Chapter 631 I can still fight 82 more games!

Chapter 631 I can still fight 82 more games!

There is no suspense in the first round of the 2017 playoffs.

Strong teams aiming to compete for the championship have advanced.

What deserves attention is that the alliance announced the winners of various awards.

Stephen Curry, who led the team to the league's first record, was elected the regular season MVP.

However, due to the many stars in the team and Westbrook's data being so good, Curry was both the MVP and not selected for the All-NBA first team.

This oddity has naturally led to discussion of the criteria for selecting All-NBA teams.

Especially in the West, Yu Fei's statistics were also shared by his teammates, and he played his most "mediocre" season since 2003 - averaging 25 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 0.6 blocks per game. Despite this, he still beat LeBron James and was selected to the All-NBA First Team.

At the same time, it was still a banner year for the Clippers.

Yu Fei was selected to the first team, Antetokounmpo was selected to the second team and the second team of the All-Defensive Team, Thompson was selected to the third team, and Yao Ming was awarded the second best sixth man. Although Jokic was not selected to any team, he was selected He was named the Most Improved Player of the Year and Brogdon was elected Rookie of the Year.

Almost all of these dazzling awards fell into the arms of the Clippers.

However, the celebrations will be postponed until the end of the season.

This is another commercial reform promoted by Adam Silver, who was inspired by Kevin Durant’s MVP speech last year.

Last season, Durant was elected MVP and led the Knicks to the Finals. Although he failed to win the championship in the end, his "Mom, you are the real MVP" in his MVP speech has become one of the most influential acceptance speeches in NBA history.

It may be difficult for Durant to become the GOAT in basketball, but Xiao Hua understands that the definition of GOAT is not uniqueness, but diversity. As long as you open up enough areas, you can create enough GOATs for the world.

Speech GOAT, life GOAT, dress GOAT, peak length GOAT, health GOAT, hero ball GOAT... Until one day, it no longer matters who the real GOAT is, because fans have been flooded with different "GOATs".

Back to the starting point, the reason why Xiao Hua was reused by Stern was precisely because his bare head was filled with countless business ideas. He realized through Durant's GOAT moment that delivering an acceptance speech in an intimate environment (such as the Knicks training facility) can trigger a stronger resonance. This speech might have had more impact had it not occurred during the playoffs.

So Xiao Hua had an idea: Why not hold a large awards ceremony after the season to provide a more suitable stage for a superb speech wizard like Durant?

As a result, the league decided to commercialize the awards ceremony and put the process on television, reaching a cooperation agreement with ESPN.

The NBA's first awards ceremony will be held after the season and before the draft.

This was the NBA that Yu Fei was familiar with before crossing over, but it is no longer the NBA that he is familiar with now.

He didn't like the change.

The problem isn't the broadcast itself - the TNT team always produces a great show. The problem is context and timing. Presenting the awards to all the winners on a television show after the finals certainly dilutes the immediate impact of the awards. And when relatively low-profile awards like Sixth Man of the Year are presented on the same night, they tend to be overshadowed by awards like MVP.

The benefit of the past awards system was that each winner had his or her own moment - players could hold a press conference at home, or if the team was still in the game, the award ceremony could be held in front of home fans.

And this new award ceremony indirectly obliterates this intimate interaction between players and fans.

This seems to be a more modern NBA, but it is no longer the league that Yu Fei is familiar with.

After the league announced the winners of major awards, some people still questioned why Yu Fei could suppress James and be selected for the first team, but Yu Fei's camp completely ignored this voice.

In the semifinals, the Clippers met their old rivals, the Spurs.

After Duncan retired, the Spurs officially entered a new era. This era was mixed with pain, allowing them to experience a turbulent season.

Now that they meet the Clippers again, the Spurs are already an absolute inferior horse.

Few expected them to perform miracles.

The process and result of the first game of the semi-finals were not unexpected.

The Spurs used a five-out lineup to confront the Clippers for half the game, and then Kemba Walker failed under the care of Yu Fei and Antetokounmpo.

It gradually became difficult for the Silver and Black to score in the second half.

Then, they were beaten by the Clippers.

The Clippers' overwhelming victory reflected on paper the Spurs' structural disadvantage against them.

The Spurs were unable to handle the Clippers' pick-and-roll tactics; their post players were too slow, hamstrung by outside shooting, and unable to limit the movement of the ball handler; their support for Paul George was weak; and they were using small-ball lineups. The offensive firepower was completely destroyed.

Popovich knew that, competing for talent and toughness, they would keep repeating the results of the first game.

If you want to overcome the enemy, you must create variables.

Where do the variables come from? Naturally, it’s the coaching staff.

As long as Rivers burns his brain, he is likely to make bad moves. Therefore, Popovich gave an order in the second game to switch defenses infinitely, and then recklessly used pick-and-rolls to name Jokic.

