Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

After the trade deadline, the Bucks' starting lineup could be said to be completely renewed.

As Ray Allen's substitute, Michael Redd had controlled the starting position for over two months, performing excellently as the team's second scoring option. Now that he had been traded, Allen needed to reintegrate with the team.

Dikembe Mutombo was not yet 38 years old, but everyone essentially treated him like he was a 40-year-old man. Nonetheless, Karl still positioned him as a starter to see how it would work out.

Another new aid, Shandon Anderson belonged to the more versatile 3D substitutes that could be plugged and played immediately, so there was no need to worry about him.

One point was also very important, over the past two months, Yu Fei had nearly 30 shots per game; although he was happily padding his stats, currently leading the league in scoring with an average of 34 points per game, that wasn't a normal state. When the team had a high number of injuries, taking a large number of shots was a manifestation of a lonely scoring option. Now, the team needed to redistribute his excessive number of shots.

If it had been the guy from the Lakers, it basically would have been non-negotiable.

Give them up? Why should I? Why should someone give up their hard-earned shooting rights?

But Yu Fei was easy to talk to. He wasn't that type of person obsessed with scoring. Over the previous period, utilizing the main players' consistent injuries, he had worked hard to refine his step-back jumpers and low-post offense. Although he hadn't mastered them completely, he had gained some insights.

Tonight against the Clippers, Yu Fei's shot attempts dropped to 19, ten less than before, but his shot selection was more rational. He almost exclusively shot from sweet spots, which allowed him to efficiently score 32 points, grab 8 rebounds, and dish out 7 assists, leading the team to victory.

Mutombo's performance could be said to be a mixed bag; when he had ample energy, he was still a dominant shot-blocker and rebounder. However, that energy only lasted around 15-20 minutes per game.

Therefore, it was not suitable for him to start. Coming off the bench was a better role for him.

As for Ray Allen, he had just come back and wasn't in great shape, but the season was long, and the Bucks had plenty of time to develop team chemistry.

"I'm very satisfied with our current state. The feeling of starting anew is great," Karl said with a smile, "Generally, you don't get a chance to start over in the middle of the season, but we are a special team, and we can do it."

The next game would take place in Washington.

Returning to familiar territory, although not a trace of Jordan's presence could be found here anymore, the person who made that trade was still holding a high position.

Yu Fei needed to put on an excellent performance to remind them of the good old days.

However, only a few of the Wizards' old acquaintances remained.

The only former teammate left who had played with Yu Fei was Kwame Brown; the rest had been cleaned out.

Yu Fei felt happy for Brown; in his third year as a professional, he had finally secured stable playing time, even though it was only 30 minutes, which was a luxury during Jordan's time.

Upon seeing Yu Fei, Brown was equally excited, zealously searching for a chance to block shots on the defensive end throughout the game.

Yu Fei not only did not give him the chance but instead drew five fouls on him, leading Brown to foul out and the MCI to erupt with boos.

In the eyes of the fans, Brown no longer had any excuses; he was simply a bust.

Brown was willing to accept this reality. He might be a bust, but he was a happy bust now.

"I don't care if Frye scored 40 or 50 points tonight... What, he scored 45? Well, who cares!" Brown said, "What I care about is that he drew five fouls on me! You know, he wouldn't do that to Gilbert, nor to Jerry (Starkhouse), because he knows who the key player is!"

Brown was already seeking interaction with the media, so naturally, Yu Fei had to respond.

"Yes, the only one on this team that I care about is Kwame," Yu Fei added, "The rest are not even worth mentioning."

The second sentence might have contained a teasing element, but the first one surely came from Yu Fei's heart.

Since entering the NBA, he had made a number of friends, but if speaking of true friends, Kwame would definitely be one.

What a pity, the guy suffered somewhat from being a high draft pick. If he hadn't been the number one overall pick, with his current performance, even if he was called a bust, it wouldn't be everyone's laughingstock.

The Bucks then narrowly lost to the Timberwolves, followed by easy victories over the Celtics, Miami Heat, and Memphis Grizzlies before taking on the Magic on the road.

This year's Magic was still a team striving for the top eight in the Eastern Conference.

Two years ago, when Yu Fei was just starting out and could only come off the bench for the Wizards, the Magic had the strongest momentum in the Eastern Conference—the team widely believed could win 60 games and challenge the Lakers dynasty as the toughest Eastern contender, repeated the same script every year.

Just like the Clippers in the Chris Paul era, in the first few years, everyone said that if they stayed healthy, they were number one contenders for the championship. Magic also heard this for several years, like a curse inverted on Grant Hill.

The more people said it, the less Hill was able to stay healthy.

Subsequently, Tracy McGrady's body also began to break down.

This year was the legendary last year of the Magic McGrady, and from anyone's perspective, it was obvious McGrady no longer wanted to play there. Regarding McGrady's trade, there was a proposal that looked most spectacular: McGrady for Kobe.

Yu Fei still enjoyed playing against the Magic because they had one of his old friends—Tyronn Lue.

Coach Lu had been wandering since being cleaned out by Jordan last season and had now landed a stable starting position with the Magic this season.

Unfortunately, this starting tenure would become a point of pride in the future, but at the time, it was McGrady who was being hyped.

