When pride still matters

Chapter 485 The incredible final scene (unity)

At halftime, George Karl came to a conclusion after half the game.

With no advantage inside, Brandon Roy's organizational vision as a combo guard is narrowed. It is difficult for him to find inside opportunities, because Brown has no space threat, Jordan only eats cake, and O'Neill is just making up the numbers tonight. Therefore, he needs to focus on the outside.

The Lakers strengthened their outside defense in the second quarter, but Roy was suppressed in the matchup with Kobe. As a result, in the last few minutes of the first half, the SuperSonics could only rely on Fei to support the situation.

In other words, it is a bit difficult to expect Roy to play the role of a combo guard in this high-end game when the personnel is not intact.

Once an attacker carries organizational baggage, there will be more things to consider.

Karl immediately decided to let Yu Fei serve as the main pointer in the second half - just like he did in the Bucks - with Roy as his deputy. This would not only reduce the burden on the latter, but also allow him to focus on offense.

But this suggestion was opposed by Yu Fei.

In other words, it was Yu Fei's denial.

"Why don't you listen to my advice."

Until Yu Fei said it without any burden.

It can be said that whether Yu Fei's switch to the fourth position can be effective, the focus is not on his effectiveness at the fourth position, but on Durant's performance at the third position.

"All you have to do is seize the opportunity." Yu Fei said, "Can you do it?"

"Can you play a 1-4 pick-and-roll?" Roy asked with a smile.

Yu Fei said: "You'd better not talk nonsense."

"Okay, then I have another question."

"LeBron isn't going to guard you because you don't deserve it."

Karl bets that Yu Fei will mention "empire" countless times in the future and use "empire servant" to motivate his teammates.

Everyone pretended that it didn't exist, and Yu Fei's statue appeared in front of them with two sides. The external side is the myth created by the media, that he is the master of the empire, the creator of four championships in four years, and that no one else matters except him. The inner side is the sacrifices and concessions he makes for the team. The Bucks' ball-handling core is an orthodox ace small forward in the SuperSonics. The offensive machine who averaged 36 points per game in the previous era only averaged 18 shots per game for the Sonics. He stepped completely outside of Milwaukee's comfort zone, getting his teammates involved and letting them understand that they were not servants of the Empire and that someone as strong as Frye Yu also needed them to perform well.

Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, Karl doesn’t have an answer yet, but it is indeed a very bold approach.

"I won't let you down," Durant said.

In the Sonics, "the only empire" is that taboo topic.

Turns out Fry knows everything.

He accepted Yu Fei's suggestion.

Carl had nothing to say.

"Among all the people who have high hopes for you, I'm not in the top ten." Yu Fei said, "I'm just giving you a chance. All you have to do is let Lynn Memet see that he hopes to be in you." Everything I see on my body.”

Roy spoke.

What Karl didn't expect was that in addition to tapping internal potential, Yu Fei would also use this to bring that unspeakable topic to the table.

Everyone looked over, wondering if they had any better ideas.

No touching, no mentioning.

54 is better than 54
Seattle had the ball to open the second half.

outside the locker room
Durant was actively digesting what had just happened. Just when he was about to walk out of the tunnel, Yu Fei stood in front of him and said calmly: "I'll block Ron Artest for you."

It's like directly taking out the last resort of the Sonics to guarantee the bottom line.

"FUCK YOU!!!"

"Ha~" Yu Fei sneered, "Do you really think of yourself as a servant after hearing the media say that you are servants of the empire every day? Show your ambition and prove in front of 20 million viewers that you are better than you. Self-promotion is ten thousand times better with the media!”

Yu Fei decided to swing up to the fourth position instead of down to the first position because he believed that the team still had potential to be tapped. It was a simple and crude arrangement for Karl to return him to the No. 1 position.

Letting Yu Fei play the No. 1 position is an arrangement to overturn the existing system and maximize his personal abilities.

Hiding and tucking has never been his style.

