Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 468 - 322: The Last Defiance

Chapter 468: Chapter 322: The Last Defiance

Yu Fei sat on the side, conserving his energy, while Karl emphasized how to limit Wade with the tactical board.

But in reality, Karl knew it was all talk—on paper. He was aware that they couldn’t defend against Wade the way they imagined they could.

Once they tried, the damn referees would blow the whistle.

It was essentially a by-the-book setup; come game time, what they really needed was for Yu Fei to maintain his high-efficiency offensive output like he did in the first half, and for everyone else to do their job.

Karl hadn’t expected that right after he finished speaking, Sprewell stood up to speak his mind. His presence was as surprising as his performance when he substituted for Martin in the second quarter.

As Kevin Martin was off his game in the second quarter, Karl substituted him with Sprewell, not expecting it to work so well.

Sprewell, who hadn’t been responsible for such critical moments in a long time, did not appear rusty at all. He quickly stepped up, much like the veterans on the Miami Heat.

As Karl finished laying out the starting tactics and overall strategy for the second half, Sprewell loudly declared, “What can that Miami kid do besides draw fouls? If he wants fouls in the second half, let’s give him something tough! We’re going to be called for fouls anyway, so why not make it count?”

Sprewell’s words made sense, and his teammates nodded in agreement.

“Big Fei has already scored 29 points in the first half! We can’t expect him to do even better!” Sprewell exclaimed, “We need to step up and take responsibility too!”

Having a veteran who can rally the team indeed eases the coaching staff’s pressure.

Having finished his banana, Yu Fei took up Sprewell’s thread, “Sprewell’s right, but I need to correct one thing.”

Confidently, Yu Fei said, “If Miami’s Big Fatty can get better, there’s no reason I can’t improve.”

After that, they returned to the court to warm up.

The Miami Heat were already back.

Shaquille O’Neal was being interviewed.

ESPN’s Jim Gray asked him, “How does it feel to be Robin to Wade’s Batman?”

A few years earlier, Shaquille O’Neal would not have taken kindly to such a question. For someone who was a Finals MVP three years in a row, this was disrespectful.

Shaquille O’Neal wouldn’t directly answer that question.

Even though he had explicitly stated after Game 3 that Wade was the best player in Miami, in such a context, faced with a question about status, he continued to emphasize his own value, even if he had accepted a certain reality in his heart.

Shaquille O’Neal said, “I knew when I came here that I had to elevate this young man to a new level… I knew I’d be facing double-teams, even triple-teams, but it’s okay, Dwyane will make them pay… I know I don’t have to carry the burden all the time.”

There was a subtext to every statement Shaquille O’Neal made, but to sum it up, it was simple: I could be bitter about the whole situation, but I chose to make way for this guy, so we could win a championship.

Just then, Yu Fei noticed Wade sneak up behind Shaquille O’Neal and playfully startle him.

Initially somewhat annoyed, Shaquille O’Neal saw it was Wade and cracked a smile.

Was Shaquille O’Neal’s opinion of Wade correct?

Without a doubt, since the playoffs began, Wade had been growing into a top-five player in the league. He instinctively balanced involving his teammates and taking over games, just as everyone had always expected Kobe to do during the OK era, only it never happened.

Shaquille O’Neal seemed to have accepted this outcome. He had dominated the league for three straight years but now embraced the mindset “I once had it”; as the season progressed, Yu Fei’s onslaught made it tough for him to respond, and he appeared utterly exhausted. His decline in athletic ability was indisputable.

Everyone knew how a player over 30 should maintain their competitive edge, staying in top physical condition and consistently so. However, he showed no inclination to do so. Players like Jordan competed pathologically and obsessed over beating every challenger, but Shaquille O’Neal, who claimed to be the best, never centered his life around basketball.

He liked being with his family, spending time with friends, making movie cameos, recording terrible music, attending Hollywood events, going to movie theaters, throwing celebrity parties… You could say he liked doing anything, but he surely didn’t love dedicating everything to basketball.

Thus, from the time he transferred to the Lakers, his season pattern was set: I’m going to enjoy my vacations, not guarantee to arrive at training camp in shape, gradually get into form as the season progresses, and hand over ball-handling to Kobe/Wade. When the playoffs come, I’ll be ready, and we’ll win the championship again because as long as I’m determined, I’m still the best player in the league. No one can stop me.

This attitude would not have flown in the ’90s, and after Kobe’s implosion, they failed in 2003 and 2004 as well.

That’s why he couldn’t compete with Yu Fei.

Because Yu Fei wanted to finish him off, while Shaquille O’Neal harbored animosity but never wanted to do anything about it.

Instead, it was Wade that Yu Fei grew to respect the more he observed him closely. He managed to make a petty and short-tempered “dead fatso” like Shaquille O’Neal willingly step aside as the top dog in just his third year in the league.

