noveldrama
Chapter 775 775 509 God is Not Kind to Me_3
Chapter 775 775 509 God is Not Kind to Me_3
?Chapter 775: Chapter 509: God is Not Kind to Me_3 Chapter 775: Chapter 509: God is Not Kind to Me_3 Yu Fei actually rested for six minutes in the first half.
This was like telling the world that the Lakers’ intensity wasn’t enough, and that the Supersonics could even find time to give Yu Fei a breather amidst their leisure.
“The biggest problem for the Lakers is that they always act like the strongest team in the league in front of other teams, but once they face the Supersonics, either Kobe or LeBron always seems to be off,” said former NBA player Jalen Rose in the ESPN studio, “If they don’t solve this problem, I find it hard to believe they can beat the Supersonics, because Frye won’t miss any vulnerabilities.”
“Wait a second… Jalen, are you saying that LeBron tonight is the Lakers’ vulnerability?”
“I didn’t say that,” Rose laughed, “but we all know what happened on the court.”
From ESPN to TNT, then to ABC, a trial concerning James suddenly began.
The commentators and analysts split into two camps: one believed that James just habitually shied away in front of Yu Fei, while the other thought there were internal issues with the Lakers.
No one doubted James’s abilities; he was not as good as Yu Fei, but managing a fifty-fifty situation like Kobe was definitely not a problem.
In the first half, if the Lakers had another James, how could Yu Fei cope?
The overwhelming media pressure seemed like it could flatten James.
But James had already experienced the power of public opinion.
In the months after “The Decision,” he was discussed like this every day.
Now, he was used to it and would cleanse his own psyche with various feel-good quotes on social media.
He knew what he wanted.
“With Kobe in such a good state, the Lakers probably won’t change their strategy.”
In the visiting team’s locker room, Yu Fei suggested to Coach Lu that they concentrate their efforts on Kobe.
“What about LeBron?” Coach Lu asked, “Are we just going to ignore him?”
Yu Fei laughed: “Until he gets what he wants, he’ll just play like he did in the first half.”
“Doesn’t he just want the ball? What if the Lakers just give him back control of the ball?” Kwame Brown asked.
“That’s another issue,” Yu Fei said, “and besides, I don’t think that’s likely to happen.”
As for the reasons, it was difficult to say.
From the perspective of Yu Fei, a newcomer with little experience in court intrigue, since Jackson had decided to test James with intensity, it was unlikely to just apply pressure and then back off. James’s way of thinking was simple: he had always been willing to throw one game to let his teammates know “without me, you really can’t make it.” Especially after he turned 30, if he started underperforming on the court, a significant change in his team was inevitable, as it had always been.
The former was Yu Fei’s judgment based on court intrigues, the latter based on his understanding of James.
Therefore, in the second half, they only needed to deal with Kobe. James wouldn’t do nothing, but his performance now wouldn’t be much better than Iguodala’s on the Spurs.
Having an Iguodala next to Kobe wasn’t going to bring about a qualitative change.
In the second half, James symbolically attacked the basket, driving for layups, and shooting from the outside three-point line, only active for a few minutes before falling back into the rhythm of the first half.
Yet, even without a strong James, the Lakers were still formidable.
Because Kobe was in excellent form, and he had plenty of supporters.
Richard Hamilton, Antawn Jamison, Mike Miller, Mike Bibby, and Ron Artest, all were capable hands.
When the Lakers’ shooters found their groove, the Supersonics’ shooting crew didn’t fall behind.
Anthony Morrow and veteran Michael Finley both played their roles as shooters well.
But, the game was still decided by the stars.
Coming into the fourth quarter, Yu Fei targeted Pau Gasol, making him the weak spot on the court, while Kobe’s lethal ability at the two-guard spot also gave the Supersonics a hard time.
Yu Fei chose to attack Gasol and defend Kobe.
But limiting Kobe was not a one-man job; Yu Fei’s teammates also participated in the joint defense and trapping.
This was the reason Kobe’s offense faltered in the fourth quarter.
Kobe had given it his all, but now, they needed someone with a clear head to stabilize the game, either James or Gasol.
James was offline, and Gasol had already been on the court for 35 minutes and, having been singled out by Yu Fei, was too rattled to handle the ball calmly.
In the final moments, the Lakers made continuous mistakes.
Yu Fei, however, was as cool as ice. After singling out Gasol, he seized on the opponent’s mistakes, allowing Durant to unleash his potential in the defensive counterattack.
In the last four minutes before the end of the game, Durant, who had not been embroiled in the star confrontation, had plenty of energy. He started to run.
As Durant caught Yu Fei’s pass, sprinted to the frontcourt, and glided like a swift swallow for a slam dunk, David Stern came into view.
That dunk expanded the Supersonics’ lead to 10 points, and the Lakers called for a timeout.
All the major television networks reported the ratings for the night.
About 17 million Americans watched the game, and as for overseas viewers, that number was difficult to calculate.
A domestic viewership of 17 million meant that this game’s ratings, even if placed in the Finals, would have more viewers than 95% of the final matches.
And this was only the first game of the Western Conference Finals.
Stern and the interest groups he represented had reasons to smile about tonight’s game.
The best three players in the world appearing simultaneously in a playoff series, including the symbol of the future Durant, who astonishingly could close out the ongoing feud between Yu Fei and Kobe on this stage.
Stern liked this young man.
Even though Yu Fei was the best player in the world, he lacked reverence for the League and its franchises. His image had been built, shaped by a sports world driven by commercialism into an untouchable figure.