When pride still matters

Chapter 549 Remember These Disrespects

The New Jersey Nets' appeal this past summer was like the Lakers' in the summer of 2009, comparable to the SuperSonics with their Big Four.

This allowed them to use almost all of their salary cap space to form the Big Three, and still sign many good players with the mid-level exception and minimum salary.

First, their mid-level exception was given to Ron Artest—oh no, now he should be called Metta World Peace.

This veteran who failed to realize his dream with the Lakers left in anger when the Lakers made it clear that they would not keep him with a middle-class contract, and announced to the world that he would change his name to charity World Peace.

In addition to Metta World Peace, another veteran who joined the team on a minimum salary is Lamar Odom, another former Lakers player.

Also, there are young players like Courtney Lee.

The Nets do not have enviable lineup depth, and their main reliance is the Big Three.

Although Paul, Anthony and Howard have no conflict in position, their playing styles are not so compatible. They were able to have a good start at the beginning of the season mainly because of the relaxed schedule, plus Paul and Howard showed their strength as the best players in their respective positions. However, in front of the SuperSonics, these "first players" need to be tested at the highest level.

Anthony said to Fei: "Your monopoly on championships is over."

Yu Fei asked with a smile: "Will it end in your hands?"

Honestly, this is not an unacceptable result. Yu Fei never thought that he would win consecutive championships, but he has the opportunity to win four consecutive championships. Considering the strength of the league's antitrust and his age, no one can say for sure when the Sonics' competitiveness will suddenly collapse.

He had always thought he would retire at 35. Given his age, this is surely his first and last chance to chase a fourth consecutive title. Will he let Anthony end it?
"Mello." Yu Fei sneered, "When have you ever defeated me?"

And so the game began.

Although the Nets have an enviable core of talent, they also have some bad habits that are difficult to change. These bad habits are most obvious in Anthony.

Anthony surprised everyone in his first year in the NBA, not only showing his all-round skills, but also leading the team into the playoffs. This led to many people complaining for Anthony after James was elected Rookie of the Year.

However, there are disadvantages to being precocious. People who mature early in character usually mature late, but what about people who mature early in skills? If there is such a person who can average 19 points per game in the NBA at the age of 20 and becomes a long-term scoring champion after adapting to physical confrontation, will he still jump out of his comfort zone?
Over the years, every coach Anthony met wanted to give him some more burdens. If he didn't play like Yu Fei, he should at least be able to attack and pass the ball like James. But the success in the early stage of his career made Anthony believe that he didn't need to change. As long as he was given the right position and let him find the position to receive the ball and score, the team would win.

Over time, he developed the habit of "I play well when I'm in a good mood, and I'm a bitch when I'm in a bad mood. Whether I'm in a good mood depends on how the coaching staff arranges me." If the coaching staff arranges tactics for him and gives him a suitable role, he will play happily; if he is in an unsuitable system, he will be unhappy.

This is a taboo for teams with multiple giants. Paul and Howard are only higher than Anthony in terms of league status. If Anthony is unwilling to make changes, the two of them will not change. As a result, in this era when small forwards are leaning towards power forwards, Anthony is still playing small forward, and the Nets can only let veteran Odom come up to face Yu Fei.

As for Anthony, he enjoys Paul's dispatch and passing, and feels as if he has never left Denver. His tactical position and team position have not changed, only his teammates have changed. In Denver, he will never have superstar teammates like Paul and Howard.

However, one of Anthony's offensive habits - low-post offense - is also Howard's habit. Although Howard is often ridiculed as a blue-collar player, he is the one who likes to play low-post offense the most among blue-collar star centers. With his exaggerated upper body strength and beast-like physical fitness, his low-post turnaround hook shot is very effective when facing short centers like himself.

However, Anthony took up most of the low-post offensive roles, so Howard could only be a blue-collar player. Although Howard averaged 21 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks per game with a super blue-collar style since the beginning of the season, playing like this does not make him happy. Howard's new teammates do not know what will happen if Howard is unhappy.

Paul was the only one who didn't notice anything unusual, because core point guards are a rare commodity on the court, and a core point guard with excellent qualifications is even harder to find. Many great players have never been teammates with great point guards throughout their careers. Once they have such an experience, it will be like an ordinary person suddenly meeting an experienced and skilled person of the opposite sex. After a heart-to-heart connection, he will sigh from the bottom of his heart: "Wow, it turns out that it can be like this!"

It can be said that the reason why Howard was unhappy but still able to perform well was mostly due to Paul, who was too good at feeding the ball to the inside.

However, that superficial harmony can only be maintained when facing opponents who are far less powerful than them.

In a strong confrontation, the team with better chemistry will gain a greater advantage.

Yu Fei first attacked Odom.

Although both of them are power forwards, Odom, the genuine power forward, is powerless against Yu Fei, the guest power forward.

Odom couldn't defend Yu Fei's attack with the ball.

When Yu Fei made a back-to-the-basket shot in the low post, Odom just raised his hand symbolically.

After Yu Fei's pick-and-roll, Odom was able to read the offense, but his feet couldn't keep up.

