Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

George nodded in agreement.

Although his agent had told him that the Bucks was Ray Allen's team, his desire to play here was solely because of Yu Fei. As for why he wanted to follow Yu Fei, he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Whenever he wavered, the image of Yu Fei's game-winning shot at the Staples Center against the Lakers would flash through his mind.

His feud with Jordan was public knowledge, and he couldn't accept Jordan's so-called "championship crash course" approach to leading the team. His rebellion led to even harsher crackdowns from Jordan, until the conflict spiraled out of control, culminating in Fei being traded. But didn't trading Fei also mean that Jordan had indeed run out of options with him?

George was fed up with the relentless pranks and humiliations from his Lakers teammates. He wanted a change of environment, so he chose the Bucks. He was curious to know if Yu Fei, who openly opposed the old guard's oppression of the young, would also become like those detestable veterans, using his position and privileges to bully his teammates.

The outcome did not disappoint George.

Yu Fei was by no means a saint, but his trash talk and aggression were often aimed at opponents. With teammates, he might occasionally mock them, but he never insulted anyone's character, nor did he force others to act according to his will. The only one who crossed his line, Mason, received a "trade threat."

Everything was very normal, even a bit too normal.

Then, as the point guard, Fei dribbled the ball up the court and gestured for George to set a screen.

George ran over, trading glances with Yu Fei.

Without a word, George understood Yu Fei's intention.

In a flash, George moved to the other side before the screen was even set.

A bad fake screen would leave the ball-handler trapped by the opponents, but a well-executed fake screen could completely disrupt the opponent's arrangement.

Yu Fei passed the ball before the opponent's double-team could apply pressure on him.

Devean George caught the ball on the perimeter and took a three-pointer.

"Swish!"

27 to 31

"How could you not treasure such a great player?" Yu Fei asked Kobe.

Kobe responded indifferently, "I'm not the reason DG left."

Yu Fei really didn't know how Kobe interacted with his teammates. What he had learned about Kobe from the internet in his previous life were mainly about Eagle County, numerous love affairs, and legends of playing solo and elbowing on cue.

Then, the Lakers passed the ball to Kobe again.

This time, George forced him toward the baseline.

Yu Fei decisively left Brian Shaw, who posed no shooting threat, and moved up to double-team.

During this time, Yu Fei kept an eye on Shaw's position, because Kobe's situation was grim. Being trapped in the corner was basically the worst spot on the court, and passing the ball to a teammate was his only choice.

Indeed, in such a situation, passing the ball to a teammate is what a normal player would do.

The assumption being that the opponent is a normal person.

Yu Fei was ready for Kobe to pass, but suddenly, the latter drifted from the corner and took off for a shot—even then, Yu Fei believed Kobe would attempt a jump pass—but as Kobe brought the ball overhead, Yu Fei completely abandoned that illusion.

Yu Fei and George jumped with all their might; they were the two highest jumpers on the Bucks.

Kobe, at the point of release, certainly couldn't see the basket, but that didn't stop him from attempting the shot.

"Bang!"

No backboard, the ball bounced out of bounds.

But Kobe's play was infuriating. They had Bryant trapped in the corner, and he still forced a shot instead of passing. Did he have that little regard for human beings? What did he think of his teammates? Just how confident, arrogant, vain, and presumptuous must one be to attempt such a shot?

Kobe playing solo was just Yu Fei's impression from his past life; he had never seen Kobe play.

After traversing to this life, until tonight, he had only heard the legend of Kobe going 17 for 47. He did not know what that version of Kobe was like.

But just from this round, the image of Kobe playing solo was instantly promoted from a vague impression to a stereotyped image of him.

At the frontcourt, Yu Fei passed the ball, made a cut to the basket using his positioning, received a pass from Ratner, and easily scored.

27 to 33

The gap widened to 6 points. Yu Fei then nodded to George, deciding to take on Kobe himself.

He wanted to see just how much of a ball hog the crazed Kobe really was.

