When pride still matters

Chapter 581 Becomes a Shocking Point

Yu Fei brought up an old story again, and a video was dug up of O'Neal making racist remarks in anger because he was robbed of his All-Star starting position by a rookie center from across the ocean.

The speed of communication in the social media era is like an infinite virus, and it only takes a short time for news to spread around the world.

Therefore, it creates a weird phenomenon.

That is, the current trial of O'Neal, the review of his past remarks, and the accusations of racism are far more intense than when the incident happened.

The pressure from the outside world made O'Neal feel that a disaster was imminent. He knew that this was no longer an era where racial discrimination could be covered up with a joke.

To save his reputation, his only option was to apologize.

Therefore, O'Neal went to Miami and invited Yao Ming to hold a formal press conference.

He publicly apologized to Yao Ming at a press conference.

When the incident happened, Yao Ming could still forgive O'Neal. Now that many years have passed, he naturally would not pursue the matter further. So he accepted the apology and gave the Shark a way out.

This is where the matter ends.

O'Neal's quick kneeling prevented all parties from reacting as much as possible, among which Yao Ming's choice to forgive was the most important factor.

Yu Fei was not surprised by this. As a foreigner, Yao Ming would not easily do evil to others.

In Yu Fei's view, the outside world's rhythm is not worth paying attention to. O'Neal's apology to Yao Ming can calm public opinion, but is it the end? Yao Ming accepted the apology, but Yu Fei did not. In his eyes, O'Neal will always be a fat pig who insulted all Chinese people with the term "clean worms".

After O'Neal's racial discrimination incident subsided, Howard's trade request attracted a lot of attention before Christmas.

After the incident, Paul, who was rumored to be the core person who made Howard unhappy, simply expressed regret.

"I respect Dwight's decision. We've been through a lot together. No matter what, I will wish him the best."

However, as more and more revelations emerged, Paul's image in the Howard camp gradually became a villain.

He likes to complain and make a lot of small moves. It is very strange that he regards himself as the leader in a team with three big players that clearly has no leader.

In terms of seniority, Anthony is from the class of 2003, Howard is from the class of 2004, and Paul entered the league in 2005, so he has the least seniority.

In terms of honors, Howard is one of the top two centers in the league, Anthony is one of the top four small forwards in the league, and Paul is a strong contender for the league's top point guard, but to be honest, the three of them are at the same level.

Since there is no "super giant among super giants" like Yu Fei among these Big Three, they should each perform their duties and do their own jobs well like the Big Three of the Celtics did back then.

But Paul didn't want to, he was a natural leader.

In fact, most of the core point guards who have emerged in the NBA have some desire for control.

They are very sensitive to their own command and have very strict requirements on their tactical control. Once something happens on the field that they don't like, they will go crazy.

Paul happens to be the kind of strict father-type leader who loves to complain about his teammates' shortcomings.

Anthony didn't care about his complaints, but Howard had already been unhappy.

However, for the championship, they have endured in the past two seasons. But the consecutive failures have exhausted Howard's patience.

When pressure and resentment accumulate to a certain level, it only takes a small incident to intensify the conflict.

After Anthony was injured, the mutual pressure between Paul and him broke the balance of Howard silently bearing the pressure.

Paul began to pay more attention to Howard's performance and found that he was not active in training and had a problem with his attitude. He always smiled when asked. Playing basketball gradually became painful for Howard, so he chose to apply for a trade.

After O'Neal's racial discrimination incident ended, Howard held a press conference. He referred to himself in the third person and said: "Dwight doesn't want to hurt anyone. I just want to do what's best for Dwight. And the best thing for Dwight is to play happily."

NBA stars referring to themselves in the third person has been doing this for decades.

The most recent example was when James said during the infamous "The Decision" live show that he wanted to do what was right for LeBron, too.

Obviously, this has become a formula. Howard created the concept of "happy basketball" while applying this formula.

When reporters asked him if he would change his decision, Howard firmly denied it: "No, because Dwight just wants to play happily."

Although the Nets claimed that they would try their best to persuade Howard to change his mind, in fact, they have begun to listen to offers from other teams.

After all, Howard's contract has less than one season left. If he is forced to stay, he may choose to opt out of the contract and leave the team directly after the season. Therefore, trading him now is the most profitable approach.

At this point, the collapse of the Nets' Big Three is a foregone conclusion. The East will lose a top team, making the Heat even more invincible in the division.

Howard's trade has attracted bids from many teams, but even so, there are still few offers that can interest the Nets. After all, to get an equivalent return in the Howard trade, another superstar must be exchanged. But who is willing to trade their own superstar for someone who wants "happy basketball"?

The Clippers management is under pressure.

