Chapter 318 How did we get here
The day after Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the Heat demolished the visiting team's locker room at the Bradley Center. Bucks officials stated that the Heat would bear all losses at the Bradley Center.
On the Heat's side, Shaquille O'Neal said happily: "Don't talk nonsense, give me a bill."
Such a refreshing attitude makes people wonder about the situation of the Heat. They are now trailing 0 to 2. Although it is excusable to lose two consecutive away games, in the history of the NBA, the team that loses the first two games in the series is more likely to lose. Parts have failed.
Why do they act as if the real battle has just begun?
O'Neal's psychological changes are beyond the imagination of many people. For these superstars who once stood at the top, the biggest problem as they age is their inability to accept the changes in role positioning brought about by their decline.
As a result, Iverson died in the NBA, and Moses Malone was displaced. After all, there are only a few people like Carter who were prepared for the transformation.
O'Neal does not imagine that his dominance can last until the age of 40. He believes that that day will come, and he will one day become the leader's subordinate. But for now, he still has the ability and can still win in the series. He scored 30 points and 20 rebounds in the final game, why did he have to lower his status in advance?
When Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals arrived, Yu Fei made O'Neal understand why.
Because he hates it!
He couldn't stand the fact that he had suffered many defeats in front of Yu Fei.
Since Yu Fei's debut, O'Neal has only one victory against Fei. That was in the 2003-04 season. When he was still with the Lakers, Yu Fei got into a fight with him on the court, and both of them were expelled. As a result, Kobe killed everyone and led the team to win. ball.
Does this count?
He himself didn't even want to count this victory.
But if this game is not included, then his winning rate against Fei is 0.
Even if he has more championships than Yu Fei, it is not worth mentioning in the face of this dismal winning rate.
Because people will say that you won so many championships just because Da Fei hadn't entered the league at the time.
As a result, O'Neal went from a change in attitude to a complete psychological acceptance in the moments before the game started.
What does it mean to give up one's tactical position in order to defeat Yu Fei and the Bucks? What's the point of being Wade's dog? Could this be scarier than being Kobe's dog? Is this more difficult to accept than being beaten up like a dog by Yu Fei and humiliated like a dog?
It's the same as being a dog, but there are differences. Only stupid dogs will follow Kobe, and only useless dogs will be beaten by Yu Fei. So what if you defeat Yu Fei as a dog next to Wade?
That's a good dog.
Once O'Neal had an epiphany, the Heat immediately entered the best state of preparation.
If a still dominant inside man is determined to focus on rebounding and defense, the help he can bring to the team will be comprehensive.
Like Charles Barkley once said, he could do better if he rebounded like Rodman.
Of course, the good range is determined by their talent and physical conditions.
For example, O'Neal can grab 20 rebounds a game, but you can't expect him to suddenly become DPOY. He will still be called out, and he will still be afraid of pick-and-rolls, but the losses he brings on the defensive end can be made up for in other aspects. .
American Airlines Arena
Dwyane Wade took a deep breath, broke through Bell's defense with a change of direction, and quickly rushed to the basket. The three Bucks shrank, but it was difficult to prevent his wandering step, switching attack angles left and right, and finally threw with his left hand. Pitch and score at the plate.
He turned around and looked at a middle-aged black woman in the crowd who was so excited that she burst into tears.
How did they get here?
"111 to 104!" Mike Breen said excitedly, "Can you believe it? The Bucks suffered their first defeat in the playoffs in Miami!"
Yu Fei scored a triple-double of 34 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, but Wade on the opposite side had the blessing of the home whistle and star whistle. He scored 40 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in a single game with 19 free throws.
If only Wade plays well, it will still be difficult for the Heat to win.
The most critical change lies in O'Neal.
15 points, 21 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks, this is O'Neal tonight.
No, it's not so much that he played like O'Neal tonight, it's better to say that he was like an unguardable Dwight Howard tonight, with a dominant performance in rebounding and protecting the basket.
After the game, George Karl complained about the number of free throws.
"Dwyane Wade has made more free throws than our entire team. How are we going to play this game?"
Yu Fei also needs to face some problems.
"Is this the first time Shaq beats you?"
"It's the second time." Yu Fei said, "When it was still with the Lakers, Kobe led it to beat me once. Well, Kobe that night was as unstoppable as Dwayne is today."
"What did you think of Shaq's performance tonight?"
"It's amazing." Yu Fei said, "It is willing to be Dwayne's dog, but is not willing to be Kobe and Penny's dog. Is it because Dwayne is better? However, I am very happy that it finally has the opportunity to be a dog. Self-awareness and loyalty to oneself are important to every humanoid creature.”
