Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

"If Big Fei said that himself, we’ll make him eat his words before Game 5 ends," Pierce said. "Mark my words, he will eat them!"

The famed home-court advantage of The Celtics, as well as their problems winning on the road, had already set the direction for the Finals.

Whoever loses at home first will fall into the abyss.

The return of Bucks’ Fei was not an all-curing remedy for the Supersonics; it was supposed to be their trump card, but Karl played it ahead of time.

Because the Supersonics needed to secure Game 3.

But in the end, they could not rely solely on the power of Yu Fei to win the game.

When The Celtics struggled in Game 1 due to a lack of Finals experience, the issue of the Supersonics’ youthful excess was overlooked.

Both were inexperienced, but to varying degrees.

The only thing The Celtics were lacking was Finals experience, but the team’s three stars—Pierce and Garnett had experience in the Conference Finals, Red had championship experience, and the other veterans had more or less playoff experience—while the Supersonics? They were still bottom-dwellers in the Western last season, simply in the early stages of accumulating talent, accelerated only by Yu Fei’s transfer.

The fact remained unchanged, aside from Yu Fei, Brown, and Marion, everyone else lacked the experience of long playoff campaigns, let alone the Finals, which tested the spirit, will, and physical condition the most.

After Game 3, Karl found Yu Fei and talked about the preparations for Game 4.

"Doug may be slow to react, but he will definitely target you in Game 4," Karl said. "Frye, you should know that the power of one person is limited."

Yu Fei understood.

Karl was not a man like Rivers, who would stick with the same three moves if they worked, using them for an entire season. The Supersonics were the weaker side overall and also the less confident side. Did winning Game 3 with his individual ability increase confidence for the team? Maybe, but only to a limited extent.

Such a victory would not make his teammates feel like they were "playing like champions"; they were merely following in Yu Fei’s footsteps.

If they relied too much on Yu Fei and he were restricted, the Supersonics might collapse.

Therefore, in Karl’s eyes, Game 3 was not only a must-win battle but also a setup for the subsequent games.

They had to make The Celtics believe that the Supersonics had run out of options, that they had to place all their bets on Yu Fei alone.

"I’ll knock some sense into those jerks," Yu Fei said. "They’ve been sleeping for a while now."

Karl said contentedly, "It’s good that you understand."

In terms of the coaching team’s capabilities, Rivers was no match for Karl.

But the effectiveness of a coaching team is limited; ultimately, it is the players who execute the coach’s intentions.

The next day, the practice at Furtado Center was different from the previous days.

Karl resumed the usual tactical training.

"Didn’t you say we couldn’t win with this playing style?" Marion asked in surprise. "Isn’t Frye our absolute core?"

Karl laughed, "Shawn, I heard you hate being ignored by others. If that’s true, why would you like a system that makes you completely unnoticed?"

Marion replied, "As long as we can win, it’s fine."

That was exactly what Karl wanted to hear.

If they could win, Karl certainly didn’t mind Big Fei winning games and stats, but the Supersonics were not a team built purely to serve a ball-dominant star. This trick was effective, but the essence of a trick play is the element of surprise. If this series went to a full seven games, were they supposed to have Big Fei perform like in Game 3 every time?

"Anyway, just practice!" Karl said assertively. "We’ll make the game plan!"

In the subsequent intra-squad scrimmages, Yu Fei and Roy each led a team.

The scrimmage revealed that playing a secondary role had helped Roy recover form; he was in great shape in today’s practice.

"Do you guys know what Paul Pierce said yesterday?"

"He wants Frye to eat the words he said to the reporters..."

After the practice, Yu Fei asked Durant for a one-on-one. The conversation among the teammates who were taking a break turned to the off-court gossip.

Yu Fei ignored them, focusing only on Durant.

Durant might have been the most pitiable player in the Finals because the intensity of the games far exceeded his capacity; after three games, he was only averaging 10 points and 3 rebounds, with a shooting percentage of 36%.

This caused people to doubt Durant’s potential.

But Yu Fei knew this wasn’t the real Durant; as the player with the weakest confrontation in the Finals, he might need more time to adjust.

"What are you thinking about?" Yu Fei noticed that Durant’s attention was being diverted by the chatter on the sidelines. "Don’t tell me you are not taking this practice seriously."

Durant said innocently, "They’re talking about Pierce. I can’t focus."

So Yu Fei yelled at Roy, who was chatting most excitedly, "Brandon, KD says you’re distracting him from training. Can you shut up?"

Roy’s eyes widened, unable to believe that the kid with the backpack would blame him.

Durant hadn’t expected Yu Fei to "help" him like this.

"Now, can you focus on the game?"

"No problem."

Durant had already played one-on-one with Yu Fei countless times, but he had never won the first time.

