Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 559: Chapter 397: Polar Brawl

“`

The Supersonics defeated the Lakers and solidified their position as number one in the Western Conference.

Yu Fei’s MVP calls reached their peak after that night.

Just as George Karl said, Yu Fei had beaten Kobe in every aspect. If Kobe was the biggest MVP contender, then Yu Fei was the MVP.

Even though Kobe, backed by LA, had some advantages in public opinion, the actual matchup defeat indeed decided the MVP ownership.

After this game, Kobe could no longer compete with Yu Fei.

Perhaps too triumphant, the Supersonics, returning to their home court, faced the strongest team in the league—the Boston Celtics.

Last time they defeated the Celtics at the North Shore Garden, but this time they met their opponents were completely suppressed at their home court.

Compared to the last time, the Celtics had two new members.

They were PJ Brown who had stood up Yu Fei and the veteran Sam Cassell, whose contract was bought out by the Clippers.

The Cassell of today was like Gary Payton after 2003; he was still able to start in weak teams and contribute an average of 10+5 assists per game, but that was not the way he wanted to spend his last season.

After Cassell’s contract was bought out by the Clippers, he became the main target for all the strong teams.

The Celtics themselves did not really need him, but they did not want Cassell to be acquired by other competitors.

The principle was simple, it wasn’t important for them to have him, but it was important to prevent the rivals from getting him.

Especially for teams like the Spurs that severely lacked a point guard. If they got Cassell, the bonus would be extraordinary.

After considering his options, Cassell made the same choice as PJ Brown.

He joined the Celtics.

The Celtics, with strong reinforcements for both the frontcourt and backcourt, appeared to be the strongest team in the league.

Their roster depth was unbelievably solid.

How could a team that already had Pierce, Garnett, and Michael Redd have such depth? This question sparked many discussions.

But tonight, the Celtics were about to strike back on the Supersonics’ home court.

The Supersonics’ interior line was crushed, and their shooting was silent; Yu Fei scored 28 points, but it was futile.

109 to 87

The Celtics took their revenge on the Supersonics at the away game.

“When I say they are the best team in the league, I mean it literally,” George Karl said. “From the first to the fifth position, they have at least two useful players each. You can’t find similar depth on any other team’s roster. They are, at the moment, the best team. But we have Big Fei, so anything is possible.”

Boston Celtics’ head coach Doc Rivers also praised the Supersonics, and his high emotional intelligence was applicable everywhere.

“I really admire Frye; what he’s done for Seattle is something we’ve never seen before. If he succeeds, it will be one of the greatest things to happen in professional basketball history,” Rivers said with a hint of jest, “provided that it doesn’t interfere with our plans.”

“Coach Rivers, what are your plans”

“Of course, to raise a new championship banner next season. The Celtics have waited too long!”

The Supersonics needed to compose themselves and accept tonight’s defeat.

This wasn’t difficult, as they were not one of those top-tier teams that only lose about a dozen regular season games per season.

As a newly risen strong team, they had the mental preparation to accept defeat.

Yu Fei returned to the locker room and told everyone, “Let’s call it a night. Go home, sleep it off, and forget this game. But let me remind you, if you play this badly the day after tomorrow night, you better not come back to the locker room, because I might just kill you.”

The Supersonics would face off against the Eastern Conference underdogs, the Charlotte Bobcats, the day after tomorrow night.

As everyone knows, that’s Michael Jordan’s team.

Although Jordan is only a minor owner of the Bobcats, he is actually the operator of the team. Professionals surmise that he will definitely own the team outright in the future.

Although Jordan has retired, the feud with Yu Fei has not ended, so it is a match they cannot afford to lose.

Yu Fei ingrained the fear of losing into his teammates’ hearts.

On the night of the game against the Bobcats, the Supersonics displayed playoff-level offensive and defensive intensity.

The Bobcats are a team that needs to seriously consider, should they land the number one overall pick in 2008, whether to select Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley.

“`

And it’s not like they were deliberately tanking, they genuinely sucked.

Using playoff intensity against a team that already sucks makes it easy to create a massacre.

Yu Fei freely broke through Adam Morrison, the Bird II Michael Jordan relied on.

The intensity of blowing out his matchup was so fierce it made people wonder if Morrison might need extra insulin to manage it.

“I don’t want to be too harsh on Adam, it’s not his fault he has diabetes.”

