When pride still matters

Chapter 525 The biggest noise in the world
The biggest noise in the world
After Gasol took the initiative to leave Bosh open at James's suggestion, Yu Fei's choice did become simple.

Pass the ball to Bosh and let him take an open shot.

This was a wise move no matter how you looked at it. However, after fighting for nine minutes at the start, Bosh's energy had been depleted a lot, and some opportunities that he could have seized before were now unstable.

Within a minute, Bosh made 3 of 1 shots, and Tyronn Lue replaced Bosh with Jordan Jr.

With the arrival of Jordan, the Sonics' pick-and-roll tactics at the five position lacked the outside shooting item, and Gasol's situation seemed to be improving.

But the impact of decreased physical fitness is two-way.

Bosh's physical strength can't hold up, and Gasol is even worse.

When Jordan came on, Gasol, who was continuously targeted, was already in a state of physical distress.

Yu Fei called for a pick-and-roll again, and he didn't know how many times in a row it was - Jordan blocked the man, cut inside, and ran straight to the basket like a wild beast that had escaped from its cage. Jordan was out of strength and was fouled by Yu Fei for the second time in the first quarter.

The Lakers then replaced him.

Big Z replaces Little Jia.

For Fei, he will not give up the military training style of play in the interior, not to mention that Big Z is a better target than Xiao Jia.

However, with less than two minutes left in the first quarter, both sides chose to delay the game to ensure the success rate of their offense.

James pressed the time and waited for Big Z to set a safe screen for Kobe before cutting out to receive the ball and shooting a three-pointer.

"Shh!"

The two sides ended in a draw.

Then, Yu Fei also did not rush to respond. He dribbled the ball to the left three-point line and directed Durant on the right to move.

This scene was like a replay of the Lakers' previous attack, except that Artest's off-ball defense was not very active, and Durant did not have to go through as much trouble as Kobe to break away from his defense.

He just ran from one side to the other, and before Artest could catch up, Yu Fei had already passed the ball.

Mike Miller filled in at full speed, but it was too late.

For someone like Durant, if he is given such a wide open space, don't expect any human on earth to interfere with his shot.

Durant returned a three-pointer to the Lakers.

The Supersonics took advantage of this to regain a three-point lead, and the Lakers were unable to make up the difference until the end of the first quarter.

23 is better than 26
The Supersonics performed better than the Lakers in the away game. Yu Fei beat Marc Gasol Jr. to a pulp just by playing at the five point guard position, and put the Lakers into a stalemate with no one available in the interior.

"12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists." ESPN's Mike Breen introduced Yu Fei's performance in the first quarter. "In addition, there was 1 steal and 2 blocks. This is Frye's performance in the first quarter. Jeff, Mark, what do you think of Frye tonight?"

Mark Jackson put it simply: "It was flawless. I don't think there's another player who can bring more to the table in a quarter."

"We have to pay tribute to Brandon Roy. We all know that he took a huge risk and chose to return early." Jeff Van Gundy said, "I think this incident definitely stimulated Frye. Only in this situation can we see the best players play their best performance. You can see that he is completely immersed in the game. In order to win, he is willing to put aside the dispute with Kobe and LeBron and devote all his strength to role players like Mark Jackson. Now, it is working. Phil Jackson will soon find that without the Spaniard to support the inside, their inside will have no one available."

Off the court, neither team chose to rest their core players who played the entire first quarter.

Coach Lu let Yu Fei and Durant continue to play, and replaced Anthony Morrow with Alonzo Gee at the three position.

The more the series progressed, the more Lu realized that these shooters with 3s but no D were purely decorative.

If you have laid a good foundation and hired the best architect to build a good house, then decorations are necessary.

But what if you don’t have a good house?

So do you care whether it’s nails or decorations hanging on your wall?

This is Morrow's problem. He is a shooter who has proven himself in the peak Supersonics, because at that time he only needed to make open three-point opportunities brought by Yu Fei, Roy and Durant.

And now, Lu hopes that he will take on more responsibilities, but he can't do it, and Kobe will target him as a flaw. Therefore, it is better to replace him with a player like Kyle who can't provide much help on the offensive end but can use disgusting defense.

The inside lineup is O'Neal Jr. and DeAndre Jordan Jr.

For the Lakers, Kobe and James are both there, Miller was replaced by Mike Bibby, Antawn Jamison was replaced at the power forward position, and Big Z is still at the power forward position.

This is the thing, the Lakers have too many shooters to use up, but their inside depth is extremely poor. Jackson also knows that their inside foundation is weak, so he puts all his hopes on the outside line.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Supersonics had the ball.

