Chapter 555 Your destiny is given by Heaven, and your destiny is taken by Heaven
In mid-April, the regular season is coming to an end.
The Sonics this season are just like the Lakers in 2004, giving people a strong sign of the end of their dynasty.
The sense of collapse reached its climax after Yu Fei was injured, and after the Durant trumpet incident broke out, they seemed to be about to disintegrate, but for some reason, the downward trend stopped after Yu Fei returned.
With one game left before the end of the regular season, the Sonics currently have 60 wins and 21 losses, ranking third in the league.
The teams ahead of them are the Heat with 66 wins, the Spurs with 64 wins and the Nets with 61 wins.
Moreover, the Nets' regular season has ended.
If the Sonics win the last game of the regular season, they can move to third place in the league based on the relationship between wins and losses.
This is their goal.
"Sports Illustrated" is preparing to use an attractive issue to stimulate sales as the regular season is coming to an end and the playoffs are about to begin.
The so-called media is a tool for grasping the latest news.
Before the advent of television media, newspapers were the only tool for obtaining external news. The development of television media meant the decline of print media. However, magazines like Sports Illustrated that focus on traditional long-form sports reports still have a foothold.
However, the advent of social media has made people receive news faster and more fragmented, and long-form reports are no longer popular. For example, the trumpet incident, which had the largest traffic in the past, had all its traffic taken up by TV programs and self-media on social media. The latest magazine of Illustrated was belatedly released, and it only talked about things that others had already finished talking about.
Nowadays, the sales of the world's most famous sports magazine are declining year by year. If this continues, its demise is foreseeable.
This result cannot be changed, but it does not affect them from doing everything to save sales before then.
So, they found the traffic password.
"Sports Illustrated" hopes to put Yu Fei on the cover of the next issue in the name of "The Chosen 10th Anniversary" and conduct a long exclusive interview with Fei.
Yu Fei no longer needs the traffic of The Times, but the other party needs his traffic.
But he didn't refuse, because it was the Times that made him a nationally known high school player with an article called "The Chosen One."
Although that was Gary Smith's personal wish, without the platform of The Times, nothing would have happened.
Therefore, Yu Fei gave the Times writer two hours for an exclusive interview before the end of the regular season.
In this exclusive interview, Yu Fei talked about a lot.
About his engagement, about Durant, about trumpet, about the ups and downs of this Sonics season.
"Some people say that this year is like 1998 to Michael Jordan." The reporter asked, "What do you think of this comparison?"
Yu Fei never likes others to compare Jordan with him, just like Jordan doesn't like comparing himself with Yu Fei.
But in this matter, Yu Fei did compare.
His answer is that Jordan's troubles are obviously greater than his own.
The problems encountered by the SuperSonics are, to put it bluntly, problems that a dynasty team will inevitably face under the momentum of anti-monopoly in the league.
They have difficulty renewing contracts because their owners are unwilling to spend money to remain competitive.
Durant's self-destruction was an explosion that had been brewing for a long time.
What about the 98 Bulls? The head coach and general manager had a public falling out. The general manager set the tone for the "Last Dance" before the start of the season. The second-in-command asked for a high-paying contract extension and was unable to do so. He angrily underwent back surgery before the start of the season and applied for a trade, threatening that he would not Play for the Bulls again. During the season, there were also incidents of moles, and there were even cases of rookie trades in order to renew players at a premium to develop themselves.
No matter how you look at it, the Bulls are a team with more sharp contradictions.
In Seattle, Yu Fei still holds the initiative.
Especially after his comeback, he broke the isolation between the team and Durant, and the team got back on track.
Yu Fei is not sure if he can do better if he returns to the 1998 Bulls, but in Seattle, he has done everything he can.
"To be fair, No. 23 was more difficult for me that year." Yu Fei joked, "If I got ten times the salary of KD, I can't imagine what KD would say using an anonymous account."
The interview is over.
This interview will be released in half a month. At that time, Yu Fei will wear a suit and display his seven championship rings in a striking way. The title of the exclusive interview is: "Ten years later, still the chosen one." But that is something that Pictorial and Yu Fei’s team need to worry about.
As the season draws to a close, Yu Fei only needs to focus on one thing: the final game of the regular season, the SuperSonics' home game against the Cavaliers.
