Chapter 452 Laying out Summer
When people discovered that the SuperSonics' record was the same as the 96 Bulls in the same period, chasing the historical record became a common desire.
Because it has been 13 years since the 1996 Bulls.
It can be said that the fans may have changed more than one group.
Except for Bulls fans, few people will review the 1996 Bulls game. Everyone knows this history, but history exists to make people move forward.
Simply paying attention to history itself is destined to be boring.
Fans want to witness a new history.
This puts a shackle on the Sonics. The world's expectation is that even if they don't break the record of the 1996 Bulls, they should tie it.
However, what people don't realize is that the competitive environment in which the Sonics are located is much more intense than that of the 1996 Bulls.
In addition to himself, the Eastern Conference where the 1996 Bulls were located also had the Magic with 60 wins, and further down, the Pacers with 52 wins. Other than that, they were all teams with less than 50 wins.
This is a serious head-over-height problem, and the SuperSonics are in the Western Conference. In addition to their own dominance, they are also followed by the 60-win Lakers and the 50-win Spurs, Mavericks, Suns, Hornets, Jazz, and Nuggets. .
This is a rare partition involution.
It will undoubtedly be difficult to tie the 96 Bulls record under the siege of these teams.
But this is also the goal set by the Sonics.
In other words, it is Yu Fei's own goal.
If he wants to overcome the aesthetic fatigue of "Da Fei has won too many MVPs, let's vote for someone else", he must lead the team to tie or surpass the best record in history to numb those who are already numb to his wonderful performance. The sensory stimulation of the media has reached a new level.
Entering March, a major challenge for the Sonics is their third battle with the Lakers.
This time, the Lakers are complete and Ou is back.
However, rumors and rumors at the trade deadline severely dampened O'Neill's fighting spirit.
Until then, renewing his contract with the Lakers is his first goal.
Now, he's not sure.
In the game against the SuperSonics, when I saw Kwame Brown, O'Brien, who was already in bad shape, suddenly stood up and scored 25 points and 7 rebounds.
"Are you okay, number one insider?"
When Brown committed six fouls and left the field, O'Brien's ridicule became the scene's highlight. ,
"Presumptuous!" Brown looked down on O'Neill like a superior, "So what if you score 50 points, the Lakers still want to trade you?"
This sentence really touches on Xiao Ao's pain point.
Since then, Xiao Ao has started to mess up.
However, the SuperSonics' Big Three on the perimeter were all-powerful. They hit a 36-18 offensive climax in the fourth quarter, beating the Lakers to death and achieving three kills against their opponents.
Kobe Bryant scored 40 points tonight, 5 points more than Yu Fei, the highest scorer on the SuperSonics team, but Yu Fei's rebounds and assists data couldn't stand up to him. Roy and Durant also made good shots. The Lakers Kobe's perimeter firepower alone cannot be matched.
That night, Kobe didn't make any more jokes about losing the game but not losing.
In the three regular season games with the SuperSonics, the first game was actually the one with the smallest gap between the two sides.
"Kobe, did you lose tonight?"
the Seattle media asked after the game.
Kobe said: "Of course, we lost."
Anyone who is familiar with Kobe knows how difficult it is to get this man to admit defeat.
But tonight, he did relent.
In the players tunnel, Xiao Ao was walking leisurely.
He felt that he was not responsible for the loss because his data was 25 points and 7 rebounds, ranking second on the team in scoring. From a matchup perspective, he defeated the SuperSonics inside line and Kwame Brown left the game with six fouls. It's because of him.
But his biggest problem is that he loses his energy after taking Brown off the field.
Because Brown poked at his heartbreak.
He suddenly felt that no matter how hard he worked, he was still an item that could be discarded at any time in the eyes of the Lakers.
In this case, why should he risk his life?
A performance like tonight's performance that doesn't last until the end is ideal. Others can't blame him for the loss. If they want to blame, they can only blame Kobe for not being strong enough, Kidd for being ineffective, and Phil Jackson for his Alzheimer's disease. What about him? Since he was mentioned countless times in trade rumors during the trade deadline, he has been exempt from spraying.
Just as Xiao Ou was about to return to the visiting team's locker room, he met Yu Fei and Brown at the intersection who were about to go to the media interview room for an interview.
Brown and Xiao Ao stared at each other, and the atmosphere was tense.
"Jermaine, you played very well tonight." Yu Fei said truthfully, "Our inside line can't stop you."
"What's the use?" Brown responded, "He's not going to be traded by the Lakers!"
Yu Fei tried his best to defend Brown's words: "Didn't the trade not happen? The Lakers still gave Jermaine respect."
"Respect?"
Brown rolled his eyes. However, he could see that Yu Fei didn't want him and Xiao Ao to quarrel here, so he didn't say anything further.
Outside the stadium, Xiao Ao was no longer so easily angered.
To him, Brown was like a mirror.
A mirror of choice.
