When pride still matters

Chapter 557 I hope it can last forever
The Supersonics defeated the Spurs very cleanly with a score of 4 to 1, giving themselves enough time to rest.

Will the opponent in the finals be New Jersey or Miami?
Yu Fei's answer to this question is: "It doesn't matter, anyone can do it."

The GOAT's statement can be interpreted in many ways, arrogance, arrogance, or absolute confidence in winning.

Yu Fei’s camp will of course choose the third explanation, but those media outlets that want to stir up trouble will consciously choose the topic with the most traffic.

Supersonic is in a relaxed state.

When the Heat led the Nets 3-2 and entered the sixth game of the Eastern Conference Finals, Tyronn Lue gave the entire team a day off and rewarded everyone by going to watch "Twilight" together.

As for Yu Fei personally, he would rather watch "Avengers", but "Twilight" is also fine.

The movie is as simple and boring as the strong-limbed and simple-minded Sonics players thought.

Kwame Brown complained: "The protagonists are too white. Why do they think black people can't be the protagonists in vampire movies?"

"Don't worry." Yu Fei said jokingly, "As long as President Ao is re-elected, everything will be fine."

Roy was lost in thought about the plot of the movie.

He thought it was strange that the latest Twilight film had Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart having human-style procreation, resulting in the latter becoming pregnant.

Because he had read some strange books, which clearly mentioned that vampires have no blood. If vampires have no blood, how can Pattinson's second brother stand up? If the second brother cannot stand up, how can he complete the necessary process of reproduction?
Afterwards, Roy tweeted: "Robert may be the first man in human history to successfully reproduce without a baby."

Yu Fei quickly responded to the tweet: "Did you forget to change your smurf account, Brandon?"

"Brother, what are you talking about?" Brown also joined in the fun.

Soon, the tweet was filled with NBA players, making it a trending topic.

Everyone wanted to know why Roy sent such a confusing tweet.

Then, something even more important happened.

In Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat fought hard and finally won in a battle of defense.

4 is better than 2
The Nets' Big Three, who lacked lineup depth, did not make it to the finals as expected.

On the contrary, the Heat team, which "only" strengthened its team with Yao Ming, showed strength beyond imagination.

This is a result that did not surprise the Supersonics.

Because the Heat had two purple cards in their lineup that had not been fully developed before the lockout.

That's Curry and Love.

Not to mention, they drafted Jimmy Butler before the lockout.

Yu Fei feels that they will be stronger next year, but will eventually explode like the Supersonics due to their inflated salary cap space.

Fortunately, although both teams are full of stars, the Sonics' personnel combination is far more reasonable than that of the Heat.

Whether it is Wade or Curry, or Yao Ming and Love, they are not the best partners for each other.

But the alliance was happy about this.

Although the script of the Nets Big Three fighting against the Supersonics dynasty is fresh, the traffic is definitely not as eye-catching as the showdown between Yu Fei and Yao Ming in the finals.

Yu Fei is China's most popular foreign sports star, while Yao Ming is China's most influential sports star.

In the past, due to the lack of participation of Chinese players in the NBA Finals, although there were Chinese NBA fans paying attention to it, it did not reach the level of nationwide enthusiasm.

Now, the confrontation between Yu and Yao will undoubtedly attract astonishing attention on the other side of the ocean.

A few days later, the SuperSonics set off from Seattle.

For various reasons, the Supersonics only ranked third in the league this year, which resulted in them having basically no home-court advantage as they progressed through the playoffs, including the finals with Miami.

This will undoubtedly bring some additional difficulty to defending the title.

April 6st

The first game of the finals kicked off at the American Airlines Center.

The Heat's strength lies in Wade's indiscriminate one-on-one play, Curry's ability to switch freely between with and without the ball and their lethal three-point threats, plus Yao Ming and Love, two outside shooting points with a hit rate of up to 40%, Ariza at the third position is one of the best 3D in the league.

Judging from the lineup on paper, the Heat is undoubtedly a team that can rival the 10 Lakers.

However, this combination still has problems.

Although Curry's off-ball threat is as great as his on-ball threat, this off-ball threat needs to be driven by a system.

