Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

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After Yu Fei was selected as MVP, the voices defending Duncan and expressing outrage at the decision suddenly surged.

Many were puzzled as to why Yu Fei, the general public's choice, became the "MVP thief" overnight. For this, Yu Fei could only say it was "the wrath of the gods!"

While losing the MVP was a big deal for Duncan, the Spurs didn't have the luxury of being distracted by it at the moment.

Unlike the Bucks' dominating 3-0 lead over the Brooklyn Nets, the Western conference saw the Spurs and Mavericks, the new millennium's archrivals, facing off for the first time.

The Mavericks, ranked first in the West and second in the League, relying on owner Cuban's financial powerhouse strategy, managed to stack their roster with nearly All-Star level players around Dirk Nowitzki. Yet, they couldn't secure the top spot in the league, and almost let the Trail Blazers make a comeback from three games down in the first round. They started the semifinals by losing home-court advantage to the Kings. Then, Chris Webber was ruled out for the season due to a knee injury after the second game. Even without their general, the Kings pushed the Mavericks to a Game 7.

If Webber had stayed healthy, it would have been questionable whether the Mavericks could have advanced to the Western Conference Finals.

However, for a team with multiple superstars like the Mavericks, playing more games was also good for team cohesion. The issue was that luck won't always be on their side.

In the third game of the Western Conference Finals, Nowitzki played 40 minutes and, like Webber, got injured.

Coach Don Nelson firmly held Nowitzki back from playing while injured.

Nelson's attitude was resolute, "Nothing is more important than Dirk's career. I will not let him take any risks."

As an old-school coach who took the reins in the late 70s, Nelson's people-first philosophy toward players was rare in the eyes of his generation.

What's the old-school mentality? Like the ways of Larry Brown, George Karl, and Pat Riley—playing through injuries was expected, enduring pain was part of an athlete's job, and taking risks? If you can't bear this much risk, then why bother playing the game at all?

Clearly, Nelson was someone who kept up with the times; he didn't forget how the Spurs in 2000 stopped Duncan from playing in the playoffs after his knee injury. Although they lost their chance at defending the title, Duncan remained healthy ever since. That same year, Grant Hill of the Detroit Pistons ignored ankle injuries and forced himself to play, which consequently robbed him of his health ever after.

Nowitzki's injury robbed the Mavericks of their competitiveness.

Tim Duncan, with averages of 28 points, 17 rebounds, and 6 assists, ended the reign of the top team in the West and led the Spurs back to the Finals after a four-year gap.

The overpowering and unstoppable Duncan appeared godlike, much like Apollo, and in the lead-up to the Finals, the media storm, fuelled by certain forces, almost painted this year's MVP race as the biggest controversy in history.

Yu Fei knew this was divine punishment, and he also realized it was the result of the concerted effort of both Nike's media power. Still, he refused to accept it.

Then he went to look at Duncan's stats.

Forget the regular season for now; while based on regular season performance alone, Yu Fei and Duncan were pretty much on par. MVP is a regular-season award, but playoff performance can still win plaudits.

After checking Duncan's stats, Yu Fei decided to keep quiet until the Finals arrived.

It's only an average of 25 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 blocks after all...

Are these even humanly possible statistics?

Yu Fei admitted Duncan was strong, but he always thought Duncan was the type of heavy-hitter whose real strength didn't show in his statistics. Turns out, the numbers were just as fierce, indicating that the call for Duncan as MVP wasn't just a fluke.

It was indeed a pity not to win the MVP, but who could blame him when he had come up against The Chosen One?

The frontcourt was the Bucks' biggest weakness, but it was also the Spurs' greatest strength.

With Duncan's playoff performance, it was certain the frontcourt would be decimated; the key was how to minimize the damage.

That was what the coaching staff of the Bucks was focused on.

George Karl's strategy was to study game tapes of the Nets.

Though the Nets were a lower-caliber opponent that the Bucks had defeated eight consecutive times in the regular season and playoffs, their zone defense was worth emulating.

From the sweep of the Nets up to just before the Finals, the Bucks spent every practice day focusing on zone defense.

However, no matter how much the Bucks practiced, their zone defense was never half as effective as that of the Nets.

Because the Nets had traded for Mutombo from Philadelphia to better execute their zone, specifically to use against Duncan. Sadly, before they could face the Spurs, the Bucks had already sent them packing.

"It's about the timing of tightening the defense and the intensity of the double-teams!" Karl emphasized loudly, "You need to know whether your defense will cause a foul; you need to know before you make a move if you're going to commit one."

"If you're planning to foul..." Karl forcefully knocked the ball out of Ray Allen's hands, "then do it with all your might, and don't be a fucking coward about it!"

Ray Allen retorted unhappily, "Don't use me as an example."

"Fuck off, Ray!" Karl became even more blunt and aggressive since implementing the "say it to my face" clause in his coaching approach. "Do you think you're better than Tim Duncan? He only got chewed out by Popovich, and that's why he could win the championship in his second season! If you want to reach the same heights, you'd better shut up and listen!"

Such outbursts happened regularly, and while they were discordant, they were far better than Karl airing his grievances to journalists and indirectly stirring the pot as he had done before.

