Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 917 917 553 Not Yet the End_2

?Chapter 917: Chapter 553: Not Yet the End_2 Chapter 917: Chapter 553: Not Yet the End_2 Although Durant didn’t think the Greatest of All Time would do such a thing, who knows?

Just like how could the Greatest of All Time know what a wicked heart was hidden beneath his appearance? He spoke kind words to the public every day but badmouthed everyone anonymously online.

After returning to the team, everyone actively avoided Iverson’s topic.

So it seemed like nothing had changed, but some transformations were quietly taking place.

After the All-Star weekend break, the Supersonics went on a four-game winning streak.

Everyone found their roles, harmony within the team prevailed, and it seemed they were united on the path to a fourth consecutive championship.

Then, the iron man Yu Fei, who had stood unyielding for many years, in the subsequent game against the Timberwolves, stepped on Durant’s foot while scrambling for a rebound, and was diagnosed with a second-degree sprain after the game, requiring 4-6 weeks of rest.

Yu Fei personally thought it was just bad luck, but his camp thought the coaching staff had an irrefutable responsibility.

That season, Yu Fei had played as a power forward, which took a much larger toll than before. Previously, Yu Fei used to grab rebounds passed directly to him by teammates, but now, he had to fend for himself, naturally increasing the variability and likewise, the risk of injury.

However, such comments were suppressed by Yu Fei.

Everyone gets injured, and blaming coaching staff for an unavoidable mishap isn’t there just looking for trouble? After all, playing as a power forward was his own decision.

Besides, he truly didn’t think it had anything to do with him playing as a power forward; it was purely bad luck.

This unexpected injury gave Yu Fei sick leave for the season but also allowed the suppressed dynastic ghosts under Yu Fei’s personal prestige to emerge.

First was Anthony Morrow, who felt disrespected during the contract renewal process, officially requesting a trade from the team.

Next was DeAndre Jordan. As long as Yu Fei was fit, he was willing to be a substitute, but now that Yu Fei was injured and no one could effectively play as power forward, what better time to seek a promotion?

DeAndre Jordan requested to return to the starting lineup, letting Chris Bosh play as power forward, as Bosh had played enough there anyway.

DeAndre Jordan also hinted that in this situation, he must step up, and if the coaching staff didn’t give him this opportunity, it was a sign of disrespect, and he might make the same choice as Morrow.

Tyronn Lue was extremely troubled and didn’t know how to deal with it, so he just dragged his feet. During this delay, Bosh, who had already had half a season of bad luck, came back to playing as center during a team split and that night, they faced their arch-rival Lakers Team.

Bosh led boldly, getting 15 points and 10 rebounds in the first half, seeming to play his game of the season, but then in the second half, while also scrambling for a rebound, Yu Fei stepped on a teammate’s foot, and Bosh, in his dash to grab the offensive rebound, got elbowed in the face by Kobe rushing in to protect the basket, bleeding profusely on the spot.

The morale of the Supersonics was greatly damaged, not just because they lost the game, but also because they received the worst news imaginable.

After examination, Bosh had fractured two places in his face: the jawbone and the nasal bone, and he would be out of action like Yu Fei.

After the game, the usually humble and respectful Durant lashed out at Coach Lu: “We haven’t evolved with the times, Chris has taken on too much, and with Frye injured, we needed to reduce his load, but we failed to do so.”

“Do you think DeAndre Jordan entering the starting lineup would make things better?”

Durant said, “That’s what I’d like to see, but I don’t have the final say.”

“No one wants to see things like this happen.” Coach Lu suddenly felt besieged, “We just hope to get through the immediate challenges, and then we face new difficulties, but I believe it has nothing to do with whether DJ starts or not. Whoever stands on the court, that scene would have happened.”

The Supersonics suffered back-to-back defeats.

This was their first encounter with consecutive defeats since Yu Fei joined them.

What they didn’t expect was that this was not the worst moment.

Latter, the Supersonics headed to the Eastern Conference to play away games.

The first game was against the formidable Bucks, with DeAndre Jordan getting his wish to start, but he was immediately dumbfounded by the Bucks’ frontline.

Deron Williams outplayed Roy, and Durant significantly increased his shooting frequency, but ultimately only managed a draw with Danny Granger.

The Supersonics faced three consecutive defeats.

This was a new record.

Since leaving D.C., Yu Fei’s team had never experienced three consecutive losses.

In the history of the NBA, only the Bulls of the 90s could match this.

Now, the record had come to an end, although Yu Fei wasn’t in the team, but things had happened.

During this period, Yu Fei stayed out of the public eye.

What was he doing?

Researching.

He was wondering why the Supersonics had suddenly become the center of the storm, why Durant’s public perception had become so sharp.

Although his Reebok had also caused the current situation through Iverson’s comments, could this really be caused by a few words from a retired player?

Yu Fei researched for a few days and noticed an important faction was missing from the public discourse.

Where was Nike’s media power? Why had it disappeared?

No other sneaker company in the world was better at marketing and packaging players than Nike, with decades of experience, something that companies like Reebok clinging to coattails couldn’t match.