Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

The Bucks' first playoff loss came earlier than expected.

George Karl's set goal was to win the first two home games with all his might and then figure out a way to win one out of the next three away games, ensuring the Bucks could secure match point after the first five games of the series.

But the victory in the first game caused Karl to underestimate the strength of the Spurs.

In fact, although both teams had played two regular-season games against each other, their actual strength needed to be judged through their respective playoff opponents.

Karl thought the Spurs were nothing special.

They managed to play six games against a lousy team like the Suns in the first round, and it took them six games against the Lakers, who didn't have a dynastic feel—Karl privately believed that if the Bucks faced the Lakers, they could have swept them—then in the Western finals they were lucky to meet an opponent whose absolute core was injured, making their way to the finals.

Karl believed the Spurs were not the strongest team in the West; the team that really gave the Bucks a headache was the Mavericks.

After the first game, sure enough, he was right; although the second half defense against Fei showed capability, the Bucks were not a team that could be beaten simply by locking down Fei.

Spurs: Indeed, you are correct.

In the second game of the finals, the Spurs suddenly transformed, becoming the New York Knicks of the early '90s, "the hardest working, toughest, and most desperate defenders," and used a lot of physical play to silence the Bucks' perimeter.

Throughout the game, apart from Yu Fei and Ray Allen, no one on the Bucks' perimeter could score.

Ironically, Yu Fei was in touch all night, but his teammates couldn't benefit from the "Fei has gravity."

Going into the second half, even when Fei passed out open shot opportunities, his teammates couldn't convert.

This was the Achilles heel of a shooting team in the Big Ball Era; from the play style to team construction, the Bucks were aligned with the Small Ball Era teams—if their shooting was off, in theory, they had no plan B.

Yu Fei and Ray Allen had no choice but to go on endless solo plays.

But the Spurs were different; when Duncan's free throws weren't as ludicrous as in the first game (9 of 19 for the entire game), his influence became apparent.

Duncan could smash the Bucks' front line led by Anthony Mason on one side and create opportunities for the perimeter, helping players like Tony Parker get into rhythm.

Throughout the game, Duncan racked up 27 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 blocks, overshadowing Fei's 35 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists, and making the headlines the next day.

"With 8 offensive rebounds out of 15, Tim Duncan's dominance continued from the backcourt to the frontcourt, he is the genuine MVP!"

ESPN's front page was completely taken over, and Bill Simmons excitedly rushed out a long article overnight to argue how far Fei was from Duncan.

The Spurs' coach and players began to express their anger over Duncan missing out on the MVP.

"The only reason Frye Yu deserves the MVP more than Tim is that doing so would give the league its youngest MVP in history," Stephen Jackson praised Duncan lavishly, "It's proven to be meaningless, as Tim Duncan will shred him just like Hakeem Olajuwon did in 1995!"

Then, Popovich continued Jackson's point with a cold joke, "Tim is a man of peace; he won't shred anyone. But he likes swimming, so I think he'll drown his opponents in the pool."

Duncan responded to his coach's dark humor, "You know, I wouldn't do that."

Looking at their faces, it was as if they were prematurely celebrating victory in the finals, as if the Bucks wouldn't be able to fight back, heading towards an ending like the 2002 Nets.

When the Bucks arrived in the Alamo City, a reporter from the well-known San Antonio Express-News rushed to confront Yu Fei and his teammates, as if eager to rub salt in their wounds: "Tim Duncan has nearly 20 rebounds on average in the first two games, what has made your inside line so fragile?"

"I think you might want to ask another question," Yu Fei countered on the spot, "Why would an experienced Spurs team let a sophomore less than 21 years old average 30 points in the finals, why is their defense so fragile?"

"This... this is not the main issue."

"What?" Yu Fei incredulously retorted, "Are you saying that compared to our inability to stop Duncan from getting rebounds, letting a sophomore less than 21 years old average 30 points is not the main issue? Does basketball in San Antonio decide the winner based on who has more rebounds? Or maybe you consider rebounds as xxx, now I understand why there are so many fat people here."

"That's a slander and discrimination against San Antonio!"

"You can interpret it however you like, I don't care, I just want to tell you we will win two games in San Antonio and then return to Milwaukee for the championship," Yu Fei said with utmost confidence, "Remember my words, put them on your newspaper, that's what's going to happen!"

Yu Fei sent the reporter packing.

Lawson said with a wry smile, "You've said another thing you shouldn't have."

Yu Fei, with no self-awareness, asked, "Which one?"

"The one about fat people..."

"Oh, that, it wasn't a bad thing to say, just an unpleasant truth."

Yu Fei had forgotten again that people live in an era where stating a fact is considered negative, and an unpleasant truth is taken as something bad to say.

In the first away game against the Spurs, the biggest adjustment Yu Fei personally made to the game strategy was to invest more energy in defense.

Although he was reluctant to admit it, it was indeed a more defensive era, and relying solely on offense was not enough to break down a balanced top team like the Spurs.

This was also the direction in which George Karl wanted Yu Fei to work hard.

Karl, although he had a reputation as a defensive coach, was not a detail-oriented person; he would set a direction based on the player's style.

For example, if Payton was vicious in man-to-man defense, that would be emphasized.

