Chapter 503 The Perfect Core
On the night of the first game of the Western Conference semifinals, Key Arena was filled with spectators as usual.
The SuperSonics' basketball market is the envy of many teams. Since Yu Fei's arrival, the city's basketball enthusiasm has been ignited.
Tonight's guests don't want to leave without scratching their itch like Seattle's first-round opponent, the Timberwolves.
"Winning is the first priority." Spurs starting forward Iguodala told the media.
Since Iguodala arrived in the Holy City, the Spurs have had a player who can easily deal with the media.
Iguodala's media attributes did not match those of the rest of the Spurs, but his consistent basketball philosophy allowed him to integrate into the team in only half a season.
This is something Caron Butler spent several years failing to do.
However, there is one thing that Iguodala doesn't quite understand, and that is that his coaches and teammates all have a sense of mission of "if we drag the Sonics down, we will win the championship even if we don't win."
Seven years later, Duncan still remembers what happened in the 2003 Finals.
That was the year when he felt best about himself. A single core overturned the OK Lakers. At that time, everyone thought that the young Bucks would become his dead soul, but unexpectedly, that was the beginning of Yu Fei's legend.
After that, Yu Fei's rise was unstoppable. It wasn't until they encountered a brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills in 2005 that they stopped their streak of consecutive championships, and the Spurs also successfully seized the opportunity to win the championship.
They never expected that since then, until the end of the 2000s, Yu Fei's team would never let the championship fall by the wayside.
Although Duncan established his reputation as the number one power forward in history with his 2005 championship, he has never been able to forget the failure in 2003, which was much more painful than the failure in 2007.
Popovich said in the video analysis room: "The key to the series is not to limit Frye, but to let Frye be alone! He doesn't have Brandon Roy now, which means he is Seattle's only Driver. If we can do it"
Iguodala listened for a long time and finally refined Popovich's words - Everyone thought I was going to deal with Frye, but in fact the person I really wanted to deal with was KD?
Since Bruce Bowen retired, the Spurs' third position has been held by Caron Butler, but Butler is not as willing to work hard on the defensive end as Bowen. The arrival of Iguodala gave the Spurs a luxurious version of Bowen.
In addition to providing corresponding defense, he can also ensure a comprehensive output of 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists per game.
Iguodala nodded and then asked a question: "Then who will deal with Frye?"
Popovich said with an ugly face: "Manu."
The Argentinian was happy, pointing at himself like a little demon who heard the king tell him to kill Sun Wukong: "Should I deal with Frye?"
Duncan gloated: "Perfect."
"Perfect?" Ginobili realized the seriousness of the problem, "Are you serious?"
That's the way it is.
Popovich's defensive focus is on players other than Yu Fei, and he will not hesitate to sacrifice Ginobili for this.
He is not worried about defensive failure, because the Spurs have already transformed, and they are no longer a traditional team that engages in slow-paced positional warfare around a dominant inside line like Duncan.
The new trend of small ball has changed the NBA. Popovich was the first coach to criticize it. At the same time, he may also be the earliest coach to transform.
Today's Spurs are a team that specializes in passing from both wings and three-pointers, which fully activates Duncan's support ability and the organizational skills of Iguodala and Ginobili.
Perhaps it's Yu Fei's victory against the Spurs, or perhaps the Sonics have never regarded the Spurs as an opponent.
The second seed in the Western Conference, playing at home, did not prepare as seriously as the Spurs.
Director Lu believes that as long as they play their own rhythm, it will be easy to win the Spurs.
Yu Fei was once again selected for the double first team, and he had to accept many interviews from the media.
After Bosh was unexpectedly selected to the third team, he began to realize that his time in the SuperSonics was not as difficult as he imagined. Although he was willing to sacrifice, but now it seems that the team relies heavily on his performance, and his sacrifice is mainly reflected in his failure to Then there’s the matter of the team’s number one star.
But the question is, can he be regarded as the second core of the Sonics after being selected to the third team?
If he is, then Kevin Durant is third?
So, the actual point of the question is "Who is the Sonics' Scottie Pippen?" and "Who is the Sonics' Horace Grant?"
