When pride still matters

Chapter 629 Years of Hatred

Chapter 629 Years of Hatred

After signing Beasley, the Clippers did not make any other moves.

In terms of lineup, they are already saturated.

There is enough depth in both the frontcourt and the backcourt. Now all we have to do is stay healthy and run full speed towards the playoffs.

However, the defending champion's choice to play it safe does not mean that his UIS will do the same.

The two biggest suspense on the trade deadline are Kyrie Irving and DeMarcus Cousins.

Three years after Yu Fei left Seattle, Irving proved himself to be just a sharp knife rather than a leader who could lead the team forward.

Of course, his style of play is very popular among fans, so the Supersonics will try their best to build the team around him.

However, the Sonics' signings in recent years have not been satisfactory.

They are paying off the debt of dismantling the Supersonic Empire.

If a team can't even keep the GOAT, how can the big-name players in the free market consider them as their first choice?

Therefore, in recent years, although the Supersonics have made gestures every year to make a big splash in the free market, there have never been good results.

And Irving gradually became tired of the status quo.

The people of Seattle hoped that he could become Yu Fei, but he couldn't.

Then let's lower the requirements a bit and become the second Roy. That shouldn't be difficult, right?

As a result, Irving broke down emotionally. He didn't want to end up like Roy.

So, Irving kept hinting that he wanted a change of scenery.

He originally signed a short 2+1 contract similar to that of Fei with the Supersonics. Now, the first year is about to end and next season will be his contract year.

If Irving decides to leave, the most beneficial option for the Supersonics is to trade him.

But after all, they haven't reached the last moment yet.

There is still time.

The Sonics had the entire summer to persuade Irving to change his mind. Therefore, despite the turmoil in the trading market, they still chose to keep Irving, sell tickets, and move towards the lottery zone with Irving's "stable" leadership ability.

The 2017 draft is hailed as the year with the highest overall talent since 2014, and it is a good time to tank.

Next is Cousins.

Cousins ​​is a player with too many problems, making him unbearable for the team.

If he is emotionally stable, Cousins ​​may be the best center in active service, but his problem is that he cannot maintain emotional stability in most cases.

However, trading Cousins ​​would be far from easy under the circumstances.

The first team to contact the Wizards was the Heat, who were in the same division.

The Heat obviously listened to James' words about "lack of depth in the interior" and immediately stepped forward when they saw an opportunity to strengthen the interior.

But strong teams in the same division usually don't harm their own interests to strengthen their opponents, not to mention that the Wizards don't want to give up, they just want to deal with the trouble.

Although Cousins ​​is a problem figure in their hands, they cannot guarantee that after sending Cousins ​​to the Heat, they will not give the other side the last piece of the puzzle.

In the end, the Wizards sent Cousins ​​to Chicago in a "$10 for $5" deal in exchange for DeAndre Jordan and a swap of first-round draft picks in 2017 and 2018.

It's hard to say whether the Wizards or the Bulls are better after the trade.

The Bulls are a team that looks bright on the surface but has many internal problems.

Their main problem is infighting. Wade's arrogance, Jordan's laxity, and the conflicts between young players and substitutes and these veterans are the main sources of the problem.

Wouldn't putting Cousins ​​on a team like this really magnify their problems?

Jordan Jr. gradually became a player abandoned by the times.

When he left Seattle, he was the league's premier inside player with his own defensive system. It was a time when the inside players were declining, and he, Noah, the Gasol brothers, and the aging Yao Ming were the best inside players at the time.

But now, while several other players of the same period have developed their shooting skills in order to adapt to the changes of the times, Jordan is still living off his old achievements.

His skills don't seem to have improved at all since he rose to fame in Seattle.

Just like Dwight Howard, those who don't keep up with the times will be left behind by the times. A few years ago, he was a top-notch inside player in the league, but now he is just a defensive role player.

This may be the reason why both the Wizards and the Bulls are willing to make this deal, because they feel that giving the bad cards in their respective hands to each other will only make the other party worse.

After the two big fish in the trading market lost their suspense about their destination, strong teams began to compete for the veterans who were bought out.

The first person to be sought after is scorer Louis Williams, who has played for the Bucks for many years and has played for the Mavericks since last season.

Nowitzki's aging is irreversible, and the Mavericks' road to rebuilding has begun. They no longer need a scorer like Williams who likes to steal the show.

After some pursuit, Williams made an unexpected decision - he chose to join the Lakers.

