When pride still matters

Chapter 397: Polar Brawl

The SuperSonics defeated the Lakers and consolidated their position as No. 1 in the Western Conference.

Yu Fei's MVP call also reached its peak after this night.

As George Karl said, Yu Fei defeated Kobe in every aspect. If Kobe is the biggest MVP contender, then Yu Fei is the MVP.

Although Kobe, who is backed by LA, has some advantages in public opinion, the actual defeat in the match does determine the MVP.

After this game, Kobe could no longer compete with Yu Fei.

Perhaps too complacent, the SuperSonics returned home to welcome the league's strongest team, the Boston Celtics.

The last time they defeated the Celtics at North Shore Garden, and now they met again, they were suppressed by their opponents at home.

Compared to last time, this Celtics team has two new members.

They are PJ Brown, who let the pigeon fly, and veteran Sam Cassell, whose contract was bought out by the Clippers.

After weighing it, Cassel made the same choice as P.J. Brown.

The Sonics need to sort out their mood and accept tonight's defeat calmly.

How can a team with Pierce, Garnett and Michael Redd have this kind of depth? This question has sparked many discussions.

"Coach Rivers, what's your plan?"

"Of course, hoisting a brand new championship banner next season. The Celtics have waited too long!"

Their roster is incredibly deep.

109 is better than 87
The Celtics got their revenge on the Sonics on the road.

The Celtics, with strong reinforcements from both inside and outside, look to be the strongest team in the league.

Today's Cassel is like Gary Payton after 2003. He can still start on a weak team and average 10+5 assists per game, but spending his last season in this way is not what he wants. need.

The Sonics were crushed inside and misfired on the outside. Yu Fei scored 28 points but to no avail.

After Cassell was bought out of his contract by the Clippers, he became the main target of the major teams.

"I really admire Frye, what he did for Seattle is something we have never seen before, and if he succeeds, it will be the greatest thing that has ever happened in the history of professional basketball." Rivers said with With a hint of joking, he said, "The premise is that this will not affect our plans."

As a new and strong team that has just turned over, they have the psychological expectation to accept failure.

The Celtics themselves don't need him that much, but they don't want Cassel to be acquired by other competitors.

He joined Celtic.

Especially for a team like the Spurs that seriously lacks a mastermind, if they get Cassel, the bonus will be extraordinary.

But tonight, all the Celtics have to do is fight back at the SuperSonics' home court.

This is not difficult because they are not the kind of top team that only loses a dozen regular season games a season.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers also praised the Sonics, saying his high emotional intelligence applies to any venue.

"When I say they're the best team in the league, I mean it literally," George Karl said. "They have at least two useful players at every position from one to five. "You don't see that kind of depth on other teams' rosters. They're the best team right now, but we have a big wing, so anything can happen."

The reason is simple. It doesn't matter whether he gets it or not, but it is important not to let his opponent get it.

Yu Fei returned to the locker room and said to everyone: "Forget it tonight, go back to sleep and forget about this game, but I remind you that if you play so bad the night after tomorrow, you'd better not come back locker room, because I might kill you."

The SuperSonics will face the Eastern Conference's underdog Charlotte Bobcats the day after tomorrow.

As we all know, that was Michael Jordan's team.

Although Jordan is only the small owner of the Bobcats, he is already the actual operator of the team. Professionals conclude that he will definitely own the team completely in the future.

Although Jordan has retired, the feud between Yu Fei and him has not ended, so this is a game that cannot be lost.

Yu Fei burned the fear of losing into the hearts of his teammates.

On the night of the game against the Bobcats, the Sonics showed playoff-level offensive and defensive intensity.

The Bobcats are a team that needs to seriously consider whether to draft Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley if they win the No. 2008 pick in .

Moreover, they are not trying to be bad, they are really bad. Using playoff intensity to play against an already bad team can easily cause tragedy.

Yu Fei broke through Bird II Adam Morrison, whom Jordan relied on, at will.

The intensity of the matchup was so strong that one suspected that Morrison might need more insulin to sustain it.

"I don't want to be too harsh on Adam, it's not his fault he has diabetes."