Xiao Ao sent a light ball to Yu Fei.

Yu Fei didn't catch it and let the ball roll forward on the ground.

This is the habit of Hornets star guard Chris Paul, because the NBA's offensive time starts from the moment the player touches the ball, which can effectively save offensive time.

Yu Fei walked forward leisurely, with the ball rolling in front of him.

"What are you pretending to be?"

Kobe was unhappy with what he saw and stepped forward to disrupt the other party's peaceful life.

"What are you in such a hurry for?"

Yu Fei picked up the ball, squeezed Kobe away with his back, and then took a big step over the LOGO. The Supersonics had 21 seconds of offensive time in this round.

Yu Fei took the ball and stood still, directing his teammates to move.

Suddenly, he passed the ball to his left hand and made a tactical gesture with his right hand, and the fans at the scene reacted violently.

"Noooooooooo!!!!"

"Is this the only tactic you can use?"

The audience cursed. As long as they saw Yu Fei showing multiple fingers, they knew that he was going to play another pick-and-roll at the five position.

However, this time Yu Fei showed four fingers.

This is a pick-and-roll at the four position.

Last season, O'Neal was still a member of the Lakers. Now, he has turned to the enemy, joined the Supersonics, and now is with Kobe, despite the opposition of California fans.

Yu Fei rushed out at great speed, heading straight for Jamison.

According to Yu Fei's habit of shooting at the Lakers' weaknesses tonight, he chose to play Jamison instead of Big Z for only one reason: Jamison is easier to play against than Big Z.

Yu Fei easily dismembered Jamison's defense, and his signature front-facing shot flew out of the opponent's eyes, hit the backboard, and bounced into the basket.

"Frye, you should have done this a long time ago!" Little Ao followed Yu Fei and muttered, "There's no need to compete with Kobe, it's a waste of effort and thankless, you should just hit these trash hard!"

Hearing this, Lu on the sidelines said loudly: "That's right, we should hit those trash guys hard, Jermaine, I didn't expect you to know basketball so well!"

Yu Fei was not in the mood to joke: "Pay attention to your defense, that person might fight back against you."

"Don't worry," O'Neal said, "my defense is no joke."

Soon, Yu Fei suspected that Xiao Ao was making fun of him.

Although the Lakers kept Kobe Bryant on the court, the core players on both sides played the entire first quarter and it was impossible for them to continue to step on the accelerator in the second quarter.

James watched for a while and then lobbed the ball to Jamison.

Although Jamison has been placed at the 4 position for a long time, his offensive style and arsenal are like those of a 3 position player. Defending such a player is a troublesome thing for a pure inside player. Jamison used his footwork beautifully to shake off O'Neal's defense. The ups and downs in less than two seconds can be called a master of footwork.

Xiao Ao was shaken away like a toy.

Are you sure this defense is not a joke?

Just when Yu Fei thought Jamison was going to score, as the opposite of the technical flow, Jordan Jr. was another representative on the court.

You talk to him about techniques, and he compares his physicality with you. You can shake him off with technical moves, but he can catch up with you with speed. You can use fake moves to get it going, but if you don't shoot fast enough, his ability to jump continuously will also surprise you.

Jamison manipulated O'Neal, but he didn't expect that Jordan, who was just outside the paint area, had rushed into the basket in the blink of an eye and snatched his shot in mid-air like a bird of prey.

"I told you our defense is no joke!" O'Neal yelled, "With that kind of defense, you'll definitely be our starting center next season!"

Kwame Brown stood up excitedly like everyone else when he saw Jordan Jr. block Jamison's shot, but sat down again when he heard what O'Neal Jr. said.

He knew that this was not just a polite remark.

Unfortunately, Jordan Jr. did not pass the ball fast enough after being blocked. Although the Lakers suffered a blow, they had a good sense of retreating and the opportunity for defensive counterattack was fleeting.

Seeing that there was no chance for a fast break, Yu Fei slowed down the pace.

Positional defense is also not easy for the Lakers.

Before, he needed to cover Xiaojia, but now he not only needs to cover Big Z to prevent him from colliding with Yu Fei, but also to avoid Jamison from being chased and named as much as possible.

Four people can’t even hide one, so how can three people hide two?

Seeing Yu Fei taking advantage of the Lakers' loopholes to withdraw money, Durant was already itching to do it.

He simply moved around afterwards, letting O'Neal cover him, and Jamison switched to Durant as if he had found a way out.

The moment he faced Jamison, Durant raised his hand to ask for the ball.

Yu Fei passed the ball.

Every problem with Durant is related to "softness".

