Chapter 754: 503 Chapter 754: 503 The Western semi-finals kicked off that evening at Key Arena, and as usual, it was filled with spectators.

The enthusiasm for basketball in Seattle, stirred up since Yu Fei arrived, was the envy of many teams.

Tonight’s visitors did not intend to scratch the surface and leave like the SuperSonics’ first-round opponent, the Timberwolves.

“Victory is the top priority,” Iguodala, a starting forward for the Spurs, told the media.

Since Iguodala had joined the Spurs, the team had found a player who could handle the media with ease.

His media-friendly attribute did not align with the rest of the Spurs, but their consistent basketball philosophy allowed him to integrate into the team in just half a season.

This was something Caron Butler had failed to achieve over several years.

However, there was one thing Iguodala could not quite grasp, and that was the sense of mission his coach and teammates seemed to have: “If we can bring down the SuperSonics, it’s as good as winning the championship.”

Three years had passed, and Duncan still remembered what had happened in the 2003 finals.

That was his best personal year, when he single-handedly defeated the OK Lakers, and everyone thought the young Bucks would be next, only to be surprised by the beginning of Yu Fei’s legend.

After that, Yu Fei’s rise became unstoppable, until they encountered the chaos at The Palace of Auburn Hills in 2005, which halted their streak of championships, and the Spurs took the opportunity to win the title.

They had not anticipated that from then on, until the end of the 2000s, Yu Fei’s teams never let the championship slip away.

Although Duncan had secured his reputation as the greatest power forward in history with the 2005 championship, he could never forget the loss in 2003, which was far more painful than the one in 2007.

In the video analysis room, Popovich said, “The key to this series is not to limit Frye, but to make Frye fight alone! He doesn’t have Brandon Roy anymore, which means he is the sole driving force in Seattle. If we can achieve that…”

After listening for a while, Iguodala gleaned Popovich’s message — while everyone thinks I’m up against Frye, isn’t KD actually my real opponent?

Since Bruce Bowen’s retirement, the Spurs’ lockdown role at the small forward position had been taken up by Caron Butler, but Butler was not as committed to defensive excellence as Bowen was. Iguodala’s arrival provided the Spurs with a deluxe version of Bowen.

Not only could he provide the necessary defense, but he also ensured comprehensive output with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists per game.

Iguodala nodded and then raised a question, “Then who will handle Frye?”

Popovich grimaced, “Manu.”

The Argentinian laughed, pointing at himself as if he had been ordered by the king to kill a minor demon, “Me against Frye?”

Duncan gleefully said, “Perfect.”

“Perfect?” Ginobili, realizing the gravity of the situation, asked, “Are you serious?”

That was the situation.

Popovich’s defensive focus was on players other than Yu Fei, and he was willing to sacrifice Ginobili for that purpose.

He was not worried about the defense failing because the Spurs had transformed; they were no longer a slow-paced, traditional team centered around a dominant big man like Duncan.

The advent of small ball changed the NBA, and Popovich was the first coach to openly criticize it while also being among the earliest to adapt.

The Spurs were now a team that emphasized wing passes and three-point shootings, fully leveraging Duncan’s playmaking ability and the organizational skills of Iguodala and Ginobili.

Maybe it was Yu Fei’s record against the Spurs, or perhaps the SuperSonics had never really considered the Spurs a serious contender.

The second seed in the Western Conference did not prepare as scrupulously as the Spurs did for their home game.

Coach Lu believed that as long as they played their own game, defeating the Spurs would be easy.

Yu Fei was once again selected for the All-NBA First Team and had to attend numerous media interviews.

Chris Bosh, unexpectedly making the All-NBA Third Team, started to realize that his role in the SuperSonics was not as tough as he had anticipated; although he was willing to make sacrifices, the team heavily depended on his performance, and his sacrifice mainly reflected in not being the top star anymore.

But the question was, could Bosh be considered the second core of the SuperSonics?

If so, did that make Kevin Durant the third?

Thus, the real questions were, “Who is the SuperSonics’ Scottie Pippen?” and “Who is their Horace Grant?”

“Does being selected for the All-NBA Team prove that integrating into the SuperSonics was not as difficult as you thought?”

At the beginning of the season, with the full roster, Bosh’s stats looked like those of an average big man, nowhere near All-Star level.

Now, he had made the third team.

The change was indeed significant.

Back then, Bosh emphasized how hard it was to integrate.

Now, he could breathe a sigh of relief, “I have to thank Frye, he offered all the help, and it was because of Frye’s presence that my integration was so smooth.”

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“Does this clarify your position in the team?”

This was a potentially misleading question.

Bosh’s answer sounded clear, “Of course, the SuperSonics is Frye’s team, we all know Frye is first-tier, followed by everyone else, and I am fortunate to be in the second-tier.”

The popularity of the SuperSonics was enough to make the Spurs players envious.

Even though Yu Fei did not engage in high-profile interviews, the interview level that other players received already placed them as major stars.