Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 805 805 Untitled Section

?Chapter 805: Untitled Section Chapter 805: Untitled Section “I really loved the energy we showed in the first half,” Tyronn Lue said in an upbeat mood during the ABC halftime interview, “You know, it’s one of the best things you can see in a team, I just want to enjoy this moment.”

“Frye scored 32 points in the first half, not far from his prediction of getting 50 tonight. Do you think he can achieve that goal in the second half?”

“Frye is always Frye,” Coach Lu confidently stated, “Getting another 18 points is a piece of cake for him, I guess he’ll reach the target before the end of the third quarter.”

Unlike Coach Lu, Phil Jackson once again appeared deeply troubled.

The decision he was about to announce in the locker room was not favorable for James.

But if they wanted to beat the Supersonics, they had to do it.

When asked what problems the Lakers had in the first half that led to such a passive situation, he said: “It’s the same issue, we are all too selfish.”

“For example?”

“If a miller only wants to channel water to his own mill, then outside the mill all will wither,” Jackson cited a Western proverb, “Honor and selfishness are not to be confused.”

The media noticed that Jackson rarely praised the Supersonics.

If the Lakers played poorly, it was their own fault.

If the Lakers played well, it was to be expected.

A sense of arrogance pervaded the team, not only among the players, but even the coaches exuded an indescribable air of superiority.

In contrast, Coach Lu was undoubtedly more popular.

TV pundits began to criticize Jackson’s arrogance.

“I think both the Supersonics and the Lakers are playing well, the only thing not keeping up is the Lakers’ coaching staff,” Charles Barkley said bluntly, “I don’t want Coach Jackson to criticize the team’s lack of unity every time the Lakers are in trouble, as if unity would prevent the Supersonics from taking the lead.”

“Man!!!” Barkley said helplessly, “Is it so hard to acknowledge the excellence of the Supersonics and give credit to Tyronn Lue’s coaching staff?”

Barkley frankly spoke of Jackson’s ulterior motives.

In the NBA, there are certainly factions among coaches.

Like Popovich, who in his early years had assisted Larry Brown and Don Nelson, but was quickly poached by the Spurs for his formidable abilities, establishing his own position in San Antonio; for him, Brown and Nelson were just connections, not mentors.

Similarly, although Phil Jackson played under the Knicks’ patriarch Red Holzman in his early years, this does not mean he comes from the Holzman lineage, since his coaching path was all his own making.

Tyronn Lue is the same; though he played for Jackson for a few years, he’s not part of Jackson’s faction. If anything, he belongs to George Karl’s faction.

Currently, Karl is the only one who can threaten Jackson’s status as the “Greatest of All Time modern basketball coach.” For a rookie like Coach Lu, with limited professional skills but talented in coaching, capable of broad and swift comprehension, such a threat is not taken lightly.

Jackson would not admit that Coach Lu’s use of the referee’s enforcement standards to strengthen the defense made it difficult for the Lakers to adapt and left him without an appropriate response tonight.

If you can’t admit the opponent’s prowess and don’t want to pick out your own faults, naturally, the blame has to be tossed to the players.

While it’s not uncommon for coaches to blame players, tonight’s several passive situations for the Lakers were all caused by James getting blown out by Yu Fei.

So when he said that, it sounded a bit like he was holding James accountable.

Although he didn’t have this intention, the well-connected professionals would “glean” this underlying meaning.

“Never mind whether Coach Jackson’s words are reasonable or not, I want to know, who is the ‘miller’ he speaks of?” ESPN’s Mark Jackson brought up during halftime.

“First, we can rule out Marc Gasol.” Mike Breen is a fan of Pau Gasol, admiring his old-school, tough style of play. “He could never be named selfish.”

Jeff Van Gundy chuckled sardonically: “Marc could never be the miller. We have to realize, role players can’t be millers because they don’t have the luxury to be selfish on the court, I think, Coach Jackson must be referring to those two, right?”

His colleagues started to play dumb: “Which two?”

“Ah… those two,” Van Gundy laughed, “I can’t say any more.”

Yu Fei didn’t care about the sideline chatter. He walked through the corridor holding a towel.

Sitting in the front row, Will Smith complained to him: “How many times do you have to beat my Lakers before you’re satisfied?”

Yu Fei retorted, “As one of the world’s most influential celebrities, until what year do you want to maintain your influence?”

Smith naturally said, “Until the day I die.”

“You see, you have your answer,” Yu Fei smiled, “Rather than asking me to go easy on the Lakers, why don’t you take a shortcut like LeBron?”

To a celebrity, the label of which team they’re associated with is not important.

Not everyone operates their identity as a Lakers fan as globally known as Jack Nicholson does.

After Yu Fei spoke, Smith considered for just a minute before slapping his thigh and saying, “You’re right, why should I support a team that’s doomed to lose?”

With that, he instructed his assistant to go shopping in the commercial street outside Key Arena, to sweep up all merchandise related to Yu Fei.

“Do you want to get rid of the Lakers stuff?”