When pride still matters

Chapter 594 The Lost Kingship

The conflict between the Clippers and the Supersonics is actually only between Fei and Clay Bennett.

Bennett believes that he is the owner of the team and the inheritor of the team's honor, and the brilliant achievements brought by the players will eventually belong to him.

But he was wrong.

Every popular sports league has to sell dreams to the public. The NBA's dream began with the black and white duo in the 80s and reached its peak in the Jordan era. Yu Fei climbed to the highest point reached by his predecessors and climbed higher mountains.

He didn't need to use lame rap in Converse ads to urge fans to buy shoes like Bird did, nor did he need to try his best to leave the "Be Like Mike" mark on that era like Jordan did.

His career was great enough.

A normal team should do everything possible to keep a guy like him, but Bennett chose to do the opposite.

This is exactly why Bennett fell into passivity.

He couldn't explain to the fans why he messed it all up, and he couldn't explain why he didn't keep his dignity after the two sides parted peacefully, but instead made the situation so embarrassing.

This is a problem Bennett needs to face and solve.

Yu Fei and the Clippers have to move on.

In the second game of the regular season, the Clippers played against the Lakers away.

The Lakers may become the dark horse this summer.

Just like a centipede, dead but still alive.

Over the past two years, many Lakers fans have lost confidence in the team. They believe that the Lakers no longer have the motivation to win the championship like they did in the Kobe era.

However, although they had no motivation to compete for the championship, the plan of pretending that they did and attracting fans to buy tickets to watch Kobe score points not only existed, but was very successful.

Unexpectedly, the disintegration of the Nets' Big Three gave the Lakers an opportunity.

Anthony finally chose to join the Lakers because he longed for life in a big city.

The New York Times mercilessly mocked Anthony after he made his decision: "Carmelo Anthony would rather join Kobe's 'veterans choir' than compete for a championship in a small city team. This is the biggest difference between him and Frye. Frye can succeed in Milwaukee, but Anthony will never reach that height!"

But what The New York Times didn't know was that Anthony had originally planned to join forces with Yu Fei.

It's a pity that the flowers are intentional, and the water is ruthless.

The Lakers were just a stopgap measure for him.

However, Anthony's joining has rekindled some hope for the Lakers in despair.

They finally got a third star player. Together with the 36-year-old Kobe and Gasol, they can be regarded as a "mini Big Three" in any way, barely reaching the standard of a modern championship team.

However, unlike the Clippers' "Titan lineup" that slaughtered the Supersonics in the first game, the Lakers' new Big Three lost to the Rockets in the first game of the season.

Lakers head coach Byron Scott said: "Sometimes, I have to remind Melo that basketball is a team sport. Frequent ball requests are not good for the team. Sometimes you need to share the ball and let your teammates get involved."

Anthony's problems were apparent from the beginning.

If the experience of the Nets Big Three has taught Anthony anything, it is that he must make sure he has enough say.

His joining the Lakers does not mean that he is willing to be No. 30. Kobe is getting old, and the Lakers should have understood how to choose between a 36-year-old superstar at his peak and a -year-old legendary star.

But this is what the Lakers don't understand.

They don't understand why Anthony has such mysterious self-confidence.

This problem was magnified in the second game against the Clippers.

Anthony wanted to prove that Yu Fei was wrong for not teaming up with him, so he kept blocking for the ball.

Old Kobe finally realized how helpless his former teammates were when faced with his selfish behavior when he was young and energetic.

But then again, if a person doesn't behave like a middle-aged man, his youth will be in vain.

At that time, he was a young man in his early 20s who had not yet experienced the hardships of society, so what was wrong with being a little stubborn.

But how old is Anthony?
He is already 30 years old, and if he still uses his youthful passion to cover up his selfish behavior, it would be like watching Liu Xiaoqing playing the beauty of a young girl.

Yu Fei didn't know about the group of scoring small forwards in the 80s who only attacked and didn't defend, but players like Anthony were actually a replica of Kyrie Irving.

To say he is not great is actually quite great.

But if he is really asked to lead the team, he will only lead the team into a pit.

However, if he can recognize himself and concentrate on being an attacker, he can also deal critical damage.

When will Anthony be able to recognize himself?

Yu Fei only saw that he was 30 years old and still played one-on-one like a 20-year-old young man. People like him will probably only see the reality in front of them when they become a cancer everywhere, are marginalized by the NBA, and completely fall from the position of a first-line star.

Any attempt to join forces with him to compete for the championship is a vain delusion.

"Fry, keep going!"

Anthony yelled as Yu Fei scored over his head.

Then, Anthony responded to Yu Fei with a beautiful pull-up jump shot.

This is the rhythm he likes.

Whenever he meets a strong opponent like Yu Fei, he is strong in both offense and defense, but he turns the game into a one-on-one one.

