When pride still matters

Chapter 72 Have you ever thought about trading Frye?
After a day's rest, the Wizards set off from DC to Atlanta.

The status of the Hawks in the NBA is similar to that of the Wizards. The difference is that Atlanta, where the Hawks are located, does not have a very influential media, so they suck quietly, while DC, where the Wizards are located, has a national-level major newspaper. Washington post".Therefore, every bad game they play, every bad deal they make, and every parallel import they select will have a negative impact that will be amplified by the media in an exaggerated way.

The Eagles have won 25, 28 and 31 wins in the past three seasons respectively. Since they announced their reconstruction in 1998, the team has never been able to find the right direction.The patience of the fans is limited, so the Hawks burned the CPU in this year's draft and made the decision of "Let's do it, we have to win now" and handed over the No. [-] pick to the Grizzlies in exchange for Sharif Abdul. -Immediate combat power led by Raheem.

Players like Raheem are most familiar to Wizards fans, and they are no different from Juwan Howard.

Just looking at the surface data, you might think that he is not bad, and he can at least bring 20 points in every game. The problem is that after he scores 20 points in every game, he feels that he has done his duty, and other things have to be left to his teammates.

However, since the season has just begun and Pau Gasol has not yet started killing, the Hawks have not yet realized that they have become the number one victim of the Bucks since the 1998 Bucks.

The Hawks are eager to return to the playoffs, and they will go all out to move in that direction before reality hits them hard.

The Wizards' goal is also the playoffs. Even David Aldridge, one of the many Jordan lickers on ESPN, even said, "If Michael can bring the Wizards into the playoffs, it will be better than his six-seat The championship is a more important honor."

Jordan, who had a poor performance against the Knicks the night before, was holding back his energy and wanted to vent his inner anger.

The eagle crashed right into it.

This was a game that everyone enjoyed. Jordan scored 31 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal. Due to his outstanding performance, Yu Fei, who performed well in the last game, had his playing time reduced and only played 16 minutes against the Hawks. , as if clocking in to work, he scored 9 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist.

Yu Fei didn't complain because there were people who were worse off than him.

Kwame Brown didn't play a minute.

Why?Doug Collins' explanation: "I hope Kwame is on the bench to learn how the 'system' works."

He could clearly say that Brown is a retard who can't even understand tactics, but he said it so euphemistically. Brown is really lucky to have such a coach.

Yu Fei withstood Jordan's shock from the media.

In the nearly 20-minute post-game interview, Yu Fei answered more than a dozen questions, more than half of which were related to Jordan.

Yu Fei was really annoyed and admitted that it was okay for Jordan to play well tonight. The data was there and the Wizards also won, but could this data really be called "great"?As for such a big reaction?

The old man who retired for three years scored 31+6+6 in the second game after his comeback is commendable, but if you want to take a closer look, he shot a total of 30 goals.

When a reporter from the "Associated Press" asked Yu Fei how much he learned from Jordan's game, he couldn't help but said: "Like the audience in front of the TV, I am just one of the many spectators around MJ. You How much did I learn from this game? That’s not a good question because I’m not going to learn more than the audience.”

Yu Fei left a little controversy and then returned to the home court with the team.

After another day of rest, they will welcome the Philadelphia 76ers at home.

Although the opponent is last season's Eastern Conference champion, it is not terrible because last season's MVP Allen Iverson underwent elbow surgery in September and will miss the first five games of the new season.

The 76ers, who lack Iverson, are literally toothless tigers. They look bluffing, but lack a winning attacker. Even if Mutombo averages 10 blocks per game, they still need to solve the scoring problem.

Obviously, the 76ers cannot fill the 30-point vacancy left by Iverson through Aaron McGee, Eric Snow, Mark Halprin and others.Although all of them shot higher than Iverson, none of them averaged more than 12 points per game.

Apart from Iverson, the 76ers' only decent attacker is Derrick Coleman. As a No. [-] pick who is known for wasting his talent, Coleman still has room to spare.However, as the fourth position, Coleman is useless on the defensive end. Although he can score, he can also score more points on the defensive end.

Therefore, Brown can't fully count on him.

After the game started, the Wizards immediately took the initiative on the court.

Richard Hamilton performed well, but Jordan struggled a bit. The 76ers may be his least favorite opponent at this stage.

There are almost no highlights in their games, and the only thing they are good at is tormenting their opponents on the defensive end.

Hamilton is young, strong and fast, so he can naturally use his movement to get rid of the muscle jungle, but Jordan cannot.