Because he is "soft", he is at a disadvantage in confrontations; because he is "soft", he is afraid of tough defense; because he is "soft", he cannot find his shooting accuracy once he is hit; because he is "soft", his skills can only be used at half of his level in most cases.

If the opponent's defense is not strong enough and there is not enough talent to limit him, he will show his offensive machine side.

Jamison was shaken twice by Durant, with his body center of gravity firmly nailed to the ground. He watched Durant jump up and shoot in front of him, but he couldn't even straighten his back and raise his hands to interfere.

Durant crushed Jamison with a jump shot after a single play.

He thought of Yu Fei's performance in the first quarter. This was the way to play the game, ruthlessly attacking the enemy's loopholes.

When dealing with small fry, you should strangle them to pieces.

"You're too slow," Durant said coldly, "You can't defend me."

23 is better than 30
Yu Fei and Durant opened the second quarter with singles.

Lakers fans at the Staples Center began complaining about their star player.

James doesn't like to fight alone, he never wants to be regarded as a scorer, but this does not mean that he has no confidence in his offensive ability. Jamison's attack just now failed, he wants a second chance.

But James is not going to give him this dilemma as the fifth player in the team.

He has no tolerance for error and will replace players if he misses a shot.

James did not follow public opinion and actively respond to his opponent's singles, but passed the ball to Bibby and set a screen for the opponent on the spot.

Bibby did not use the pick-and-roll to break inside, but instead stabilized himself and then called for an inside pick-and-roll.

That year, the Kings met the OK Lakers in the playoffs for three consecutive years, and had a chance to eliminate their opponent in the 2002 Western Conference Finals. This was partly due to the referee in Game , and partly due to Chris Webber, the Mr. Small Scene.

Bibby was the MVP of the losing team in that series. He used a high-post jump shot to point out O'Neal throughout the game.

Now times have changed. He joined the Lakers for the championship, and the Lakers now need to respond to the Supersonics with his nomination.

Bibby directly called for a pick-and-roll at the fourth position against O'Neal.

What he didn't expect was that O'Neal was not afraid of being targeted at all because his defense was "no joke."

The biggest fear of a big player defending a smaller player is that the opponent may get past him in one step. This is why it always works when the ball handler calls out to the big guy.

And O'Neal didn't give Bibby the chance to punish himself with a shot. He just posted it online, acting like he wanted to take advantage of the situation.

Bibby had no choice but to break inside, but Jordan Jr. actually let go of Big Z and stayed under the basket.

Bibby passed the ball to Big Z, who shot and scored.

The trade-offs made by both sides began to converge.

You need to use high-pressure defense on the outside, with the rim protector squatting in the restricted area and letting the opponent go mid-range.

Moreover, since they get the chance, most of the mid-range shots are taken inside. Due to the special nature of their position, they often have to endure a lot of confrontation on the court, so it is difficult for them to maintain a stable shooting touch throughout the game.

Yu Fei once again called for a pick-and-roll at position .

This time, James decisively double-teamed Yu Fei together with Jamison.

So Yu Fei passed the ball to Xiao Ao, and the unguarded Xiao Ao went straight to the basket and scored.

Both sides continued to focus on each other's defensive weaknesses.

The game suddenly became predictable: you set a pick-and-roll at the four, and I set a pick-and-roll at the four; you let Big Z shoot, and I let O'Neal go down the court, and both sides have undefended points.

So, how was the balance disturbed?
A few rounds later, James also called for a pick-and-roll at the four position, and suddenly, the Supersonics took the initiative to give O'Neal Jr. to him.

James thought it was just a mistake, so he accelerated past O'Neal and rushed into the basket. Just when he felt the basket was open, DeAndre Jordan rarely gave up protecting the basket. His comfortable mood may have lasted for less than a second, because Yu Fei, who was clearly switching defense on Jamison on the outside, ran back to the basket at full speed and cut the ball off James from the side.

James' mind was blank, and Alonzo Gee pounced on the ball that was almost out of bounds like a fierce dog and saved it back to Yu Fei's hands.

Yu Fei came and went like the wind. Like James, he had not rested since the start of the game, but he seemed like a perpetual motion machine. Behind him, the same was true of Kobe's pursuit.

The two men went to the front court together, Yu Fei jumped forward in the paint area, and the energy Kobe released at this moment was no less than that of his opponent. However, when two objects collided at full speed, the advantage of the larger person was immeasurable.

Kobe was knocked away by Yu Fei, but the ball in his hand smashed into the basket like an asteroid that ended the dinosaur era.

"BOOMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!"