Yu Fei just said: "I really envy your mentality of being 18 years old forever."

Then he passed the ball to Jokic.

Jokic screened Thompson, who took advantage of the high quality of the screen to shoot a three-pointer.

Kobe couldn't stand it anymore and joined Anthony's one-on-one feast.

Compared to Anthony, this guy really has the mentality of a teenager even at the age of 36.

Although Kobe has shown maturity in many aspects, most of his maturity on the court is pretended, which is a change in line with the times.

Lakers head coach Scott sees this very clearly.

He said that Kobe is now very calm when playing games and has learned to leave the game to his teammates.

If his teammates can't fight, he will "do it himself" because he is a natural fighter.

As a player, Yu Fei prefers to be teammates with people like Kobe who are willing to pretend, and people like Anthony who can't even pretend can only be kept at a distance.

The Lakers quickly became a luxury version of the SuperSonics.

They also had stars playing one-on-one, and they had Gasol Jr. coordinating in the middle, but the characteristics of Anthony and Kobe made it impossible for them to grasp the lifeblood of the Titans lineup and make effective calls in a sustained manner.

After two consecutive game samples, the Clippers have some understanding of the value of their work.

Although it cannot be said to be a successful and perfect job, it is indeed suitable for the Clippers' current situation.

They don't have an NBA starting power forward, and the two tall inside players can cover up most of the problems. Although they are afraid of being targeted, it is difficult for most teams to use this to defeat them because their rebounding and offensive abilities are too strong.

The Clippers won two consecutive games. Although the Lakers' two stars scored a combined 60+, they were suppressed by their opponents in all aspects except offense.

The Staples Center is no longer a "familiar stranger" to the Clippers.

Any Lakers executive would be horrified to see so many fans supporting the Clippers at the Lakers' home games. Although the Clippers have committed evil for 30 years, if their strong period happens to collide with the Lakers' weak period, it may shake the Lakers' fundamentals.

Kobe Bryant had a unique perspective on the matter: "I'm not surprised."

When a reporter asked him how he felt about one-third of the fans in the home court supporting the Clippers, Kobe answered the question.

Later, Kobe further explained the reason: "Historically, the Clippers are certainly far inferior to the Lakers, but the Lakers haven't won a championship in 12 years. For us, not winning the championship is not a success, which means we have failed for 12 consecutive years. Now, the Clippers have a better chance of success than us, and it is understandable that fans support them."

"But," Kobe added, "they have to win the championship first before they can really win the hearts of the fans, and this step is very difficult."

However, when Kobe thought that the core player of the Clippers was the young man wearing the No. 44 jersey, he couldn't help but feel that that day might not be far away.

The Clippers started the season with five straight wins.

Just when Doc Rivers was intoxicated with the fantasy of "Am I a genius? Is the Titans lineup the code to cracking space basketball?", a defeat was like a bucket of cold water poured down on him, calming the pig-headed coach down for a moment.

It was the Phoenix Suns who handed the Clippers their first loss of the season.

This seemingly unremarkable team, centered around Slovenian Goran Dragic, beat the Clippers the way the five previous teams had failed -- inside pressure and three-pointers.

The Suns were successful because they implemented the three-point shooting tactic thoroughly.

That night, the Suns had a hot shooting from the outside, using a "five-out" lineup throughout the game. Over 50% of their shots came from beyond the three-point line, completely disrupting the Clippers' defense, causing them to lose 133 points and find it hard to resist.

This is exactly the consequence of the opponent's three-point shooting, and it is also the "retribution" for leaving the opponent open for three-pointers in the corner in the era of space basketball.

This defeat was very timely, it alerted the Clippers and exposed their shortcomings. No team dared to shoot three-pointers throughout the game before, and once a team really did so and started shooting, the Titans lineup would become a suicide lineup.

Two days later, the Indiana Pacers tried to replicate the Suns' strategy.

Although Rivers is slow to adjust, he has a boss who reacts quickly.

As soon as Yu Fei saw the Pacers playing with five outside players, he reminded Rivers to let him play at the four position and replace Richard Jefferson at the three position.

This adjustment completely changed the shape of the Titans lineup.

Their average height is still amazing.

Yao Ming is 223 cm tall, Yu Fei is 206 cm tall, and Antetokounmpo is 210 cm tall. No matter how they are replaced, their heights are always at the Titan level. However, Yu Fei playing the fourth position greatly enhances the flexibility of defense and the power of switching defense.

Jefferson unexpectedly became the Clippers' Ron Harper.

Although Harper was not well-known during the second dynasty of the Bulls, he was an unsung hero. Although he never made the All-Star or All-NBA team, he was definitely a star player in his prime. After retiring, he seamlessly transformed into a role player, and with his years of experience and skills, he became an indispensable part of the Bulls. Even the Phil Jackson later called him over to play his remaining heat when he coached the Lakers.

