When pride still matters

Chapter 527: When the Chosen One Judges
The Lakers deployed an all-forward lineup to counter the Sonics' strategy of continuously targeting the inside players.

This really exceeded Tyronn Lue's expectations.

He thought Phil Jackson might be forced to release players like DJ Mbenga to support the team, but Jackson actually gave up on putting pure inside players on the court.

But is this really a risk for Jackson?
Rather, Jackson had tried a similar approach many years ago.

During the Bulls' second dynasty, main center Luc Longley was often affected by injuries. When backup centers like Bill Wennington were not up to the task, Jackson would put out a lineup of Harper, Jordan, Pippen, Kukoc and Rodman to fight the opponent.

You could say that this was Jackson being forced to test out his arch-rival Pat Riley's prediction that the future of basketball would consist of five forwards.

Today, the pressure from reality once again came upon the Lakers, forcing Jackson to give up Gasol Jr.

The result of letting Artest and Jamison man the interior is that not only will they face tremendous pressure on rebounds, but the interior defense will also become a breakthrough point for the opponent, especially since the Supersonics do not need to lower the interior height like the Lakers in exchange for defensive flexibility.

This is the reality the Lakers must face, but the benefits are also obvious.

Kobe and James are no longer constrained by the triangle offense.

They have become a true small ball team that combines shooting, speed and space.

What does this mean?

Their game became two-person basketball, with Kobe and James sharing the ball. Academic coaches have a saying: I fucking hate any team that allows its star player to dribble more than five times in one offense.

In this situation for the Lakers, let alone five times, as long as there is enough time, Kobe Bryant can dribble more than ten times in an offensive round.

With extremely long ball-holding time and repeated pick-and-rolls and five-out one-on-ones, role players have to either shoot or pass the ball when they receive it, with no other options. The main focus is to maximize the space and let the stars dominate everything.

In terms of playing style, the Lakers have gone further than Yu Fei's Supersonics and Bucks.

They are like the Mavericks of Doncic and Irving.

Star player + shooter equals everything.

When the Lakers scored 10 points in three minutes in the second half and narrowed the gap to 4 points, the Supersonics widened the gap to 7 points by taking advantage of their inside advantage.

Yu Fei took the initiative to face James.

The 2010 James cannot compare to the 2024 Doncic in terms of offensive means, while the 2010 Kobe is obviously better than the 2024 Irving. This is the difficulty in defending the Lakers.

However, although the Lakers' lineup was extreme, their offense was not at its full potential.

At least they still have Artest, the space black hole.

Therefore, the Supersonics can release Artest at any time to double-team one of Kobe Bryant.

The Lakers did not miss Artest's open opportunities, but Artest's performance when he got open could only be described as brave. As for his hit rate, there is nothing to say.

Artest made 4 of 1 shots in the second quarter, with a hit rate of only 25%, but the Lakers needed him to continue shooting. Not only him, but others also had to shoot boldly when they got the ball.

Jamison played a little role at this time. Compared with the passive state of simply being beaten in the first half, he was able to score in the second half.

But the losses and rebounding pressure he brought to the Lakers in the interior still cannot be compensated by his few steals.

Yu Fei and Roy kept calling out Jamison for half a quarter, continuously expanding their inside advantage.

The Lakers relied on the natural space advantage of the five outside players to score from the outside.

Richard Hamilton saw what Yu Fei did.

He faced James on the defensive end, and he spared no effort in switching to defend Kobe, and even when he was assisting in defending himself, he did not despise himself like he did in the past.

What does this mean?
The Lakers have indeed put unprecedented pressure on this always arrogant chosen one.

The first half of the third quarter was when the Lakers were under the most pressure.

Yu Fei and Roy took turns holding the ball and calling the shots.

Then, the Sonics replaced Roy six minutes later.

The ball returned to Yu Fei's hands.

He was not in a hurry. He dribbled the ball with his right hand and started directing his teammates with his left hand.

