Chapter 502 When Durant became Durant
When trailing 0-2, the third game is often considered the decisive battle.
Therefore, when the Timberwolves personally sent themselves into a 0-3 hell at home, basically no one expected them to make any difference.
In the fourth game of the first round, the SuperSonics did not give the Timberwolves a chance to breathe.
"They are like skilled farm workers, cleaning up the remains of the Wolves out of the playoffs."
"Sports Illustrated" selected Yu Fei as its cover for the Nth time after the SuperSonics swept the Timberwolves away from home.
The sentence above is the title of the cover.
Just as quickly as the SuperSonics eliminated their first-round opponents, the Lakers were also there.
In the first round, the Lakers faced off against the Nuggets, who had their own evil intentions, and averaged a brutal 126 points per game, setting an NBA first-round scoring average record.
James averaged a triple-double in the series, Kobe Bryant averaged 32 points, Antawn Jamison averaged 18 points, and Richard Hamilton and Marc Gasol also averaged double figures.
The gorgeous starting lineup makes people call the Lakers starting lineup "Lakers Star Five" (five-star Lakers). This nickname naturally reminds people of the Fab Five of Michigan 19 years ago.
The Five Tigers back then were like a hurricane that injected vitality into the NCAA in the 1990s and had a profound influence in the field of pop culture. Today's five-star Lakers are no less powerful than the Five Tigers back then, because Kejan himself is second only to Yu Fei. Superstar.
Now working together, with three incredible helpers around them, the Lakers' momentum and attention from the outside world make them look like the next generation of NBA dynasty.
"Dynasty is not our goal."
Kobe wants people to remember what a great competitor he was.
"What Frye has done in the past seven years has set a new standard for success." Kobe said boldly. "LeBron didn't choose the Lakers for three championships. Like he said, not one, not two. , of course it’s not the three of us who want to create an empire!”
Kobe's speech was inspiring, but these things still clearly show that the seemingly two-pronged Lakers actually still respect Kobe.
If you think about it carefully, this is natural.
James joining the Lakers is different from joining Miami in another timeline. Kobe is far stronger than Wade and has a higher status in the league. Most importantly, he will never seem to have the same empathy as Wade.
Wade realized after the enigmatic 2011 Finals that if the Big Three wanted to succeed, they had to let James take the number one spot. And Ke Zhan's current combination has a sense of success or failure.
Imagine Durant defecting to the Warriors and then being defeated by James in the Finals. Whether it is Curry or Durant, once this happens, the discussion about their historical status will be over. At the same time, it is destined to be recorded in the Joker list. The Loser of the Temple was born.
Moreover, two will be born at once.
"I hope the Western Conference Finals will come soon." James is as confident as Kobe.
If defeating Yu Fei was the biggest stumbling block for Kobe to defeat himself, then for James, it was like a neurotic patient who had been troubled by evil spirits for many years and succeeded in exorcising evil spirits.
"Hopefully he can enter the conference finals." James smiled. "Of course, I have to give San Antonio some respect. Although I think we will meet in the conference finals, they may not be able to pass San Antonio."
So, how are the Spurs doing now?
The Spurs, third in the Western Conference, faced off against the Rockets, sixth in the Western Conference, in the first round.
They could have swept their opponents like the Lakers and SuperSonics, but the Spurs were bitten by the Rockets in Game 4 and lost unexpectedly.
Yao Huang showed all the qualifications of a small ball center in this series.
The rim protection efficiency ranks first in the playoffs. At the same time, the Spurs lack small guards with military training for big men. Therefore, they can only rely on Duncan to suppress the opponent.
But Yao Huang has now given up the traditional big C soul, and he always goes to the outside to show off three-pointers.
In the first four games of the first round, Yao Huang shot 40% from three-point range. In terms of efficiency alone, he was already at the level of a first-class shooter. This brought a lot of trouble to the Spurs' defense. If Harden was not too immature, the series The suspense will be greater.
In the fifth game of the series, Yao Wei fought hard for 35 minutes, attacking from inside and outside, scoring 33 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks. However, due to the overall strength of the team, defeat was inevitable.
He has lost count of how many times he has been stopped in the first round.
I think back then, Americans looked at him like they looked at the alien E-T. He also brought people endless yearning in his rookie season. But now, the illusion has fallen to the ground. He is just a better than Rick Smith, but his excellence is limited. The star center, let alone dominating the game now, is already trying his best just to adapt to the small ball brought by Yu Fei.
This summer, Yao Huang will become a free agent. With his successful transformation, many strong teams want him to join.
