Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

"Hey, send someone normal to guard me..."

Popovich's expression changed rapidly before settling into a dark glower, aimed towards Bruce Bowen, faintly sensing the impending storm, "Bruce, why do you think that rookie is so arrogant?"

Bowen accepted the reality that any response would be met with criticism: "I don't know."

"Because you didn't f*cking limit him just now!"

It began...

Popovich lectured Bowen for several minutes. During this time, Bowen simply endured in silence.

Soon, the Spurs failed again on the offensive, and Yu Fei initiated a defensive counter-attack that led to Chris Whitney hitting a chase-down three-pointer, bringing the game to a halt for the Spurs.

27 to 25

The gap was only 2 points.

The momentum of catching up, led by Yu Fei, had reduced the Spurs' lead, established in the first quarter, to almost nothing. Popovich, not daring to underestimate the situation, decisively brought back Parker, Bowen, and Duncan, and had Duncan play center, moving Malik Rose to his preferred swingman position at power forward.

On the Wizards' side, Collins, despite his shortcomings, was possibly even better at adapting on the fly than Popovich at this stage.

He keenly sensed that Popovich would bring back the main players and would sub out the complacent David Robinson, hence he had Ratner play the center position and substituted Kwame Brown in for Popeye Jones.

In terms of play style, Collins still followed Fei's preferences, but he correctly guessed Popovich's tactical adjustments with his lineup changes.

The Spurs' offensive indeed intensified with the return of their three starters, starting with Parker, who blew past Whitney as if he were a post, and Ratner was unable to provide the same internal protection as Jones, giving up easy scores.

29 to 25

"Rookie, you got me scolded so badly," Bowen said, his tone unchanging but his words chilling, "I won't let you off."

Upon hearing this, Yu Fei ran to the top of the arc to set a screen for Whitney and quickly received the ball at the moment of separation.

Because Parker didn't switch and Bowen was focused on Yu Fei, suddenly, the two of them were trapping Fei.

Yu Fei seemed to have only a pass to break the play, but in the middle of Bowen and Parker's trap, he saw a gap. As someone skilled with the ball, he knew what that gap meant for him: it was an opportunity to break through the defense.

In an instant, Yu Fei sidestepped, dribbling the ball behind his back through his legs, stepping toward the gap with his right foot, leaning forward, catching the ball with his left hand. In almost the blink of an eye, Fei had torn through Bowen and Parker's trap.

Duncan had to help on defense, and the cost of that help was leaving Ratner open.

But Yu Fei used a passing motion to draw Malik Rose's attention to Ratner, giving Kwame Brown the chance to shake off his defender and eventually receive the ball for an easy dunk.

29 to 27

"You can't stop one with two of you, are you serious?" Yu Fei didn't forget to pressure Bowen and Parker before he ran back, confident that Popovich would be moved by this.

Indeed, Popovich was already frustrated, as his two most often scolded players had let Fei break through their trap, leaving him unsure of whom to vent at.

But, as not even Duncan's help defense could stop Fei on that play, it could only be said that the opponent played well, and blaming his players was unnecessary.

Coming back on the offensive end, the Spurs decisively cleared out to let Duncan go one-on-one against Ratner.

Yu Fei watched Duncan's post moves closely.

Using his left foot as a pivot, Duncan suddenly pushed back hard, and Ratner, the pushover that he was, had no chance to resist and was easily displaced by Duncan. After testing and finding his opponent lacking, Duncan decisively gathered the ball, using his body to bulldoze Ratner and finishing over him as he put the ball in the basket.

From the perspective of the audience, Duncan's play looked forced since Ratner was sticking close to him, but Fei on the court could see clearly that if no one helped Ratner on defense, letting Duncan play like this ten times in a row, the outcome wouldn't change.

The offensive end had to go to Duncan; that was Fei's thought.

If they didn't frustrate Duncan on the defensive end, his resolve and confidence in dominating Ratner and Brown offensively would become even more unshakeable.

Whitney continued to bring the ball past midcourt, and Fei, like the previous play, set a screen for him and then received the pass.

The Spurs didn't trap like they had the previous time, nor did they provide the optimal defense against the screen and roll – a switch.

Since Fei had not shown enough shooting threat that evening, handing over mismatches through switching to maintain the current player matchups didn't align with the contemporary understanding of defense.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Not switching inevitably created offensive opportunities for the team calling the pick and roll.

Fei decisively drove inward, and once he gained half a body lead, Bowen closely guarded him. Inside the three-point line, none of Bowen's elbows were well-behaved.

Perhaps this answers why there's no need to switch on perimeter pick and rolls?

Firstly, ball handlers lack the ability and habit of shooting threes directly off the pick and roll, as seen in the small-ball era, and secondly, the defensive system inside the three-point line allows for aggressive hands-on defense, enabling the defender to use their hands to forcefully delay the opponent even after losing half a body's position.

The pressure from Bowen, one of the League's top defenders, meant that Fei's need for the ability to stop and shoot off the pick and roll became greater, but that was for the future. It would require practice focusing on that shooting rhythm and a lot of in-game experience to get the feel for it.

The Wizards couldn't possibly give him the chance to practice right now.

With a myriad of thoughts flashing in an instant, Fei steeled his heart, bearing down through Bowen's interference, making a hard drive inside the paint and managing to draw a foul.