The Los Angeles media hopes that the team will actively pursue Howard, because the Clippers are indeed difficult to win the championship with their current lineup. The local media do not want to see Yu Fei waste a season.

However, when Arn Tellem made an offer to the Nets, the other party required the Clippers to give Griffin plus draft picks, or Antetokounmpo plus a large number of draft picks in the deal.

Yu Fei called off the deal. He said, “We don’t need Dwight.”

This is not just a rant. Howard became the only center who could average 20 points and 12 rebounds per game in an era that was extremely special for centers. Therefore, the title of "the best center in the league" naturally fell on him.

However, space basketball has become the mainstream of the times. Even Yao Ming has transformed into a top space center, and Howard's defense, rebounding and limited low-post singles ability seem a bit outdated for the current game.

Howard's defense is indeed very strong, but he doesn't like to defend the pick-and-roll. He is very good at catching the ball, but he doesn't like to participate in the pick-and-roll. He prefers to play low-post singles. This is the education he has received since he was a child-a great center should attack in the low post. What's more, he lacks shooting ability.

Although his ability to protect the rim is top of the league, can his defensive role match Griffin's contribution on offense in the modern basketball environment? In the era of space basketball, the answer to this question may be no.

What can a guy who couldn't help the Nets break through Miami in the East do in the West?

As for trading Antetokounmpo, it is even more impossible. Not to mention that Yu Fei has opened his clairvoyance, even if he doesn't have it, after the Greek has clearly demonstrated his unlimited potential, he is an untradeable item for the Clippers.

The Clippers walked away from the trade table.

Upon hearing the news, the Los Angeles media criticized Tellem for inaction.

Tellem did not respond to this, and when Yu Fei was asked about the Howard trade, he only said: "The management needs to consider the overall situation."

Then, they headed straight to the Christmas War.

Since December, the Clippers seemed to have woken up, winning more games than losing. Yu Fei's statistics continued to rise. Before the Christmas game, his average stats had reached 33 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists.

Currently, Yu Fei's average points per game ranks first in the league, and his average rebounds and assists per game both rank in the top three in the league.

Griffin reaped the benefits of being the GOAT.

With Yu Fei by his side, he will not become the opponent's main defensive target. After the pressure is reduced, his statistics are also rising. He currently averages 26 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists per game, and his shooting percentage is close to 57%, which is a terrifying efficiency.

It is precisely because the Clippers' two star players are playing so well that the media and fans are looking forward to the team bringing in a third star.

However, this seems difficult to achieve in the short term.

Then, comes the year-end focus battle.

If the NBA regular season is divided into three stages, then the Christmas game is the most important game in the first stage.

All the gimmicks are here, and the league usually arranges equal opponents for each traffic team.

The Clippers' opponent this year is the Cavaliers.

After sending John Wall away, the Cavaliers finally solved the problem of ball possession within the team. James' kingship was confirmed, and the team played well after the start of the new season, currently with 20 wins and 10 losses, second only to the Heat.

It is appropriate to arrange such an opponent for the Clippers with 23 wins and 7 losses.

Combined with the years of feud between No. 44 and No. 23, the league doesn't even need to deliberately promote it. It only needs to post the two people's portraits, and fans can come up with a bunch of background stories.

staples center
Yu Fei used the 5-5-5-5 pattern for pre-match warm-up.

Five balls at close range, five balls in the paint, five balls at the free throw line, and five balls from beyond the three-point line. Only when all of them are made will he enter random shooting mode.

James on the opposite side was wearing headphones and ignored everyone. He just took the ball and slammed it down.

There was no communication between the two sides before the start of the game.

"GOAT, don't you want to say a few words to LeBron?" Pierce asked for no reason.

Yu Fei said: "I have nothing to say to him."

Pierce really wants to know how the GOAT fell out with James.

As someone who has been through this, he certainly knows that when James first entered the league, Yu Fei appeared at the draft as his elder brother.

James had the supreme halo, but the GOAT at that time had already completed his revenge on the former GOAT and led the Bucks to win the trophy.

It was difficult for Pierce, who was far away in Boston, to understand the reason, but he was very clear about one thing: the league and Nike's forced bundling of James and Yu Fei for the "double hero" promotion definitely hurt James.

He couldn't compare to Yu Fei then, and he still can't compare to him now.

The gap is so huge that no one involved should have any illusions of surpassing it.

However, the young Greek took the initiative to greet James.

When Antetokounmpo was still in Greece, James went there on behalf of Nike for an event. At that time, the Greek monster saw James from a distance and witnessed the pomp and momentum of the king. This scene gave Antetokounmpo, who was still hesitating between playing football or basketball, a strong shock. From then on, he had only one goal - to become an NBA player.