Three years later, Clevelanders still haven't recovered from the shock of the decision. John Wall seems to be a very good point guard. He has absolute speed and overall vision. However, the arrival of the era of space basketball makes his shortcomings particularly fatal. Wall, who lacked long-range shooting ability, continued to lead the Cavaliers into the lottery in his junior season.
The Sonics, bent on achieving 61 wins to secure third place in the league, could not give the Cavaliers a chance. After three quarters, the SuperSonics had a 24-point lead, and the fourth quarter became garbage time. In the end, the Sonics defeated the Cavaliers 115-88, ranking third in the league and second in the Western Conference with a record of 61 wins and 21 losses.
If they aim to compete for the championship, they will face the most difficult playoffs. First of all, they will face the Timberwolves in the first round, with a high probability of facing the Lakers in the second round, and the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.
The Sonics can relax and face the Timberwolves in the first round. Compared to the Lakers and Spurs, the Timberwolves are a relatively easy opponent. What makes Sonics fans most happy is that Chris Bosh, who has been sidelined for many days due to facial fractures, will return in the first round of the playoffs. Although his injury has not fully recovered, he needs to wear a mask to play games.
Bosh could have used some more time off, but the playoffs were about to begin and he wanted to play alongside his teammates. This increased his local popularity and created more hatred for Seattle's owners.
"Chris, are you sure you want to wear such an ugly mask?" Bosh's mask was black, and due to its appearance, it completely changed his temperament.
"Isn't this cool?" Bosh suddenly felt that it was good to use momentum to make up for the lack of personal aura.
Then came the first round of the playoffs. The Timberwolves are an awkward team. In 2008, they were lucky enough to draft Westbrook, and with the help of veterans like Tracy McGrady, the team's record has always been pretty good. But no matter how you look at it, this is just a team whose upper limit cannot reach the semifinals.
But the reality faced by playoff teams is that they have worked hard to get a playoff spot in the long schedule of 82 regular season games, just to compete for the championship.
If you just want to reach the semi-finals, then you don't have to work so hard.
Westbrook's rookie contract will end this season, and he has a deep understanding of Garnett's mood that year.
He has unlimited energy and desires unlimited explosions.
But in Minnesota, his boss is satisfied as long as the team enters the playoffs and stabilizes the market.
In contrast, their opponents.
Yu Fei can stir up the passion of fans every time he scores a goal.
The playoffs are Seattle's basketball season.
In the past three years, they have been able to return with a full load.
This time, the fans also expect victory.
Yu Fei ignited the scene with a dunk, and killed the game with a super long three-pointer. The Timberwolves struggled a little, and then were taken away in a wave.
In the two games in Seattle, the scripts were very different.
"Back at home, we have the same chance of winning."
Westbrook said this as if he was giving himself and his teammates confidence.
But McGrady knew very well that their only chance was the SuperSonics' internal strife, but GOAT suppressed the team's evil thoughts with his outstanding leadership and personal charm.
It's like those things never happened.
During the trip to Minnesota, Yu Fei asked Roy a question: "Has KD apologized to you?"
"No," Roy said, "but he gave the ball away."
During the playoffs, Roy averaged 18 goals per game and Durant averaged 16 goals per game.
In the regular season, Durant averaged close to 19 shots per game, but Roy averaged only 15 shots per game.
Choosing to give up his tactical position and be the third in command, is this an apology?
Yu Fei thinks it doesn't count, although now, whether or not to apologize is no longer important. Choosing to apologize or not will determine how his teammates will view Durant in the future.
Is Nike still interfering behind the scenes?
This was Yu Fei's initial judgment. Nike wanted Durant to leave Seattle. If this continues, even if they complete four consecutive championships, Durant may apply for a trade after the season.
He has lost the market in Seattle. No fans like him and his teammates do not support him. It can be said that he has no foothold at all.
This is just a guess, we can only continue to see what the outcome will be.
However, the Timberwolves' outcome in the first round is certain.
Westbrook worked hard and McGrady tried his best, but his first-round spell was too magical.
Whether he is in the Magic, Rockets or Timberwolves, McGrady can steadily provide immediate strength and then lead the team to the first round.