June 4, 2003

Milwaukee, Bradley Center

It was the opening day of the NBA Finals, and the Spurs had arrived early to test the grounds.

Forty minutes before the game, the Bucks also arrived at the venue.

Then came the teams from various live broadcasting platforms, along with the array of activities ABC had put together for the game.

Since it had been 32 years since the Bucks made it to the Finals, they had invited the franchise's greatest legend, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to do a symbolic tip-off.

With the ball in his hand, Abdul-Jabbar received loud cheers from the audience, as if they had personally witnessed the balding veteran play basketball.

"So you're Lou Alcindor," Yu Fei was bewildered when he first heard this name. Later, after some inquiries, he found out it was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

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It must be said that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is much easier on the tongue than the former name.

Yu Fei's greeting did not make Jabbar happy; he didn't like his original name, "No, Lou Alcindor has left, there is only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the world."

"Oh, okay then."

Who cares?

Yu Fei rolled his eyes and then watched as Jabbar tossed the ball, with David Robinson and Ray Allen merely jumping symbolically.

Because it was a tribute, it did not determine the possession of the ball.

This might be the most common and boring form of tribute seen on the NBA court; Yu Fei sincerely suggested that the old men in the league office use their brains a bit and think about it, who wants to watch such irrelevant pre-game antics? It would be better to hold a contest to precisely count "how many bald spots Jabbar actually has" than pulling off this stunt.

Yu Fei's creative ideas left along with Jabbar.

Afterward, the game's head referee, George Karl's most respected Dick Bavetta, came to center court and threw the ball up.

Gadzuric leaped vigorously, successfully winning the ball possession for the Bucks.

Yu Fei caught the ball and charged swiftly to the front court, taking advantage of the Spurs' disorganized defense and everyone being off-balance, he stopped abruptly on the spot and pulled up for a jump shot.

2 to 0

"Bruce, did you fucking skip your meal? How could you let him shoot like that?"

Unlike the regular season, the Spurs started the game by having Bowen match up against Yu Fei right away.

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However, after the opening, Yu Fei charged so fast that Bowen didn't have time to mark his position properly, and the offense was over.

The Bucks set up a zone defense, and even with the Spurs' two outside players standing guard, they still relied on Tony Parker to use his speed to forcefully break through to the basket, catch the ball, turn around, and make the layup.

Sprewell couldn't keep up with the speed, and his movements were too slow; he actually let Parker score right in front of him.

2 to 2

Every time someone scored in Sprewell's face, he would instinctively pass the ball to Yu Fei.

So, if Sprewell was successfully isolated and scored upon, Yu Fei would also give up his ball-handling rights in the next round, letting Sprewell decide how to play.

This was the tacit understanding between them.

The advantage that Parker had over Sprewell in dealing with him was also the advantage that Sprewell had in attacking Parker.

Parker was strong in speed and agility; Sprewell was strong in explosive power and physical confrontation. A quick start might only lead Parker by a small step, but rolling his body forward put the Frenchman into the "trust Duncan" phase.

Sprewell's determined shot was easily blocked by Duncan.

Yu Fei picked up the loose ball and also chose to challenge Duncan, but the opponent did not budge, just stood in place, relying on his wingspan to disrupt and cause the Bucks' second offensive attempt to miss.

The Spurs counterattacked like the wind, with Stephen Jackson scoring with a slam dunk in the frontcourt.

2 to 4

"Fantastic defense, coming from Tim Duncan!"

"Since the playoffs started, he's been providing 5 blocks per game and restricting every shooter that faces him to a shooting percentage below 20%, what a terrifying defender!"

Looking at Duncan, Yu Fei inexplicably thought of the "Six-Dimensional Model" organized by his Oriental friend for the Empire の Destruction Dragon.

Seems like there are no weaknesses.

If put into the Small Ball Era, Duncan's weakness would be his range. But in the Big Ball Era, this is hardly a problem.

However, due to Yu Fei's presence, the Bucks had become the pioneers of tactical innovation. Therefore, as long as Yu Fei performs consistently, the Bucks have the capability to turn the game into the style of the Small Ball Era.

Yu Fei stood firm in the frontcourt.

Ray Allen brought the ball over half court from the backcourt and directly passed it.

Outside the three-point line, Yu Fei noticed that the Spurs chose to give Bowen a big step back to create a more favorable defensive space.

This was because Popovich was certain Yu Fei couldn't take advantage of this half step of space to pull up for a shot like McGrady.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Since the game had just started and the opponent provided the opportunity, Yu Fei felt no reason not to test his shooting touch.

Bowen's expression changed abruptly, because Yu Fei made his decision in less than two seconds.

He shot it!

As a wing ball-handler, Yu Fei's shooting speed was considered fast; giving Bowen such a large gap meant he had no chance to react in time.

"Swish!"

Yu Fei's three-pointer from beyond the arc hit its mark precisely.

Then, he looked at Popovich with a slight provocation, "Maybe you should give me a bigger gap, perhaps I was just lucky with that shot just now?"

It did look like a fluke.

Ray Allen, who inadvertently racked up an assist, thought so in his heart.