Chapter 545: Chapter 383 No Countermeasures

Chapter 383: Inescapable Strategy

The Celtics differed from the Supersonics, because they were behind in the score and determined to win this game, so they didn’t rest their core players at the beginning of the second quarter.

Apart from Red, Garnett and Pierce were both on the court. Garnett’s rotation was disrupted and he went on earlier than planned, while Pierce had rested enough and was supposed to carry the team through the second quarter.

The Celtics’ coaching staff hoped he could step out of the shadow of being dominated by Yu Fei and display his true ability.

With a superstar on the court, the second team played with a different level of confidence.

The second team of the Supersonics hadn’t expected that Durant, the usually frugal and polite good boy, would suddenly start playing solo.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Garnett scored by posting up Collison, and then took the initiative to defend Durant on the outside.

Garnett taking on the defense himself thrilled Durant. What was this? It was recognition; it meant Garnett didn’t just see him as a rookie.

Durant suddenly dribbled; his coordination and ball-handling skills surprised Garnett, but Garnett’s defense wasn’t just for show. His quick lateral movements halted Durant’s advance.

Normally, it would be better to pass the ball to a teammate and reorganize, but Durant took the shot as soon as he received the ball.

Even Garnett hadn’t expected him to be so confident.

“Swish!”

It was a good shot, boosting Durant’s confidence.

But it was also a bad shot, as it made Durant suddenly lose sight of his own strength.

“If Kevin thinks that shot was not just good luck but a manifestation of his skill, then we’re in trouble,” said Fei.

No sooner had Yu Fei spoken than Pierce went swaggering over to Durant.

“Surely you don’t have any muscle on you?” Pierce was all feints, and with Durant’s defensive experience, he couldn’t possibly maintain a stable defense.

Soon, he was sent flying by Pierce.

Maybe he could console himself by thinking that even Frye could get faked out by Pierce, let alone him?

But Durant had not learned to break Pierce down the way Fei had; he was completely dominated, losing his defensive position, and then watched as his opponent scored the first Celtics’ basket of the second quarter.

“You claim to be the second coming of Big Fei?” Pierce taunted, “If I were Big Fei, I’d be so upset I couldn’t sleep, what with every Tom, Dick, and Harry trying to ride on the coattails…”

Then, Durant’s teammates realized something was off with him.

The usually respectful and obedient guy ignored tactics and lacked team spirit; he attacked as soon as he got the ball and shot upon receiving it.

The second team of the Supersonics had more tactical discipline than the starting lineup, because with Roy and Fei as the two ball-handling cores, they often relied on star gravity to play simple tactics.

The second team, lacking that kind of threat, needed team cooperation.

Typically, Durant’s role here was to move around and finish plays.

But suddenly, Durant stopped moving.

This behavior didn’t resemble the second coming of Big Fei at all, and even bore a resemblance to Kobe during the 2002-03 season.

“Buck?”

After Durant completed a solo play and missed three times, Posey looked at him in astonishment.

‘Buck’ was a nickname meaning ‘deer,’ since Posey thought Durant moved like a deer; it was a term of endearment for the polite ‘backpack boy.’

But now, he felt they had loved the boy too much, and he had become a little spoiled.

In less than four minutes, Durant had 1 success in 6 attempts, leading the opponents to erase the lead Fei had worked hard to build.

George Karl called for a timeout with a dark face, then looked at Fei: “Will you do it, or shall I?”

“You know, George,” Fei’s smile was somewhat cold, “I like being the bad guy.”

Then, Fei stood up, walked over to the sidelines, and posed a question to Durant, “Kevin, did you forget to bring your backpack?”

Durant looked at Yu Fei timidly.

“You should take your backpack and roll back to school, honestly, you’re not suited for the NBA, no matter how you look at it, you’re just not suitable!” Yu Fei said sternly, “JP and the others pass to you time and again, not because you have a higher status, but because they trust you, and what the hell do you do? Goddamn it, why didn’t we use the top draft pick on Greg Oden? That guy who’d rather be a dentist at least would lay obediently in a hospital and not keep turning around in front of me pretending to be a ball boy, nor would he play a foolish game on the court like a grade schooler!”

Durant wanted to tell Yu Fei, I’m just learning from your play style.

But he failed.

That was the reason.

When Durant, full of pride, was defeated by LeBron James’ brother basketball, surely a seed had been planted in his heart. He was the Durant who tweeted “Why would LBJ do that, I’d never…” after James made his decision, and also the Durant who joined the Golden State Warriors in the summer of 2016, claiming it was “the hardest road.” He was always a move behind, as James could glamorize teaming up as brother basketball, while Durant’s acts were indefensible as joining the enemy.

When he abandoned all his bottom lines, the basketball world naturally struck a deal with him: even if you succeed, fans still have a reason to look down on you. You won’t get a clean slate after winning a championship like LeBron. Ultimately, it was the Green equation that made Durant realize, “his teaming up is considered better than mine” wasn’t just sarcasm from the fans, but fact. He had to team up in a fan-acceptable manner and succeed to wash away the stigma.

Thus came all his efforts in Brooklyn, but unlike LeBron, he lost. No matter the process, he just lost. Losers don’t have the right to defend themselves.

Today was a good day, the first time Durant became Durant, and he failed.

Yu Fei scolded him harshly, but the fear in his heart gradually disappeared.