Suddenly, there was a flaw in James' defense, and he decisively broke in, but he didn't expect that this was a trap set by the opponent, and Artest suddenly appeared.

Yu Fei's ball immediately moved outwards.

Larry Hughes then took a three-point shot and missed, but Bosh grabbed the rebound and made a second attack, but still missed. Yu Fei grabbed the offensive rebound but sent it directly back to the basket without waiting for it to land.

"Can the three-point shot save your life, LeBron?"

The Lakers' excellent defense for more than half a minute was wasted due to poor rebounding protection.

Yu Fei's sarcasm did not enter James' heart.

"As long as I can take your life," James replied coldly.

"Can you say that?" Yu Fei walked back and said without even turning his head, "Have you forgotten who created this era?"

There is one thing that is very unfair to Stephen Curry.

He should have been the man of destiny who changed the sport of basketball, an achievement greater than the championships he was destined to win, just like Oscar Robertson who led an uprising during the 1964 All-Star Weekend to secure better benefits and retirement insurance for future players, and who ended the long history of slavery in professional basketball with a lengthy lawsuit after retirement.⑴ This Promethean act of stealing fire was enough to make Big O transcend the meaning of basketball.

The small ball revolution initiated by Curry changed basketball itself. However, Yu Fei has now become the synonym of this event.

The carnival basketball he created in the Bucks changed the face of the league, which led to the birth of the current Lakers team.

It is no exaggeration to say that he created this era.

But is the creator destined to be the strongest?

James doesn't think so. At least the Supersonics where Yu Fei is located have deviated from the original intention of space basketball in terms of personnel configuration.

They only have one stable shooter, and Bosh's transformation to a space four was not successful. Now their style of play is against the times and has no small ball style at all.

As long as the Lakers are firing on all cylinders, how can they resist?

James called Hamilton to set a screen for him, and then passed the ball to the opponent after breaking through.

After the switch, Hamilton actually faced off against Yu Fei.

He needs another teammate to cover him.

After several attempts, even though Hamilton got an open shot, this three-point shooter with a three-point shooting percentage of nearly 40% missed the open three-pointer.

Yu Fei turned around and grabbed the long rebound.

The Lakers retreated quickly, which was undoubtedly the arrangement of the coaching staff.

Because this lineup has no way to put pressure on the rebounds, it can only retreat quickly and not give the defense a chance to counterattack.

They are urgent and fast, but the supersonics are slow and cruel.

The two sides showed completely different styles.

"There's no need to rush."

Yu Fei said reassuringly.

Yu Fei said, asking Durant to set a pick and roll.

Durant brought out Jamison, and James chose to switch defense, letting Jamison defend Yu Fei.

Because Yu Fei hadn't scored in running games for a few minutes, maybe his touch wasn't very good right now, Jamison might be able to... The beautiful fantasy lasted only five seconds, Yu Fei took a sudden step to break through Jamison, and scored a jump shot behind the opponent.

The Supersonics' lead returned to 10 points.

Afterwards, the Lakers relied on Kobe's personal ability to force a three-pointer from the outside.

Alonzo Gee's defense was doing its best, but Kobe is the kind of person who can score in the most unreasonable way and then make you feel that there is a glimmer of rationality in his play.

Yu Fei patiently directed the offense, with a pick-and-roll here and a screen there, and suddenly, the ball was given to Bosh who was running down the court.

Kobe was standing under the basket, ready to protect it.

But facing the inside player, it is difficult for the guard to protect the basket.

Bosh gave Kobe enough respect and did not choose to force a dunk, but instead used his height to put the ball into the basket.

This was his 20th point of the night, and he also had 8 rebounds, which was his best performance in the Western Conference Finals.

The Lakers struggled to pull away from the opponent with five outside shots. Kobe wanted to make another difficult shot, but as expected, he missed. Fortunately, the rebound fell into James' hands.