In essence, he is playing in three less competitive teams. However, this is like a dean-type player in LOL who can guarantee the lower limit of his teammates with his strong personal strength. However, McGrady's strength is only enough to guarantee the first round. This Not a great lower limit.
In the fourth game of the first round, the Timberwolves tried their best to make the game suspenseful. However, the opponent's overall talent was far stronger than theirs. No matter how hard they tried, they could only end up with a close defeat.
4 to 0
The Sonics defeated the Timberwolves without a fight and advanced to the semifinals to meet the Los Angeles Lakers.
Westbrook, who averaged 28 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists per game in the first round, renewed his contract with the Timberwolves as soon as last year's lockout ended.
Moreover, in order to show his fierce loyalty, Westbrook did not tend to sign a short-term second contract like the star players after Yu Fei.
He refused a short-term contract, and then, like Durant, extended his bond with Minnesota until the summer of 2016 with a four-year maximum salary without options.
This is undoubtedly an exciting and good thing.
In a world where teams are becoming more and more passive, star players are becoming more and more proactive, and the formation of a championship team no longer relies on the management's strategizing, but depends on the star's popularity and recruiting and planning capabilities, there is still such a naive person How can a person with such a heart not be exciting? Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor excitedly said on social media after Westbrook renewed his contract: "Russ (ROSS/nickname) is the greatest Timberwolves player of all time!"
Kevin Garnett, who is still the holder of most technical statistics of the Timberwolves so far, took this opportunity to scold Taylor for his betrayal, which broke his heart when he had already decided to end his life in Minnesota, otherwise he could give up the precious one man, one city award?
However, today's defeat allowed Westbrook to see his future.
In the next four seasons, they can probably make the playoffs, and then their opponents will send them home in a similar way.
He has no chance of competing for the championship, but the team sold high-priced tickets for the playoffs, and the boss used his image to actively market in Minnesota. Everyone has their own things to be busy with.
"Fry, what would you do if it were me?"
In addition to Yu Fei's love for chatting with Westbrook, his personal relationship is okay.
Because Westbrook is also one of Reebok's stars.
Yu Fei knows why Westbrook is in pain, but to be honest, with his style, it is very difficult to compete for the championship around him as the core.
How much of a luxurious lineup does a core ball-handler who needs a lot of the ball but has poor mid-range shots need to have to win the championship?
Yu Fei couldn't imagine it.
Some stars are destined not to be winners in their prime, but may transform into bench gangsters as they age.
But the trouble with Westbrook is that even after he gets old, he cannot provide stable help as a substitute.
Yu Fei had no answer and could only say: "I will go home and take a nap, and then pray that things will develop in a good direction."
Westbrook just felt that Yu Fei just said trash talk about a winner.
He didn't dwell on it.
Because he was young, not knowing time was not a surefire excuse.
In less than a week, the first-round series was all over.
There is no appearance of lower g on top.
Teams that play early beat teams that play late easily.
In the West, the Spurs and Mavericks meet in the semifinals.
The Empire Battle 2.0 between the SuperSonics and the Lakers arrived as scheduled.
It's just that this time, the outside world's expectations and attention are no longer comparable to those in 2010.
There is only a shell left of the Evil Empire, especially after James rejected the Lakers' early contract extension, everyone knew that "Decision 2" was coming.
The failure of "Decision 1" made James the object of ridicule around the world, a living buffoon. You can see in any talk show or comedy program that they use James as a baggage to please the audience.
This also makes James' behavior predictable.
In short, James must succeed. Only success can silence the world. As for how he succeeds, he has no control over it.
The Lakers overdrawn their future in the 2009-2010 season, and now they are a broken ship that may sink at any time.
Kobe may still be the league's No. 1 shooting guard, but beyond that, the Lakers don't have much left.
Marc Gasol is good, but this good young man is the Sonics' breakthrough.
Looking around, all that is left for the Lakers is despair.
The first game of the semifinals against the Lakers went into overtime.
In the first four minutes of overtime, the situation was still unclear, with both sides chasing each other.
Durant couldn't find his touch during overtime. After conceding two goals in a row, he suddenly gave up taking shots and focused on the defensive end.
