When pride still matters

Chapter 550 The World of Big People
Although there are clearly defined roles in the team, such as core, starter, main rotation, substitute, and marginal player, in addition to these role divisions based on team status, many derivative roles will emerge due to different situations of each team.

Just like Matt Bonner to the Spurs and Haslem to the Heat, every team has one or two mavericks who define the team's temperament.

Patrick Beverley might be one of the most lowly guys on the Sonics, but he also has one of the biggest egos in the league.

Although he entered the NBA through the draft, the Lakers who selected him did not recognize his abilities, forcing him to go overseas to work hard. Then, fortunately, he was appreciated by Yu Ffei during the lockout and thus opened the door to the NBA.

Beverly knew why Yu Fei admired him.

Therefore, even after joining the league's first team, Beverly still went his own way and refused to give face to anyone except Yu Fei.

He is the most hardworking and desperate person, which is not surprising, Alonzo Key has the same characteristics. However, compared with Key's kind, optimistic and cheerful personality, Beverly is the opposite. He is both vulgar and arrogant, willing to compete with anyone, and must point out anything that does not go his way.

If those thugs who have disappeared from the court are hated by their opponents but loved by their teammates, then people like Beverley make everyone equally unhappy with him.

Beverley knows his role.

In situations where the positive is emphasized, he should take the lead and be the one to say things that Yu Fei is not suitable to say.

So, after seeing Durant ignoring his teammates and playing one-on-one for several minutes, he couldn't help but question it.

For Durant, this is new.

This season, Durant's statistics have improved significantly. Since becoming a full-time power forward, his average number of shots per game has increased to 18, and he averages 26 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists per game.

His average points per game is only 2 points less than Yu Fei.

He believed that when Yu Fei and Roy were not on the court, he had unlimited firing rights, and it had always been like this before.

But today Beverly suddenly questioned this matter because he went too far tonight and did not let other teammates take shots for several minutes.

This is a matter of "even if he is wrong, you can't say it" in the game, because Durant's status is extraordinary, but Beverly openly questioned Durant's offensive choice.

All of a sudden, the temperature on the field dropped sharply.

The most panicked person is Tyronn Lue.

Yu Fei's henchmen openly questioned Durant. Was this Beverley's own behavior or Yu Fei's instruction? If it was Beverley's own behavior, how should it be handled? If it was Yu Fei's instruction, what does that mean? Does the GOAT no longer want to play the four position? So he deliberately used this method to deny Durant in order to return to the three position?
Although Lu thinks the possibility is low, as someone who has experienced the internal strife of OK, he will use the darkest thoughts to speculate what happened on the court.

He glanced at Yu Fei, wanting to know what his attitude was.

"Don't worry about them."

The GOAT gave instructions.

Then never mind.

Anyway, this kind of thing is not within the jurisdiction of the coaching staff.

This made Coach Lu inexplicably sad.

Back then, Phil Jackson was an important figure in the internal strife of the OK team, but he had no say in the Supersonics team.

Yu Fei made the decision with just one word.

In the last thirty seconds of the first quarter, Beverly continued to pass the ball to Durant.

But Durant seemed to take the advice, dribbling the ball a few times before passing it back to Beverley.

So, the Supersonics finally played a coherent tactic in the last attack of the first quarter.

Durant set a screen, Beverly broke through, and Anthony Morrow received the ball from the outside and made a three-pointer.

Things may seem to be going well, but what happened a minute ago will never be forgotten.

After the first quarter, the Supersonics led by 6 points.

Coming to the sidelines, Yu Fei said to Beverley: "Pat, you have to apologize to KD."

Beverly didn't even ask why, and apologized in front of everyone for what happened.

That's the end of the matter.

There was no complicated hidden story, no special hint. Beverly was just that kind of person. He had gone a little too far just now, so he needed to apologize. This was what Yu Fei wanted to convey.

Then again, Durant couldn't just stand there and accept the apology.

He has his own personality.

His personality is that of the American son who is "the best in the world". As a person who cannot have any flaws, his behavior just now was very selfish. It is reasonable for him to be questioned by his teammates, but he actually mocked Beverley as a "passer"?
So he admitted that he had done something wrong. But when he apologized, a voice in his heart was roaring: I don't need to apologize!
The reason he apologized was just to maintain his image, not because he really felt he was wrong.

Look how much bad things this damn hypocrite image has brought him.

He doesn't get respect from the media, nor from his opponents, and now even Yu Fei's dog doesn't respect him.

