When pride still matters

Chapter 631 I can still play 82 more games!
There was little suspense in the first round of the 2017 playoffs.

Strong teams aiming to win the championship have advanced one after another.

What is worth noting is that the league announced the winners of major awards.

Stephen Curry, who led his team to the league's best record, was named the regular season Most Valuable Player.

However, due to the large number of stars in the team and Westbrook's statistics being too good, Curry was both the MVP and not selected for the first team of the best lineup.

This strange thing naturally aroused discussion about the selection criteria of the best team.

Especially in the West, Yu Fei's stats were also shared by his teammates, and he played his most "mediocre" season since 2003 - averaging 25 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 0.6 blocks per game. Despite this, he still beat LeBron James and was selected to the All-NBA First Team.

At the same time, this year is still a good year for the Clippers.

Yu Fei was selected to the first team, Antetokounmpo was selected to the second team and the second team of the best defensive team, Thompson was selected to the third team, Yao Ming won the second best sixth man, and although Jokic failed to be selected for any team, he was named the most improved player of the year, and Brogdon was named the rookie of the year.

Almost all of these dazzling awards fell into the arms of the Clippers.

However, the celebrations will be postponed until the end of the season.

This is another commercial reform promoted by Adam Silver, inspired by Kevin Durant's MVP speech last year.

Last season, Durant was elected MVP and led the Knicks to the finals. Although he failed to win the championship, his MVP speech, "Mom, you are the real MVP," has become one of the most influential acceptance speeches in NBA history.

It may be difficult for Durant to become the GOAT in the basketball world, but Silver understands that the definition of GOAT is not unique, but diverse. As long as you open up enough fields, you can create enough GOATs for the world.

GOAT for speech, GOAT for life, GOAT for dressing, GOAT for peak length, GOAT for health, GOAT for heroic ball... Until one day, it no longer matters who the real GOAT is, because the fans have been flooded with different "GOATs".

Back to the beginning, Silver was reused by Stern precisely because his bald head was filled with countless business ideas. He realized through Durant's GOAT moment that giving an acceptance speech in an intimate environment (such as the Knicks training ground) could resonate more strongly. If this speech did not take place during the playoffs, it might have a greater impact.

So Silver had an idea: Why not hold a large awards ceremony after the season to provide a more appropriate stage for a superb oratory wizard like Durant?
As a result, the league decided to commercialize the award ceremony and put the process on television, reaching a cooperation agreement with ESPN.

The NBA's first awards ceremony will be held after the season ends and before the draft.

This was the NBA that Yu Fei was familiar with before he traveled through time, but it is no longer the NBA that he is familiar with now.

He didn't like this change.

The problem isn't the broadcast itself -- the TNT team always produces great shows. The problem is context and timing. Presenting all the winners on a telecast after the Finals undoubtedly diminishes the immediate impact of these awards. And when relatively lesser-known awards like Sixth Man of the Year are handed out on the same night, they tend to be overshadowed by big prizes like MVP.

The benefit of the old system was that each winner had his or her own moment - a press conference at home and, if the team was still in the game, an awards ceremony in front of the home fans.

This new award ceremony indirectly erases this intimate interaction between players and fans.

This looks like a more modern NBA, but it is no longer the league that Yu Fei is familiar with.

After the league announced the winners of major awards, some people were still questioning how Yu Fei could suppress James and be selected into the first team, while Yu Fei's camp completely ignored such voices.

In the semifinals, the Clippers met their old rival, the Spurs.

After Duncan retired, the Spurs officially entered a new era, an era mixed with pain, which made them go through a turbulent season.

Now that they meet the Clippers again, the Spurs are definitely inferior horses.

Few expected them to perform miracles.

The process and result of the first semi-final were not unexpected.

The Spurs used a five-out lineup to fight the Clippers in the half court, and then Kemba Walker failed under the care of Yu Fei and Antetokounmpo.

It became increasingly difficult for the Silver and Black to score in the second half.

Then, the Clippers launched a wave of attacks.

The Clippers' overwhelming victory highlighted the structural disadvantages between the Spurs and them on paper.

The Spurs were unable to deal with the Clippers' pick-and-roll tactics; their inside players seemed too slow and constrained by outside shooting, unable to limit the movement of the ball handler; the support they provided to Paul George seemed weak; and their offensive firepower was completely destroyed when using a small-ball lineup.

Popovich knew that in a competition of talent and hard power, they would continue to repeat the results of the first game.

If you want to defeat the powerful, you have to create variables.

Where does the variable come from? Of course, it comes from the coaching staff.

As long as Rivers is given time to think, he is likely to make a bad move. Therefore, Popovich issued an order in the second game to switch defenses indefinitely and then use pick-and-rolls to target Jokic at all costs.