At the moment of life and death, Yu Fei hit James with a back-up jump shot and an assist to Bosh after grabbing an offensive rebound, helping the Sonics win the game.
They celebrated with all their heart, and the chaos of the whole season was no longer important at the moment.
Seeing Yu Fei surrounded by stars, both James and Durant felt a little shaken in their hearts.
Those are things they can't get at the moment.
In the second game after that, James couldn't find his touch on the outside. He rushed to the basket and was restricted by the SuperSonics' rim protection. Kobe turned on the blacksmith mode. The Lakers, whose lineup lacked thickness, had no choice when their two stars were restricted. Any chance.
A big win for the Sonics.
Although it was an away game, these two defeats have shown the gap between the Lakers and SuperSonics.
The Sonics have a clear lineup advantage, but the Lakers need Cojan to perform at a super level to have any hope of winning. Once someone's performance is below average, failure is inevitable.
Such a disparity makes the game seem like a waste of time to those who have already focused on the offseason.
Beyond yourself? Challenge your limits?
People who are too calculating will not have this concept. If you see him surpassing his limits on the scene, then there must be a more important plan beyond the limits.
Returning to the Lakers' home court in the semifinals, Kobe vowed to win tonight's game.
Before the game, he told the coaching staff that he would play a full 48 minutes.
So James also made the same statement.
The goals within the Lakers team were highly consistent, and the game became intense from the beginning.
Richard Hamilton flagrantly fouled Roy, and Yu Fei knocked Kobe away with a foul block in the air.
The hatred between the two teams that had faded due to the lockout began to be awakened. Kobe was the first to attack. He fired one after another from the outside, but this did not scare his opponents.
Roy and Durant each responded with three-pointers.
The matchup between Yu Fei and James is also focused on.
But James obviously does not regard this game as the key to the survival of the season like Kobe. He only has one goal and performs well. Even if the Lakers lose, no one can blame him.
With this idea in mind, the confrontation between him and Yu Fei in the third quarter made the game more exciting.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Kobe fired again, trying to continue James' offensive.
For the SuperSonics, Durant gave Kobe a strong response. Against the harsh "trumpet man" taunts from the Staples Center audience, he repeatedly suppressed the momentum that Kobe Bryant intended to create.
It was James who disrupted Durant's rhythm.
The game entered the last five minutes. When Durant shook off the defense and was about to rush to the basket, James, who was ranked third in DPOY voting this season, rushed over and gave him a shocking block.
James roared, wanting to prove that he was Nike's number one.
Durant turned around and saw that the ball that had been slapped had fallen into the hands of the flyer. He leaped high into the air, riding just right on top of James' head. The king can defend his kingdom, but the destiny of heaven cannot be violated.
"BOOMMMMM!!!!!!"
This will be a great shame for James. Two seconds after he sent the best block of the season, Yu Fei completed the best dunk of the season on his head.
"!#￥#@!￥"
It was a flawless moment that embodied everything the NBA is about.
The majesty of the king, the power of rebellion, the vitality of the new, and everyone's self-esteem and pride converge at this moment.
For five years since 2007, Durant has complained too much, been wronged for too long, and waited too long. He knew he was wasting his time and clearly understood that Seattle would never treat him the way it treated Yu Fei, and he would never be able to be like Yu Fei. This fact has long been known.
It took him five years to confirm this. His desires and ambitions grew day by day, but the gap between him and Yu Fei never narrowed.
After five years, it was time to make a decision.
But before that, he must win four consecutive championships for Yu Fei.
In the past five years, Yu Fei has shown him the direction as a leader, and he is worthy of the title of leader.
Therefore, he will not hold back when the opponent is trying to hit the historical record of four consecutive championships in the modern era. This is the only thing he can do in return.
Durant rushed in front of Yu Fei after he landed, pushed him hard, and celebrated like a child.
Teammates also came closer.
The referee duly awarded James a defensive foul, giving the Sonics plenty of time to celebrate.
After his emotions calmed down, Durant was the only one in Yu Fei's sight.
Durant said: "Fry, I'm not jealous of you anymore."
"Idiot!" Yu Fei scolded with a smile, "Do you know how jealous LeBron is of you? He will never win three championships in his lifetime!"
(End of chapter)