Without the Warriors' passing and cutting, Curry's off-ball threat cannot be fully released, and his on-ball threat cannot be released because of Wade's presence.

Yao Ming and Love in the interior seemed overly restrained.

On the one hand, Yao Ming knew that he was an outsider and did not want to encroach on Love's tactical position, but Love would also give in to Yao Ming's tactical position because he took the initiative to play outside. The two did not have a clear priority, and both chose to seek common ground while reserving differences, which led to both of them developing into inside players who were capable of low-post singles but mainly used pick-and-roll to open up outside shooting.

That is, when playing against the Nets, Yao Ming's restraining effect on Howard allowed the Heat to improve his offensive position.

When they came against the Supersonics, they immediately pointed out the problems that Yao Ming couldn't defend against pick-and-rolls and Love couldn't defend against anyone.

The Heat suffered the same fate as the Lakers.

Although Wade's personal offense has made some achievements, they cannot compare with the points lost in the interior.

Curry was defended very tightly, and although his off-ball movement was excellent, his touch plummeted.

To deal with him, the Sonics started Grant Hill in place of Patrick Beverley.

As it turned out, this arrangement worked wonders.

Beverly severely consumed Curry's touch on the off-ball end. In this case, if Curry wants to find his touch, he has to hold the ball and shoot to the basket. The combination of inside and outside is the long-term strategy for a stable offense.

However, Wade's offense was unstoppable, so Curry had to play without the ball.

If Wade could serve as a core with four players like Yu Fei, there would be no problem playing like this.

But he is not a big core.

So, after the game, Wade scored a luxurious 38 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, but the Supersonics won 112 to 101.

Opposite Wade, Yu Fei scored 30 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists, Durant scored 24 points, and four other players of the Supersonics scored in double digits.

This looks like a team win.

But ESPN data expert John Hollinger released a statistic after the game: "Frye's assists are not just 12 on paper. He also has as many as 10 indirect assists. This data fully reflects how good his vision is."

An indirect assist is an assist that helps the team score successfully through more than one pass.

Wade had only four indirect assists that night, which shows that he only passed the direct opportunity ball and rarely successfully read the opponent's defense to make guiding tactical passes.

The Heat realized this problem and increased Curry's ball possession ratio in the second game.

Wade has been spending more time as a secondary attacker on the wing.

This change directly revitalized the situation in Miami.

Curry's pick-and-roll offense with Yao Ming and Love showed its destructive power in the third game.

Coach Lu was a beat slow to react, and by the time he was reminded to double-team Curry, the Heat's outside shooting had already been developed.

Relying on the ball handler calling for a pick-and-roll, breaking the ball, going straight to the basket or passing the ball to the outside for a three-pointer, the Heat made 50 three-pointers in the game.

This scene completely killed the basketball fundamentalists in front of the TV.

Some long-time observers say: "I'm tired of the 'layup or 3-pointer' game model."

However, no matter how they understand such a game, the Heat's way of playing will not change.

Because the Heat broke through the Supersonics' defense with their unreasonable three-pointers.

124 is better than 111
This is the first time since the start of the playoffs that a team has scored 120 points against the SuperSonics.

This shows how destructive three-pointers are to defense.

But this situation of relying on three-pointers to break through the game is unlikely to continue. Even in the extreme case of the Warriors and Rockets in 2018, two small ball teams above the main timeline, they were unable to use three-pointers to score a huge score until the seventh game that decided life and death.

No matter how long it has been, defense is always the theme of the playoffs.

As a coach, Lu is even more immature than Spoelstra of the Heat, but he has one advantage, which is that he knows how to learn from lessons.

Mistakes he made during the game, or those he failed to correct in time, he would correct after the game and then find one or two correct responses to put into the next game.

Yu Fei proposed a mindless double-team on Curry, using their athletic ability and physical talent to half-leave Miami's inside line empty, thereby blocking Curry's ball-holding attack.

Lou liked the idea.

He remembered that they had used a similar tactic against Curry during the game, and it worked, but the Heat had already started shooting three-pointers, so there was no point in limiting Curry.