If McGrady averaged 30 points, the Magic had a chance to make the playoffs; if he averaged 40 points, they had a chance to reach the semifinals. If he averaged 50 points, they had a 10% chance to touch the threshold of the conference finals.

The subtext of these unrealistic assumptions was that his teammates were crap.

As one of the craps, Coach Lu did his best tonight, scoring 11 points and dishing out 10 assists; unfortunately, McGrady "played too terribly," managing only 31 points and 8 rebounds. It looked like he didn't want to win.

"Oh, man!" McGrady responded gloomily to the accusations that he wasn't playing hard enough, "I don't know what else you want me to do."

It was March, and the Cavaliers were visiting the Bradley Center.

Since sending Ricky Davis away last December, although the Cavaliers could not be said to have been completely transformed, they did seem to have switched things up; their current record stood at 25 wins and 36 losses. The playoffs remained a possibility, albeit a slim one.

Today, the Cavaliers played with great vigor on the road. James racked up 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists, only slightly inferior to Yu Fei's 38 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Moreover, to Yu Fei's surprise, the Cavaliers' interior line actually had a significant advantage over theirs.

Irgenskas put forth a near All-Star center's performance with a 20+10 showing.

What was most baffling was the guy named Carlos Boozer.

That man played tonight like a shorter version of Nowitzki, with his mid-range shots sinking one after another.

If not for Ray Allen and others performing superbly, crushing the Cavaliers' perimeter, they would have been upset tonight.

They say LeBron James 1.0 had no help, but that doesn't seem entirely true.

Yu Fei thought to himself and, at the end of the game, said to James, "If Ricky were still here, you guys might have won tonight."

"No way, we'd have less of a chance with him!" James shook his head.

Yu Fei glanced at Boozer and, with good intentions, said to his younger brother, "That guy isn't bad, he'll be a great help to you in the future."

Upon hearing this, James also refrained from modesty and postured grandly, "King James will keep him under his wing!"

Cute, I really want to buy an action figure of that chuunibyou LeBron and smash it with a hammer.

That night, Yu Fei learned that Boozer's agent was Rob Pelinka, and he couldn't quite describe his feelings.

He only knew that Pelinka was very good at poaching, having launched his career by poaching from his own boss.

But he didn't know what this meant for the Cavaliers.

At the post-game press conference, Boozer said playing in Milwaukee was a novel experience: "I'm very pleased, my teammates provided a lot of support, Milwaukee is a special city, they are not very basketball, but they really understand the sport."

"Will you and LeBron James turn around Cleveland's sports misfortune together?"

"I don't care much about the future."

Interestingly, as the subject of this question, LeBron James didn't know what it meant either.

Afterward, the Bucks faced an easy six-game slate. These matches were breezy not because of the strength of the opponents, but because five of the six games were played at home.

The first game was the easiest, against an Iverson-less 76ers. This year's 76ers team was like a bustling vegetable market in the early morning, utter chaos with hardly any planning. Iverson had been calling for a trade all day to no avail, and now their record was even worse than the Cavaliers', with almost no chance of making the playoffs. They were no match for the Bucks, especially on the road.

However, the Bucks team didn't waste a second relishing the rout of the lackluster 76ers, because the Atlanta Hawks, even more lackluster than the 76ers, soon arrived at the Bradley Center.

Two days later, the Bucks headed to Denver for their second matchup of the season with the Nuggets. The Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony was LeBron James' main competitor for Rookie of the Year. As the elder brother, Yu Fei felt he should crush the young man's spirit and boost LeBron's reputation.

As it turned out, the Nuggets, with home-court advantage and competing for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, were not a weak team. Coupled with the unpredictable effects of altitude sickness, in short, the Bucks lost. But Yu Fei took no blame for himself, having scored 35 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists. While he couldn't say he gave it 100%, he definitely exerted 80-90% effort. However, his teammates seemed to have a lapse in judgment that night, insisting on paying homage to the Denver crowd. What could he do about it?

Anthony not only scored 31 points off 20 shots but also contributed 5 rebounds and 9 assists. At least for tonight, the media couldn't say that James was a more complete player than him.

"I am the Rookie of the Year," Anthony said confidently. "I've always believed that."

Following that, the Bucks easily overcame the Knicks and the Suns at home and then faced a formidable opponent—the Los Angeles Lakers.
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The Lakers themselves generated a lot of buzz, and the feud between Yu Fei and Shaquille O'Neal had become one of the NBA's major attractions.

Having just seized the All-Star MVP from O'Neal in Los Angeles, Yu Fei added new fire to their already heated rivalry, and their upcoming meeting was set to be no friendly affair.

However, before the game even started, the Bucks received some very unfavorable news.

This afternoon, just before training began, George Karl announced with a reddened face, "I've got good news and bad news."

Speaking for everyone, Yu Fei asked, "What's the good news?"

"Kobe didn't come with the team to Milwaukee for training today."

Yu Fei, a four-day-old Kobe fan, not wanting to reveal his true colors, said, "I love the Eagle County Sheriff's Office!"

"And the bad news?" Mason inquired.

Karl replied, "While Kobe missed the training, he'll make it for tonight's match."

The legendary Kobe commuting to games? Were they really going to experience that?

An awkward silence filled the St. Francis Training Center.

As a pure Kobe fan, he had to slander his idol once more to further disguise his true identity, "Why does a decent person have to go rape someone? I am irreconcilable with him!"