Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 888 888 543 Small Si will definitely not

?Chapter 888: Chapter 543 Small Si will definitely not love again_3 Chapter 888: Chapter 543 Small Si will definitely not love again_3 The SuperSonics were the last team to settle accounts for the 2009-10 season.

This ceremony was the process of settlement.

It symbolized endless glory.

For someone like Chris Bosh, experiencing it for the first time, he would feel that his sacrifices were worth it.

And for those who could only watch, they were filled with anticipation.

“What do you think Frye is feeling?” Kidd muttered to himself, “He’s received rings from the commissioner in seven of the past ten years. Is it still meaningful? He’s about to have rings to wear on both hands.”

Stoudemire didn’t want to listen to the old man’s nagging; he just wanted the game to start quickly.

He didn’t like this ceremony, nor did he like Key Arena.

This place could barely hold a candle to Madison Square Garden.

Who would believe this was the home court of a dynasty team?

The new arena for the SuperSonics was expected to be in use by 2015, so, until then, both hosts and guests would have to endure.

But Stoudemire still disliked it.

Playing in a terrible arena often led to bad things happening.

After the ceremony ended, both teams finally got to start the game officially.

The SuperSonics were relatively relaxed.

Since the Knicks primarily relied on Stoudemire, with Kidd already quite old, possessing leadership but not dominance, and Stoudemire being a strong offensive but weak defensive core player.

Their only chance to elevate the team’s level was to trade for Anthony from Denver, but the deal had failed, so they had to maintain the status quo.

The game started with Roy blowing past Kidd.

Kidd now had three main strengths: playmaking, defending guards who weren’t fast or explosive, and spot-up threes. Although his shooting was criticized, at this stage in his career, his spot-up three-point shot was fairly reliable.

In terms of play style, Roy didn’t possess absolute explosiveness or a lightning-fast first step, but his skills were too rich, his rhythm too strong.

Kidd preferred guards like Fisher, who, like himself, couldn’t run much or attack aggressively. Young players like Roy, who were eager to prove they were better than ever, were somewhat dishonorable.

In the first few minutes of the game, Roy scored 6 points over Kidd.

Kidd was not satisfied, preparing to orchestrate the team’s offense, and show Roy with a more mature performance what a qualified point guard should do.

But then, Kidd noticed something troubling.

Many of his teammates still hadn’t recovered from the effects of the lockout.

Even after rehab in training camp, some still hadn’t met the requirements.

For instance, Iman Shumpert, who missed Kidd’s pass.

Fortunately, Stoudemire picked up the ball and dunked with overwhelming force in front of Bosh.

This wasn’t a situation Kidd was pleased with.

But there would be many more troublesome situations tonight.

Roy was used to driving his teammates with his offense; once his offense got rolling, his playmaking would follow suit.

Fei quickly received a great pass from Roy, scoring his first points of the season.

Then it was Bosh, followed by Hill.

Hill missed a three-pointer, but Durant grabbed the offensive rebound.

Durant faced off against Knicks’ high-paid off-season signing, Tayshaun Prince, who, also slender, was pushed to the power forward position due to the influence of space basketball.

The transformed Durant scored over him with a turnaround jumper.

Confidence started to surge in Durant’s heart; he believed he could disregard all defenses.

This was the problem Roy was about to face.

His teammates were strong, but they all craved the ball, and even he needed to handle the ball to find his rhythm.

So who should he pass the ball to?

Because of confusion, Roy’s organization ran into problems.

Yu Fei noticed this and thought that Roy shouldn’t forget their past tacit understanding—if he didn’t know who to pass the ball to, he should let Frye handle it.

So, from that point on, Yu Fei started to assertively demand the ball.

Chris Bosh? Move out and open up space.

Durant? You can’t have it unless I give it to you.

For four consecutive minutes, Roy only passed the ball to Yu Fei.

Yu Fei controlled the offense and dominated ball possession, not always taking shots himself, but fairly distributing the ball to his teammates in his own way.

Then, Roy knew what to do.

At the end of the first half, the SuperSonics breezed to a 66-point haul, leading the Knicks by 25 points.

Yu Fei ended the half with 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists, making 11 shots.

Following him, Roy took 9 shots, Durant 7, Chris Bosh 7, and Hill 4.

It appeared to be a perfectly fair distribution of ball possessions, but not necessarily the best ball distribution in everyone’s eyes.

However, this was only the first game of the new season; being slightly reasonable was also understandable.

No one was dissatisfied with it.

Instead, the Knicks felt embarrassed for losing so many points in the first half, which contradicted their self-proclaimed playoff team status.

Stoudemire declared that he would play tougher in the second half, but the SuperSonics didn’t believe a team that relied on Stoudemire could get much tougher.

Toughness is often linked with defense, but does Stoudemire play defense?

The answer is yes, but not much, and besides, he has a misunderstanding of defense.

Defensive toughness means not holding back during confrontations, whereas Stoudemire’s approach was to use his elbows to pressure his opponents. His opponents didn’t want to overdo it but had no choice but to respond since he initiated.

The intensity of the game didn’t necessarily increase, but the level of roughness definitely skyrocketed.

When excessive actions become more frequent, some unwelcome accidents may occur.

For example, Kidd injured his ankle when his shot was flagrantly fouled.

Roy also narrowly avoided injury when he was undercut during a jump shot.

The game’s style grew wild, and then, a tragedy occurred.

Attempting to salvage some dignity from a foregone catastrophic defeat with an explosive alley-oop dunk, Stoudemire neither touched the ball nor landed steadily; his landing was awkward, and as his body made contact with the ground, a harrowing cry echoed throughout the arena.

Amar’e Stoudemire went down.

His premonition was right; Key Arena did bring him misfortune.

This was also not a sight his opponents wanted to see.

Yu Fei glanced at DeAndre Jordan, wanting to know if he had done anything at that moment.

DeAndre Jordan hurriedly denied it, “I didn’t touch him.”

Then, Stoudemire was carried off the court, and the accident would not only change the Knicks’ season but also scared Tyronn Lue out of his wits.

With a little more than a quarter left in the game, he decided to take out Yu Fei and other core players because the lead was already sufficient, and even playing the substitutes for the remainder of the game would have no impact.

“Protect yourself when you play on the court!” Coach Lu told everyone, “To achieve a four-peat, you first have to ensure health!”

Who knew, Beverley, that jackass, suddenly made a tasteless joke, “Right, and I’m sure Stoudemire won’t be able to enjoy the game like Frye for a long time.”

Given Stoudemire’s subsequent injuries, that was truly a joke tinged with hellish humor.

At that moment, though, no one knew it would turn out so bad, so they laughed.

End of Game
124-105
The SuperSonics opened the 2011-12 season with a resounding victory.