Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Before the Pistons showcased their defensive power, they first displayed their concept of offense.

As Popovich's leader, Brown's most distinctive feature on offense was the philosophy of "one more pass".

They created another easy scoring opportunity for Big Ben through five passes.

Then, with the same passing tactic, they allowed Prince to take a three-pointer from the outside. Although it was a miss, Big Ben grabbed the offensive rebound and passed it out to Billups.

Billups hit a three-pointer with an outstretched hand.

Responding for the Bucks was Michael Redd.

In Ray Allen's absence, the starting shooting guard position had always been his. Redd had seized the opportunity, averaging 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists per game since December, with shooting percentages of 45+40+85.

Although this was just under a month's sample size, he had indeed proven he could be 80% or even 90% of Ray Allen's substitute.

Against the Pistons, he first scored by shooting after a run, receiving an assist from Yu Fei.

Next was Yu Fei breaking through and bumping into the Pistons' trap, forcing him to pass the ball out.

Redd received the ball in the corner, and using a triple-threat move, he created half a meter of space against Hamilton and pulled up to score.

Seeing that he was in good form, Yu Fei wanted him to handle the ball more.

But what the Pistons were best at was making such one-on-one scorers suffer.

Their attention had just been on Yu Fei, neglecting Redd. Now, seeing his performance, Brown only needed a glance, and his players knew what to do.

The next round, Yu Fei blocked Hamilton's layup with a help defense, and Redd grabbed the rebound ready to counterattack.

Suddenly, Billups and Prince, who were standing in his fast-break path, tacitly pinched towards the middle. Just for a moment, Redd made a turnover.

Billups snatched the ball, dribbled to the frontcourt, and launched a three-pointer from outside the arc before the Bucks' defense could set up.

"Swish!"

Was it that amazing? Yu Fei was shocked; he remembered Billups being blown out by Kidd in last season's playoffs.

But then again, he thought, one can't always judge with old standards. Isn't improvement allowed?

In the frontcourt, Yu Fei looked at the Pistons' defensive formation and found it peculiar.

When the League wanted to change the ancient rules to legalize zone defense, Brown, as an old-school coach, was one of the clear opponents.

Both his former 76ers and the current Pistons really didn't rely on zone defense.

But Yu Fei did feel that the Pistons' defense was different from other teams'.

Since Haslem and Pachulia didn't have the ability to shoot from the outside, Yu Fei's pick-and-roll tactics were basically initiated by the guards.

He continued to target Hamilton.

Redd came over to set a screen and then immediately spread out. The Pistons chose to double-team Yu Fei, while shifting Prince to help defend Redd.

As for Prince's man, Devean George, they simply let him go.

Yu Fei passed the ball over a large area to George.

But Prince, using his long arms and smart positioning, briefly created a one-versus-two threat.

George missed the three-pointer from outside, and the Pistons got the rebound, with Pachulia committing a tactical foul.
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In the Pistons' following offensive play, Billups made a passing error.

Yu Fei went to the frontcourt again, deciding to challenge the Pistons' defense on his own.

The Pistons primarily had Billups match up against Yu Fei; considering their builds, this matchup could be said to be advantageous for Yu Fei. However, Billups was a master at legal hand-checking on defense. Moreover, Brown would never let him face Yu Fei alone.

Prince was an important piece in the Pistons' perimeter defense system.

Not only was he excellent in one-on-one defense, but he also made strong help defenses, thanks to his gifted physical attributes.

Because Devean George's three-point shooting percentage had significantly dropped that season, Prince intentionally left him open when defending, staying closer to Yu Fei's position, creating a "prepared double-team" atmosphere, yet never taking it further, leaving Yu Fei in a dilemma of guessing whether or not he would be double-teamed.

More importantly, Prince was clogging the space.

Yu Fei's tactic was to dribble toward Redd's position, then call Mason for a screen, preparing to exploit Okur's defensive flaw.

The Pistons let Big Ben replace Okur to defend the screen. Yu Fei's contingency plan was to forcibly break through, shake off Billups' defense, and use his height to bypass Big Ben's block attempt, scoring with a layup.

This attack took 22 seconds.

Though they scored, the Pistons indeed had the Bucks playing exactly the way they wanted to see them.

Constipated, that's what it was.

The Pistons' offense was also constipated, but their "one more pass" system ensured a steady foundation.

For teams like the Bucks that revolve around a superstar, their basic strategy depends on whether Yu Fei can coordinate the team. If the Pistons use defense to stop this, then Yu Fei will have to go solo.

If Yu Fei starts going solo, that's exactly what the Pistons would prefer.

The type of player they love to deal with is the star who constantly plays one-on-one.

George Karl folded his arms across his chest; he saw the predicament that Yu Fei was in.

This made him consider the Pistons' style of play in a more serious manner.