With such a start tonight, it will be impossible to seal it.

Durant thought that the opportunity to express himself had disappeared, but Yu Fei suddenly switched to the fourth position and asked him to play the third position, which would bring him a lot of opportunities.

Yu Fei smiled lightly and said: "The Lakers' No. 4 position is Ron Artest. This is not a problem for me. Moreover, LeBron is someone who can't be counted on. But I am different. You can count on me. "

At the end of the halftime break, players from both sides returned to the court.

Karl said: "You can be the master so that everyone can rely on you better."

Yu Fei's initiative to propose Memit was nothing less than a thunderbolt for Durant.

Yu Fei said: "Let me play the fourth position, Kevin will play the third position, Tony (Morrow's nickname) will start at the second position, and Brandon will do everything as usual."

"It's like the Lakers putting LeBron at the four position," Roy said. "I don't agree with that."

In the Lakers, you can't openly discuss who is the boss, Kobe or James.

The arrangement of Yu Fei taking up the fourth position quickly aroused discussions on major TV stations.

Each team has its own dark secrets.

So, everyone pretends it doesn't exist.

As for when his teammates can't hold back, only God knows.

“Isn’t the lesson the Lakers learned by playing LeBron enough to wake up George Karl?”

"Having Frye play the four position is as extravagant and wasteful as "The Devil's Advocate" completely wasting Charlize Theron!"

"How many minutes will it take Seattle to reverse this decision? Three minutes? Five minutes?"

"What I said may make many people unhappy, but I want to say that Frye is Frye, LeBron is LeBron, and if LeBron can't do something bad, Frye may not do it well."

The last words came from TNT’s Doug Collins.

The once most steadfast Qiao Chui is now recognized as Yu Chui. Fans of Yu Fei and Jeff Van Gundy are put together and are collectively known as the "Two Giants of the Media".

The Lakers' lineup remains unchanged, and they still have Ron Artest at the four position.

SuperSonics start the attack.

Yu Fei stepped forward to block Roy and quickly passed down.

Roy passed the ball.

Artest made a serious misjudgment in defense. He believed that Yu Fei would definitely not play like a traditional power forward when playing the fourth position.

But Yu Fei told him with facts that he was playing a traditional power forward.

Pick-and-roll, catch the ball and dunk, all in one go.

"You can play the fourth position in the future. You are quite suitable." Roy said sarcastically.

Yu Fei snorted: "You should trade Chris first."

Subsequently, Kobe played singles from the outside.

Roy's defense was perfect. No matter how Kobe moved, he never lost his position.

Kobe had no choice but to force a pull-up one step inside the three-point line.

This is the most unreasonable shot on the court, but Kobe made it this time.

Pure basketball, leaving people speechless.

Yu Fei began to cause trouble for the Lakers' defense.

Before Bosh came back, the Sonics' fourth position was a position that didn't need to be taken care of. But Yu Fei, the Sonics player who needs the most attention, suddenly plays the fourth position. Do his opponents care or not?

Yu Fei's pick-and-roll skills are so skillful that people don't believe that he is temporarily playing the fourth position.

Artest was only thinking about confrontation, and his train of thought was completely lost.

Yu Fei blocked the ball and received the ball. In less than a second, the ball in his hand was handed to Durant's hand like a card.

Durant made a jump shot, ignored James's bluff interference, and made a hollow hit.

56 is better than 58
"It seems like the way the first half played was really Ron Artest's problem?" Yu Fei asked jokingly.

Durant denied: "It's a matter of playing the fourth position."

"So it's really Artest's problem,"

Durant: "."

James still doesn't take Durant to heart. Although people in his camp generally believe that Adu is a threat to James' position as the leader of Nike's young generation, but just think about Adu lying low and small in front of Fei. This person has no possibility of shaking up the existing structure.

This casual slight allowed James' breakthrough to be blocked by Durant.

The Lakers retreated quickly and the counterattack was not completed.