Even if your ability is at the bottom among the starting big men in the NBA, as long as you follow the right people, you can win the championship and beat all the good players to be selected for the Dream Team, and no one will say anything about you.
To the world, the biggest reason why Mengba is not as good as Mengyi is because of the existence of Kwame Brown.
This is a classic case where Yu Fei should not have been selected for the Dream Team, but because of Yu Fei's strong influence, the coaching staff forced him to join it.
Why did Da Fei never care when Kwame Brown claimed to be the best in the world?
Because everyone knows that Brown is pretending to be a bully.
He was able to stand in that position and say those words only because Da Fei was behind him.
Xiao Ao and others saw this clearly.
"Da Fei, do you know how many times I have looked back on the 2005 Eastern Conference Finals?"
That was the only time Yu Fei lost in seven years.
Yu Feixiao asked: "How many times?"
"I can't remember clearly." Xiao Ou said, "Whenever I didn't go as well, I would watch the video of that series. At the beginning, I was complacent. Because I defeated you, which shows that I was there in that game. I was a better player than you later. I didn't beat you, it was the Pacers who were at their peak. The proof is that although I beat you, I was in front of Tim Duncan. There is no way to resist.”
Yu Fei listened with interest: "Yes, the Spurs were the best team that year."
Brown felt irritated, and Xiao O seemed to be doing it on purpose. He didn't care about his rhetoric at all and started talking about topics such as leading the team. Is this his topic? Never.
"That's what I was thinking at the time. Duncan defeated me just because he had a better team." Ou suddenly changed the subject, "But in the past two years in Los Angeles, I understand. It's not the team's problem. It's my problem. Our lineup was similar to that of the Spurs. The reason for our failure in the end was simply because Tim Duncan was a better player than me. Just like my failure in Los Angeles, it wasn't that the Lakers weren't good enough. Just because you are better than Kobe.”
Brown was stunned.
Is it necessary to be so flattering?
"Did you go around in such a big circle just to say this conclusion that might make Kobe Bryant strangle you?"
Yu Fei asked.
"No, even though I beat you in 2005 due to team superiority, I still enjoy the fact that I've been the only player to beat you the past seven years. So if Kobe turns out to be really inferior to you, I'd like to please One thing for you." Xiao Ao said, "Please don't lose to others."
Brown finally found his chance.
"Why are you pretending that you are the only one to beat Da Fei? You meet Jason Kidd every day, don't you know that he is the first person to defeat Da Fei in the playoffs?"
Xiao Ao became arrogant: "You idiot will never understand, who cares about the little setbacks the Lion King encountered before he grew up?"
"Who is the fool? I have three rings, what do you have?"
This is a sure win. Although Ou has made the All-NBA team, been selected to the All-Stars several times, and led the team to the overall runner-up at his peak, just like Barkley of TNT - the ring culture will definitely give birth to "Everything is easy to say if you have a champion, but if you don't have a champion, you can say anything." Champion, even if you use the Bible to endorse yourself, it’s not convincing.”
Xiao Ao was too angry to refute.
But Yu Fei said: "I can't guarantee that I will keep winning, but if you want to experience the feeling of winning, maybe try to change the environment this summer."
What's the meaning?
Brown became alarmed.
Xiao Ao was stunned.
"Goodbye, Jermaine."
"No, Da Fei, you don't really want that guy to come to Seattle to play, do you? He and I really can't pee in the same pot!"
After walking away, Brown began to think casually.
"There is nothing to worry about." Yu Fei said, "If Jermaine is coming, he will definitely take a pay cut, and he will also have to accept the role of substitute. This is the prerequisite for us to sign him. You will still be ours. Starting player. Of course, it’s not certain whether he will come.”
Three-quarters of the regular season has passed, and since there were no major transactions on the trade deadline, the league pattern has basically remained unchanged.
With Kevin Garnett suffering a season-ending ACL in early March, the Sonics' number one competitor fell.
The probability of the SuperSonics defending their championship has greatly increased. Therefore, Yu Fei expressed his goodwill to Xiao Ao in advance to prepare for the largest free market in history.
There's definitely a lot going on this summer.
The SuperSonics will almost certainly lose Shawn Marion. Although Durant has grown rapidly, it will take two or three years to become a superstar. Roy has health risks. If he wants to remain competitive next season, It will have to get major reinforcements this summer.
After defeating the Lakers, the Sonics entered April with unstoppable power.
The last month of the regular season.
The Sonics' record is 66 wins and 8 losses.
At this time, the media discovered that due to the difference in schedule, the Sonics not only played more games than the 1996 Bulls at the same time, but also had a better record.
The SuperSonics at this time were 66 wins and 8 losses, while the 1996 Bulls were 63 wins and 8 losses during the same period.
"This is a long marathon, and the Sonics are about to see the end. They are faster than the Bulls. But will their results be better?" - "Sports Illustrated" April 1, 2009
(End of chapter)