Chapter 632 Onemoretime
Before the finals begin, the league's marketing machine is in full swing.
The media, which likes to create gimmicks, is also ruthlessly adding value.
As the number one sports brand at the moment, Reebok internally regards the finals as a victory for the company.
Putting aside James, the spoiler promoted by Nike, in the Heat, the Heat are still Curry's team.
As long as nothing unexpected happens, the Heat will always build a core around Curry.
Curry is younger than James and more popular than him. Coupled with the fact that Curry's technical style is completely in line with the trend of the times, he will undoubtedly become the iconic figure of Reebok in the 2010s and the standard-bearer of the new generation after Yu Fei.
If Curry wins the finals, it will be tantamount to announcing that the "son of small ball" has officially taken over.
As for James? Unless he performs far better than Curry in the Finals, Reebok will do everything it can to suppress his market influence.
The situation is clearer on the Clippers' side.
As a "direct" team of Reebok, the Clippers have assembled superstars from Reebok such as Yu Fei, Jokic and Antetokounmpo.
Yu Fei completely overturned the Nike hegemony created by Jordan and reshaped the sports brand landscape in just a dozen years.
There is much more narrative and publicity surrounding Yu Fei than the Heat.
The media wants to see him win.
The fans also want him to win.
The league also expects him to win.
Because he is an undefeated legend in the finals.
Previously, Yu Fei reached the finals ten times, winning all of them, and never reached the seventh game.
His Finals record left Jordan supporters unable to argue.
Whether it is the time span of achievements, the number of championships, or the consecutive championship records, he has firmly dominated Jordan.
This is a real hard honor. To talk about historical status, you must show such top achievements to be convincing.
Because Yu Fei has become a legend, losing in the finals is both out of reach and unacceptable to him.
He must win until the end.
"If Stephen wins, it will undoubtedly start a new era." Mark Stein wrote on Twitter. "But what if the Clippers win three consecutive championships? What does that mean? It means that the Clippers have established their own dynasty in the professional basketball world. It also means that the Lakers are no longer the only giant in Los Angeles. More importantly, , the 35-year-old Frye tied Bill Russell's number of championships. You know, what Frye said. The current league is highly commercialized and globalized, with unprecedented anti-monopoly intensity. There are 30 teams, and no championship team can maintain its strength for more than four years... Against this background, Freijo What does it mean to tie Bill Russell’s number of championships?”
Fans of Yu Fei on Twitter responded unceremoniously: "This means that the statue outside the United Center should be removed."
"Yes, this is truly unprecedented." Stein wrote affirmatively. "I bet everything I have that we will never see another player win ten championships again."
As long as Yu Fei is still playing, the outside world will always have expectations for him.
There is no way, Americans like sports heroes too much, they hope that heroes will never die.
Yu Fei is not sure at which period in his career he has the greatest expectations, but it is definitely not now.
Chasing Bill Russell's championship count?
Just one step away?
That could be a motivating factor for him, but it's certainly not the whole story.
The Clippers had to travel to Miami to challenge for the top seed in the playoffs.
The lack of home field advantage can give people a sense of insecurity, a feeling that has to be stolen from the other team in order to feel at ease.
Interestingly, ESPN invited Dwyane Wade as the commentator for the first game of the Finals.
Considering Wade's stature in Miami and the manner in which he left the city, this arrangement is sure to generate a lot of buzz.
However, Wade did not publicly avenge himself and directly spoke ill of the Heat on TV.
He analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of the two teams rationally.
Perhaps it is precisely because of this rationality that people can feel the uneasiness hidden beneath his appearance.
Wade has been controversial in Chicago this season.
First, there was a conflict with the senior members of the team over their tactical status, and then there was a philosophical disagreement with the newcomers.
Perhaps only after leaving a good team can you truly know the value of a good team.
Before the game started, ESPN connected with the frontcourt.
Yu Fei also whispered a few words to Wade that were not broadcast.
After hearing this, Wade looked helpless, as if he had expected GOAT's answer.
Afterwards, the game started as usual.
The Heat are undoubtedly the strongest opponent the Clippers have encountered in their pursuit of three consecutive championships.
