When pride still matters

Chapter 617 The murderer is the Clippers
After the Spurs were eliminated, there was a lot of discussion about Duncan's actions before he left the game.

At that time, Duncan had his back to the camera and pointed to the sky with one hand. It was unclear whether he was saying "I will come for another year" or "This is where I end up."

Yu Fei is the only one who knows the answer, and he doesn't have so many thoughts.

Perhaps he was a special competitor to Duncan because he blocked his opponent's championship dream twice and defeated him many times during his time in Seattle.

Although Duncan eliminated Yu Fei's team twice at the end of his career, that could not offset what he lost.

But as far as Yu Fei is concerned, no opponent would make him feel, "Oh, I'm retiring, what a pity, I can't play with you anymore."

If he had to name one, it would be Jordan.

In hindsight, the retirement ceremony in 2003 was a little inadequate.

So Yu Fei could bid farewell to Duncan calmly.

For him, the real feeling of loss is when those familiar opponents retire one by one, when he looks around the league and the faces of his youth have disappeared. Only then will he feel differently.

Now, he has no time to digest the news that Duncan is about to retire, because their work is not over yet.

After the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Clippers held a grand MVP award ceremony for Yu Fei.

After thanking everyone, Yu Fei regarded his seventh MVP as the luck brought by the birth of his daughter. He said: "I hope to move forward with this luck. I want to know what it feels like to win a championship and wear a lot of rings."

This sentence attracted widespread attention.

People realized that if Yu Fei won one more championship, he would become the "Lord of the Rings" of the modern NBA.

In such a highly professional and commercial sports league, is it really possible to wear rings on both hands? It sounds like something that can only be achieved in a small league with eight teams, no salary cap, and no one paying attention to the game.

Meanwhile, the Clippers' opponents in the Western Conference Finals are in a fierce competition.

The Warriors tied the Pelicans in the first four games, and narrowly won the fifth game thanks to Lillard's magical three-pointer. In the sixth game, the Pelicans, who had already performed above their level, seemed to have difficulty continuing, as if a human being had died of natural causes.

"It's a pity, but I believe next year will be better. We are a young team, AD will continue to grow, and I firmly believe that he will become the best player in the world in the next five years!" As the mentor of Davis, Paul said sincerely in the post-match press conference.

However, his view of Davis seems too optimistic and he ignores the fact that he is no longer young.

Moreover, time will test everything.

In Dallas, there was a German who believed so, but in the end he never had the chance to stand on the highest podium.

Time often favors those who dare to challenge time.

For the Warriors, advancing to the Western Conference Finals was just the goal they set at the beginning of the season.

Two years ago, when Yu Fei first came to Los Angeles, they were called the "Young Guards", but now no one calls them that anymore.

Because he was also a member of the Royal Guard, Thompson was traded to the Clippers and quickly grew into a super 3D player of the championship team, while the Warriors are still lingering in the same place.

Last year, they finally overcame the Spurs, but were sanctioned by the Clippers again.

The inside is still at a disadvantage.

Leonard and Lillard are still too young.

A year later, how is the situation?
Leonard has achieved continuous evolution. He has gone from a rough guy, to a terminator, to a limited one-on-one player with the ball, and finally to the all-round player he is today, making the Warriors rely on his offensive and defensive performances like breathing.

If we only look at the Western Conference, there aren't many power forwards who can match up to Leonard.

Even the Clippers have to send out Yu Fei, because Antetokounmpo is too big for him and it is not easy to defend him alone.

Then there's Lillard, who averaged 25 points per game this season and has earned a reputation as Leonard's troubleshooter, but he likes to take difficult shots and enjoys the challenge. In other words, he's not playing efficiently, and he sees himself as Leonard's equal rather than his secondary.

Before the divisional finals began, the Clippers broke down the technical characteristics of Leonard and Lillard in detail.

The former is a quasi-superstar who has not yet become a big star, while Lillard is the focus of research of the Clippers coaching staff.