Yu Fei roared, pulled the basket down, and roared at Kobe on the ground.

The referee blew the whistle, adding glory to this moment that eclipsed the gods: "And one!!!"

"This dunk may be as timeless for Frye as the one Michael Jordan dunked over Patrick Ewing's head in 1991!"

Just as Yu Fei was about to step onto the free throw line, the Lakers requested a timeout.

The big screen at the scene began to replay the dunk from various angles.

Then it was discovered that Kobe was not originally going to be the victim of this scene.

After Yu Fei cut off James's ball, James should have chased back at full speed, but his first reaction was to look at the referee, thinking that Yu Fei had committed a foul, and then he looked at Yu Fei. When he looked at Yu Fei, Yu Fei had already run across half court, and Kobe had also caught up, so he just stayed where he was.

This is what happened next.

"If it was LeBron instead of Kobe who was interfering with Frye in the air, the result might be different."

"LeBron is more capable of confrontation. He won't be knocked away by Frye like Kobe was."

"Why does he stay where he is?"

"What was he thinking about?"

Experts from major TV stations accurately identified the person most responsible for this round.

Although Kobe was the one who lost face, no one would laugh at a person who chased back from the backcourt at full speed to defend and was knocked to the ground.

Besides, Kobe is the king of Los Angeles.

He was so humiliated by Yu Fei that those who loved him would only blame his teammates.

For example, the person who had the most reason to chase Yu Fei but didn't move at all.

When James walked off the court, some Lakers fans were already getting restless.

"LeBron, are you just going to watch Frye dunk?"

"Why do you keep passing the ball, LeBron, are you shirking your responsibility?"

"You came to Los Angeles just to lose to Frye again?"

James looked calm, but an unbalanced rage was building up in his heart.

He is a man who plans before he acts.

He won't play basketball just based on passion like some brainless people.

He likes to observe and think, so he also cares about gains and losses. Those who accuse him of not returning to defense don't understand basketball at all. If he had chased after him just now, he would have only been fouled like Kobe.

Why did this group of people force him to do something stupid that Kobe had already proved impossible with his actions?

"It's just a ball, don't take it seriously!"

Kobe said loudly to everyone.

"Yeah, it was just one shot," Jackson said. "But if he made the free throw, it would be 10 points, Kobe, we're down by five."

Kobe said without a doubt: "I will fight back!"

Jackson nodded secretly, he was not worried about Kobe's fighting spirit.

Then he looked at James again.

"LeBron, do you remember how Seattle lost the last game?" Jackson asked.

James knew Jackson would ask and answer his own questions, so he didn't respond.

"They're too focused on the calls," Jackson said. "If we have to think about the referees on every play, we won't be able to focus. Calls are just part of the game, LeBron, get that out of your mind."

"I can not do it."

Jackson asked, "Why?"

"Because of the noise." James couldn't imagine hearing so much noise at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena. "It's too loud here."

James is the most unique star player Jackson has ever coached.

He is also the only player he thinks needs to practice Zen Buddhism.

People like Jordan and Kobe often experience great ups and downs in their emotions. Even if they are at their lowest point in the last second, you can expect them to bounce back to the clouds in the next moment.

They will construct a magnificent inner world for themselves to serve their souls.

As for James, the more excited he is, the more likely he is to perform abnormally. His soul needs to rest in the tree hole, his world needs to find support, and his heart longs for peace.

Zen Buddhism means to be absent-minded, to see without seeing, to hear without hearing, to eat without knowing the taste, which is the tranquility of Nirvana.

James has never reached this point. He is too easily influenced by the outside world.

Especially when standing in front of Yu Fei.

Every move of Yu Fei could break his peace.

"Then quiet them down." Jackson said, "LeBron, if you let Frye run wild on the court, they will only get louder and louder. Use your method to quiet them down. If there must be noise in this world, then leave your own noise."

After the timeout, Yu Fei returned to the court to prepare for the free throw.

At this moment, the fans at the Staples Center cursed the free throw shooter with a unified roar.

"FUCK YOU FLY!!!"

"FUCK YOU FLY!!!"

"FUCK YOU FLY!!!"

Yu Fei smiled and made the same listening gesture as in Iverson's classic "Louder" poster.

This further aroused the emotions of the fans at the scene.

They went crazy. Just imagine how a city's disgust and hostility towards one person would materialize, and this is it.

James watched silently, this biggest noise maker in the world today was also the highest mountain he faced.

Only by climbing over this mountain can his stigma be washed away.

"Shh!"

Yu Fei scored an extra penalty.

35 is better than 45
The Supersonics led by 10 points.

(End of this chapter)