James rushed to the basket and caused Bosh to commit a defensive foul.

James made both free throws, but then the Lakers failed to make two attempts at three-pointers from the outside, and the Supersonics seized the opportunity to counterattack, and the score difference suddenly widened to 12 points. After that, James took the initiative to try a three-pointer from the outside, but still missed, but Kobe desperately grabbed a long rebound and passed it to Hamilton, who continued to shoot a three-pointer.

This time they hit it, but this way of scoring was definitely not what they wanted to see when they put out this lineup.

Consecutive missed three-pointers and lucky offensive rebounds are of course a blessing for the team that dares to shoot three-pointers. The more three-pointers and long rebounds, the easier it is to get out of the control of the inside line. It all depends on personal positioning and prediction.

However, some problems have already emerged.

Yu Fei has played as a ball-holding core and five outside players for many years, and he knows very well what the problems of this system are.

There are two main problems: rigid routines and difficulty in sustaining the business.

A system created by one person cannot be complex, and almost always uses a few routines over and over again. This is routine rigidity.

Battery life is another problem.

It is deeper, more obscure, and more subtle than the first question.

Because it is not essentially a basketball issue, it is a management choice issue.

With a big core holding the ball, to play the five-out tactics, you need enough shooters, and the Lakers have always done so. But the problem is that although other teams do not have such good offensive resources as them, they can easily obtain defensive resources.

For example, the Sonics were not a team that relied on defense, but when pure offense could not win, they turned to defense. Tyronn Lue shortened the rotation like a madman, letting Yu Fei and Durant play more than 40 minutes per game, and even reused Alonzo Gee, a player who was almost abandoned under George Karl, who was strong in defense but rough in skills and had explosive energy.

The Supersonics have fully utilized their defensive resources. Large forwards like Yu Fei and Durant, who are nearly 210 cm tall with shoes and have a wingspan of 220+ cm, can often use their physical conditions and movement speed to take care of two opponents at the same time in a local area when defending.

Therefore, when players like Hamilton or Jamison get open space, it is not actually completely open because of the interference of the Sonics' Spiders.

In addition, they have already gone through fierce physical confrontation before receiving the ball, and it is unlikely that they will be in a comfortable position every time they receive the ball because there will be unexpected interferences on the passing path. With all these negative factors, how accurate can a shooter who usually has a hit rate of 40% maintain in this situation?
This is the paradox brought about by the five-out and full-stretch system led by the ball-holding core. In order to play this system, you must tilt a large amount of the salary cap toward shooters and space-type inside players. Then your defensive resources will be scarce, and you can't target the opponent in the same way. You can only trust the shooters. However, under high-intensity pressure, even someone like Curry will miss a few games in a series. What about those so-called sharpshooters?

This is a choice, and also a trade-off.

The team builder believed in the ability of the ball-handling core, so he invested everything in his space.

But now, when the space points cannot bring the expected benefits, what can we do but rely on singles by the stars?

The Lakers were guarding expectations that they didn't know when would be fulfilled, while the Supersonics played every ball step by step.

Sitting in the fifth row of the Staples Center was a Sports Illustrated writer named Gary Smith.

Nine years ago, he was on vacation in Seattle and accidentally watched a high school basketball game. From that day on, Fry Yu entered his field of vision. Not long after, he wrote an article for Fry - "The Chosen One".

Smith still remembers clearly what the subtitle of the article was: Fry Yu's destiny is not only to become the greatest basketball player ever in Washington State, but also to change the world. Will the pressure of celebrity crush him first?
Looking back now, the article seems like a prophetic prophecy, capturing the image of a superstar before he became a superstar with amazing brushstrokes.

Now, Smith watched the young man from a distance.

He dribbled, broke through, the crowd booed, LeBron James almost blocked his shot, but he adjusted the arc and then...
The referee blows the whistle!

