Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Why does a good thing sound so sarcastic coming out of this person's mouth?

After the pre-game ceremonies ended, everything from last season became part of history.

For the upcoming new season's opening game, what happened last season no longer mattered.

Yu Fei had heard that defending champions might feel complacent, but he did not feel that way.

He only felt excitement and exhilaration because people had been saying they were lucky to win the championship due to the OK Lakers' implosion, and this gave him plenty of motivation.

He couldn't wait to prove himself again.

After the warm-ups, the starting players from both sides took to the court.

The Bucks' starting lineup had only one change from last season, and it was at the center position.

The original starting center, Dan Gadzuric, was injured during the preseason and was currently sidelined, so Karl decided to give Zaza Pachulia a chance to start in his first NBA career game.

Yu Fei was surprised by this decision.

Although he knew Pachulia would grow into a competent NBA big man in a few years, the direct promotion to starter was a bit too much.

But looking at the team's roster, he could understand Karl's decision.

In the Bucks' roster, Gadzuric was the only usable center, and the rest were power forwards with different skill sets. Usually, Gadzuric would play for 28 minutes, and for the remaining time, various power forwards would share the court. Now that he was suddenly unable to play, the center position became a major weak point.

The Timberwolves easily won the jump ball.

Big Dog Robinson immediately wanted to remind his former team of how he used to play here.

Big Dog received the ball high up, made consecutive footwork moves, and turned for a jump shot.

Sprewell provided strong defense, and Big Dog's shot missed.

Big Dog started the season with a miss and also set a clear tone for the game.

Although the Timberwolves were a Western team, their defense was quite good.

Under the Timberwolves' defense, the Bucks also failed to find their rhythm, resulting in both sides clanging shots back and forth.

Not until the Bucks' third offensive possession did Ray Allen drive to the basket from the outside line and suffer a block from Garnett.

Big Dog picked up the ball, eager for a defensive counterattack, but his presumptuous move against Yu Fei's defense was mistaken.

Yu Fei, with lightning-fast vision, swiped the ball away ferociously, dribbled forward a step, and pulled up for a three-pointer.

"Swish!"

"Dribbling without watching, no wonder your team traded you." Yu Fei habitually taunted his opponent.

Big Dog had faced off against Yu Fei before and knew that the guy liked to trash talk and mess with the mental game, so he didn't retort. Whatever you say goes, if conceding a point to you means I lose, so be it.

In the following minutes, the Timberwolves showcased their variety of skills.

Cassell's unexpected three-point shot.

Tskitishvili's ball-handling that was nearly rendered ineffective at King.

And the most classic, Garnett's high pick-and-roll fadeaway just inside the three-point line.

Yu Fei remembered in Game Six of the Finals, Duncan had hit shots from this position in two consecutive possessions, and at that time, his teammates felt somewhat desperate. Because that was not Duncan's usual offensive move, yet he still scored.

Duncan wouldn't rely on long shots for crucial points, which was the biggest difference from Garnett.

Garnett's long jump shots were beautifully poised, and the arc was graceful.

"Swish!"

Pachulia's athleticism was too poor, and Mason's height meant he had no chance against Garnett's pick-and-fade shooting method. If Garnett continued playing like this, the Bucks' defense would be helpless.

In terms of playing style, Garnett was the most graceful big man Yu Fei had ever seen.

But it was precisely because he was so graceful that Garnett lacked the toughness in clutch moments compared to people like Duncan.

Yu Fei didn't want to let Garnett play too comfortably, so he called for Mason's screen.

Garnett was famous for his rare ability to guard both big men and small guards since he entered the league, just like Nowitzki, who could become even better in the era of small-ball.

Yu Fei couldn't shake off Garnett, but he successfully broke through to the free-throw line. Garnett worried about his passing and didn't dare to press too hard, giving him more operating space.

Not only was Yu Fei's offense a concern for Garnett, but it also made it impossible for the Timberwolves to focus inside and out. Szczerbiak, who was supposed to defend Ray Allen, couldn't help but shrink his defense inside.

