noveldrama
Chapter 799 799 516 A Persons Hell
Chapter 799 799 516 A Persons Hell
?Chapter 799: Chapter 516 A Person’s Hell Chapter 799: Chapter 516 A Person’s Hell The SuperSonics’ defensive focus was on James.
This was the perverted yet unified consensus that came with the formation of the Kobe-James alliance.
Within the Triangle Offense system, Kobe and James were undoubtedly a perfect match. Prime James was an enhanced version of Pippen, while Kobe was just slightly behind the peak Jordan. To put it in 2K values, it’s the difference between a superstar with a rating of 97 and one with a rating of 99.
Such a combination, once united, was bound to bulldoze through the opposition like Durant and Curry did during 2017-2018.
But the aberration in the Kobe-James alliance lay in the fact that James never promised to actively integrate into the Triangle Offense.
He never had the awareness to play the role of Pippen either.
This was also the hidden danger Kobe left when he initially recruited him. Kobe thought he excelled in offense while James was the most versatile player next to Yu Fei. Therefore, as long as they worked together, with each fulfilling their roles, they would be unbeatable.
That idea wasn’t wrong in itself. Against most teams, even with their dubious intentions, they could still overpower with their talent.
But even as strong as the 2019 Warriors were with a healthy Durant and Curry, they nearly fell to the Rockets. It was only after Durant’s injury that the Warriors, with a clear leader, managed to topple Houston.
Currently, the Lakers haven’t faced the same scenario as the 2019 Warriors, but the indiscriminate sharing of the ball and the passive choice to let James lead the offense were being exploited by the SuperSonics.
The SuperSonics had the home-court advantage, Scott Foster’s referee team encouraged physical play, and under seemingly consistent rules, star players like Yu Fei and Durant were more likely to draw fouls. Conversely, as visitors, Kobe and James had “Whistle Power” no different from role players.
This inherent double standard is the norm away from home, only that the Lakers’ stars usually don’t experience it.
Thus, Yu Fei’s aggressive defense, bordering on brutal physical contact, made James uncomfortable and triggered deep-seated nightmares.
The Las Vegas Team USA training camp three years ago, wasn’t it like this?
James’s confidence was, he had grown stronger than three years before.
Indeed, he had.
Yu Fei acknowledged this as well.
Therefore, Yu Fei wasn’t thinking of humiliating him in front of the elite in American basketball like three years ago.
What Yu Fei, with the home court advantage, mainly brought to James was trouble every time he broke through, taking away his belief in shooting to solve problems.
Even if James had a lower output this year but a three-point shooting percentage not far off from Yu Fei’s, he couldn’t really treat shooting as his primary weapon like Yu Fei does.
That’s because, as James’s shooting skills improved, so did his “shot selection”.
With the Cavaliers, he had no choice; but with the Lakers, he could pass those bad shot choices to others and prefer to take wide-open shots or those one or two steps away from the defender. He would shoot more if he felt good and drive or fast break when he didn’t.
Whether it’s in career planning or in-game decision-making, his basketball IQ is in sync with his tendencies, giving off an impression of being too shrewd.
It’s like those who savour the fish’s richest parts first; there’s nothing wrong with that. However, in the game, being shrewd is not the same as being smart. The former often comes with ulterior motives.
If there’s an ulterior motive, it can be exploited.
James’s shooting percentage isn’t maintained by constantly challenging the defense with solid technical skills like Yu Fei does.
So, he couldn’t try to solve the problem with shooting under the SuperSonics’ “murderous” defense.
He would solely focus on finding opportunities for breakthrough.
Yu Fei would apply pressure, and then one after another, the SuperSonics’ Spider-Men would look for opportunities to block his path.
James was forced to pass the ball.
But in front of the SuperSonics’ lineup, with long arms and legs, his teammates could at most get semi-open shots.
The one receiving the ball this round was Richard Hamilton.
Masked behind Hughes’s outstretched arm, Hamilton took a three-pointer and barely made it.
“Larry, stick to him.”
For a high-quality shooter like Hamilton, who could hit three-pointers even when semi-contested, the SuperSonics’ philosophy was to not give him any chance.
The Masked Marvel’s hair-raising shot gave James a moment’s relief.
The game didn’t seem as tough as he imagined, but the next round, Yu Fei asked for the ball in the low post.
Before James could react, Hughes’s pass was already delivered.
James’s teammates chose to trust his low-post defense, and then Yu Fei aggressively slammed in, jolting the Emperor back half a step.
In an instant, Yu Fei turned and raised the ball above his head.
James’s forward jumping block was like an instinct written into his genes, but it was just Yu Fei’s feint.
By the time James jumped, Yu Fei was still on the ground, and he knew it was over.
Yu Fei timed the difference perfectly; as James landed, he jumped, brushing his shooting hand against the opponent to naturally draw the foul and then gently let the ball roll off his fingertips.
In that moment, it was as if time had stopped.
The feathery touch felt so smooth it gave chills, and even a workout fanatic like Kobe believed this was the result of Yu Fei’s million repetitions in training.
It couldn’t not go in.
The ball fell through the center of the hoop, barely touching the net.
The ball bounced on the floor, and Yu Fei completed the 2+1.
“And One!!!” ESPN’s Mike Breen exclaimed in surprise, “Frye’s shot could be put in a shampoo commercial, that shot just now defined the meaning of ‘silky’!”