When pride still matters

Chapter 511: Not One, Not Two
staples center
Yu Fei arrived at the scene half an hour in advance.

It was a gratifying thing that Durant came here to warm up earlier than him.

The boy-next-door image may be Nike hype, but the ball-crazy style is the real deal.

Yu Fei heard that Durant had arrived an hour ago.

He really looked like he wanted to drink Scarlett's bath water.

Like Durant, Alonzo Gee also arrived at the scene early.

Key is like Durant's little brother, wherever Durant goes, he goes.

However, although he spent more than half a year under Durant's spur, his skills did not improve significantly, and his characteristics are still physical fitness and inexhaustible energy.

Apart from that, no other Sonics players arrived at the scene early to warm up.

Yu Fei is not Jordan. He is not the kind of person who would get angry when he sees that his teammates are not as hardworking as himself. It’s just that he has a better impression of those who are willing to come to the scene early to familiarize themselves with the venue.

It is undeniable that the big victory in the first game gave Yu Fei's teammates some wrong perceptions of the Lakers' strength.

Including that game, the SuperSonics have a record of 3 wins and 1 loss against the Lakers so far this season.

Even with an incomplete roster, they have clear advantages.

But Yu Fei knew that the first game could not show the Lakers' true strength.

After more than ten minutes, more and more people arrived at the scene.

Hollywood celebrities who value time as much as gold are here again.

Scarlett Johansson is on the scene again, and with her is Don Cheadle who plays War Machine.

However, a woman with a plump figure and red lips as bright as flames was the most beautiful woman at the scene.

The TV station also cooperated and gave the camera to her - Christina Hendricks, who became famous for her role as Joan Harris in "Mad Men".

Before getting the role of Joan Harris, Christina was best known as Yu Fei's lover, and they maintained a relationship for several years.

Now, she's the star of a hit series, the TV personality of 2009, the one who dominates every ceremony with her overwhelming presence over every other slut who's prettier than her but not as eye-catching as her.

In this era of emphasis on healthy eating, excessive bodybuilding and exercise, highly developed plastic surgery and all kinds of weird weight loss techniques, Christina's figure is already outdated for Hollywood.

But if someone took a woman like Christina to a restaurant on a date in the 60s, she would order a meatloaf, onion rings, and vanilla malt, and eat the whole thing with a smile on her face. If someone took her to the same restaurant in 2010, she would order a Diet Coke and a garden salad with dressing, and stare at her date's onion rings for 20 minutes. And she would probably break a rib when she buckled her seatbelt on the way home. She's too skinny.

Christina is such a special existence at the moment. Her anti-trend visual aesthetics gives people an extremely novel experience. Her long red wavy hair, impeccable S-class figure, and a face that is not beautiful but not a deduction, she ignited the show "Mad Men" and caused riots everywhere she appeared, including the Staples Center.

People would stare at her like she was a UFO, as if a UFO had suddenly landed on the stage.

At this time, Christina was sitting not far from Scarlett.

People's gossip fire was burning.

A married woman who was rumored to have had an affair with Yu Fei, and Yu Fei's last ex-girlfriend with whom he had a stable relationship.

Scarlett glanced at Christina Hendricks, her eyes revealing a subtle emotion. She smiled and chatted with Don Cheadle, trying to keep a natural posture, but the waves in her heart could not be calmed.

At the same time, Christina also noticed Scarlett, her mouth corners slightly raised, very confident in herself. When the camera was pointed at her, she gently played with her fiery red wavy long hair, as if announcing her presence to the people around her.

"It seems that the focus tonight is not the game."

Don Cheadle thought to himself, his eyes moving between Scarlett and Christina.

Yu Fei was not distracted by this. Christina's appearance did cause some ripples in his heart, but he quickly turned his attention elsewhere.

So he just went over to say hello as a courtesy.

Durant wanted to go talk to Scarlett, but he found that Scarlett's mood tonight was not as good as the night before.