He envied Yu Fei for being able to show his character to the world without any scruples. When the world praised him for his humility and kindness, he would force a smile because this was not the real him.

Now, he realizes that this image won't bring him much practical help.
On the contrary, he will be constrained everywhere because of this image.

In Durant's heart, a rebellious mentality and the desire to be himself suddenly took over.

Next was their opponent. The Nets substituted Howard in early in the second quarter, hoping to let Howard show his dominance as the league's top inside player.

This is an era where the inside line is declining and traditions are being abandoned.

Howard's natural enemy Yao Ming has become a center who mainly relies on outside shooting and is supplemented by low-post singles.

When the inside players are asked to play outside, their rebounding numbers will drop. With the Timberwolves' second pick, Oden, who was said to be more talented than Durant, being ruled out for the season again due to ACL injury at the beginning of the season, the league's inside talent is already in jeopardy.

Howard, who follows tradition, is the only center who can average 20+10 per game.

The result was not what the Nets had hoped for.

Because the Supersonics replaced him with Jordan, who can compete with Howard in explosiveness and has comparable physical conditions, but is far inferior in strength in the interior.

As a multi-year repeater of the Dream Factory opened by Hakeem Olajuwon in the summer, Howard attempted to perform a dream dance on Jordan.

Yu Fei couldn't understand it, but he was deeply shocked.

Sometimes he really couldn't understand why those inside players who couldn't even do a hook shot or a turnaround shot kept learning how to do a post-up step-back.

If you are really asked to move out of position, can you hook the ball or shoot the ball?

Howard is not completely without skills. If he is really squeezed under the basket, relying on his extremely developed upper limb strength and inhuman shoulder width, his hook shot accuracy near the basket is quite good.

But once he can't get to the basket, there's nothing he can do.

Jordan's position in the Supersonics is just a main rotation player, but the strength he showed in the few minutes against Howard was surprising enough.

"Why do I say Seattle's fourth consecutive championship is unstoppable?" ESPN's Jeff Van Gundy said, "DeAndre Jordan is already the most talented young center in the league, and he can only play as a substitute in Seattle. This is why they are bound to succeed. The SuperSonics have a first-class lineup depth."

Although Jordan is even more anti-trend than Howard, this is an era of decline in the interior.

The requirements for the inside line in the space age are switching defense, protecting the basket, and shooting three-pointers.

If Jordan Jr. does not continue to gain weight, his speed can complete switching defenses. Protecting the rim is his strong point, and three-point shooting is his only weakness that cannot be relied upon.

Having two outstanding strengths is enough to make him a star center of this era.

This potential will not be concealed by the bench, especially for a team like the Supersonics that is under a magnifying glass.

Therefore, Jordan will definitely receive a maximum salary offer next summer.

By then, it is foreseeable what decision the Supersonics, whose salary cap is already terribly high, will make.

Basketball began to become unhappy, and Howard didn't expect that he couldn't even play as a substitute.

The Nets quickly replaced Paul to calm Howard's emotions.

With Paul around, Howard doesn't have to work so hard on his back.

But the Supersonics also brought Yu Fei back.

After Yu Fei came on the court, he immediately implemented the double-team strategy against Paul.

After the initial discomfort, Paul was able to find teammates in open positions stably.

The Supersonics, led by Yu Fei, continued to attack the Nets' weak side, thereby creating open shooting opportunities from the outside.

Veteran Grant Hill is one of the surprise players tonight. He is the worst tactically treated starter in the league, with very few playing time and very few shots per game. The Nets also valued this and frequently left him open.

Hill may be the most pure-minded person in the Sonics. He is only here for the championship. As long as he can win the championship, he can give up everything. Ball possession? Status? Playing time? None of these are important.

He was a star in the 90s and was a top five player in the league in his peak season. However, how many people still remember him today? What is the most important mark Hill left on basketball history? In the winter of 2001, he became a stepping stone for Frye Yu to take over.

Such memories are cruel and helpless, but this is the price of being associated with the great men of history.

When he arrived in Seattle, he found that the No. 33 jersey he had worn for many years had already been owned by Alonzo Gee, the SuperSonics' No. 33 jersey owner.

Key was willing to give up his number, but Hill did not accept it because he was no longer No. 33.

So he chose number 3. This meant that he was now only half of what he once was.

The success at the beginning of his career and his decline at the end have allowed Hill to accept a variety of outcomes. He is now just playing his remaining heat as a veteran and starting to cause headaches for the people of New Jersey.

He hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc, followed by a three-pointer from the weak side, and finally a simple three-pointer from the bottom corner, and he made two in a row.

Throughout the second quarter, if fans only watched the live text broadcast, then they would only remember one thing: Frye broke through and passed the ball to Hill, who made a three-pointer.

Hill, who only shot 36% from three-point range, made 6 of 6 shots in the second quarter tonight, scoring 18 points in a single quarter, almost sending the game into garbage time on his own. If it weren't for Paul and Anthony's toughness, who each scored singles at a critical juncture to extend his life, the suspense of the game would have disappeared before the end of the first half.

At the end of the first half, Hill had a smile on his face, and time seemed to have gone back 20 years.

The talented player who was so high-spirited at Duke University is back.

Yu Fei asked, "Grant, basketball is fun, right?"

"If it wasn't so much fun," Hill laughed, "I wouldn't be playing until I was 40."

It seems that Hill loves this sport even more than Yu Fei.

Hill is willing to play until he is 40, but that is something Yu Fei cannot imagine. He will play until he is 35 at most because he cannot accept being used as a stepping stone and beaten by young people when he gets older.

This has nothing to do with passion. The higher a person stands, the more fragile his self-esteem becomes and the less he can withstand any stimulation.

The Supersonics entered the second half with a 12-point lead.

Tyronn Lu praised Hill enthusiastically.

He said Hill is a Seattle treasure.

"Grant put in the greatest veteran performance I've ever seen tonight."

Lu also said: "He made 6 three-pointers in one quarter. Can you believe it? Three-pointers are not his strong point. Is this a new record in the league? I wonder why he doesn't shrug his shoulders in front of the camera."

Who should we choose, Coach Lu?
The momentum of the game was in the hands of the SuperSonics.

The fans at the scene were expecting a big win, however, there was a reason why the Nets were able to sweep the entire team at the beginning of the season.

Paul, who was only busy threading the needle in the first half, suddenly started to launch an offensive. He looked so small, but his determination and will had spread to every corner of the team.

It's obviously the Big Three, but Anthony can't say this is his team, Howard can't say it, but Paul can. Without him, the Nets are just an ordinary strong team.

Paul played several textbook one-on-one plays, then assisted Anthony to hit a three-pointer and connected with Howard. The Supersonics just missed a few rounds and the score difference was directly narrowed to 5 points.

Before Curry's rise to fame, Paul was the top point guard.

In a regular season like this that does not involve a life-and-death showdown in the playoffs, even if it is a focus game, his influence is direct.

Yu Fei watched him bring back the suspense of the game, and what he was thinking was, how could he do the same thing at the fourth position?
If he were still playing the 1 or 3 position now, he would have more influence than Paul.

But once you’ve decided to try a new style, you can’t give up halfway.

Yu Fei's main problem now is that he has not yet strengthened his strength to meet the needs of the four position. Although he has no strength disadvantage against the four positions of most teams, he will have trouble facing the five position.

If you want to play the four position, it is inevitable that you will be misaligned with the five position.

But this problem is difficult to improve during the season, because training is systematic. Once the proportion of strength training increases, the body balance will be broken, and many technical movements and muscle memory will need to be reconstructed.

This is a long process.

The two teams began to put pressure around the 5-point difference. Yu Fei's several receptions, Roy's off-ball offense, and Durant's singles were all unable to defeat the Nets.

Four minutes before the end of the game, Anthony threw a three-pointer directly in front of Durant.

"Shh!"

In just a moment, the score difference came to 2 points.

Anthony arrogantly tapped his head three times, and the Nets' momentum reached its peak.

Durant was anxious. He really believed that his strength was superior to Anthony's, so he decisively called a halt to the tactics and attacked with the ball.

Anthony failed to defend him, it was Howard's assist defense that defended him.

Durant took a risky jump shot, but missed completely.

"Too reckless!" Roy was dissatisfied with Durant's offensive choice.

At this moment, a figure streaked across the sky, and everyone saw only that it was the No. 44 of the Supersonics. Then, No. 44 grabbed the basketball and slammed it into the basket in front of Howard.

"I've seen enough." Cold No. 44, arrogant No. 44, overbearing No. 44, and intractable No. 44. He just walked back, but said something unbearable: "Just stop here, Merry Christmas."

Anthony said angrily: "Fry, you are too arrogant!"

Anthony will know immediately whether it is arrogance or not.