The ball went in!
The man slid to the ground and yelled, "That's easy, LeBron, can you play defense?"

James' celebrity friends were angry.

Snoopy jumped up and yelled, "Don't be so arrogant, Niko! You damn @!￥!￥!"

"Kiss my ass, Snoopy!"

"Wait till the Lakers win this game, you fucking bastard!￥￥"

"What are you afraid of? LeBron has already tried it for you."

It was hard for Smith not to laugh; nine years later, Frye was still as aggressive as ever.

With a few minutes left in the third quarter, the Supersonics now lead by 9 points.

The two sides fought back and forth until the end of the third quarter, and the 9-point gap remained unchanged.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Lakers noticed that the Supersonics replaced Bosh with Jordan Jr., but the Lakers were limited in the players they could replace.

Since the offense did not get going in the third quarter, they chose to let James play to the power forward position in the fourth quarter, and then replaced Artest with Mike Miller to increase the threat of outside shooting.

The game returned to its original state.

The Lakers looked for three-point opportunities from the outside, while the Supersonics took advantage of their opponent's weakness in the interior and launched continuous attacks.

Kobe took a three-pointer, James also took a three-pointer, Hamilton and Miller also tried to shoot a three-pointer. But ironically, it was James who made the most unstable three-pointer.

When both sides insisted on increasing the intensity of their defense, turning the game into a wrestling match and making it difficult for either side to find their shooting touch, Artest's three-pointer could only be considered a consolation prize.

The Supersonics also couldn't find their shooting touch. Yu Fei's jump shot missed, and Durant's three-pointer from outside went wide of the basket. Considering the situation on the court, the confrontation, and their playing time tonight, it seemed inevitable that they would not be able to find their shooting touch.

But they have a better chance.

When Yu Fei found that his shooting touch could not be sustained, he went inside.

His layups and passes gave the Lakers a headache.

James tried to do the same thing, and he did.

His breakthrough is unstoppable for anyone, and only double-teaming and double-teaming can limit him.

However, the inaccuracy of the outside shooters caused great trouble for his breakthrough.

Supersonics can safely put speed bumps on the road.

James was successful only twice in several breakthroughs, one was a layup and the other was an assist to Jamison.

With six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the game turned rough.

Yu Fei's breakthrough layup was affected by Artest's rough confrontation and he even slipped when he landed, but no one called a foul and the players fought for the floor ball like beasts.

The ball was fought over and over, and finally Alonzo Gee held it in his arms. Kobe next to him immediately put his hand into his arms, and the two of them started fighting for it again.

“!￥!#￥”

"We often say a game was intense, but that's usually just a description, and tonight, intense was the real portrayal."

"Frye was knocked down, Kobe and Alonzo Gee were fighting for the ball, and everyone was involved in the fight for the loose ball. They fought hard for the ball. Such a game is hard to come by. You can see that they gave their all!"

The referee called a two-person jump ball, and in the subsequent jump ball, Kobe won with his experience.

The game entered the final six minutes.

The Lakers trailed by 7 points.

Kobe was dribbling the ball and James wanted to stop him, but when he saw Kobe shaking his head, he decided to do it himself.

The scene at this moment is the same as Kobe's childhood dream.

He was on the biggest stage in the world, with six minutes left, his team was trailing and they needed a hero, someone to step up.

The essence of life is competition, and competition never ends.

Kobe cleared one side of the court, then dribbled, stopped suddenly, and made a simple fadeaway jump shot that went in.

The two sides are only 5 points apart.

"Now is the time to decide the winner!" Kobe shouted with his fist clenched.

You could see his teammates were inspired by him, and the Staples Center crowd was cheering for their king.

Durant picked up the ball and didn't pay much attention to it. He was about to serve the ball when Yu Fei in front of him said, "It seems that Kobe has realized that he can't rely on anyone in this game."

Can't rely on anyone? So what?

Durant passed the ball.

