Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 830 830 525 The Loudest Noise in the World_2

?Chapter 830: Chapter 525: The Loudest Noise in the World_2 Chapter 830: Chapter 525: The Loudest Noise in the World_2 Yu Fei caught the ball and stood firm, directing his teammates to move.

Suddenly, he switched the ball to his left hand and gestured a tactical sign with his right hand, prompting a fierce reaction from the fans on site.

“Noooooooooo!!!!!”

“Is that the only strategy you know how to use!”

The audience cursed, knowing that every time Yu Fei gestured with multiple fingers, it signaled the number five pick-and-roll again.

However, this time Yu Fei held up four fingers.

This was the number four position pick-and-roll.

Last season, Little O’Neal was still part of the Lakers Team, but now, despite the opposition of California fans, he had turned around and joined the Supersonics, arriving next to Kobe.

Yu Fei charged forward briskly, heading straight for Jamison.

Given Yu Fei’s tendency tonight to exploit the Lakers’ weaknesses, his choice to go after Jamison instead of Big Z meant only one thing, Jamison was easier to play against.

Yu Fei easily dismantled Jamison’s defense, executing a signature front floater that sailed right over the opponent’s eyes, hit the backboard, and rebounded into the basket.

“Frye, you should have played like this earlier!” Little O’Neal chirped as he followed Yu Fei, “There’s no need to compete with Kobe, it’s strenuous and thankless, you should strike hard at these nobodies!”

Hearing this, Coach Lue loudly said, “Exactly, you should harshly strike their weak links, Jermaine, I didn’t know you understood basketball so well!”

Yu Fei, however, was not in the mood for jokes, “Focus on defense; that guy might target you in return.”

“Don’t worry.” Little O said, “My defense is no joke.”

Soon, Yu Fei started to doubt if Little O was joking about himself.

Although the Lakers kept Kobe and James on the court, both teams’ cores had played out the entire first quarter and wouldn’t possibly come out flooring the gas in the second.

James took a look and then lobbed the ball to Jamison.

Although Jamison was often placed at the number four position, his offensive style and arsenal were more like a small forward. Defending such a player was troublesome for a pure center. Jamison beautifully used his footwork to shake off Little O’Neal’s defense, a quick feint and adjust, worthy of a footwork master.

Little O’Neal was shaken off like a toy.

This defense was surely not a joke?

Just when Yu Fei thought Jamison was going to score, representing the technical side, DeAndre Jordan was another type on the court.

If you talk technique to him, he’ll compare strengths with you. You can use a clever play to shake him off, but he can use speed to catch up to you. You may cause him to jump with a feint, but if the shot isn’t quick enough, his capability to jump repeatedly will indeed surprise you.

Jamison had outplayed Little O’Neal, but little did he expect that DeAndre Jordan, who was just outside the paint moments before, had already dashed into the basket, swooping down like a predator to snatch his shot out of the air.

“I told you our defense was no joke!” Little O shouted, “Keep defending like that, and you’re damn sure our starting center next season!”

Like everyone else, Kwame Brown stood excited when he saw DeAndre Jordan block Jamison, but sat back down when he heard Little O’Neal’s remark.

He knew that wasn’t just a casual comment.

Unfortunately, after blocking the shot, DeAndre Jordan’s pass wasn’t fast enough. Although the Lakers were shaken, their quick defensive transition meant the opportunity for a fast break was brief.

Seeing no chance for a quick attack, Yu Fei slowed down the pace.

Set-piece defense was likewise challenging for the Lakers.

Previously needing to cover for Pau Gasol, now they not only had to prevent Big Z from encountering Yu Fei but also needed to avoid having Jamison targeted as much as possible.

Four people can’t hide one, can three hide two?

Watching Yu Fei exploit the Lakers’ weaknesses felt like withdrawing funds, and Durant was itching to join in.

He just ran a play, allowing Little O to provide a screen for him. Jamison, like finding a lifeline, switched to defend Durant.

As soon as he faced Jamison, Durant raised his hand for the ball.

Yu Fei passed the ball out.

Every issue with Durant was related to being “soft.”

Because he was “soft”, he was at a disadvantage in confrontations; because he was “soft”, he feared the defense of the tough guys; because he was “soft”, once hit, he could not find his shooting rhythm; because he was “soft”, his technique often only performed at half its potential.

If the opponent’s defense wasn’t strong, or they weren’t gifted enough to restrict him, then he would show off his offensive machine side.

Jamison was shaken by Durant twice, his center of gravity firmly nailed to the floor, and as Durant jumped to shoot in front of him, he couldn’t even straighten his back to raise his hand and disrupt the shot.

Durant scored with a jumper after the isolation play, piercing Jamison’s heart.

He remembered Yu Fei’s performance in the first quarter; this was how to mercilessly exploit the opponent’s weaknesses in the game.

When dealing with the weak, they should be utterly crushed.

“You’re too slow.” Durant said coldly, “You can’t guard me.”

23 to 30
Yu Fei and Durant had opened up the game in the second quarter with their isolations.

The Lakers fans at Staples Center started complaining about their star players.

James did not like to fight alone; he never wanted to be seen as just a scorer, but this did not mean he lacked confidence in his offensive ability.

Jamison’s attack had just failed, and he wanted a second chance.

But James was not willing to give him that, such is the plight of a team’s number five.

He had no margin for error, a miss meant a substitution.

James did not appease the crowd by engaging the opponent in isolation but instead passed to Bibby, setting a screen in place.

Bibby, however, didn’t use the screen to drive in but steadied himself and then called for another screen from a big man.