When pride still matters

Chapter 87 This is the beginning of the end

"How does it feel to start?"

On the bench, Tyronn Lue chatted with Yu Fei.

Yu Fei didn't know what to say for a moment. To say he was happy was not that great, because he was hit by Tracy McGrady a few times on the court and couldn't find a good solution. But to say he was unhappy was obviously wrong. .

As a rookie starting for the first time, Yu Fei's performance in the first quarter can definitely score above 90 points.

"It's okay, but I'm starting to miss the feeling of being a substitute." Yu Fei admitted, and he paused for a moment.

On the court, Yu Fei's departure suddenly turned the situation towards the Magic.

Kwame Brown inexplicably forgot how to play ball.

This scene confirmed Doug Collins's conjecture-if they expect Brown to bring positive feedback at this stage, they can only bind him to Yu Fei.

Yu Fei is Brown’s barometer.

When Yu Fei is on the court, Brown can eat cakes and defend. Except for his poor confrontation, he looks like a normal insider in all aspects.

After Yu Fei left the field, he seemed to have lost his soul and turned into a slow-responsive piece of wood again.

At the same time, starting center Jasidi White's physical fitness has also seriously declined.

On the other side, the 2000-2001 Rookie of the Year began to rain on the outside.

Mike Miller scored three consecutive points, allowing the Magic to establish a 7-point lead at the end of the first quarter.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Collins replaced Jordan, but not Yu Fei.

What's the reason?Of course he won't tell.

Yu Fei had no objection. Anyway, it was already a fait accompli that he would start the game. Based on his performance in the first quarter, no one could dislodge him from this position.

Tyronn Lue was replaced.

The Wizards' perimeter has become a combination of Lue, Hamilton and Jordan.

Jordan seems to have found a way to deal with McGrady.

The method was not complicated. He asked Hamilton to confront McGrady, and then, taking advantage of Hill's unstable outside shooting, he found an opportunity to cause McGrady an offensive foul in the paint.

It can be said that Jordan's method has no creativity, just like using big steps to clear out enemies occupying positions in CS, but McGrady's casual and lazy style will not only make him give up some competitive points in some insignificant rounds. The ball will also make him despise those links that are less important but can also become critical if used properly.

McGrady knocked down Jordan who stood up early.

This is MCI, the home court of the Wizards, where Jordan can draw offensive fouls from anyone.

Even the best player in the East has no choice but to admit defeat.

Subsequently, Hamilton hit a three-pointer from the outside, and Hill missed the mid-range shot. Coach Lu planned a beautiful defensive counterattack, and it was McGrady's moment again.

203 centimeters long, McGrady has many advantages when facing Jordan.

The experienced Jordan accurately predicted McGrady's offensive line, took the ball and completed the steal.

That was the first time Yu Fei saw impatience on McGrady's face. McGrady, who was eager to make a comeback, fouled Jordan when he returned to defense.

That was his third foul of the first half.

If Magic coach Doc Rivers was smarter, he would have replaced Tracy McGrady now to calm down.

But you know, it’s not without reason that he is called a pig head and has used countless cases to firmly hang the title of “The Reversed Essence of Humanity” on his head.

Rivers sat firmly on the Diaoyutai and chose to stay put, trusting McGrady's ability to adjust.

Then, Jordan hit the most critical shot since the start. Facing McGrady, he feinted him. The lazy McGrady became active when he shouldn't be active, which would put him in the worst predicament.

Jordan caught the timing of McGrady's jump, leaned forward, jumped slightly, and took the shot. The referee's whistle blew for McGrady's fourth foul, and the shot, which was almost uninterrupted, fell accurately into the basket. Heart.

Jordan pursed his lips and clenched his fists.

Off the court for the Wizards, Tyrone Naseby almost knelt on the ground and roared as if he was seeing his own father sanctified on the spot.

After realizing it, Rivers directly replaced McGrady for the second half of the game.

It was also at this time that Collins called Chu Fei's name, "Fry, you replace Lu."

Yu Fei hesitated for a moment: "Should I play point guard?"

"Any questions?" Collins asked.

Yu Fei asked again: "Do you want to control the rhythm?"

It was Collins' turn to hesitate. He glanced at Jordan, who was arrogant on the court, and then at his knee.

It was obviously painful in the first quarter, so why did it happen again in the second quarter?
"Michael will warn you if the pace is too fast," Collins said.

Does this prove that Collins has acquiesced that his position as a starter is unstoppable?
Yu Fei didn't know it, but things were moving in a good direction.

Collins allowed Yu Fei to play point guard and did not restrict his playing style, which is a sign of trust in him.

This was the first time that Yu Fei felt that maybe he could get along well with Jordan and Collins.

This feeling is short-lived, because the gravity of reality will free Yu Fei from his sensibility.

After Yu Fei came on the court, he handed over with Director Lu.

"What are you doing back so soon? I haven't played enough yet!" Coach Lu said reluctantly.

Yu Fei rolled his eyes at him, "It sounds like I have the right to make the decision."

"You already have it." Lu coached, "Starting tonight." After McGrady came off the court, the Magic adjusted their lineup.

Rivers moved Hill to the one spot, which was bold because something was clearly wrong with Hill tonight.