"From now on, I can only play one-on-one." Yu Fei dribbled the ball and said to himself, "You know, Kobe is considered the best one-on-one player in the world."

Durant said seriously: "Not as good as you."

“He’s got LeBron next to him.”

"You have me by your side."

"And Brandon, DJ, Zo, all of us have your back!"

Yu Fei came to the front court. Now, he was no longer the so-called master of the empire, nor the chosen son standing on the shoulders of the gods.

He has one and only one identity.

He is the face of the Seattle SuperSonics, and his mission is to continue the dynasty.

Those teammates who were once overshadowed by him like a cloud have now become his firm supporters.

Durant pulled away to let everyone move away, and Yu Fei faced James and asked before the butcher's knife fell: "Do you know why I am the greatest player of all time?"

you are not.

James wanted to say that, but the next second, Yu Fei passed his defense and hit a floater outside the paint area, extending the lead to 7 points. "That was Frye's 38th point."

The score had infinite value again at this moment. Yu Fei left his eternal question, which James would never give an answer.

No matter what, Yu Fei will not be the best, because the one who has to be the best is James himself.

Think about it, he endured so much humiliation, wasn't it just for today, for revenge against Yu Fei at this moment? The opportunity has come, it's now!

With red eyes, James broke through Yu Fei, stopped suddenly on the right side of the free throw line, and shot with an ugly shooting posture, but finally made it.

The point difference returned to 5 points.

Yu Fei's lack of response didn't keep James waiting for long.

More than ten seconds later, Yu Fei shook off James' defense at the top of the arc, dribbled between his legs and cut into the free throw line to collect the ball. James did not lose his position and Jamison's assist was timely, but Yu Fei raised his hand high and lifted the ball in the air to a point that was beyond human reach.

The ball spun at high speed, like a missile with a predetermined destination, and fell precisely into the basket, twisting the net into a twist before falling to the floor.

This is Yu Fei's 40th point.

The Lakers' counterattack was initiated by Kobe, but his attack was hindered by Alonzo Gee.

Key tried his best, but ended up committing his fifth foul and sending Kobe to the free throw line.

Kobe made both free throws, narrowing the gap to 5 points.

At this point, the commentators on all the major TV stations had realized that the stars on both sides were using singles to decide the outcome of Game 5.

This is very rare. Although stars take over games more frequently in basketball than in other ball sports, the higher the level of the game, the stronger the teammates around the stars.

Generally speaking, this situation rarely occurs.

"The Lakers' outside shooting percentage tonight was less than 30%. The shooters were out of range, and Marc Gasol and other inside players were unable to play. In this case, they can only trust Kobe and LeBron. As for Seattle, I think giving the ball to Frye is their most efficient offensive method now."

Kobe, who was in hot form, wanted to continue attacking, but Alonzo Gee gave him the most violent foul since the start of the game the moment he received the ball.

The moment he received the ball, Kobe's hand was slapped down hard by Ky.

"Snapped!!!"

The clapping was so loud that Kobe almost went berserk and turned around to punch the rookie who offended him.

Ji Ze was protected by his teammates and graduated with honor after serving his full penalty.

"It's the only way I can stop him!"

Ji said to Roy who was about to replace him.

"Then you are better than me." Roy said self-deprecatingly, "I can't stop him even if I commit a foul."

Roy returned to the court with less than four minutes left.

"Since you're determined to kill the Lakers the way Michael Jordan did, let me be your Scottie Pippen."

Roy walked onto the field, trying to show his presence with a cooler line.

Little did he know that this sentence might offend Yu Fei, Jordan and Pippen at the same time.

Yu Fei and Jordan dislike each other, but Pippen will be the most offended because with Roy's current condition, the Lakers will definitely target him as a defensive loophole, and the possibility of him defending Kobe Bryant under normal circumstances is slim.

Even if Pippen plays until he is 40 years old, there is no chance that he will be considered a defensive loophole.