This season, Lillard scored 28% of his points at the basket, 50% of his points from beyond the three-point line, and only 22% from mid-range, which is why his shooting percentage is only 42%.

However, Yu Fei pointed out at the team analysis meeting that Lillard's shooting selection is like Kobe who tries to avoid mid-range shots.

This is a person who dares to challenge high difficulty. The more pressure you put on him, the more excited he will be. However, excitement often only gives rise to people's desires, but will not substantially affect their on-the-spot state.

Therefore, when the Clippers let Griffin go in the first game of the Western Conference Finals, letting Yu Fei face Leonard, and then mobilized manpower to surround Lillard, the Warriors responded by letting Griffin hit a critical hit.

Griffin did it, or he didn't.

That night, Griffin scored 32 points and 10 rebounds. He also scored the highest points and the most rebounds on the team, but made his opponents feel that such a blow was a piece of cake and there was no pressure at all.

With precise planning and effective execution, the Clippers easily defeated the Warriors in the first game.

In the second game that followed, the Warriors decided to play to the strength of their players, because their young core seemed too immature in front of Yu Fei and had no psychological advantage at all.

This is the right choice, and the Clippers are happy to see the Warriors do this.

Rivers hates playing against coaches who play mind games the most. He prefers this kind of competition that relies purely on strength and talent. What the Clippers lack most is talent.

However, the Warriors not only slowed down the pace of the game, but also reduced the shooting percentage of both sides through strong defense.

But they missed one point and did not make a clear arrangement between offensive rebounding and retreating.

The coaching staff did not give a clear intention. As players, they naturally had to work hard to attack the rebounds, but the Warriors did not have an advantage on defense.

Griffin, who was pushed to the five position in the small lineup, looked very struggling in front of Jokic.

At the same time, Antetokounmpo's talents were fully demonstrated when fighting for rebounds.

What makes the Warriors feel most uncomfortable is that Yu Fei's rebounding ability is also the best among forwards. Whether it is positioning, physical condition, or the sense and awareness of grabbing rebounds, he is first-class.

You know, he is a player who has played more than 1100 games and averaged double-digit rebounds per game.

Although the core style of play enjoys the benefit of teammates voluntarily giving up rebounds, strong rebounding ability is a prerequisite.

They forced a defensive fight with the Clippers and tried to get rebounds but couldn't. As a result, Yu Fei and Jokic kept showing off their skills in the game, grabbing rebounds and passing them to the frontcourt like bullets to Antetokounmpo and Thompson on the fast break.

By the time the Warriors reacted, the disadvantage was already too great.

2 is better than 0
The Clippers won two games in a row effortlessly and are only two games away from their second trip to the finals.

The media began to write elegies for the Warriors and argue why it was their tragedy that they rose at the same time as the Clippers.

They have a point.

Because the first time the Warriors became relevant in the Western Conference was in the 2013-14 season, which happened to be Yu Fei's first year with the Clippers, and then they were badly defeated.

Then last year, after beating the Spurs with difficulty, they were quickly defeated by the Clippers in the divisional finals.

Although Leonard and Lillard continue to improve, Yu Fei is already 33 and a half years old, and his future is definitely on the decline.

However, Antetokounmpo and Jokic's progress is not slow at all.

And Yu Fei has not given people the impression that he has shown any significant decline.

In this predicament where the Clippers are getting stronger, but the Warriors' speed of growth has never been able to surpass that of the opponent, it seems that the Warriors cannot avoid being defeated for three consecutive years.

In the third game, both sides moved to Oracle Arena.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr expressed optimism about the trend of the series: "Kawhi told us to finish them at home. Yeah, maybe you don't believe it, but I really like where we are now."

Whether it was bluffing or being positive and optimistic, the Warriors did use their home-court advantage to put strong pressure on the Clippers.

Lillard's pick-and-roll offense becomes fierce, and Antetokounmpo will look awkward when he can't find his shooting touch.

This is the dilemma facing the Clippers' two young core players.

They are all easy targets.

Maybe one day, they will be strong enough to fight back against their opponents, but not now.