"Does being named to the All-NBA team prove that joining the Sonics isn't as difficult as you thought?"
At the beginning of the season, when the SuperSonics lineup was assembled, Bosh's data looked like an ordinary big man, not at all like an All-Star.
Now, he is selected to the third team.
The changes here are so great, it's really impressive.
At the time, Bosh was emphasizing the difficulty of integration.
Now, he can breathe a sigh of relief: "I must thank Frye for all the help he provided me. It is also because of Frye's existence that my integration will be so easy."
"Does this clarify your position with the Sonics?"
This is a question that may be misunderstood.
Bosh's answer sounded no problem: "Of course, the SuperSonics are Frye's team. We all know that Frye is in the first level, others are behind, and I am fortunate to be in the second level."
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The Sonics' per-capita traffic is enough to make Spurs players envious.
Although Yu Fei did not conduct a high-profile interview on the spot, the interviews received by other players were of a standard that could be considered a big star.
ESPN conducted a pre-game interview specifically for Durant titled "Kevin Durant Talks About Responsibility."
Due to the interview, Durant did not return to the team to warm up until 15 minutes before the start.
However, this doesn't seem to have any impact.
Because Yu Fei is here.
When Yu Fei entered the field, there were screams and cheers. He threw a ball casually, and the audience immediately made intoxicating sounds.
Subsequently, the core of both sides met in the midfield.
On the SuperSonics side are Yu Fei and Bosh, and on the Spurs side are Duncan and Iguodala.
"Would it be better to let KD come?"
Bosh thinks Durant is more suitable to follow Yu Fei to greet Duncan and the others.
"If it weren't for politeness, I wouldn't bother to take this trip." Yu Fei said, "This matter is not that important."
Bosh asked: "It might be important to him."
Hearing this, Yu Fei looked at Bosh.
As a secondary star, perhaps Bosh can sense Durant's mental changes better than others.
"If you feel sorry, just give your shooting rights to KD tonight." Yu Fei said, "He will definitely accept it."
Before the game started, Lu said to the players: "Let us beat them to a pulp!"
Yu Fei joked: "I don't have that much hatred for the Spurs."
The start was normal, with Yu Fei facing off against Ginobili, which was not difficult for him.
Yu Fei played singles in two consecutive rounds, all of which were successful, while the Spurs used passing and cutting to score first two points and then three points.
The SuperSonics' staccato point first came when Anthony Morrow missed the first ball from outside, and then, it was Durant's single.
The SuperSonics have a tactical arrangement for Durant to play in isolation.
However, if the opponent puts Durant against a strong point like Iguodala, the team will usually arrange for him to feint. After all, with his current size, sufficient skills, and insufficient confrontation, it will be difficult for the opponent to stagger under a little pressure. Stable output in the playoffs.
Moreover, defenders like Iguodala, who has strong upper limbs and powerful lower limbs, and especially likes to put pressure on the ball, happen to be Durant's most hated defensive target now.
It's like a younger Artest who doesn't do the dirty work.
Durant missed his first single and the Spurs counterattacked.
No one blamed him as it looked like an impromptu effort.
The Spurs asked Iguodala to face Durant, which was a clear intention to restrict him.
If Durant can break through Iguodala's defense, the game will be much easier to play.
Although Durant failed, it was only a failure in one round.
However, the Sonics gradually discovered that as long as the ball passed through Durant's hands, it would not come out.
The game will stop working in Durant's hands.
He would start a formulaic one-on-one game.
The first ball missed, the second ball still missed, and the third ball finally hit, but the efficiency of one out of three is not what the team needs.
Yu Fei took a look and saw something was wrong.
But Durant, who plays alone with the ball like this, seems familiar.
Durant is known as the ultimate offensive machine, and isolation is also his most confident way of playing. Whenever he encounters difficulties, for example, defecting to a 73-win team-not to mention that this team just won the playoffs. He reversed him 1 to 3 in Li - after winning the championship, he was not whitewashed as he thought. Those who despised him still despised him. There was an endless stream of sunspots on his social media, and his teammates on the same team, the man who personally defeated him Curry, whom he captured, signed a sky-high contract at the time, but he still held a quasi-maximum contract with a slight salary reduction, and was considered not to be the Warriors' number one player.
