Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

After the lively pre-game activities, tonight's main event also began. The match between Yu Fei and James was always a highlight. Now the Cavaliers had brought in Shaquille O'Neal and Mo Williams, truly strengthening the team's inside and outside game. It was said that James spent the entire summer in special training, thoroughly honing his technical details. But Yu Fei still didn't understand what the Cavaliers intended by bringing in Shaquille O'Neal. Even though the Cavaliers' main rivals in the Eastern Conference all had star big men, a player like Shaquille O'Neal, whose offensive threat was limited to the three-second zone, severely clashed with James' style of play. From the practical effects, it looked more like a cry for help. The Cavaliers wanted to prove they had done everything they could in terms of recruitment. Before the game started, Yu Fei deliberately came before Shaquille O'Neal to taunt him, "If you had known you were cut out to be a bodyguard, Kobe wouldn't have kicked you out of Los Angeles." Though Shaquille O'Neal wanted to ease the tension, he wouldn't let Yu Fei get on his nerves and responded, "If you knew what respect was, Michael wouldn't have traded you to Milwaukee." "If old guys like you were worthy of respect, I would certainly respect you," Yu Fei sneered, "But he's not worth it, just like you aren't either." James, turning peacemaker, said, "Enough, we're here to play the game." "This is a conversation between winners," Yu Fei looked down on the Cavaliers' No. 23 with contempt, "A loser like you should just shut up." The new season's SuperSonics had plenty of newcomers. Veterans like Barnes, who had heard rumors about Yu Fei, found that Big Fei wasn't as hard to get along with as the legends suggested once they joined the team. No, it should be said that Big Fei appeared to be a nice guy most of the time. As long as you didn't slack off or do anything to annoy him, he was more than happy to interact with you. But today, he bared his fangs in front of Shaquille O'Neal and James. DeAndre Jordan, temporarily taking Kwame Brown's place in the starting lineup, swallowed hard as he remembered Brown's advice. "If Frye criticizes you, you'd better not talk back. Because the only thing worse than having him criticize you is having him dislike you." It took Yu Fei less than half a minute to make DeAndre Jordan fully understand the meaning behind Brown's words. James, red-faced and embarrassed, couldn't muster a single word in reply. Yu Fei double-teamed them verbally and came out on top, then walked to the side as the game was about to start. DeAndre Jordan looked at Shaquille O'Neal with a faint sense of awe; the man's weight might have been 1.5 times his own. Then, DeAndre Jordan won the tip-off with his impressive jumping ability. "Wanna give your little brother a welcome gift?" Roy asked Yu Fei after getting the ball. "Screw off," Yu Fei replied with a dark face, "Don't disgust me!" He said that, but as soon as Yu Fei got into position, he backed up against James, ready to play in the low post. Roy really knew him too well. Every bit of Yu Fei's body language screamed, "I'm going to smash this bastard!" Roy didn't dawdle and lobbed the ball in. Yu Fei got the ball, faked a shoulder move, then stepped back for a fadeaway jumper. "Swish!" "Do you even know how to defend?" Yu Fei sneered mockingly. James kept a stern face and still said nothing. The Little Emperor was cool enough not to launch an immediate offense because the lineup restricted his desires. Shaquille O'Neal at this point was somewhat similar to Boban Marjanovic. Could you expect him to defend? Could you expect him to jockey for position and protect the rebound? If you were expecting him to do these things, you might as well use a blue-collar player. The value of Shaquille O'Neal now was to exert his due power when he had the energy, no different from Boban making use of his unmatched height and weight in the era of small ball. So, as long as Shaquille O'Neal was on the court, the Cavaliers' offense was easy to predict. Ninety percent of the time, they would play toward the inside. But, Shaquille O'Neal didn't disappoint, receiving the ball and pushing DeAndre Jordan aside with one move, then turning near the basket for a hook shot that hit its mark. "I know you can't hold him off, but do you have to fall over at the slightest touch?" Yu Fei passed the ball to DeAndre Jordan. "Don't be intimidated by that guy's chubby body; he looks tough on the outside but is actually weak, nothing to be afraid of." DeAndre Jordan was terrified when he saw Big Fei criticize him, as if his soul was about to fly away. "I'll definitely hold my ground next time!" DeAndre Jordan promised. Yu Fei wasn't really saying that DeAndre Jordan had to hold his ground, actually, nowadays Shaquille O'Neal wasn't as keen on crushing his opponents under the basket like a tank and dunking fiercely as he was at the start of the century. On one hand, his physical condition had greatly declined and, on the other hand, playing that way was very exhausting. Back when he was young and unmatched in all-around skills, he probably smashed his opponents into pieces with just five percent effort, but now, he would have to exert himself fully to achieve that effect. But was it necessary? With full effort, he could only play a good game for ten minutes at most, but if he conserved his energy, he could last for twenty minutes. Therefore, if DeAndre Jordan just stubbornly held his ground, he could increase Shaquille O'Neal's fatigue. If like before DeAndre Jordan flies away at the slightest touch, scoring would be too easy. Yu Fei had just finished talking in the backcourt when Roy, in the frontcourt, signaled DeAndre Jordan to come out for a pick and roll. Shaquille O'Neal would at most follow to the edge of the paint, but DeAndre Jordan's athletic ability exceeded his expectations. After setting a high screen, this guy