Today, Yu Fei seemed intent on helping him find his rhythm, purposely missing shots and allowing Durant to attack.

He sternly criticized the issues Durant exhibited, then replicated them on offense, showing his opponent exactly where his problems lay.

After five plays, Yu Fei’s trash talk had gotten under Durant’s skin.

He bared his teeth, made a wide step to shake Yu Fei off his defense, then pulled up and scored with a jump shot.

"Is that how it is?" Durant asked loudly.

"Exactly," Yu Fei said. "Just like that, you better remember this feeling, because if you don’t play like this tomorrow night, I’ll shove the ball down your throat!"

June 13

The game today was scheduled in the afternoon.

Two hours before tipoff, the scene outside Key Arena was just as The Seattle Times had described: "Tens of thousands of Seattleites came with the most fervent fighting spirit, to let the Bostonians understand that North Shore Garden is not the only devil’s home court."

Yu Fei’s rumored girlfriend Amelia Nichols joined the huge crowd of fans, shouting the crude "Boston sucks" along with them.

Seattle celebrities poured into the arena.

Even though it wasn’t filled with Hollywood’s glitter like Los Angeles and New York, nor quite as rich in sports heritage as Boston, Seattle’s celebrities had their own flavor, the smell of money.

In the front rows sat the tycoons rooted in the Emerald City, who may not be necessarily fans or as fond of victory as fans, but for whom money was merely a number, still loved making more of it, and the Supersonics had turned from a money-loser into a cash cow, which itself was a curiosity to them.

Then, The Celtics entered the arena.

The Supersonics fans stood up like they had seen the enemy, hooting and cursing.

The aura of the villain had already emanated from their jerseys, igniting the hostility and hatred in Key Arena.

After the teams had seen each other, Yu Fei and Pierce exchanged a few more pieces of trash talk before heading back to warm up.

Soon, the DJ announced the starting lineups, the bench players returned to the sideline, and Game Four of the Finals was about to begin.

The Supersonics had the opening possession.

And, just like the previous game, tonight’s start was led by Yu Fei.

But The Celtics’ targeting strategy appeared right from the start.

They selectively left Marion open, pulling out an extra player for a quick double-team on Yu Fei.

Yu Fei passed quickly, but Marion’s lane to the inside was blocked by Garnett, and Pierce’s rotation defense on the outside, so he passed again, getting the ball to Durant’s hands.

With the ball away from the core, it was time for the role players to showcase their skills.

Durant’s mind was in a blank state, facing the open shot he caught and released.

2 - 0

"Not bad," Yu Fei said. "That’s pretty accurate for a ’sharpshooter’ who has a shooting percentage of less than 40%."

On defense, Yu Fei went straight for Pierce.

As Pierce took the ball, the cries of "faker" came from all directions within Key Arena.

Initially, the nickname stemmed from Pierce’s excessive faking, and then he had paid homage to Willis Reed in Game 1, which moved the Boston fans but didn’t fool their opponents.

There were plenty who thought Pierce was acting.

Pierce ignored everything around him, and after several fake moves that failed to fool Yu Fei, he exposed his own flaws.

Yu Fei struck, knocking the ball from Pierce’s hands, then surged forward, shoving aside the opposition and grabbing the ball for a fastbreak.

Pierce fell awkwardly to the floor, the action so natural it was unclear whether it was from Yu Fei’s impact or his own dramatic flair.

Former Supersonics owner, Schultz Howard, incensed and hoping to salvage his image in front of the city folk, leapt up and cried, "Enough, Paul Pierce! This isn’t the Oscars!"

Pierce rose to his feet, glaring at Howard, "Wait till I tear your damned team apart, then you won’t be shouting anymore!"

But for now, it was the Supersonics who were ahead.

Yu Fei scored on the fastbreak, 4 - 0.

Soon, The Celtics scored their first basket of the night through their inside play.

Then they hunkered down defensively.

They thought Yu Fei, averaging over 40 points so far in the finals, would come at them with the ball just like the last game.

But the one dribbling forward was Roy.

Roy, using a screen from Yu Fei, broke through Red’s defense and assisted Brown for a slam dunk.

Doc Rivers’ large face involuntarily twitched.

This differed from their plan.

From double teams, to switch defenses, and traps in the paint, they had prepared plenty of "surprises" for Yu Fei these last few days.

They believed that if they could silence Yu Fei, the Supersonics would stand no chance.

Even given another ten days, Rivers couldn’t fathom why Karl had placed an in-form Yu Fei in a position that, on the surface, wasn’t letting him play to his full potential.

"There’s a trap!" Rivers said. "I smell a conspiracy!"

His competent assistant Thibodeau guessed, "Maybe they just didn’t want to give up tactical flexibility?"

"No, no!" said Rivers, as if he could discern fate like a wise seer or prophet. "It’s not that simple!"