Paul encountered Yu Fei's mismatched defense and wanted to win with a small effort, but his rhythm was completely pinned down and he was unable to create space and was forced to pass the ball.

Anthony took a single shot and missed the three-pointer.

Yu Fei went straight to the fast break, received the pass midway, rushed to the front court, and dunked with all his might.

Paul was getting anxious now. After a high-post single play, he kept shaking, took advantage of the time difference and scored successfully.

New Jerseyans thought they could take a breather.

Yu Fei just ran slowly to the frontcourt. Durant was about to ask Roy for the ball, but he saw Yu Fei pointing at the bottom corner with an irresistible gesture, asking him to get out of the way.

Then he waved at Roy and the ball went straight to him.

Anthony was defending with all his might, but Yu Fei used quick cross-crotch dribbling and a few bangs to shake the opponent's center of gravity, then took a huge step back to create distance, and made a heart-pounding three-pointer that fell into the pocket.

Anthony did not give up and wanted to find Yu Fei to fight back, but he made mistakes at the critical moment. He did not play in the low post or run tactics, but tried to attack with the ball.

As soon as Yu Fei put pressure on Anthony, he became unstable, and after another mistake, the ball was lost.

That was 90 seconds before the end of the game.

Yu Fei snatched the out-of-control ball from the ground and rushed to the front court as if gliding along the ground.

Anthony chased back frantically, but he just became the closest spectator of the most exciting dunk of the night.

With less than 80 seconds left, the score difference was widened to 9 points.

Starting from that tip-in, Yu Fei scored seven points in a row, completely destroying the Nets on his own.

The Nets reluctantly requested a timeout, a belated one as they knew the game was over.

What’s heartbreaking is what Yu Fei said to Anthony before he left the court.

"Melo." The GOAT welcomed Carmelo Anthony to the world of big men in his own unique way. "You are far inferior to LeBron."

After the timeout, the Nets struggled a few times but failed to change the result.

115 is better than 106
The Supersonics defeated the Nets' Big Three by 9 points and won the Christmas battle.

After the game
The quarrel between Durant and Beverly has become one of the focuses of the outside world. Here are their respective explanations.

Beverley said: "I have apologized to KD for this matter. It's no big deal. We are brothers and all kinds of things happen during the game."

Durant said: "I like what happened tonight. Friends who are willing to point out your shortcomings are more important than those who only know how to flatter you."

Then Tyronn Lue can legitimately lead everyone to make dumplings together: "To those who criticize us for internal discord, I can only say that you neither understand championships nor teams. This is our Seattle SuperSonics!"

After they finished wrapping the dumplings, Yu Fei had nothing more to say but to praise Hill.

Regarding his performance of scoring 7 points in a row to end the game, Yu Fei simply said: "I just did what I should do."

The reporters have indeed calmed down after the frenzy during the game.

After all, such performance is common among flying people.

So, either make dumplings with Coach Lu or sing praises to Hill, that's the theme of tonight.

Hill said with emotion: "All the experiences you have along the way will eventually be reflected in your career. When you think back to those dark times, you will ask yourself whether you should continue to play... Because of injuries and age, I can never go back to the way I used to be, but I am still playing, and I have to keep moving forward."

That day, Hill returned to the locker room.

Alonzo Gee presented his No. 33 jersey with both hands: "Grant, it's time to be yourself again."

However, Hill smiled and rejected him.

"No, young man, you are its master now."

The only good thing that came to Grant Hill during the long dark time was his appreciation for time.

Young Grant Hill could easily get rid of 95% of NBA players with a change of direction, low body acceleration dribble, and then use a big stride to break through and complete a razor-like layup; if he wanted, he could get a triple-double every week. When he almost retired due to injuries and almost died under the threat of viral infection, when he found that he could play again, he decided to keep playing until he couldn't play anymore.

Grant Hill, who wore No. 33, was unlucky, but Grant Hill, who wore No. 3, was lucky. In the last stop of his career, he could be teammates with the greatest player in history.

Hill rejected Ji's kindness and walked to his closet. The mirror beside the closet reflected Yu Fei standing behind him.

"Grant, I'm still used to seeing you wearing No. 33." Yu Fei said.

"Are you used to seeing me wearing No. 33, or do you just want to use me to recall that game?"

"Both, don't you miss it?" Yu Fei said, "You used to be able to play like this every night."

"That was ten years ago," Hill replied.

This is what the person in the world who misses Grant Hill wearing No. 33 the most said.

"I have completely forgotten it."

(End of this chapter)