Chapter 689: Chapter 484: The Right Thing Chapter 689: Chapter 484: The Right Thing Yu Fei left the court, catching the towel thrown by his teammate.

Various TV stations all displayed his stats.

15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block in a single quarter, these stats essentially indicated that every scoring play by the SuperSonics in the first quarter was connected to him.

“I think LeBron’s performance is no less than Frye’s,”
ESPN’s Mark Jackson said convincingly, “He got 8 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists in the first quarter, and because the Lakers have more scoring options, LeBron doesn’t need to carry the main offensive output like Frye does.”

Hearing this, Jeff Van Gundy couldn’t help but be sarcastic, “I believe LeBron has the ability to score 100 points in a single game; he just doesn’t want to be a selfish player.”

The SuperSonics did not want to leave Durant to face James alone.

After a six-minute break, Brandon Roy was put back on by Karl.

Unexpectedly, at the start of the second quarter, Roy and Durant had a bit of a disagreement.

Roy thought that since Durant played the entire first quarter, let him start.

Durant thought, when Frye was in, I didn’t have a big role; now that Frye is out, and I still don’t have a big role, then what was the point of Frye stepping out?

So it happened that Roy called for Durant to clear out, but Durant stood his ground with his hands asking for the ball.

“Kevin, what are you doing?”

The first to lose patience was George Karl, “Follow the strategy!”

Durant moved away.

Roy then shattered Mike Bibby’s defense.

In front of him, Bibby was like a defective product.

He created opportunities with a relaxed rhythm, scoring on a jump shot.

“That’s how you play!” Karl exclaimed. “Keep it up, Brandon!”

Durant frowned; he wanted to say something. Yu Fei wasn’t on the court, and he should be the one leading the offense, but he said nothing.

The first nature of a nice guy is not to make things difficult for others; Durant could vaguely feel the power behind him dissatisfied with his situation.

His feeling was accurate.

This scene greatly upset Lynn Memitt.

At first, seeing Yu Fei off the court but Durant still in made him happy.

The Lakers had James on the court, the SuperSonics had Durant; no matter who performed better during the transition, Nike was the winner.

But Roy shattered their fantasy.

Roy didn’t just fail to give Durant the opportunity to showcase his skills; he also controlled the ball rights just like Yu Fei.

Durant showed a bit of intent to compete for the ball, but Karl immediately took sides.

To Memitt, this was proof that the SuperSonics were already dominated by Reebok’s power.

They wouldn’t allow Durant to grow. For them, the best arrangement was to make Durant into the Horace Grant beside Yu Fei and Roy.

If you’re puzzled by this name, that’s correct. That’s precisely the role Reebok hoped Durant would play in the SuperSonics empire story.

Horace Grant was the third key player in the Bulls’ first three-peat, but in that Bulls team, although ranked third, he clearly couldn’t reach the same heights as Jordan and Pippen. When Jordan missed practice, Pippen would take a day off to assert “the privileges Jordan has, I have too,” but when Grant tried to follow suit, he wasn’t allowed by the Zen Master’s coaching staff.

Therefore, Grant always harbored resentment, which is why Jordan identified him as the “Deep Throat” for Sam Smith, the author of The Jordan Rules. Because he had motive and reason to do so.

The footnote indicates that “Deep Throat” is the informant from the Watergate scandal.

However, could Nike tolerate their internationally branded campaign, built with 70 million US Dollars, being molded into a player like Horace Grant who would be drowned out in basketball history?

Memitt was gnashing his teeth in anger but was unable to interfere with the SuperSonics’ coaching crew.

Because that was Reebok’s territory.

They could only hope Durant would morph into the early century’s Kobe.

But Nike’s executives were very clear, Durant would never become someone like Kobe; he was a nice boy, which was why they decided to tailor-make the “boy-next-door” image for Durant. It was a role Durant could never botch because he was playing himself.

The second quarter unfolded just as Memitt had thought.

Due to the disagreement with Roy, Durant was reprimanded by the coaching staff, so he began to blame himself, looking just like Kobe in his rookie season, throwing out three air balls in a row sending the Lakers home.

He made no further oversteps.

It was only until Yu Fei entered the court that Durant, thanks to Roy’s “charity,” took two shots, both hitting the mark.

This proved how good his shooting touch was.

Memitt couldn’t help thinking, what if he had taken more shots during that time? Wouldn’t that have turned into his breakout battle?

Durant needed to show his worth in such a game more than anyone else on the SuperSonics team.

In the end, Roy didn’t give him that opportunity.

Moreover, apart from subjective speculations, the general consensus on-site was that Roy maintained the scene.

In the five minutes Yu Fei rested, James didn’t launch a major offense. Like a humble prince, he was doing favors everywhere, giving a pass here, a pass there, and it was only on the occasional fast-break chance that he would unreservedly “let” the simplest scoring opportunity fall to himself, the most unstoppable in the counterattack.

This rational, clear-headed, but not aggressive style didn’t gain any advantages over Roy, who had regained his form after returning.

Therefore, the SuperSonics maintained a 5-point lead.

After James played for 17 continuous minutes, Phil Jackson finally ended his farming basketball, allowing James to rest.

James raised his stats to 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists in just five minutes; the figures were impeccable.

