When pride still matters

Chapter 613 Such Victory and Defeat
If Yu Fei had no idea about the Spurs before traveling through time, and only knew that they were lucky enough to get the No. 2023 pick in 2010 and select the most talented player since the s, then after traveling through time, his biggest feeling about the Spurs was that this team is always strong.

Since he entered the NBA in 2001, they have been a strong team.

In the past fourteen years, they have made the playoffs all the time, reached the finals four times, and won the championship once.

But this strength did not start in 2001, but began in 1997 when they selected Duncan.

That was another piece of shit luck.

A good and strong team was forced to play badly due to a wave of injuries and then selected the greatest cornerstone player since Bill Russell.

This selection laid the foundation for their strong team for the next 20 years.

Almost 20 years have passed, and their contemporaries have basically fallen. Even Yu Fei, the latecomer GOAT, has changed three teams, but they are still the dominant force in the Western Conference.

Duncan, who is about to turn 40, is still trying to adapt to the small ball era.

Moreover, the Spurs know that they must adapt to the post-Duncan era in advance.

So, first of all, it’s about building a core framework for Paul George and Kemba Walker.

For this, George began to try to play small ball at the power forward position, and Duncan gave up his comfortable low-post offensive style and frequently pulled outside to shoot.

The effect is not good.

Tonight, Duncan made only 9 of 3 shots in the first three quarters, and 3 of 1 three-pointers. Shooting touch may be the only not-so-top talent of this superstar known for his fundamentals, which also made him face considerable challenges when adapting to the small ball era.

When Yu Fei dribbled past Duncan's defense, rushed into the basket, and completed a 2+1 dunk over George's head, Popovich angrily called a timeout. He scolded Duncan bluntly: "You can't do anything tonight. Can you still play? If you can't play, just retire!"

Duncan listened silently, and after the timeout, he said calmly: "Coach, thank you for your 'encouragement'."

When Duncan was young, whenever he received similar "inspiration" from Popovich, he would always perform better in the next game. It's like a tacit understanding between lovers, one party stimulates with harsh words, but the other party accepts it willingly and always proves that he can be stronger.

But that was young Duncan.

However, Duncan was unwilling to end the game in such a bleak way tonight.

After entering the fourth quarter, the offensive of both sides became more fierce and the number of rounds increased. Duncan had been waiting for an opportunity, and finally caught Yu Fei's flaw in a defense, rushed out from the weak side, and blocked his layup cleanly. As strong as Yu Fei is, this kind of blocked shot situation is already common for him, and it will not cause any emotional fluctuations, unless his opponent happens to have a bachelor's degree in psychology.

After Duncan blocked the shot, he patted his head in front of Yu Fei, as if to say, "Brother, you're just going to layup like this?"

Yu Fei was a little unhappy. In the next round, he no longer paid attention to tactics, but directly asked for the ball from the outside, called for a pick-and-roll, toughly trained Duncan, and made a pull-up jump shot in the face of his defense.

"nice shot."

Duncan responded in his usual style, with encouraging sarcasm, an approach that made people feel frustrated but always felt right.

Yu Fei responded: "Good defense."

"not good enough."

If his defense was good enough, the Spurs wouldn't have lost the 2003 Finals.

Does Yu Fei know that it will be his lifelong regret?
The Spurs that year may not have been the best team Duncan had in his career, but Duncan that year was the best Duncan in his career.

Duncan was so strong that year that even if Yu Fei won the championship, he was not considered the best player in the finals.

However, after that year, the best Duncan gradually disappeared because plantar fasciitis struck him early.

Since then, the Spurs have continuously adjusted their tactics and finally won their second championship in the Duncan era in 2005.

In the Yu Fei era, being able to win the trophy was considered a complete success. After all, in that dark decade, only the Spurs and the Heat won the championship.

Duncan slowly adjusted his pace.

He hopes to get some chances in this round.

Since Duncan entered the league, he has always enjoyed the Spurs' left low post offensive rights. After 2010, the team designed a lot of high-post pick-and-roll and outside cut tactics for him, but the left low post is still his exclusive domain.

However, since the beginning of this season, he has gradually stepped out of his most comfortable area and started to learn how to become a space-type inside player, making room for Paul George, who has transformed into a power forward. At the same time, Duncan also has to use pick-and-roll to help guard Walker to disintegrate the opponent through pick-and-roll like a modern core guard. Last season, these two young players were still a little immature, and the Spurs also paid a price in the playoffs. Now, with the continuous aging of Duncan and Ginobili, the transformation of the core position has become a reality that must be faced.

At this time, George was holding the ball on the perimeter, facing the defense of Du Fei, wondering whether he should handle the ball himself. Just as he was hesitating, Duncan quietly walked to his side and glanced at George, as if asking for his opinion. Duncan did not pause, and skillfully made a pick-and-roll, with a clear meaning: he wanted to play against the GOAT!

George decisively followed Duncan's screen and made a breakthrough layup.

"He played well, didn't he?" Duncan deliberately taunted Yu Fei while returning to defense.

Yu Fei just shrugged and didn't respond. In his impression, Duncan was not a player who liked to interact with opponents on the court.