Maybe this is the goddess. Her suitors try every means to please her, but her attention is limited and she can only focus on the people and things that interest her.

At this time, Durant would miss Robert Downey, the man who has never gotten out of the role of Tony Stark. If he were present, he would definitely say a few words to liven up the atmosphere.

When they returned to the court, Durant asked Yu Fei, "What happened to Scarlett?"

"God knows?"

Yu Fei was shooting while observing his teammates' training.

Veteran Michael Finley was placed on the sidelines before the game due to a sprain.

This is not a good sign.

The Supersonics are not like the Lakers. The only pure shooter on their team is Anthony Morrow.

Although Morrow has established a reputation as a sharpshooter, Yu Fei does not think his true strength is as good as the data shows.

Yu Fei has met Ray Allen, who is a true historical shooter.

Putting aside Ray Allen's other strengths, just as a shooter, he spent several years showing Yu Fei how a historical shooter prepares for the game.

Ray Allen does the same thing the same way, in the same place, year after year. He is the closest thing to a basketball robot. He treats the 3-point shot the way a volleyball player treats the serve, a golfer treats the tee shot, a baseball pitcher treats the throw -- quick jump, quick release, perfect form, perfect arc, perfect result. Every shot looks exactly the same.

As long as he has time, he will arrive at the training site a few hours early.

He developed a consistent schedule and consistent eating habits, which was almost an obsessive-compulsive disorder.

It is this kind of hard training that has made Ray Allen's shooting skills what they are today. Therefore, when others say that his shooting is so good because of God's blessing, Ray Allen will only sneer and respond: "Don't make fun of me, God doesn't care about me."

Morrow just practiced casually according to his own habits. Half of his shooting came from training, and the other half came from his innate touch. But rigorous training can allow shooters to seize the opportunity to deliver a fatal shot even in the most suffocating environment.

Yu Fei didn't say anything to Morrow because he was not a shooter and didn't understand how a shooter should maintain his touch through training.

If you really ask Morrow to watch more Ray Allen's game videos, he will probably agree on the surface, but who knows what kind of swear words he will utter in his heart.

Innate talent determines the lower limit, while acquired training, habits, and character formation determine the upper limit.

Yu Fei would not force it, he just felt that Moro still had room for improvement.

Another unusual thing that happened on the court was that the core players of the Supersonics and Lakers did not come to midfield to say hello.

Yu Fei wanted to go through the motions, but Kobe had no intention of coming over to enforce this ancestral rule on the NBA court.

In this case, Yu Fei would not put his warm face in front of someone else's cold butt.

This is certainly a symbol that the Lakers want the two sides to be hostile to each other before the game even starts.

Then, as the game time approached, the live DJ began to introduce the starting lineups of both teams.

Tyronn Lue walked to the sidelines to make final arrangements before the game started.

Lu stressed three things.

Defense, rebounding and corner threes.

The Lakers' offensive configuration makes it difficult for them to be restricted on the defensive end, but the Supersonics did well in the last game, and Lu believes that was the key to the team's victory.

As for rebounds, it is easy to understand. If the Lakers get the rebounding advantage, it will be a terrible thing. Their shooters will be full of confidence when shooting.

The corner three-pointer is the Sonics' regular scoring point.

Morrow and Durant are both good at corner three-pointers.

As a core player with the ball, Yu Fei also laid a foundation for players of this style - a qualified core player with the ball can definitely find every three-pointer in the bottom corner that appears in his eyes.

Because the breakthrough of the ball holder will inevitably cause the opponent's defense to shrink.

This will create a gap in the corner defense and give the shooter a chance.

Finding the corner shooter is one of the basic ways to determine the passing ability of a ball-handling core.

But tonight, the Lakers didn't intend to give the Supersonics too many opportunities in the corner.

The defense between top teams can be summarized as trade-offs.

