Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

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As long as he could score, that was enough.

Besides passing, setting screens, and pick-and-roll, Yu Fei's main source of scoring came from snatching defensive rebounds and launching counter-attacks after the Knicks' failed field goals during set plays.

Tonight, Yu Fei showcased a variety of counter-attack techniques.

A coast-to-coast slam dunk, a sudden stop and change-of-direction step-through layup, and even a Euro-step reverse layup or Euro-step dunk.

On a night when Sprewell dazzled the Garden, Yu Fei, with his fancy counter-attacks, chopped down 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 11 assists.

But the real focus was still on Sprewell.

Glenn Robinson had no intention of giving his all against his former team, settling for 18 points before calling it quits, while Sprewell was on fire, making 15 of 21 shots, including 5 of 7 three-pointers, slashing 40 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and being named the best player of the game.

"For those who think I'm washed up, this game is their KO!"

Since the 90s, Sprewell's image has been linked to violence.

And tonight, after scoring 40 points, he seemed like a serial killer who hadn't had enough.

Anthony Mason had a different opinion: "If I took as many shots, someone would say I'm selfish, disrupting the team's rhythm, because I'm making less than 4 million US Dollars a year. But if those earning tens of millions a year do it, you think it's only right. I want to know when will this double standard end?"

George Karl also had praise tinged with opposition: "Sprewell played a great game, and I'm glad he finally found his rhythm. However, if 20 of his 40 points had been scored by two other teammates, we would have won more comfortably."

With both the players and coaching staff being rhythm masters, the New York media naturally wanted to ask Yu Fei's opinion.

"Frye, what do you think about Latrell's 40 points?"

"What do you think I should think? Actually, I'd rather ask you what you think. Do you like the trade?" Yu Fei pushed back, "Whether you like it or not, Sprewell is no longer a member of the New York Knicks!"

After leaving New York, the Bucks returned to their home court.

They had two days of rest before facing the top team from the Eastern Conference, the New Jersey Nets.

Across the entire Eastern Conference, if there was one team with the best shot at stealing the championship from the titans of the West, it certainly was the Nets.

Although they were severely beaten by the Lakers in the previous season's finals, the Nets had quickly learned from their mistakes, decisively traded the useless Keith Van Horn, and acquired Dikembe Mutombo from Larry Brown—who had been driven insane by Iverson.

The most absurd part of the trade was that Van Horn was the type of player Brown hated the most, just as Mutombo was the type of player Brown loved the most.

Why would he trade his favorite player for his least favorite? He must be crazy; he must have given up on his original team-building plan; he must have lost all hope in the 76ers—that's the only explanation.

Meanwhile, the Nets strengthened their inside game; although the 36-year-old Mutombo was no longer the Defensive Player of the Year from a year ago, his rim protection and rebounding abilities were still incomparable to Van Horn's.

Facing the upcoming strongest team of the Eastern Conference, Bucks' head coach was distracted by other things.

Latrell Sprewell had just had a perfect night, and Karl knew he shouldn't disturb his good mood so soon.

However, when Karl saw Sprewell's complete lack of willingness to go head-to-head with Yu Fei in a scrimmage, something inside him urged him to push the player forward—it was his duty.

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Yu Fei's team had a big win, and the main credit naturally went to Yu Fei, who managed a triple-double in a scrimmage, with the unsung hero being Ray Allen, raining down threes.

George Karl walked toward an indifferent Sprewell with a grim face.

"Sprewell, why can't you be more aggressive?" Karl asked dissatisfied, "Where is the mad competitor from yesterday? If you played like last night, you guys would have won this game!"

Sprewell asked a question Karl himself couldn't answer: "And what would have been the point?"

"This is the kind of complacency! Damn it!" Karl seemed to lose his mind, "You just played a game with that lazy dog Glenn Robinson and got infected by him! That's it! This is what's causing us to lose direction! We deviated from our path last year because of this damned complacency! If you guys can't get spirited, we will never get good results!"

At Sprewell's expense, Karl inexplicably vented his frustration.

Was George Karl only occasionally manic, or was he always like this?

In Yu Fei's impression, he seemed to always behave this way.

Yu Fei couldn't imagine Doug Collins being as mad as George Karl, nor could he imagine Collins criticizing Jordan the way Karl just did to Sprewell.

But was Karl really fearless?

Not exactly, as far as Yu Fei knew, there was someone on the Bucks that Karl absolutely dared not berate.

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Yu Fei looked toward Anthony Mason, who had been complaining incessantly since the start of the season.

Mason ignored Karl.

Karl also ignored Mason.

Could this mutual disregard solve the problem?

Yu Fei didn't believe so, and although it wasn't his concern initially, as Mason's complaints grew increasingly grating, he started to think it was a problem that needed to be addressed sooner rather than later.

With this in mind, Yu Fei asked Ray Allen, "Rey-ray, has our coach tried applying his methods to Anthony?

"Of course," Rey-ray replied sarcastically, "but he got a 'fat pig' in return."

George Karl's back down proved one thing—he wasn't a true tough guy; he could be "conquered."

What Yu Fei meant was, like Jordan "conquered" Collins.

Yu Fei certainly wouldn't try Mason's approach; he wouldn't call Karl a "fat pig." That was too impolite.

It was Mason's rude way—even though it scared Karl—it also severed the bridge of communication between them. In Yu Fei's opinion, Jordan's way of taming Collins was worth learning.

Yu Fei didn't need the coach to "submit" to him like Collins to Jordan; in his view, it was enough for the coach to "obey" at the right time.

To achieve this, he still had a long way to go.

Evening

Since its opening in 1988, the Bradley Center had been the home court of the Bucks.

However, as more teams moved to newer arenas in recent years, the Bradley Center's facilities were noticeably outdated.

The most prominent issue was the heating system of the arena.

It reminded Yu Fei of the days in his past life when he'd shed his coat after school on winter days and play basketball on outdoor courts against the cold wind.

Once you got moving, you could naturally resist the cold. But this was the NBA; Yu Fei hadn't expected to face a similar problem here.

Last time, the preparation for the Magic had not been sufficient. Yu Fei only realized how bad the situation was when he arrived at the venue.

This time, he was more cautious and warmed up an hour earlier at the home court.

He took the game against the Brooklyn Nets very seriously, as they had eliminated his team last season.

Actually, being eliminated was just that; the Wizards were only eighth in the Eastern Conference, and losing to the first seed was nothing out of the ordinary. However, someone on the Nets liked to be smug about it.

In 2000, the first overall pick, Kenyon Martin, said after eliminating the Wizards that Yu Fei was overrated.

Then Yu Fei mocked his Chinese tattoo.

That was the source of their beef.

When the Brooklyn Nets arrived at the venue, as per custom, the main players from both sides would greet each other at midcourt.

Jason Kidd simply exchanged greetings with Yu Fei and then chatted with Ray Allen.

Kenyon Martin was not so friendly, "Yo, it's you, huh? Got bounced by D.C. already?"

"Spare me the talk, lackey of a team swept by the Lakers," Yu Fei looked toward Kidd, "Jason, I heard it's your contract year?"

Kidd, smiling, asked, "Is there a problem?"

"I suggest you bolt after the season," Yu Fei said, "It's impossible to win a championship with this guy around."

The adage about 'half a word too much' implies that saying just one word more could lead to a quarrel.

So Yu Fei and Martin started cursing at each other at midcourt.

This was supposed to be a segment where both sides showed goodwill, yet it devolved into a contest of verbally hunting each other's female family members.

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