Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

On March 30th, ABC's long-anticipated second battle between the Bucks and the Spurs will take place tonight.

As the best team in the Eastern Conference right now, and one of the four most likely to enter the Finals from the Western Conference (Mavericks, Kings, Lakers), the game might be a focal point, but the hook mostly lies with Fei. Because the Spurs can be called the Western Brooklyn Nets—powerful but boring.

As for the hooks on Fei, there are plenty.

Thanks to Jordan's media friends, Fei is now the famous NBA troublemaker, a "super team cancer," the antithesis of all positive sports connotations.

Of course, some of these stereotypes were from before the season started.

Now that three-quarters of the regular season have passed, no matter how Jordan's media friends smear Fei, they can't avoid one fact, and that is Fei has brought an unprecedented improvement to the Bucks.

This team got better after losing their All-Star point guard and a scorer who averaged 20 points per game.

The Bucks are not only first in the Eastern Conference but also first in the League.

Is it a cancer to lead a lottery team out of the lottery to become first in the League?

Fans are easily swayed by the media, but they are not thoughtless fools.

The media's smears fall apart in the face of facts.

It is precisely because Fei has proven he is anything but the Devil King image crafted by the media that he has become even more of a talking point.

Different people see a completely different Fei.

Shaquille O'Neal says Fei is an aggressive asshole who likes to humiliate his opponents in the name of equality.

Kenyon Martin says if he is a bad boy, then Fei is the bad boy among bad boys.

Pierce thinks Fei is rude.

Karl Malone feels he lacks respect for legendary players.

Jordan... Ever since Fei left D.C., no one can mention his name in front of Jordan.

It is the controversy surrounding Fei that fuels plenty of discussions about the Bucks vs. Spurs game.

Because the Spurs' leading player, Tim Duncan, is a character who never courts controversy.

The media doesn't even discuss him.

On the day of the game, Fei arrived very early at the Bradley Center to train.

To his surprise, Ray Allen and Devean George were also there ahead of time.

This also made Fei realize something he didn't know before—Devean George was undergoing Ray Allen's shooting training.

This mild-tempered man is not afraid of Ray Allen's strictness; he's afraid of Shaquille O'Neal's whimsical pranks and Kobe's cold looks after a missed shot.

There is none of that in Milwaukee.

The only thing Ray Allen cares about is whether George is serious about training, and training attitude has never been a problem for George.

"Seeing you guys at the court even earlier than me is really a pleasure," Fei said with a smile, "Can I join in?"

Ray Allen seriously refused Fei, "You can't."

"Why can DG?"

"I've grown accustomed to his presence."

Whether George felt creeped out by that comment or not, Fei certainly got the chills just hearing it.

If Ray Allen, a sufferer of advanced obsessive-compulsive disorder, has grown accustomed to having Devean George by his side, that means George can no longer practice his shooting alone in the future.

Because if the training routine is disrupted, Ray Allen usually performs poorly.

Think about it, from now on, George's training schedule has to align completely with Ray Allen's, but the latter is a practice maniac. That's a fortune Fei doesn't even want to touch.

After that, Fei stopped disturbing them and walked to another court to practice.

Since Jordan's second retirement from the Bulls, the balance of strength between the Eastern and Western Conferences tipped heavily towards the West.

Looking at the Eastern Conference, the most talented are McGrady, struggling in the first round, and Carter, unable to stay healthy. But what about the West? They also have Garnett, who struggles in the first round, but more so, dominators like Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal.

The weaker Eastern Conference led to a consensus among Western contenders.

Whoever breaks out of the West can win the championship; the competitors in the East are not worth mentioning.

Last season, the Brooklyn Nets fought hard to reach the Finals only to be swept out by the past-his-prime OK. This has deepened such an impression.

This is why, although the Bucks were the first to secure 50 wins this season, the Spurs still see them as just another ordinary Eastern team.

Every time they come to play in Milwaukee, Popovich has his players warm up half an hour early on site.

Because the Bradley Center is too old, and they need to get used to it in advance.

Only by getting used to the court can they play normally, but there's always someone complaining. That person is usually Duncan. It's the unspoken understanding between Popovich and his favorite player.

"We don't need an extra half hour of practice to find our rhythm," Duncan said, "because we're professional players."

Many would think so, but Duncan says it aloud.

Popovich would bark, "Shut up, Tim, all you need to do is show up early for practice like everyone else!"

Duncan shut up, and so did everyone else.

As the NBA's current best "couple," it's almost a form of flirtation for them. Your adventure continues at empire

Duncan takes the scolding, Popovich chides him, hence silencing those who harbor discontent.

One might wonder why Duncan is willing to be the fall guy, but if you asked him, he'd probably only say, "I just feel like doing it."

He won't admit it's an unspoken agreement with Popovich.

This super strange superstar, so unremarkable that it's hard to pinpoint what makes him special, shares a bond with his coach that other teams long for.