Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

"How does starting feel?"

On the bench, Tyronn Lue struck up a conversation with Yu Fei.

Yu Fei didn't quite know what to say. To call it exhilarating wouldn't be entirely true, as he had been outplayed by McGrady on the court and couldn't find a good counter. But to say it wasn't exciting would clearly be wrong.

As a rookie making his first start, Yu Fei's performance in the first quarter definitely scored above 90.

"Not bad, but I'm starting to miss the feeling of coming off the bench," Yu Fei admitted, his comment tinged with a bit of Versailles.

On the court, Fei's departure suddenly tipped the scales in favor of the Magic.

And inexplicably, Kwame Brown seemed to have forgotten how to play basketball altogether.

This confirmed Doug Collins's suspicion—if they expected positive feedback from Brown at this stage, they could only do so by pairing him with Fei.

Fei was Brown's barometer.

With Fei on the court, Brown could catch lobs, play defense, and aside from being somewhat soft in physical confrontations, he looked like a regular inside player.

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Once Fei left the court, Brown appeared soulless, reverting to his sluggish wooden self.

Meanwhile, starting center Jahidi White's stamina was severely depleted.

On the other side, the 2000-2001 Rookie of the Year began to rain shots from the outside.

Mike Miller hit three-pointers in succession, giving the Magic a seven-point lead by the end of the first quarter.

To start the second quarter, Collins brought back Jordan but not Fei.

The reason? Of course, he wouldn't say.

Fei had no objections; after all, his starting position was now a done deal, and based on his first-quarter performance, no one could take that spot from him.

Tyronn Lue was subbed in.

The Wizards' perimeter turned into a combination of Coach Lu, Hamilton, and Jordan.

Jordan seemed to have found a way to handle McGrady.

The method wasn't complex: he had Hamilton match up against McGrady, then, exploiting Hill's unstable jump-shooting, looked for opportunities to draw offensive fouls from McGrady in the paint.

You could say Jordan's method lacked creativity, resembling in CS the way you stomp over to clear out enemies holding positions, but McGrady's casual and lazy style not only made him give up on certain contestable plays in inconsequential moments but also led him to underestimate the importance of those minor yet potentially crucial elements when effectively utilized.

McGrady knocked over Jordan, who had positioned himself in advance.

This was the MCI, the Wizards' home court, where Jordan could draw offensive fouls from anyone.

Even the best player in the Eastern Conference had to concede.

Then, Hamilton nailed a three-pointer from the outside, Hill missed a mid-range jumper, and Coach Lu orchestrated a beautiful defensive counterattack. It was McGrady's moment once again.

At 203 centimeters, with long arms and legs, McGrady had many advantages over Jordan.

The experienced Jordan precisely anticipated McGrady's offensive route, reached in to poke the ball away, and stole it.

This was the first time Fei saw a look of impatience on McGrady's face. McGrady, eager to recover ground, fouled Jordan on the way back.

That was his third foul of the first half.

If Magic's young coach Doc Rivers were a little smarter, he would have taken McGrady out now to cool down.

But you know, there's a reason he was called a blockhead, with countless examples solidifying his reputation for epic comebacks against him.

Rivers remained steadfast on his fishing platform, choosing to stand pat, trusting in McGrady's ability to adjust.

Then, Jordan made the most crucial play since the game began: he faked McGrady with a feint, getting the lazy McGrady to jump when he shouldn't have, putting him in the worst possible plight.

Jordan seized the timing of McGrady's jump, nudge forward, made a light jump, shot, and as the referee's whistle blew, McGrady was called for his fourth foul, while the almost unobstructed shot landed accurately in the basket.

Jordan pursed his lips, clenching his fist.

On the Wizards' sideline, Tyrone Nesby roared almost to the point of kneeling, as if he had witnessed a miracle.

The belated Rivers, preserving McGrady for the second half, finally took him out.

It was at this moment that Collins called out Fei's name, "Frye, you're in for Lu."

Fei hesitated, "Am I playing point guard?"

"Is there a problem?" Collins asked.

Fei inquired again, "Should I control the tempo?"

This time, Collins hesitated. He glanced at Jordan, strutting on the court, and then at his knees.

They were clearly hurting abnormally in the first quarter, so how come in the second...

"If the pace is too fast, Michael will remind you," Collins said.

Does that mean Collins had already accepted the inevitability of Fei joining the starting lineup?

Fei didn't know, but things were advancing in a favorable direction.

Collins letting Fei play point guard without restricting his style of play was a sign of trust in his performance.

It was the first time Fei felt maybe he could get along with Jordan and Collins.

That feeling was fleeting, as the gravity of reality soon pulled Fei out of his emotions.

As Fei stepped onto the court, he took over from Coach Lu.

"Why are you back so soon? I haven't had enough yet!" Coach Lu said, reluctantly.

Yu Fei gave him a sidelong glance. "It sounds as if I had a say in it."

"You do now," Coach Lu said, "starting with tonight's game."

After McGrady left, the Magic adjusted their lineup on the court.

Rivers decided to let Hill play at point guard, a bold move given that Hill was clearly off his game tonight.

But there was also the possibility that the coach hadn't noticed Hill's struggles.

