Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

The Detroit Pistons knew in principle that if they allowed Yu Fei to fully unleash his firepower, they would repeat the same mistakes as they had during the regular season.

However, inertia since the trade deadline had filled them with strong confidence in their own defense.

After all, since they acquired Rasheed Wallace, they had become the team with the highest defensive quality in history, limiting their opponents to 78 points per game, and to this day, in their complete form, the Pistons had allowed only three teams to score 90 points in front of them.

Besides, these games all took place during the regular season.

So far in the playoffs, the Pistons were synonymous with defense.

Especially after they smothered the Pacers in the semifinals, they became peerless for a time, looking down at all the strong teams in the league with disdain.

This led to them facing the Bucks once again with a certain arrogance, believing they had the strength to lock down the Bucks.

But things were not that simple, as Yu Fei entered the zone from the beginning, breaking through the defense of Tayshaun Prince one-on-one.

Although the Pistons used a suffocating defense to create a four-minute scoring drought for the Bucks, on the other hand, they themselves were not accustomed to the Iron Bucket Formation.

Once the Bucks found their rhythm, the Pistons fell back into a passive state.

Ray Allen's corner three-point shots were bold and accurate, and Yu Fei's chase-down three-pointers hit the soul, bringing the game to a different tempo.

A sign of the Pistons' defensive failure was the Bucks scoring 27 points in a single quarter.

Based on this scoring rate, by the end of four quarters, the Bucks' total score would break 100 points.

While this might not seem high, for the Pistons, allowing an opponent to score 100 points in a single game was as dreadful as "hell on earth."

In the next quarter, Yu Fei took a short rest.

Four minutes later, Karl subbed Yu Fei back in and paired him with a 5 OUT lineup.

Standing beside Yu Fei were Ray Allen, Shandon Anderson, Robert Horry, and Christian Laettner.

Tonight, Ray Allen was nothing short of a Pistons killer, never missing a chance ball that was passed his way.

Shandon Anderson was the second quarter's secret weapon, a reinforcement obtained by the Bucks in the Michael Redd trade; his role on the Bucks was as a substitute for Sprewell. Stay tuned to My Virtual Library Empire

In the second quarter, Anderson acted like an extension of Yu Fei's arms, flexibly stretching and targeting wherever directed.

He could hit threes but also sneak into the Pistons' basket area like other crafty veterans.

The space created by the 5 OUT lineup meant that the Wallace Brothers on the Pistons had few opportunities to protect the rim, as Horry and Laettner's four-five position picks consumed much of their energy.

The most crucial factor, however, was Yu Fei.

Karl did not know if there was any player who could perform better than Yu Fei did tonight.

The Bucks had only started to employ the 5 OUT lineup in the middle of last season, and it had not played a decisive role in the finals against the Spurs, but against the Pistons, Karl felt it was a tactic seemingly born to counter the Iron Bucket Formation.

Yu Fei completely controlled the 5 OUT lineup and, moreover, he deliberately chose to shoot three-pointers from unconventional spots, half a meter to a meter beyond the three-point line.

When Yu Fei did this and made those three-pointers, which in the Pistons' view were utterly unreasonable, an outdated basketball mindset was shattered.

By halftime, the Bucks led the Pistons by 19 points, 59 to 40.

George Karl seemed to foresee the day when the obsolete old-timers, led by his senior, would be swept into the dustbin of history.

Karl walked to the sidelines to take a mid-game interview with ABC.

"Coach Karl, you are the first team in a long time to score 59 points against the Pistons in the first half, how did you do it?"

How did we do it?

Even Karl himself didn't have a clear answer to this question.

Karl vaguely said, "We took thirteen three-point shots in the first half..."

Yes, that was it.

A light flashed in Karl's mind.

The NBA stipulates a playing field 94 feet long (28M), 50 feet wide (15M), and a hoop 10 feet high (3M), with a few extra feet for aerial acrobatics. This results in a surface area close to 13,000 square feet, and if only considering up to the 10-foot-high hoop, it is 12,280 square feet (442M)—if you include an additional three feet to the top of the backboard, the area is 13,144 square feet (443M).

Starting with the first 10-second and backcourt violations in 1932, to expanding the key from 6 feet to 16 feet, then to the invention of the 24-second shot clock in 1955, basketball games saw the earliest development of perimeter offense and fast breaks.

Then, for a long period of time, basketball games were essentially played within a 16-foot range for half-court offense and defense. This is why the Pistons' Iron Bucket Formation was impenetrable, as the narrow space created difficulty in one-on-one situations, and the three-point line introduced by the league in 1979 was continually overlooked by the mainstream. Although the three-pointer had a brief period of rapid development in the 1990s due to a shorter distance, the NBA extended it back in the 1997-98 season, making the three-point line a conservative option once again.

Disregarding the three-point line allows teams like the Pistons to strictly limit you to a space of 1/5 of 13,144 square feet for close combat. But once the three-point shot is unlocked, the playing space expands to 1/4 or even 1/3 of 13,144 square feet, determined by the range of the players.

The Bucks directly attacked the Iron Bucket Formation with a high-dimensional concept in the first half, making it impossible for the Pistons to focus on both ends, which was exactly why it happened.