A team with a clear mind, clear goals and focused efforts will often win.

The Lakers' first move tonight was to block the Supersonics' corner three-pointer.

Because the left and right corners are Anthony Morrow's sweet spot, his hit rate here is as high as 44%. Away from the corners, Morrow is not a sharpshooter with a hit rate of 40%.

However, it is not easy to block the bottom corner, because if Yu Fei or other Supersonics players break into the basket, the players defending the bottom corner will have to shrink.

Therefore, Phil Jackson provided a clever idea when designing defense: give Morrow half-open space.

The so-called half-space position gives the opponent shooting opportunities and space, but will still be subject to obvious defensive interference.

This design is just right for players like Richard Hamilton who are not good at defense. All he has to do is choose a position that is neither close nor far, so as to both interfere and block the supersonics' breakthrough.

There are a few pure shooters who can maintain a hit rate of over 40% in half-open situations.

The answer is very little.

Those who can withstand pressure and maintain efficiency are basically shooters at the level of Miller and Ray Allen.

In comparison, minor characters like Moreau don't have the big heart to fight against difficulties.

This is why Morrow missed two consecutive shots after the opening, giving the Lakers two defensive counterattack opportunities.

Yu Fei's worries became a reality at this moment. The Lakers no longer gave Morrow comfortable opportunities in the bottom corner, and Morrow was indeed affected.

Due to the scoring shortage and turnovers, the Lakers started with a 6-0 lead.

The Staples Center was filled with excitement, and Lakers fans clearly felt that tonight's team was different from before.

Yu Fei dribbled the ball and the Lakers let Kobe face him.

He was determined to break his scoring drought.

Kobe dealt with Yu Fei just like Hamilton dealt with Morrow, both of them left him half open.

If Yu Fei dared to shoot, he could also step forward to interfere.

If Yu Fei doesn't shoot, the offense will be awkward.

Yu Fei also proved with his actions that he was not Morrow. Even if there was only a half-space, he had the confidence to score. Kobe held his breath, and saw Yu Fei suddenly start to the strong side, instantly switching the basketball from his crotch to his left hand, and then he retreated backwards, shaking off Kobe's defense. With the creation of personal ability, the half-space became a large space.

Yu Fei stepped back and shot a three-pointer from the top of the arc.

6 is better than 3
Yu Fei broke the team's scoring drought, but the Lakers' offensive was swift and responded immediately.

The team used a five-out formation on the court. Although James' breakthrough was affected by Bosh's rim protection, he passed the ball to the outside, and Kobe passed the ball to Antawn Jamison after a second breakthrough.

After the Lakers' two breakthroughs, the Sonics' defense collapsed and Jamison scored easily.

"The good news for Los Angeles is that the Lakers are starting to come back," ESPN's Jeff Van Gundy said, "and they're much better defensively than they were last game."

Mark Jackson took over and said: "Also, you can see that they control the blind spot very tightly. That is the end point of the Sonics' regular offense. If they control this area, it will be difficult for the Sonics to launch their offense."

The Supersonics under Tyronn Lue pursued a strategy of keeping everything simple.

He didn't have much of an offensive tactic, so he largely used the system from Carl's time and let Yu Fei play freely.

Lu gave Yu Fei the power of a coach on the offensive end, while he himself provided advice on the defensive end.

Therefore, Yu Fei has become accustomed to finding ways to solve the problem when his attack is blocked.

The Lakers are determined to control the bottom corner, and the Supersonics are powerless to change that, but correspondingly, in order to block the bottom corner, the Lakers will give up the defensive strength at the forty-five-degree angle.

That's the trade-off on defense.

Yu Fei began to change the end point of the attack, and after breaking through, he passed the ball to the left and right sides at a forty-five degree angle.

Durant likes this arrangement, playing at a 45-degree angle from both wings means he will get many opportunities.

But he doesn't like the Lakers' arrangement of letting James match up against him.

