Chapter 444 The horse doesn’t know the way
Yu Fei defeated James for the 28th time since 2003. This was an unremarkable game in itself.
Except for the Sonics' championship coronation ceremony, there weren't that many topics in the game.
However, George Karl "will never forget" the preferential treatment James received during the game.
The so-called never forget, there must be repercussions.
When Karl said after the game that "LeBron walks one out of every two drives," a dark wind began to blow around James.
In Yu Fei's previous life, this season was James' first MVP season, and it was also the first year that he was officially studied carefully with a magnifying glass.
But now, James is not the focus of the league, and he would not have attracted much attention.
But when they tried to taint the cause and effect of the number one player in the alliance, they were destined to be impossible to ignore.
Today's Nike and James camps are avoiding the topic of Yu Fei, because the current honor gap between the two is huge, and forcing a parallel will only bring humiliation to themselves. But Yu Fei's camp will not let go of James, who is completely at a disadvantage.
Karl fired the first shot, and the subsequent public pressure will be directly on him.
A few days later, James came to earth in Milwaukee's away game, scoring 48 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, and led the team to defeat the Bucks.
However, his layup steps have aroused everyone's doubts.
"I may understand basketball, but I may not understand basketball that well. This is how LeBron's game makes me feel."
ESPN commentator Jeff Van Gundy commented with a bit of yin and yang.
The Bucks' sixth man Lou Williams was more direct: "From my understanding, a layup should be after you get the ball, take two steps. This is why it is difficult for us to defend LeBron. The old game habits have formed our mindset. When we saw him take two steps, we were ready to jump to defend. No one expected that he would take a third step."
James' game made Pau Gasol question his understanding of the technical rules of basketball.
He is not sure whether the NBA and FIBA use the same set of rules.
So his answer was not confident: "It should be three steps or two steps."
As early victims of the four-step layup, the D.C. media took advantage.
The Washington Post's sports column commented on James's layup controversy in the latest issue: "Those who argue about the layup steps don't understand basketball at all. This is LeBron's patent. He calls it the crab walk. If If you want to use this trick, you'd better pay him a patent fee."
Few people can stand the scrutiny of a magnifying glass.
The team behind James won't sit still.
Although James is no longer the first target of Nike, the continued slander of James will affect the entire Nike brand, and they must respond.
From a basketball perspective, unless the league changes the definition of walking, the obvious superstar privilege of a four-step layup is really difficult to wash away.
Nike can't blatantly say, "Because this is LeBron, he can make a four-step layup. If you don't like it, go to Stern."
In this case, the firepower will naturally turn to the league, but James will also be on the blacklist from now on, and will no longer be able to receive special care.
Therefore, Nike chose a trick that has been used since ancient times: amplification.
Again, no one can stand the scrutiny of a magnifying glass.
Even for Yu Fei, you can find scenes where he was suspected of walking without being whistled by the referee.
In the period since then, the stars have begun to come under strict scrutiny, and walking violations have become beheading crimes. Whoever commits them will be a James-style clown.
The league also reacted very quickly, trying to seal this evil spirit with harsh penalties.
Their intention was to make the fans believe that the referee was fair and impartial, but what they didn't expect was that the fans' scrutiny of the move began to intensify from then on.
This change in ethos is both familiar and unfamiliar to Fei.
What's unfamiliar is the league's violent reaction to this incident.
What is familiar is that the topic of walking is too common on the Internet more than ten years later.
Whenever a good ball occurs, as long as you don't score directly after catching the ball, a walking brother will come out to give pointers.
A player like James who is born with walking ability is said to be walking for every non-shooting goal.
At that time, walking was no longer a mere criticism, but a program effect.
But for now, the league's strict requirements on layup steps have no impact on Fei.
He can also walk, but his walking is like a right-hander suddenly holding chopsticks with his left hand, which is a mistake. This slip-up feels awkward because it breaks a long-established habit.
While the outside world was scrambling for layup steps, the SuperSonics quietly blew the wind of change.
Their redefinition of basketball positions is subtly affecting other teams.
As the defending champion, the SuperSonics continue to become stronger because their core lineup is composed of young people.
They were just like the Celtics during the regular season last season.