The reason is simple. Curry and James are basically second and third in the league this season.
This alliance is similar to when James and Kobe teamed up.
It is also a collaboration between the number two in the world and the number three in the world.
However, James' disastrous performance in key games caused the Lakers to lose the conference finals, and Yu Fei took this opportunity to defeat the "Evil Empire" and establish a supreme reputation.
But at that time, Yu Fei was still young.
Now, he is 34 and a half years old.
Fortunately, he no longer bears most of the responsibility as before, and he has good enough teammates around him to share the pressure.
In the first game of the Finals, the Clippers clearly showed their determination to silence Curry.
Klay Thompson was responsible for the matchup in the early stages, and the players facing Curry fully bypassed the screen to consume Curry's energy. Once Curry gets the ball and calls for a pick-and-roll, they double-team him without hesitation.
This tactic against Curry is not new to the Heat.
The Heat will also use a similar arrangement to deal with Yu Fei.
And, they have good reason to do so.
Yu Fei is older. Once he encounters different players taking turns to consume him, can he still find a rhythm?
Theoretically, James, who should most compete with Yu Fei on this stage, plays the role of a firefighter. He occasionally faces Yu Fei, occasionally defends Antetokounmpo, and occasionally goes inside to challenge Jokic. His main task is It is to create matchup advantages and avoid these sharp confrontations.
The Heat fully believe in their superstar and firmly believe that their inside line will not be blown away by the Clippers like they were in the Christmas Day game.
After all, Hassan Whiteside averaged 10 points, 11 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game after becoming the starter.
Although James has doubts about Whiteside's offensive ability and believes that his offensive method is mainly to "eat pie", which will seriously affect the team's offensive rhythm, the Heat has no one available inside.
Therefore, the emperor had no choice but to accept this reality.
However, the technical characteristics of James and Curry are different after all. The former requires a lot of attacking the penalty area and supplementing it with shooting, while Curry has his own shooting threat and can both output and create space. Therefore, although the impact of the center not shooting on Curry exists, it is relatively small.
Therefore, maintaining this lineup will only allow James to secure his position as the second star.
But as long as he can defeat Yu Fei in the finals and break his undefeated myth, then the immediate sacrifice will be worth it.
However, this process was not what James expected.
Whiteside's obsession with rebounds and excessive desire to block shots, coupled with his lack of defensive positioning, were completely exposed in front of Jokic.
He was like a toy in front of Jokic, quickly picking up four fouls. The Heat's inside line began to collapse, and the familiar feeling returned.
Then, Curry was lost in the Clippers' defensive system, and the Heat had to rely on the "iron-blooded singles" at the beginning of the century to stay alive. However, Jimmy Butler's performance was too rough, and Kevin Love seemed too soft. What about James who stood up at this time?
He did not expect to be vulnerable inside, and was focused on by Yu Fei throughout the whole process. In the end, he only scored 25 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in the dilemma of being limited in breakthroughs and shooting. The Heat lost to the Clippers in the first game.
Tonight, Yu Fei went all out in defense and rebounding, contributing 19 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 steals.
In terms of statistics, he is not as comprehensive as the running Antetokounmpo, and his scoring is not as high as Thompson, who scored the highest score on the team, but he competed with James in the right way at critical moments.
After the game, Wade revealed the secret between him and Yu Fei.
"Before the game, I asked Frye: 'You've won 10 championships, can the game really still bring you joy?'" Wade said. "He said, 'Of course not, but winning the game itself. It's just a pleasant thing, not to mention that my opponent is LeBron.'"
The GOAT likes to win and doesn't want to lose to LeBron, so he's willing to play a supporting role in a game where the situation is clear.
Some media began to call: "Maybe we have finally waited for this day, and Frye is no longer the best player in the finals!"
Has that day come?
If you only watch the first scene, probably yes.
In Game 2, when Curry was not effectively defended and Antetokounmpo was unable to move under the defense of James and Butler, who did the Clippers need to rely on? Jokic? No, once Curry breaks out, Jokic will be the first to suffer.
Where's Thompson?