Yu Fei said: "He defended well and rewarded him with a goal."

Roy passed the ball directly to Durant.

Even if they are in the same company, Durant and James cannot be regarded as allies because there is an obvious competitive relationship between them.

Suddenly getting the opportunity to challenge James, Durant's excitement was palpable. In an instant, he dribbled, swayed, and left like Yu Fei - this series of actions reminded James of Yu Fei.

But at the end, Durant's long legs pulled out an exaggerated change of direction in front of James, forcing the defense out of his position and pulling up to shoot.

"Ugh!!!!"

Durant turned around and pumped his fist, trying to look menacing.

Yu Fei smiled.

"This is his strength." The master of the empire commented, "In the first half, he didn't look like a human being."

Durant heard it and retorted for himself: "It's about the fourth position."

"Shut up and admit the gap is the first step to becoming a strong person!"

The SuperSonics and Lakers are star-studded, and the lineup has expanded to the point where one ball is not enough to play.

In this case, whose star performs better and whose shortcomings are smaller becomes the key to victory or defeat.

The Lakers were a winning team in the first half. Although Kobe was abnormal for a while and James played a passing game, he did what he should have done. On the contrary, Yu Fei was the only one on the SuperSonics side.

Durant's misfire is the key.

In the second half, Durant made an unexpected recovery.

The Lakers came over and it was Kobe again.

At the beginning of the second half, the Lakers inexplicably fell into a strange cycle of star singles.

Fortunately, Kobe's state is different from the opening. He seems to be reluctant to take the shot, but he can score. But how long can such an attack last?

Yu Fei's ordering session has arrived.

Artest was normal tonight only in confrontation and defense, but even a normal Artest couldn't guard against Yu Fei.

Yu Fei suddenly blocked Artest with his back, trying to get the ball and exerting force to the line, but turned to the baseline at the moment Artest's center of gravity shifted.

The perfect footwork is not a legendary collection like Olajuwon playing David Robinson, but a concise and effective quick attack in one second.

After all, Artest was not a player born at the fourth position. He was forced to the fourth position by Zen Master.

This allows him to make standard outside reactions when the defense is broken.

Too much physical contact caused him a foul, but Yu Fei was not affected and rushed to the basket and dunked.

"The power forward version of Frye seems to be different from the power forward version of LeBron." Jeff Van Gundy asked with a smile, "What happened?"

Mark Jackson was the king of post-up plays among guards during his player days, and it was because he liked to post up all the way to the basket from beyond the three-point line that the league introduced the five-second post-up rule. At this time, he saw the difference between the two at a glance.

As a supporter of James, Jackson said helplessly: "Frye's low-post offense is so good. This is the biggest difference between him and LeBron in the fourth position."

James fired back at Durant.

Then, Durant missed James in a single.

But the rebound was grabbed by Yu Fei.

Yu Fei averaged 8 rebounds per game in his rookie season. At that time, no one helped him get in position. He was able to get so many rebounds firstly because of his positivity, and secondly because he was extremely good at predicting where the rebounds would land. .

This gives him an advantage when fighting for rebounds when he temporarily plays the fourth position.

Compared with him, Artest is just an idiot, just waiting for rebounds to fall into his hands.

What made the Lakers even more confused was what happened after Yu Fei grabbed the offensive rebound.

The Lakers thought Yu Fei would launch a second attack on the spot, and the defense involuntarily shrank.

Yu Fei threw the ball to the bottom corner like lightning.

Anthony Morrow made a three-pointer with a knife in his hand.

"That person can also organize at the fourth position?"

The Lakers coaching staff was surprised.

They think that letting Yu Fei play the fourth position is a suicide tactic for the Sonics. This will not only waste Yu Fei's tactical fulcrum and unsolvable offensive starting point, but also increase Roy's burden.

This is not the case now.

