When pride still matters

Chapter 614: The Seal Loosened by Time
Losing a third game before the end of 2015 was not unacceptable to Fei, but losing after his birthday is always memorable.

He felt that his birthday might have some bad buffs, because in his memory, he always lost after his birthday.

However, they still have to put aside these distractions and stride forward into 2016.

Rivers set a small goal for the players: "We can't lose to teams that can't make the playoffs!"

This statement absolutely comes from the heart.

Two of the three games the Clippers have lost so far have been to non-playoff teams.

The Clippers then headed to the East to challenge the team that had risen strongly during the trade deadline in the middle of last season.

Judging from the personnel configuration, the Wizards are not much different from the main timeline. Wall and Beal are their backbone, but the problem is that the most legitimate Wizards player in this generation is the giant baby-like DeMarcus Cousins.

Then there are Wall and Beal.

Last season, Wall was traded to the Wizards and immediately activated the Wizards' offense.

Although Wall himself has technical characteristics that are not in line with the times, as a core guard who can pass the ball clearly and has the size advantage and sharp speed in the same position, this is enough for him to occupy a place in the league.

Currently, the Wizards are ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference and can be said to be a first-tier team.

The Clippers, who just lost to the Pelicans, would never accept a losing streak, and they came to DC with full concentration.

When Yu Fei walked into the Wizards' home court, a three-minute tribute video was played for him, which was really unusual.

You know, not long ago, Yu Fei severely criticized Clay Bennett on the issue of whether he was willing to retire his jersey in Seattle. Although he had made great contributions to the SuperSonics, he made it clear that he was unwilling to retire for Bennett's team. This means that unless the team changes ownership or Bennett dies, the jersey of the best player in the history of the SuperSonics will never be hung at home.

How much better was Yu Fei and DC’s breakup than Seattle’s experience back then?

Or maybe worse.

In terms of nature, the Wizards' decision may be more disgusting to him - back then, they chose Jordan, 39, over Yu Fei, 19. But that was fifteen years ago. Although the Wizards were the protagonists of the incident, the people Yu Fei hated have long since changed. Jordan has become the deputy GOAT, and Aby Pollin, who made the decision, died many years ago.

Watching the tribute video, Yu Fei felt a little unfamiliar with the young man running on the court in the video.

“Have I ever run this fast?”

“Why did the shooting motion look so awkward?”

"What's the difference between me at 19 and Ben Simmons?"

“Oh, I’m playing in an era where Ben Simmons is about to come into the league.”

The video records all the precious moments of his early career: the buzzer-beater against the Knicks in his rookie season, how he defeated Grant Hill in his first start, and the buzzer-beater against the Lakers that decided the direction of the season. Many familiar faces also appeared in the video: Kwame Brown, Tyronn Lue, Chris Whitney, Justin White, Doug Collins, and... Michael Jordan.

Yu Fei remembered that he had talked about similar things with Carter.

Two years ago, when Carter returned to Toronto, it was the 20th anniversary of the Raptors. Toronto fans prepared a tribute video for him, even though they never stopped booing. But Carter's approach was different - no matter where he went, he always praised Toronto fans, and it was the same for ten years, almost corny. Does this method work? In many cases, it doesn't work, but over time, the first love that hurt you the most will also evoke your beautiful memories.

When Carter returned to Toronto with a white beard, he couldn't control his emotions because of the "half-man, half-god" himself in the video.

The Toronto fans who were about to boo him were stunned. Suddenly, applause broke out and the live commentator began to praise Carter's contribution to Canadian basketball.

Yes, those Canadian boys who watched Carter grow up are becoming popular in the NBA draft.

Would this have happened without Carter? Carter himself may not have anticipated this impact.

Yu Fei once asked Carter if he regretted leaving in that way.

"I never regretted leaving," Carter said, "but maybe it could have been done in a better way."

Now, a similar situation appeared in front of Yu Fei.

For a long time, he deliberately downplayed his rookie season and never mentioned DC. Instead, DC kept citing his success, playing a self-torturing "what if" game.

They like to fantasize: "If Yu Fei hadn't been traded, would the Wizards of the 2000s have been as brilliant as the Bulls of the 90s?"

The deeper the YY is, the more intense the pain in reality is. Yu Fei has already sealed these memories. The only thing he can do is to keep winning and make DC feel pain.

Today, he no longer needs to prove anything to anyone. Years later, in front of this sincere tribute video, some emotions quietly loosened.