Although the core players of Larry Brown's Pistons are nearly the same as those under Rick Carlisle from last season, there is a clear difference in defensive style.

In Karl's view, Carlisle still followed tradition, using the defensive methods of the past to train the Pistons, and while successful, they couldn't compete against teams like the Brooklyn Nets, who robustly embraced the new era of zone defense.

Brown was different, known as the roughest and toughest old coach in the NBA, he similarly rejected the zone defense.

But rejecting zone defense doesn't mean he wouldn't take advantage of a series of changes brought about by the legalization of zone defenses.

Was legalizing zone defense just about making it legal? No, it wasn't that simple.

Back when the NBA wasn't called the NBA, the league's survival conditions were harsh, and in order to speed up the game and increase scoring to prevent audiences from getting bored, the eleven teams unanimously decided to ban the zone defense in the games.

This ban wasn't very specific. It prohibited "stationary" zone defenses but allowed a transition to man-to-man defense and what was called "sliding" zone defense at that time.

Although it didn't make the game more attractive, the ban on zone defenses, established at the end of the 1940s, created a cultural and ethical concept that lasted for decades. Beyond establishing a lasting connection between zone defenses and dull basketball, it also marked this strategy as one that suppressed the talents and creativity of the best star players. Anything that could prevent fans from admiring their athletic abilities and individual skills was considered to be bad for business.

Over time, the league's regulation on zone defenses became more detailed, and in 1966, it stipulated "if it's clear that a player is out of place defensively, that player can't linger in the paint for more than three seconds." (This was the seed of the defensive three seconds)

In the 1981-1982 season, the league added a regulation that if a defensive player's man was beyond the three-point line, the defender had to be outside the paint. More importantly, it expressly prohibited double-teaming off-the-ball, limiting the other four defenders' choices to "follow their man, switch, or double-team the ball-handler." Any defense not within these three was considered an illegal defense.

That's why Jordan is questioned by proponents of the small-ball era because the defenses he faced during his career were never as complex as those in the small-ball era.

The legalization of zone defense was a relief for defenders, as they were no longer compulsorily required to stick with their man at all times.

That's why the Pistons, despite not really playing zone defense, reaped the benefits of the zone era.

So the Pistons had Billups act as the first line of lock on the perimeter, and Prince's versatile help defense made their outer defense solid as a rock. The defensive emancipation provided by zone defense allowed the Pistons to deliberately ignore those players with poor shooting skills—unfortunately for the Bucks, only two of their starting lineup tonight posed a threat from the perimeter.

The space was completely clogged.

That was the reason why the Bucks played so constipated tonight.

George Karl had an epiphany and had to admit that the Pistons' defense was the best in the league at the moment, but... their defense was so powerful mainly because Yu Fei's teammates couldn't provide fire support.

Once the Bucks had all their main players back, Karl could deploy Yu Fei's favorite 5 OUT lineup, and then, how would the Pistons clog the space? They couldn't possibly focus on surrounding Yu Fei and Red the way they did now.

In this sense, wasn't Yu Fei's playing style, or rather, a ball-dominant core player with the ability to control the entire game like Yu Fei, precisely the nemesis of the Pistons?

Karl watched with interest as Yu Fei struggled to attack the Pistons' Iron Bucket Formation in a space so constipated.

Eight minutes in, neither team had scored much.

But the Pistons, accustomed to this pace of play, led 14 to 11.

Seeing Yu Fei flushed and frustrated, Karl called a timeout.

"Frye, any thoughts?" Karl asked.

Yu Fei got straight to the point, "We need space."

"Exactly," Karl had never been so enamored with the three-pointer, "We need space, but you come off first to adjust."

Karl kept Red on the floor and switched out Yu Fei for Big Q.

Now, there wasn't a single regular starter on the floor for the Bucks.

"During this time, you can take a close look at their defense," Karl said, "You're smart, you'll surely find their weaknesses."

Soon enough, Yu Fei spotted the issue.

The Pistons' defense was known as the hell for one-on-one stars for a reason; they would leave those with no shooting threat unguarded, but leaving someone open doesn't mean they would always double-team.

Take Prince, for instance; his help defense was strong, but he rarely went for the double-team, more often occupying space on the weak side, making the offensive environment extremely congested.

In such cramped space, to rely on one-on-one to solve problems, maintaining a shooting percentage like Iverson's would qualify one as a top offensive player.

Red had already struggled earlier, and now as the number one offensive option on the floor, he wouldn't dare to play recklessly, feinting on one hand while signaling his teammates to cut inside with the other.

However, this was another dead end.

Ben Wallace's rim protection was the biggest guarantee for the entire Pistons defensive system.

When Big Q's layup was blocked, Yu Fei saw Damon Jones standing settled on the outside, completely unattended.

At that moment, he knew there was only one way to break through such a defense.