Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

The Spurs made a slight adjustment on their defensive matchups.

In the previous four games, Popovich insisted on having Bruce Bowen matchup against Yu Fei. The result was mediocre, as Yu Fei averaged 30+8+7 in the four games.

Yu Fei is the first wing player to perform so comprehensively in the Finals since Jordan.

But the Bucks didn't sweep to the lead.

The series was tied 2-2, indicating that Yu Fei's stats didn't translate entirely into victories, and the Bucks would need someone else to step up if they wanted to win.

If they couldn't stop him, they'd focus on the smaller players and let the larger ones go.

Popovich had Bowen take on Ray Allen and put Stephen Jackson on Yu Fei.

The Bucks did not make any adjustments or changes in personnel.

Because Karl didn't see any need for changes.

Tonight's head referee was still Dick Bavetta.

A year after the Western Conference debacle, Bavetta was still the go-to main referee for big games, with the League's absolute trust in him.

When Bavetta didn't receive any particular instructions from his superiors, he would officiate like a normal referee.

But everyone has their likes and dislikes, and Bavetta didn't like Anthony Mason or Stephen Jackson—those rough guys who'd curse at a referee's family if they were called for a foul.

On the other hand, Yu Fei greeted Bavetta in a friendly manner, "Dick, I heard your grandson Jack is studying in New York?"

Bavetta gave Yu Fei a glance, "Are you interested in kids' stuff?"

"It's like this: last month I was doing an event at Louis Elementary School and met a kid who claimed to be your grandson." Yu Fei chatted casually with Bavetta, "He was even wearing my basketball shoes."

Bavetta knew his little one was a fan of Yu Fei, and given the name of the school and the timing of the event, it seemed that Yu Fei wasn't lying.

"He prefers your autograph," Bavetta said.

"I can give it to him anytime," Yu Fei said, getting ready to start the game, "we can talk after the game."

Getting on good terms with the referees is a must for superstars.

Only a rarity like Allen Iverson would act like the referee's daddy, cursing them out when upset and ending on the referee's blacklist.

However, not all stars need to attend that class.

Because stars also have their hierarchies.

Some shooting stars fall out of the spotlight before they even warm up to the referees, and some so-called stars don't have the clout to deserve referees' favor. It's someone like Yu Fei, who rose quickly in his first year and successfully took off in his second, who needs to build a relationship with them.

Yu Fei didn't leave a bad impression on Bavetta. Although occasionally over the top, he generally showed respect for the referees.

With persistence, Bavetta believed this would be another superstar surrounded by adoring fans.

Then the game started, Duncan tipped the ball, but it was grabbed by Sprewell.

The Bucks initiated a fast break right from the start.

Sprewell's charge was aggressive, focusing only on driving in, but he didn't expect David Robinson to mount a more ferocious defense. The veteran, nearing retirement, jumped with full force at the beginning of the game and fiercely blocked The Madman's shot.

Unfortunately for Sprewell, there was Yu Fei just behind him.

Robinson's block fell into the hands of Yu Fei, who could no longer jump repeatedly like in his youth.

Yu Fei caught the ball, leaped up, and hammered down a two-handed dunk over Robinson's body.

Then, Robinson, though powerless to do more but still keeping his stature stable without extra movements, was called for a defensive foul by Bavetta.

And One!

"I didn't foul!" protested Robinson.

"David, how can you say that?" Yu Fei laughed, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord (Romans 12:19). Don't you believe the Lord will repay?"

Robinson was the type to preach to young people using Bible verses and to lead by example.

But Robinson knew that clutching a Bible on the court didn't work, so his motto was "no swearing, unless it's during the game."

Humiliated by Yu Fei using the Bible against him, all Robinson felt was indignance.

Then, Yu Fei smiled at Bavetta, who showed no expression, as if truly officiating with impartiality.

Yu Fei only knew that if Bavetta continued to favor him, he'd really have to sign something for the man's grandson.

The free throw was good, 0-3.

Because the Spurs had Stephen Jackson defend Yu Fei, this led to a complete one-on-one matching between them at both ends of the court.

Yu Fei liked to leave Jackson open to double-team Duncan.

That's because the Spurs learned the OK isolation positioning from the Lakers that busted all defenses.

The Lakers had Kobe stand outside while Shaquille O'Neal played the low post; the Spurs didn't have Kobe, and Duncan's low post wasn't as destructive as O'Neal's, but the Duncan and Jackson combination was still considered a defensive breaking tool.

What the Spurs didn't expect was that Yu Fei truly didn't regard the 33% three-point shooting Jackson as a threat.

When Duncan got the ball outside the paint, Yu Fei immediately contracted inside, forming a double team with Mason.

The Big Ball Era's stringent requirement for stars was the ability to score consistently in tight spaces.

Without quality shooters to stretch the floor, double-teams came quickly. And because the shooters weren't highly skilled, opponents weren't afraid of passes to the perimeter.

When faced with the double-team, Duncan's first reaction wasn't to pass the ball back to Jackson but to look for options as the defensive pressure from Mason and Yu Fei grew stronger. As a result, he had to dribble backward to create space.

In the end, making an unwise decision in just a split second nearly wasted Duncan's offensive opportunity.

"No time left!"

His teammates' warning caused Duncan to panic; he stepped back, stepping on the three-point line, and fired off an exceedingly awkward buzzer-beating shot.