instantly cut back towards the basket, looking like a full-grown gorilla with superhuman athletic ability; Shaquille O'Neal reacted too slowly, and DeAndre Jordan was already airborne. With a feed from Roy, DeAndre Jordan slammed the ball into the hoop with both hands. "DJ, do all you Jordans have such hops?" Roy's trash talk again provoked Fei's death glare. "Don't glare at me, there are so many people with the last name Jordan you can't hate them all," Roy mumbled, "Just like you and Shaq don't get along, but that doesn't affect your friendship with Jermaine." "You're right, Brandon." Fei waited until James came to the frontcourt. Just like there are so many James in the world, but the only one he truly wished would drop dead was dear LeBron himself. "Not going for the ball again?" Fei pressed close to James, "Who are you showing weakness to?" James snorted, "How I play is my business!" Then, the Cavaliers once again lobbed the ball inside. But DeAndre Jordan was no longer a fragile tofu project that would crumble upon impact. He withstood the first wave, buying Marion time to help on defense. Shaquille O'Neal wanted to pass the ball, but the SuperSonics had a design on him. The result of a wild pass was that it got disrupted by Durant's long arms, and then Fei grabbed the ball. "I held my ground!" DeAndre Jordan said in disbelief, "I limited Shaquille O'Neal all by myself!" Fei froze for a moment, there were too many things to mock, he didn't know where to start. Was this dismissing Marion as non-existent, or had he been infected by Kwame? Fei quickly brought the ball up to the frontcourt, passed it to Durant first, then went down to the low post to ask for it. Wisely, Durant spaced out with Fei on the weak side and lobbed the ball to him. The other three players conscientiously moved to the strong side. The scene of Fei going one-on-one in the low post against James appeared on the court again. This time, James was fully concentrated. The two biggest improvements he had made over the years were in two areas, one was perimeter shooting, with a three-point shooting percentage that had stabilized at 36% last season. Over the past summer, he continued to rigorously train threes, confident in reaching a new level in the upcoming season. Aside from that, it was his defense that had improved the most. In previous years, he mainly relied on athleticism for defense, and blockbuster chase-down blocks were what people remembered most about his defense. But now, James was determined to become a Jordan-style player who excelled both in offense and defense. However, Fei's low post offense was also not what it was two years ago. In the past two years, because he was part of the Dream Team, Fei didn't attend Olajuwon's "Dream Workshop," but with a low-post master like Kobe to spar with on the national team, his low-post offense improved rapidly. Last possession he scored with a shoulder shake and step back jumper. This possession he started with the same shoulder shake, but it was a Garnett-style left-right-left triple shake. James misjudged the timing of the offense, jumped prematurely, and was once again caught by Fei exploiting the vulnerability to score with the timing difference. Being repeatedly broken by Fei's low post offense disturbed James's calm. The next possession, James suddenly came to a halt at the high post and pulled up for a dry jumper. This shot shared the same lottery nature as Garnett's low-post jumper. Fei effectively contested it, and James's forced shot didn't go in. Shaquille O'Neal proved that the Cavaliers' acquisition wasn't entirely nonsensical. As long as he had enough energy, he was still one of the top centers in the League. Shaquille O'Neal leapt and secured the offensive rebound. Since he was very close to the basket, he simply used his body to shove both DeAndre Jordan and Marion aside and easily put the ball into the basket. 6 to 4 You could tell, he really had aged. If it were back in his younger days, he would have just slammed it down with a dunk. James started to stick closely to Fei. He didn't want to give Fei an easy chance to receive the ball. "If you really don't want me to get the ball, you might as well just hug me," Fei taunted. At this moment, James, who was at a disadvantage, completely blocked out Fei's trash talk. He was very focused, but defense wasn't just about concentration. Suddenly, DeAndre Jordan came out to set a screen, and Fei slipped to the corner to catch Roy's pass. Just when the opponents thought he was going to shoot, he violently threw the ball towards the rim. Half a second later, DeAndre Jordan soared, his jumping height was terrifying. Within the SuperSonics, only he could catch that pass. Unfortunately, although DeAndre Jordan caught the ball, his lack of strength and the push from Shaquille O' Neal caused him to go soft-handed. What could have entered the season's top plays as an aerial alley-oop dunk was missed. Mo Williams jumped up and grabbed the defensive rebound. First glance, and he saw the bolt-like speed of James racing down. Little Mo's long pass was swift, but after he passed the ball, his eyes suddenly widened. Because SuperSonics' No. 44 chased after it with a speed that also went beyond his understanding. He jumped ahead of the ball's landing, his 220 cm arm span blocking the pass and intercepting it mid-air. James was furious, wanting to step up on defense. However, the descending Fei seemed to be suddenly possessed by Kobe, using the momentum to elbow James with his left hand. The referee witnessed it but remained silent. James cried out in pain, but Fei had already dashed to the frontcourt to launch an unguarded chase-down three. "Swish!!!" The Cavaliers called for a timeout. James's close aide Randy Mims saw how James was elbowed and immediately became livid: "You lowdown scoundrel! I curse you to burn in hell!" "That's right, we all eventually go down to hell," Fei turned to Mims and said, "But even there, LeBron would still get beaten by me."