Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

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After his physical condition declined, Jordan's offense was no longer as brilliant. Although he could still rely on Joe Johnson's rookie benefits to score, it was ultimately unstable.

With 3 minutes left in the first quarter, Doug Collins subbed out Jordan and Ratner, putting in Yu Fei and Brown.

Although the progress was limited, Collins finally realized it was good for them to have Yu Fei and Brown on the court together.

"Paul Pierce is lazy on defense, and Antoine Walker's defense is terrible," Collins hoped every time he put Yu Fei on the floor that the rookie could bring positive feedback.

This was not normal.

Collins didn't know why he could not fully utilize Yu Fei's capabilities yet expected him to perform well every time he got on court, perhaps because he hadn't played a bad game all season?

"Can I play freely?" Yu Fei asked.

Collins said, "It depends on the situation."

Depend on the situation? Can it be understood this way, if my "free play" brings a good result, then this power is bestowed by you, but if not, do I take all the blame?

Yu Fei didn't want to think too poorly of Collins, but he couldn't expect much from a head coach who prioritized fawning over Jordan.

17 to 15

Even though Chad Hamilton felt like he had acute gastroenteritis tonight, dragging him down from start to end, Jordan's performance kept The Celtics from gaining the upper hand early in the game.

After the shift, the direction of the game was entirely in Yu Fei's hands.

He brought the ball upcourt, and Tyronn Nesby thought it was his time to shine, ready to go to the high post to get the ball for a play according to the team strategy.

"Don't stand there!" Yu Fei yelled at Nesby, pointing.

Nesby spread his hands in dissatisfaction, but when Yu Fei breezed past the lackadaisical Pierce and, without looking, delivered a ground pass from the free-throw line to the inside of the paint to assist Hamilton for an easy score, Nesby wisely shut his mouth.

17 to 17

"Yo, you're pretty capable," Pierce whistled at Yu Fei.

Yu Fei mocked, "You're pretty good at defending."

Unfortunately, Pierce didn't catch the sarcasm and even smiled smugly, "That's right, I've always been a player good at both ends..."

Then Yu Fei could only wish the whole league was full of such "players good at both ends."

At this point, The Celtics' main point guard was Erick Strickland (Erick Strickland PG), who didn't have the aggressiveness of the starting point guard Kenny Anderson, nor was he a master at controlling the game who prioritized organization, fairly average in all areas.

Or, rather, quite mediocre.

Under his organization, The Celtics didn't have any good offensive opportunities, ending with Pierce receiving the ball and making a forced shot within seconds.

The moment Pierce shot, Yu Fei felt it wouldn't go in and could predict where it would land.

"Bang!"

Yu Fei leapt and grabbed the defensive rebound, then lightning-fast, launched a counterattack on landing.

This was a tempo completely different from when Jordan was on the court.

Yu Fei ran at the forefront, followed by Hamilton, Nesby, and Whitney in close pursuit.

Then, in the frontcourt, Yu Fei received the ball from behind, spun around shaking off Walker's trailing defense, took two powerful steps, and scored with a left-handed layup.

19 to 17

"Frye doesn't play like a rookie at all!" NBC's commentator Tom Tolbert said, "He's like an experienced veteran, always ready when he steps off the bench!"

After Yu Fei executed the fast break, Walker regretfully said to Pierce, "Joe and Kendrick together aren't as good as him."

Pierce believed that not taking more aggressive action in this year's draft was a serious mistake by the management.

If Yu Fei were placed on The Celtics, he would definitely be in the starting lineup.

Being on D.C was simply a waste; they didn't know what they were doing, keeping such a strong rookie on the bench instead of starting him to accelerate his growth. What was the point?

Pierce continued to play the game with a nonchalant attitude.

Only when Jordan was on the court would he tense up.

But Yu Fei's impact was striking, and if not taken seriously, it could be overwhelming.

At 23, Pierce played like an old man, and when facing him, Yu Fei defended like he was guarding Jordan. He lacked the quickness that was impossible to react to, the difficult to handle wide-angle changes of direction, and even the rhythm wasn't very tricky; he perfectly integrated technique with physicality.

Almost every ball Pierce played stuck to the defender. After guarding him for a few seconds, Yu Fei somehow saw a teammate's open spot and passed the ball under the basket, assisting Walker to score with a dunk.

"No good, rookie, you let me in so easily. Bring on Michael; you're not up for it," Pierce said, thinking he was humorous, unaware that Jordan's name was exactly the "trigger" for Yu Fei to switch modes.

"Chris, you handle the ball."

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"What are you up to now?"

Whitney had a very bad feeling.

As Whitney brought the ball into the front court, he saw Yu Fei clear one side by sending Brown and Nesby away from the paint, then asking for the ball on the low post.

"Are you serious?" Pierce continued to tease Yu Fei, "This is a slide you can't even touch."

Seeing the players spaced out and Yu Fei asking for the ball, Whitney had no choice but to pass.

This scene was unusual in the eyes of many.

On the Wizards team, usually only Jordan and a few post players would ask for the ball for a low post play.

Post players playing on the low post was their duty, Jordan doing so was a way to show his importance as a core member, but Yu Fei? What was his intention?

Yu Fei received the ball, feinted to the left with his head while his shoulder turned to the right side for a spin move to start a drive. Pierce had relaxed too much, was deceived by the first move, and couldn't stop Yu Fei's drive at all.

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