Thompson's greatness lies in his magical three-pointers at critical moments, but when he is in poor condition, fans tend to ignore him.
Yes, the pressure will fall on Yu Fei again.
Facing Curry who was in hot form, he scored 38 points, but the game was still tilted towards defeat.
The big score is 1 to 1.
Judging from the total score, the Clippers have achieved their strategic goals.
The Heat no longer have home court advantage.
"Is this the best result for you?" the reporter asked Yu Fei.
Yu Fei said greedily: "Getting a 2-0 lead is the best result."
As the venue changed to Los Angeles, Yu Fei discovered an ironic thing.
As a son of the small ball era, Curry's team should have played a game that was most in line with the characteristics of the era. What was the result? Except for Love, who has degenerated into a pure space insider in order to make room for the big guys, the Heat's game style is extremely retro.
This is also a change they made starting from the third game.
They decided to follow the Eastern tradition and fight the Clippers hand-to-hand.
Through physical combat, the Heat effectively reduced the Clippers' shooting percentage, but in the face of severe inside disadvantages, this tactic is difficult to continue to work.
When the Heat used physical combat to regain home court advantage in Game 3, they suffered a crushing defeat in Game 4.
The Clippers relied on their unstoppable rebounding suppression to defeat the Heat and even the score. The game came to the fifth game - the Battle of Tianwang Mountain.
"Even if I have to sacrifice my soul to the devil, I still want to win this game."
James solemnly expressed how seriously he took this game before the game started.
Hearing that James made such a bold statement, Yu Fei said doubtfully: "I'm not sure whether the devil would be interested in such a weak soul."
Talking before the game is necessary. The conflict between the two sides has reached this point. If you don't use a few words to complain, the fans will find it unsatisfactory.
But James knew it was not the time to respond to Yu Fei.
Only by achieving final victory will his words be listened to.
Is history written by the victors? This statement is debatable, but the truth is that only those who have won and survived have the right to speak.
Bystanders have no choice; the only truth they accept is the truth of the winner.
That atmosphere shaped Game 5.
Rough and intense, tense and anxious.
Both sides played hard, with the Clippers playing a seven-man rotation and the Heat playing a six-man rotation.
Do you want to fight? Then fill it up.
If you want to use small tricks, I will go even harder.
Are you going to add extra physical moves on the defensive end? Then roll all over the floor.
Starting from the second quarter, someone fell to the ground in almost every round because the confrontation was too fierce.
A downed person cannot rely on his teammates to help him up; he must stand up on his own.
After standing up, there was no chance to breathe, and he was about to enter the next round of fighting.
In order to control the emotions of both sides, the referee's whistle kept sounding.
But the two sides were still going back and forth, and the strong killing intent seemed like two professional armies that hated each other.
High-intensity confrontation and defense resulted in a large number of difficult shots.
A more difficult shot means a lower hit rate.
The Clippers relied on their inside advantage to capture far more offensive rebounds than their opponents.
And the way they handled the offensive rebounds was enough to make a college coach's blood pressure soar.
No matter who it is, the first choice to get a rebound is not to pass the ball, but to launch a second attack directly on the spot.
No one could stop. The fierce competition was filled with harsh trash talk, which made people wonder: "Is there any blood feud between them?"
When the game entered the fourth quarter, both sides could no longer care about tactics. Especially the strikers and inside players were all furious, knocking each other to their knees.
The terrifying intensity is accompanied by a lot of touches, resulting in low shooting percentages for both sides.
In such a game, Curry became the most stable scoring point for the Heat. He contributed 35 points in the game, almost burning up his energy, while James looked inferior in front of Yu Fei.
Before the finals started, the outside world believed that there were three monsters in the series, namely Yu Fei, Curry and James. What these three have in common is that they are game drivers. Yu Fei and James have the attributes of being the core ball-handlers, while Curry has become a natural creator of open shooting opportunities with his own space gravity.
The problem is that the Heat have two monsters, so under normal circumstances, two monsters will be larger than one monster. But there is only one ball on the basketball court, and there is only one absolute core.
Curry is the core of the Heat, and James must match him.