And indeed, Kobe turned out to be unimaginably ball-hogging.

From the court perspective, Kobe in the second quarter was like Mason in the first quarter.

Mason's advantage was erased as the Bucks made gains against Kobe.

Since Kobe largely relied on solo play, without getting involved in tactics, the Lakers, despite having a superb perimeter scorer, couldn't count on him to create opportunities for his teammates using the threat of his own offense.

If he could choose to break through double teams in the corner by opting for fadeaways out of bounds, you couldn't expect any defense to make him pass the ball.

Kobe's shooting percentage for his one-on-one plays tonight was only about 40%. If this had been a tense, critical game, where both sides struggled to score, Kobe's 40% on solo plays could have turned him into the Lakers' savior. But if it was just a regular season game and the behind Lakers needed Kobe to hold the fort until Shaquille O'Neal returned, then Kobe could only lead them into a darker abyss.

The tense atmosphere lasted roughly until the seventh minute of the second quarter.

At that time, the Lakers were down by 12 points, but Phil Jackson didn't call a timeout, as if he was appreciating the Lakers' collapse.

Clearly, if this continued, everyone would blame Kobe.

Jackson made no move to stop the process.

Even when Shaquille O'Neal indicated he wanted to play, Jackson told him to sit back down.

The Zen Master, skilled at manipulating hearts, decided to give Kobe an unforgettable night this time.

As for the game? It didn't matter.

As long as he could extinguish the demons in Kobe's heart, the Lakers could secure a four-peat.

As for the outcome of a regular-season game, he didn't care.

After all, the Lakers were going to make the playoffs, regardless.

Their opponent, the Bucks, could certainly feel that there was a serious issue with the Lakers' atmosphere.

The biggest problem was that the Lakers didn't know how severe their problems were.

How long would it take Shaquille O'Neal to get back in shape? How much time would he need to return to his pre-injury condition? When would Kobe give up playing solo? Did the veterans still have the will to fight? Was the Zen Master's control over the team still strong?

At halftime, the home-playing Lakers were 24 points behind the Bucks.

By the end of the third quarter, the Bucks led the Lakers by 30 points, prompting many fans at the Staples Center to start leaving in droves.

At the final buzzer, 111 to 75, the Bucks triumphed over the Lakers with a 36-point advantage.

Post-game Interviews

"I won't apologize for this game. We're all professional players; we've got to be ready at all times. But look, we did have five players out there, yet there's always someone playing one-man basketball on the court." — Shaquille O'Neal discussing the game.

"I have nothing to say." — Phil Jackson, when asked if the Lakers still had the confidence to win a four-peat.

"I didn't get enough help." — Kobe Bryant, after going 17 for 35 in the game, discussing the reason for the loss.

"We've had our ugly times, but most of the time it's spectacular, and I like this outcome." — George Karl on the big win against the Lakers.

"It feels great to be back at Staples; I wanted to prove I was better than before." — Devean George talking about beating the Lakers.

"I don't care about my performance, as long as we win, that's all that matters." — Ray Allen on his performance.

"Frye, you got 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 14 assists tonight, marking the 12th triple-double of your career, how does it feel?"

"Just as great as the previous eleven."

"Do you think this season's Lakers are different from last season?"

"The difference between champions and tenth in the West."

"Have you made up with Shaq?"

"No, there are many things worth doing in life, but that's not one of them."

"A lot of people are looking forward to your first game next month in D.C. against the Wizards; does that feel special to you?"

"It indeed feels a bit special."

"Michael said that the Wizards' slump is temporary and that they will eventually go further than any team in the Eastern Conference."

"Oh, you don't believe that, do you? He's just senile."

"You don't think it will happen?"

"If it does, I might as well go kiss a donkey's butt."

— Yu Fei's post-game interview.

⑴ The night before this game, Barkley fulfilled his boast of "if Yao scores over 19 points in his rookie season, I'll kiss Kenny Smith's butt" (using a donkey's butt as a substitute).