Yu Fei not only has the tendency to beat Artest at the fourth position, but also liberates Durant, and can also share Roy's organizational pressure. He can also do serious work at the fourth position such as rebounding, defense, and pick-and-rolls. not bad.

Four minutes into the second half, the Sonics went on a 16-7 offensive that turned the Staples Center into a library.

The Lakers requested a timeout.

"It's time to put Chris' trade on the agenda." Roy joked, "Frye is the best No. 4 I've ever seen!"

Yu Fei said: "Give TD some respect."

"Well, the second-best 4 after TD."

The Lakers replaced Artest after the timeout, but did not dare to set up the twin towers. They just changed the fourth position from Artest to Luke Walton.

Such an adjustment is actually putting a lineup without a power forward on the court. The performance of a mature substitute like Walton is guaranteed and will not be as volatile as Artest, but this is a disguised reduction in Yu Fei's performance. pressure.

Moreover, Yu Fei's matchup advantage continues to expand.

After all, Walton is much easier to play than Artest.

Roy began to turn into a passing robot.

He completely gave up his personal offense in the third quarter and started looking for Yu Fei every time he attacked.

And Yu Fei either catches the ball after the pick-and-roll, or catches the ball in the low post.

The former creates chaos at the top, and the latter creates chaos inside.

Once chaos occurs, Yu Fei can always find his teammates accurately.

Morrow was heavily guarded by Hamilton and rarely had a chance, but Durant showed his true qualities as an offensive machine.

The internal and external connection between him and Yu Fei became a point that the Lakers could not solve.

James was preoccupied with flying, and his contempt for Durant prevented him from immediately stepping up his defensive intensity after the latter came on full fire in the third quarter.

This is what Yu Fei calls "opportunity".

The state is like a man's second body. It can reach its best state only when it receives the right stimulation at the right time.

Durant entered the state without being disturbed. When James wanted to do something again, he could no longer stop him.

It was Yu Fei's role in the fourth position that made Karl think that if Bosh came back, maybe they could try to let Bosh play the fifth position and Yu Fei play the fourth position at the decisive moment. In this way, wouldn't it be a fifth position? Every point can open up space, and there are tactical fulcrums on the inside and outside. On the wing, there is Durant, an underrated scoring monster, with offense, defense, lineup flexibility, talent, space... everything.

Four minutes before the end of the third quarter, the Sonics' lead had reached 14 points.

The Lakers brought back Artest.

Phil Jackson rejected the Twin Towers proposal because the lessons of last season were painful enough.

Artest at least has defense and confrontation that he can use up for a while. In front of Fly, Walton can't display his offensive acumen. The defensive end is even used as a flaw, and he can't grab a single rebound. One versus two inside, two fists are hard to beat with four legs.

After this substitution, the Lakers' weakness began to slow down.

Kobe Bryant hit a difficult three-pointer.

James scored 2+0 in singles.

Yu Fei hit Artest with his back and scored.

After Roy stole the ball, he was chased by James, but Durant followed up with a tip-in.

In the end, it was Hamilton's incredible three-pointer at the buzzer that allowed the Lakers to enter the fourth quarter with a single-digit gap.

After one quarter, the Lakers have changed from the dominant side of the situation to the weak side.

One reason is that Kojan has not yet formed a good chemical reaction, and the second reason is Artest's abnormal performance, resulting in the Lakers' power forward position being extremely weak.

Yu Fei's four-game attack was originally regarded as a failure.

Now, this has become a divine hand that turns the tide of the war.

Then, there is the biggest hidden danger that no one cares about. Marc Gasol has played 30 minutes as a power center and is running out of energy.

"Actually, the Lakers' problem is easy to solve." Jeff Van Gundy said with a smile before the start of the fourth quarter. "They just need to let LeBron play the four position, and then let Andrew Bynum come on and win five minutes for the Spaniards. "

"What if it doesn't go well?"

"LeBron can celebrate his 29th straight loss to Frye."

Onlookers can always come up with some nifty moves that seem to work, but Jackson isn't going to let James play the four again.

