Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

The night of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, ABC interviewed Yu Fei before the game. They wanted to know Yu Fei's thoughts on facing The Celtics in the Finals. "Do you believe in karma?" Yu Fei said, "I do. I have issues that need to be settled with Boston, and for the past few years, they seemed like a mediocre team, until now, when we finally get the chance to compete on the same stage." In fact, Yu Fei was quite reserved in his statement. But those unpleasant words, the media behind him had already spoken for him. Before joining the NBA, Yu Fei had a tryout in Boston, during which he got into a fight with the late Eddie Griffin. The Celtics, thinking they wouldn't be able to draft Yu Fei with their pick, spread negative news about him, shifting the blame for the fight onto him. In the end, The Celtics still didn't draft Yu Fei. Even Joe Johnson, their consolation prize, was traded away by them. Looking back now, every decision The Celtics made that year was a mistake. This should be old news, but Yu Fei discussed it in a very serious manner to express his thoughts. Although it was seven years ago, he still remembered everything. That night, North Shore Garden was the loudest arena in the world. Boston's celebrities all came to the scene. Local politicians, businessmen, Hollywood celebrities. The lead actress of Grey's Anatomy, Ellen Pompeo, was followed by a bunch of fans holding banners: "Frye, if you let us win, Ellen will give you a kiss!" It even bore Ellen's autograph. This was because people found that most of the women Yu Fei's ex-girlfriends and those he had short flings with, as captured by the paparazzi, were older than him. But these idiots just didn't realize that age wasn't the key; what mattered was a certain prominent, obvious, symbol of feminine attributes that had to be naturally given and pure, for Big Fei to take interest. Just in terms of temperament, Ellen was undoubtedly a top MILF. She was 36 years old when she played Grey, but she didn't show signs of aging like other white female stars, which was not enough of a talent, so Big Fei had no interest in the words on the banner. Amongst all the celebrities at courtside in Boston, the only ones that could catch Yu Fei's attentions were Bill Simmons and his dad. "Frye, wake up, this year belongs to us!" Simmons, indistinguishable from the ordinary fans, stood up from his front-row seat and shouted provocatively. "If you guys lose tonight, will you write a long article overnight criticizing Doc Rivers?" Yu Fei asked with a smile. "I will," Simmons said, "And I have already done so!" He had indeed done that. When The Celtics entered the playoffs and struggled to win on the road, Simmons blew a fuse. He questioned whether Rivers was aiming to make The Celtics the first team in history to win a championship without a road victory. And then, The Celtics hadn't won a single away game so far (since the playoffs began). Even so, they had made it to the Finals. What more was there to say? Isn't home-court advantage meant for this? As long as The Celtics could keep all of their home wins, even if they became the first team in history to play the maximum number of games in every round to win a championship, it would be acceptable. Before long, the game started. Surprisingly, The Celtics, a mature and steady team with one of the oldest average ages in the playoffs, seemed out of sorts. However, experts expressed complete understanding. "This is The Celtics' first Finals in 21 years, they need time to adapt to the environment they're in." The entire first half, The Celtics played nervously and timidly, with an obvious eagerness to win and fear of losing. Then, as an early-maturing point guard, Rajon Rondo quickly found the only unfazed core in the starting lineup—Michael Redd. Redd had once followed Yu Fei to defeat the Spurs in the Finals; now representing The Celtics in the Finals was a battle for validation for him. Redd's three-pointers stabilized The Celtics in the first half. However, the more mentally composed Supersonics took over on their opponent's court, leading 58 to 51 over The Celtics at halftime. This was not a good sign. Courtside, Bill Simmons told his father, "If Doc doesn't come up with an effective response at the start of the second half, we're in trouble tonight." Having seen several years of 'Coach Potato Head' games, Simmons was a staunch advocate of "firing Potato Head" before this season. He wrote far more articles criticizing Rivers than Pitino. Of course, this isn't to say that Rivers was worse than Pitino, but rather that Pitino missed out on the "good times." Simmons only began writing for ESPN at the turn of the century and enjoyed a peak creative period thanks to a stable and substantial income—just when Pitino had left The Celtics. Simmons never favored Rivers from the very beginning of his tenure because he replaced Jim O'Brien, whom Simmons hailed as "The Celtics' savior." Rivers' promotion also signified the start of the Danny Ainge era for The Celtics. Ainge wanted to rebuild, and Rivers was a major part of that. But to Simmons, who was unaware of the internal dynamics, it was Rivers' incompetence that led to The Celtics' suffering over those years. O'Brien had cleaned up Pitino's mess within a year, leading The Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals. When the Big Three