But for him, the Rockets have always been the first priority. The Chinese people have the philosophy of perseverance in their bones. Even if this is the same job, if the pay is similar, there is no need to change jobs.
However, as a competitor, there is really no hope in staying with the Rockets.
"Congratulations on the first round trip and good luck to the World Championships."
Yao Huang received a text message from Yu Fei after the game.
Happy days are always very short-lived. Yao Huang was not recruited to play in the Asian Championships last summer. That was mainly because the people in the country were swollen. They all felt that they were among the top eight in the Olympic Games. Without Yao Dashu, he could win the Asian Championships. Isn’t it just random to win the competition? As a result, they overturned at home and were won by the Iranians.
As a person, Yao Huang is very happy that the national team has proved his worth in such a special way.
But he couldn't be happy, because this means that from now on, the national team will no longer "underestimate the enemy". Is the Asian Championship not challenging? Then we have to come back and fight. This is related to Asia’s dominance.
"Playing football is really boring. I can't win a few goals and have to be treated like a donkey. I want to retire."
Yao Huang gave an EMO and sent another text message to Yu Fei.
"What do you mean? I don't want the last big contract of my career?"
Yao Huang is a regular in the best lineup and has bird rights. If he stays with the Rockets, he can activate most of the Yu Fei clauses and sign a very large contract.
Thinking about this money, Yao Huang only felt that life was still bright.
"I suddenly felt that it was a good thing to be able to play at my age."
Who says it's not? If the timeline were to change, he would have to seriously consider retiring now.
Then, Yu Fei got fed up with exchanging text messages and called directly.
The two immediately started chatting.
Yao Huang asked Yu Fei if he would participate in this summer's World Championships, but Yu Fei had no interest in it.
"You know, for a world championship, winning once is enough."
Later, Yao Huang mentioned his plan.
His old CBA club had financial problems, and the owner wanted to sell the team, so he planned to buy it.
Yu Fei knew what happened next, and he agreed with Yao Huang's plan.
"What are you going to do about those people who made things difficult for you about traveling to the United States?" Yu Fei asked in a playful way.
Yao Shuan's words revealed a rare murderous aura: "Just do what you have to do."
As far as Yu Fei knows, everyone from the management to Li Qiuping (Yao Huang's mentor) has been purged.
Otherwise, why would Yu Fei and Yao Huang get along so well? They have the same method of dealing with those who have brought them unhappiness.
Finally, Yao Huang turned the topic back to the playoffs: "You have to do me a favor."
"What are you busy with?"
"Kill the Spurs." "I will kill them if you don't tell me." Yu Fei said, "We can't let those two people in Los Angeles see the joke."
Despite some twists and turns, the first rounds of the playoffs ended one after another.
In the West, the Lakers, SuperSonics, Spurs, and Mavericks advance, while in the East, the Celtics, Heat, Magic, and Knicks advance.
The former Eastern Conference dominant Bucks have been plagued by injuries this season.
Kevin Martin and Danny Granger were reimbursed for the season one after another. They barely entered the playoffs but were eliminated by the Heat 4-1.
Before the start of the semifinals, the league announced the winners of major awards in the regular season.
For Fei, this is a bumper season.
Not only did he once again achieve the feat of averaging a triple-double per game, but he also became the first player since "Elf" Archibald to win both the scoring and assist titles. He was also selected to the first team and first defense.
However, even with such a luxurious honor, there is a high probability that he will not be the most valuable player in this year's regular season.
It's no longer a question of whether he's worth it, it's that the judges are tired of voting for the same guy year after year.
"Aesthetic fatigue" is a real problem.
Moreover, they can find many excuses. Yu Fei has averaged a triple-double before, so this is nothing surprising. Although he lost his second boss and the famous coach who had been with him for many years, he only led the team to win 66 games this season. You must know that they won 73 games last season, which was a big regression; the most important bonus is to win the scoring title. And the assist king.
However, due to well-known reasons, Kejan teamed up to automatically disqualify them from competing for the top spot in various statistics. Therefore, Yu Fei faced very little competition.
No matter how you look at it, Yu Fei this season has nothing unique or outstanding compared to Yu Fei in the past. Therefore, it is time to give others a chance.
Then, the 72-win Lakers stood out. Kobe, who averaged 25 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists per game, and James, who averaged 24 points, 7 rebounds and 74 assists per game, were both ideal candidates.
With sufficient qualifications and status in the team, Kobe has led the MVP prediction list many times in a row.
This already foreshadows the final outcome.