The 76ers' iron defense successfully consumed Jordan's touch, causing his touch to decline all the way.

Whenever Jordan is in poor condition, Yu Fei's opportunity comes.

Halfway through the first quarter, Collins replaced Jordan and Yu Fei came on as a substitute.

What is gratifying is that when Collins replaced Yu Fei, he also replaced Kwame Brown.

This is the first time the Wizards' lottery brothers have played together since the start of the new season.

The fans at the MCI Center gave the two young men a warm cheer.

Yu Fei said to Brown: "With Derrick Coleman on the court, Philadelphia's defense at the fourth position is weak."

Brown's eyes changed, "What do you mean?"

"If you want to stand up in front of your boss tomorrow, you have a good chance tonight." After Yu Fei finished speaking, Brown understood everything.

Like Yu Fei, who was against Jordan, Brown didn't have the courage, but he had the courage to show off his power in front of a weak opponent to prove to Jordan and Collins that he was not a parallel import and a waste. He not only had the courage, but also had great courage.

As a small forward, Yu Fei is too tall for the 76ers who have a short backcourt.

Both Mark Halprin and Aaron McGee are small forwards in front of Yu Fei, and Halprin has no speed, and McGee's size is crushed.

After Yu Fei came on the court, he first ran over McGee's body and scored, and then used his speed to get rid of Hapley and completed a silky pull-up jumper at the free throw line.

NBC's ace commentator Bob Costas said: "Fry Yu is like a combination of Lamar Odom and Jamaal Wilkes (SF/SG)."

⑴ Jamaal Wilkes: The main player in the early and mid-term of Showtime Lakers, nicknamed Silk, and is famous for his shooting.

Just when Larry Brown was having trouble guarding Yu Fei, Kwame Brown's pick-and-roll offense flooded Philadelphia's penalty area.

Brown's pick-and-roll moves are truly primitive.

However, with such primitive movement, when Mutombo was pulled away, Coleman had no way to deal with Brown's pick-and-roll offense.

Yu Fei and Chris Whitney got assists, and Brown was elated and scored 8 points in a row, giving the Wizards a 14-point lead before the end of the first quarter.

After the first quarter, the Wizards' new talents shone brightly. Hamilton, Yu Fei and Brown scored 34 of the team's 27 points.

It can be said that this is how a playoff team should perform in a normal round of abuse.

The question is, are the Wizards a playoff team?
In the second quarter, Jordan returned, and, in order to change the rhythm, or for other purposes, Jordan asked Collins to replace Chris Whitney with Tyronn Lue.

Coach Lue is famous for his physical battle with Iverson in the Finals. Winning two championships with the Lakers has given him championship experience that ordinary players do not have. The Wizards hope to get more from him.

However, Coach Lu has exposed his incompatibility with Jordan in the training camp.

His speed is too fast, his rhythm is too urgent, and he doesn't like to take open three-pointers in positional battles.

However, there is one thing about Coach Lu that Chris Whitney and others cannot match, and that is that he does not have the dignity of a point guard.

He can even play without the ball.What is he doing if he doesn't control the ball?defense.Although the 76ers' outside line has no independent offensive ability at all, he can still defend. What, coach Eric Snobilu doesn't like shooting three-pointers?Isn't that just right? He likes to guard against such non-aggressive defenders.

Someone may ask, if Lu instructs this point guard not to control the ball, then who will control the ball?
The answer is of course Jordan.

Since he can't find his shooting touch, Jordan hopes to affect the game in other ways, such as being a point forward, passing the ball to this, passing to that, and picking up a few rebounds. Even if the shooting rate is not good, comprehensive statistics can still Let the media defend him.

Jordan himself may not have the intention to use comprehensive statistics to hide his shame, but the requirements for comprehensive players in this era are really very low. As long as the rebounds and assists reach 5+5, he can be regarded as a comprehensive core player.

Therefore, as long as Jordan's data meets the standards, he is innocent.

Yu Fei waited patiently for Collins' call.

He sincerely hopes that Jordan can find his touch.As long as Jordan enters the state, the game will soon enter garbage time, and then Collins will let him and Brown play for longer.However, he was pessimistic about Jordan's status.Not to mention, the playing style coached by Lu who works with him is completely different from his.

Even if Lue gives up possession, this will still be exposed.

Because the 76ers' positional offensive shooting rate is too low, as long as Coach Lu gets the rebound, it's like stepping on hot wheels, only accelerating, not braking or decelerating.

With Hamilton as a running man, the Wizards can run a top-five fast break in the league.