At the same time, during the on-the-spot process, Popovich did not forget to give Rivers some brainstorming exercises.

For example, he would let George defend Antetokounmpo, then send Kemba Walker to Yu Fei and let the Clippers give the ball to Yu Fei.

Yu Fei knew what Popovich was thinking.

This year, the Clippers' tactical core has gradually shifted to Jokic and Antetokounmpo.

Yu Fei's role becomes the hub and fulcrum between the two of them.

Letting Yu Fei get the ball is equivalent to letting him use his "ball-hogging" style of play to break the Clippers' original tactical balance.

Although this approach has the risk of backfire, if the Clippers do not make changes, the Spurs will have no way to shake them.

Rivers' complex tactical arrangement was correct, but Popovich overlooked a key point: Rivers was actually just a tool left in the coaching staff by Yu Fei.

Normally Rivers doesn't make mistakes. He is the coach. He controls the timeouts, rotations, and arrangements against opponents.

Yu Fei will make him a "three-good coach", so that Rivers will have both face and real power.

But once Rivers gets into trouble and his mind is in a mess, Yu Fei will take over the situation.

He is still the "I am the only one" ball hog, but now he not only controls the game, but the entire Clippers.

That's why he can willingly give up the ball and tactical position.

Do you think he has changed his character? No, that was just a way for him to stabilize the morale of the troops.

Popovich took the initiative to send Walker to Yu Fei, and he naturally would not miss the opportunity.

Come one, hit one.

The Clippers have indeed changed, but it's not the negative transformation Popovich expected.

It’s a bottom-up team collaboration.

Yu Fei played the role of a "supporting role" this season, but this does not mean that his status has declined.

Antetokounmpo and Jokic both knew very well who Yu Fei was sacrificing for.

If opponents misinterpret this "stepping aside" as a decline in the GOAT or a symbol of young players fighting for power, they will be courting their own destruction.

The Spurs lost again in the second game.

Popovich stared at Yu Fei, who was 35 years old but still dominant.

Everyone is waiting for him to grow old, but now it seems that time is eroding him too slowly.

Perhaps the best approach is to expect him to retire after the season.

But will he really retire?

Why did Jordan retire in 1998? It was because the Bulls owner decided to break up the team.

As long as GOAT still has such competitiveness, how could he be willing to leave the court?

Popovich is not a player, he can only analyze Yu Fei's psychology from a competitive perspective.

But if we consider the competitive aspect alone, the Spurs' prospects are even bleaker.

Paul George, seemingly on the verge of his peak, still pales in comparison to the 35-year-old GOAT.

His speed, jumping ability and physical fitness may be better, but these advantages brought by youth are not enough to bridge the strength gap between him and GOAT.

In the third game in San Antonio, George scored 40 points, but his shooting percentage was only 44%; while Yu Fei scored 34 points with a shooting percentage of 66%.

George has reason to defend himself, as his teammates are obviously not as strong as the Clippers as a whole.

Kemba Walker's performance further proved that his size disadvantage became the team's fatal weakness when facing an opponent with overflowing talent. Not only was he frequently beaten on the defensive end, but he was also unable to break through the opponent's height and athleticism on the offensive end.

George, alone, can't do it. Game 4.

Yu Fei tried to limit George on the defensive end, but he found that his jumping and explosive power had obviously declined compared to when he was young. Facing a player like George who is good at pulling up, if the timing of blocking is slightly delayed, the opponent can no longer control whether the ball goes in or not.

Tonight is George's "good day".

Yu Fei's block height was not enough, Antetokounmpo was not agile enough, and George used his explosive touch to keep playing one-on-one.

Yu Fei tried to defend him, but failed.

So he could only respond with offense.

In the end, the Spurs lost the game by 16 points and were swept out by the Clippers.

George scored 40+ points in two consecutive games.

"Fry, I didn't lose to you!"

At the end of the game, George said this to Fei.

"If you didn't lose, does that mean I didn't win either?" Yu Fei asked back.

"Yes, you neither win nor lose."

Such words would only happen to a star player who lost a series but played well.

If the ball is passed outside, fans will feel that he is irresponsible.

But Yu Fei did not refute him.

What these young stars want most is to challenge him. One day, they hope to pull him off the throne with their own hands.

But how fast will this process happen?
Yu Fei himself wasn't sure.

As he gets older, his defense will become more and more of a problem. In order to cover up this weakness, he needs to continue to work hard on the offensive end.

This is not difficult for him. With a solid technical foundation and gifted physical fitness, he can still produce good data even when he is 40 years old.

Moreover, behind him, there are the rapidly rising Antetokounmpo and Jokic. If he wants, he really has the potential to dominate until he is 40 years old.

But if this "rule" no longer comes from himself, but relies on external forces, it means that he has lost real control.