Yu Fei had no feelings towards the boastful Roy. He just felt that he should be able to help him share the task of dribbling across half court after he came on the court.

But Tyronn Lue replaced not only Roy, but also Bosh.

In fact, Roy replaced Larry Hughes, and Bosh replaced Alonzo Key who had fouled out.

In this way, Durant returned to the third position, and the five people standing on the Supersonics court were Yu Fei, Roy, Durant, Bosh, and Jordan Jr.

Among the five players, four are Spider-Men and one is a loophole, but the other four teammates have the ability to defend two players in one zone. The defensive flexibility is maximized and the talent is overflowing. For the Lakers' current lineup, they can achieve a crushing defensive talent.

As for the offensive end.
As Charles Barkley of the TNT studio said, "I can already imagine the Sonics blowing up the Lakers' rebounds."

In other words, not only can the Lakers not have any ideas about offensive rebounds, but even the defensive rebounds are at risk of being snatched away.

The Lakers serve again.

Kobe wanted to attack, but this time, Durant covered his vision with his two long arms.

In the end, James got the ball.

James turned around and faced Yu Fei and wanted to call out Roy, but Roy chose to double-team him together with Yu Fei.

James was forced to pass the ball to Richard Hamilton.

Hamilton took a three-pointer in half space under the interference of Durant's one-on-two defense.

At the moment Hamilton made the move, he seemed to catch a glimpse of Yu Fei's face out of the corner of his eye, and the other person was smiling.

Yes, he is laughing.

What is he laughing at?
Is it possible that after laughing at the Lakers' scheming and reaping all the benefits of the version, they will still have to repay the debt of the version?
Hamilton may never understand that smile.

Because that’s the curse of space basketball.

As a shooter, Hamilton has a high hit rate of over 40% for the Lakers this season, but Yu Fei knows him. As a classic shooting guard, he has always been a master of catching and shooting mid-range shots in the early stages of his career. After leaving the Wizards, his outside shooting feel has fluctuated every year. This year he shot 36%, and next year it plummeted to below 30%. This is a common statistic for a scorer who relies on mid-range shots and uses three-pointers as a backup plan.

Why did his three-point shooting percentage soar to 40% in the Lakers? This is of course related to his personal transformation, but it is also inseparable from the support of stars such as Kobe Bryant. After all, in the Lakers, no one will focus on him, and the pressure he faces in the regular season is different from now.

The Sonics didn't give him wide open space and had to keep people putting pressure on him. Throughout the game, Hamilton's three-point shooting rate was only about 35%. He shot this half-open three-pointer in full view of everyone, and then...
"boom!"

Inside the restricted area, Jordan Jr., Bosh and Yu Fei jumped at the same time, and it was impossible for the Lakers to snatch the rebound from these three people.

Yu Fei grabbed the rebound and gave Hamilton a sarcastic look.

Sorry Rip, even if your three-point shooting percentage is as high as 42%, in our plan, your shooting percentage is no different from 22%.

No matter how great a shooter is, he can't survive the hell of hand-to-hand combat. This is the origin of the saying in NBA history that shooting can't win championships.

Yu Fei passed the ball to Roy and gave him a look.

Roy understood and slowed down the tempo. When the offensive time came to the last ten seconds, Yu Fei blocked James in the low post.

Roy lobs.

The moment Yu Fei got the ball, his left half of his body crashed into James like a car in an accident.

The Lakers had not forgotten how bad James' low-post defense was, and at that moment, Kobe decisively let go of Durant to double-team him.

Yu Fei threw the ball to Durant behind him despite his blind spot.

“!#￥@!￥”

Durant shook and Miller, who came to assist in defense, flew away. He then dribbled into the basket and slam dunked.

"Frye and KD's connection!" Mike Breen yelled, "The Supersonics are leading by 9 points!"

Different emotions began to appear in James' heart, and some bad thoughts were growing.

