ALL NOVEL Chapter 153 The Future of Basketball
If the Bucks' performance in the first half was already excellent, then the second half was exceptional.
Since George Karl had not apologized, the outcome was not wholly satisfying for Ray Allen. Yu Fei noticed his gloominess, so he kept passing the ball to him during the second half.
On a night when Ray Allen found his rhythm, his three-pointers were like those of a sharpshooter hitting the target without fail.
Scoring only 9 points in the first half, Ray Allen racked up the team's highest tally of 32 points and 4 rebounds in the second half, just through outside shots, making 7 of 12 attempts.
In the second half, George Karl gave Yu Fei more opportunities to experiment with "Random Tactics."
Karl noticed a characteristic of the "Random Tactics."
"Random Tactics" were essentially fast breaks executed in a set play format, so they appeared disorganized. However, the players executed the tactics precisely. It was just that the team's original tactics, which were methodical, suddenly increased in tempo with Yu Fei.
Karl, who usually had full confidence in his coaching techniques, began to doubt himself for the first time.
Could it be that my offensive tactics don't match this style of play?
Were his tactics outdated?
Karl immediately dismissed the thought.
He couldn't be outdated. Renowned strategic systems like the Triangle Offense and Princeton, which had dominated the league for decades and first appeared some forty-odd years ago, were still ruling the NBA. How could his system be outdated?
So why did Karl feel that his system felt increasingly awkward with Yu Fei?
When Christian Laettner was subbed in, Karl's self-doubt peaked.
As the player who coordinated the most seamlessly with Yu Fei on the team, Laettner's many pick-and-rolls with Yu Fei seemed to Karl barely recognizable as such.
Every time Laettner set a pick, he didn't fully block the defender but merely nudged them and then broke off. Moreover, the ways he broke off were varied and peculiar, which Yu Fei could completely control despite their non-mainstream nature.
Laettner's pick-and-rolls quickened the pace of Yu Fei's offensive initiation and diversified his methods.
Finally, the usually confident George Karl considered another possibility: Was it not that he was too outdated, but that Frye's style of play was too advanced?
With five minutes to go before the fourth quarter ended, the Bucks led the Brooklyn Nets by 24 points on the road, once again turning the game into garbage time.
Yu Fei and Laettner were subbed out.
Karl caught Laettner alone and asked, "The pick-and-roll between you and Frye doesn't seem like a part of our tactical training, does it?"
"The method of pick-and-roll is different, but the tactics remain consistent," Laettner explained.
"I know, which is why I let you play that long. I just wanted to figure out... what's the deal with your pick-and-roll," Karl said. "Is there any trick to it?"
Unexpectedly, Laettner also appeared confused, "I have no idea. Frye taught me to do it this way."
Karl's pride was not yet so eroded that he would deign to ask his own player how to execute a pick-and-roll.
In his view, Laettner's pick-and-rolls were totally unorthodox—barely impeding defenders, breaking off unconventionally, and following odd trajectories and angles. Although they had a slight delaying effect... they were indeed useful, especially for Yu Fei, as that slight advantage was enough for him to break through.
George Karl, who already had a receding hairline, could not resist the urge for knowledge, and as soon as the game ended, he hurried back to the hotel to analyze those few minutes between Yu Fei and Laettner.
"Don't ask me, I don't know anything. If you have any questions, go ask that guy who made 16 assists,"
Karl was particularly impatient with the reporters that night.
Therefore, Yu Fei, who had scored 29 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and dished out 16 assists, was surrounded by the media.
To them, Yu Fei had only one thing to say, "I wonder if Kenyon Martin still thinks we were overrated? If he hasn't changed his mind, I look forward to our next meeting."
Kenyon Martin wasn't speaking so boldly anymore.
Jason Kidd began to complain about the other players on the team.
The Bucks had a wonderful evening.
Except for George Karl, of course.
He stayed in his room until dawn and still couldn't figure out several points. When he sought help from his assistants, they just shook their heads.
The frantic Karl abandoned his pride and went straight to Yu Fei's room, knocking urgently on the door.
Groggily, Yu Fei opened the door, "What's the matter? You couldn't call?"
"I don't understand a few things about your pick-and-roll with Christian yesterday," Karl said.
"Then what kind of coach are you?"
"Damn it! It's because your way of playing is so bizarre. I thought about it all night and still can't make heads or tails of it!" Karl exclaimed.
Yu Fei asked, "What don't you understand?"
"Why does every offensive play of yours seem so rushed?" Karl inquired.
"What do you mean?" Yu Fei responded.
"Most of your offensive plays end before the last ten seconds of the shot clock!" Karl pointed out.
Yu Fei never expected to hear such outrageous words early in the morning.
"Are you saying that if there's still time left on the shot clock, we should pass up the opportunity even if it presents itself?" Yu Fei questioned.
"You and Christian play like that every round. How could there possibly be a good opportunity every time?" Karl countered.
After some thought, Yu Fei answered seriously, "Because the best offensive timing arises."
This was indeed the issue—Karl didn't see it as an opportunity, but Yu Fei was confident that it was.
No longer dwelling on this matter, Karl continued, "Why does every one of Christian's picks not hold firm, yet still works?"
Because I'm a natural genius!
"Because I'm great," Yu Fei declared.
"But his pick-and-rolls could be done better," Karl insisted.
"A textbook pick-and-roll can only provide an additional option, but a quick, single pick-and-roll can create chaos," Yu Fei explained.
"Chaos? Isn't that just playing wildly?"
"It's not playing wildly," Yu Fei emphasized. "We know exactly what we're doing!"
