Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters Chapter 496: 342: I Have Decided (Two in One)2

Chapter 496: Chapter 342: I Have Decided (Two in One)_2

Actually, Jas’s passing option was the very ace that the big cores used to restrain the Pistons Iron Barrel Formation.

Since the Pistons’ defense had been devised to counter one-on-one offensive plays from its inception, they were at a loss once the ball handler could focus on both offense and passing. The issue, however, was that Jas’s teammates failed to seize the opportunity, and as the series’s best player, his decision to pass in the final monts was undoubtedly disappointing.

“I have a problem with the best player on the court not taking the shot at a crucial mont,” TNT comntator Charles Barkley said. “If I’m the best player on the court, I have to take the last shot. This isn’t criticism, it’s a fact.”

For Yu Fei’s supporters, this was another chance to attack Jas.

Comnts like “Frye would never” swept through all the major dia.

But the pressure from the court didn’t break Jas. In fact, as a once-in-a-decade superstar, he, like all well-known superstars, had a resilience like that of a spring. With the Darfur news still rampant outside the court, and “Frye Hell” making a coback on it, his wonderful life seed on the brink of destruction, yet Jas only played better in the following three gas. Like Yu Fei back in the day, he had spotted the natural flaw in the Iron Bucket Formation.

When the score was tied at 2-2, coming to the King of the Hill battle, Jas, like Yu Fei in a previous life, delivered an immortal performance. He single-handedly accounted for the Cavaliers’ last 25 points (in fact, 29 of the last 30 points), just as Yu Fei had in 2005, single-handedly destroyed Detroit, bringing silence to The Palace of Auburn Hills.

The Cavaliers conquered King of the Hill, stepping into the doorway of the Eastern Conference Finals.

In Ga 6 of the semifinals, a broken-hearted Pistons lost their sense to the point of not only failing to adjust their style but also increasing the frequency of double-teaming Jas.

That was the Pistons’ death knell, and it was also why the Iron Barrel Formation would ultimately be swept into the dust heap of history.

Jas ended the Pistons, leading the Cavaliers to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first ti in 31 years.

There, Yu Fei and the Bucks had been waiting for a long ti.

The Bucks had easily swept the Chicago Bulls in the semifinals and, unlike the Mavericks, who capsized, the Bucks appeared to be the team of destiny hitting peak form at the right ti and place.

Throughout the playoffs, they’ve dominated the competition with an astounding average offensive performance of 115 points per ga, making their nearly 100 points allowed per ga seem inconsequential because of their terrifying offensive power.

Yu Fei’s stats increased slightly with the arrival of the playoffs, averaging 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists per ga. But Jas, having just transcended in a series averaging 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists, was commonly believed to be entering the first year of a new era’s titanic rivalry.

For Jas, the biggest benefit was that the outside world no longer cared whether he had signed that letter.

The League, Nike, and Reebok all engaged in frenzied hype around the duel in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Nike, in particular, beca fully confident after watching Jas’s demolition of the Pistons, believing that even if the Cavaliers lost to the Bucks, Jas would step out of last year’s shadow when Yu Fei dropped 70 points on him.

Before Ga 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, an ABC reporter asked Jas, “How much have you grown compared to last year?”

“You know, I’m not soone who likes to boast,” Jas said with a smile, “I’m not going to stand here and tell you how much stronger I’ve beco than before, I will prove everything in the ga. I hope I can have a real showdown with Frye.”

Yu Fei calmly walked to the center court to shake hands with Jas, then turned around to shoot.

He didn’t say a word.

He wasn’t in the mood, and besides, his close relationship with Jas was a thing of the past.

For him, the only thing worth focusing on was winning another championship for Milwaukee.

All the off-court promotions, hype, and build-up were irrelevant to him.

It was a fact that might anger Jas’s camp, but Yu Fei truly didn’t see the Eastern Conference Finals as a big deal.

As Marc Stein, a dia person trusted by Yu Fei, said, “As a fan, you shouldn’t even hope for the Cavaliers to win in the Eastern Conference Finals. The only thing you can look forward to is whether LeBron can bring his form from Ga 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in front of Frye.”

Even though this was a dia person who had unreservedly predicted in his articles that the Bucks and Mavericks would et in this year’s finals, his judgnt about the Cavaliers wasn’t wrong.

Defeating the Pistons and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals was undoubtedly a great breakthrough for the Cavaliers, but the Bucks were on a different level than the Pistons.

To limit Jas’s offense, the Bucks adjusted their lineup to last season’s classic starting five: Yu Fei, Martin, Bell, Granger, and Kwa Brown.

Bell would defend Jas one-on-one, with Brown protecting the basket.

This strategy seed like a greatly weakened version of the 2007 Spurs, who suffocated Jas with Bowen on the outside and Duncan on the inside.

Making Jas shoot below 40% from the field and average only 22 points per ga as the Spurs did in a playoff series seed almost impossible, but it was more than enough to restrain him.

Different from the previous strategies against the Cavaliers, George Karl prepared a special package for Jas tonight—letting Yu Fei and Granger use their athleticism to cut off Jas’s passing lanes, severing their connection at its root.