You know, even when he was with the Lakers and faced with Kobe at his peak, James had never played a supporting role. He doesn't know how to be a supporting character, and if you ask him to be a supporting character, he can only act on instinct.
Super stars certainly have great instincts, but instinct cannot be used as a way of playing to maintain a player's presence. On the contrary, Yu Fei only did three things tonight: shooting, defending, and grabbing rebounds.
If he does these three things well, his role on the court will be better than that of James. Because in this high-intensity chaos, if no superstar takes over the game, the game will gradually evolve into a contest of "who has done more."
James fights on instinct.
Curry was shooting as hard as he could.
Both sides hated each other, so the game turned into wrestling, pushing, speed, takedowns, trash talk...and clutch shots.
When the Heat fell behind by 6 points, Curry hit a long three-pointer. Yu Fei knew that the ball would not go in just by looking at the arc. The inside players were frantically blocking the basket, but he rushed directly to the free throw line, accurately predicted the ball's landing point, and collected the ball.
There was one minute left in the game.
Yu Fei dribbled forward, faced James, calmly controlled the field, and asked: "How much have you changed since then?"
James didn't answer because he didn't even hear Yu Fei's words clearly.
Then, Yu Fei suddenly changed direction and hit a cold-blooded buzzer-beating three-pointer over his head.
36 seconds before the end of the Tianwangshan battle between the Clippers and the Heat, Yu Fei's three-pointer widened the point difference to 9 points.
A few minutes later, the final buzzer sounded, and the Clippers won Tianwangshan with a crucial victory, leading 3-2.
After the game, "The devil doesn't want to accept weak souls" topped the list of major social media searches as a satire on James.
But James suddenly remembered Yu Fei's last words, as if he was delayed in receiving information.
"How much have you changed since then?"
Then?
Where next?
when?
James doesn't know.
James didn't want to know either.
He only thought this was Yu Fei's psychological warfare.
Even if the outside world is full of evil waves, he cannot be affected.
The finals are not over yet.
Being down 3-2 is not hell.
He had seen hell and emerged from it. He hoped that Yu Fei would also go to hell.
Then he will understand what becomes of a person who comes out of hell.
The battlefield of the finals once again returned to Los Angeles.
On the day of Game6, a reporter from Los Angeles asked Yu Fei: "Michael has never played in Game 7 of the Finals. Will this be your motivation?"
"Stupid question!" Yu Fei retorted ruthlessly, "This old guy has ceased to be my driving force since 2003."
There was a huge pregame event at Staples Center.
There is also speculation about whether this is the last game of Frye's career.
Yu Fei hates this stupid bet because it implies that the Clippers may lose tonight's game.
That night, all Yu Fei's relatives and friends came to the scene.
Yu Fei's mother was sitting in the family area with her granddaughter in her arms, while his wife took her son Yu Bufan around in the front row.
There are also Yu Fei's friends, they all came here, as if they were giving him a reason not to lose.
Yu Fei took a deep breath, turned around, and left everything outside the field behind.
Relying on the inside advantage and Thompson's three-pointer, the Clippers took the lead after the first quarter. Curry looked poor tonight, shooting 1 of 5 in the first quarter.
Then, James began a series of surprising performances.
The game entered the second quarter. James first hit a three-pointer, then used the basketball as a explosive bag and kept sprinting inside.
It was James's explosion in this quarter, scoring 15 points in a single quarter, that prevented the Heat from being widened in the first half, and also gave Curry a chance to adjust his touch.
At the end of the first half, James' performance was perfect, scoring 22 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, completely suppressing Yu Fei, who only scored 12 points and 8 rebounds.
It can be said that this is the first time since the start of the finals that James used a personal attack to penetrate Yu Fei's defense in the half.
Yu Fei realized that James was indeed fighting with a sense of despair.
It is indeed time.
If he doesn't go all out now, James will face another failure - how many more times can he fail?
At the end of the first half, the score was 56 to 53, with the Clippers leading by 3 points.
Yu Fei, who seemed unable to stop James, said to Yao Ming next to him with a smile: "He is in really good condition. Do you think I can beat him tonight?"