He couldn't accept this reality.

He never depends on anyone.

Just after the semi-finals, Yu Fei made up his mind.

He will go all out in every game, regard every opponent as an enemy, and launch the most fierce attack, until his body can no longer support it, until his will can no longer suppress the opponent, that is when he leaves.

The opponent in the divisional finals is the old rival Warriors.

This year, Leonard made the first team, Lillard made the third team, Draymond Green won the Defensive Player of the Year award, and Blake Griffin, despite being limited by injury, was still an All-Star caliber player.

The Warriors are an underrated super team.

They have a record of 1 win and 1 loss in two encounters with the Eastern Conference powerhouse Heat.

Yet the Warriors are rarely mentioned.

Because Leonard is a player with "zero news" off the court, while Lillard's fame is completely overshadowed by Curry, Irving, Westbrook and others.

They live in the shadow of the Clippers.

This is the fourth consecutive year that the two teams have faced off in the playoffs.

Unless they beat the Clippers, the outside world will continue to ignore their existence.

The Clippers led 3-1 in the first four games of the series.

However, an accident happened in the fifth game.

Just when everyone thought the Clippers had secured their ticket to the Finals, the Warriors fought back and unexpectedly pulled one back.

Leonard led the Warriors to defeat the Clippers with perfect defense and 34 points in a single game, plus the support of several other star teammates.

The score became 3 to 2, and the suspense of the series was brought to the sixth game.

Unlike the semi-final match against George, George put pressure on Yu Fei on the offensive end, while Leonard put pressure on Yu Fei on the defensive end.

However, Leonard was born in the wrong era.

With his defense, if Yu Fei played in the top-up era, it was hard for him to imagine how much pressure he would put on his opponents.

The era of space basketball is essentially an era in which offense is infinitely advocated, and it is also an era in which the balance between offense and defense is completely broken.

Therefore, it was difficult for Leonard to silence Yu Fei, so the Warriors asked him to defend Antetokounmpo halfway through the game, and this move produced miraculous results.

The Greeks were restricted, and the Warriors' outside shooting suddenly opened up, thus winning back a game in a life-and-death battle.

The divisional finals came to game six.

Before the game, Yu Fei told reporters: "I know Stephen doesn't like to wait for people, I won't let him wait too long."

At this time, the Heat had eliminated the Knicks 4-1 and advanced into the finals with a terrifying record of 12 wins and 1 loss.

Clippers vs. Heat - this is the script that the league has pushed to a climax with the help of the media for a whole year.

The best matchup ever against the son of small ball.

The duel between Frye and LeBron is a fateful battle that has lasted for more than ten years.

Antetokounmpo and Jokic, as the future stars of the league, are taking over.

This game symbolizes the decisive battle where the league's past, present and future are intertwined.

Regardless of whether the GOAT ultimately triumphs, other players will determine the direction of the league over the next five years.

But Yu Fei must win.

At the beginning of the game, Yu Fei started the offense with a three-pointer.

Then, he attacked the Warriors' defensive strengths through pick-and-rolls, forcing Green into foul trouble. GOAT admitted that the referee had a certain tendency towards him, but at least four of Green's six fouls were real.

The Warriors had no choice but to send Leonard to face Yu Fei.

At this time, Yu Fei changed his strategy. He no longer relied on strong attacks with the ball. Instead, he looked for opportunities by running without the ball and shooting as soon as he received the ball.

No matter how superb Leonard's defensive skills are, they are useless against this retro style of play.

From with the ball to without the ball, from without the ball to the low post, and then from the low post to outside the three-point line - Yu Fei seemed to switch the rhythm freely on the court, and Jokic was the silently dedicated passing master. Each of his assists was just right, allowing Yu Fei to shoot again and again over Leonard's head.

This is when the Warriors crumble.

Four years ago, the Warriors were beaten by the inside combination of Yu Fei and Griffin.

Four years later, even though Griffin joined them, they were still destroyed by Yu Fei's 46 points in the game that decided the fate of the season and were unable to turn the tide.

This match was not a typical performance for Yu Fei.

In addition to scoring 46 points, he only had 6 rebounds and 2 assists. In other words, he put all his strength into the offensive end.

The media shouted: "GOAT won the ticket to the finals in his own way!"

The fans worshipped his performance like a pilgrim, and his teammates gathered around him to celebrate the victory.

But what about him?
He just wanted to get back to the locker room as soon as possible and soak his feet, which felt like they were burning, in an ice bucket.

Despite being exhausted, he still instinctively showed a relaxed smile when the camera was pointed at him.

"Fry, you look like you could have one more game!"

"Not one, not two, not three." Yu Fei smiled and teased James' old joke, then said, "I can still play 82 more games!"

(End of this chapter)