noveldrama
Chapter 987 987 577 The Worst Session
Chapter 987 987 577 The Worst Session
?Chapter 987: Chapter 577: The Worst Session Chapter 987: Chapter 577: The Worst Session The Clippers and the Miami Heat’s preseason game was exceptionally tense, almost not looking like a mere warm-up match, because the intensity Yu Fei applied on Jimmy Butler significantly increased the competitiveness between both sides.
After watching most of the game, Yao Ming revealed an expression-packed smile from afar, “Damn! Thankfully I’m resting today. It’s so fierce — are you sure this is just a preseason game?”
Yu Fei didn’t intend to cause such a big stir, but Butler’s face truly gave him the feeling of squaring off against a young Jordan.
Currently, Butler was on a rapid rise, but in the Miami Heat, a team replete with formidable players, he was merely a substitute for Ariza.
The team acknowledged his skills, but they didn’t have high expectations, since they just needed someone to fill a gap.
Under Fei’s tight defense, Butler’s techniques had no room to shine. When he tried to regain face on defense, the disparity in talent made him feel powerless.
Fei didn’t even need to go mano-a-mano — as soon as he raised the ball, the advantages from his height and wingspan nearly rendered the opponent’s defense ineffective.
To stop Fei, Butler had to adopt aggressive defensive tactics. However, once the defense became too aggressive, it was easy for the opponent to exploit.
Butler was toyed with by Fei like a greenhorn. First, he was tricked by Fei’s dazzling footwork, then hesitated during ball-handling which led to a block, and hesitating in his passes caused mishaps. Next, when he defended against Fei, he was faked into jumping, ultimately costing him a foul.
The confidence built on the bench was about to be brutally shattered by Fei. The Miami Heat pulled him out before he got completely frustrated.
When Butler stepped off the court, Spo said to him, “JB, I hope you understand, I have to stag your minutes apart from Frye’s.”
Already a bit bewildered, Butler responded, “Why? He’s not targeting me.”
Spo looked at him incredulously, “That’s not targeting?”
“He said he’s not targeting me.” Butler was indeed a bit discouraged but wasn’t utterly defeated. He said, “He just really hates MJ.”
Spo’s heart tightened. Being targeted in the game by the Greatest of All Time as a substitute for the former Greatest of All Time was evidently worse than being simply targeted.
“He says he’s not targeting me, yet he’s humiliating me; is this what the Greatest of All Time is? Don’t you think he’s too domineering?” Butler stated firmly, “I want to keep matching him, don’t stagger our playtime!”
From that moment, the coaching staff of Miami Heat discovered Butler’s unique strength. Pretending to be tough wasn’t costly, but someone who still stood firm even when targeted outright by the Greatest of All Time was exceptionally brave.
Such a person is hard to break mentally during games. Therefore, Spo was no longer worried about Butler.
However, if Fei said he wasn’t targeting Butler, then he truly wasn’t targeting Butler. After that, even though Butler wanted to challenge the Greatest of All Time again, the Clippers seldom gave him the chance.
Rivers didn’t plan to continue the high intensity from the first quarter. After all, this was a preseason game. Who would seriously go all out in a preseason game? Rivers thought Fei’s performance in the first quarter was a bit excessive and needed to be controlled, and Fei had no objections.
Thus, Rivers had the Greatest of All Time sit on the bench for over 20 minutes in the next three quarters. Fei wanted to match up with Butler a few more times, but the tone of the game had already been set by Rivers.
The subsequent match held no suspense. The Clippers, who voluntarily lowered their intensity, were quickly overwhelmed by a full-throttle Miami Heat. Rivers continuously rotated fringe players, trying to uncover potential talents, but unfortunately, none stood out during the entire game.
It was Giannis Antetokounmpo who gradually began to shine, starting to attract the NBA’s attention. That evening, the “Greek Freak” scored 14 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, dished out 5 assists, and even delivered a spectacular long-stride dunk.
The Clippers’ general manager boldly stated, “We have only two untouchables.”
“Frye and Blake?”
“No, Frye and Giannis.”
This statement quickly became a hot topic for the media, especially since the Clippers also had another star player. Blake Griffin, though no longer the brightest star, was undoubtedly still a superstar for the Clippers.
Trem wasn’t foolish — he certainly knew that saying this would upset Griffin. Since the first day of training camp, Griffin had shown animosity towards the Greatest of All Time, though he was subdued later. Over the days, he remained aloof in the team, barely having any chemistry with the Greatest of All Time.
This situation was subtle. The management wasn’t sure if it was because their styles didn’t mesh or for some other reason. Whenever Fei tried to coordinate with Griffin for a spectacular dunk, Griffin showed resistance.
Trem had dealt with numerous stars — he knew they were among the most self-conscious people in the world. If Griffin decided not to cooperate, nobody could change his mind. In such a case, Griffin’s importance in Trem’s mind decreased.
If the positions of Fei and the “Greek Freak” in a trade were considered “don’t even think about it,” then Griffin’s was “principally stable, but I’ll answer calls.”
Fei’s attitude toward Griffin’s negativity wasn’t as concerned as Trem’s. As an outside observer, this might be a counterexample. Fei thought that Griffin’s negativity wasn’t targeted at him. Since the first day Fei established his dominance in the training camp, Griffin had understood his place. His everyday demeanor showed no signs of competing for leadership, and his attitude during training sessions was unproblematic.