Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 496: Chapter 342: I Have Decided (Two in One)_2

Actually, James’s passing option was the very ace that the big cores used to restrain the Pistons Iron Barrel Formation.

Since the Pistons’ defense had been devised to counter one-on-one offensive plays from its inception, they were at a loss once the ball handler could focus on both offense and passing. The issue, however, was that James’s teammates failed to seize the opportunity, and as the series’s best player, his decision to pass in the final moments was undoubtedly disappointing.

“I have a problem with the best player on the court not taking the shot at a crucial moment,” TNT commentator Charles Barkley said. “If I’m the best player on the court, I have to take the last shot. This isn’t criticism, it’s a fact.”

For Yu Fei’s supporters, this was another chance to attack James.

Comments like “Frye would never” swept through all the major media.

But the pressure from the court didn’t break James. In fact, as a once-in-a-decade superstar, he, like all well-known superstars, had a resilience like that of a spring. With the Darfur news still rampant outside the court, and “Frye Hell” making a comeback on it, his wonderful life seemed on the brink of destruction, yet James only played better in the following three games. Like Yu Fei back in the day, he had spotted the natural flaw in the Iron Bucket Formation.

When the score was tied at 2-2, coming to the King of the Hill battle, James, like Yu Fei in a previous life, delivered an immortal performance. He single-handedly accounted for the Cavaliers’ last 25 points (in fact, 29 of the last 30 points), just as Yu Fei had in 2005, single-handedly destroyed Detroit, bringing silence to The Palace of Auburn Hills.

The Cavaliers conquered King of the Hill, stepping into the doorway of the Eastern Conference Finals.

In Game 6 of the semifinals, a broken-hearted Pistons lost their sense to the point of not only failing to adjust their style but also increasing the frequency of double-teaming James.

That was the Pistons’ death knell, and it was also why the Iron Barrel Formation would ultimately be swept into the dust heap of history.

James ended the Pistons, leading the Cavaliers to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 31 years.

There, Yu Fei and the Bucks had been waiting for a long time.

The Bucks had easily swept the Chicago Bulls in the semifinals and, unlike the Mavericks, who capsized, the Bucks appeared to be the team of destiny hitting peak form at the right time and place.

Throughout the playoffs, they’ve dominated the competition with an astounding average offensive performance of 115 points per game, making their nearly 100 points allowed per game seem inconsequential because of their terrifying offensive power.

Yu Fei’s stats increased slightly with the arrival of the playoffs, averaging 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists per game. But James, having just transcended in a series averaging 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists, was commonly believed to be entering the first year of a new era’s titanic rivalry.

For James, the biggest benefit was that the outside world no longer cared whether he had signed that letter.

The League, Nike, and Reebok all engaged in frenzied hype around the duel in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Nike, in particular, became fully confident after watching James’s demolition of the Pistons, believing that even if the Cavaliers lost to the Bucks, James would step out of last year’s shadow when Yu Fei dropped 70 points on him.

Before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, an ABC reporter asked James, “How much have you grown compared to last year?”

“You know, I’m not someone who likes to boast,” James said with a smile, “I’m not going to stand here and tell you how much stronger I’ve become than before, I will prove everything in the game. I hope I can have a real showdown with Frye.”@@novelbin@@

Yu Fei calmly walked to the center court to shake hands with James, then turned around to shoot.

He didn’t say a word.

He wasn’t in the mood, and besides, his close relationship with James was a thing of the past.

For him, the only thing worth focusing on was winning another championship for Milwaukee.

All the off-court promotions, hype, and build-up were irrelevant to him.

It was a fact that might anger James’s camp, but Yu Fei truly didn’t see the Eastern Conference Finals as a big deal.

As Marc Stein, a media person trusted by Yu Fei, said, “As a fan, you shouldn’t even hope for the Cavaliers to win in the Eastern Conference Finals. The only thing you can look forward to is whether LeBron can bring his form from Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in front of Frye.”

Even though this was a media person who had unreservedly predicted in his articles that the Bucks and Mavericks would meet in this year’s finals, his judgment about the Cavaliers wasn’t wrong.

Defeating the Pistons and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals was undoubtedly a great breakthrough for the Cavaliers, but the Bucks were on a different level than the Pistons.

To limit James’s offense, the Bucks adjusted their lineup to last season’s classic starting five: Yu Fei, Martin, Bell, Granger, and Kwame Brown.

Bell would defend James one-on-one, with Brown protecting the basket.

This strategy seemed like a greatly weakened version of the 2007 Spurs, who suffocated James with Bowen on the outside and Duncan on the inside.

Making James shoot below 40% from the field and average only 22 points per game as the Spurs did in a playoff series seemed almost impossible, but it was more than enough to restrain him.

Different from the previous strategies against the Cavaliers, George Karl prepared a special package for James tonight—letting Yu Fei and Granger use their athleticism to cut off James’s passing lanes, severing their connection at its root.

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