For a moment, Yu Fei thought he saw the spirit of those soft Big Ball Era players without an inside soul, like Victor Wembanyama, Chet, and Kristaps Porzingis, possessed Duncan⑴.

If you think Duncan wouldn't do something like that, I suggest you watch Game 5 of the '03 Western Conference Finals.

Duncan's shot was nonsensical; it was far from his usual offensive habit, and the outcome was quite predictable.

The ball scraped the bottom of the rim and flew out of bounds. Explore more adventures at empire

"Too bad!" Yu Fei mocked, "If the basket had been moved forward 10 centimeters, you would have made it."

Duncan blinked his large eyes and said softly, "That's right."

Duncan left, and Mason was still puzzled, "Was he serious?"

Then Yu Fei took off as well, since longevity around Mason could lead to a drop in IQ.

"Was he serious?" Could a person actually ask that?

Afterward, Yu Fei noticed that Bruce Bowen's off-ball defense on Ray Allen was nothing short of brutal.

Even just watching from the sidelines, one could feel how intense the physicality that Bowen brought to his off-ball confrontations was.

After every game, Bowen would hit the gym to lift weights, a habit he had maintained for many years, making him the most energetic person on the Spurs team.

This might have been the secret to his formidable defense. A tireless person willing to play dirty if needed to focus on defense could even make Kobe struggle.

A star like Ray Allen, who only withstood but didn't retaliate, was Bowen's favorite type of prey.

Seeing Allen's fruitless running without creating opportunities, Yu Fei called for Dan Gadzuric's pick-and-roll.

Unexpectedly, Robinson stepped out, but Yu Fei played by the tactics and passed the ball to Gadzuric rolling to the basket.

Up to this point, things seemed to be going smoothly.

But just as they were about to finish, suddenly out flew Duncan.

No, rather, Duncan burst out.

Because Duncan remained on the ground, he just raised his hands, and that alone made Gadzuric miss what seemed like an easy opportunity.

This was the Spurs' Twin Towers' show of strength; both had quick enough feet to defend the high pick-and-roll, one would step out, and the other could still protect the basket.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Of course, this was also related to Mason having no shooting threat. Duncan wasn't afraid to give him space and could focus on rim protection.

But the Spurs had their own struggles on the offensive end.

Young and somewhat naive, Tony Parker as the offensive initiator was clearly not up to par.

In an era where tight defense was allowed, using Yu Fei to launch pressing double teams on the ball-handler worked time and again.

Pressure forced Parker to pass the ball, which fell right into the Bucks' trap.

Sprewell stole the ball.

The game went back and forth. Duncan blocked a shot, and then the Bucks quickly forced a turnover from Parker under the leadership of Yu Fei.

Sprewell seized the fast-break opportunity and dunked the ball to score.

0 to 5

The crowd at SBC Center started jeering as Parker moved the ball past half-court.

This booing... how should I put it, it had a sort of aesthetic similar to Kawhi Leonard's first return to the Spurs' home court during the Raptors era.

Let's not argue over the rights and wrongs between Kawhi and the Spurs, booing him was natural, but what did Parker do to deserve this?

Yu Fei really felt that the Spurs fans disliked Parker; this wasn't the first time he heard them boo the Frenchman at SBC Center.

Facing adversity, Parker didn't give up. Amidst the chorus of boos, he delivered an alley-oop pass to Duncan in the crowd.

Duncan jumped lightly and completed an air relay dunk.

Then the fans started cheering.

This is what you'd call a "stinky tofu" player.

The young and sharp Parker, once moved to the starting lineup, was rumored to be frequently schooled by Coach Popovich's 'hairdryer treatment.' Duncan didn't like him, and then, the League's best guard had flirted with them for a year, just waiting for the offseason to bid farewell to the retiring David Robinson, planning to sign Kidd with the salary cap space freed up.

So, at that point, Parker was pretty much in a state of universal disdain.

2 to 5

Yu Fei had the ball, now with two choices: one was to dish it to Ray Allen to spare him from Bowen's disorienting defense; the other, to play through Sprewell, creating even bigger problems for Parker through his embarrassment.

Since Ray Allen had endured George Karl for many years, how would a little more suffering from Bowen's defense be?

Yu Fei decided to tough it out with Rey-ray. If anything went wrong later, it would be on Bowen.

Yu Fei called for Sprewell's pick-and-roll.

Parker chose not to switch, a smart move but not that smart. Since he and Sprewell were at the free-throw line position, and with a pass from Yu Fei, The Madman could immediately initiate the attack.

Man and ball arrived, and after receiving the pass, Sprewell blew past Parker, charging to the basket to challenge Duncan again.

Duncan still opted for a standing defense, but Sprewell was not the timid type like Gadzuric; mere posturing wasn't enough to stop him.

Sprewell challenged the defense and scored a layup.

"!￥@%"

Popovich roared at Parker, believing the Frenchman's defense was atrocious, not giving Duncan time to react; then the entire audience echoed.

The two most piercing comments were "We want Jason!" and, "We want Manu!"

However, with the overwhelming sound of booing, Parker likely didn't catch those two hurtful remarks.

Yu Fei quietly savored this divine chorus. Who caused it? Certainly not him. He was merely a booster. What mattered was that the people of Saint City didn't realize how good Parker could be.

Would the arrival of the great GDP trio disband early because of him?

Considering this possibility, the booing at SBC Center sounded even more melodious.