Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

This type of loss was not uncommon for the Bucks during the regular season.

The teammates were inaccurate, yet Yu Fei kept passing, they continued to be inaccurate, and then they would lose the game directly.

This was a strategy, not merely because this playoff series was bound to go beyond six games, but also because Yu Fei was an irreplaceable presence in the Bucks roster.

Facing a strong team like the Pistons, he needed to play at least 42 minutes per game, a significant drain that forced him to wait for the right moment to exert his energy.

George Karl had no objections to this, as going all out every game was foolhardy. The true masterminds would always test the opponent's strength during the playoff series, watch their rotation, look for weaknesses, and then strike hard.

The experience of leading the team as the sole core had awakened this awareness in Yu Fei.

That evening, in the locker room Karl said to Yu Fei, "Are you interested in starting the next game off-ball?"

Off-ball?

Yu Fei recalled the last time he played off-ball.

It must have been back during his time with the Wizards.

"Who will organize?" Yu Fei asked.

Karl replied, "Brent, he can organize."

"What's the purpose of doing this?" Yu Fei asked again.

"Are you an idiot?" Karl said with a chuckle, "It's obviously to win."

Two days later, the teams met at Bradley Center.

The Pistons believed they had made thorough preparations, but the one thing they had not anticipated was the Bucks suddenly using Yu Fei at the small forward position.

Before joining the Bucks, Brent Barry had already successfully transitioned to being a combo guard, but it wasn't until he played alongside Yu Fei that year that he became a shooter with playmaking abilities.

Now returning to his old duties, his and Yu Fei's 1-3 pick-and-roll caught the Pistons off guard.

The coaching staff of the Pistons had always planned their defense based on the concept that their entire team would take turns guarding Yu Fei.

Suddenly, Yu Fei started playing off-ball and frequently isolated at the high post.

The Pistons didn't react at first, and Yu Fei scored 18 points by halftime.

In the second half, the Pistons caught on and tightened their defense.

Then Yu Fei created chaos in tight spaces, dishing out multiple opportunities.

The Pistons were in trouble.

If they extended their defense, there was no stopping Yu Fei one-on-one, not even Big Ben could protect their hoop. If they packed the paint, the Bucks' three-point barrage began.

This hesitation decided the result of the game.

101 to 88

The Bucks took a 2 to 1 lead in the series.

Yu Fei ended the game with 28 points and 12 assists, once again leading the entire team.

If there was anything that unsettled the Pistons, this was it.

At the very least on offense, Yu Fei was still not using his full strength, this wasn't like the form he had shown in the past two months, averaging 44 and 37 points per game.

After tonight, at least one thing was clear for the Pistons.

Unless the Bucks' shooters were off their game, when facing Yu Fei's pick-and-roll, just switch defensively without thinking.

They were determined; even if Yu Fei targeted them relentlessly, they did not want to see him activate his sharpshooters from the outside with threes that would reap the game.

"We will show the fans a classic Eastern Conference playoff game."

Before the fourth game began, Larry Brown told reporters.

The result was just as Brown had said, the game turned into a dreadfully unattractive defensive battle.

It wasn't what the Bucks wanted, but the Pistons switched on every pick and roll, forcing the Bucks to solve the problem one-on-one, which made it pointless for Yu Fei to continue to move without the ball.

But even when he got the ball, it wasn't his day.

Yu Fei was one step short of being a sharpshooter tonight, not hitting a single shot from beyond the three-point line, but managing to score from inside it.

This was a result the Pistons could accept; as long as they limited the range of attack to within the three-point line, the space's width and breadth wouldn't allow the Bucks to play to their full potential.

Seeing the shooters misfiring, Karl made adjustments on the fly, bringing in Ariza, George, and Mutombo to fight for defense.

Battling the Pistons in defense was undoubtedly pitting one's weakness against the opponent's strength, but with the perimeter off and the inside tough to penetrate, Karl had no choice but to put all the offensive pressure on Yu Fei, with everyone else playing hard defense.

In the end, Yu Fei played 45 minutes, taking 30 shots and making 13 of them, scoring 38 points with 7 rebounds and 4 assists, as the Bucks lost the game by a margin of 4 points.

The Bucks and Pistons were back to square one after evening out the series score, and the direction of the series came to the King of the Hill battle as the public anticipated.

Just before the King of the Hill game, the NBA announced the nominees for the major awards, except for MVP.

Yu Fei was once again selected for the First Team, marking his third consecutive selection.

But beyond the First Team, he was surprisingly also picked for the Second Team Defense.

From his rookie season to the present, Yu Fei's defense had always seemed inconsistent.

But even though everyone knew he'd be strong when he was serious about defense, no one thought he would make the defensive team.

"They say Nike's marketing machine is the world's best, but today, Reebok has proven that these sports shoe companies' influence on major sports has reached heights we can scarcely imagine," Bill Simmons wrote in his article, "I can accept Frye beating Steve Nash for MVP, but to let Frye onto the All-Defensive Team? That's outright robbery!"

The more the media criticized Yu Fei, the more fiercely he rebounded.

For the King of the Hill battle, the Bucks faced the palace once again.

From the start, Yu Fei began by serving Billups a series of rejections and then repeatedly intercepted the Pistons' passes.

Making points solely off turnovers, Yu Fei scored 12 in the first quarter.

To the Pistons' "relief," they finally saw Yu Fei playing with a level of commitment that was reminiscent of March and April.

However, the outcome wasn't necessarily as they wished.

Not only did Yu Fei go full intensity on defense, but offensively, he played iso ball to no limits. Prince, famed as the best on Earth at defending Yu Fei, got shaken off repeatedly, then could only watch as the shots went in.

By halftime, Yu Fei had blasted 30 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, and 4 steals.

He stopped passing the ball.

Perhaps now was a good time to double-team him?

In the second half, the red-hot Yu Fei surprisingly switched to an off-ball style, moving to the high post to draw the Pistons' defense in, then delivering a series of corner threes, indefinitely trapping the Pistons in a dilemma of being unable to defend both inside and outside.

Today, the Pistons didn't hesitate for long, deciding on a firm man-to-man defense as soon as they found the Bucks shooting well from the three-point line.

Then Yu Fei continued to play iso.

Prince got exploded, they switched Billups on him, still exploded, and then they put Big Ben on him.

In the second half, Yu Fei played iso against any Pistons player who appeared before him, using one mid-range shot after another to riddle the Iron Bucket Formation with gaping holes.

At the final buzzer, 99-85, Yu Fei erupted for 52 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 4 blocks, his godlike performance turning Auburn Hills as silent as a graveyard.

"I like it here," Yu Fei said with a sarcastic smile, "it reminds me of a lot of things from the past."

"Do you have the confidence to finish the series at home?"

"I don't know, I only know one thing," Yu Fei responded, "if we come back here, I will completely crush the Pistons in front of the Detroit people, mark my words, it will happen."

PS: Sorry for the wait, just finished writing, Happy New Year everyone.