Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Larry Brown did not give the instruction as his brother had thought.

Zone defense? It wasn't time for that yet.

They still had time.

The Bucks relied on offense, and offense is unpredictable, while defense will never betray you.

Brown was counting on increasing defensive intensity to disrupt the Bucks' offensive flow.

"Rasheed, stop defending like a fucking weakling!" Brown roared, pale as a vampire, "Show me how fucking tough you are!"

If nothing seems to work, just drag your opponent into the mud and wrestle them down.

It seems to be a long-standing tradition of Eastern Conference teams.

The Pistons took it to an extreme.

During regular practice, Larry Brown instilled this concept in his players: defense is like a single mother struggling to support her family through hard times.

Defense causes both the opponent and oneself pain; there is no glory in it. If someone tells you they play defense for glory, they are definitely lying.

To play good defense, you can't stroll or slack off on the court, looking for breaks to rest. You won't find a second of peace. You can't feel your breath as your feet burn, you size up your opponent, trembling eyes and a pounding heart demanding you to lock down everything—and even that's not enough, no matter how exhausted you are.

Prince defended consistently, as if there was no tomorrow.

But it only took a few simple steps for Yu Fei to shake him off: lowering his center of gravity, changing direction, accelerating.

The moment Prince lost a bit of his defensive positioning, his defense failed.

Because Yu Fei's body was too strong for him.

The extra power from Yu Fei's breakthrough was enough to push him away.

And so it was this round.

"If you want to play good defense, I mean real defense!" Rivers said in the commentary booth, "you must have the pure faith of an ancient sage."

His partner asked, "How pure?"

"You must be willing to give up everything for a vague goal and hope. Plus, you need to endure the fruitlessness of it all."

Fruitlessness vividly described Prince's defense against Fei.

Since the first game of the series, Prince was the main defender on Fei, but he had been failing from the start.

Even though the Pistons won two games, Prince did not stop Fei.

Tonight, Fei performed better than in any previous game.

Fei passed by the Little Prince like dodging wooden stakes, penetrating deep into the paint, and passed the ball to Mason with a bounce pass.

Mason easily dunks the ball.

33 to 27

Each point was so hard-earned, but Fei made them look easier than they actually were.

"How many assists does Big Fei have now?"

George Karl asked his assistant coach.

"Including that one, six."

Not even halfway through the second quarter...

The Iron Bucket Formation, born to restrict one-on-one superstars, what to do against a superstar who can both go one-on-one and carry four players?

Karl believed his senior was even more troubled.

The basic logic of the Iron Bucket Formation is to block the opponent with the first line of defense and then force high-difficulty shots with the second line of defense.

But Yu Fei could rip the Pistons' first line of defense apart with his shots and breakthroughs and then manipulate the second line with his court vision.

Yes, the key was manipulation.

The Pistons often activated their defensive tactics reactively, responding in the way they knew best. Fei, on the other hand, quickly decided his next move based on their reactions.

The Pistons, riddled with holes in their defense by Fei, needed to find a stable source of offense.

Rasheed Wallace, cursed by Larry Brown, scored a crucial basket for them.

The offensive phase became the Pistons' favorite because, on defense, they had to face the "Frye problem."

Fei called for another pick-and-roll.

Mason alertly moved up, now knowing how to cut into the paint under the siege of the Iron Bucket Formation to create feeding opportunities for Fei.

The key was not whether Fei could pass the ball, but if he could appear in the right position.

The Roaring Celestial saw Mason's intention, but what frustrated him was that he couldn't stop his action.

Because the ball was still in Fei's hands.

Once they focused their attention on Fei, Mason would get his chance.

The same thing had happened many times before.

This time, Rasheed Wallace decided to show his "toughness".

As he was losing his position, Yu Fei's pass went towards the inside. Mason only needed to jump casually to score under the basket.

Just as Mason was about to do so, Rasheed struck from behind, hooking his claw around Mason's neck and pulling him down to the ground.

The incident unfolded right in front of Yu Fei.

You look at the owner before hitting a dog, what are the Detroit Pistons trying to imply? Can't handle the game?

Yu Fei was furious, and as he rushed to escalate the situation, the seasoned Mutombo, knowing what would ensue if Yu Fei threw a punch, blocked him without a second thought.

On the other side, Mason had already risen, also ready to retaliate, but the referees had entered the scene and contained the situation promptly.

"You wanna fight, then come the fuck on!" Mason roared at Rasheed.