The Lakers took James out but sent the other four starters back into the game.

The SuperSonics subbed out Durant for other starters.

In the most highly-anticipated Christmas Day game in history, Durant missed the chance to take firm control of the game.

Even though he played the same 17 minutes as James, his presence was hardly felt.

All the fans could remember were his multiple missed opportunities from passes by Yu Fei in the first quarter, and the alley-oop dunk he scored at the end of the quarter from Fei’s pass.

As for the two baskets he made from Roy’s assists in the second quarter, they left no impression on anyone.

Instead, it was Roy who shone brightly in the second quarter, combining drives and shots to become an unsolvable problem for the Lakers’ second unit.

Reebok’s CEO, Paul Arrington, couldn’t describe the satisfaction he felt as he watched Durant walk off the court in a dejected manner.

Nike might not believe it, but Reebok had really not interfered with how the SuperSonics used their players.

The current situation was the result of the SuperSonics’ internal decisions.

Yu Fei’s position was unshakeable, and Roy’s was becoming more stable. For Durant to replace Roy, he first had to prove he could fulfill a point guard’s duties as Roy did, not just that he could score.

But Durant was essentially a version of Fei without the point guard skills unlocked.

He wanted to dominate on offense, but the SuperSonics least needed a Durant who only knew “attack, attack, attack.”

Therefore, this was not driven by vested interests or decided by personal feelings; it was a basketball decision.

The most irrefutable decision on the court.

Nike wanted to use Durant to break into Reebok’s dominant market but didn’t anticipate that this promising blue-chip would be buried by their own hand.

Commercial interests intertwined within and without a league that treated business as paramount.

But for head coach George Karl, the only thing that mattered was basketball.

He wouldn’t forget the struggle over the ball between Durant and Roy.

Though Durant would quiet down like a scolded puppy after a telling-off, how often can the same nature withstand such challenges?

Assistant coach Tyronn Lue consoled Durant and then came over, “George, there’s nothing wrong with KD.”

“Tyronn,” Karl asked, “when do you think human nature is most vulnerable?”

“In a bookstore,” Coach Lu joked. “I can’t stand it when people yell and scream near me while I’m reading.”

“No,” Karl said, “it’s life and death, fame and wealth, the desires within reach.”

Coach Lu wrote down his words in his notebook.

As an assistant coach who still didn’t understand tactics, he wanted to follow in Rivers’ footsteps.

He might not grasp coaching philosophies, but he had to know how to give a motivational speech.

With each team missing a key player, the game continued.

Fei firmly marked Mike Bibby.

After James, Bibby was the Lakers’ biggest reinforcement over the summer; last season people saw him as a past-his-prime All-Star, but on the Lakers, he immediately entered the Payton realm of the super-team era.

A capable starter who sacrificed his team position for the championship.

Fei singled out Bibby for aggressive play, wearing out the Lakers point guard to the point of being unable to organize the offense.

However, Pau Gasol received the ball in the low post and solved the issue of the point guard’s dysfunction.

The Lakers had too many stars; before Chris Bosh’s return, the SuperSonics had no one in the paint who could contend with Pau Gasol.

Brown was completely overpowered in terms of technique and basketball IQ, DeAndre Jordan had nothing but physicality, and Little O was like a hit-or-miss on cards–sometimes playing like an All-Star and at other times like a retiree half in the grave.

It’s clear that to give Kobe a breather, the Lakers compiled a wealth of talent in the playmaker position.

James, Bibby, and Pau Gasol ensured Kobe’s off-games wouldn’t become the norm.

Moreover, as long as Kobe was performing normally, Roy had no advantage over him.

All of a sudden, the SuperSonics’ advantage was only with Fei.

And Fei didn’t disappoint, scoring another 12 points in seven minutes.

However, such performance wasn’t enough to keep the SuperSonics ahead.

After Kobe took the court, he limited Roy to just 2 points while scoring 8 points himself on 4 of 7 shooting. On the other side, Richard Hamilton sank two three-pointers, along with Pau Gasol’s advantage in the paint, Fei’s 12 points merely ensured that the balance wasn’t lost.

At halftime, the score was 54 to 54, a tie.

The Lakers were showing their fangs.

Kobe and James lived up to their reputations as the world’s second and third best players, while Richard Hamilton became the Lakers’ Durant–an unconflicted, shot-focused player.

The continuous improvement of Marc Gasol was another big surprise for the Lakers, followed by the chemical reaction ignited by veterans like Mike Bibby who joined during the off-season.

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Tonight, only Artest was performing abnormally.

“If Frye wants to continue his winning streak against LeBron, putting up 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists in the first half isn’t enough,” said Mark Jackson.

As soon as he finished speaking, Jeff Van Gundy offered another perspective, “No, Frye’s performance is enough, but Kevin Durant’s performance isn’t. The Lakers don’t just rely on Kobe and LeBron, everyone else is also contributing; whereas, currently for the SuperSonics, only Frye and Brandon are delivering consistently. That’s far from sufficient.”

As everyone prepared to head to the locker room, Durant was about to enter the tunnel when he spotted Lynn Mermitt by the fence.

“Kevin!” Memitt called out loudly, “Never let a sense of decency stop you from doing the right thing!”