But Wade, having gained that position, wasn’t arrogant like others might be; he treated Shaquille O’Neal with respect and refused to answer any questions about “whose team the Miami Heat was.”

Shaquille O’Neal once compared Kobe, Penny, and Wade to the Corleone brothers from The Godfather. He wasn’t sure if Kobe and Penny were Sonny and Fredo, but he was right about Wade being Michael.

Whether it was his current performance or his future selflessness in stepping back to allow James to shine, even after the late-stage “cancer” spoiled the 2011 championship, it all showcased his broad vision and leadership qualities.

Such an opponent should not be given any chance at all.

Especially considering Wade is now blessed with the whistle, if Miami ties the series 2-2, who knows if the League might suddenly get the idea that it would be a unique script to have the third-year Wade overthrow Big Fei, and they might end up giving Wade 30 free throws in a do-or-die game.

Yu Fei didn’t want to risk his hard-earned reputation.

Tonight, winning was a must; they had to completely shatter Miami’s confidence and establish the momentum for victory, and the time was now.

At the start of the second half, Yu Fei made his position clear with a pull-up three-pointer.

The point difference reached 7.

Afterward, James Posey, receiving a pass from Wade’s breakthrough, also hit a three-pointer.

The back-and-forth shootout of the third quarter began from there. On the Bucks’ side, Kevin Martin couldn’t regain his touch, so the entire offense ran through Yu Fei alone.

Whenever Yu Fei got the ball, the Miami Heat became visibly anxious. They put forth their whole effort to defend, but even if they could limit Yu Fei’s scoring with double teams and a collapsing defensive line, they couldn’t restrain his passing.

Martin’s hands were soft, but Bell’s and Sprewell’s were firm.

Especially Sprewell, his performance tonight conveyed a strong sense of belief and mission.

For his contract, Yu Fei endured many curses, and indeed, it turned out that giving him the max salary was a losing deal for the Bucks; he simply didn’t have the capacity for a max contract anymore.

Sprewell didn’t think he was unworthy; he was only grateful to Yu Fei.

Sprewell was particularly haunted by last year as his issues prevented the team from chasing a third consecutive championship; he always felt like he owed something to Yu Fei.

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The moment Martin faded from the spotlight was when Sprewell shined the brightest.

He seized the opportunity to show those fans who thought he was only good for choking opponents another side of him.

Yu Fei knew the bitterness of fighting alone, as he had lost to the Pacers in such fashion the previous year. Therefore, he understood how rare it was for teammates to step up and share the pressure on such a grand stage.

What he didn’t expect was that tonight, the person who would help him the most was Sprewell.

At the end of the third quarter, Wade’s three-point shot clanged off the iron, and the long rebound nearly flew out of bounds. Sprewell could have let it go since it would have been Bucks’ ball anyway, but instead, he sprang outward, saving the ball with force back into play for Yu Fei to lead a final defensive counterattack before the third quarter ended.

84-71

Miami’s deep three missed, and after three quarters, the Bucks led the away game by 13 points.

Yu Fei shone in the American Airlines Arena with 42 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists, and before the game even ended, people were anticipating his scoring the first 50-point triple-double in playoff history.

“Are you trying to wreck yourself with how hard you’re playing, so that the team uses the amnesty clause on you, and then you can just lie at home counting money every day?”

When he came off the court, Yu Fei said to the not-so-lightly bruised Sprewell.

“Bullshit!” Sprewell said, “They can amnesty me any time they wish if I agree to it; they’d love to do so.”

Yu Fei asked knowingly, “Then why don’t they?”

Because they worry it might upset you.

Sprewell thought to himself but said, “Maybe they think I still bring some help to the team, I don’t want to be underestimated. As long as I hit the court, I go all in.”

This quarter, Yu Fei still didn’t get a chance to rest.

He could clearly feel the fatigue, but seeing an old soldier like Sprewell disregard his own life to assist him, Yu Fei didn’t think he had any justification to rest.

Because he knew better than anyone the potential of the opponent.

If they dared to give the other side any chances, the Mavericks of ’06 were a textbook example of what awaited them.

“What?” Karl was shocked to hear that Yu Fei wanted to continue playing the fourth quarter, “Still playing, without resting?”

Yu Fei said, “I’m not tired.”

“We’re ahead by 13 points now, you can take a few minutes off,” Karl suggested.

“George, I don’t need to,” Yu Fei said, “All I need is to win this game. Once I beat them, I can rest however I want.”

Karl didn’t understand why Yu Fei regarded the Miami Heat as the ultimate rival, utterly disregarding the fierce enemies battling it out in the Western Conference.

“If I see that your defense is slowing down, I’ll pull you out,” Karl said.

Karl knew he couldn’t win against Big Fei; his words were just his last bit of defiance.

PS: If the third chapter isn’t updated by four in the afternoon, that means I haven’t finished writing it…

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