Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Doug Collins approached Jordan, assuming a subordinate's posture, "Michael, are you feeling okay?"

The subtext was, do you need a rest?

Substituting Jordan out now could help avoid Yu Fei's sharp edge.

But to rest after less than three minutes of play would make the intention to avoid conflict too obvious.

"I feel great," Jordan had no intention of leaving the court, "but we need to adjust our inside game."

Jordan's will prevailed over Collins's authority as a coach, so he asked, "How should we adjust?"

"Take out Tim, let Oak in," Jordan said.

Collins squinted slightly, last season's failure taught Jordan and his team one lesson: don't go looking for trouble.

Therefore, during the draft, they no longer sought those players with unlimited potential but problematic characters, instead turning their attention to more mature, reliable, serious, and obedient college players. Such players hardly had a chance to achieve greatness in the NBA; at most, they could provide reliable, plug-and-play service. This was a shift in Jordan's team's draft strategy, and their approach to acquisitions was even more straightforward.

Jordan fully embraced the principle of favoritism, just as he trusted his assistant general manager Rod Higgins. So, in this year's offseason signing strategy, Jordan leaned towards familiar old-timers, especially those who were still struggling in the League, like the soon-to-be 39-years-old Charles Oakley.

In 2002, Oakley was like Kobayakawa Reiko in 2023, fans were surprised by the former's endurance, just as moviegoers were impressed by the long career of the underworld's darling.

The problem was, what use was signing Oakley? Did Jordan still need an enforcer on the court now? Who would dare to lay a hand on him on the court?

Moreover, the NBA no longer had true "enforcers."

The golden age of the tough guys had long since passed.

If not for Oakley's skills in rebounding and defense, he would have been ousted by the League by now.

Collins felt helpless about Jordan's decision to put Oakley in the game.

Oakley could once provide cover for the star players at his peak, but now putting him in was just a show of toughness, with no real effect.

But it was Jordan's team.

Whoever Jordan wanted to play, played.

As the timeout ended, Collins saw the Bucks substitute Devean George for Ray Allen and knew George Karl had decided to let Yu Fei go solo to the end.

In less than three minutes of the first quarter, Yu Fei had already scored 8 points. If the timeout couldn't disrupt his shooting rhythm, Collins felt the exiled Chosen One was very likely to achieve his highest scoring career game tonight.

On the Wizards' offensive play, Jordan really wanted the ball, but Yu Fei constantly kept him from positioning comfortably.

This was Yu Fei's strategy.

It was impossible to keep Jordan from getting the ball altogether, but pushing him out of the sweet spots was feasible.

Plus, he knew where Jordan liked to initiate his offense.

Once he was forced away from those spots, his shooting percentage would drop.

Yu Fei rarely gave his all in one-on-one defense, Jordan was a rare exception that made him go all out defensively.

Cassell looked for a few seconds, feeling that passing to Jordan right then could lead to trouble.

Because Jordan hadn't gotten into a safe position, and if Yu Fei suddenly made a move, whether the ball ended up in Jordan's hands or got disrupted or even stolen by Yu Fei was a toss-up.

Cassell chose to have Starkhouse receive the ball at the free-throw line.

Starkhouse, facing Devean George with no fancy moves, just talent; his quick actions were ineffective due to his poor ball-handling, unable to shake off his defense.

Just looked like Jordan's junior was fussing around for a while, then threw a sudden stop-and-turn fadeaway jumper.

The last time someone attempted such a high difficulty move was during a game against the Lakers.

Starkhouse's unexpected move left George with minimal interference, whether it went in or not was entirely up to the opponent.

"Bang!"

The result was a miss.

But Oakley, as if to prove his substitution was right, actually grabbed the offensive rebound and scored with a second-chance bucket underneath.

8 to 5

"If you don't even have the sense to help your teammates protect the rebound, I can only say you've made no progress," Jordan unexpectedly criticized Yu Fei out of the blue.

It was clear he had been holding back for awhile; otherwise, he wouldn't have used such a reason for trash talk.

Yu Fei glanced maliciously at Oakley in the distance.

Sprewell from behind asked, "Want the ball?"

"Of course," Yu Fei replied as soon as he was asked, and Sprewell passed the ball over.

Then, Yu Fei deliberately signaled to Ratner to come out for a pick and roll.

Why did the Wizards bring Oakley on court at this moment? The answer was simple: Oakley himself was known for doing the dirty and tiring work in the past era; if he was subbed in, it was certainly for him to do some dirty work.

But sometimes, being too immersed in an era that had ended could have an undesirable outcome.

After Ratner set the screen, Oakley took the initiative to switch, but Yu Fei found it effortless to get past him, closed in instantly, shrugged off Oakley's defense in a blink, and rushed under the basket to score with a layup.

"10 to 0," Yu Fei first reported the score between him and Jordan provocatively, then looked at Oakley, whose expression was turning sour, "Play defense better, or he'll trade you again."

Yu Fei's blatant "misrepresentation" of Jordan indeed left His Airness feeling aggrieved; who didn't know he had been firmly against trading Oakley? But Krause maintained his conviction and still traded Oakley to New York for Cartwright. Forced to part ways with his good friend, Jordan vented all his fury on Cartwright, announcing publicly he wouldn't pass to Cartwright because of his low offensive efficiency, mocking Cartwright's technical moves in every way. It wasn't until Cartwright threatened to break Jordan's legs if the bullying didn't stop that he finally earned Jordan's respect.