Other teams are still adjusting, and some teams even want to make some transactions to strengthen, but the Sonics team basically cannot see the positions that need reinforcement.
If there is any hidden danger, it is Shawn Marion's mentality.
Marion wants to stay in Seattle. The self-proclaimed championship hero is eager to get a maximum salary pension contract. If it is a mediocre management, they may really be tempted to give a big contract to the champions who won the championship.
But Sam Presti is sober.
This season, Marion's average data per game has declined across the board, with only 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists per game. The number of steals that symbolizes the elimination of vitality has dropped from 2 steals per game last season to 1.1 today.
This is very much in line with Presti’s judgment.
A short, stocky, long-armed wing like Marion eats the rice of youth.
He is about to turn 31 and will decline every year in the future. They cannot expect Marion, who is declining every year, to assist Yu Fei in achieving dominance.
In November, the Sonics restarted negotiations with Marion.
Preston was only willing to give Marion a four-year, $35 million contract extension, but Marion wanted a five-year, $70 million contract.
The expected gap of US$35 million cannot be reduced by bargaining.
In late November, Marion used an NBA-style statement to signal the breakdown of negotiations.
"I will test the free market next summer."
Anyone can read the subtext of this declaration.
He and the Sonics were done talking.
He will definitely leave next season.
But Marion promised that he will still fight for the championship, which means he is not seeking a trade.
This professionalism was so impressive that some in the Seattle media began to criticize Presti.
The Seattle Times believes Presti screwed up Marion's contract extension.
"I'm not going to be an NBA GM, but I'll never understand the Sam Presti selection. How do you fill Shawn Marion's shoes? Who do you find to do what he does? How many guys in the league are as good at carnival basketball as he is in the world we live in? Ray's era, but if we want this era to last into the 2010s, we have to do something right. For now, I don't see how this decision will benefit the Sonics in the future. Who will fight for you? ”
It was also the day after Marion's negotiations broke down that the Sonics lost to the New Orleans Hornets on the road.
The twelve-game winning streak at the start of the season was ended.
Marion, who promised Seattle to fight for two consecutive championships, failed to balance his mentality.
In this battle, Marion made 1 of 5 shots and only scored 3 points, 4 rebounds and 6 fouls.
This prompted reporters to ask Yu Fei: "Did Shawn Marion's contract renewal issue have an adverse impact on tonight's game?"
Yu Fei will not dwell on this issue.
Because if he answers directly, he will be asked about his views on Marion's contract extension.
If he supports Marion's contract extension, Presti will be roasted on the fire. If he does not support Marion's contract extension, then Marion's mentality will be rotten.
"Your question is not fair to Sean." Yu Fei said, "You seem to be implying that we lost tonight because of Sean's contract extension? No, I cannot agree with this view. We lost as a team It's a failure for all of us and it cannot be blamed on one person."
Because the SuperSonics will play two consecutive games with the Hornets. One at the opponent's home court and one at your own home court.
Returning to the home court, Yu Fei played his masterpiece of the season. He made 22 of 23 shots from the field and scored 55 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists with a 95.65% shooting rate, completely clearing the haze of the end of his winning streak.
Suddenly, the public's gaze turned away from Marion.
They will complain about Marion, feel sorry for Marion, and even criticize the Sonics management for them, but in the end, they all know who they only care about.
Sam Presti was there that night.
He felt that Yu Fei's body seemed to be glowing. He had become a being on another level. One person could influence the mood of an arena.
That's why he would never question his choice.
Do those people really care about Marion?
No, the essence of their concern is that they are worried that Yu Fei will not get better help after Marion leaves.
If Marion is given a big contract because of the so-called self-imposed moral restrictions of treating meritorious service well, then everyone will naturally be happy now, but what if Marion is old and decrepit? Please believe that this group of people would like Marion to disappear from the world.
They love Marion because they can help Yu Fei.
One day, they will hate Marion for the same reasons.
Then the blame will come back to Presti.
Sam Presti, why did you give Marion such a big contract extension?
Presti stood up and turned backstage.
In exchange for Yu Fei's saving of Sonics, the entire city will serve him and regard him as a god, and Presti is the person who can best determine the future of the god.
He made the right decision.
He was sure of it.
(End of chapter)