"Accelerate! Accelerate! Accelerate!" counterattack fast break is a kind of torture for the 38-year-old Jordan.

However, Hamilton completed quick counterattacks and scored consecutively, leaving Jordan unable to object.

Yu Fei watched with gusto, Jordan's expression looked like he was in jail.

The more you play like this, the more stable you have to be. Once you make a mistake, Boss Qiao will have something to say.

And it is impossible to blindly accelerate the counterattack and fast break without making mistakes.

When Coach Lu missed a chance ball and passed it out of bounds, the tortured Wizards leader yelled angrily: "You ran too fast! You were too far forward! That's why you made the mistake! Control the rhythm and take your time. Don’t worry!”

From this moment on, Tyronn Lue became hesitant, and his greatest strength suddenly became an obstacle.

As a low-level player, he hoped to satisfy people like Jordan, and Jordan got angry because of a mistake, which greatly damaged his confidence.

The Wizards' fast break disappeared.

Hamilton is no longer a running boy.

Jordan's favorite positional battle is back.

But Jordan has no touch tonight, what should I do?Control the ball!Coach Lu gave up the ball long ago.

The 76ers chose to leave Coach Lu open and double-team Jordan.

Jordan directed a pass to Lue who failed.

Then Coach Lu threw the ball toward the basket like a shot put, but of course he missed.

Basketball was beaten and was beaten into a counterattack by the 76ers who were not good at pushing and counterattacking.

After 2 minutes, Tyronn Lue was replaced.

Collins called Coach Lu to his side and said loudly: "Listen, Tyron, you have to get your confidence back!"

Well, let's all pretend we don't know who took away Coach Lu's confidence.

Yu Fei sneered and slandered Collins.

"In last season's Finals, you hit 6 three-pointers next to Shaq and Kobe! Find yourself, Tyron!"

Director Lu nodded and said he would try his best, but the problem was not solved.

Seeing Coach Lu walking to his seat in frustration and sitting down, Yu Fei became increasingly angry, "We can play a fast-paced offense, as long as we replace those who can't run. Why insist on playing positional warfare? For the sake of the general He is the one who takes the most shots on the team with a 33% shooting percentage. How long are we going to be in a cocoon?!"

"Shut up, rookie!" Collins glared at Yu Fei, "This is not something you should care about!"

Yu Fei stopped complaining, but that didn't mean he was calmed down by Collins.

He just didn't want to argue with his coach off the court when his team was leading.

Moreover, Yu Fei could clearly feel that the majority of his teammates supported him.

Not everyone lives their lives licking Jordan like Laettner and Naseby. They have not despised their own personality, but are just afraid of Collins' majesty and Jordan's power and status.Some resentment has already arisen and it just needs an outlet.

Yu Fei just acted as a mouthpiece for all those who had grievances at the right time.

That made Doug Collins nervous.

Yu Fei's "anti-Mike" behavior can be interpreted as rebellion at the beginning, which is a common characteristic of the unteachable Generation Y.

Of course Jordan will be unhappy, but he can tolerate Yu Fei's rebellion because human personalities are always diverse.

However, Yu Fei has now gradually become the voice of the "anti-Mike" collective. He no longer only represents himself, but also represents other people who are dissatisfied with Jordan.

This is a force that could shake Jordan's dominance.

This night, the Wizards continued their bravery from the previous game, facing the 76ers who lacked "answers" and defeated their opponents 106 to 77.

Hamilton maintained his hot form since the start of the new season, with 29 points in a single game being the highest on the team.

于飞在23分钟内拿到14分6篮板5助攻，值得一提的是，他的5次助攻有4次是喂给布朗的。

With the help of Yu Fei, Kwame Brown finally hit the No. 11 pick, scoring 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks in [-] minutes.

DC's new heroes all worked hard, but Michael Jordan was a little sluggish, shooting only 33% from the field, but he shot 21 goals and scored 20 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists.

"My jump shot felt bad tonight, but I still created a lot of opportunities for my teammates. This is how experience helps, and I hope young players know that when you don't feel good, you still have a lot to help the team win. s method."

The 33% shooting rate could not dilute the joy of leading the team to three consecutive victories. Jordan was smiling throughout the post-game press conference.

On the contrary, head coach Doug Collins' expression was slightly gloomy.

After the press conference ended, when Collins and Jordan walked into the corridor leading to the locker room, Jordan noticed something strange about Collins.

"Doug, tell me what you have to say." Jordan didn't like to beat around the bush.

"Michael," Collins said in a low voice, "have you ever considered trading Frye?"

(End of this chapter)