Today, they still have a long way to go before they can become the perfect form that Yu Fei imagined.

If there is no older leader who steps up to take responsibility when they hit a wall, they will go through the test of growth just like the main timeline.

Fail, fail again, until you succeed. That feeling of finally getting what you deserve after all the hard work is different from the feeling of winning the championship early under the leadership of others.

This kind of pressure and difficulty will only be understood when they shoulder the burden of the team.

But now, Yu Fei will bear most of the pressure, and a small part will fall on Yao Ming.

Yao Ming was also trained by Lillard, but after becoming a substitute, his mentality was very stable. He no longer suffered from being exhausted by being used as a breakthrough point and constantly being screened.

He knows that his role is to protect the basket, position himself, set pick-and-rolls, and shoot three-pointers.

In fact, an inside player who can do two of these four points well can have a foothold in the league, and an inside player who possesses all four points is worth a contract worth tens of millions.

Lillard can train the inside, but Yao Ming can also make three-pointers.

That was the biggest difference between him and Jokic tonight.

Jokic was beaten by Lillard, and his inability on the defensive end led to inefficiency on the offensive end, but Yao Ming accepted the result completely.

The two old Dengs fought back when the Clippers were about to be suppressed, and then other veterans in the team also began to play a role.

Richard Jefferson assisted in blocking Lillard and then completed a dunk in the counterattack.

Monta Ellis decisively held the ball and attacked when Yu Fei was double-teamed, playing the role that the Clippers expected him to play when they signed him.

The battle-hardened veteran has become the team's ballast at this moment.

On the other hand, the Warriors are dominated by a youthful team, and veterans are actually a minority on the team.

When you are leading, you feel proud and complacent, but when you are caught up, you become upset and confused. When you are overtaken, you can only rely on those who can withstand strong pressure to keep playing.

The Warriors' man responsible for doing this is Lillard.

Leonard also has a big heart, but the problem is that the guard always controls the ball on the court.

Lillard is a guard with too much subjective initiative.

The trait that could help Leonard share the pressure was like American heroism at this moment. He made consecutive difficult three-pointers, hoping to respond to the Clippers' counterattack in an incredible way.

"It's hard to believe that the Warriors are a championship team at this moment," Jeff Van Gundy said sharply. "When they need someone to step up and stabilize the team, you often see not Kawhi Leonard, but the reckless Damian Lillard. He destroyed the Spurs with three-pointers like this last year, which gave him endless confidence. But is this confidence good or bad? I can only say that it was bad tonight."

Originally, the Clippers only led by 4 points. After Lillard missed consecutive difficult shots, the Clippers firmly controlled the rebounds. Yu Fei completed the counterattack first, then assisted Thompson to make a three-pointer, and Antetokounmpo showed off a one-stop counterattack dunk that ran across the court.

The score difference was heading towards 11 points, and the Warriors' morale was gone.

3 is better than 0
The huge score in front of me is stinging.

For the past three seasons, the Warriors seemed unable to escape the fate of being eliminated by the Clippers.

As a young team, it is normal to pay tuition fees. After all, reaching the divisional finals for two consecutive years is a feat that many teams have never achieved.

However, every team that has made it this far has ambitions.

Even if reaching the conference finals proves that they are one of the top four teams in the league, they will not consider "reaching the semi-finals" as a success. Because of the ring culture, if they don't win the championship, all their achievements will seem meaningless.

Especially a team like the Warriors who loan out the future early.

If that loaned future doesn't come, faith will collapse, they will doubt whether they can do it, and management will re-examine the composition of the team, especially whether their core players have the potential to win a championship.

Now, this inevitable outcome will only intensify suspicion.

0 to 3 is a dead end.

But when they first met the Clippers, they lost 1-4, and this year it seems likely that they will be swept. Are they worse now than they were two years ago?
"From a process perspective, our performance was better than in the past two years," Kerr said feebly. "I know most people only look at the results, but the process is important. We believe that sooner or later these kids will beat the Clippers like they beat the Spurs. Maybe not now, but when that day comes, the world will still only focus on the results. They will never know that the process is the most important."

