Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 898 898 547 No Good Result

?Chapter 898: Chapter 547: No Good Result Chapter 898: Chapter 547: No Good Result Due to geographical reasons, most teams that play away games in Texas usually face two Texas teams. Those with bad luck might end up playing all three Texas teams.

This is similar to playing away games in California where one might have to face the Lakers, Clippers, Kings, and Golden State Warriors all at once.

However, the issue is that since the turn of the century, the average strength of the three Texas teams has been much higher than that of the four California teams.

These three teams have always been regulars in the playoffs.

Especially the Spurs and Mavericks, who have for a long time been at the top tier in the Western Conference.

The SuperSonics had just lost to the Mavericks last night, and today they have to face the Spurs back-to-back on the road.

The current Spurs team is one that wants to seize the present while also controlling the future.

This is because Duncan and Ginobili still have gas left in the tank, the newly joined Pau Gasol is a borderline All-Star big man, and the robust growth of young players Paul George and Kemba Walker gives them the confidence to want both.

But the SuperSonics didn’t want to suffer consecutive losses, and Fei wanted it even less.

As the team left the airport, some went by bus to the hotel, while others went straight to the visiting team’s training facility.

Fei was one of them.

The last time, the Spurs relied on their inside advantage to deal them their first defeat of the season, but this time, Fei intended to turn that inside advantage to ashes.

Because back then, their starting power forward was Durant, but now it was him.

Fei extensively practiced catch-and-shoot from the outside, planning to play many pick-and-pop threes tonight.

This was because although the twin towers of Duncan and Big Jah had an advantage in the post, both of them were playing as centers with limited mobility nowadays, leaving them vulnerable to players who pulled out from screens.

Chandler Parsons was responsible for passing the ball to Fei.

Though a bench warmer in the SuperSonics, playing only a few minutes per game, Parsons had become a fixture on the bench.

Because his looks were definitely something one could feast on.

“Frye, aren’t we going back to the hotel?”

Parsons casually asked.

Fei asked, “Do you want to go back?”

“I just feel…” Parsons was searching for a reasonable excuse that wouldn’t upset Fei. “Maybe we don’t need to take it so seriously, tonight’s game is a back-to-back away game, we should be conserving our energy before the match.”

Fei asked, “How many minutes did you play last game?”

“I didn’t play…”

Fei sarcastically inquired, “So you think you need to conserve your energy?”

Embarrassed, Parsons responded, “I mean, you might need it.”

Fei smiled and politely rejected Parsons’ good intentions.

One could say, Fei knew nothing about Parsons, even though he had been in the league long enough for Fei to have taken notice. But unless one was an NBA fanatic, who would keep a detailed track of league players?

Fei neither knew how Parsons had risen in his past life nor how he had fallen. His first impression of Parsons was his good looks, followed by his high game IQ.

In the words of a scout, he was a “great team defender,” the subtext being that his man-to-man defense was poor, but still better than those completely useless on the defensive end.

Fei also noticed Parsons’ ability to rapidly read offense and defense, his decent feeling for outside shooting, though not yet stable. If it wasn’t in Seattle, he could get substantial minutes on a bad team, but the standards on a championship-contending team were different.

Fei could see both Parsons’ strengths and weaknesses. Parsons’ biggest flaw was in his character; he was not as competitive as Beverley, somewhat complacent. However, Seattle’s competitive environment would force him to strive. But once he secured the position he wanted, would he maintain the same diligence?

Fei was skeptical about this, so he often put some pressure on Parsons.

That evening,
50 minutes before the game against the Spurs, the SuperSonics arrived for warm-ups.

According to league rules, accredited journalists could request interviews with the players present.

So, journalists wandered around the court, most wanting to interview Fei, but he declined.

“KD, there’s an annoying guy here.”

The closest person to Durant within the SuperSonics was DeAndre Jordan, inseparable during the season.

Suddenly, DeAndre spotted a journalist from Seattle, Ethan McNeal.

McNeal’s criticism of Durant in last night’s game had already become a hot topic on social media.

So, DeAndre made that remark.

McNeal said, “I’m just doing my job.”

“Shitty job! You don’t respect KD.” DeAndre said, “KD will remember all these disrespects.”

While practicing his shooting, Durant suddenly put down the ball and quickly walked towards McNeal.

Durant remembered that he had been interviewed by McNeal several times in the past years, but recently the latter had suddenly started changing his attitude towards him.

What was the reason?

As he understood, all the changes traced back to the decision of Fei playing power forward and Durant playing small forward.

Physically, Durant was better suited to playing power forward, but reality was that he was not yet prepared to handle the physical demands of playing power forward long-term. He lacked the necessary strength and toughness to withstand the pressure of the position.

Fei’s decision to switch was both to free up Durant and to try a new style, something well known within the team. But the media and fans didn’t understand, they thought it was a waste of the GOAT’s talent. If GOAT played point guard, he would be the greatest in history; if he played small forward, he would be the greatest small forward. But now, to foster Durant’s development, they had the GOAT playing power forward?