"Hanging!" Yao Ming replied, "Save your energy and prepare for the tiebreaker."
At the beginning of the second half, both sides used extremely tough defense to block each other for one round.
But the deadlock did not last long. The Heat used Curry and James' pick-and-roll to break the situation first.
Subsequently, Yu Fei and Thompson teamed up to hit a three-pointer. Jokic beat Whiteside in the low post and succeeded, and the Clippers maintained a 3-point lead.
James continued to work hard, breaking through Yu Fei and scoring a tough tank layup, and assisted Whiteside to complete an alley-oop, and the score was instantly wiped out.
Next, there was a full-scale outbreak of the Clippers.
Yu Fei passed James and scored with a throw, Antetokounmpo hit a jumper from beyond the three-point line, Jokic grabbed the offensive rebound and tipped in, and the Clippers widened the point difference to 6 points in one breath.
Immediately afterwards, Curry and James hit three-pointers one after another, and the Clippers' 6-point lead was tied again in less than two minutes.
At that moment, Yu Fei started playing singles.
James focused on defense, but Yu Fei acted decisively, swaying left and right, cutting into the paint and using his strength to score a layup.
James, who had put aside his distracting thoughts, was equally unstoppable, still forcing a shot to score despite the Clippers' attack.
Yu Fei crossed over from the weak side, received the ball and faced James, and hit a three-pointer with a rainbow-like arc into the net. The audience in the stadium burst out in amazement.
In the last few minutes of the third quarter, the duel between the two superstars was like a heavy blow in a boxing championship.
This suffocating and anxious situation continued into the fourth quarter.
The Clippers will not change their main players, but the Heat will also stick to the starting lineup. The coaching staff of both sides understand that the competition at this moment is strength and endurance, and the team that falls first will completely lose the chance of victory.
Rivers said to Yu Fei on the sidelines: "If you want to take a breath, remember to tell me."
As a result, the duel between all the main players became intense at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
As physical energy was greatly depleted, the intensity of the game continued unabated, resulting in a sharp decline in the shooting percentages of both sides.
The frequency of scoring decreases, the difficulty of scoring increases, and every point becomes precious.
After the scoring drought lasted for several minutes, Yu Fei relied on James in the low post to turn over and make a jump shot.
The Clippers once again led by 3 points.
Soon, James broke through and responded.
Thompson hit a three-pointer, but before the Clippers could enjoy the 4-point lead, Love also hit a three-pointer from the outside.
The more intense the game, the more likely it is that intermittent scoring surges will occur.
They can go several minutes without scoring, and then score as frequently as they can for several minutes.
This seems to have become a pattern, making the gap of a few points look like a chasm.
When the game entered the final five minutes, this season's MVP James used a super long three-pointer to forcefully narrow the point difference to 1 point.
Thompson once again shot a three-pointer, but this time, the feel failed to favor him.
However, the offensive rebound fell into Yu Fei's hands.
The oldest player on the court and Miami's most feared opponent, the moment he got the rebound, Butler outflanked him from the wing, trying to force him into a desperate situation with James.
But Yu Fei immediately took off the moment he landed, raised the knife in his hand and hit a mid-range shot off the board.
This was Yu Fei's 20th point in the second half.
He hasn't stopped yet.
And history begins to be written at this moment.
James responded with a jumper.
Yu Fei played from behind in the low post, shook his shoulders, then turned around and stepped in to score.
Curry used a McGrady-style shake and a pull-up three-pointer to tie the score again.
However, Yu Fei got an open space under Jokic's pick-and-roll screen and decisively shot a three-pointer.
The Heat tried to find Curry again, but the Clippers' defense was tight and no longer allowed the MVP to take an easy shot.
James got the ball, and Yu Fei let go of the line slightly, forcing him to take a three-pointer from the outside.
Some people say that manpower is unlimited, but in fact, only time can change everything.
The changes that time has left on James are all efforts to keep him the same.
Suddenly, James figured out Yu Fei's problem that day.
How much have you changed since then?
That was the Adidas ABCD training camp in 2001, and it was also the place where James and Yu Fei first met.