After realizing all this, Karl happily smiled, "That's why we scored 59 points in the first half. We should take even more three-point shots in the second half, long live carnival basketball!"

In the players' tunnel, Yu Fei had no idea that his head coach had just grasped a truth on the sidelines. He was against the idea of taking more three-point shots in the second half.

The reason carnival basketball worked in the first half was because the Pistons had never considered, or rather, did not believe any team would dare to play that way in the Eastern Conference finals.

If the Bucks made it clear that they wanted to use three-point shooting to break the Iron Bucket Formation, naturally, they wouldn't just sit still.

This was an era that allowed defenders to be hands-on, and the Pistons had the ability to use the rules to neutralize their opponents' shooting touch.

Therefore, what should be done in the second half was to leverage the three-point threat from the carnival-like basketball of the first half and increase the penetration into the Pistons' paint.

Once the area beneath the Pistons' basket was also breached, they would have no chance to turn the game around tonight.

When Yu Fei shared his thoughts with Carl, Carl felt that Big Fei, who seemed young and reckless, was in fact as steady as an old dog.

This is not giving the Pistons any chance.

"This is the best solution," Carl said to Yu Fei, "but do you really want to do it? Clearly, the way you played in the first half suits you better."

Yu Fei knew what was important.

Compared to a thrilling game that could be turned over and a less thrilling game that could be securely won, any sane person knew which to choose.

"I just want to win."

Yu Fei made his attitude clear to Carl.

Carl nodded without any disagreement.

In the second half, the Pistons thought the Bucks would continue to use the 5 OUT lineup. They had their butchers' knives ready, set to severely punish the Bucks.

However, the Bucks started with the combination of Mason and Mutombo inside, tough defenders who could also protect the rebounds.

Yu Fei didn't rush to start the offense, waiting for his teammates to get into position. He passed the ball to Mutombo, inviting him to show off the legendary "zombie hook shot."

Though Mutombo's back to the basket play was hardly a feast for the eyes, it was revolting enough, like a jammed cartridge, moves stiff, push once, push again, Big Ben not budging an inch.

Seeing that he couldn't push through, Mutombo wasn't hurried. He simply did a "zombie" hook shot on the spot.

Of course, it was unlikely to hit.

But even so, the Bucks' transition defense was fast enough that the Pistons couldn't mount a decent fast break. Billups, after dribbling around on the perimeter, chose to pull up and shoot.

"Bang!"

It didn't go in either.

The Pistons' rough offensive game in a set play made it hard to believe they could close a 19-point gap.

Yu Fei grabbed his 13th rebound of the night.

Although the second half had barely started, Yu Fei's stats had already reached a triple-double, currently logging 16 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists.

Yu Fei suddenly raised his hand, calling for a screen at the shooting guard position, directly naming Richard Hamilton.

The tense standoff was over, and now the Bucks, leading by 19 points, were one step into garbage time, and it was time to settle some personal scores.

"You don't think you can hide behind the others like a turtle and I'll forgive you for refusing to shake my hand, do you?" Yu Fei said without any unnecessary movement, just using his body to push past Hamilton's defense until he suddenly stopped around the free-throw line.

But Hamilton lost his balance and fell to the ground due to the lack of pressure from behind.

He had a bunch of good teammates.

The Wallace Brothers' defense was so quick, but Yu Fei had shot the ball even before Hamilton hit the ground.

"Swish!"

"Why do you act like I owe you something?" Yu Fei taunted, "The one running away was you, betraying the New Jacks was you, and the one who showed loyalty to Michael at the end of the season but was still traded away like a dog was also you!"

Hamilton's only lifeline was...

"Weren't you traded too?!" Hamilton screamed, "What right do you have to say anything about me!"

Yu Fei laughed as if he'd heard a joke.

He had no interest in rebutting Hamilton.

From that moment on, Yu Fei called for a screen at the shooting guard position and named Hamilton whenever he got the ball.

He didn't necessarily have to complete the offensive play himself, but he would certainly expose all of Hamilton's defensive flaws.

Hamilton would be knocked down, draw fouls, make turnovers, allow shots over his head, and be dunked on after being pushed past, but not a single successful defensive play.

Three minutes before the end of the third quarter, Hamilton had five fouls. The only reason the Pistons hadn't subbed him out was that the game had already entered garbage time—the Bucks leading by 25 points—and for some reason, Larry Brown had decided to give Hamilton and Yu Fei the chance to resolve things on the court.

How did he feel Hamilton, who had been picked apart by Yu Fei since the beginning of the third quarter, had the right to a resolution?

Now, he was just Yu Fei's plaything.

In this play, the Bucks' power forward and center screen successfully drew the Wallace Brothers out, and Yu Fei, stopping abruptly then taking off quickly, pulled off a Tim Hardaway-esque killer crossover in front of Hamilton, cruelly, coldly, and decisively breaking the Masked Assassin's ankles, causing him to fall to the floor right there.

Yu Fei, like a dominant lord of the game, charged into the paint, leaped with all his might, and in the air, completed a two-handed, behind-the-head, reverse slam dunk.

"I've collected the debt I was owed."

"And you," Yu Fei looked down disdainfully at Hamilton, "you'll never be able to!"