Since Yu Fei was stronger at help defense than man-to-man, he would be allowed to defend those players with unreliable shots to increase opportunities for help defending and sweeping.

So tonight at the start, Karl arranged for Yu Fei to match up with Bruce Bowen. Don't be fooled by Bowen's high three-point percentage; he generally only shoots from the corner, so as long as they don't give him the opportunity to shoot corner threes and have someone nearby keep an eye on Bowen's position, as long as he's standing in the corner, they rotate immediately for help defense.

Yu Fei's defense focused on Parker.

This second-year player, just like himself from the 2001 class, has now become an indispensable starter for the Spurs.

However, Parker had a vulnerability that Yu Fei did not have, that was his tendency to let his emotions overheat his CPU.

This was evident when the opponent's defense intensified and the traps became more frequent, Parker's turnover rate through passing started to skyrocket.

Less than three minutes into the game, Parker had already made three turnovers, one of which was a low-level mistake with a bounced pass that went straight into Sprewell's hands.

Yu Fei countered with a slam dunk.

At the start, the Bucks turned the tables on the road, launching a 9 to 2 run against the Spurs.

"I truly believe now that they wouldn't hesitate to trade you for Jason Kidd," said Yu Fei, always bringing up that sore subject.

Parker's pupils shook violently. Yu Fei's trash talk clearly unsettled him.

The Spurs called for a timeout. Popovich subbed in Steve Kerr for Parker and kindly gave the Frenchman a "fatherly lecture."

Seeing Kerr come on, Yu Fei was even more spurred on.

Whenever MVP is mentioned, there wasn't a Spurs player who wouldn't feel wronged on Duncan's behalf, with Steve Kerr being the most vociferous among them. Disliking Yu Fei and being a supporter of Jordan, Kerr was also eloquent, which made others deeper reflect on his words—indirectly, Kerr led more people to believe that Mr. Yu stole Uncle Duncan's MVP. Your journey continues with empire

Besides the substitution, the Spurs also made adjustments to their offense and defense strategies.

Popovich recognized the downside of pressing defense with traps and brought in Kerr, one of the league's sharpshooters, and also made sure to look for opportunities from the outside.

In the following minutes, the Spurs hit three three-pointers.

Spurs' three-point barrage thwarted the Bucks' defensive strategy, but the Bucks' offense was simple and brutal.

Often, Karl would set a strategy, and then the players would refine the details.

Karl's initial pressing defense strategy was effective, so from now on, unless the Spurs could overpower the Bucks, the players would demonstrate their capabilities on the offense and maintain the status quo on defense.

If the defense failed, the Bucks still had their offense.

Yu Fei took it upon himself to target Kerr, initiating one-on-one plays repeatedly. Meanwhile, Sprewell stationed himself at the baseline corner, with Ray Allen positioned between the other baseline corner and just inside the three-point line, ready to receive the ball at any time.

Different from the second game, the Bucks, starting with aggressive defense, gradually gained the upper hand, finishing the first quarter 29 to 24.

In the second quarter, Yu Fei volunteered for battle, leading a 5-OUT lineup with Ray Allen, Michael Redd, Devean George, and Christian Laettner to widen the lead.

Seeing the Bucks' lineup, Popovich immediately recalled how the second regular-season game against the Bucks had fallen apart.

Originally planning to let the bench lineup take the hit, he changed his mind on the spot, assigning Bruce Bowen to guard Yu Fei, and had Duncan, who played the entire first quarter, continue in the second quarter as the pillar inside, ready to support Bowen whenever necessary.

As a result, Yu Fei called for a pick-and-roll to disrupt the Spurs' defense, assisting Laettner to hit a three-pointer.

The Spurs turned the ball over.

Yu Fei called for another pick-and-roll targeting Duncan and made a jump shot from inside the free-throw line.

Duncan responded with a one-on-one play.

Yu Fei began to showcase his individual talent, using a hesitation step followed by a crossover to create two body lengths of space from Bowen and nailed a three-pointer off the dribble.

When that shot went in, the faces of the San Antonio crowd turned ashen.

Bill Walton screamed, "At this moment, Frye has surpassed Pete Maravich, he is the most flamboyant player in history!"

Walton's comments are often exaggerated, but at that moment, they were perfectly apt.

Yu Fei's highly entertaining performance gave many neutral fans a reason to turn on the TV for the NBA Finals.

A player who was fluid with the ball, enjoyed dunking, and had advanced techniques was enough to intoxicate the fans.

But this was still not enough for him.

He didn't just want to attract fans; he wanted to win.

At halftime, the Bucks led the Spurs by 13 points.

In the second half, the Spurs were forced into a series of turnovers, rapidly increasing the deficit to 20 points.

For the remainder of the game, the Spurs were mostly playing catch-up.

With three minutes left in the fourth quarter, Popovich subbed out his starters, conceding tonight's defeat.

At the final buzzer, 105 to 89, the Bucks triumphed over the Spurs, assertively upending the Spurs on their home court and seizing the initiative in the series.

Post-game interviewn/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Frye, before the game you said you'd return home with the match point. Is that true?"

"I could be more specific."

"How specific?"

"We will win the next two away games, and then head home to win the championship."