Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Yu Fei's desire to play one-on-one was very strong, because tonight his shooting touch was unbelievably hot.

Since the opening of the game, he had shot 11 for 10, scoring 23 points without any free throws.

Every time he touched the ball, the Brooklyn Nets players tensed up.

However, the Bucks' defense also had some problems.

Although the big strategy was to leave Kidd's shooting unguarded and shrink the defense inside the free throw line, if Kidd got completely open, some players still couldn't resist interfering.

Once, Ratner ran out at full speed to show his defensive enthusiasm.

Not only did he fail to interfere properly, but his defense actually gave Kidd a sense of security, letting him shoot with confidence.

Needless to say, that shot naturally went in.

Then, to prevent Ratner from making similar mistakes, Yu Fei gave him a small piece of advice based on his experience from his previous life.

After hearing it, Ratner frowned, "Will that work?"

"You can try it."

Ratner was worried about George Karl's reaction, and if it hadn't been for his improved relation with Yu Fei, he might have suspected the kid of intentionally messing with him.

But Yu Fei now had no reason to sabotage him.

Ratner was skeptical.

Afterward, Yu Fei called for Ratner to set a pick and roll, broke through and passed the ball, assisting Ratner for a three-point shot that hit the mark.

This gave Ratner a bit of reassurance.

In the next possession, the Brooklyn Nets, a machine that always operated complexly on the offensive end, started to move.
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Kidd found himself in a scary open space—with no Bucks players within three meters of him in each direction.

Then, Ratner at the post, ran to the paint, raised his hands high towards Kidd, and jumped...

He jumped in the paint to "disturb" Kidd who was outside the three-point line.

Feeling utterly humiliated, Kidd gritted his teeth and took the three-point shot.

During this, Karl's bellowing made Yu Fei laugh happily, "Christian, what the hell are you doing? Tell me, what kind of dogshit defense is that!"

"Bang!"

Accompanying Kidd's miss, this round of offense and defense reached the apex of the show's effectiveness.

But Karl kept nagging, "Don't think that because Jason didn't make it, you're off the hook, you damn ¥@#..."

Following Yu Fei's instructions, Ratner, doubting the idea, revealed the mastermind behind this "brilliant move": "It was Frye's idea, he told me to do it."

"Frye?!" Karl looked at Yu Fei with astonished suspicion.

Yu Fei nodded, affirming it was indeed the idea of this genius!

"Rotten idea!" Karl exclaimed.

What was the gap of understanding across so many years? Yu Fei couldn't be bothered to waste his breath on this fat man.

The move was something he thought of on the spur of the moment, recalling that in the 2020s, an NBA team—if he remembered correctly, The Celtics—had implemented this kind of "last-ditch" defense for interior players who had difficulty switching to perimeter defense.

It's no wonder since in that era of widespread three-point shooting, an interior player who could switch to the perimeter was a scarce resource, not every team had one, so The Celtics came up with this seemingly self-comforting bizarre tactic. But since they persisted in doing so, it meant that the defense could indeed affect the shooter's accuracy to some extent.

Yu Fei, without charging any consultation fee, imparted the knowledge of the future fully, only to get a "rotten idea" in return from the fat man?

This led Yu Fei to swiftly complete a cycle of doubt, understanding, and building mental fortitude like Anthony Mason. He also felt like cursing "fatty" as well.

Kidd's missed three-pointer gave the Bucks a chance for a counter-attack, and Kevin Ollie didn't miss it, scoring a layup at full speed.

This shot widened the gap between the teams to 8 points.

Coach Byron Scott couldn't sit still, immediately calling for a timeout.

"Chris, I can't believe you would do that! Do you know this game is being broadcast nationwide?" Karl said, "I don't want to be a laughing stock of the country!"

Yu Fei once again defended Ratner, "George, don't blame him, it was my idea, and that defense worked, didn't it? Despite the big gap, Kidd didn't make his shot."

"Damn it, his three-point shooting percentage is just over 30%!" Karl hadn't expected Yu Fei to take it seriously, "Even if we don't guard him, he has a big chance of missing that shot!"

"Can we not talk about things that didn't happen? The fact is that Kidd made the previous shot, and under a larger gap was stopped by Christian's miraculous defense the next time!"

Karl angrily retorted: "Kid, I've been in the NBA since the 1980s, do you think you understand defense better than me?"

You understand defense?

The defense that had the opponent coach you on your most proficient defense just to be black-eighted?

Or the defense that couldn't reach the playoffs after strengthening the Eastern Conference lineup?

Or the defense that led an all-star lineup to be humiliated at the World Championship by Europe?

They were all harrowing truths, but Yu Fei wouldn't say any of them. After all, his relationship with Karl wasn't bad; there was just a difference of opinions right now.

"I don't care about that much, did your defense work or not?"

Karl's blood pressure skyrocketed in an instant.

This reminded him of the rumors about Yu Fei—impervious to reason, hard to manage, unrestrained, deaf to advice. This was why Jordan traded him.

"Enough, damn it, I don't want to waste our timeout arguing this nonsense with you!" Karl picked up the clipboard, "After the timeout we'll play..."

"Hold on!" Yu Fei interrupted Karl again, "Isn't it about time for that lineup I talked about?"

Karl's eyes widened; this guy had just been arguing with him and now was offering to help with the rotation?