Rasheed was cursing under his breath, clearly unafraid of Mason. After a bout of mutual swearing, the referees gave Rasheed a Flagrant Foul 1, followed by a common foul.

The Bucks were awarded two free throws and possession.

Although no one was injured and no one was ejected, the nature of the match changed from that moment on.

Yu Fei looked coldly at Rasheed Wallace. If the aggressor didn't pay a price, the Pistons would become brazen.

Mason made one of two free throws, and possession still belonged to the Bucks.

The inbound pass was successful, and Yu Fei's desire for retaliation was strong; he couldn't even wait for one round and immediately called for a pick and roll with Mason.

Rasheed switched on defense, positioned correctly, already blocking Yu Fei's path.

But Yu Fei, disregarding everything, insisted on bumping against Rasheed. The moment their bodies made contact, Yu Fei's left elbow, which he was using to protect the ball, had already struck the opponent's chest.

With that hit, Rasheed Wallace felt like he was about to die from agony, suffocation, barely able to catch a breath.

The Roaring Celestial fell backward, and Yu Fei committed an offensive foul.

"Huff huff huff..."

After finally catching his breath, Rasheed Wallace began to feel the pain in his chest from the hit.

Yu Fei placed the ball on the ground and crudely mocked, "You're lying there like a bitch waiting for someone to fuck you? Is mass-producing assholes like you the only thing your college is good for?"

Rasheed Wallace was furiously enraged, and his teammates, hearing such words, were all seething with rage, but Yu Fei had already retreated on defense, and the referee was there, so they dared not add fuel to the fire.

Back in the backcourt, Yu Fei told Mason, "Don't worry about anything else, just take out that bitch first!"

What Mason needed was exactly those words from Yu Fei.

Without Yu Fei taking a stance, Mason was worried about being ejected. Now that Yu Fei advocated for immediate revenge, Mason stopped worrying about anything else. After all, the Bucks had a similar substitute to replace him, but Rasheed Wallace was the Pistons' unique player at the power forward position, irreplaceable on the team.

The Pistons, clearly aware of what the Bucks wanted to do, deliberately avoided passing the ball to Rasheed.

But whether Rasheed got the ball or not, Mason was out to get him.

As the Pistons' high post offense was about to start, Mason suddenly attacked Rasheed's face with his elbow during the physical confrontation, just like Yu Fei had done.

"!!#￥!￥"

The last thing the referees wanted to see was both sides fighting. For such an openly violent act by Mason, they took the strictest measures, issuing a direct Flagrant Foul 2.

The Flagrant Foul 2 not only led to Mason's ejection, but he would also be suspended for the next game.

Yu Fei put pressure on the referee nearby, "Level 2? Are you kidding? That bitch got away with a stranglehold and it was just a level 1!"

Referees, who just wanted to calm things down, hinted, "Big Fei, you better shut up. You all can file a complaint with the League after the game ends, I'm just here to ensure this game finishes smoothly!"

"Then you'd better keep a close eye on this bunch of sore losers!"

The team's style often depends on the head coach, but sometimes, the leader's behavior can also influence the team.

Yu Fei's retaliation against Rasheed Wallace, his support for Mason, and his public confrontation with the referee for Mason's sake, it solidified the team's morale and increased the team's cohesion.

The only one who thought Mason went a bit too far was Karl.

"You're damn enjoying yourself, but now who am I going to use to cover for Big Fei?" Karl yelled. Experience more tales on My Virtual Library Empire

Mason pointed at Haslem, "The kid can give it a try."

"Letting the rookie play?" Karl laughed in frustration, "I'd rather see Chris getting fucked up by that bitch Rasheed Wallace than let a rookie go out there to die!"

Mason shrugged off responsibility like a deadbeat, "Then there's nothing I can do. It was Big Fei who told me to do it; if you have a problem, take it up with Big Fei."

Karl lost his temper, not because he didn't support retaliation, but because Mason had taken himself out of the equation. However, they needed Mason in tonight's game.

If he couldn't play, the interior line would be helpless.

Karl took a few steps, resolute in not letting Ratner or Horry provide spacing on the court. Space was not what they needed at the moment—Big Fei alone could blow up the Pistons' defense. They needed a tough guy who could physically challenge the opponent.

Since Mason thought Haslem could do it, why not give it a try? Even if the rookie was subpar, Big Fei could cover for him.

After all, they had to trust Big Fei.

Karl stopped in his tracks and turned to Haslem, "Rookie, you're in!"