Then, he put Mike Miller at shooting guard, big forward Pat Garrity at small forward, Horace Grant at power forward, and Patrick Ewing at center.

This was a nostalgic lineup.

Three of the five players on the court had been active in the '90s.

One was Jordan's old rival, one was Jordan's former teammate, and one was an early heir to Jordan.

Jordan only exchanged greetings with Ewing, not even casting a glance at Grant. The latter, being the third key player of the first Bulls dynasty and having such a cool relationship with Jordan, left many people sighing, but Yu Fei was not surprised at all.

This was because he had seen "The Last Dance." Jordan, in the past, present, and even 19 years later, unwaveringly labeled Grant a snitch, adamant that he was the source of the leaks for the infamous book critical of Jordan, "The Jordan Rules." Jordan expressed deep disdain in the documentary for Grant revealing team secrets to a journalist for a book. He completely ignored the fact that in the first episode of the documentary, he recounted witnessing his older teammates throwing a drug party in a hotel when he first joined the Bulls. Clearly, God's disclosures were greater than Grant's, because they were done openly, even if they humiliated his former teammates and made it hard for them to face their families. What did that matter, right?

After McGrady was out, the Magic, desperately needing to stabilize their spirits, looked to Hill for guidance.

Since the preseason, Hill's form had been a struggle.

Though his stats looked good, averaging 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists per game, his performance on court seemed to be at best half of what it was before his injury.

Now with McGrady gone, Hill regained his status as the absolute core, and he knew that now it was up to him to play.

Yu Fei approached Hill, not daring to be careless, lowering his center of gravity to guard against Hill's strong first step.

Hill drove his body, changed direction quickly, and although Yu Fei didn't react at first, Hill's acceleration was far from what it used to be, allowing Yu Fei to catch up in the second moment.

The offense stalled, and Hill, with a bold heart, forced his discomforting lower limbs to use footwork to pry open space and shoot off the dribble.

Yu Fei's defense was already in his face; this shot was all about feeling.

Hill made it.

"Without putting pressure on the lower limbs, upper limb interference is just betting on the opponent's touch!" Jordan coached on the court, "That's stupid pig defense!"

The first sentence sounded nice, just the second a bit harsh.

But after all, it was a lesson from the Great One, and Yu Fei remembered it.

The Wizards' offensive possession, with Yu Fei as the point guard bringing the ball up the court, was something new.

Although he had previously brought the ball up the court, it was always temporarily taken from Whitney's hands. Now, actually playing as a point guard, Yu Fei became cautious.

Ratner came up to receive the ball as per tactic.

Once Yu Fei passed the ball, he set a screen for Hamilton on the weak side.

Ratner chose to hand off the ball to a red-hot Jordan.

It proved to be the right decision, as Jordan had just driven McGrady off the floor, brimming with confidence. He got the ball, called for a pick and roll, met with a spiteful double-team from Grant, but cleverly passed to Jahidi White, who dunked for the score.

The Wizards' constipated half-court offense suddenly became more dynamic.

Yu Fei's addition as a ball-handling threat was one reason, another being that Jordan was in excellent form that night, which, in turn, spurred on the others to actively participate.

The surging Wizards began to intensify their defense.

Yu Fei took the lead in guarding Hill on the front court.

Jordan told Yu Fei to put pressure on Hill's lower limbs, and Yu Fei elaborated on that, starting to apply pressure from the front court.

Hill clearly had the ability to get rid of tight defense with bold maneuvers, but he seemed to lack the energy to do so.

Yu Fei didn't know what was wrong with Hill, only feeling the need to increase his intensity a notch.

Then, the referee stopped Yu Fei's assault.

This was the measure of tonight's game, and Yu Fei felt it.

Afterward, Hill finished off a possession with a rushed jump shot that clanged off the iron.

Good shooting touch might help him once, but it wouldn't always be there for him.

Yu Fei took the ball from White, and seeing that the Magic players had almost completed their defense, he slowed down his pace. On the way, he made the "ISO" gesture with his hands.

With no objection from Jordan, and certainly none from anyone else, everyone spaced out.

"Hey, Grant, how are your feet?"

Yu Fei's words were like a curse, "Don't you want to go back and claim warranty?"

Hill's eyes widened, and suddenly, Yu Fei's body bent straight down, the ball travelling between the gap of his left leg, pulling out a horrifying crossover that cut through Hill's center of gravity.

In a panic, Hill only tried to move sideways to get in position, but the limit of his ankle was already reached.

With a crack, Hill felt intense pain in his ankle, lost his balance, and collapsed to the ground. It was his first injury since coming to Orlando. What he didn't know was that this was not the end, nor was it a beginning, nor even the beginning of the end; this was the beginning of the end.

Yu Fei rushed into the paint and scored with a bank shot.

The atmosphere in the MCI reached its climax, while the Magic team clearly sensed something amiss. Only Doug Collins felt an emotion he couldn't quite identify.

Grant Hill, whom they had high hopes for before the game, had just fallen in front of a rookie.

How pathetic, Grant; I had my reasons for looking down on you!

Collins exhaled quietly. From now on, no one would be able to stop Yu Fei from becoming a starter.