But there is also a possibility that Zhutou didn't notice anything was wrong with Hill.

Then have Mike Miller at the two, big forward Pat Garrity at the three, Horace Grant at the four, and Patrick Ewing at the five.

This is a nostalgic lineup.

Three of the five players on the team were active in the 90s.

One of them is Jordan's old rival, the other is Jordan's old teammate, and the first-generation Jordan successor.

Jordan only said hello to Ewing, but didn't even look at Grant.As the third leader of the Bulls' first dynasty, the latter's relationship with Jordan was so weak that many people lamented, but Yu Fei was not surprised at all.

Because he has watched "The Last Dance", Jordan has unswervingly labeled Grant as a wolf in the past, present, and 19 years later, believing that he is the famous book "Jordan Rules" that Joe Black must read. Insider Sources.In the documentary, Jordan was deeply disdainful of Grant for leaking inside information to reporters to write a book.Completely ignoring the fact that the old man mentioned in the first episode of the documentary that when he first joined the Bulls, he saw the senior players having sex in the hotel.Obviously, God's revelations are greater than Grant's revelations, because he is aboveboard. Even if these revelations make these old teammates lose face and cannot face their families, what does it matter?

After Tracy McGrady came off the court, the Magic, who desperately needed to stabilize their military morale, looked to Hill.

Hill has struggled since the preseason.

Although the data looks good, averaging 17 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists per game, his on-court performance seems to be at best half of his pre-injury level.

Now that McGrady is gone, Hill has regained the absolute core status. He also knows that he must now play the game.

When Yu Fei came to Hill, he didn't dare to be careless, lowered his focus, and guarded against Hill's first strong move.

Hill drove his body and changed direction quickly. Although Yu Fei didn't react immediately, Hill's acceleration was far less than before, and Yu Fei caught up with him in the second time.

The attack came to a standstill, and Hill was heartbroken. He bravely used his uncomfortable lower limbs to forcefully open the space with his feet, and pulled out his hand.

Yu Fei's defense was on his face, and this goal was all based on feeling.

Hill made the shot.

"If you don't put pressure on your lower limbs, no matter how much your upper limbs interfere, you're just betting on the opponent's touch!" Jordan gave on-the-spot guidance, "This is a stupid pig-style defense!"

The first sentence sounds good, but the second sentence is a bit ugly.

But this was God's teaching after all, and Yu Fei remembered it.

In the Wizards' offensive round, Yu Fei held the ball for half the game as the point guard, which was very novel.

Although he had dribbled the ball through half the court before, he had gotten the ball from Whitney and the others temporarily. Now that he was actually playing point guard, Yu Fei became more cautious.

Leitner came up to respond according to the tactical requirements.

Yu Fei threw the ball away and covered Hamilton on the weak side.

And Laettner chose to pass the ball to Jordan, who was in excellent condition.

Facts have proved that his decision was correct. Jordan had just beaten Tracy McGrady, and when his confidence was bursting, he got the ball and called a pick-and-roll. Although he encountered Grant's attack as if to avenge himself, he cleverly passed the ball to Jasidi White. , to help the opponent score a dunk.

The Wizards' positional warfare offense suddenly became three-dimensional.

The addition of Yu Fei, a ball-handling threat, is one, and the other is that Jordan was in good form tonight, and then others also participated with positive performances.

The powerful Wizards began to increase their defensive efforts.

Yu Fei even led the defense against Hill in the frontcourt.

Jordan asked Yu Fei to strengthen Hill's lower limbs, and Yu Fei added fuel to the fire and began to strengthen Hill from the frontcourt.

Hill clearly has the ability to break away from the press, but he shows a lack of energy.

Yu Fei didn't know what happened to Hill, but he just felt that he needed to increase his intensity a little more.

Then, the referee stopped Yu Fei's violence.

This is the standard tonight, Yu Fei touched it.

Then, Hill stopped the game with a pull-up jumper.

A lucky touch might help him once, but not forever.

Yu Fei asked for the ball from White. After seeing that almost all the Magic players had retreated, he slowed down and made the "ISO" gesture on the way.

When Jordan had no objection, no one else would object, so everyone moved away.

"Hey Grant, how are your feet?"

Yu Fei's words were like a curse, "Do you want to go back for warranty?"

Hill's eyes widened. Suddenly, Yu Fei's straight body bent down, and the ball passed under his left crotch, followed by a terrifying change of direction that penetrated Hill's center of gravity.

In desperation, Hill just wanted to move laterally, but he didn't expect that the limit of his ankle had been reached.

With a click, Hill could feel the severe pain coming from his ankle. He lost his center of gravity and fell directly to the ground. This was the first injury since coming to Orlando.But what he didn't know was that this was not the end, nor the beginning, nor even the end of the beginning, but the beginning of the end.

Yu Fei rushed to the paint area and hit the board with a throw.

The atmosphere at MCI reached its climax, and people on the Magic team clearly saw that something was wrong. Only Doug Collins felt incomprehensible emotions.

Grant Hill, who they had high hopes for before the game, fell in front of the rookie.

You're such a mess, Grant, there's a reason why I look down on you!
Collins exhaled softly. From now on, no one can stop Yu Fei from taking the starting position.

(End of this chapter)