James has been selected to the All-Defensive Team for two consecutive seasons and this year ranked third in the voting for the All-Defensive Team of the Year.

It can be said that looking at the league, he is the best defender outside the inside.

As long as James is willing, his defense to Durant is like an enhanced version of Artest, with a stronger physique and strength, better explosiveness and speed. The only thing he lacks is skill and experience, but this deficiency is completely insignificant with the blessing of his extraordinary physical fitness.

Moreover, after the "test" of the first game, James is back in power. He has reason to go all out and use a big win to prove that he can lead the Lakers to victory.

Therefore, when defending Durant, James was determined to defend his opponent to death.

Durant has only experienced this feeling of "as long as the opponent takes it seriously, I can't play at all" against Fei.

At this moment, James proved that his fame as Yu Fei in his early years was not just hype.

Durant took a difficult shot under his defense, but the ball didn't even touch the rim.

Marc Gasol grabbed the defensive rebound and the Lakers' defensive counterattack was lightning fast.

Yu Fei had already rushed back to the backcourt, but James made a beautiful pass to Kobe in the frontcourt, and the latter made a three-pointer and called a timeout for the Supersonics.

Coach Lu rarely found the right time to call a timeout.

But calling a good timeout is only part of coaching.

What are the measures during the suspension period?

Coach Lu stared at the roster in his hand and found that he couldn't find a shooter to replace the out-of-form Morrow.

This made him discover the resource that the Supersonics lacked most right now - a stable pure shooter.

Just when Coach Lu was in a dilemma, Yu Fei took the tactical board from him and clearly pointed to the forty-five degree angle and mid-range.

"From now on, I will keep calling pick-and-rolls. If they choose to retreat to the three-point line, I will pass the ball to you. If they switch defense, I will resolutely attack their switching players." Yu Fei said to Bosh, "Chris, get ready." Then he looked at Durant, "Kevin, move more, use more screens, and don't fall into the traps set by the opponent. LeBron's physical strength is limited."

The timeout was over and Coach Lu didn't say a word.

As a coach, he felt that Yu Fei had said everything he could say.

"Is there anything missing?"

Coach Lu thought.

In the face of the Sonics' pick-and-roll offense, the Lakers chose to retreat, and Bosh's long-range shots quickly made them pay the price, so the Lakers were in a dilemma. When they were worried about Bosh's long-range shots, Yu Fei used mid-range shots to attack.

However, Kwame Brown had no offensive threat once he left the restricted area, and was quickly used by the Lakers to deal with the Sonics' pick-and-roll offense.

They can easily let Brown go to deal with Bosh. As long as Brown doesn't go to the basket, the Lakers allow him to do anything.

Once Brown gets to the basket, Gasol's interference will make him at a loss.

For Brown, the glorious days of following Yu Fei, using the small ball system to attack other teams and riding on the heads of Duncan and O'Neal as an ordinary inside player are over.

As an inside player, only his pick-and-roll quality, switching defense ability and rim protection are at an excellent level. He is not good at anything else.

His problems are not obvious when opponents use a traditional big-ball system.

But today, teams in the league have updated their systems, and teams like the Lakers are at the forefront of the times. They deeply understand that you cannot put a person on the court who has no major role on both offense and defense.

Their starting five all have their responsibilities, and Brown has become a problem for the Sonics.

He doesn't shoot, doesn't space the floor, and isn't dominant defensively, so opposing big men can single him out. He's decent at boxing out, but that's about it. He doesn't have the size to be great, especially against top big men. The Lakers see him as a defensively flawed, offensively sluggish player.

When Brown repeatedly received Yu Fei's pass under the basket, he made 4 of 2 shots under Xiaojia's bluffing.

This is an acceptable result for the Lakers, as Brown's scoring is not enough to hurt anyone.

Instead, this deliberate opportunity given to Brown caused Yu Fei to misjudge his passing choice.