Jefferson is doing the same thing now.

It's unrealistic to expect him to perform at a star level, as he has regressed a lot.

However, having him as the fifth man in the starting lineup, responsible for defense, passing, shooting corner three-pointers and cutting, is completely his strength.

These characteristics complement Yu Fei's playing style at the fourth position.

Faced with the Clippers' lineup changes, the Pacers, lacking height and strength, were ultimately unable to resist and were completely defeated.

Yu Fei's performance at the power forward position was a perfect replacement for Jokic.

Not only does he have Jokic's passing and organizational abilities, he also has the offensive firepower that Jokic cannot provide for the time being, plus top outside shooting threats and all-around defense.

Sitting on the bench, the Serbian understood that his trial period as a starter was over.

Starting today, Yu Fei will start at the power forward position. Unless something unexpected happens, this will be the Clippers' regular lineup.

Jokic has no time to feel frustrated about his changed role.

After all, being a starter in his rookie season is an unexpected achievement.

Being removed from the starting lineup now only proves that his strength is not enough.

This inspired him to improve himself, even though basketball was not the most important thing in his life, it was his profession after all.

Since it is work, we must do our best.

Fortunately, he is a competitive person.

The Clippers' winning streak continues.

Yu Fei became a quasi-triple-double machine.

Throughout November, he averaged 28 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists per game.

Yao Ming averaged 22 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists per game.

Judging from his performance in the game, Yu Fei took away a lot of Yao Ming's rebounds, but this is also the way many teams use Yao Ming. His rebounding ability is not the best among the star inside players, but he is good at using his size advantage to block positions for his teammates, which makes Yu Fei feel relaxed playing for the first time in a long time.

Griffin never gave him this sense of ease.

Griffin won't box him out, but will be a rebounding monster. On the contrary, Yao Ming is used to doing the dirty work for his teammates.

Yu Fei suddenly entered his "comfort zone". Today's power forwards are generally short, and many are even temporary substitutes for small forwards. These people can't compete with him at all.

Yu Fei discovered an ironic fact: it was much easier for him to play the power forward position than the power forward position.

As he gets older, Yu Fei's absolute speed, athletic ability, lateral movement and explosive power have all declined slightly compared to his peak period.

When he was young, his height of 206 cm was an advantage, but now he seems too tall to play the power forward position. He has to go all out to keep up with those young beasts.

Playing like this is very exhausting for him. In the long run, he may have to learn from some predecessors and rely on advanced experience such as eye defense to save physical energy.

But after playing the power forward position, his pressure was reduced. He could easily grab rebounds and do whatever he wanted on offense. The only thing he needed to do was defending the pick-and-roll and assisting defense, and Antetokounmpo assisted him in these, so he didn't need to devote himself to it.

After all, if you want to have an easy time being the boss, there must be people around you to share the responsibilities.

Antetokounmpo shared some of the organizational tasks, Thompson freed up Yu Fei's perimeter defense, and Yao Ming held off opponents in the interior. The fourth position is undoubtedly the easiest position for the Clippers.

When the Clippers finally realized where to put the GOAT, the team's condition quickly improved.

In December, Yu Fei and Yao Ming started to cooperate with each other, and in several consecutive games, Yao Ming performed brilliantly through inside-out tactics. In the match against the Raptors, Yao Ming made 12 of 18 shots, 17 of which were from the basket, and 15 of these shots were assisted by Yu Fei.

With terrifying efficiency, Yao Ming scored 39 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks.

After the game, a reporter asked Yao Ming: "Do you regret missing the 100% hit rate?"

"It's a pity indeed," Yao Ming replied with a smile, "It's a pity that our opponent tonight is not Miami."

Yao Ming's image in the United States has always been a humble and nice guy, but Yu Fei knows how much he holds grudges. Think about how Yao Ming "settled accounts" with those who had bullied him when he bought the Shanghai team after the lockout.

After taking a pay cut, voluntarily giving up his core role, and helping the Heat win two consecutive championships, the Heat said he was too old and could only give him a one-year, $1 million contract at most. If he wanted to sign, he could sign. If he didn't, he could leave.

Yu Fei knew that Yao Ming was counting the days every day, waiting for the Christmas game against the Heat.

He is also waiting.

The Heat in the past two years are like the Rockets in the 90s. They took advantage of the window period when Jordan went to play baseball to win consecutive championships, and then quickly declined after Jordan's comeback. Olajuwon became one of the few superstars in the 90s who was not overshadowed by Jordan.

If Yu Fei's dynasty is to be revived in the Clippers, the Heat will be the best sacrifice.

The lost royal power must be regained in a formal occasion.

The publicity and marketing were already overwhelming before the Christmas battle on December 12th.

(End of this chapter)