Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 458 - 312 James Endures Hardship
Chapter 458: Chapter 312 James Endures Hardship
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Trailing by a large deficit of 0-2 and having lost their second-best player, the Cavaliers were a true embodiment of a despondent army.
But a despondent army doesn’t mean certain victory, especially in the realm of sports.
For the third game back in Cleveland, the Cavaliers did a lot to secure a win.
They, for instance, granted the young Anderson Varejao more playing time and elevated sharpshooter Ronald Murray to a higher tactical position.
In the end, though, they still needed to place their hopes on James.
But James was no deity; he couldn’t change the overall situation. The only possibility that could cause trouble was the League’s officiating standards.
Back home, the Cavaliers could very well receive the same kind of favoring that Miami Heat did.
If Wade could get 30 free throws in a game against the Bucks, then what’s wrong with giving James 40 free throws to extend the duel of giants by one more game?
However, such an outrageous scenario only ever occurred in the imagination, even the infamous Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals didn’t go that far.
Yu Fei entered the game lightly and didn’t take the Cavaliers seriously, scoring 11 points in the first quarter, looking set to score high again.
James’s touch, however, couldn’t find the breakthrough, whether it was with his mid-range shots, long-range shots, or even pull-up threes from outside.
When he missed, Raja Bell would happily utter those words that annoyed James, “If Frye were switched in, it would have gone in.”
Then came Kwame Brown, who, with Yu Fei’s assist, was like a storm in the paint.
Before leaving the court in the first quarter, Brown set a screen then cut inside, dashing under the basket to jump and catch Yu Fei’s alley-oop pass, dunking over Varejao’s head and wearing a proud grin that he couldn’t suppress.
“Damn it, if I had started my career in Cleveland, even if I couldn’t become The Chosen One like Big Fei, I could’ve at least been a freaking King!”
Brown, whether influenced by Yu Fei or some other reason, showed little respect for his opponents.
After four years of hardship, Brown finally came into his own next to Yu Fei.
Most importantly, he found his worth. He was not the garbage that Jordan described, nor was he a bust in the traditional sense. As long as he was in the right position, he could shine too, becoming a key interior player for a championship-contending team.
One could say that joining the Bucks changed Brown’s career.
One could also say, Yu Fei changed Brown’s career.
Brown didn’t think so deeply; he merely had an almost obsessive-compulsive urge to boast because he had been disparaged too much in the past four years.
But four years prior, he was a nationally praised basketball talent, scouted as the second coming of Webber.
Four years of hitting rock bottom made the already arrogant Brown even more twisted.
But in Cleveland, there was no room for a second person to call themselves King.
Just as there is only one sun in the sky, there can only be one King on earth.
The booing in Quicken Loans Arena nearly drowned Brown out. The fans didn’t know what he had said, but they could tell he was taunting James.
In the second quarter, Yu Fei didn’t take the court until four minutes into the game, by which time the Bucks had secured a 14-point lead.
Yu Fei quickly made his presence felt, relentlessly taking Ronald Murray one-on-one and then calling out James, particularly with an ankle-breaking move that was like a streetball trick, which infuriated many of James’s supporters.
Wasn’t this akin to making a monkey out of someone?
Yu Fei was only a step away from acting like one of those crowd-pleasing streetballers by smashing the ball into James’s face.
The humiliation of being publicly toyed with imprinted itself in James’s heart. He wanted to defend with all his might, but his technique and physique didn’t match up, his experience couldn’t keep up with his talent. It was like having a high-spec computer that played Plants vs. Zombies all day. In one round, he was shaken off twice by Yu Fei, ultimately helpless as he watched his opponent score a jump shot.
“Your defense is the same as what I saw back in ABCD Camp,” Yu Fei couldn’t help but jeer, “No improvement at all. I love telling the truth.”
James was seething with anger.
After the night of scoring 70 points, he had sworn to himself that he would never let Yu Fei talk down to him like an elder again.
But the harsh realities of their difference in ability prevented him from stopping it.
James, filled with resentment, mustered all of his strength to charge towards the paint, looking to unleash a thunderous dunk to vent his frustration.
However, with Brown in front and Yu Fei behind, the Bucks’ duo became a formidable barrier, leaving James no option but to pass.
To make matters worse, before Varejao could even secure the ball, Yu Fei, having landed, nimbly snatched it away.
That was the capital that led Yu Fei to be selected for the All-Defensive Second Team two years in a row.
He certainly wasn’t the kind of defensive demon or anchor that Artest or Duncan were, but his physical talent and athletic ability gave him the foundation to be an excellent defender. Combined with top-notch awareness and stealing technique, he had the potential to be among the top defenders.
It was just that Yu Fei, burdened with the responsibility of the main core, didn’t always showcase much on the defensive end.
Grabbing one or two steals per game, blocking a shot, was enough for him to make the All-Defensive Team.
The Cavaliers, completely deflated, felt dead in the water, and James swung between being heated and recognizing reality in less than a minute.
He knew, without a doubt, that they would lose tonight.
At this point, there was no need to delude oneself with talk of seeking victory. Such talk might placate children, but reality dictated that without Larry Hughes, if the Bucks didn’t implode, and if the League didn’t offer limitless assistance, victory for the Cavaliers was all but unattainable.