At that time, James was just a boy less than 15 years old. He didn't know that Yu Fei would become his brother in the future, that the two would turn against each other, and that the relationship would be torn apart for many years.
But now that Yu Fei has reached a high place, he can look down at James, but he still asked this question.
Does it still make sense?
James didn't want to admit that he was changed by the fame and fortune in the adult world.
He only admits one thing. The person who pushed him to where he is today is Yu Fei.
It was Yu Fei who left him with no way out.
There must finally be an end between them!
The last three minutes were a duel between Yu Fei and James.
After Yu Fei scored, James must respond with all his strength.
James is young, energetic, and capable of accomplishing many impossible things. However, when the game went on for 47 minutes, when his energy was exhausted and his talent no longer obeyed his body, the thirty-year-old king missed an easy jump shot in front of his old enemy.
Yu Fei turned around and got stuck in position, and Jokic protected the rebound.
At this moment, the score was 96 to 93, and the Clippers led by 3 points.
Yu Fei took the pass from Jokic and began to advance slowly.
"I tell you, the most attractive attraction in the world is not Hollywood stars..." ESPN's Jeff Van Gundy said excitedly, "but people like Yu Fei! Think about it, the greatest in basketball history What great things will a player do to defend his place in history in front of the person he least wants to lose?”
Yu Fei didn't think about the so-called great history. These illusory things had nothing to do with him.
Outside the three-point line, Yu Fei was dribbling the ball, and James was less than five feet in front of him. With less than fifty seconds left in the game, this goal was crucial.
But Yu Fei has lost all hatred and any belief in championship glory in his mind. There is only one question: Why did James miss the shot just now? Why can't he fight with himself at 100% to the last second? Why?
Maybe because he's never won?
Maybe because that's where his skills end?
Maybe there is no reason, this is his fate.
Those who stay too long at the top of the mountain see a completely different landscape than those below.
Yu Fei sprinted forward, and James stepped forward as if facing a formidable enemy.
However, Yu Fei suddenly stopped and retreated easily, releasing James' power. The emperor slipped to one side, but the best player in history raised his hand at that moment and softly made a shot that could determine the fate of the season.
"Shua!!!"
James' eyes widened and he felt his chest was blocked.
Yu Fei turned around and looked down at him as if the victory or defeat was decided. His face was filled with the confidence of a winner, but with a cold word, he dragged James from the world to hell again:
"Is this all you have, LeBron?"
With less than 40 seconds left in the game, the point difference was stretched to 6 points, and the Heat requested a timeout.
After the timeout, Curry forced a three-pointer and missed, and Jokic grabbed the rebound again. The Heat committed a tactical foul and Jokic went to the free throw line and made two free throws.
Half a minute later, the final whistle sounded at Staples.
101 to 93
The Clippers defeated the Heat 4-2, completing their third consecutive championship and establishing their own dynasty.
This is destined to be another disappointing summer for Miamians.
Curry looked up at the sky and couldn't help but wonder, would the result have been better if he had been left to handle the last few balls?
James stood there blankly, lost in thought for a long time.
What about their opponents?
The celebration has begun.
The young players gathered together, surrounded the GOAT, and then threw the powerful old guy into the air.
This is undoubtedly the craziest celebration Yu Fei has ever experienced in his career.
The scene has turned into a sea of joy.
From the Hollywood celebrities in the front row to the ordinary spectators on the mountaintop, everyone is immersed in the joy of dynasty building.
They have one last wish.
That was the roar that swept across from all directions when Yu Fei and his teammates left the field——
“Onemoretime!!!!!”
“Onemoretime!!!!!”
“Onemoretime!!!!!”
“Onemoretime“
(Play another year)
PS: The reason for updating now is that my coding software crashed at 6 o'clock, and most of the contents have been cleared. After adjusting my mentality, I started writing again.
PPS: There's probably one chapter left. Maybe a chapter + a postscript? I don’t know, but I want to write the last chapter slowly and won’t update it in the next few days. The last chapter of the main text may be updated on the 30th or 31st.
(End of chapter)