Chapter 749: Chapter 501 If_2 Chapter 749: Chapter 501 If_2 “Praying for your comeback to steal KD’s ball rights?” Yu Fei laughed, “He’s currently only shooting 16 times a game, do you think he’ll even touch the ball if you come back?”

Roy then posed a question that silenced everyone, “But I have to make a comeback eventually.”

Yu Fei said nothing.

Roy said, “You’re usually so talkative, keep going.”

“Well…” Yu Fei chuckled, “I heard that Kevin and ESPN have an interview scheduled for tomorrow night, and Jim Gray is the interviewer.”

“The one with LeBron for ‘The Decision’?”

“Right.”

“That can’t be good,” Roy speculated wildly, “Is Kevin going to have his own ‘Decision’?”

“Don’t interrupt.”

Yu Fei said, “The theme of their interview is ‘selflessness.’ Kevin is going to discuss with Jim Gray how he became a selfless player on a team where everyone wants more shots.”

“He really is selfless,” Roy said sarcastically, “I almost forgot how he argued with Tyronn before for being too selfish on the court.”

“That’s not the point.”

“The real point is, if he believes he is a selfish player, maybe I can ask him to consider the big picture for your sake and shoot only eight times a game from now on,” Yu Fei joked, “If he’s the selfless son of America, he would definitely agree.”

“When did he become the selfless son of America?”

“Tomorrow night.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“You caught on?” Yu Fei chuckled, “Looks like the meniscus surgery didn’t affect your brain.”

The next day, the day that the playoffs started.

Key Arena
Westbrook was filled with regret.

They should have entered the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference, thus avoiding the Supersonics and directly challenging the mighty Lakers.

However, they unfortunately won their final game against the third-place Spurs.

Normally, the Timberwolves couldn’t compete with the Spurs whether they were serious or not.

But, since it was the last game of the season and the Spurs’ 60 wins had already secured them third place in the West regardless of whether they won or lost to the Timberwolves, Popovich rested Duncan and Ginobili for the final game.

The Spurs optimistically figured that even without the two veterans, they could handle the Timberwolves easily.

But the Spurs’ weak backline was overrun by Westbrook.

The breach in the outer line led to a complete collapse.

The Timberwolves won, and Westbrook was thrilled, only to be informed that this victory placed them seventh in the West, pitting them against the Supersonics in the first round of the playoffs.

Westbrook disliked facing the Supersonics.

He always felt that Yu Fei could see right through him, and he didn’t like that feeling of being completely transparent.

But now, they had to face them.

It was his first playoff in his career, and externally, they claimed they were aiming to win, but everyone inside knew that just winning one game would be lucky.

Upon arriving at the arena, the moment the teams met, Yu Fei said to Westbrook, “Lars, looks like you really like me.”

Westbrook was at a loss for words.

Then McGrady came over and said, “Fei, don’t tease him.”

“Tracy, have you ‘if-ed’ today?” Yu Fei asked.

Now it was McGrady’s turn to be annoyed.

Ever since he re-signed with the Timberwolves, McGrady knew that his chances of winning a championship were slim.

Ten years ago, he was touted as the most talented player of his generation–which included peak Kobe, Iverson, and the semi-god version of Carter.

Ten years later, McGrady finally got past the first round last season with the Miami Heat, only to then be shipped off to Minnesota to finish his career.

With age, people tend to wander into whimsical thoughts.

The first ‘if’ McGrady confessed to the reporters was, if he had been traded to the Chicago Bulls, he might have had a chance to win a championship with Jordan–he meant even if the Bulls had traded Pippen for him, letting him replace the 1997-98 Pippen, the Bulls could have still won the championship. You know that’s almost delusional, as Pippen, despite requesting a trade and only playing half the season, still made the third All-NBA team, showing his value.

McGrady’s second ‘if’ was if he hadn’t separated from Carter.

Then if Duncan had joined Magic to play alongside him; if Hill hadn’t been injured; and if he himself hadn’t suffered injuries…

If McGrady, as one of the early mythical creatures in the Simple Chinese Basketball Forums, was the first to inflate his value through a virtual trademark in the form of ‘if’s, ultimately earning the title “If McGrady.”

This was obviously a joke, and many Americans laughed at McGrady’s ‘if’s.

But not many, like Yu Fei, would bring it up in person.

McGrady’s expression darkened, and he indifferently said, “You know, I ‘if’ every day, and today my ‘if’ is… if you think you have this game in the bag, I’ll make you regret it!”

“If your skills had regressed to nine years ago, then you’d still be qualified to talk, but now…,” Yu Fei finished and laughed, “how did I start ‘if-ing’ as well? Is it contagious?”

Subsequently, Westbrook and McGrady retreated to the backcourt, not on pleasant terms.

At the start of the game, the Timberwolves played in a very conventional manner.

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They knew they couldn’t compete with the Supersonics based purely on strength, so they tried to increase the tempo, hoping to drag the Supersonics into a chaotic, shootout rhythm.

Only in this way could Westbrook feel comfortable.

This was the Timberwolves’ most adept pattern for winning.

However, the start of the game for the Supersonics was quite methodical.

Yu Fei calmly controlled the game, fed Chris Bosh in the low post, ran pick-and-rolls with Brown, isolated Durant on the weak side, and penetrated for passes.