And whether the Bucks would implode actually depended on if Yu Fei would allow it. Being the main core, his performance was the weathervane for the Bucks. Clearly, he wouldn’t give the Cavaliers any chance.
Since James entered the League, including the playoffs, the Cavaliers had lost to the Bucks 14 times in a row.
Do you think Big Fei doesn’t want to extend that record?
From the standpoint of records, that’s more embarrassing than having Big Fei score 70 points over your head.
A 70-point night can only prove that he got totally blown out in one game, but if he has never won a single game in his career, in the current era he’d be called the nemesis, ten years later a maid, and in the abstract culture prevalent 2020s, fun-seekers would call this Star Rage.
If you can’t win, then you just have to lose by less.
James’s style of play changed.
Moving from pursuing victory to pursuing stats is an extremely special change, as difficult as going to a brothel to pick Takizawa Laura or, taking a step back, to download one of her classic works online for a peek.
Although neither has much specific significance, they can provide solace to one’s heart.
However, compared to admiring the teacher’s grace, obtaining stats not only helped James find psychological balance but also offered some consolation to his supporters.
But you know, Yu Fei is someone who wants to win big, and he only needed a few rounds to guess what James was up to.
Since James didn’t want to continue the “big brother and little brother game,” then as the big brother, he didn’t need to show off his gentleness anymore.
You want stats to save face, I’ll just not give you the chance.
Yu Fei went to talk with George Karl, and during a timeout, they spent a minute discussing only one thing, “How to stop the opponent from stat-packing?”
To talk about how to let Yu Fei stat-pack, Karl would have a bit of a headache since that would mean altering the entire team’s cake, but to limit the opponent from stat-packing? Easy peasy.
“If LeBron wants to attack, we double-team him. If LeBron wants to position himself, we’ll assign someone specifically to squeeze him. If we do these two things well, we can pretty much ensure he doesn’t get too many points or rebounds.”
Yu Fei innocently asked, “Ah, do we have to be that obvious? Isn’t there a more subtle way, so we don’t look like we don’t want him to get any stats tonight?”
Karl nodded, “Of course, there are other ways.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“What do you think about having Sprewell go up there and choke his neck?”
The idea was so delightful it could cause a brain aneurysm.
Yu Fei glanced ambiguously at the distant James, just wondering if the other party felt a chill down his neck at this moment?
“Forget it,” Yu Fei sighed, “I don’t want to get Sprewell banned for another year. Let’s just do it this way, give LeBron a hard time, tonight will pass quickly.”
After that, James began to be targeted.
It was extremely obvious.
The Cavaliers, except for James, had no one else who needed to be double-teamed, but James’s passing ability made many teams hesitant to double-team him easily.
But the Bucks wanted to double-team; even if it gave the Cavaliers’ shooters opportunities, they were determined to shut down James.
The consequence of this was that the Cavaliers’ constipated offense suddenly became like mercury pouring down, with James’s assists increasing, but the Bucks could respond adequately.
And from that point on, apart from assists, there were no significant trends in the increase of James’s other stats.
In the end, the Bucks beat the Cavaliers with a 116 to 101 advantage, taking a large 3-0 lead in the series.
Tonight, Yu Fei racked up 41 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, while James finally broke through the siege, getting 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 14 assists.
It was a happy event that he finally had one statistic higher than Yu Fei.
But who cares if James had more assists than Yu Fei?
Instead, with James passing a lot, his shooters scored more threes, giving others the impression that the Cavaliers’ teammates provided him with a lot of support, and he just kept passing on the outside.
Even Yu Fei hadn’t expected this would trigger a new wave of negative public opinion against James.
You can only say it’s bad luck when you choke on water.
As for who brought this bad luck, Yu Fei didn’t care.
Like when the reporter asked him, “In terms of losing points, tonight’s Cavaliers team improved by 35 points from the first game, showing they’re getting better. Does this put pressure on you guys?”
“I don’t care,” Yu Fei said, “Right now, the only thing I’m concerned about is the next round of the playoffs.”
“But the semifinals aren’t over.”
“They’re already over,” Yu Fei stated matter-of-factly, “It’s still not too late to write a season summary for the Cavaliers.”
With an obvious gap in hard power and a big 0 to 3 deficit, there’s no precedent for a comeback in history. Thus, while Yu Fei was somewhat disrespectful to his opponent, his rough words aren’t without reason.
The Cavaliers’ season had indeed finished, but like a deceased, one has to wait until the seventh day after death to complete all the rituals.
Even the Cavaliers’ top brass was no longer concerned with the series.
They’ve lost, so what? Can’t they afford to lose? Since the Cavaliers’ golden generation was crushed by Jordan in the early ’90s, they never had hope, but this year, James brought a glimmer of dawn. Even if Yu Fei’s brilliance was more blinding than expected, Clevelanders still believe James could lead them to the end.
Now the most important thing is keeping James here.
That is what Dan Gilbert is pondering, planning to offer James a fully guaranteed five-year max contract after the season ends.
As long as James signs the contract, the Cavaliers can keep the King until the summer of 2012.
Hmm, that’s the apocalypse year, but as long as the King is around, they can face the apocalypse with a smile.
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