Yao Ming walked over and said, "Why are there tribute videos everywhere you go? It's as if you're going to retire."

"This is the benefit of playing for multiple teams," Yu Fei said. "If you want, I can suggest that management trade you so that when you return to Los Angeles next season, there will be a tribute video."

"I'm already a substitute, but you still want to trade me? Are you human?!"

Then, the game begins.

The Wizards rely on the Big Three to deal with the Clippers.

Although Wall lacks the ability to break through in positional warfare, he is not completely without shooting ability. Once he finds his touch, he can use his extraordinary speed to cause damage.

Bill is a pure scorer.

Cousins ​​is the biggest X-factor.

It can be said that he is the barometer of DC.

Only when he opens up can the Wizards exert their full strength.

Tonight, Cousins ​​was extra excited. He had recently heard a lot of professionals praising Jokic, but he didn't take it seriously. In his opinion, the other party was just an embroidered pillow who could only do manual work.

Cousins ​​is a powerful center who needs to be qualified. Although in this era when the inside line is gradually declining, he can still show extraordinary strength. As long as these qualifications are met, Cousins ​​has the ability to become the league's top center in the game.

Just like tonight, Cousins ​​played very happily and had an excellent touch, especially when fighting against Jokic, he became more and more courageous, so he gave the Clippers a more vigorous feeling than Anthony Davis in the previous two days.

Davis is a unicorn type of center in modern basketball, with a strong physique, excellent speed and guard-level skills, while Cousins ​​is a versatile traditional center with a strong body and can play inside and outside.

From the perspective of type, Cousins ​​is the most troublesome inside player for Jokic at this stage. Since Jokic is not the absolute core of the Clippers, he cannot play in the way that he is most comfortable with. With Yu Fei and Antetokounmpo around him, Antetokounmpo, in particular, is extremely concerned about whether his ball possession ranks second in the team.

When Jokic was unable to limit Cousins ​​on defense and couldn't find his shooting touch on offense, his presence was almost limited to positioning for rebounds and supporting from the high post.

Rivers was not in a hurry at all, allowing Jokic to be "educated" by Cousins, executing a clock-like rotation, and when the time was up, Yao Ming was replaced. Yao Ming immediately made a three-pointer after coming on the court, and this goal instantly boosted the Clippers' offensive momentum.

Although Yao Ming is not as good at assisting as Jokic, his shooting is very stable. Although there is a lack of a second assisting point, Yu Fei and Antetokounmpo's ball-handling ability makes the lineup's organization exceptionally outstanding. Now with the addition of a three-pointer + rim protector at the five position, the Wizards soon don't know how to defend.

In the third quarter, the Clippers made an 18-2 run with three-pointers and defensive counterattacks, pushing the game directly into garbage time.

2016 is a special year in basketball history. The Warriors of the main timeline changed the game of basketball this year and broke the 96-year best record held by the Bulls. Today, the composition of the Warriors is completely different, and Curry is suffering from the syndrome of the late championship team in Miami.

However, the luck of 2016 needed another team to inherit it. The Clippers undoubtedly became that team.

The question now is, who will be this year's Cavaliers?
The season has already started for two months, and Yu Fei can't see any team in the East with similar potential, let alone the Cavaliers in the main timeline, who could take advantage of the right time, place and people to achieve the biggest comeback in the history of the Finals.

After defeating the Wizards, the Clippers started another winning streak.

During this period, Jokic, who was targeted by various teams, began to hit a wall.

His performance is not as good as in the previous two months, but the Clippers' record is not affected at all, and they have enough confidence to train their players.

While Jokic's performance declined, Yao Ming on the bench continued to output. Relying on the convenience of off-peak travel, Yao Ming now averages 26 points, 17 rebounds and 6 blocks per game with 2 minutes of playing time, which is almost the same as his average data as a starter last season.

While maintaining his statistics, his average playing time per game was reduced by 5 minutes, and his efficiency was improved in all aspects. He is now the efficiency king of the league, and his name can be seen in various advanced data that emphasize efficiency.

As Yao Ming's performance stabilized, he surpassed Jokic in the All-Star voting and once again became a candidate for the Western Conference reserve.

Judging from the popularity of the two and Jokic's recent slump due to continuous hitting the wall due to being targeted, it is almost certain that Yao Ming will be selected for the All-Star game again.

Rivers used this to warn Jokic: "Nikola, if you don't quit those bad habits, you may stop here forever."