His reason sounds great: "I'm going to lead this team into the playoffs!"

In fact, everyone understands that choosing the Lakers does not require complicated reasons. The city of Los Angeles is the reason.

Next up is Deron Williams.

Deron, who was one of the top three point guards in the league when he landed in Milwaukee, has now deteriorated to the point where he has lost his trading value, and the team has no better way to deal with him except to buy him out.

Although a player like Deron is no longer a player in name only, there are still many teams willing to sign him as insurance.

They may not necessarily need Deron, but what is important is not whether they need him, but to prevent their opponents from using him.

Deron chose New York between New York and Miami.

Finally, there is the most valuable free agent veteran Kyle Korver.

As a sharpshooter in the 2003 draft class, he has been in the industry for fourteen years and is well-known for his three-point shot, which the Heat are determined to get.

At the same time, the Warriors were actively recruiting him.

However, Leonard and Lillard's personal charm is still several levels lower than Curry and James.

Moreover, Miami's extremely friendly tax system to the rich and its geographical environment as a tourist city also play a key role.

The Heat signed Korver, greatly enhancing their outside firepower.

As for the interior, they chose to sign Hassan Whiteside after a tryout, who was considered "not strong enough" by China's second-tier league.

Then, something shocking happened.

In his first game after signing with the Heat, Whiteside played 32 minutes against the Bulls, scoring 14 points, 13 rebounds and 12 blocks, breaking his career single-game block record and becoming the first player in Heat history to score at least 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks in a single game. He also became the first player in NBA history to achieve such data since the 1997-98 season.

For a time, the Heat dominated the news headlines, and people outside said that they might have put together a super team that could end the Clippers' dynasty by the deadline.

"This is a team that is armed to the teeth!" said Bradford Doolittle, an NBA expert at ESPN. "I think the Clippers should be nervous."

Are the Clippers really nervous?
Whiteside's debut data was indeed shocking. Therefore, the Clippers coaching staff conducted research and Yu Fei also watched the game privately.

He found that the Heat had indeed strengthened their team a lot, but it was definitely not as exaggerated as the outside world said.

Whiteside's statistics look like peak Jordan, but Yu Fei thinks another player is more in line with his style of play -- the retired Marcus Camby. They also rely on the flying block from the weak side, the amazing wingspan of 7'7" and excellent athletic ability, which makes their block visually extremely shocking, but their personal defense is ordinary. For the ball-holding technical inside players, they only want to block the shot without considering breaking the defense, which will make them be eaten alive like monkeys on the defensive end.

Yu Fei was sure that Jokic could easily beat him.

Moreover, although his defensive style is similar to that of Kemp, he does not have the shooting ability of Camby, and his free throw percentage hovers around 60%.

These are all hidden dangers. For the Heat, who haven't seen a center who can protect the rim for a long time, drawing Whiteside's card is undoubtedly a relief after a long drought.

After studying their opponents, the Clippers still need to focus on the current challenge.

As March approached, Yu Fei was selected as the Western Conference Player of the Month for February with an average of 27 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists per game.

This is also the next goal of the Greek Freak.

He hopes to win Western Conference Player of the Month, an honor that would certify him as the best player in his conference for a given month.

In the past sixteen years, Yu Fei has won this award countless times, and his number of monthly best games leads others, followed by James.

In early March, the Clippers faced the Trail Blazers at home.

Yu Fei thought he could see Roy at home, but learned that he had been injured last week.

Roy's injury confirmed the Sonics' concerns to some extent.

They believe that Roy's body can no longer support the intensity of NBA games.

Only a team like the Trail Blazers, who have no desires and only have their eyes on the lottery, can give Roy a chance.

But how many more blows can this fragile body withstand?

That night, Yu Fei scored 40 points and told the Trail Blazers coaching staff, "Give my regards to Brandon."

As of mid-March, the Clippers are still ranked first in the league.

However, the Heat, who are second in the league, have tied them in record and are only ranked second because of the win-loss record.

Soon, the second game between the Clippers and the Heat is coming.

Unlike the Christmas game, this game is more like a preview of the finals.

This is the second meeting between the two teams after the trade deadline as they continue to adjust their status in preparation for the playoffs.

As the biggest competitors and it is a battle for position, neither team can let up.

The game was tense from the first second. Curry took the lead and James put aside the distractions of the Christmas game and focused on playing his role.

On the Clippers side, Yu Fei had a tentative intention.