No, to be exact, he doesn't like to interact with opponents, but he likes to "interact" with the referees.

Whenever Duncan was called for a foul, his face would always reveal the most innocent, aggrieved and unwilling expression in the world, as if he had been greatly wronged.

James was nicknamed "Old Spread" because he liked to spread his hands when he was old, but in fact, this was just the advanced experience he learned from Duncan when he was young.

Putting aside the fact that Duncan likes to interact with referees, what does it mean that he was so proactive in interacting with himself tonight?

Maybe he also knows that there will be fewer and fewer games like this.

The Spurs are about to enter the 19th year of the Duncan era. Although Duncan's contract will not expire until the summer of 2017, he can withdraw from the contract at any time as long as he feels that he can no longer play. He may retire next summer.

40 years old is the critical point for athletes to decline in performance. At this age, their talent has been eroded by time and there is not much left.

As a result, Duncan's athletic career was running out, but he was still eager to put on a good show in front of his old rivals.

This is also one of the reasons why the Clippers and Spurs fought until the last minute tonight.

As the game entered the last minute, the Spurs chose to trust their young core. However, Paul George's singles failed, Kemba Walker's breakthrough was blocked, and the fatal consequence of the two turnovers was that Nikola Jokic took control of the ball at the critical moment and delivered the winning blow to the Clippers.

Afterwards, Duncan described Jokic's hands as "as if they had given basketball magic". He first used a precise pass to lead Yu Fei to complete a fast break dunk, and then after the opponent missed a single shot, he grabbed the rebound and advanced to the frontcourt alone. Antetokounmpo was originally dissatisfied with Jokic for not passing the ball to him, but soon realized that Jokic's passing wisdom was far beyond ordinary people. He cleverly used Antetokounmpo's threat to make the Spurs defense mistakenly think that the ball would be passed to the Greek, but in the end, the ball was passed to Klay Thompson who was open on the weak side at the last moment. Thompson steadily hit the winning three-pointer in the left corner.

That shot ended the game.

"It's still a little short," Duncan sighed. The intensity of this game has already surpassed the regular season, and they seem to be playing in the playoffs.

But in the end, the Spurs fell short.

"Goodbye, Frye," Duncan said.

Yu Fei asked him: "What do you think of Nicholas?"

"Very good," Duncan replied. "He's not one of those people who only do things superficially."

This evaluation is not without reason. The details of Jokic suggesting Ginobili to drink Coke to relieve his depression before the game are still vivid in our minds, and his performance on the court is full of creativity. Duncan can't help but think, if such a player exists, even if the GOAT retires at the age of 35, can George and others really take over the West?

But soon, Duncan realized that this idea was too meaningless. After all, what did it have to do with him? He just needed to do his part and leave the rest to God.

After the game, various experts spoke highly of the game. They thought that this game was like a preview of the Western Conference Finals. The excitement of the game was not only reflected in the fierce confrontation between the two sides, but also because of the outstanding performance of veteran stars and young new stars. Especially Jokic, he not only won high praise from the media, but also won unanimous recognition from teammates and opponents. "My teammates found me at the most appropriate time," Thompson said, "especially Nikola Jokic, this guy is incredible. He is not Sabonis, he is a full-time inside Magic Johnson."

Antetokounmpo also sighed about Jokic's final pass: "I'm usually the kind of person who takes one step at a time, but Nikola can see what's happening ten steps away in one step, which is why he can make that kind of pass at the critical moment."

Popovich seemed a little regretful, not only because he failed to arrange a better tactic at the last moment, but also because the team missed Jokic in the 2014 draft.

"Nikola was on our draft list, but the Clippers took him before us," Popovich said. "Seeing his performance now, I really think we missed a valuable opportunity. However, I am also happy for his success."

Finally, Yu Fei summarized Jokic's performance: "If he wasn't so good, how could I allow Yao Ming to play as a substitute? You know, 35 years old is the age for men to work hard..."

The next day, the Los Angeles Times wrote: "Is the GOAT hinting that he will continue to play?"

In any case, through the game against the Spurs, Jokic not only played a key role in a strong dialogue and built confidence, but also rapidly increased his popularity.

By the time the Christmas game arrived, Jokic had surpassed Pau Gasol in the latest voting list and became the leader of the Western Conference All-Star team's backup center.

The ensuing Christmas battle may be the most important game of the year.

The Clippers, who have only lost two games so far this season, are away from home to challenge the New York Knicks, who are second in the league and first in the Eastern Conference.

If the game against the Spurs is a preview of the Finals, then the game against the Knicks is naturally considered a preview of the Finals.

Moreover, relevant professional basketball practitioners really want to see Durant, a Mesozoic superstar theoretically brought up by Fei, challenge the GOAT throne in the finals.

If Durant wins, it will be like Jordan ending Magic Johnson in 1991, the beginning of a new era.

These people who love excitement did not expect that if Yu Fei won, Nike would be in complete ruin.

In today's world where Kobe is scoring points, James is idle, and Rose is close to being scrapped, Durant is the one carrying the banner for Nike.

The New York market amplifies Durant's influence.