O'Neal's camp described Yu Fei's personal attack as "an angry catharsis after experiencing failure." In fact, anyone who has read the interview knows that Yu Fei's mood has not changed from beginning to end.
One day later, both Karl and Yu Fei received fines from the league.
One was because he questioned the penalty, and the other was suspected of insulting his opponent.
Yu Fei's camp protested. Dogs are man's most loyal friends. Comparing O'Neal to a dog is obviously a stylistic compliment. How could anyone interpret it as insulting?
Afterwards, the Bucks concentrated on preparing for Game 4.
It is definitely the Heat's established strategy to equalize the big score at home, but Yu Fei doesn't want this to happen.
According to the original history, this year's Heat is the Son of Destiny, and they will go to the end, but Yu Fei has already overturned 2003 and 2004. So, stopping 2006's Destiny's Child is not impossible.
O'Neal's degeneration from a wild boar to a mad dog has certainly become a thorny problem, but the main difficulty for the Bucks in putting out the fire in the away game is Wade's three-meter-long body hair whistle.
Let's not talk about it. His three-point shooting percentage in the Eastern Conference Finals was as high as 40%.
If RP is a consumable, Wade undoubtedly overspent the Bucks.
"The difficulty of defeating Miami has shifted from Shaq to D-Wede." Carr said to Fei, "Fry, you are the only player on our team who can defeat him, but if you want to do this, you have to The conflict with Shaq must be put aside first.”
Karl's words make it clear that the focus of the series has changed from attacking O'Neal to attacking Wade.
Yu Fei nodded and said: "I know what to do."
Karl is not worried about Yu Fei's impulsiveness, because he can torture O'Neal at any time. Now the opponent is pretending to be a tiger and kills the tiger he relies on first. Then he can deal with the dog in any way he wants.
"I don't believe that his three-point shooting percentage can always be maintained at this accuracy." Karl said another key point, "Starting from the fourth game, we still have to limit his breakthrough space. If he wants to shoot, let him He shoots.”
Once this is clear, the Bucks' players' defensive thinking on Wade will be clear.
This is the wise side of Carl.
Although Wade's recent shooting accuracy is high, his output is not high. In other words, his own shooting tendency has not increased due to the surge in touch - this fixed tendency reflects the opponent's confidence in his own shooting ability. insufficient.
May 29
Game Day 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals
Although the Bucks' undefeated streak in the playoffs was broken, they still lead 2-1.
The Heat must win tonight's game, otherwise, without home court advantage and falling behind 1-3, the situation is basically over.
Yu Fei is confident in himself, but he is also a little worried about Wade's increasingly fierce state. This worry is reflected in his choice to go to the American Airlines Arena to shoot in advance.
He felt he had to be fully prepared to beat Wade.
To be fair, Wade may have touched the threshold of the top ten in the league this year, but his performance in the playoffs is comparable to the top three in the league.
Such short-term outbursts are extremely rare.
As an opponent, Yu Fei can feel that he is getting better every game.
Therefore, he needs a victory to curb Wade's improvement and help the team secure the series victory.
What surprised Yu Fei was that Wade also chose to come to practice in advance.
The person who accompanied Wade was not the wife with whom he was rumored to have a bad relationship, but a middle-aged black woman with low energy and a bloated body.
"That's his mother?" Lawson guessed.
"I think so." Yu Fei decided to say hello.
After the two exchanged pleasantries, they learned that the woman was indeed Wade's mother, Jolinda.
However, Jolinda's mental state was very bad. She looked like the kind of homeless drug addicts that Yu Fei could see living on the streets in major cities across the United States.
Finally, Yu Fei and Wade had a quarrel.
"Fry, I want you to stop calling Shaq my dog." Wade said, "He's not."
"Hey, Dwayne, don't think that you can give me advice just because you win a game." Yu Fei said arrogantly, "Wait until you win the series and then tell me what I can and cannot do."
After saying that, Yu Fei turned around and went to practice.
Wade looked at his back with blazing eyes. Ever since he entered the league, he had been hearing people compare LeBron and Dafa, as if LeBron was the only one qualified.
However, which promising future star would not want to enter this discussion? Being placed in the same topic as Da Fei means that this person may change the pattern of the league in the future, just like Da Fei did to redefine the league.
Now, LeBron is far from qualified, and Wade has already stood in front of Da Fei and won a victory.
Wade's mother, Jolinda, always asked her son in disbelief: "How did we get here."
Wade doesn't know the answer.
But if anyone asks Wade, where are you going?
Wade's answer will be clear, he will point to Yu Fei's location.
That's where he's going.
(End of chapter)