Sometimes he has trouble balancing whether to pass the ball to the inside or the outside.

In the end, it was Coach Lu who made the decision.

Since Brown can't provide much positive contribution anyway, it would be better to replace him with DeAndre Jordan, who has greater strengths and shorter weaknesses than Brown.

This was a good move by Coach Lu.

As soon as Jordan Jr. came on, Yu Fei's thoughts became clear.

Since Jordan's finishing ability at the basket is much stronger than Brown, Yu Fei will pass the ball directly when he sees the opportunity, and the opponent will solve the problem by himself, while he will continue to carry out pick-and-roll offense with Bosh and Durant.

Although Durant couldn't find his touch, Bosh was in hot form.

The two sides entered the second quarter with a tie.

This is also the biggest variable in this game.

Phil Jackson replaced Kobe with seven minutes left in the first quarter, and then let Kobe come on to lead the second team at the start of the second quarter.

Coach Lu made the mistake of path dependence.

Although the first quarter of the first game against the Lakers was also evenly matched, Durant was in very good shape at the time and had no problem holding on during the transition period, and he did the same tonight.

But Durant made only 5 of 1 shots in the first quarter.

Although his partner Bosh scored 6 points with 4 of 11 shots, all his points came from the pick-and-roll offensive cooperation with Yu Fei.

Without Yu Fei, Bosh would be a broken-winged angel.

In this situation, can we count on the two of them to hold up the transition again?

On the other hand, on the Lakers side, the Zen Master changed his farmer-like coaching method of targeting James and let the former rest at the beginning of the second quarter. Then, the point guard was Mike Bibby, partnering with Kobe, (Mike) Miller, Artest and Big Z.

"The Lakers have the luxury of using a lineup that guarantees a conference semifinal berth to play in the transition phase."

On Twitter, Bill Simmons, a famous Lake Cayman hater, complained.

Yu Fei couldn't sit on the sidelines calmly because he knew Durant was not in good shape.

However, seeing the Lakers use Kobe to lead the transition period made him even more worried.

For Durant, whether it is Kobe or James, although they are all the faces of the same company, they all want to be the biggest face.

After Woods' self-exposure, Kobe became the face of Nike, followed by James, and the person Durant wanted to surpass was Kobe.

This is a good opportunity for him.

He once beat James, although he didn't get recognition, but what if he beat Kobe at the Staples Center?

The first two minutes of the second quarter seemed like a friendly test. Durant of the Supersonics wanted to play one-on-one, but his touch was not good. The Lakers began to play the authentic triangle offense according to the Zen Master's instructions, but it also didn't work.

When Durant hit a jump shot over Kobe.

Kobe was annoyed.

He began to take the initiative to defend Durant, and then turned into a Tyrannosaurus Rex on the offensive end, like Erlang Shen opening the third eye on his forehead, and pulled up for a three-pointer in front of Durant. After hitting the target, he added: "FUCK YOU! You can't defend me at all!"

Half a minute later, the Sonics' perfect defense completely collapsed when Kobe took an unusual approach to catch the ball at the buzzer, drifted and jumped, and then hit a three-pointer at the buzzer with an extreme fade away.

The standard for measuring a superstar is whether he can take over when he wants to.

Kobe made Durant powerless.

A year ago, he thought that Yu Fei was the only one in the league who could do it.

In the first quarter, he found that James could do it too.

Now, Kobe blew him away just like Yu Fei had beaten him in the practice game.

At this moment, Scarlett, the battle for Nike's image, the championship, everything disappeared in Durant's mind.

Perhaps in the eyes of the Lakers, there is no difference between him and Chris Bosh.

Just three minutes into the second quarter, the Supersonics were again trailing by 6 points.

Yu Fei shook off the towel on his body.

Facing the fully-formed Lakers, the Supersonics have no room for error.

Yu Fei couldn't rest for even a second.

(End of this chapter)