Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

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On December 10, the Bucks came to Detroit for their first game against the Pistons this season.

Interestingly, Latrell Sprewell, who was suspended for a year due to the brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills, had his suspension lifted not long ago, but only made his official return today.

In his return, Sprewell lost one thing—his starting position.

In the NBA, let alone a year, even a month's absence can lead to many changes.

Now, the Bucks have replaced Sprewell with Raja Bell and heavily fostered the growth of Kevin Martin, who is a strong contender for the Most Improved Player of the Year award.

For a former star, losing a starting spot is certainly hard to stomach, but Sprewell has no reason to be dissatisfied.

He received a hefty contract for retirement, which was enough consolation for him to accept any adversity.

Since last season, when Yu Fei negotiated this retirement contract for him, Sprewell knew he owed a tremendous favor, one so big he must repay it with the rest of his career.

His mission was singular: to uphold the honor of Yu Fei.

If Yu Fei needed him to come off the bench, he would do so.
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Tonight, Yu Fei had a rare inefficient night because he extensively used backdown plays against the Pistons.

However, his low-post shooting percentage was not high, and whenever he started his backdown, the figure of a man wearing the Wizards' number 23 jersey would appear in his mind.

Whenever he wanted to imitate that person's moves against the Pistons, his body would instinctively resist, making him wish he could banish that figure from his mind.

But he couldn't, just like in the dead of night when you suffer from insomnia, but a catchy song plays on loop in your head, no matter how you try to distract yourself, the song keeps playing in your mind.

That's what Yu Fei was experiencing.

However, the Pistons were no longer the tough team they had been over the past two years.

Larry Brown's system had been torn apart by their current coach, Flip Saunders, and the Bucks' shooters seized the opportunity to excel, with Kwame Brown profiting from Big Fei's success.

Because the Pistons focused their defense on Fei, Brown hardly needed to do anything to get one dunk after another.

This also allowed Brown to deliver a season-highlight performance against the Pistons, scoring 26 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, along with 2 assists and 3 blocks.

"I think my experience in Milwaukee proves one thing," Brown said philosophically, "Hang with dogs, you'll eat crap; hide behind the Wolf King, and you might get meat."

As to whether Brown's 'dogs' referred to Nowitzki or Jordan, opinions may vary.

However, it might also be the case that both qualify, one a German Shepherd, one an American Black Back, hmm...

Tonight, Fei was 7 for 21 from the field, scoring only 22 points along with 10 rebounds and 8 assists, but still, he won the game, although it was a night where his teammates carried the core forward.

But he truly enjoyed his current status.

If his teammates could carry the game, he would take the chance to work on his low-post game; against a strong defensive team like the Pistons, his low-post offense wasn't yet a viable regular option.

He did, however, utilize some Jordan-style low-post moves tonight; though formulaic and still unable to fully integrate footwork with technique, they were effective nonetheless.

The low shooting percentage tonight was related to his own touch.

Fei felt he might need dozens more games to get a basic handle on it.

After mastering the basics, to improve, he would need to find a master during the off-season for some intense training.

At the evening's press conference, reporters focused mainly on Sprewell's performance in his comeback.

Even though security at The Palace of Auburn Hills had been stepped up, preventing the terrible situation from a year ago, there were still many unfriendly incidents.

Under the extremely hostile environment, Sprewell played 18 minutes and scored 8 points with 3 rebounds.

"I'm pretty sure Spre won't be rushing into the stands again," Fei said. "This year, he's not only maintained his training but has also attended support groups to quell his inner anger. His emotional management has improved, and I believe he prepared a lot for tonight's game. As you all saw, he wasn't affected."

With Brown's departure and the Pistons' decline in strength, it seems the tension between the Bucks and Pistons has eased somewhat.

The reporters did not get any harsh words from Fei about the Pistons.

Then, a reporter from ESPN asked, "The Bucks currently lead the Eastern Conference with a 14-5 record. As a team with many young players, how do you balance nurturing young talent and maintaining competitiveness?"

"There's no need to balance. As long as our young players are as outstanding as Kevin Martin, their potential will naturally develop, and the team's record will be assured," he answered.

Then came the strangest question of the day, one unrelated to the Bucks, Pistons, or even Fei himself.

"What do you think about Stan Van Gundy's dismissal?"

Fei casually remarked, "I think Coach Riley might be coming back."

This wasn't a prophecy, nor the foresight of a time-traveler. Fei was merely stating something that had been discussed in the outside world for over a year.