When the Sonics beat the Bobcats with a 44-point advantage, Yu Fei gave a victory speech: "However, knowing that he has diabetes and still placing Larry Bird-like high hopes on him is problematic. This proves that that person Still living in his own world, he is stubborn and unwilling to face reality. "

"Fry, what reality are you referring to?"

"Are you sure you want me to tell you?"

"Unless you're going to say something bad."

"You know, my mother doesn't like to hear me say bad words." Yu Fei said with a smile, "The reality is that that person is short-sighted, arrogant, incompetent and still occupies a high position. With such a boss, the Bobcats will have a good life. Still behind."

For all those who follow Jon's resentment closely, this is something they are accustomed to but also welcome to hear.

Jordan would ridicule Yu Fei in the media, and Yu Fei would laugh back when he found the opportunity.

This grudge is destined to never end.

Because Jordan has retired, Yu Fei has become a pursuer of his historical status. Regardless of whether Yu Fei can catch up with Jordan, this struggle will continue.

However, the counterattack against Jordan is just a small thing in Yu Fei's life. The season is approaching the end. If the Sonics want to maintain the top two ranking in the Western Conference, they need to play every subsequent game carefully.

The west is not like the east. This is my biggest feeling after flying to the west.

When the Bucks won four championships in five years, there were some extreme fans in the division who believed that the top teams in the Western Conference were suffering from internal friction, which was why they were repeatedly defeated by the Bucks in the finals.

Although there are problems with this statement, it is not false that the intensity of competition in the West is far greater than that in the East.

The Texas duo at the top (the Rockets can only be considered a strong team after Yao Shuan's retirement), the Suns, who are a bit boring but still belong to the top, the Lakers and the dark horse Hornets are rising again, followed by the Nuggets, Rockets and other teams.

Even those middle-level teams that can't make the playoffs have the quality to compete in the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.

The overall intensity of the division is too high, which makes it difficult for any team to dominate the competition with an absolute record advantage like the Celtics in the East.

In the battle for position at the end of the regular season, the Sonics did not go smoothly.

It is common to win one game and lose another. Fortunately, major competitors such as the Spurs and Lakers cannot guarantee their own record.

Moreover, the competition is also fierce, but there are also respective small competition areas under the big competition area.

In the end, the Sonics benefited from the division bonus in April by virtue of their weak competitiveness in the small division.

The Northwest Division where the SuperSonics are located is relatively the least competitive division in the Western Conference. There are "only" three playoff teams. In addition to the Sonics themselves, they are the Nuggets and Jazz.

In the last few games of April, the Sonics' opponents were the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Trail Blazers (two games), then the Jazz, and finally ended with the Warriors.

Compared to the same period last year, the Southwest Division has the top three teams from Texas and the Hornets. Is this a division for people?
Currently, the SuperSonics have achieved 53 wins and 23 losses, leading the Spurs and Lakers by one game and ranking first in the Western Conference.

The SuperSonics' schedule ultimately determines who is No. 1 in the Western Conference.

In the last six games, the Sonics first defeated the Nuggets, then slaughtered the Timberwolves. They won one and lost one of the two games against the Trail Blazers, and then lost to the Jazz on the road.

常规赛的最后一战，于飞对勇士轰下40+10+10的大三双，率领超音速以57胜25负的西部第一战绩结束了2007-08赛季的常规赛征程。

This season's Western Conference is a slugfest, with the SuperSonics winning 57, the Spurs 55, the Lakers 55, the Hornets 52, the Suns 51, the Jazz 50, the Nuggets 49, and the Rockets 49.

The Eastern Conference is obviously bigger and smaller. The Celtics won 60 games, the Bucks won 58 games, the Pistons won 52 games, then the Magic won 49 games, and the Cavaliers won 44 games. The eighth-ranked Hawks only won 36 games. .

For Fei, this result is quite perfect.

The No. 1 record in the Western Conference at least guarantees home-field advantage against every team in the conference.

The first-round matchup against the Rockets was also a good result, because Yao Huang was not here and the Rockets couldn't do much with the half-disabled Tracy McGrady.

He was already thinking about the semifinals, but he just didn't know if it would be a bit rude to say this to McGrady's face?
（附上数据，2007-08赛季，于飞全勤，场均得到32分8篮板8助攻2盖帽1抢断）

(End of this chapter)