This guy has only been away from the Lakers for a few years, but his decline is surprising.

Yu Fei opened up the situation with one move at a time.

The Supersonics started with an 11-5 lead.

The Nets called a timeout and then replaced him with another offseason veteran, Al Harrington.

Anthony started asking for the ball and scored consecutive shots over Durant's head.

Of course Durant couldn't accept this and wanted to get the ball back.

However, there is a paradox in Anthony.

That is, Anthony is a bad defender no matter how you look at it, and the respective data reflects this, but if he wants to defend someone, his defensive power will increase sharply.

Anthony defended Durant and made him miss the shot, then he knocked the ball out of bounds from Durant's hand with one hand.

"You are not worthy enough to fight me." Anthony said arrogantly, "Call Frye! Do you hear me? I told you to call Frye!"

Yu Fei laughed and said, "You are from New York after all. Do you think you have to decide the winner after just two rounds?"

Anthony said confidently: "Even if he plays 11 balls, he is no match for me!"

This is definitely something that Durant's camp cannot understand.

Logically speaking, the Supersonics won three consecutive championships, Yu Fei became the GOAT, and Roy became the league's number one point guard. Why didn't Durant get respect?
Yu Fei came to the outside to get the ball, and Harrington followed.

Afterwards, Yu Fei called for Durant to set a pick-and-roll, forcing Anthony in front of him.

Anthony was delighted.

He could almost imagine how many eyes were looking at him at this moment.

The media cameras, the spotlights on the sidelines, the discussions among fans about who is better - these topics that symbolize sports heroes never included him because he wasted too much time in Denver and he was a fool.

How could one possibly make anything successful in a place like Denver?
Even New Jersey is a little behind, but, as the saying goes, beggars can't be choosers.

New Jersey is average, but with the Big Three, New Jersey has unlimited possibilities.

Anthony's ambition to become a superstar like Yu Fei made him go all out in defending Yu Fei.

His defense even surprised Yu Fei.

Apart from anything else, if this guy could take defense seriously, let alone be selected for the All-Defensive Team, he would definitely not be treated as a loophole like he is now.

What is more hateful than being a player who is invincible on offense but terrible on defense? It is a player who can be both invincible on offense and tough on defense, but chooses to play defense carefully because of his own will.

Yu Fei and Anthony waste time for ten seconds, then he suddenly burst out a step, dribbled the ball behind his back and adjusted the direction to his left hand, tearing open Anthony's defense, and then took a step back to the left wing to create shooting space, and a fadeaway jump shot flew out of his palm smoothly.

Anthony tried his best, but Yu Fei's skills were too good.

A person who does not pay attention to defense at all in normal times can never become a big lock even if he improves his defensive strength through serious defense.

"Shh!"

This ball made Anthony realize that no matter how hard he tried to defend, he could not defend against Yu Fei.

Instead of wasting time on something that won't yield any benefit, it's better to focus on offense.

"Come guard me, Frye!" Anthony yelled.

Yu Fei took the initiative to switch defense with Durant and reminded him: "Their defense at the No. 4 position is very bad, you must seize this opportunity!"

"Also, remember the disrespect."

Durant nodded and said, "No problem." Then he came to his senses. No problem? Is it really okay to let Frye take the spotlight on Anthony?

How can a person who always calls his parents for help when he is in doubt win the respect of his opponents?

Anthony did not get rid of Yu Fei's defense, or in other words, he was not as good as Yu Fei in using various control techniques to create shooting space.

His killer move is to seize fleeting opportunities and instantly complete the process of receiving the ball, lifting the ball, and jumping to shoot from the dribbling state.

Everyone who has seen Anthony receive the ball and shoot can't help but say it's smooth.

Compared to Howard's physical fitness that can be seen with the naked eye, Anthony's ball sense and coordination with the ball in fast technical movements that cannot be explained in words are one in a million.

"Frye, I'm not LeBron!"

Anthony said proudly after responding.

Yu Fei snorted with laughter.

Anthony really made him see what it was like when an arrogant, narcissistic and arrogant person suddenly exploded after being suppressed for many years in an ignored small-market team.

There's a sense of Clay Bennett supporting small-market teams in giving players 47% of profits.

"Come on, Fry, keep going!"

Anthony took the initiative to defend Yu Fei, hoping to continue the singles game.

However, Yu Fei did not do as he wished.

Yu Fei got the ball, but just received it. The ball quickly returned to Roy's hands, while Yu Fei himself provided cover for Hill who was running towards him.

Hill ran out of space and hit a three-pointer after receiving a pass from Roy.

"Frye, I don't remember you being the kind of man who kills the fun." Anthony recalled the good old days of the night in the major leagues. "When I questioned your ability to handle two women at the same time, you chose three women. Tell me, are you still the same person you were back then?"

Hill, who was standing next to him, was struck by lightning. He always considered himself a good man and was loyal to his feelings. He couldn't believe that there were such evil things in the world.

"These are two different things, Melo." Yu Fei smiled and replied, "I am very focused on the game."