However, if they fail in New York, the backlash they will suffer can be said to be the ultimate malice in professional sports.

Especially Durant is no longer friendly to the media. He makes the media disgusted just like Ewing did back then.

The moment Yu Fei walked into Madison Square Garden, he was met with unanimous boos from the audience.

New York has the most demanding fans, and their first principle is to put mental pressure on guests from the beginning.

They will only respect you if you perform well under this pressure.

Even the GOAT has to accept this test.

After playing for so long, Yu Fei has long been accustomed to ignoring the noise on the scene.

Soon, Yu Fei, who would be 34 in a few days, stood in front of the 26-year-old Durant and asked, "How does it feel to be in charge?"

In New York, Durant can get whatever he wants, and almost no one dares to say "no" to him. After all, he just won the MVP, second only to Yu Fei, and is considered the second best player in the league. It is generally believed that Durant is the most likely to take over the league after Yu Fei retires, so the Knicks management takes good care of him.

However, despite being praised so highly, Durant still sighed: "I still miss my time in Seattle."

"Really?" Yu Fei responded, "That's because you are still young."

"I'm not getting any younger," Durant responded. "I'm 26."

“That’s still young.”

Durant couldn't help but feel bitter: Yu Fei had won six championships at the age of 26, but what about him? Although he had four championships, if he wanted to leave a higher status in history, these four championships were just icing on the cake. He seemed to have everything now, but he was getting more and more troubled because he hadn't won his own championship. And Yu Fei actually said he was young?

The last person Yu Fei said this to has now achieved nothing in Cleveland—that guy is 32 years old and has achieved nothing so far. Durant does not want to repeat the same mistake.

The game started shortly after, and the Clippers vs. Knicks matchup was a star-studded affair.

The Clippers have Yu Fei, Thompson, Jokic and Antetokounmpo, while the Knicks have Durant, Iguodala and Aldridge.

In terms of maturity, the Knicks seem to have the advantage, but the Clippers not only have four stars on the court, but also Yao Ming sitting off the court.

The Clippers have unfathomable talent, which is why they have only lost two games this season.

Both losses were caused by poor shooting, while the opponent played wildly from the outside, making it hard to defend. This situation is like playing the qualifying matches in online competitive games. After winning streaks, you will always encounter strange teammates and opponents. But professional sports ultimately depend on the on-the-spot state. Facing a potential finals opponent like the Knicks, the Clippers will not slack off, especially Yu Fei.

He knows that the person Durant wants to beat the most is him. Although Durant looks nostalgic, if he really leads the team to win the championship, the memories of Seattle will probably disappear.

During the game, Yu Fei found the rhythm through skills and suppressed Durant's touch through physical confrontation.

Antetokounmpo struggled a bit under Iguodala's defense, but he didn't need to force his performance because there was enough talent on the team to share the ball.

The Knicks strengthened their inside line in the summer to alleviate the problem of excessive offensive resources, but rookie point guard Terry Rozier is clearly not good enough to be the starter of a championship team. He does not control the game as well as Antetokounmpo.

What was even more surprising to the New Yorkers was that although Jokic had difficulty defending Aldridge's shooting from the outside, he completely dominated the Knicks' inside with his magical rebounding skills.

Relying on Jokic's rebounding advantage, Yu Fei became more and more adept at singles in the second half.

Durant held on for half a quarter, but was ultimately unable to resist. The Knicks' defensive confidence gradually collapsed, and they began to double-team Fei.

Yu Fei passed the ball to Thompson on the outside, and Thompson made three-pointers in succession, like bullets aimed at the heart of New York.

The Knicks failed to hold on until the fourth quarter.

In terms of on-the-spot response, lineup depth and rationality, they are not even as good as the Spurs and Warriors in the West, but in the East, this lineup is enough to be the champion.

However, tonight, facing the Clippers who were going all out, they felt powerless. They couldn't even last three quarters? Were they worse than the Spurs?
130 to 109, the much-anticipated Christmas battle ended with the Clippers winning by 21 points.

"A preview of the Finals? No, this is an early preview of the Finals results!" The Los Angeles Times boldly predicted: "No matter which Eastern Conference team reaches the Finals, the ending will be the same. The Clippers are dominating this season with unprecedented intensity! We have never seen such a team in the past! To be honest, I don't think any team can give the Clippers a third loss before 2016."

Sometimes blowing too hard can make it seem like you are playing the opposite role.

But the young people of the Clippers just liked this kind of flattery. After beating the Knicks into human machines, they became proud of themselves.

So before 2016, they lost to the Pelicans in New Orleans, with superstar Anthony Davis scoring 42 points and 21 rebounds, and Chris Paul scoring 30 points and 14 assists.

After the game, Yu Fei said: "In this era, media support has surpassed everything else and has become the external factor that can most disturb the players' minds."

This is Yu Fei's first game after his 34th birthday.

The media finally asked him how he felt.

Yu Fei said: "I'm already thinking about whether my first game after my 35th birthday next year will be like this."

Anyway, GOAT is 34 years old, the world is relieved, and for his competitors, they look forward to "that day" coming sooner.

(End of this chapter)