Then he will do something to prove himself.
Unlimited singles is his basic choice on the court.
Durant in this form has appeared countless times in Yu Fei's previous life, and has also appeared several times in this life.
But in the Western Conference semifinals, he showed up.
There was no foreshadowing before. Yu Fei wanted to know if Durant was serious, so he stopped playing the game and passed the ball to him after halftime.
Durant decisively hit the ball in singles. He had hit 1 of 3 before. If this shot hits, it will be 2 of 4, and the shooting rate will return to 50%.
However, just before he took action, Iguodala seemed to have read his mind and cut the ball quickly. If Yu Fei hadn't been behind and picked up the ball, the Spurs would have counterattacked again.
There was no time, so Yu Fei just shot a ball.
It was a three-pointer at the buzzer. With luck, he hit the ball off the board.
Coach Lu was relieved off the court. He thought to himself that he could no longer pass the ball to KD. This young man had a mental problem.
He looked at Alonzo Key, who was waiting for him, and said: "Get ready to replace KD."
Soon, Yu Fei helped defend Duncan.
Duncan felt helpless about this block. Yu Fei came too fast. Although his teammates reminded him, even a player like him would have overloaded his brain the moment he decided to take action, making it difficult to make a correct judgment.
Yu Fei is not happy about being the shot leader in history. His thoughts have already turned to Durant.
Just when Coach Lu thought Yu Fei was about to take action, he actually passed the ball to Durant again.
Durant gets the ball continuously.
The others pulled away under Yu Fei's command.
The ball suddenly gathered in Durant's hands like energy from the universe, and it was difficult for him to adapt.
A moment of hesitation allowed Iguodala to press forward and he could no longer put the ball on the ground.
Only then did Durant realize that all his teammates were looking at him.
Due to being blocked by Iguodala, Durant returned the ball to Yu Fei, but there was not much offensive time left.
Such a passing game is undoubtedly annoying.
How could someone have Kobe's disease but not be seriously ill?
Can this ball be passed?
If you are really infected with the Kobe virus, wouldn't you have to force a shot even if you hit the buzzer with the ball?
However, Durant's pass also let Yu Fei know that this person was not terminally ill yet.
Although he doesn't know what caused the spread of the Kobe virus in Durant, Yu Fei doesn't plan to do a science program when the playoffs are coming.
If the opponent is the Spurs, the Timberwolves can still do something about it. After the Spurs acquired Iguodala, although the advantage against the SuperSonics is not great, they at least have a 37-30 advantage.
If you take the initiative to sell flaws to your opponent, you are forcibly reducing the big advantage of 73 to 50 to 50.
Therefore, after testing Durant, Yu Fei first played a pick-and-roll with Bosh to complete the offense, and then defended well, making it difficult for Ginobili to perform his magic.
The Argentinian's playmaking ability was blocked tonight.
However, this problem mainly lies with Ginobili himself.
He is so smart that he switches between super god and super ghost very quickly.
Durant suddenly went from a natural ball-attracting magnetic field to a court orphan.
Yu Fei fully demonstrated his dominance with the ball.
As soon as halftime passed, he directed Durant to stand still in the bottom corner.
As a result, Durant was naturally stripped out of the tactical system. He went from an end point under the Supersonics offensive system to a fringe shooter on the same level as Anthony Morrow.
The Spurs' strategy of putting Iguodala to play against Durant in order to limit Durant has both succeeded and failed.
The successful side is that they really sealed Durant.
Although this was done independently by Supersonic, the strategic purpose has been achieved.
The failure is that the strategic success of sealing Durant cannot radiate the strategic value to other positions on the court.
Calculated this way, it is equivalent to exchanging Durant and Iguodala.
The Sonics are willing to make such an exchange, but the Spurs will have a headache.
Because Iguodala's value goes beyond single defense, now he is being dragged to the bottom corner by Durant, which is very detrimental to the Spurs.
Yu Fei began to concentrate his efforts to defeat Ginobili.