When the Supersonics crushed the Bobcats by 44 points, Yu Fei made his victor’s remark, “But to know he has diabetes and still hold him to Larry Bird-like expectations, that’s problematic, it proves that person is still living in his own world, stubbornly clinging to his views, unwilling to face reality.”

“Frye, what reality are you referring to?”

“Are you sure you want me to say it?”

“Unless you plan to swear…”

“You know, my mom doesn’t like to hear me swear,” Yu Fei said with a laugh, “The reality is, that person is short-sighted, arrogantly complacent, inept yet occupying a high position; with such an owner, the ‘good’ days for the Bobcats are yet to come.”

For those closely following the grudge between Yu Qiao and Jordan, this was something they were used to and delighted to hear.

Jordan would mock Yu Fei in the media, and Yu Fei would seize the opportunity to fire back.

This feud was destined not to end.

Because Jordan had retired, and Yu Fei had become the chaser of his historical status. Whether or not Yu Fei could surpass Jordan, the struggle would continue.

However, for Yu Fei, striking back at Jordan was just a small part of his life. As the season was nearing its end, if the Supersonics wanted to maintain their top-two ranking in the Western Conference, they needed to play seriously in every remaining game.

The Western Conference was not like the Eastern; that was the biggest feeling Yu Fei got after his journey to the West.

During the era when the Bucks had four championships in five years, some extreme fans from that division believed that the Western powerhouses severely cannibalized each other, which is why the Bucks repeatedly beat them in the finals.

Although this statement has its problems, the assertion that the competition intensity in the West is far beyond the East is no false claim.

The top tier consisting of the Texas duo (the Rockets could only be considered an average strong team after Yao Ming’s injury), the Suns who were somewhat underwhelming but still top tier, along with the resurgent Lakers and the dark horse Hornets, followed by the Nuggets, Rockets, and others.

Even those middle-tier teams in the West that didn’t make the playoffs had the quality to compete for a spot in the Eastern playoffs.

The overall strength of the conference was so high that it prevented any team, like the Boston Celtics in the East, from dominating with an absolute advantage in the standings.

The Supersonics had a rough go during the final push for playoff positioning.

Winning one game and losing another was common, fortunately, the Spurs and the Lakers, as well as other key competitors, couldn’t guarantee their records either.

And just as the competition was fierce, there were various small divisions under the large divisions.

Ultimately, the Supersonics, due to being in a less competitive small division, gained divisional benefits in April.

The Northwest Division, where the Supersonics were placed, was relatively the weakest in terms of competition in the West—it had “only” three playoff teams, besides the Supersonics, the Nuggets and Jazz made it.

In the last few games of April, the Supersonics’ opponents were the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Trail Blazers (two games), and then the Jazz, concluding with the Warriors.

In comparison, who would want to be in the Southwest Division, with the three Texas giants and the Hornets team?

At present, the Supersonics have secured 53 wins and 23 losses, leading the Spurs and the Lakers by one game for first place in the Western Conference.

The Supersonics’ remaining schedule ultimately determined the ownership of the Western Conference’s top spot.

In the final six games, the Supersonics first defeated the Nuggets, then annihilated the Timberwolves, split two games with the Trail Blazers, and then lost to the Jazz on the road.

In the final game of the regular season, Yu Fei exploded for a 40+10+10 triple-double against the Warriors, leading the Supersonics to finish the 2007-08 regular season with the best record in the Western Conference at 57 wins and 25 losses.

This season in the West can be described as an absolute free-for-all, with the Supersonics at 57 wins, the Spurs with 55, the Lakers with 55, the Hornets with 52, the Suns with 51, the Jazz with 50, the Nuggets and Rockets both with 49.

On the Eastern side, the situation was markedly top-heavy, with the Celtics at 60 wins leading by a large margin, the Bucks with 58, the Pistons at 52, followed by the Magic with 49 wins, the Cavaliers with 44… and the eighth-ranked Atlanta Hawks with just 36 wins.

For Yu Fei, this outcome was pretty much perfect.

Securing the first seed in the West at least ensured home-court advantage against every team within the division.

The first-round matchup against the Rockets was also an excellent result since without Yao Ming, the Rockets, reliant on an injury-plagued McGrady, couldn’t possibly achieve much.

He was already considering the semifinals, just not sure if it would be impolite to say this directly to McGrady’s face?

(Attached data: 2007-08 season, Yu Fei played all games, averaging 32 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal per game)

COMMENT
0 comment

Vote
3 left

SEND GIFT