However, something that was meaningless in the previous event may not be meaningless in the next event.

The course of the game is always so changeable.

Back at home, the Heat followed suit, trying to replicate the victory of the previous game using the same means.

The Sonics double-teamed Curry with crazy frequency and intensity. Whenever someone double-teamed Curry, the "Spider-Man" on the Sonics would use his physical talent to match his own defender and use his wingspan to interfere with the other player who was left open. Curry could pass the ball, but Yao Ming and Love, facing the half-open position, lost their usual accuracy like the sharpshooters who missed their target in front of the Sonics in the past.

Curry's magic was broken, and the Sonics would take the initiative to attack his defense. Yu Fei was in the low post, Durant was on the weak side, and Roy was in the high post. Whoever Curry defended would have to play one-on-one. Curry fell into the hell created for him by the Sonics.

The Heat did not collapse because of this. Wade got the ball back in time, and Yao Ming also went to the low post to take advantage. At least on the surface, the Heat still had the advantage of attacking points. However, their advantage was not greater than that of Yu Fei and Durant. Yu and Durant are the most powerful offensive combination in the NBA, and they are on the same team. When Durant set a screen for Yu Fei, the Heat could not find a solution.

This is a great irony for Miami. They obviously have talents comparable to the Big Three of the Nets, but they were suppressed by more terrible talents in the finals. Yao Ming felt like he was playing for the national team. Obviously, he blew up the opponent when he was matched up, but the other positions of his team were leaky everywhere, and even he himself was used as a breakthrough point by the opponent when defending.

Yu Fei and Durant are a true king bomb combination. Especially when they have no distractions and unite as one, these two "Spider-Men" who can play unlimited singles, two "Spider-Men" with unlimited range, and two "Spider-Men" with the same but complementary strengths completely change the balance of the game.

The Heat's struggle failed to work, and the Supersonics defeated their opponents 117-104, leading 2-1.

"Don't think we will lose so easily!" Yao Ming stared at Yu Fei and said, "We are different from the Spurs."

"That's right, you should be able to hold on until the sixth game." Yu Fei said goodbye to Yao Ming jokingly.

The SuperSonics still have two home games, but the next one is crucial. If they win, it's 3-1. 3-1 in the finals is just like 3-0 outside the finals. There has never been a case of a 1-3 reversal in history. This is because the team that is usually reversed usually encounters irreversible unexpected situations, or the core players are not determined, perform abnormally, or are affected by injuries. The teams that make it to the finals have basically gone through many tests, and ordinary storms will not allow them to be reversed when they have three match points.

The Sonics didn't want to play a decisive game with the Heat, and the Heat knew that the next game would determine who would win the championship. Since Wade was unreliable in singles and Curry would be targeted when holding the ball, the Heat decided to change their tactics again.

In Game 4, Yao Ming was given a great task. The Heat decided to start with him as the absolute core to blast the center of the Supersonics. You know, Bosh at the center position can make Hibbert and others play like an All-Star, but what about Yao Ming? That scene would undoubtedly be very miserable.

However, opening up the situation around the center often makes a lot of noise, and the Supersonics soon realized the opponent's intention, so they turned to double-team Yao Ming. Yao Ming was not as free to pass the ball as Curry, and at the same time, Bosh began to throw away his self-esteem and desperately defend the opponent from the front.

The game became intense from the first quarter. You double-team, I double-team; you pick and roll, I pick and roll. The two teams fought back and forth on the court, pushing the game to a climax.

The main focus of both sides was to imitate and learn from each other, and ultimately, the intensity of the competition reached the highest level since the start of the finals.

The fierce physical confrontation brought about many unplanned collisions, and some players who were not strong enough began to have problems.

First, on the Sonics side, Hill injured his knee and left the game in the third quarter.

Then on the Heat side, Curry sprained his ankle and also left the game.

In the fourth quarter, Bosh, who was treated like a son by Yao Ming, sprained his back while fighting for an offensive rebound. He passed the ball before falling to the ground, and Yu Fei made a three-pointer.

The game was suspended and Bosh was carried away on the spot.

At that time, the Supersonics were only leading by 4 points.