Because it was proven in the first half that James was not mentally prepared and his technical reserves did not support him playing inside.

The only thing the Lakers can do is replace Garfield with Bynum.

This decision that worried Jackson changed the game in the fourth quarter.

When Bynum came on the court, his face flashed with the most emotive expression of all time: anger, frustration, confusion, disbelief, hostility.

He doesn't understand why he only gets a few minutes of playing time in a game that could be watched by more than 20 million viewers.

This anger turned into the motivation for his search.

Bynum is the kind of player who is driven by rage, consider the mere seconds it took him to respond to the greatest center since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar after being knocked to the floor by a Shaq dunk.

Bynum grabbed offensive rebounds many times and maintained the Lakers' scoring frequency.

Kobe began to play unreasonable singles, and James had no answer for Durant's breakthrough. The SuperSonics urgently replaced DeAndre Jordan, which enhanced the protection of the rim, but Hamilton's outside three-pointer made the score close again.

At a suffocating emergency moment, Yu Fei caught the ball and hit a three-pointer after a pick-and-roll.

Sonics regained their composure.

Durant received Yu Fei's pass and dunked, bringing his personal score to 30 points.

He has become a gorgeous sight for the Sonics.

Reebok CEO Paul Arrington frowned. Because of Durant's performance, regardless of the outcome of the game, it will be a victory for Nike.

However, Yu Fei's presence is terrifying.

He helped defend and block James, and passed the ball on the fast break to cause a foul on Durant.

The presence of him and DeAndre Jordan in the paint made the Lakers afraid to get to the basket, and they gambled on three-pointers in the final minutes.

Kobe Bryant scored, Hamilton scored, and Marc Gasol, who returned to the court, also scored.

Destiny seems to be standing on the shoulders of the Lakers.

They hit three consecutive three-pointers in one minute.

Will this craziest Christmas war in history have the most dramatic reversal?
In the last half minute, Yu Fei attracted a double-team and passed to Durant.

Durant shot a three-pointer, but he never expected that James would explode with peak human physical fitness, rush in front of him in an instant, and touch the inevitable three-pointer with his fingertips.

"boom!!!!"

While James chased Durant, he also vacated the basket. Yu Fei reached the position that the Lakers could not give up. He soared into the air like a flying dragon, grabbed the offensive rebound with both hands, and smashed towards the basket with all his strength.

"BOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!"

That was Yu Fei's 45th point. The Lakers had less than 15 seconds left, but the worst thing was that they had no timeout.

James dribbled the ball, and he wanted to give it to Kobe, because the opponent was feeling hot in the fourth quarter.

Yu Fei saw through this. He rushed to the outside and used a restricted level of personal defense against Kobe. James could pass the ball to anyone, but it was impossible to pass the ball to Kobe.

Time is running out!

Artest rushed out to pick and roll, James broke through to the basket, and Jordan's giant defense made the Kings think in an instant - Yu Fei faced Kobe, who would guard Artest?
Ron Artest was open and caught a pass from James in the final seconds. There was no time, but Artest chose to dribble. You could almost hear the Lakers fans at the Staples Center screaming: "NOOOOOOOOOOO~~~~~~!~!!!!!!"

This extra-dribbled shot not only caused his shot to time out, but also caused the SuperSonics' defense to rotate into place. This three-pointer, which pinned the Lakers' hope of winning, did not even touch the rim and hit the sidelines. A cheerleader's head.

For a second, most of the people present showed indescribable expressions, as if someone was trapped in an elevator in a large shopping mall with nine other people in the elevator. One of them suddenly pulled down his pants and defecated in public - and at that specific moment, the elevator doors opened and the entire mall looked over.

This was the last moment of the night. There were 20,000 people at the scene and nearly 20 million American viewers in front of the TV watching Artest kill the Lakers with a stinking three-pointer from beyond the three-point line. hope.

(End of this chapter)