He wanted to confirm whether his judgment of Whiteside was correct, so his play was very targeted.

Let Jokic play one-on-one against Whiteside, and then call out names appropriately.

Afterwards, Yao Ming also came up to test the opponent's strength.

Antetokounmpo was given a high degree of freedom.

The Clippers are serious, but this seriousness lies in finding a breakthrough for their opponents, while the Heat really want to win.

The team that wants to win more will win.

The situation became increasingly tense in the third quarter. The Heat changed their lineup, with James playing at the power forward position to assist Whiteside, Korver replacing Love, and Curry starting to hit three-pointers in succession from the outside.

Just as the Clippers expected, if Curry is not subjected to strict switching, double-teaming and targeted singles, Curry's bad condition usually will not last a whole game, and he might suddenly be fully charged and give you a critical hit.

After Curry finished his outside shooting, the Heat were already leading by double digits and the game entered James' favorite area.

This area can be called the "low pressure area".

Whatever you want to do, you can do it without any pressure.
James likes to grab rebounds that no opponent is competing for, likes to complete easy fast breaks, likes to send those steady assists, and of course, he also likes to execute the last shot when the game is tied. He prefers this environment where he can do nothing wrong.

The Clippers struggled for a while, and they once chased to 12 points, and then Curry trained Jokic and made a 3+1, and that shot killed the suspense of the game.

Rivers simply replaced the starting lineup, indirectly announcing that the game entered garbage time.

At the end of the game, the Heat were proud of themselves, defeating the Clippers by 15 points in this focus battle.

"Stephen Curry may have ended the regular season MVP debate tonight!"

When reporters brought this question to Curry, Curry just said: "My teammates are the MVP. For me, this is just the first step of success. We are far from celebrating yet."

James stopped thinking about what was bothering him for a moment.

He knows he won't win the MVP, nor is he the team's leader, and Curry's position is unshakable...

None of this matters.

What’s important is that he won another game against Yu Fei.

For him, who had failed to defeat Yu Fei for six consecutive years, this was undoubtedly something to be happy about.

"Someone said I don't deserve to win, now I want to hear what he has to say!" James remembered everything and was just waiting for a chance to speak out. "Some people succeed in a team with better talent, so are they qualified to judge others? I don't mean to disrespect others, I just want to give a simple example, is a role player in a dynasty team qualified to judge Reggie Miller who pursued the championship all his life but ultimately failed to achieve his goal? I don't think so, it's just arrogance and prejudice. Winners can do this, but we also have the right to refute!"

James' remarks sparked a strong response from the outside world.

Even though the Clippers lost tonight, it was just a regular season game and it's too early to settle the past.

What’s even more interesting is that when Yu Fei heard the reporter’s retelling, he laughed.

"Is this a line from a sitcom? I don't think this kind of thing would happen in real life," Yu Fei asked mockingly. "LeBron is comparing himself to Reggie Miller? Seriously? Reggie Miller never left Indiana, never humiliated Indiana in front of the whole country, then chose to team up with other stars and failed again, then ran back to Indiana in disgrace and promised never to leave again! Seriously? He ran away again! Now he's in Miami, and he's revising the history we know just by winning a regular season game. Is this serious? Is he really living in reality?"

James won the regular season and wanted to lead the post-game public opinion. Unfortunately, he had too many dark histories and gave inappropriate examples, so he was reversed by the GOAT after the game.

Now, the trial of LeBron James has begun again.

But both sides know that this is just the beginning.

They will not meet again in the regular season, and if they want to intensify this feud, they have to move to a higher stage.

It just so happens that the Clippers are aiming for a three-peat, and the only reason the Heat got together is because they want to win the championship.

Everyone has a reason not to lose, so let's see who has the harder fist in the finals.

The verbal confrontation between Yu Fei and James brought the world into the scene of the finals ahead of time.

One can imagine how much conflict will break out between these two rivals in the finals.

And this is exactly what the outside world wants to see.

James is bound to be an important figure in the story of Yu Fei, a loser he has played for fourteen consecutive years. Will Yu Fei fail as usual in the final stage of his career?
Kwame Brown summed it up well: "According to LeBron, no one like me who won eight championships with him is qualified to judge his career, so let someone who is qualified do the judging. Mark my words, Frye will destroy LeBron in a few months, just like Ali did to George Foreman in the 'Rumble in the Jungle'!"

(End of this chapter)

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