At the same time, during the on-site process, Popovich did not forget to brainstorm some ideas for Rivers.

For example, he would ask George to guard Antetokounmpo, and then send Kemba Walker in front of Yu Fei and let the Clippers give the ball to Yu Fei.

Yu Fei knew what Popovich was thinking.

This year, the Clippers' tactical core has gradually shifted to Jokic and Antetokounmpo.

Yu Fei's role has become the hub and fulcrum between the two of them.

Letting Yu Fei get the ball is equivalent to letting him use his "ball dominance" style of play to break the Clippers' original tactical balance.

Although this approach risks getting burned, if the Clippers don't make changes, the Spurs will have no way to shake them.

Rivers' complex tactical arrangement is correct, but Popovich overlooked a key point: Rivers is actually just a tool left by Yu Fei on the coaching staff.

Rivers usually doesn't make mistakes, he is the coach, and he controls timeouts, rotations, and arrangements for opponents.

Yu Fei will make him a "three good coaches", giving Rivers both face and real power.

But once Rivers is in trouble and his mind is in turmoil, Yu Fei takes over.

He is still the "only one" ball tyrant, but now he not only controls the game, but also controls the entire Clippers team.

This is why he can willingly give up possession of the ball and tactical position.

Do you think he changed his gender? No, that was just a way for him to stabilize the morale of the military.

Popovich took the initiative to send Walker to Yu Fei, so he would not miss the opportunity.

Come on, have a fight.

The Clippers did change, but it wasn't the negative turn Popovich was hoping for.

It’s a bottom-up team collaboration.

Yu Fei has played a "supporting role" this season, but this does not mean that his status has declined.

Antetokounmpo and Jokic both know who Yu Fei sacrificed for.

If opponents misinterpret this "stepping back" as a sign of the GOAT's decline or a young player's struggle for power, they are doing their own thing.

The Spurs lost again in Game 2.

Popovich stared at Yu Fei. That man was 35 years old but still dominant.

Everyone was waiting for him to grow old, but now it seems that time is eroding him too slowly.

Perhaps the best thing to do is to expect him to retire at the end of the season.

But will he really retire?

Why did Jordan retire in 1998? That's because Bulls ownership decided to break up that team.

As long as GOAT is still so competitive, how could he leave the game willingly?

Popovich is not a player, he can only analyze Yu Fei's psychology from a competitive perspective.

But if considered solely from a competitive perspective, the Spurs' prospects are even bleaker.

Paul George seems to be about to reach his peak, but he still looks eclipsed in front of the 35-year-old GOAT.

His speed, jumping and physical fitness may be better, but these advantages brought by youth are not enough to bridge the strength gap between him and GOAT.

In the third game in San Antonio, although George scored 40 points, his shooting percentage was only 44%; while Yu Fei scored 34 points, but his shooting percentage was as high as 66%.

George has reason to defend himself. The overall strength of his teammates is obviously not as good as the Clippers.

Kemba Walker's performance further proves that when facing opponents with overflowing talent, his physical disadvantage has become the team's Achilles' heel. Not only was he frequently beaten on the defensive end, but he was also unable to break through the opponent's height and athletic ability on the offensive end.

George, a lonely tree cannot support itself. Game 4.

Yu Fei tried to restrict George on the defensive end, but he found that his jumping and explosive power had declined significantly compared with when he was younger. Facing a player like George who is good at pull-ups, if the timing of blocking the shot is slightly delayed, whether the ball goes in or not is no longer within the opponent's control.

Tonight is George's "good day."

Yu Fei's shot-blocking height is not high enough, Antetokounmpo is not agile enough, and George uses his explosive touch to continuously hit singles.

Yu Fei tried to guard him, but failed.

So he could only respond with offense.

In the end, the Spurs lost the game by 16 points and were swept out by the Clippers.

George scored 40+ points in two consecutive games.

"Fry, I didn't lose to you!"

At the end of the game, George said this to Fei.

"If you didn't lose, does that mean I didn't win either?" Yu Fei asked.

"Yes, you didn't win or lose."

Such words would only happen to a star who lost the series but played well.

If it spreads outside, fans will feel that he is not responsible.

But Yu Fei did not refute him.

What these young stars desire most is to challenge him. One day, they hope to pull him off the throne with their own hands.

But how fast will the process be?

Yu Fei himself was not sure.

As he gets older, his defense will increasingly become an issue. In order to cover up this weakness, he needs to continue to work hard on the offensive end.

This is not difficult for him. With a solid technical foundation and talented physical fitness, he can still produce beautiful statistics even when he is 40 years old.

Moreover, behind him, there are the rapidly rising Antetokounmpo and Jokic. He really could have ruled until he was 40 if he wanted to.