Ray Allen was ready to catch and shoot, but the basketball didn't come.

Yu Fei roughly leaned against Garnett's body and forcefully jumped. In mid-air, he truly felt various changes in his body.

One particular point that stood out was that after engaging in such intense confrontation, Yu Fei found the range and strength of his movements to be greater than before.

Was this what Tim Grover called "mobilizing more muscles, releasing more power"?

Yu Fei didn't dwell on this question, and at the cost of ignoring an open Ray Allen, he completed a spectacular airborne change-of-hands layup against the glass to score.

"Do you like my move?" Yu Fei teased Garnett, "That's how the champions play."

Garnett on the court was different from the one off the court.

On the court, it was as if he was possessed by another persona, brimming with black culture characteristics, that sense of anger wanting to overflow from his body felt like a woman with a large chest, who no matter how conservative her clothes were, it always looked like it was about to leap out.

"!@#!#￥" Garnett muttered curses under his breath, extremely dissatisfied with Yu Fei's comment.

When Yu Fei got back on defense, he received negative feedback from another person.

Ray Allen said with a deep gaze, "I was open, and I have a higher shooting percentage from the corner. You should have passed the ball to me."

But Yu Fei confidently retorted, "That's the punishment for you not keeping your mouth shut."

After saying this, Yu Fei parted ways with Ray Allen.

This left the latter extremely annoyed; on one hand, he understood why Yu Fei was dissatisfied—indeed, he hadn't kept his mouth shut—but on the other hand, he didn't feel that he had spoken ill of anyone.

He was simply expressing his dissatisfaction over the media's excessive focus on Yu Fei to the neglect of other team members.

But for most people, such expression was seen as discontent with Yu Fei.

Ray Allen said this only because he dared not face the core and crux of the problem.

When Yu Fei started accusing, Ray Allen's penchant for self-censorship made him doubt his own words. Then, he would convince himself he was right, but when Yu Fei brought up the issue to criticize him again, he would fall into self-doubt.

Then, Big Dog Robinson scored with an isolated high-post play, repaying the Timberwolves' choice.

It seemed the Timberwolves got the iso player they wanted. Because Garnett wasn't the type to excel at attacking fortified defenses, when games came to critical moments, the Timberwolves needed a secondary attacker to help the team out of troubles.

In Yu Fei's previous life, this role was played by Sprewell, but now it was assumed by Big Dog.

Even though their average scores differed by only one point, as a secondary attacker, Big Dog's contribution and value on both ends of the court were actually far behind what Sprewell offered.

Yu Fei crossed half-court and passed the ball to Sprewell.

Sprewell called for Zaza Pachulia's screen and took his first step decisively. The old man, who once had the chance to compete for the fastest first step in the League, was still as quick as lightning.

Olowokandi was too slow on his feet, getting caught by Sprewell who went small over big and easily scored with his speed.

The Timberwolves continued their signature play of Garnett up high and Cassell's pick-and-roll offense.

The Bucks chose not to switch.

Cassell was unable to find an open shot under Yu Fei's disruption, so he passed the ball back to Garnett.

Unexpectedly, this scene was preempted by Mason.

Mason stretched his hand forward, disrupting the pass, and Yu Fei immediately broke away for a fast-break.

The Timberwolves transitioned from offense to defense, but it was too late. Yu Fei ran the full court, took Mason's pass, and slammed the ball home.

The Timberwolves might be the new seed of the Western Conference, but the reigning champions were not like the team rumored to have only snatched the title by happenstance due to the OK Lakers imploding.

This fact was clearly understood by the Timberwolves within the first few minutes of the game.
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⑴ I'm not too sure if Sota is an abbreviation for Minnesota, but it's certain that's what Garnett calls Minnesota.

PS: Today there's only one chapter... I thought I had two chapters saved up, but this morning I found there was only one... This chapter is one I owe, which means now I'm back to owing two chapters.