Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 520 - 360 Starting Today, Become a Deer Hunter

Chapter 520: Chapter 360 Starting Today, Become a Deer Hunter

The Bucks are very strong, almost… deservedly so.

Those who thought they would plummet after losing Yu Fei are bound to be disappointed.

After all, what Yu Fei left behind was an Eastern Conference Finals-worthy roster.

Kevin Martin, Danny Granger, Pau Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge, Lou Williams.

This talent-laden starting lineup can be summed up in four words, leaderless despite their strength.

...

They all seem strong, but there’s no reliable frontrunner to trust.

The Bucks’ choice was to let the veteran Martin take over Yu Fei’s mantle, but what they didn’t expect was that Granger would make significant strides that summer too.

This led to a rather awkward situation.

With the two leaders looking about the same, who’s the real boss?

But that’s a problem for later in the season, now it’s the first game of the new season, and as defending champions the Bucks received their rings at home and watched the team’s fifth championship banner being raised.

“Without Frye, Milwaukee’s hopes for a three-peat might not be high, but they still look quite impressive,” someone said.

Once the game started, the Bucks’ inside presence and perimeter offense were eye-catching.

A team without its core must transform.

For this reason, the Bucks poached an inconspicuous assistant coach from the Spurs – Brett Brown, a man who had served the Spurs for years and was known in the industry for designing and optimizing the famous “Hammer” strategy.

Yet, some thought he was only fit to be a second-in-command, lacking the mettle to lead on his own.

To the Bucks’ management, however, renowned coaches were too expensive and mediocre ones didn’t deserve their roster guaranteed to reach the Eastern Conference Finals. So they decided to draw from a good card pool instead.

The advantage of drawing cards is that they’re cheap. After all, a prime team like the Bucks means their head coach position is undoubtedly coveted.

Thus, they can often persuade ambitious individuals at a discount.

Brett Brown left the Spurs under such circumstances.

Unlike his predecessor George Karl, Brown leveraged Pau Gasol’s facilitating skills, which largely addressed the Bucks’ surplus in perimeter firepower.

On that basis, Aldridge’s role became more blue-collar than during Karl’s era.

With Martin, Granger, and Lou Williams already consuming over 80% of the starting lineup’s ball possession, Aldridge had little room to shine beyond being a screener and support player.

It could be said that the Bucks’ current style of play was developed at the expense of Aldridge’s growth.

In the short term, it was fine, but over time, the one making silent sacrifices was bound to grow resentful.

But before any complaints could surface, the Bucks were indeed on the right track.

In the first quarter, the Bucks unleashed their firepower, pouring in 35 points on the Supersonics’ heads.

The Supersonics managed only 27 points, which wasn’t bad, but fell short in comparison to the Bucks.

Seeing Milwaukee’s little brothers play so well, Kwame Brown felt a bit sour. It looked like his and Big Fei’s departure hadn’t really affected the team, had it?

Yu Fei would never harbor such a mindset that feared for his brothers’ hardship while also envying their success.

Simply by looking at the roster, the Bucks weren’t the type to collapse after losing their core.

Even though the competition in the Eastern Conference was fierce this year, Yu Fei still favored their chances to reach the Eastern Finals, and if the Celtics suffered injuries, it was anyone’s game.

However, it would be awkward to be thrashed by a former team in the season opener.

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If some haters started claiming “it wasn’t Big Fei who was strong in those four championships in five years, but the Bucks,” that would be hard to swallow.

In the second quarter, as soon as Yu Fei got on the court, he pushed the button to take over the game.

Facing Granger’s feint and three-point shot, Yu Fei defended him single-handedly and then retaliated with a dunk on a fast break. Martin responded with a layup, but Yu Fei caught the ball from the backcourt and threw it forward to Durant, assisting in a trailing jump shot. The biggest surprise came when Yu Fei received the ball in the low post and backed down Aldridge. Almost everyone’s first reaction was: Big Fei’s about to get crushed.

Given Aldridge’s height advantage, they hadn’t expected that Yu Fei would fake a spin move and then a step-back jump shot, leaving Aldridge’s defense reeling.

“Tsk tsk tsk…” Karl knew Yu Fei well, but the Yu Fei he knew didn’t have such fluid low-post offense. “That’s impressive… I heard Big Fei has been practicing low-post moves in recent years?”

Tim Grgurich, an old assistant who had worked with Karl for many years, said, “Yes, I’ve heard he sought out all kinds of masters and even contacted the boss to ask Jack (Sikma) to come back.”

Initially, Karl was worried that Yu Fei wouldn’t adapt to the transformation, but now, physically, mentally, and technically, he seemed ready.

While Yu Fei as the core was strong, a Yu Fei who could be the core at any time, while also toggling between a traditional all-around swingman, might just be the perfect fit for Seattle.

In the second quarter, Yu Fei nearly single-handedly closed the gap in the score.

