Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 1106 - 618 The Killer is the Clippers

Chapter 1106: Chapter 618 The Killer is the Clippers Chapter 1106: Chapter 618 The Killer is the Clippers Spurs being eliminated, there was plenty of discussions about Duncan’s actions before he left the court.

At that time, with his back to the camera, Duncan pointed with one hand to the sky, it was unclear whether he was indicating “I’m coming back for another year,” or “this is it for me.”

Yu Fei was the only person who knew the answer, and he didn’t harp on the emotions.

Perhaps for Duncan, he was a special competitor, blocking his championship dreams twice and defeating him multiple times during his Seattle days.

Even though Duncan’s teams eliminated Yu Fei’s team twice at the end of his career, it did not offset what he lost.

But for Yu Fei, there was no competitor that made him feel, “Oh, it’s a pity to retire, I can no longer compete with you.”

If forced to name one, it would be Jordan.

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In hindsight, the retirement ceremony in 2003 seemed slightly lacking.

Thus, Yu Fei could calmly bid farewell to Duncan.

For him, the real feeling of loss came when familiar competitors retired one by one, when he looked around the League and the faces of his youth had vanished. Only then would his feelings change.

Right now, he didn’t have time to digest the news of Duncan’s impending retirement, because their work was not yet finished.

After the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Clippers held a grand MVP award ceremony for Yu Fei.

Yu Fei thanked everyone, then viewed his seventh MVP as a stroke of luck brought by his daughter’s birth, saying, “I hope to carry this luck forward. I want to know what it feels like to win the championship and fill my fingers with rings.”

This statement attracted widespread attention.

People realized that with one more championship, Yu Fei would become the modern NBA’s “The Lord of the Rings.”

In such a highly professional and commercialized sports league, could the feat of wearing rings on both hands really occur? It seemed like something that could only happen in a minor league with eight teams, no salary caps, and little interest from spectators.

Meanwhile, the Clippers’ opponents in the Western Conference finals were in fierce competition.

The Warriors Team and the Pelicans were tied in the first four games; the fifth game was narrowly won under Lillard’s miraculous three-pointer. By the sixth game, the Pelicans, who had been over-performing, seemed unable to continue, as if a person who died a natural death had peacefully passed away.

“It’s unfortunate, but I believe next year will be better. We are a young team, AD will continue to grow, I firmly believe he will become the world’s best player within the next five years!” As Davis’s mentor, Paul sincerely said during the post-game press conference.

However, his opinion of Davis seemed overly optimistic, also overlooking the fact that he was no longer young.

And time tests everything.

In Dallas, a German once believed the same, but he never again had the opportunity to stand on the highest podium.

Time often favors those who dare to challenge it.

For the Warriors Team, advancing to the Western Conference finals was just their initial goal for the season.

When Yu Fei first arrived in Los Angeles two years ago, they were called the “Youth Guard Army,” but now, nobody called them that anymore.

As a member of that guard, Thompson was traded to the Clippers, quickly becoming a super 3D player for the championship team, while the Warriors Team still lingered in place.

Last year, they finally overcame the Spurs mountain, only to be disciplined again by the Clippers.

Their internal lineup was still a disadvantage.

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Leonard and Lillard were still too young.

What about a year later?

Leonard had achieved incessant evolution, evolving from a raw guy to a terminator, then to a limited ball-handler, and now a well-rounded player, making the Warriors Team depend on his offensive and defensive performance as much as breathing.

Just looking at the Western, there weren’t many who could match up against Leonard’s small forward position.

Even the Clippers had to field Yu Fei because Antetokounmpo was too big for him, making it unfavorable for one-on-one defense.

Then there was Lillard, who averaged 25 points this season, earning much acclaim for “solving problems for Leonard,” but he liked to take difficult shots and enjoyed these extreme challenges. In other words, he was inefficient, and rather than being Leonard’s lieutenant, he considered himself a peer.

Before the division finals began, the Clippers thoroughly analyzed Leonard and Lillard’s technical characteristics.

The former was a burgeoning superstar, while Lillard was the focus of the Clippers’ coaching staff’s research.

This season, 28% of Lillard’s scores came from under the basket, 50% from beyond the three-point line, and only 22% from mid-range, which is why his shooting accuracy was only 42%.

However, Yu Fei pointed out during the team analysis meeting that Lillard’s shot selection was like a Kobe trying to avoid mid-range shots as much as possible.

He was someone who dared to challenge difficult situations; the more pressure he was under, the more excited he became, but excitement often only breeds desire and doesn’t affect actual performance.

Thus, when the Clippers let Griffin go in the first game of the Western Conference finals to have Yu Fei face Leonard and coordinate manpower to trap Lillard, the Warriors Team’s response was to let Griffin deliver a crushing performance.

Griffin did, or perhaps did not.

That night, Griffin scored 32 points with 10 rebounds, taking both the highest score and the most rebounds for the team, yet it made his opponents feel that such an attack was just a piece of cake, with no pressure.