Karl decided to invest more resources in Yu Fei, "Although this is an unorthodox method, as long as it helps us win games, I don't care what it is. I will spend a few days designing some tactics for you, tailored to your and Christian's habits. We can involve others and see how high the limit of this unorthodox method is!"
"George, have you had an epiphany?"
"See you this afternoon!"
With that, Karl slammed the door shut.
Two days later, the Bucks welcomed the Mavericks at home.
However, the first official experiment with "Random Tactics" ended in failure.
The other players didn't understand how to cooperate with Fei like Laettner did, and Karl could still feel the awkwardness.
The new tactic still didn't seem to match Fei's rhythm.
What exactly was the problem?
"They're too slow," Fei identified a key issue. "And they're not agile enough. Sometimes I have to slow down my moves to match theirs."
"So, the experiment failed?" Karl asked.
"No, we can try letting Ray and Sprewell work with me," Fei responded. "With them, we might be able to achieve a better rhythm."
Then, the visiting team was the Houston Rockets, and that night, the Bucks displayed a plethora of shooting guard and small forward pick-and-roll tactics in combination with Fei's Random Tactics for the first time.
The Rockets' backcourt duo was a defensive liability, and Yao couldn't defend the pick-and-roll; in this situation, the Bucks' Random Tactics were overwhelmingly powerful, raining down threes, and the offensive rhythm soared, astonishingly finishing the game with 118 points.
The image of Ray Allen and Sprewell's pick-and-pop followed by catching three-pointers reminded Karl — if having two shooters on the court could lead to this kind of offensive surge with Frye at the helm, what would happen if there were four shooters around him?
"Crazy George" occupied Karl's brain, and he was willing to give this a try.
The Bucks ended the year 2002 with a 24-8 record.
In their first game of 2003, the Bucks got an opponent that was perfect for experimenting — the bottom-ranked Cleveland Cavaliers.
That night, the Bucks' starters were Yu Fei, Ray Allen, Michael Redd, Latrell Sprewell, and Christian Laettner.
This was Fei's favorite 5 OUT lineup.
Another highlight of the evening was the presence of LeBron James, the projected 2003 NBA draft number one pick, at the Cavaliers' home venue. He specially wore the Bucks' No. 44 (Fei's jersey) and a pair of brand-new The Chosen One second edition.
Needless to say, the jersey and sneakers were gifts from Fei.
After all, James had not yet signed with any shoe company, and with his popularity, he was definitely a powerful influencer.
"Looks like I have no choice but to play hard," Fei joked with a smile. "Even LBJ is wearing my shoes."
Mason whispered, "He really lacks taste; those shoes are so ugly!"
"Shut your mouth, old man, you have no eye for style! No wonder you're not starting tonight!"
"That's because George has gone mad!"
"You both are crazy, but when he's got his craziness on, he doesn't want you to start. That clearly means there's something wrong with you!"
Fei managed to get Mason hopping mad again, which was a famous scene inside the Bucks' locker room.
Then, the game started.
When Fei went on the court, he thought of James Harden before 2020 and Luka Dončić after 2020. He now had two sharpshooters with over 40% three-point shooting accuracy, and two excellent shooters with a 37% success rate. How insane would they play with such a setup? Fei was mindful of his limits; he couldn't compare his offensive skills with those two, but, if the skills were sufficient, that was all that mattered.
With a 36% three-point shooting hand, a nearly 42% pure jump shot success rate, and a 50% field goal percentage added to an invincible floater, given a pick-and-roll, he could break through anyone. Given two pick-and-rolls, he wouldn't even consider the Detroit Pistons' Iron Bucket Formation a challenge, and with two pick-and-rolls plus two sharpshooters, he was ready to take to the skies.
The only thing holding him back was the experience of managing a 5 OUT lineup.
But that wasn't a problem, as even Karl had come to his senses. As long as they played well tonight, more opportunities would come their way.
So, the urgent task was to play well in this game.
After the game began, Fei slammed the tone for the whole court with a forceful dunk following a breakthrough.
One screen, and opportunities appeared.
Two screens, and the Cavaliers' defense crumbled.
The Cavaliers' below-average defense turned the first half into a shooting exhibition for the Bucks, with Fei galloping back and forth, taking charge.
In the second half, Fei became even more powerful, maximizing his individual offense and not falling behind in his organizing role.
He had to thank the Cavaliers; not only had the team originally drafted him eighth overall, but now they also served as the test subjects for the 5 OUT lineup, convincing George Karl of the experiment's worth.
Ultimately, the Bucks washed the tanking Cavaliers away with a terrifying score gap of 120-77.
Fei scored 41 points, 11 rebounds, 14 assists, prompting LeBron James to exclaim, "That's my big brother (big brother)!"
Post-game interview
"This was a temporary arrangement, I haven't been removed from the starting lineup! I'm still a starter!" — Anthony Mason emphasized his tactical status.
"Although this is just a start, like the first step from nothing to something, I have already seen the future. Frye is the future of basketball!" — George Karl discussed tonight's game.
"You know, Frye has always been like a big brother to me. He played like a king tonight, absolutely fantastic!" — LeBron James said in a courtside interview.
"Did your active performance tonight have anything to do with LeBron James attending the game?"
"That's the main reason. I had to show my little brother what a great NBA player looks like when he dominates a game. I'm glad I did that and hope he enters the NBA soon; I can't wait to go head-to-head with him on the court!"
"Coach Karl said he sees the future of basketball in you, how do you feel about his comment?"
"I don't like to talk about the future; that's a blank check. I care only about the present. If I'm the future, then I hope that 'future' starts now, tomorrow, every minute and every second from now on!"
— Post-game interview with Yu Fei