Ginobili, who is both a god and a ghost, looks like a ghost in every aspect when he is in poor condition and is crushed by his opponent, but his faces are different. He has a kind of offensive end where he holds the ball and gets blocked. The ghost, the ghost who boldly passed the ball out of bounds after being defended, and finally the ghost who was regarded by Yu Fei as a wealth password to withdraw money at will, and was fouled three times in the last single quarter.
During this process, Director Lu suddenly discovered that he no longer needed to call a timeout to adjust.
Because Yu Fei himself made adjustments on the field.
Although moving Durant to the bottom line to smoke is a bit overkill, it is an excellent way to minimize the harm of Kobe Bryant's virus.
On the contrary, the Spurs will not be punished.
Popovich called a timeout and asked Ginobili to guard Durant in the corner, thus freeing Iguodala.
The SuperSonics replaced Durant at this time.
Alonzo Key, a rookie with unlimited energy, enters the game.
Coach Lu called Durant to his side and began to teach him earnestly: "Kevin, wake up, this is not how basketball is played"
The Spurs intend to turn things around when Durant is off the court.
Iguodala came to Yu Fei.
"Am I easier to defend or is KD better to defend?"
Yu Fei asked before launching the attack.
Iguodala said: "You are so defensive."
Yu Fei took a sudden step, shredded Iguodala's defense, dribbled hard and hit the ground, jumped into the basket one after another, and jumped directly in front of Duncan for a dunk.
"Who is easy to guard against?" Yu Fei said, "think carefully before answering."
Popovich had no plan to defend Yu Fei.
Because Yu Fei's offensive end no longer has any blind spots.
He can hit 4 three-pointers per game with a shooting rate of 39%. His mid-to-long-range shooting is all red, with no obvious cold areas, and his finishing in the penalty area is comparable to that of the inside. His free throw shooting rate is as high as 86%. In terms of organization, He is also regarded as the number one point guard in history - if he were a point guard, he would be greater than Magic.
In the past two years, he has practiced off-ball offense at the third position, which allowed him to better understand the movements of shooters and inside players after returning to the ball-holding core.
It is an impossible task to require an individual to limit Yu Fei on the court, but if double teams are used, his passing will make the opponent fall into another abyss.
Therefore, this person has no solution.
To defeat him, you must start with his teammates.
Seal his teammates first, and then free his teammates to double-team him.
Of course, it's a different matter for someone like the Lakers who can use Janko as a counterpoint. Anyway, Popovich has never dreamed of fighting such a rich game.
It's just that tonight, the Sonics first felt like a plague, allowing Durant to play unlimited singles, putting the situation at a disadvantage, and then found that playing like this was not possible - who in the right mind would think that playing like this is okay? ——So Yu Fei sealed Durant and asked him to stay in the corner, and then proved to the Spurs that even if we don't use Durant first, you are still no match for me.
Because Bosh and Brown were not restricted, and Morrow quickly found his touch after the sluggish start. Although the newly replaced Alonzo Key was mediocre, Yu Fei improved his ability as a ball-handling core. The lower limit ability of a single-function engineer player is too strong.
Once the Sonics get into shape, everything goes smoothly.
The Spurs' plan worked, but after the first quarter, they trailed by 11 points.
Yu Fei played the entire first quarter, and his dominance that covered the whole court reminded San Antonio people of the hot summer of 2003.
They remember that that was not how No. 44 played at the time.
Even this person didn't play like this in the summer of 2007.
Three years later, he is still the same person, but his game has evolved from an all-devouring ball-handling core to a more advanced existence.
That might be the perfect form for a ball-handling core.
But is this the ultimate Frye Yu?
Yu Fei was off the field, and Coach Lu was going to let Durant lead the second team in the transitional period - he accidentally found Karl's secretive temperature control method (Adu limited edition).
And before Durant came on the court, Yu Fei hugged Durant like a big brother, "When I'm not here, you can play how you want, whether you want to be Kobe or AI, you don't care."
Yu Fei only said this sentence.
Durant understood.
He knew that Yu Fei had not said a word.
If I come back, you have to play the game my way, or go to the corner!
Is this how owners lead their teams?
Durant thought.
He wanted it too.
Maybe he should ask, who wouldn't want that?
(End of chapter)