Jordan is about to come on as a substitute, and the Supersonics still have a good inside line to withstand the impact of Yao Ming.

Tyronn Lue, who was supposed to arrange tactics, put down the tactical board and said something that moved the whole team: "Gentlemen, there are two most important days in our lives. One is the day you are born, and the other is the day you understand why you were born."

"The history of four consecutive championships is right in front of us. It is not unprecedented, but I am sure that this feat will never be repeated! I believe we were born for this. Go ahead and let us meet our own destiny!"

In the main timeline, Tyronn Lue used this chicken soup to inspire the 2016 Cavaliers, thus giving rise to the first 1-3 reversal in the history of the Finals.

Now, the Supersonics are the advantageous side and are leading the score on the field. Encouraged by this, they have no reason to retreat.

Within one minute, Yu Fei blocked Wade, counterattacked and assisted Durant to hit a three-pointer, came back and double-teamed Yao Ming, causing the opponent to make a mistake, and scored again in a counterattack.

Miami's pursuit of greatness was interrupted.

They didn't recover from this anger until the end of the game.

3 is better than 1
The Supersonics stand at a historical node.

We are only one step away from that unrivaled greatness.

"Does the seventh championship help Fry Yu surpass Michael Jordan and become the greatest player in NBA history? I think not," said David Aldridge, a veteran NBA media person. "But if he completes four consecutive championships - a feat that Michael has never accomplished - then we can say that he has reached a higher position in the level of the best in history!"

Yu Fei's GOAT qualification was not determined by David Aldridge and others, but what he said is not wrong.

Four consecutive championships, this is something Jordan has never accomplished, although people in Yu Fei's camp have always claimed that "five championships in five years means five consecutive championships."

But the team change is a fact, and some people just don't admit it.

But this time, they had to admit it.

Two days later, the SuperSonics and the Heat returned to KeyArena.

Yu Fei did not plan to go to Miami for the sixth game.

As the best in history, he destroyed Miami's last hope by the best standards in history.

In the whole game, Yu Fei made 20 of 16 shots. His point shots and outside shots were almost all accurate, and the few shots he missed were basically buzzer-beaters.

The Heat had no idea how formidable their opponents were, they just felt that their world had lost its light, like a blind person falling into darkness.

As time goes by, Yu Fei's rule continues, and everything the Heat have declared for this season will disappear. They gradually understand that this year does not belong to them, this season does not belong to them.

To accept this fact is to give up all hope.

Last 10 seconds

Yu Fei was dribbling the ball and no longer attacking.

The audience began to count down.

“Four consecutive championships! The dream of Seattle people continues”

Amid the commentator's exclamations, the referee blew the final whistle and Yu Fei threw the ball into the air.

"! #￥#!@￥"

Yu Fei turned around and saw his teammates rushing towards him out of control.

Only one person remained motionless.

Kevin Durant, he forced himself to calm down, warned himself not to be self-indulgent, all the glory belongs to the best in history, he has done all his work. Don't have any unnecessary emotions
Then, Jordan pushed him from the side: "Cheer up, brother, we did it! Can you believe it? Four consecutive championships! We did it! We will continue to win and win five consecutive championships next year!"

"Yeah," Durant laughed, "We're going to win five straight championships!"

DeAndre Jordan will be a restricted free agent this summer, and while the Sonics have the option to match his contract, there's no way Clay Bennett will ever accept another deal from a team with four maximum-salary contracts.

And Durant lied to Yu Fei, which was the biggest lie he had ever told in his life.

Especially now, he was more jealous than ever of Frye's glory and stardom. He knew that the biggest tragedy for people like him and LeBron was that they mistakenly regarded themselves as Frye's opponents, someone they could never catch up with.

However, you will only know the result of anything if you do it yourself.

He had already made his decision.

However, like Jordan, he threatened to win five consecutive championships. This is the complacency that should occur to a person who has won everything.

They can only think and make choices in fragments of time, but each fragment will eventually fall along the track they decide, and all the beauty and vision will disappear at the moment of falling.

Just tonight, let it go.

They just hope this beauty will last forever.

They are qualified.

(End of this chapter)