The kind of tit-for-tat showdown Anthony wanted didn't happen.

After Yu Fei and Anthony exchanged a few moves, they started to do what he considered boring things. Running tactics, screens, boxing out, rebounding... My God, Anthony never knew that superstars also had to take on the job of boxing out. Does this make sense? I didn't box out when I was a superstar, so does that mean I have to box out when I become a superstar?
Yu Fei became a spoiler that Anthony hated, and Paul took the ball back from Anthony. Durant quickly understood what Yu Fei meant by "the opponent's No. 4 defense is terrible." It's not terrible, it's useless. If Odom can't defend, then Arrington is: Is there such a thing as defense on the basketball court?

Fortunately, Paul locked down the opposing point guard on the outside, and Howard, a DPOY in his prime, was also in the inside, otherwise the Nets' defense would have been a big problem. But the duel between championship contenders is always about weaknesses, and whoever has the shorter weakness will suffer.

Although Yu Fei stopped attacking, he was everywhere on the court. After becoming the fourth position, Yu Fei had to put aside his super giant attitude to do the dirty work, which made him understand and feel the game more. He couldn't understand why some inside players couldn't get into position immediately after the pick-and-roll, and why some inside players couldn't return to the basket immediately after delaying in the high position. When he did these things himself, he realized how difficult it was.

Yu Fei's goal was not to become the best power forward in the league, he just wanted to be a qualified power forward. So, in the first few minutes after the first quarter, he hardly took any shots, but only did pick-and-roll, screen, switch defense, assist defense, position and rebound.

Durant fired hard at Arlington without any interference.

In a few minutes, Durant scored 12 points just by pulling out from the fourth position.

However, the Nets' response wasn't bad either.

Paul called for Bosh to train in the pick-and-roll. Howard's dominance in rebounding was extremely strong. Basically, as long as he stood in position, no one could get the rebound from him.

Relying on the second-chance offense brought by offensive rebounds, the Nets and the Supersonics were on par in this period.

Defensive rebounding is the main problem for the Sonics right now.

If Bosh is called out, Yu Fei will have to compete with Howard for rebounds in the interior, and the confrontation between the two is not on the same level.

If Yu flies out, Bosh still can't grab the ball from Howard.

After all, Bosh is a top center at the power forward position. Apart from being a little taller, his physique and core strength are significantly different from those of a top center like Howard.

Nine minutes into the game, Yu Fei and Roy were substituted.

Tyronn Lue replaced Beverley and Jordan.

"how do you feel?"

Coach Lu wanted to know if Yu Fei could still hold on.

Yu Fei said honestly: "I can't beat him."

After all, Yu Fei had not done any training to play the power forward position before this season.

He just chose to move to the power forward position in response to the changing times and the needs of the team.

Against most power forwards, he could not only hold his own but also had a clear advantage. However, against a power forward like Howard, he fully felt how big the power gap was between the forward and the center.

Lu nodded and said, "I know what to do."

Lu's approach is very simple, he will double-team Paul as soon as he calls for a pick-and-roll.

Paul is not afraid of double-teaming, but no matter who it is, he has to make a quick decision when he encounters a double-team. In this way, Paul cannot wait for Howard to return to the basket, but must pass the ball immediately, whether to Howard or to the outside line, which is better than being called out by him and then being beaten to death by Howard's crazy frontcourt rebounds.

On the court, Durant and the second team were finishing up the first quarter, while the Nets asked Anthony to finish up, which brought up the grudge between the two.

Anthony took the lead and hit a pull-up three-pointer over Durant's head and said, "It's so easy, you're not even a hair as good as Frye!" Durant was not inferior. He snatched the job from Beverly, dribbled the ball to the forty-five degree angle on the left side of the frontcourt, and responded with a three-pointer.

At that moment, Yu Fei thought of an old friend. However, Durant did not say any trash talk, and there was no reporter interviewing him about how he prepared for this shot. So people did not know that he had been doing similar training throughout his life.

Anthony cheered again and again. Compared with the disappointing Frye, Durant was more to his liking. The two of them started to compete with each other, and Durant was the more efficient one.

However, in the last minute, Durant missed a difficult turnaround jump shot and it went out of bounds, which aroused Beverley's dissatisfaction. "Do you think you can take all the shots when Frye and Brandon are not on the court?" Beverley shouted, "What do you think of us?"

"Passer." This was Durant's answer. He asked in return, "What do you think?"

This was supposed to be an unexpected scene. The internal hidden dangers of the Nets had not yet been exposed, but the discord within the Supersonics team appeared in a sharp way under the national live broadcast.

The whole world knows that Beverley is a mad dog "adopted" by Yu Fei during the lockout. He went to China with Yu Fei to play games, and then joined the SuperSonics after the lockout. This unruly mad dog barked at Yu Fei's successor, causing the commentary teams of major TV stations and social media to boil.

Durant walked away indifferently and glanced at Yu Fei who was sitting lazily on the sidelines.

"Remember the disrespect."

This is what Yu Fei said to him when Anthony laughed at him before.

Does that include this, Fry?

(End of this chapter)