Chapter 676: Chapter 479: The Premise Is That You Can Walk_2 Chapter 676: Chapter 479: The Premise Is That You Can Walk_2 One of the team’s core players, Brandon Roy, collided knees with Mo Williams during a drive and fell to the ground, unable to get up immediately.

Although Roy claimed he was alright on the spot, Karl wouldn’t let him continue playing no matter what.

“Brandon, this game isn’t worth you pushing yourself. You must go to the hospital for a thorough examination!”

Yu Fei indeed sweat coldly for Roy, knowing no one better how fragile this guy was.

Having played from November to the following June for the past two years, even for a healthy player, was an immense strain, let alone for Roy.

Fortunately, he seemed to be fine, and Karl did not let him continue playing.

Roy’s exit forced Yu Fei to take on some additional organizing tasks.

Durant was happy about it.

Yu Fei, not keen on attacking tonight, knew that after Roy’s exit, someone had to take over his ball-handling duties.

On this matter, Durant was second to none.

Therefore, the audience at the venue could witness quite a bizarre scene with Yu Fei showing little desire to attack and passing a lot, while Durant seemed to be playing the most important game of his career, as if he wished to take every shot himself.

However, Yu Fei wouldn’t indulge him.

When Durant became overly excited and wanted the ball without running the tactics, Yu Fei would just coldly point out the tactical route, then let Durant use his own threat to create opportunities for shooters like Anthony Morrow.

Although Yu Fei intended to control Durant’s shot attempts, with Roy out, someone indeed needed to share that shooting responsibility.

As a result, Durant took a career-high 26 shots that night, making 16 of them, racking up 42 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Yu Fei only scored 18 points, but behind those 18 points were 11 rebounds and 17 assists.

An 18+11+17 stat line was enough to overshadow Durant for the best player of the game.

This was likely the only thing that night that made Durant unhappy.

Though Frye had 14 more assists than him, but… even without those passes, given the chance to go one-on-one, he could still score those points. Plus, what does being the best player of the game even mean to Frye? What difference does it make if he gets it?

Durant subconsciously felt that Yu Fei could control the ownership of the best player of the game title.

Soon, he let go of it.

Not just the best player of the game? Even the SuperSonics’ back-to-back championships so far had been simply integrated into the “Only Empire”.

Durant hated the world that was singing Yu Fei’s praises everywhere.

It was important to note that he didn’t hate Yu Fei; he hated the world that made Yu Fei seem so immensely important.

But sometimes, the feeling of annoyance can blind a person.

Not wanting to dislike specific things, Durant’s method of handling these negative emotions was to downplay their existence.

So what if he wasn’t selected as the best player of the game?

Durant graciously accepted an invitation from ESPN for an interview, in which he spent ten minutes discussing “responsibility.”

“Brandon got hurt; may God be with him. I hope he’s okay,” Durant spoke like a saint concerning his teammate, “I will pray for him. We’ll get better. This too shall pass.”

“You scored a season-high in points tonight; does that give you confidence?”

“No, not really,” Durant said, “I had better performances last season.”

Yu Fei did not attend the post-game press conference; he rushed to the hospital immediately after the game.

That night, the examination results came out.

Roy was fine; his knee didn’t even suffer a grade one sprain.

Based on the medical results, he didn’t need to miss a single game.

But Yu Fei suggested, “Still, put him on the daily observation list just to be safe.”

Karl agreed, knowing Roy’s history of serious injuries from high school, and understanding that one could not be too careful with these matters.

Upon hearing it, Roy was displeased, “The doctor said I could play, so why the observation?”

“For someone like you, who was almost disabled in high school, being extra cautious is never excessive,” Yu Fei mocked.

Roy retorted angrily, “I think you just deliberately want me to rest for a few games so you can take full control of the ball!”

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“I really want to admit it, but hope you’ll understand it was someone else who wanted you to rest,” Yu Fei said. “Because you weren’t there, Kevin got 26 shot opportunities tonight.”

Roy was taken aback. “You actually let him do that?”

“What else could I do?” Yu Fei replied. “I wasn’t feeling motivated tonight, and with you out of the game, someone had to shoulder the offensive burden.”

“How did he perform?” Roy asked.

“Made 16 out of 26 shots, quite impressive.”

“Damn!” Roy exclaimed. “Have I become the stumbling block that’s hindering his progress?”

“So even for this reason, you should take a few more days off,” Yu Fei said with a smile. “Let’s see how good Kevin can be without you getting in his way.”

Durant’s desire for the ball was an open secret within the SuperSonics.

Yet, Yu Fei spoke of it so lightly now, it seemed as if it wasn’t important at all.

But Roy knew this was a matter of profound significance.

“What if it turns out that my presence really is a hinderance to KD?” Roy asked.

Karl held his breath, not expecting to face this question tonight.

He was even more surprised that Roy would confront the SuperSonics’ delicate issue so directly, without any evasion.

Yu Fei didn’t deny that Roy’s presence impeded Durant’s rapid development.

Because in reality, Durant had become scoring champion in his third season, made the First Team, and from then on, joined the rank of superstars.

However, it was also precisely because Durant had an unchallenged superior position during his time with the Thunder that he, despite having the skills and versatility to fit into any system, gradually evolved into a player who loved isolation plays, became obsessed with them, despised tactics, and kept disrupting them.

In Yu Fei’s view, while Roy certainly limited the speed at which Durant could rapidly expand his arsenal in the short term, being “suppressed” by Roy was beneficial for fostering Durant’s tactical acumen in the long run.

When he starts valuing tactics over one-on-one play, when he finds moving without the ball more important than calling for an isolation play, then a drastically different Durant to the one from the previous life would be remade.

Hearing Roy’s concerns, Yu Fei didn’t want to share his thoughts.

Because they definitely wouldn’t understand him.

To them, how could Durant, the model young man of a new era, possibly dislike strategy and off-ball movement?

They didn’t know the true face of Durant and were also unaware of his awakening strong sense of self.

Under such circumstances, Yu Fei had his own way of answering.

“You guys could give it a guess,” Yu Fei’s statement served as both comfort to Roy and a morale booster to Karl. “Does KD have the nerve to say to me, ‘Brandon’s presence only limits my performance, step aside and give me the ball?’”
Roy was stunned.

Karl swallowed hard. “He probably doesn’t have the guts.”

But he was certain Durant would continuously think about it in his heart.

“So…” Yu Fei looked at Roy. “No matter how the facts end up proving your effect on KD, it doesn’t matter. What you need to do is take a few days off. If the reevaluation still shows no issues, then make your comeback. We need you.”

In just a few sentences, Roy could feel the significance Yu Fei placed on him, their friendship needed no words. If Yu Fei had to choose between him and Durant, the latter would be out in an instant. What’s more, it showed the control Yu Fei had over the team.

He truly believed that everything was within his control.

Roy smiled ambiguously. “To hear these words directly from the ruler of the only empire, I am truly flattered.”

“Do you mind about that thing?” Yu Fei asked.

“I do mind.”

“Then I am sorry,” Yu Fei said. “What’s done is done, there’s no turning back.”

“So,” Roy sighed, “I can only mind it and still follow you into the dark.”

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That’s assuming you can move forward.

(1) The Shot, The Fumble, The Drive. Three notorious incidents from famous games during the mid to late ’80s in the NBA and NFL, with Cleveland being the victim in each. As if the debacle of the final minute in the 2019 World Cup game between China and Poland happened four times in the same decade (2).

(2) Maybe only fans of the Chinese national soccer team can confidently say, “We have it worse, okay?”

PS: I’m stuck. It’s frustrating enough to make me want to stop writing for today.

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