But if this "rule" no longer comes from himself, but relies on external forces, it means that he has lost real control.

He couldn't accept this reality.

He never relied on anyone.

Just after the semifinals, Yu Fei made up his mind.

He will go all out to treat every game, regard every opponent as an enemy, and launch the most violent attack. Until his body can no longer support it, until his will can no longer suppress his opponent, that's when he leaves.

The opponent in the conference finals is the old rival Warriors.

This year, Leonard was selected to the first team, Lillard was selected to the third team, Draymond Green won the Defensive Player of the Year, and although Blake Griffin was limited due to injury, he was still considered an All-NBA player. Star level player.

The Warriors are an underrated super team.

They achieved a record of 1 win and 1 loss in two games against the Eastern Conference rivals, the Heat.

However, the Warriors are rarely mentioned.

Because Leonard is a player with "zero news" off the court, while Lillard's reputation is completely overshadowed by Curry, Irving, Westbrook and others.

They live in the Clippers' shadow.

This is the fourth consecutive year the two teams have met in the playoffs.

Unless they beat the Clippers, the outside world will still ignore their existence.

In the first four games of the series, the Clippers led 3-1.

However, something unexpected happened in the fifth game.

Just when everyone thought the Clippers had secured their ticket to the Finals, the Warriors fought back and unexpectedly pulled one back.

Leonard relied on perfect defense and an offensive performance of 34 points in a single game, coupled with the support of several other star teammates, to lead the Warriors to defeat the Clippers.

The big score became 3-2, and the suspense of the series was brought to the sixth game.

Different from the game against George in the semifinals, George put pressure on Yu Fei on the offensive end, while Leonard put pressure on Yu Fei on the defensive end.

However, Leonard was born in the wrong era.

With his defense, it is hard for Yu Fei to imagine how strong the pressure he would put on his opponents if he played in the hands-on era.

The space basketball era is essentially an era in which offense is infinitely respected, and it is also an era in which the balance of offense and defense is completely broken.

Therefore, it was difficult for Leonard to guard Yu Fei until he misfired, so the Warriors asked him to guard Antetokounmpo in the middle of the game, which had a miraculous effect.

The Greeks were restricted, and the Warriors' perimeter suddenly opened up, so they got back a victory in a life-or-death battle.

The conference finals came to Game 6.

Before the game, Yu Fei told reporters: "I know Stephen doesn't like to wait for others, and I won't let him wait too long."

At this time, the Heat had eliminated the Knicks 4-1 and advanced to the finals with a terrifying 12-1 record.

Clippers vs. Heat - This is a script that the league has used the power of the media to reach its climax for a whole year.

Best matchup ever against the son of small ball.

The duel between Frye and LeBron has been a fateful battle for more than ten years.

Antetokounmpo and Jokic, as the future stars of the league, are taking over.

The game symbolizes a showdown where the league's past, present and future intertwine.

Regardless of whether the GOAT ultimately wins, other players will determine the direction of the league over the next five years.

But Yu Fei must win.

At the beginning of the game, Yu Fei started the offense with a three-pointer.

He then used the pick-and-roll to attack the Warriors' defensive strong points, forcing Green into foul trouble. GOAT admitted that the referees were biased against him, but at least four of Green's six fouls were real.

The Warriors had no choice but to send Leonard to face off against Wei Fei.

At this time, Yu Fei changed his strategy and no longer relied on holding the ball to attack. Instead, he looked for opportunities by running without the ball and shooting after catching the ball.

No matter how superb Leonard's defensive skills are, he cannot display them in front of this retro style of play.

From with the ball to without the ball, from without the ball to the low post, and then from the low post to outside the three-point line - Yu Fei seems to switch rhythms freely on the court, while Jokic is the silently dedicated passing master. Every assist was just right, allowing Yu Fei to shoot over Leonard's head again and again.

This was the Warriors' moment of collapse.

Four years ago, the Warriors were defeated by the inside combination of Yu Fei and Griffin.

Four years later, even though Griffin joined them, they were still destroyed by Yu Fei's 46 points in the fateful game of the season and were unable to recover.

This game was not Yu Fei's typical performance.

In addition to 46 points, he only had 6 rebounds and 2 assists. In other words, he put all his energy into the offensive end.

The media shouted: "GOAT won the finals ticket in his own way!"

The fans worshiped his performance like a pilgrim, and his teammates gathered around him to celebrate the victory.

But what about him?

He just wanted to return to the locker room quickly and soak his burning feet in an ice bucket.

Despite his exhaustion, he instinctively showed a relaxed smile when the camera focused on him.

"Fry, you look like you can play one more game!"

"Not one, not two, not three." Yu Fei smiled, making fun of James' old joke, and then said, "I can play 82 more games!"

(End of chapter)