Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

"I didn't realize you were so unpopular."

Yu Fei pretended that Parker being booed wasn't caused by himself.

In truth, it wasn't him who caused it. Spurs fans had a reason to boo Parker; at most, Yu Fei just gave them a pretext to do so.

Parker clearly regarded Yu Fei as the main offender.

But since Yu Fei wasn't matched against Parker, nor did he have the ability to call for a pick and roll by name.

Because Parker's three-point shooting percentage was not high, and he was fast, Sprewell defended him by giving up a good half meter of space. Even when a pick and roll occurred, there was still ample gap to squeeze through.

Parker, with no place to vent, could only cooperate with Duncan.

Duncan set a pick and rolled, and Parker passed the ball.

The process looked smooth, but Mason, the old cunning fellow, was firmly resisting Duncan's right hand, forcing the fundamental big man to finish with his left hand.

Under the hoop, as David Robinson hadn't spaced out, Dan Gadzuric still had the chance to disrupt Duncan with help defense.

Duncan could only attempt a hook shot with his left hand.

The defense he faced seemed impenetrable, but in reality, there was a significant flaw — neither Gadzuric nor Mason could reach the peak height to block his hook shot.

In other words, Duncan's finishing success rate entirely depended on his own touch.

Duncan was renowned in the basketball world for his solid fundamentals, but in this scene, Yu Fei discovered that his left-handed finishing skills weren't delicate, and his left-hand touch was rough.

If Nowitzki were here, this shot would certainly have made it.

But Duncan's shot circled the rim before sliding out.

The Spurs' defensive discipline was excellent. Duncan missed on offense, but before the Bucks could launch a fast break, the Spurs already had three men back in defense.

Since Duncan and Robinson were athletic big men, as long as the Spurs weren't fixated on offensive rebounds, they could use fast retreats to suppress the Bucks' signature defense and counterattacks.

Then, during a Bucks offensive round where Yu Fei wasn't controlling the ball, Sprewell initiated the tactic but was forced into a mistake by the Spurs' signature defense "plug the middle, leave the sides" corner trap.

"Damn it Sprewell!" George Karl shouted furiously, "How many times have I said it! They'll push you to the corner, then use a double team to finish you! Where's your brain?!"

Sprewell believed he wasn't the only one dissatisfied with the coach's constant buzzing; he glanced at Yu Fei.

Master Yu suggested, "If you want to strangle him, just go ahead."

FUCK! Sprewell swore silently; whenever he felt a bit impulsive, Yu Fei would remind him how terrible the consequences of impulsivity could be.

As the Spurs settled into their half-court offense, Yu Fei shrank back, double-teaming Duncan with Mason.

Yu Fei chose to double-team early because Bowen had left the corner; he was standing on the other side.

Duncan, unruffled, palmed the ball to his head, turned around to find Bowen's position, and simply tossed the ball overhead to him.

Then, Bowen scored a three-pointer from the left side outside the arc.

5 to 7

"Bruce's three-point shooting percentage in the playoffs this year is 44%."

Leaving behind this remark, Duncan ran off.

Mason wanted to say something to Yu Fei, but Young Master Yu beat him to the punch: "If you could hold him down, would I need to help double team?"

"You don't need to come over; I can handle it alone!" Mason said loudly.

"Good spirit! You said it!"

Yu Fei received the pass and went to the frontcourt, asking only for Gadzuric's screen before driving in.

Soon, the Spurs showed their help defense up top. If Yu Fei hesitated, he would be driven to the corner just like Sprewell in the previous play, and then fall into the Silver-Black Legion's trap.

Undoubtedly, the Spurs' corner trap was one of the most feared defensive traps in the League. Yu Fei would not risk it and had anticipated Bowen's appearance, immediately executing a Euro step that the Spurs found both familiar and strange, laying in a high shot over David Robinson's defensive assistance.

The moment Yu Fei's shot was released, the bodily contact with Robinson in mid-air was caught by Bavita.

"Whistle!"

The whistle sounded!

"Bang!"

And One!

"Are you kidding me? David didn't even touch a hair!" Popovich complained dissatisfiedly.

The SBC spectators, like puppets, booed deafeningly along with Popovich, pressuring the referee.

But Bavita was not the kind of person who would be overwhelmed by home pressure or care about the crowd's reaction.

He just blew the whistle, giving anyone who crossed the line a T.

Despite being in an away game, Yu Fei had figured out the referee's scale.

It's hard to say for the others, but at least he had the whistle tonight.

With that in mind, he could confidently attack the inside, even purposely drawing fouls as his strategy.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Having the edge in the paint was the Spurs' foundation for winning; if their paint defense fell apart, the game was as good as won.

Yu Fei never considered how much trouble the zone defense and the Spurs' twin towers would pose for his inside attack.

He was a man with a clear mind.

Talking trash, undermining the opponent, leveraging strong points to score, and then winning the game — that was all he thought about during the game.

After Popovich put pressure on Bavita, he chose to make a substitution before Yu Fei's free throw.

Manu Ginobili and Malik Rose replaced Stephen Jackson and David Robinson.

When Ginobili came on, the reaction at the SBC Center was quite the opposite to Tony Parker's.

It was evident that Spurs fans adored the Argentine.

