Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter Two Hundred Fifteen: The Titan God Without Love

Larry Brown's assessment of the Bucks was correct.
Experience tales at empire

At least in the current era where rough play was still legal, shooting hot streaks were hard to sustain throughout a game.

If you were determined, you could shatter the shooting rhythm with aggressive defense.

But they were too far behind, even if they suppressed the Bucks' hot hands, they couldn't bridge the gap in the score.

At the end of the fourth quarter, the Detroit Pistons achieved one goal: to keep the Bucks, who scored 48 points in the first half, from breaking 100 points in total for the game.

The problem was, they let the Bucks score 98 points, and themselves only managed to rack up 86 points.

This much-anticipated marquee game ended with a victory for the Bucks.

"This is what I'm saying, when you have an incredibly talented all-around player, you just need to surround him with four shooters, and usually, good things happen,"

George Karl said proudly to the reporters.

Not only did this game give him a new perspective on contemporary basketball and future trends, but it also solidified the feasibility of building a strategic core around Yu Fei with shooters and tall defenders.

Yu Fei slashed 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists tonight, and he was told this was his 45th triple-double in his career (not including playoffs).

"Really? That many?" Yu Fei said nonchalantly, "Actually, it's just a statistic, I don't really care about it."

Yet these words sounded particularly self-deprecating, as LeBron James, the team's big brother from last season, had been nationally criticized for shamelessly stat-padding triple-doubles.

And here, it was "just a statistic"?

"Then what is the most important thing?"

"Wait, I didn't say statistics aren't important. I'm saying, I don't care about them. Of course, stats are important, but their significance varies. Like when I scored 49 points against the Cavaliers, do you think that mattered?" It actually did matter. Yu made national headlines for it, but history is undefeated. "Against lower-tier teams, no matter how impressive the stats are, they don't matter. But getting a triple-double against a team like the Detroit Pistons, I'm pretty happy about that, as it shows that Coach Brown's vaunted defense didn't work on me. I hope they keep it up."

Yu Fei's post-game biting remarks about Larry Brown didn't surprise the reporters.

Because Brown was the one who started it after all.

If the Detroit Pistons had won, Brown would have also seized the opportunity to strike back.

That night, Brown was furious in the visiting locker room, cursing Milicic with the most vitriolic and crude language, and blaming the others for not trying hard enough, otherwise, how could Big Fei get a triple-double?

After Coach Brown's metaphorical machine-gun fire ended, he regained his composure and reaffirmed the need for Big Ben to have strong support.

When Brown faced the media, the first question he heard was about why they couldn't stop Yu Fei tonight.

"Frye scored a triple-double on over 50% shooting, which is rare in your previous games. Has your defense against him failed?"

"No, we didn't play well, especially some young players..."

"What do you think about Frye's comments about your team?"

"He's not even 21 yet; I understand him, he hasn't reached the age when he thinks carefully before he speaks."

"Has your opinion of Frye remained the same?"

"The game is the game, but his issues don't lie within the game." At that moment, Brown believed himself to be holy and just. "As a hero in the hearts of many children and as a public figure with positive implications for our society, if the country needed him to wear the Star-Spangled Banner, it would be his honor, and we would all be proud of him. But I see no passion in him for such responsibilities. If he doesn't have an 'everyone for everyone' attitude, no matter his achievements, in my eyes, he will never be an MJ or an Ali, those heroes with a universal appeal!"

Interestingly, just as Brown was stirring up the narrative of Yu Fei's lack of patriotism, the Cavaliers announced the trade involving Ricky Davis.

In the end, just as in the original history, LeBron James thought Davis was too dominant to support, so the Cavaliers traded Davis to Boston for Pierce to assist him.

Unfortunately, as the core of the Cavaliers, the assets Davis could bring to his younger brother turned out to be Tony Battie, Eric Williams, and Kendrick Brown, these useless rejects.

After the trade was finalized, Davis hinted to the public that the trade had happened entirely due to LeBron James wanting to be the boss.

How could that be? Lebron actually wanted to support him, how could he want to be the boss.

That's impossible, right...?

To clear up these rumors, around the New Year, LeBron James also gave an interview to ESPN's expert interviewer Jim Gray.

In the interview, LeBron spoke eloquently. If you thought his appearance was mature enough, then his statements during the interview were far more mature than his looks.

About the trade involving Ricky Davis.

"It's regrettable, you know. I grew up in Akron, and Ricky was one of my favorite players. Playing side by side with him was a dream come true. The trade is heartbreaking... but we will look forward."

About the external expectation for him to lead the Cavaliers into the playoffs.

"You know, taking the team to the playoffs is my goal and the wish of all Clevelanders, and I will give it my all."

About the continuous comparisons the outside world makes between him and Yu Fei.