arrived, Simmons still wasn't convinced by Rivers, until the pig-headed coach infused them with "celestial chicken soup" and created a unique team culture, "UBUNTU," for the era of The Celtics' Big Three, which changed his view. However, Simmons knew there were still problems with Rivers; his in-game adjustments were terrible, really terrible, so much so that calling him the worst among playoff coaches wouldn't be an exaggeration. Therefore, the Celtics' changes at the start of the second half would be decisive. Rivers was the kind of coach who stuck to conventions, aware of what the team's strengths were. Once those strengths failed to produce results, he would be at a loss. But at home, The Celtics' strengths always seemed to work. Stunned in the first half, players unable to get into the groove? No problem, there was still a trick up their sleeve. At the start of the second half, The Celtics introduced the Supersonics to the Eastern Conference classic: "If you can't understand the game, I can always hit the player." The Celtics increased physicality, amped up their defensive intensity, and fought for rebounds with extreme ferocity, which indirectly activated Garnett. Impeccable defense, an air-tight help defense system, hindered the Supersonics' ability to execute their strategies, forcing them to rely on star players' one-on-ones. Roy's isolation plays did not pan out well in the second half as the Supersonics started to overly depend on Fei's individual abilities. Fei tried to control the game with his strength while also attempting to pass the ball to awaken his teammates' offense, but The Celtics' legendary rotational defense led to several of his turnovers. The Celtics' inside strength completely manifested itself in the second half. Especially when Rivers substituted David Lee with Garnett, Perkins, and PJ Brown rotating on the court, The Celtics' interior became unshakable. Intense defense led to a myriad of missed shots and numerous loose balls, which became a moment for The Celtics to promote their iron-blooded nature and display The Celtics' glory and spirit. Every time they dove for the ball, every tumble to the floor, the fans at the North Shore Garden let out a nostalgic roar. In those moments, Dennis Johnson seemed to make a comeback, Kevin McHale appeared to still be playing, Larry Bird's spirit was shining, and John Havlicek, along with those legends who played like blue-collar workers lighting up Celtics' history, seemed to return to the court. Then, something dramatic happened. Just as The Celtics, who seemed to run rampant, faced a critical moment, Pierce's knee collided with teammate Perkins, and he screamed in agony, collapsing on the floor, later carried off by two teammates. The venue erupted in a piercing outcry. Only in particularly important games, only when a home team's good player encountered unimaginable adversity, would you hear such a sound. However, when it seemed a tragedy was unfolding, that explosive, deafening noise would fade within seconds, as if someone was slowly turning the crowd's volume knob from 8 to 7, then down to 6, and finally to 1, and everyone in the stadium was stunned. "No... no... please... not this..." Not even if Bill Simmons' own father was having a heart attack next to him would he have reacted like this. Pierce was carried off, and Celtics fans fell into fear and despair, thinking they were done for, that this season was only an about-to-crumble dream. Minutes passed, and then, at the end of the third quarter, an astonishing sound came from courtside as the audience incredulously began to cheer. "Pierce is back!!!" Bostonians roared excitedly. The event unfolded too suddenly, too fast. The Celtics went from despair to reignited hope in just a few minutes, and then, the North Shore Garden turned into a slaughterhouse from hell. "Defeat the Supersonics!" "Let's go, Boston!" Such chants were everywhere, the Supersonics began to be suppressed, the terrifying home atmosphere symbolizing that the Celtics' victory was in sight. Fei's formidable 45 points in the game kept the suspense until the very last second. However, Garnett's offensive rebounds, Red's three-pointers, and Pierce's heroic comeback isolation plays in the final minute defeated the Supersonics. "That's the way!" Simmons yelled uncontrollably, "Push, push, push, Boston!" 103 to 97 The Celtics defeated the Supersonics at home. The Celtics' home-court legend continues, only this evening, their finals opponent realized the terrifying extent of the North Shore Garden firsthand. There's an atmosphere here that injects an energy into the players of The Celtics in the Garden. You have to admit there's something to this historical legacy, those who fight for the Celtics truly believe they are defending the honor of The Celtics. But what about Pierce's so-called "heroic comeback" act? "It's just a poor imitation of the great Willis Reed moment," said the Supersonics' smart alec Josh Childress, "Nobody really believes that, do they?" Yes, people really do believe. Childress angered the Bostonians. That night, Childress' hotel room received several threatening calls. When the game is war, nothing can be judged by normal standards. PS: I was looking through materials until 5 a.m. last night, planning to start writing at 6 a.m. and to finish by noon so that I could get back to the regular update schedule. But guess what, I fell asleep at 5:30 a.m.