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Ever since the Miami Heat acquired Shaquille O'Neal, rumors of Pat Riley's comeback intensified by the day.

Last postseason, the Heat were defeated by the Pacers, stopping at the semi-finals, and Stan Van Gundy's coaching style was questioned by O'Neal, which deteriorated their relationship from then on.

And now, that relationship was gone beyond retrieval, and with Stan Van Gundy losing control over the team, Riley, who had been behind the scenes for several years, keenly realized this was his last chance to win a championship as a coach.

On the day the Bucks defeated the Pistons away, Stan Van Gundy was dismissed, and Riley returned to the spotlight, taking up the coaching reins once again.

It seemed like a declaration.

The Heat had championship-level players and a coach; now they had to turn those into an NBA championship.

Two days later, the Heat came to Milwaukee.

This was the Heat's first match against the Bucks this season.

The Heat's arrival made Yu Fei think about the journalist who asked him the question about Van Gundy's dismissal the night before.

Looking at it now, that question wasn't shot in the dark; after all, the Bucks were about to play against the Heat.

The Riley-led Heat should be the complete form of the team that beat the Mavericks in 2006.

Yu Fei considered the Heat the biggest competitor in the Eastern Conference and paid extra attention to tonight's game.

Bradley Center

At yesterday's press conference, Pat Riley, as the president of the Miami Heat Team, announced that Pat Riley would replace Stan Van Gundy as the new head coach of the Miami Heat.

That was a little joke Riley played with the media.

A journalist from Sports Illustrated asked him, "Do you feel that compared to the past, it is now a completely different world?"

Riley admitted his era was over, but he still had confidence in himself and hoped to be just like in his heyday: cunning, energetic, strategic, passionate, creative, and having methods to turn creativity into practice. In the 1980s and 1990s, Riley was the epitome of success, a stylish shark who made NBA coaches look as cool as the players with his polished attire.

Today, Riley was in the locker room with the team, but not by choice.

It was 6:45 p.m., and there was a little more than an hour before the Miami Heat Team's away game against the Eastern Conference leaders, the Bucks, and the media was pouring in from the outside. Whether at home or away, Riley was isolated from the world; when journalists stayed in the locker room for the mandated 45 minutes, he almost never appeared— and it was the same with most of the team's important players.

Riley would usually hide in his office, and the players in the practice court, but the Bradley Center was an old arena, and its designers, like the older generation, were not guest-friendly. Legend has it that Red Auerbach used to pump up the heat in the visiting team's locker room to increase the fatigue of the visiting players.

The Bucks did quite the opposite, providing easy access for the media. There wasn't even a small door in the visiting team's locker room, and the visiting team wasn't allowed on the court for practice until half an hour before the start of the game. The visiting coaches and players could only hide at their lockers, facing the swarm of journalists.

Soon, Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O'Neal, Wade, Jason Williams, Gary Payton, Antoine Walker... the team that hoped to win the championship this season found themselves surrounded.

Only Riley stood undisturbed, as if there was a force field around him that would singe any foolish journalist who dared approach. He was staring at an oversized tactical board covered in text, slant lines, arrows, and tactical diagrams.

"Eric, what's the assignment for today?"

Riley suddenly asked.

The so-called assignment could be understood as the team's motto for the game that day, a habit of Stan Van Gundy's that Riley had inherited.

Riley's lead assistant, Erik Spoelstra, said, "How about 'The first step towards the championship'?"

Riley nodded without hesitation, "That works."

Spoelstra wrote the sentence on the tactical board.

Looking at Spo's writing, Riley couldn't help but remember Van Gundy's tearful resignation speech two days prior, when he said it was to return to his family.

Return to his family, what a good reason? Every man needs a harbor.

But if a man can't forcefully stop his tears, no matter how beautiful the harbor, it will be destroyed.

So, why did Riley come back?

Riley remembered clearly how he answered the journalists: "To win one last championship."

The word "last" reminded Riley of his old nemesis— Phil Jackson set the theme for the Bulls' 1997-98 season as The Last Dance—the lucky bastard had the fortune of coaching Michael Jordan and consequently the fortune of coaching OK. Yes, it's a mouthful, but you get it, right? He was "fortunate" in that way.

What about me?

"Eric," Riley said, "your writing is much worse than Stan's."

Spo was taken aback.

"Let's go with something else," Riley said, "For the championship."

"For the championship?"

"Yes," Riley repeated, "For the championship."