Because deep down, he knew, he was just imitating Fei.

The only difference between him and Fei was that Fei had succeeded, so he naturally enjoyed the privilege of unlimited isolation play.

But he had failed, so even breathing was a sin.

“I will take responsibility,” Durant said.

“Take responsibility? You mean continue to throw up more shots that don’t even hit the rim? Don’t you even think about it!”

“Alright, Big Fei.” Kind-hearted Karl, who always had a soft spot for young players, appeared not a moment too soon. “Kevin is still young. Have you forgotten what you were like when you were 19?”

Kwame Brown’s mind flashed to the Big Fei who had a season-long clash with Jordan.

That was indeed the 19-year-old Big Fei.

But Brown didn’t continue the thought, because the more he thought about it, the more Big Fei’s face overlapped with Jordan’s. That was somewhat terrifying.

Karl calmed down the enraged Yu Fei, had Durant sit aside, and then explained the specific adjustment with a single sentence.

“Give the ball to Big Fei!”

The timeout was over, and Durant sat on the sidelines, dejected.

“KD, you know that Frye is just being tough on the issue, not the person, right?” Roy asked.

Durant was willing to believe that Yu Fei was being tough on the issue, not the person, but since the preseason training camp, it had been clear that Yu Fei treated him differently from others.

Moreover, this difference carried with it a clear sense of… malice? Hostility? Or something else?

Durant didn’t know whether Big Fei was trying to provoke his defiance, force out his potential, or something else.

He didn’t know, but how long can one person bear such pressure? Can he really maintain his mental balance?

“It’s my fault,” the boy with the backpack was still the same. “This is what I should take up.” At least that was how he appeared on the surface.

Durant’s performance in those three minutes, on a statistical level, was 1 for 5, but the negative impact it caused wasn’t as simple to explain.

It was not just about erasing the lead but also reinvigorating Pierce, who had been dazed by Yu Fei in the first quarter.

“Big Fei, you’re back?” Pierce continued to bark. “Are you disappointed with KD? If you guys want, we’re willing to trade him for a first-round pick protected through the top 30.”

Yu Fei sarcastically replied, “Does the confidence built on a 19-year-old kid remind you that you’re just a washed-up dog that needs to bark loud to feel existent?”

The confidence Pierce had gained from Durant wasn’t enough to assure him in a confrontation with Yu Fei.

That round, Pierce gave up on one-on-one against Yu Fei, passing the ball to Garnett in the low post.

Garnett immediately executed a textbook post-up play; a quick shake, a strong bump on the defender, followed by a signature shoulder fake and finally a turnaround jump shot.

Nick Collison’s defense was as light as a feather in front of him, carrying no weight whatsoever.

The Celtics took the lead for the first time that night.

Before the North Shore Garden audience could get excited, Yu Fei took over the Supersonics’ offense just like in the first quarter.

Coming to the perimeter, Yu Fei’s sudden pull-up three allowed the Supersonics to regain the lead.

However, Pierce found a mismatch through a pick and roll, and Childress’s poor one-on-one defense seemed to have a hundred flaws in front of him.

Pierce managed to draw a 2+1 on Childress using a slow three-step drive.

This was not what the Supersonics’s coaching staff wanted to see.

The other two Celtics stars began to exert force, especially Pierce.

They thought they wouldn’t have to worry about him tonight after Yu Fei blew him out in the first quarter. However, Pierce quickly adjusted and found his rhythm through Durant.

Yet, the Celtics couldn’t maintain their lead even with their two stars alternating in exertion.

Because Yu Fei was simply unmoved.

Garnett blowing up the inside? Pierce finding his offensive rhythm? None of these could shake his hot hand.

Yu Fei scored as easily as drinking water, notching 10 points in three minutes, hitting 30 points halfway through the game, and successfully forced a mindless double team from the opponents.

He began to pass the ball.

The other Supersonics players immediately got into the game, scoring again and again from the opportunities created by the gravitational pull of Yu Fei.

“Double-team Frye?”

Karl chuckled, how soon people forget with Big Fei not playing as the primary option for so long.

As the Supersonics widened their lead to 8 points again by passing through Yu Fei’s hands, Rivers remembered what Thibodeau had told him before the game.

Frye was a player who couldn’t be countered on the defensive end.

With his height offering him an unobstructed view of the court, as long as he wanted to pass, there was no scenario where he couldn’t see his teammates or pass the ball. So double-teaming him was a dead end. But with his offensive performance so explosive that night, scoring 30 points halfway through the game–was he going to score 70-80 by the end if they continued like this? Rivers couldn’t tolerate such a spectacle, so he instructed his players to double-team Yu Fei frequently and early on.

Then, Yu Fei’s passing reminded Rivers of Thibodeau’s warning.

Only by the time Rivers caught on, the Supersonics had already pushed the lead back to 8 points.

Moreover, they maintained that advantage till the end of the first half.

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TNT displayed Yu Fei’s stats for the half.

33 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists.

“When Frye scores 30 points in a half, the Celtics, in an attempt to stop his solo scoring, resort to an extreme double-teaming strategy,” Doug Collins said with excitement in his voice, “But when the opponent double-teams, Frye’s passing creates a threat far more frightening than his own scoring. That’s Frye, an ultimate player who defies any strategy!”

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