Then, Yu Fei let him take a big step.

He has space to shoot.

The fans shouted impatiently: "LeBron, kill him! Let him know you are not easy to mess with!"

"!#￥!#￥"

James' will was hijacked. He could hardly believe that he could score a shot with this yes-or-no opportunity, but what could he do?
James took a deep breath, pulled up suddenly, and Yu Fei's interference came in front of him.

As soon as the ball hit the ground running, he knew it was over.

This ball is extremely crooked!

Durant grabbed the defensive rebound and excitedly wanted to pass the ball to Yu Fei who was running fast.

Unfortunately, the intention was too obvious and was discovered by Kobe, who intercepted it halfway.

Kobe took a decisive shot before the Sonics' defense was formed, but unfortunately this was his first shot after several rounds, and he didn't find the touch, and also missed.

Jordan Jr. protects the defensive rebound.

It's an image that's enough to confuse anyone about basketball development.

Yu Fei has proved in Milwaukee and Seattle that space, speed and three-pointers are the development trend of basketball games.

But why did the Supersonics use a lineup with neither space nor three-pointers to overwhelm the Lakers?

Is long, tall and fast also a possible answer?

"Take your time!" Roy took the ball from Jordan and shouted, "We still have a lot of time, hold on!"

There were less than two and a half minutes left.

Roy continued to control the situation.

Yu Fei was competing for position with James in the low post.

From a visual perspective, it looks like two strong men are forced into a corner and pushing each other on a crowded bus.

James desperately blocked the position, not wanting Yu Fei to get it.

But in the end, Yu Fei elbowed him hard behind him, waved his hands and shouted, "Pass the ball, he can't defend me!"

How many people stood up at this moment?
No one could give an exact number, but people like Gary Smith, who believed that Yu Fei would win, stood up.

Yu Fei received the ball, turned around, jumped smoothly, leaned back, and passed the ball.

From a genetic point of view, everyone is born by chance, survives by chance, and dies reasonably. They come without a trace and go without a trace.

But there is a small group of people who will leave a great mark, just like the dinosaurs countless epochs ago whose fossilized footprints are still left all over the world.

This is proof that they were here.

Tonight, some people are leaving behind a game that proves "he was here".

When the ball went in, the score difference reached 11 points, and the Lakers requested a timeout in a suffocating manner.

Frye will win.

There is a growing consensus outside the game that his career will peak this year and he will surpass every player in history.

On this fateful night, Phil Jackson's last-minute decision put an end to the foreshadowing beyond time.

He gave up Artest and Antawn Jamison, and replaced them with Mike Bibby and Eddie House. In this way, the Lakers did not even have a real power forward on the field, but had the ability to play with five people at the same time.

Jackson wanted to shorten Kobe's attacking distance. He hoped to use a full-stretch lineup to call for a pick-and-roll and let James go to the low post to punish the Sonics' defensive loopholes.

Who is responsible for this vulnerability?
Brandon Roy, of course.

After the pause, the world saw this scene.

After many screens and switches, Yu Fei and Durant were entangled by Kobe and Miller respectively, while James faced Roy in the low post on the right side.

"LEBRON!!!!!!"

The ray of hope fell on the King. He was facing the weakest defensive player on the Supersonics. Even if his low-post offense was not his strong point, he could not miss this shot.

The live audience, hundreds of millions of viewers from all over the country and the world, watched him bump Roy once, twice, and then turned around and jumped in the paint.
"boom!!!!!"

Jordan Jr. quickly returned to the basket and grabbed the defensive rebound, and the whole audience was in an uproar.

"LeBron, what are you doing?"

"How could you miss this shot? LeBron? How could you miss this shot?"

"Oh my god, why don't you give the ball to Kobe? Why don't you let Kobe take this shot!"

"We're doomed!"

There was an atmosphere in the Staples Center as if someone was about to die suddenly.

