noveldrama
Chapter 788 788 513 Poor Acting But Useful
Chapter 788 788 513 Poor Acting But Useful
?Chapter 788: Chapter 513 Poor Acting, But Useful Chapter 788: Chapter 513 Poor Acting, But Useful As the game ended, Yu Fei was drenched in sweat, seemingly depleted of energy, yet he directly asked an assistant coach for the statistical data of the first game.
In the first battle of the Western Conference Finals, the free throw count was 24 to 20, with the SuperSonics having four more free throws.
In tonight’s game, the free throw count was 25 to 19, the SuperSonics had six more free throws.
On the Lakers’ home court, getting more free throws in two consecutive games definitely indicates something.
Yu Fei planned to share this information with Tyronn Lue.
But right now, nobody was in the mood.
However, some people felt even worse.
Yu Fei was the only one from the SuperSonics who could walk out of the Staples Center with his head held high tonight.
Ever since Yu Fei transferred to Seattle, discussions comparing the contrast between big cities and an athlete’s personal status never ceased.
Some conspiracy theorists believe that Yu Fei’s move to Seattle was not to save the SuperSonics but merely to escape Milwaukee’s languid sports market.
After all, the influence and commercial value Yu Fei generated in his five years in Milwaukee were far less than what he achieved in three years in Seattle.
This is a very pragmatic view.
But easily debunked.
That’s because the basketball market in Seattle was almost dead before Yu Fei’s arrival; once he came, not only did the sports market thrive, but so did the commercial value of his teammates.
In these years, there were quite a number of players who landed sponsorship deals by following in Yu Fei’s footsteps.
Kwame Brown was one of the notable ones.
He not only signed with Reebok but also endorsed many international brands.
Suddenly, SuperSonics players became commercially valuable, even the bench players could endorse products. Is this the magic of a big city?
Only those blindly believing in the allure of big cities would think so.
And not excluding those who are high-minded enough to think it’s the result of their performance and charisma.
But the majority are aware; they know they are having soup because Yu Fei is eating meat upfront.
When the SuperSonics achieve a resounding victory, as invincible as they were last season, these commercial values often come with external praise and the love of the audience.
The players feel like they are members of a top band in its prime, enjoying royal treatment wherever they go.
But when they lose, the backlash is extraordinary.
Especially like tonight.
Yu Fei put up a big triple-double of 40+10+10 in a losing effort but deserved commendation for his performance, whether objectively or subjectively.
That’s because the team lost, but he didn’t.
Why didn’t he lose? Because if his teammates had performed just a bit better, the SuperSonics might have won.
And naturally, Kevin Durant was the first to be scrutinized.
“Kevin, what do you think caused your poor performance tonight?”
“The Lakers changed their defense,” Durant replied, “and the matchups on me as well. They put a lot of defensive resources onto me. I’m not looking for excuses; I know that as a professional player, I need to be prepared to deal with adversity.”
“Do you think you can bounce back in the next game?”
“Of course, I’m full of confidence in myself.”
“Some say your poor performance tonight was because Frye wasn’t shielding you as in the past, due to having to face Kobe’s full onslaught. What’s your take on that?”
Durant’s demeanor began to shift: “I’m taller than he is… I think he really couldn’t shield me under his wings.”
“Are you ready to step out from Frye’s protection and fend for yourself on the court?”
Durant detested these questions.
Yet he couldn’t resist the inquiries from the reporters.
Because in everyone’s eyes, a key reason the SuperSonics would lose the second game was him, the guy who constantly spoke about “responsibility,” “accountability,” and “the mission of a core player” for 5-10 minutes before each game on various TV networks, had not fulfilled his duties tonight.
As someone aspiring to superstardom, his performance of only 15 points from 6 out of 19 shots in this game was an insult to the 01 Kobe.
What Durant couldn’t understand was why a single bad game could negate all his past excellent performances?
The words of the reporters made it seem like all his previous successes were because he was shielded by Yu Fei.
He respected Yu Fei’s ability, felt sorry for Yu Fei’s great game tonight, felt guilty, but he could not understand, accept, or forgive the reporters for viewing his past successes in such a light.
“I grew up in the suburbs of D.C…” Durant said, pursing his lips, “I’ve seen a lot that you haven’t, mostly the dark side of the world. Since I was a kid, I knew how to be self-reliant. I never needed anyone to protect me.”
“Are you confident you can overcome LeBron’s defense in the next game?”
Durant responded indifferently: “I was just not in the zone tonight.”
The subtext was: It’s not about LeBron’s defense.
Even for a diplomatic response, Durant’s statement was extremely arrogant.
This wasn’t his usual style of speaking, showing a change in his attitude.
Just as the Los Angeles media was ready to fervently criticize Durant, the Earth’s number one Durant fan, Bill Simmons, tweeted with relief, “KD finally learned to trash-talk. This is a crucial step in his growth into a superstar.”
At that time, it was the tail end of Bill Simmons’ creative peak. In the basketball world, he was like Han Han on Blogbus, an opinion leader in the eyes of an entire generation of netizens.