Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 997 997 580 Just Like in the Legends_2

?Chapter 997: Chapter 580: Just Like in the Legends_2 Chapter 997: Chapter 580: Just Like in the Legends_2 Though the Knicks were among the top four in the Eastern Conference, fundamentally, their success or failure still depended on Durant’s performance.

DeAndre Jordan appeared to have the strength to compete for the DPOY in the coming years, but in the era of space basketball, the DPOY was no longer the best defender to emerge among a crowd of strong big men, but more like finding a relatively healthy pig in a pigsty.

The defensive value of the DPOY was crucial to the team, but in space basketball, even the greatest defenders could become vulnerabilities in the opponents’ strategies.

DeAndre Jordan’s limitation on the offensive end was that he could only score under the basket, which was his shortcoming.

Last season, to unleash the offense of Durant and DeAndre Jordan, the Knicks had paid a high price to acquire Rajon Rondo from Boston.

As it turned out, this trade was like buying a horse’s bones for a thousand gold pieces.

Rondo was a player severely out of touch with the era of space basketball, a point guard who performed poorly on offense. Even though he had top historical organizational skills, he could only utilize a small part of his potential. He was destined to be limited by the environment, and the only way to unlock all the restrictions was to improve his shooting ability. However, this was exactly what Rondo found most difficult to achieve.

This was the core lineup of the Knicks, which didn’t seem alarming at first glance, but analyzing it made one worry about Durant’s prospects in New York.

However, Yu Fei would not consider these problems for Durant. What he had to do now was to avoid becoming a stepping-stone for Durant.

The game began, and Yu Fei faced Durant in the low post. He backed down twice, suddenly turned around shaking Durant, took a step inside, and scored off a high throw off the backboard.

“Did I teach you that move?” Yu Fei taunted.

Yu Fei no longer resisted the role of “Durant’s mentor” because he found that Durant acknowledged it as well. Since even the man himself had accepted it, why should he be pretentious? Moreover, becoming Durant’s mentor sounded a bit fantastical, but it truly provided an immense sense of accomplishment once it happened.

Durant remembered all of Yu Fei’s teachings.

“You told me,” Durant said, “that a big man like me isn’t suited for fine footwork.”

Yu Fei smiled, pretending to be ashamed and said, “Oh, that was because you didn’t have enough core strength to support those moves back then. Do you think Hakeem Olajuwon wasn’t refined in his footwork when he played every day using those moves to toy with defenders?”

Durant was at a loss for words. Was he played? No, actually, this was just a white lie Yu Fei told considering his physical condition at the time.

Footwork is like passing – an offensive player who discovers the fun in making passes will explore various passing moves, hoping to dance around the court like White Chocolate. The same goes for low-post footwork. The greatest low-post offensive players in history generally mastered the best low-post footwork only after developing their core strength and offensive skills to the utmost.

This was no coincidence. Low-post offense is one of the skills that demand the highest overall quality in a player. Either overpower the opponent with your physique or outskill them with your technique, those with both are nearly invincible in the low post.

Years had passed, and Durant had developed an offensive style that suited his characteristics. Therefore, even though Yu Fei scored on him at the beginning, he wasn’t dismayed, and soon used his height advantage to retaliate with a basket in the low post.

However, relentless offense could only amplify individual influence; to energize his teammates, one needed to attract more defense and pass the ball. The Clippers, already limited in defensive resources, disliked strategies like double-teaming because they believed Yu Fei wouldn’t lose to anyone in individual skills.

If Durant dared to fight back, Yu Fei would intensify his efforts to inflict more wounds on him.

Rivers’s trust in Yu Fei was absolutely justified, and he experienced the joy similar to what George Karl and Tyronn Lue felt, a month into coaching the GOAT.

Yu Fei was incredibly versatile, not only proficient in both offense and defense but also crucial in handling the ball, a wing ace, effective with or without the ball, capable of shooting three-pointers from the outskirts, taking one-on-ones at mid-range, and dominating 95% of NBA players in the low post.

This half-court omnipresent offensive threat, paired with his vision, meant that from what is presently known of basketball logic, no defensive system could limit him.

Durant could only try to match him shot for shot when he was in good form, but Yu Fei’s influence on the court was much greater.

He could not only stay one step ahead of Durant on the offensive end but also performed the role of a linchpin on defense. Lastly, he forced the Knicks to resort to double-teaming by overwhelming Durant’s defense.

Once the opponents resorted to double-teaming him, it was a path to their own destruction.

Yu Fei began setting up plays for Griffin and Antetokounmpo.

Simultaneously, Rivers’s understanding of Rondo allowed the Clippers to have a more targeted approach during the game.

Rondo was completely left open on the perimeter and was never able to get into his offensive rhythm. Every move he made seemed like it had been predicted by ‘Coach Hoghead.’
Durant’s offense only held the fort for the Knicks for a half.

Then, from the third quarter on, Antetokounmpo hit two three-pointers.

This was the moment that changed the complexion of the game.

The Greek Freak’s shooting precision took everyone by surprise. Since the start of the season, he averaged 1.4 three-pointers per game at a 36% shooting rate.

What mattered most was that his shooting posture and touch resembled that of a shooter.