Yu Fei dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, without waiting for his teammates to get into position or looking to see if the opponent's defense was in place, he suddenly stepped back to receive the ball, and an ultra-long three-pointer flew out of his hands.

“Ugh!!!!”

"Frye's 45th point! The score difference has reached 14 points!"

In his ninth year as the Chosen One, he was about to reach the top, and he never imagined how loud the roar would be, nor how excited he would be.

Yu Fei turned around and desperately stuck to Kobe, forcing the Lakers to give the ball to James and let him attack.

Then, the Lakers can only do the same thing, Bibby controls the ball, and then others create low-post single-shot opportunities for Kobe and James, but the Supersonics can't let Kobe go to the low post to get single-shot opportunities.

So, it was James who came to that position again.

Is the stadium still a sanctuary at this moment?
Kobe wanted to know what was going on in James' mind, but he and everyone else only saw the basketball player with the best physical fitness in the world sounding the final bell of the Lakers with a soft and weak jump shot while backing up the opponent's weak spot.

"boom!!!!!"

Boos, screams, curses.

"Damn it, Niko!" Snoopy roared, "You'll never be able to beat that stinky dog ​​Frye this way, Niko!!!"

Yu Fei's figure appeared in front of James. He jumped up, grabbed the rebound, and then quickly moved forward.

He stopped two meters before the three-point line at the top of the arc. This is the secret of the Lakers' success today and the reason why the Lakers ended up like this tonight. The three-pointer is so fascinating and represents the secret of the future of basketball, but in the end, it only surrenders to the people who created this era.

Nine meters away from the basket, Yu Fei shot a long three-pointer.

The score difference rose to 17 points at this moment.

Yu Fei is only 50 points away from scoring 2 points in three consecutive playoff games.

At this time, there were less than 70 seconds left in the game.

Mike Breen said: "We can say in advance, congratulations to the Supersonics for winning this crucial game!"

Then, Kobe, unwilling to give up, dribbled the ball from the backcourt to the frontcourt and forced a goal.

The score difference returned to 15 points, but the game was over.

Roy controlled the game steadily and the game time quickly dropped from 55 seconds.

With 10 seconds left in the offensive time, Yu Fei got the ball outside the three-point line on the right.

The person guarding him was Kobe.

"Like this result, Kobe?"

Before the Chosen One made the final judgment, he asked his opponent a question.

Kobe gritted his teeth and said nothing.

Nine years ago, when Yu Fei helped his high school win the state championship, a middle-aged woman entered their celebration party and said to Yu Fei: "When I watched you compete with other players, I felt like I was watching my son."

Now, Yu Fei is no longer the young man who aroused the blood feelings of middle-aged women. He has become greater than everyone who had high hopes for him.

"Forgive me...but when I talk about Fry, I get so emotional...my heart...is filled with so much...joy..."

The words of Yu Fei High School's principal on championship night echoed in Gary Smith's mind.

He started to break through Kobe.

"He will transcend this game... and bring to the world...heroism never before seen..."

He broke through Kobe's defense, rushed to the basket, ignored everyone, and jumped with all his strength even when he was exhausted, overlooking his opponents.

Then, he dunked with all his might.

The audience fell into deathly silence, as if suffocating.

He pointed at Kobe with a sneer and said, "Retire with the curse of not being able to win a championship without O'Neal, Kobe."

"As for you!"

He didn't even bother to look at the king who buried the Lakers' hopes.

"Live with this shame!"

The game ended with the score being 118 to 101.

This is Game 3 and the series score is 2 to .

But no one believed the Lakers would stand up in Game 6. Their spine had been broken, like a beast without claws and teeth.

Some failures will be remembered forever, just as some successes will become eternal.

Sports Illustrated would sum it all up in one sentence in its next issue: Frye won.

PS: I was supposed to write a post-match interview, but my back hurts so badly that I can’t write it today. Sorry.

(End of this chapter)