fei and Brown practice for more than ten minutes. "But the sense of space and offensive rhythm in the low post are a process that accumulates over time. You can't master it in a year and a half."

Yu Fei fully understood that, just like his shooting, it took him four or five years to fully master it.

Therefore, he strives for excellence during training and always asks Brown to defend with all his strength.

Tonight's 30 minutes of extra practice can be divided into two parts. In the first half, Brown relied on the league's first-class interior single defense to make Yu Fei's game difficult. But starting from the second half, Yu Fei's turnaround jump shot began to feel good, and Brown's defense became more difficult.

Once there was a shooting threat, the combination of skills became more comprehensive. Paired with what Sikma said was "no problem" footwork, Brown missed again and again.

Yu Fei scored 7 goals in a row, which depressed Brown.

"If I don't fight anymore," Brown complained, "it feels like I'm guarding the smaller KG!"

Yu Fei grabbed the ball and asked with a smile: "Aren't you the number one center in the league? Are you afraid of little KG?"

"As long as you get into the rhythm, you are more difficult to deal with than KG." Brown said from the bottom of his heart. "Although your low post is completely inside, your movement speed is at the level of a small forward. I have never guarded against an opponent like you. "

"If you haven't defended him, you should practice more. Come on, if we encounter the Celtics in the finals, are you going to let Rashad guard KG?"

Brown complained endlessly, but still obeyed Yu Fei.

Sikma wonders if such a player existed in the past.

A man who was firmly ranked No. 25 in the league at the age of was actually willing to spend a lot of time on boring low-post offenses when his athletic abilities were at their peak.

His outside skills are already impeccable, but the scary thing is that his inside skills are also rapidly improving.

If this progress continues, maybe the world will have a chance to see the ultimate basketball player who has no blind spots in the front and backcourt, and inside and outside before he turns 30.

But, will Seattle's professional basketball be saved by him from the brink of death?
Yu Fei initially had to practice for half an hour, but then he got more motivated and practiced for a full 50 minutes.

After it was over, Brown lay on the ground like a dead dog as if he had played two games in a row.

"Tell George I'm not going to practice tomorrow afternoon," Brown wailed.

"I reject your request for leave on behalf of George. You have to come to train." Yu Fei said, "Can you bear to watch me practice low attack with people like Rashad who have no idea what low defense is?"

"You know Da Fei, I've always been a hard-hearted person."

"Stop talking nonsense, if you don't come tomorrow I will ask Sam to send you to Indiana for Jermaine to come over!"

"You have to think clearly, Da Fei. That guy has suffered injuries for three consecutive years. He is not as durable as me. Moreover, I am the number one center in the league, and that guy is only the number one center in the Eastern Conference. Have you ever seen anyone? Would you trade the No. 1 spot in the league for the No. 1 spot in the division?"

Seeing Yu Fei and his gang sitting on the sidelines chatting, Joe Gibbs, a veteran employee in charge of arena maintenance, brought a mop to clean up the sweat stains Yu Fei and Brown had just left on the court.

"Jo, do you work the night shift every day?"

Brown asked casually.

"Well, I'm kind of the night watchman here," Gibbs joked. "Of course, it's not every day you get arena rats like you."

"Don't talk about a mouse, Joe, Da Fei just compared LeBron to a mouse today."

Gibbs didn't understand the humor of young people. As an arena employee, his status was far from that of the multi-millionaires who had free access to the arena with keys.

"However, things are really different here recently." Gibbs couldn't help but say a few more words. "The Sonics have attracted the attention of the whole city just like they did more than ten years ago."

A dozen years ago? Isn’t that the Peyton Camp era?

Lawson couldn't help but say: "The Sonics at that time must have been the biggest totem in Seattle."

"No, it's not." Gibbs smiled. The old man was always more eager to talk, "But, it used to be."

Speaking of this, Gibbs couldn't help but glance at Jack Sikma, this bloated old white man who was once the core of the Sonics team that was the totem of the city.

It was the 1978-79 season. The SuperSonics had just entered the Finals in a fairy tale season. Although they lost to the Washington Bullets, it made them confident about the future, so the management retained the original team and continued to attack the championship. . It was a special era, and Seattle longed for a sports championship, but in 1978, every rational Seattleite knew their only championship hope was the Sonics. Because the Seahawks lacked competitiveness at the time, the two-year-old Mariners lost 107 games that season.

The Sonics avenged the Bullets in the finals and won the first championship in team history. They fulfilled Seattle's sports championship dream. That day, Sonics fans could be seen everywhere in Seattle, from First Avenue to Fifth Avenue, from Pioneer Square to Belltown and Cherry Hill. It was the pinnacle moment of the Sonics and the most important moment in their history. For the first and only time, I felt like I owned the Emerald City.

"I still remember that day, I still miss that day," Gibbs said. "Now that I think about it, it's been almost thirty years since that day, and my dream team turned into a nightmare in reality, and it could have happened at any time. If you leave me, do you think I am crazy?"

Brown didn't know how to respond.

Yu Fei stood up and said: "Merry Christmas, Joe."

After that, Yu Fei left.

That night, Yu Fei returned home and received all kinds of Christmas blessings. Among them, Warren Buffett's blessings were the most unique.

In a voice message, he congratulated Yu Fei on his achievements in the past few years, and then said that after many investigations, he believed that if the Sonics stay in Seattle, under the leadership of the Chosen Son, they are expected to bring more than 5 times the profit to investors. Therefore, he is willing to invest 20% of the funds in the financing plan for the Sonics' new arena.

"Merry Christmas, Frye, and in return, I hope you get dunked like Shaquille O'Neal on your next basketball tape with me. I guess that's not too much to ask."

"Not too much, you could even step over me like Allen Iverson."

Yu Fei replied like this.

(End of this chapter)