However, the MVP candidate has not yet been announced, and the controversy over the best lineup suddenly awakened Durant, who had been calm for some time.
Durant, who won the scoring title during the same period in his previous life and was selected to the first team, averaged 22 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists per game this season, but has not played.
Durant's teammate, Bosh, who averaged 20 points and 7 rebounds per game, was selected to the third team.
This triggered heated discussion from outside.
"Has third-year Kevin Durant regressed?"
Durant knows what's going on.
Just before Carr was laid off, his scoring average was extremely close to flying. If this situation continues, he has a chance to have a junior season averaging 25 points per game.
However, after young Tyronn Lue took over, the direction of the SuperSonics was completely different from what Durant thought.
He resisted, and then was suppressed by Yu Fei.
After that, he was depressed for a while.
It was during that period that his average data dropped significantly, which directly led to him now even making the third team.
The series of impacts caused by this incident is to make Durant look back and see what his sacrifice has gained.
understand? support? encourage? No, the outside world is discussing why he regressed.
And what about his teammates? Yu Fei completed his second season averaging a triple-double, winning both the scoring and assist titles at the same time. It can be said that he has reached the ultimate level of statistics.
Bosh, a softie who has a lot of outside support, can actually make the best team because he grabs a few more rebounds in each game?
Durant used "everything to win" to convince himself, but the criticism from experts, the disparagement of public opinion and the ridicule of fans disturbed his heart. He defended himself online on trumpet, but no matter how he explains it, the decline in data is a fact, and his lack of motivation at the end of the season is also a fact.
The final push to drive Durant crazy came from Nike.
The man Durant called his uncle, Lynn Memet, called.
"Kevin, do you know why No. 44 is at odds with No. 23?"
When Yu Fei and Jordan fell out, Durant was still an innocent boy in the suburbs of D.C. He believed the story told by the media - the young and arrogant Frye was unwilling to accept Michael's leadership, and they could not get along, so the Wizards The team traded Frye.
At that time, Durant did not try to think from another angle - what is the purpose of a team trading away a promising 20-year-old player in order to retain a 39-year-old player?
At this moment, Durant still didn't understand.
"Why?" he asked just as Mermit wanted him to.
Memet said: "Because Frye is the hungriest bitch in the league! He demands everything, but that's Michael's team!"
"As if Seattle belongs to Frye?" Durant asked.
But what he was thinking was, if I ask for too much, will I be traded?
He had a bolder idea: What's wrong with this?
"This is different!" Memet said, "Michael is old, and trading Frye seemed to be a solution to the dispute once and for all. Now Frye is at his peak, but this does not mean that you have to be the one who takes the initiative. You have sacrificed enough, but what have you gained? What? No one loves you, no one recognizes you, everyone will remember Chris Bosh for being an All-NBA player, and then ask why you didn't make progress in your third season. It's time to grow up, Kevin. Because the good guy is always the first to die in the jungle!”
The good-guy image Nike created for Durant made him a unique entity. But the NBA, which has long been home to individuals with deviant personalities, is disproportionately capable of some improvisational freedom in the heat of competition. The sport celebrates and promotes these special individual creators, elevating them above the team. At the same time, the team still operates on the principles of a paramilitary athlete culture in which others must adapt and keep a low profile. There is therefore a natural tension between the concept of a team and the reality of a team, which is bound by the decisions of a particular individual.
In his twenties, a man in a position of great power can become more of a brand than a person, trapped in an environment that is separate from and beyond the teammates on whom he relies. This rare sense of alienation creates unique people. The NBA superstar is often a puzzling presence, his strength just offset by his quirks.
Fans will often say that because of who he is, he's successful.
This rationalized Jordan's gambling addiction and pathological competitiveness.
Now, Yu Fei has become another symbol of superiority to the collective. He is the master of the empire, and the empire does not need a second spokesperson. Apart from him, everyone else can be unnecessary.
However, there is also Kevin Durant in his empire who Nike will never allow him to remain unknown.
"What do I do?"
Durant asked.
"Go fight, go grab, you want No. 44 to know that you will never be his Richard Hamilton!"
Something is changing.
After Durant hung up the phone, he called his liaison officer on the team.
"J.D." Durant said, "Tell the people at ESPN that I can do a pregame interview before the game starts tomorrow night."
"Interview? What to talk about?"
"Responsibility." Durant said, "I'm going to talk about how I'm going to fulfill my responsibilities as a star player."
PS: I'm stuck. You can't get stuck as much as you want.
(End of chapter)