After a while, Antetokounmpo ran back happily.

"What are you laughing at?" Pierce asked, "Did you step in dog poop?"

Antetokounmpo said excitedly: "LeBron said I am the young king!"

Now Yu Fei couldn't help laughing.

"Does this make you happy?" Yu Fei said with a teasing tone.

"Better than calling me 'Buck' (the deer) or 'Sean' (Bradley)!"

⑴This is a derogatory term used by his teammates to mock his thin physique.

Yu Fei asked: "Do you know that LeBron uses the title of 'Young King' wholesale? He says this to everyone."

"That's impossible! He said I was special!"

"I also said you are special." Yu Fei replied.

Antetokounmpo blinked, obviously not knowing what was going on: "Really?"

"I guess so. I did say that." Yu Fei smiled. "But if you get carried away just because that sweet-mouthed 'king' called you 'young king', then you are no longer special. Giannis, complacent people are like those second-hand clothes in your closet. They are garbage that even homeless people don't want!"

Yu Fei's sermon made Antetokounmpo realize something. He went to James and "returned" the title of "Young King", saying that he didn't need it.

James was surprised: "Didn't you like it just now?"

"I don't like it now."

"why?"

"Because 'others' don't like it." The Greek monster began to say something that James couldn't understand, "Ubuntu! This is Ubuntu! We are great because of 'others'!"

Soon after, the game started. Yu Fei and James looked at each other, but no one spoke.

In the end, James couldn't help but said, "Choosing the Clippers will be the biggest failure of your career!"

"Would it be a bigger failure than getting 8 points in a life-and-death battle?" Yu Fei retorted bluntly.

What follows is a fight between dragons and tigers.

The Cavaliers' lineup is better than the Clippers' overall. In addition to James, there are Bosh, Garnett and Bledsoe; while on the Clippers' side, except for Yu Fei and Griffin, the others are old and young.

However, veterans also have their roles.

Pierce is a very special player. When he is not in good condition, he looks like he can retire at any time, but when he is in good condition, he can play at an All-Star level. Interestingly, Pierce almost always saves his best performance for James.

Before Yu Fei could even start to exert his strength, Pierce, who came on as a substitute, showed his hot hand on the wing.

Looking at the other players of the Cavaliers, although Bledsoe is fierce, his breakthrough tonight was restricted by the Clippers' interior defense, and his shooting was not accurate. Bosh played normally, but Garnett showed his old age. Although he is still valuable on the defensive end, defense alone cannot change the situation.

The matchup between Yu Fei and James is basically 60-40.

Yu Fei had a slight advantage, but James, who was in peak condition, was unable to suppress Yu Fei's power, but his personal performance was not much inferior.

With the core players of both teams exploding, Pierce's outburst became the key to breaking the balance.

The Cavaliers had planned everything, but they didn't expect to lose to Pierce's sudden outburst.

The most heartbreaking scene of the game occurred in the fourth quarter, when Pierce singled out James from the outside and scored with a pull-up jump shot, raising his score to 32 points.

"LeBron, I am also a young king." After Pierce said this, the morale of the Cavaliers dropped.

Yu Fei then grabbed consecutive defensive rebounds, leading the Clippers to a wave of attacks and eventually defeating the Cavaliers.

"I don't want to hear people say we need a third star anymore." In an interview after the game, Yu Fei pointed at Pierce and said, "We already have a third star, and he usually sits on the bench."

The Clippers' ratings are growing day by day, and this change can be seen in many data points, such as team merchandise, star endorsements, season ticket sales and home game ticket sales.

A basketball boom similar to the one in Seattle is brewing in Los Angeles. Although it has not yet fully erupted, the signs are already very obvious.

After every game, Yu Fei would become the headline of the media, and the search index of the Clippers on social media rose sharply. The dunk highlights of Griffin and others quickly spread. In addition, veterans like Pierce who are still popular would occasionally have a highlight performance. Various highlights made this team, which was once considered "cursed", the focus.

Does the curse still exist?

Or has the curse been taken away by Sterling?

Or is Sterling himself a curse?
This is a question without an answer.

The theory of curse is inherently illusory, just like the "Holy Child Curse" that plagued Boston in the past.

In the sports world, the so-called curse often symbolizes the difficulties, misfortunes, and accidents that lead to bad results experienced by a team. Long-term misfortunes are the breeding ground for the curse theory.

But now, the Clippers are in their best form in decades.

On December 2013, 12, Yu Fei held a grand party at home to celebrate his 30st birthday. Afterwards, he posted photos and short videos of the party on social media, with the caption: "Look at these cheerful guys, do they look like they are cursed?"

(End of this chapter)