Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

The Wizards had the rookie Jared Jeffries jump the ball.

The so-called "Yu Fei the Second," whose skills had been put to the test over 70 games, had essentially convinced everyone that he was no Yu Fei the Second.

Compared to Yu Fei, Jeffries was more like the type of long-limbed, athletic forward that the draft churned out in bulk every year.

What set Yu Fei apart from these players were his ball-handling abilities and basketball IQ.

Yu Fei possessed point guard-level ball-handling skills, and his basketball IQ was undoubtedly high; every scout who watched him play believed it was on par with that of Magic Johnson.

Although Jeffries, who was fated not to become Yu Fei, disappointed the Wizards, his courage and fighting spirit were much greater than Kwame Brown's, which made the coaching staff very willing to give him opportunities.

Tonight, Jeffries won the opening jump ball for the Wizards.

As before, Yu Fei took the initiative to request to play the shooting guard position, so he could be matched up with Jordan for the entire game.

The Wizards also gave Jordan the ball for the first play.

The MCI Center immediately entered battle mode.

"!#￥!@#￥"

The noise from the crowd seemed to prove that the fans still believed in Jordan.

Jordan held the ball above his head, which was his habitual way of holding the ball.

Yu Fei didn't believe he would pull up for a shot without any preliminary moves.

Sure enough, as Jordan's right foot shuffled forward, Yu Fei anticipated his intentions.

Jordan was trying to use the shuffle to back Yu Fei down on defense and take advantage of the fleeting gap to shoot.

Yu Fei went on the offensive almost simultaneously with Jordan's leap.

At the moment Jordan released the ball, Yu Fei viciously slapped it out of bounds.

"Not a bad guess."

If Dan thought saying that could save face, he was mistaken.

Yu Fei sneered, "Guess? You're mistaken, this is experience. I didn't just stand by your side last year for nothing; I've seen through your inefficient playing style long ago!"

"It's just one play, don't get cocky!" As Yu Fei was revealing the true face of NBA legends — one should never provoke Jordan.

Those who angered Jordan always met with misfortune.

However, the main cases that support this legend are concentrated in the 1990s.

Now it's the 21st century, and Yu Fei doesn't care about last century's rumors.

While he was blocking Jordan's shot, he saw the team owner Abe Pollin in the MCI Center's VIP area.

Pollin obviously didn't want to miss this Big Game, which was much more heated and topical than a regular matchup.

Yu Fei thought today was a good opportunity to turn over a new leaf; all the damned bastards were here.

Jordan took the ball again but didn't seek to beat Yu Fei one-on-one.

He summoned Jeffries for a screen.

Although Jeffries wasn't the same style of player as Yu Fei, he had one advantage over Yu Fei; he looked more like a big man.

Jeffries set a decent screen at the high post and successfully blocked Yu Fei.

Jordan passed to Starkhouse in the corner after the breakthrough.
Enjoy new chapters from empire

The North Carolina junior didn't let his senior down, hitting the three-pointer from the corner.

3-0

Yu Fei jogged to the frontcourt to find the Wizards had Jeffries match up against him.

Doug Collins showed enough respect for Yu Fei defensively. Regardless of which position Yu Fei played, they would assign the most suitable person to mark him.

Jeffries was one of the few frontcourt players who could match Yu Fei in size, speed, and physicality.

"They call you Frye Jr., does that mean they're treating you like my son?" Yu Fei said with a mocking laugh, "I wouldn't want a clumsy son like you."

Jeffries always felt the team took too long to use him, and if he had started earlier, Yu Fei would never have been able to average 48 points in the two previous games against the Wizards (scoring 56 points in one game and 40 in the other).

"Your reckless era is over!" Jeffries said.

"Oh?" Yu Fei caught the ball sideways, using his body to shield Jeffries, "Full of flaws!"

Jeffries' center of gravity was tricked to the left by Yu Fei's head fake the next second, while Yu Fei turned to his right.

There's something on the court that transcends pure talent.

Although Jeffries' static and dynamic talent was roughly on par with Yu Fei's, if panel data could decide everything, players like Bird and Curry would have had no living space in the NBA.

Strength (for physical confrontation), skill, and experience are the three major hurdles faced by all talented men.

Lack of strength results in confiscated talent, lack of skill ultimately marks you a brute, while experience is the only aspect that can grow through playing many games and has the least impact on personal ability.

Jeffries had the talent for strength, the knack for skill, and the youth for experience, but he didn't have any software to counter Yu Fei's acquired capabilities.

Yu Fei shook off his defense and rushed to the paint to assist Dan Gadzuric with an alley-oop, then turned back to Jeffries and said, "Kid, the fairy tale's over."

"Don't call me kid!" Jeffries said indignantly.

Yu Fei taunted, "Leveraging your father's name to grab attention during the draft and now you're disowning it? You really are daddy's good son!"

Seeing Yu Fei relentlessly attacking Jeffries, Collins began to doubt whether it was wise to let the rookie face the big boss of the Eastern Conference head-on.

Would Frye directly shatter his confidence?

Collins didn't believe Yu Fei was the type of bully who enjoyed destroying opponents, but with their own Wizards players, and the presence of Jordan and Pollin—two people capable of making him lose his temper—it's really hard to say.