Over the past decade, time travelers have continued to flap their wings in the professional basketball world, changing the fate of many people.

Steve Kerr was also the one who was changed.

He no longer had the luck of coaching Curry, nor did he have the wonderful start of winning the championship in the first season. He took over a young but anxious team.

The pairing of Lillard and Leonard looks like a less luxurious version of the Kuznetsuo combination, but neither of them is at their peak, and even if they were, they wouldn't complement each other as well as Kuznetsuo.

Most importantly, the Warriors' owner and management believe that their young core has made significant progress, but why are they powerless against the Clippers?
Same opponent, same outcome, even the overall score was almost the same.

Patience is gone, trust is long gone.

What about the future of the top 15 coaches in NBA history?
It’s safe to say that it has nothing to do with Cole anymore.

That was no longer something he should consider.

Kerr hopes that the outside world will pay attention to the process, but 76ers fans disagree.

What they hate most now is the word "process".

The process is ugly.

The "process" makes the season meaningless. The most important minutes of the draft lottery every year are the most important. Once you miss the No. 1 pick, it is like a hearty premature ejaculation. You spent several hours downloading related scenes, but your younger brother shed tears before your extraordinary scene arrives. What a frustrating thing it is.

However, the second brother's poor performance may only spoil the fun for one night, but the defeat of "Process" will ruin the entire season.

That was a whole year.

The same is true for teams aiming to win the championship.

A season without a championship is a "process" of failure.

And the people of Golden State have been living like this for three years, just like they were lucky enough to be selected to watch the premiere of the "Tiny Times" trilogy.

In Game 4 of the series, the Clippers returned to Oracle Arena.

Before the game started, Antetokounmpo had a bad touch when practicing shooting from the outside, and Jokic seemed to deliberately stimulate him by making consecutive shots.

Antetokounmpo said dissatisfiedly: "It's just a good touch. Anyone can make a shot from such a close distance."

Jokic stepped back one meter and still made the shot.

"If you have the guts, just stand there and shoot!" Antetokounmpo pointed to the backcourt.

"So what if it goes in?"

Antetokounmpo gritted his teeth and said, "I'll give you $100,000!"

Jokic thought, since there’s no penalty for missing the shot, why not give it a try?
So, he made a sky hook in public as a joke, but it was an extremely long sky hook towards the front court basket.

For those people whose manual skills are incredibly good, once the touch is right, even the most miraculous things can happen.

In full view of the public, Jokic won Antetokounmpo's $100,000.

"This," Antetokounmpo yelled, "This is not a shot!"

Jokic laughed and said, “You didn’t say I couldn’t use the hook shot, did you?”

"!#￥!@#￥"

Not far away, Yu Fei said to Rivers: "I like this process."

"Who wouldn't like it?" Rivers asked.

That night, everything went wrong for the Warriors.

The main reason they were able to put the Clippers in trouble with their defense in Game 3 was the support of the referees. If they can win that game, the referees may continue to provide support because the league hopes to make the conference finals more intense.

But they didn't seize the opportunity, so the Clippers swept the game, boosted the defending champions' momentum, and then let Durant lead the Knicks to meet Yu Fei in the finals. This was the most ideal scenario for this season.

Thus, the Warriors' last hope disappeared.

The opponent's battle of honor was turned into an exhibition match by the Clippers.

Yu Fei, who dominated the first three games, began to cooperate with the young people. Antetokounmpo, who lost $100,000, attacked the basket violently. Jokic was like a combination of Magic and Bird, with wonderful passes, peculiar shots, and back-to-the-basket singles. He was omnipotent.

When everything was going smoothly, the rest of the Clippers jumped in, the game turned into a playground, and the Warriors lost the final game of the season at home in the most embarrassing way.

136 is better than 88
The moment the referee blew the final whistle, Kerr closed his eyes and took a deep breath as if he had accepted his fate.

He knew his coaching career was murdered tonight.

The murderer is the Los Angeles Clippers.

(End of this chapter)