Antetokounmpo was gloating on the sidelines; he just liked seeing Jokic get humiliated.

Jokic was tired of hearing this kind of talk, so he just shook his head and said, "Coach, I don't see it that way."

"You know nothing, Nikola!" Nikola began the NBA version of the "I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice" sermon.

He is indeed qualified to say this, as he has gone through multiple eras from his player resume to his coaching resume.

But this didn't convince Jokic.

The Serbian has his own theory, and he believes the recent decline in performance is due to the deterioration of his shooting touch.

To solve this problem, either increase his weight in the low post or increase shooting training to get his touch back.

Increasing the number of low-post attacks is equivalent to increasing his tactical position, which affects the entire tactical system. In other words, it means dividing the cake among people. Rivers will not do such a thing for a foreigner who has performed poorly recently and likes to be stubborn.

So, you still have to practice.

But, training is training, what does this have to do with his so-called bad "living habits"? Yes, he likes to eat fried foods, likes to drink carbonated drinks, and is a heavy sugar intake, but putting these aside, he is still a good player. Eating or not eating these things does not affect his training.

The season goes on.

After losing to the Pelicans, the Clippers became much more cautious when facing strong teams. At the same time, Yu Fei began to change Rivers' so-called small goals.

Stop losing to teams that can't make the playoffs?
This goal is too simple.

The truly difficult goal is to maintain the winning streak before the All-Star Break.

To do this, the Clippers need to complete an astonishing 22-game winning streak.

During this period, they will encounter many strong teams, including the second game with the Knicks, the first game of the season with the Heat, and two consecutive games against the Warriors, the second-ranked team in the Western Conference.

It is extremely difficult to maintain a winning streak under the siege of these teams.

In particular, more than half of the Clippers' core members are young players.

Just like Jokic is easy to be targeted, isn't Antetokounmpo the same?

So after ten consecutive wins, the Warriors stood up and became the dragon-slaying warriors just like their team name, giving the Clippers their fourth defeat of the season.

However, in the second back-to-back game, the Warriors lost their glory and were defeated by the Clippers by 33 points at home.

Steve Kerr said: "The Clippers are like the Heat before them, the Sonics before them and the 1996 Bulls. It seems that as long as we can beat them once, it will be something to be proud of."

"If we want them to compete for the finals, we must not have such thoughts."

Kerr wants to remain optimistic, but after the Clippers' 10-game winning streak was snapped, they are playing better and better.

Especially Yao Ming on the bench.

At this point, he increasingly likes to travel during off-peak hours.

He gets the maximum salary, sits on the bench, and gets good stats. He has no responsibilities and no pressure. The Clippers are on a roll, and others praise him for his dedication to giving up the starting lineup. If the Clippers lose, what does it have to do with him as a substitute? He is just a small substitute.

After Jokic hit a slump in January, some media hoped that Yao Ming would return to the starting lineup.

However, now, even if Rivers wants Yao Ming to return to the starting lineup, Yao Ming himself is unwilling to do so.

For the 36-year-old veteran, traveling during off-peak hours is a blessing, and he now believes that this is the best solution to help him stay healthy until 2019.

However, Jokic has not been lacking in rebounding performances during his slump.

At the end of January, the Clippers played against the Heat away, and Jokic finally broke the rookie wall. Facing the second-ranked team in the Eastern Conference, he scored 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists, getting his first triple-double in his career.

Yu Fei commented: "A lot of people think it's too early to let Nikola start now. I just want to say that you don't know how good this kid is." Then, the reporter came to Jokic and asked him what he thought about getting his first triple-double in the NBA.

"I don't have any special ideas. The season is still long." Jokic said, "I will reward myself with a hearty midnight snack and then go to sleep. I think tomorrow will be better." He repeated, "Because the season is long, so tomorrow will be better."

He is not Yu Fei, nor Antetokounmpo, nor is he the chosen one who is accustomed to his own stardom; he is not even the best interview subject like Yao Ming who makes reporters feel comfortable. He is the weirdo of the Clippers.

After being wronged in January, the weirdo fought back against the second in the Eastern Conference, but unfortunately, such performance came too late to help him win a chance to participate in the All-Star Game.

The next day, the league announced the 2016 Eastern and Western Conference All-Star rosters. Just like last season, the Clippers had four players selected: Yu Fei, Yao Ming, Thompson and Antetokounmpo.

(End of this chapter)