“It feels good to be back here,” Karl said during a halftime interview. “You can see Big Fei is excited too; this is where he once battled. No matter where he goes, Milwaukee will always hold a special place in his heart.”

“What about you, George? Isn’t Milwaukee special to you too?”

“You know me, Jim,” Karl said with a smile to the reporter. “I’m a fickle man.”

As the second half began, Durant’s two jump shots gave the Supersonics the lead again.

However, when Yu Fei made a breakthrough pass to him, hoping he’d keep up his hot streak, Durant faked out Granger, then missed the shot, and the ball went out of bounds.

What should’ve been a routine miss turned odd when Yu Fei, about to get back on defense, saw Durant extend a hand to Granger, “Buddy, you okay?”

Uh…

Yu Fei still preferred the Durant who would respond with inventive retorts after the opponent pulled a few shenanigans on him.

He really didn’t understand why Nike thought shaping Durant into a nice guy was a good thing for him.

What’s the price of being a good person?

Even if you just utter the words “super durable,” someone will point at you and say: Hey, you’ve exposed yourself, that’s just who you are. I knew it all along, what an actor!

If Durant was the gentlemanly type like Hill, then so be it, but the critical point is, Durant isn’t that type of person.

It’s Nike who forced Durant to become that kind of person.

“Youth is great, isn’t it? To even care about your opponent,” Roy said with a smile.

Yu Fei retorted, “Aren’t you also a young guy?”

“I’m different.”

“How are you different?”

“I wouldn’t help up an opponent.”

The Bucks were on the offensive again, and Yu Fei finally said, “You know what, Brandon, you really are a bad guy.”

Then Yu Fei mercilessly attacked his little brother, causing Martin to fall by trapping him, resulting in a turnover, and immediately launching a defensive counterattack.

Yu Fei was the only Supersonics player who received cheers at the Bradley Center.

But even to Bucks fans, the Supersonics version of Yu Fei was the most familiar stranger.

Because this Yu Fei was no longer the man who controlled the ball every possession.

Now, when Yu Fei wasn’t controlling the ball, he would move opportunistically from the weak side, and if a tactic was initiated, he would participate in setting screens.

That was one of his biggest changes.

He began to frequently invest in the strenuous efforts that didn’t show up in the stats.

“KD, is this your spot?”

“Screen!”

“Go there!”

“Not there, dummy!”

Yu Fei’s shouting had never been so frequent; he became a notable commander.

Yu Fei’s change freed Roy.

Roy had thought that he would need to adjust his role for Yu Fei, but it turned out to be unnecessary.

The last time they seriously played together on the court dates back to the ABCD Camp six years ago; such a long time could change many things, but their understanding of each other remained unchanged.

Yu Fei always knew Roy’s thoughts, just as Roy could instantly see through Yu Fei’s intentions.

The Bucks, who started with a fiery offense, faced a fierce comeback after the score was tied, but they were soon suppressed by the individual ability of the superstar.

Yu Fei directly exposed the biggest problem of the Bucks.

As soon as it came to the critical moments, their stars would look at each other, not knowing who should take charge.

In the end, it was Danny Granger who proved that he had the biggest heart within the defending champions’ ranks.

He stepped up when Martin was ineffective, sinking two three-pointers to keep the score close.

But in the final moments, Yu Fei showed with his actions that he still dominated the Bradley Center.

Yu Fei scored with a jump shot over Granger, then immediately got up close and personal on defense preventing Granger from getting the ball, and the Bucks’ last attack failed under the intense defense of the Supersonics.

Brown grabbed the rebound, was fouled intentionally, and made one of two free throws. Although he missed a free throw, the Supersonics had sealed the victory.

115 to 111

This highly-anticipated opening game ended with a Supersonics victory. Yu Fei personally defeated the Bucks and thoroughly proved that the era of Yu Fei in Milwaukee had officially turned the page.

From today on, he is one of the many hunters in the League.

“I’ve witnessed Kevin’s growth over the past few years, and tonight I saw Danny’s progress,” Yu Fei told a journalist from the Milwaukee Sentinel, “I believe the Bucks will still be a respectable team under their leadership.”

Losing to the Supersonics might be the only opening defeat that Bucks fans can psychologically accept.

As Yu Fei walked through the player tunnel, there were still fervent fans waving the Bucks No. 44 jersey at the side of the passage.

Yu Fei stopped and signed autographs on their jerseys one by one.

Inside the corridor, Durant was a happy rookie with 16 points in his career debut. Although he didn’t shoot efficiently, he exhibited his strength.

He was carrying a backpack, heading to the press conference like a little schoolboy.

James Posey was astonished, “Rookie, what are you doing with that?”

“Going to see reporters,” Durant replied.

“No, I mean, why are you carrying that?”

“Is there a problem?”

“Not exactly…” Posey was somewhat at a loss for words, “What’s in the backpack?”

With an innocent look flashing across Durant’s simple and harmless face, he convincingly said, “Water and the Bible.”

PS: Chapter two might be 10-30 minutes later than anticipated, although I might also update on time.