Like Parker, Ginobili could easily fry a CPU; he was no stranger to Popovich's scoldings.

Soon after, the two new Spurs made their presence felt.

Ross faked a high pick and roll, then suddenly cut inside. Mason may have been a crafty veteran of many years, but he wasn't fooled by such crude fakery. He slid over to block off 99% of the passing lanes. Sadly for him, he was facing someone who could exploit the remaining 1%.

Ginobili's pass bounced between Mason's legs, cutting through the defense, and landed in Ross's hands.

Ross received the ball and dunked it home, with Mason trailing helplessly behind.

7 to 10

Subbing out Stephen Jackson meant Bruce Bowen was left to guard Yu Fei.

Popovich couldn't risk having Ginobili on defense, as, despite his impressive offensive flair, the Argentine still needed to hone his defense.

Having Ginobili guard Fei directly—Popovich feared that might leave the Argentine with a psychological scar from Fei's aggressive play.

But even Bowen wasn't proving much of a solution against Yu Fei.

With physical gifts that were superior in every aspect, Fei this time simply directed the movement of his teammates from the perimeter, then lofted the ball into the air, perfectly into Mason's hands inside the line.

Mason used his body to push Ross aside and scored with a forceful rise.

To Popovich's astonishment, considering Fei's form that day, he should have been attacking with full force.

Instead, he held back his desire to dominate and generously fed the ball inside to ensure his teammates, like Mason, had enough motivation to hold their ground against Duncan.

Too calm and collected, Popovich felt as if he were watching a small forward version of Duncan.

Yet Fei was several years younger than Duncan during his rookie season—such composure was rare.

Leading the Spurs, Popovich and company asked themselves for the umpteenth time: Why on earth did Michael Jordan trade him?

Damn the Wizards for creating a strong contender in the Eastern Conference with a hateful trade.

What Spurs personnel begrudged was that prodigies like Fei, regardless of their talent, generally shouldn't be leading a championship charge at his age. But who could've predicted Jordan, in the twilight of his career, hurrying to nail himself to a pillar of shame with that divine manoeuver?

Exceptionally strong youngsters are common, but it's rare for one also to play for a formidable team.

Typically, young people who take charge early have to struggle in weak teams for years, slowly waiting for the roster to be built...

Milwaukee pondered every angle, only to arrive at one final sentiment: Thank you, Jordan.

Fei first managed a 2+1 and then assisted Mason to score; Duncan found his game, drawing a foul from a strong post-up against Mason, and then, after receiving the ball in the paint, fooled Mason with a fake and scored an uncontested layup past Gadzuric's attempted block.

13 to 15

A forceful Duncan narrowed the gap in the score for the Spurs.

Fei had not initiated a personal attack for several possessions, but now, witnessing Duncan's agility, he, too, had to respond.

"ISO! ISO!" Fei dribbled and waved his hands, "Clear out for me!"

Bowen said, "You really have no respect for tradition." Explore hidden tales at empire

"Tradition?" Fei lowered his center of gravity and rhythmically dribbled between his legs, swaying left and right. Bowen, blessed with the privileges of the handcheck era, placed his hands in front of Fei.

With a huff, Fei powered through, taking a step before Bowen could react, then suddenly pulled the ball back, retreating and finishing with a jump shot.

"Swish!"

13 to 17

"Is this how you defended Kobe?" Fei taunted, "No wonder the Lakers could step over you for a three-peat!"

When Fei trash-talked, he didn't waste words and always went straight for the jugular.

You're ugly, he'd say you're ugly; you have dark off-court issues, he'd bring them up. And for teams like the Spurs, with little dirt, he'd dredge up old wounds.

The Lakers were a sore point for the Spurs.

Phil Jackson claimed the lockout season's championship should have an asterisk, and afterward, during the Lakers' three-peat, the Spurs' lockout title was trampled underfoot. The Spurs couldn't retaliate because the OK Dynasty ousted them from the playoffs twice during that era.

Fei's trash talk threw Bowen off, leading him to double-team Duncan again.

An unsuspecting Duncan passed the ball to Bowen.

Bowen hammered a solid brick.

"Nice, nice, nice shot!"

Fei anticipated the rebound and snatched the ball, immediately flicking it to the fast-break sprinting Ray Allen.

Ray Allen made the layup, transitioning from defense to a fast break in one fluid motion. That was the Bucks' prowess in defensive counterattacks, with Fei's efficiency in rebounding and either passing to accelerate play or pushing it himself being unmatched.

George Karl wasn't exaggerating when he said this was a Magic Johnson-level threat in transition offense.

The Spurs were in disarray, largely due to Bowen.

Normally a steadying three-pointer to alleviate Duncan's pressure, Bowen was shaken by Fei's trash talk.

When Bowen missed another three-pointer, the Bucks' counterattack was halted by a Spurs tactical foul.

Sprewell's face showed regret.

On the sidelines, Karl contemplated how to maximize their counterattack efficiency, deciding they needed to let Frye grab more defensive rebounds.

The tide on the court had shifted. With Duncan cut off from outside support, the Spurs' offensive rhythm was lost. Meanwhile, the Bucks gained momentum. By the end of the quarter, it was 28 to 19—upsetting the hosts, now leading the Spurs by 9 points.