noveldrama
Chapter 920 920 554 Vitality_2
Chapter 920 920 554 Vitality_2
?Chapter 920: Chapter 554: Vitality_2 Chapter 920: Chapter 554: Vitality_2 “`
Such situations happened time and again afterward.
Ron Artest became increasingly smug, and many in the league believed Durant was not that strong, claiming he only became a historically efficient scorer because having Yu Fei by his side took some pressure off.
During the period when Yu Fei was injured, the SuperSonics only had a winning rate of 40%, which further confirmed people’s speculation.
They thought Durant had completely failed to take on a leadership role; although he increased his shots, he couldn’t maintain the efficiency, let alone improve his rebounds and assists statistics. He was not an all-around player.
Upon Yu Fei’s return, he turned in a perfect performance.
Some had thought that after coming back, Yu Fei wouldn’t continue playing as a power forward, as people close to him had made it clear that such an arrangement wasn’t in his favor.
In that context, it was naturally assumed this was Yu Fei’s instruction for them to convey the message to the public.
He didn’t want to play as a power forward anymore.
But after coming back, he still played as a power forward, and performed even better than before the injury.
Tonight, not a single Brooklyn Nets power forward could snatch an offensive rebound in front of him.
Only Howard could dominate him on the boards.
But what of it? When Yu Fei challenged Howard at the high post, even the league’s top center was at a loss.
Undoubtedly, this was the third stage of his career. Compared to the first stage as a ball-dominant main core and the second stage as a traditional, all-around ace small forward, the core power forward in the third stage made commentators even more impressed.
Among them, Jeff Van Gundy of ESPN gave the highest praise.
“When Frye won his seventh championship, we knew he surpassed Michael Jordan. At that moment, he transcended Jordan in terms of basketball honors, but was he a better player than Jordan?” Van Gundy said, “Now, we have the answer. Michael Jordan could never dominate three positions like Frye. I like Frye as a point guard, I like him as a small forward, but I love him as a power forward. He stands alone at the pinnacle of basketball history.”
At the end of the first half, Yu Fei had racked up 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists, not at all like a player who had just returned from an injury.
Even in the face of his biggest rival, the Barclays Center afforded Yu Fei full respect.
As Yu Fei walked down the aisle, numerous people shouted, “GOAT, can I get an autograph?”
“Maybe next time.” Yu Fei responded with a smile.
Fans knew there wouldn’t be a next time, but just hearing a response from the GOAT was thrilling.
It was probably more important than an autograph because the GOAT had spoken to them.
Like still water, the SuperSonics, with Yu Fei’s return in their first half, started showing signs of life.
“GOAT, can’t you sign a few more autographs?” Roy joked with Yu Fei.
Where did that vitality come from?
“No.” Yu Fei said, “I won’t waste time on that.”
Back in the locker room, Yu Fei teased DeAndre Jordan: “DJ, if you want to get a big contract after the season ends, you can’t let Dwight dominate you like this.”
Was the vitality here?
DeAndre Jordan immediately declared: “I will not lose to him.”
Tyronn Lue came over.
“We performed well in the first half!” Coach Lue said with relief, “Keep playing like this, and taking them down won’t be a problem!”
“Since when was beating the Brooklyn Nets a problem, coach? Is it because we lost too much recently and you lost confidence?” Yu Fei said confidently, “We are the SuperSonics, our goal isn’t just to beat New Jersey but to win four consecutive championships. Defeating them should be a given. Anyone who disagrees can stay with KD.”
“And then pray he doesn’t insult you with an anonymous account just because he doesn’t like your face.”
Some laughter emerged in the locker room; for many days, this was the first time anyone had joked about Durant’s anonymous accounts.
Did Frye really care about that?
For years, Yu Fei’s “pettiness” had become a consensus in the league.
The evidence was that he still relentlessly pursued Shaquille O’Neal and Jordan even after achieving total victory.
Could such a man tolerate his protégé insulting him behind his back with an anonymous account?
Thinking about this, everyone instinctively decided to distance themselves more from Durant.
They believed Durant would be traded after the season ended.
He no longer had a place in Seattle.
Durant watched everything happening around him with a cold face, having accepted the fact of his growing detachment from the team. Even when Yu Fei publicly ridiculed him, it didn’t seem to affect him; he even felt that compared to James’s experience in Las Vegas back in the day, his situation was much better.
The second half began.
Yu Fei’s voice grew louder, his on-the-spot direction to his teammates and his immediate critiques of their performances became more frequent.
This was something he didn’t do much before.
NBA history is replete with leadership templates, but almost none of them fit Yu Fei.
He wasn’t a tyrant like Jordan, nor was he a listener like Duncan, nor was he the sunny big boy like Magic Johnson who made everyone enjoy the game together.
Because no matter how these people changed, their form in the game remained consistent.
But Yu Fei was different.
He went through the changes of eras.
As a ball-dominant main core who initiated the era of space basketball, his leadership style was unilateral and absolute—it didn’t matter if you were comfortable or not, what mattered was making myself comfortable. Only when I’m comfortable, can you be comfortable. This was absolute despotism and dictatorship without room for turnabout.
Back in Seattle as a full-time small forward, he learned to share ball-handling with Roy. He increased his off-ball involvement, reinforced his post play, and learned to sacrifice and share, which might have been his period that most conformed to the academic aesthetics of basketball.