The end of the All-Star Game heralded the end of the All-Star break.

Two days later, the Wizards will play the Lakers for the first time this season.

But Yu Fei seems to have consumed too much energy in Philadelphia, missing the day's practice due to flu on the first day of his return, and the next day, the situation did not improve, which also means that he will definitely miss the first game of the season against the Lakers.

"Change the channel! Don't want to see this! ”

On the night of the game, Yu Fei stayed on the couch at home, and Anthony Lawson switched the TV to the game channel.

It was the Wizards' game against the Lakers.

"Let's take a look and see how much strength the Wizards team has without you." Lawson laughs.

Sick people are always pessimistic, "Is there anything I can't beat the Lakers?" ”

"Then you can take a look."

Now for the pre-match interviews.

Moreover, it was Jordan's interview.

Although much of the hype around Kobe Bryant and Jordan was the game, some media outlets realized that this was the first time Jordan had played against Phil Jackson's team as a player from another team.

Therefore, one wonders how Jordan feels.

It's rare to see Jordan in the Wizards' time, and it's a rare time.

"We knew our friendship would transcend any of our fights on the basketball court, and no matter what happened, there was a feeling of love between us."

Doug Collins will cry, right? When will he feel love with Jordan?

However, Phil Jackson, who believes in Zen Buddhism, seems to have closed feelings, and he rarely shows emotion, "Michael is one of the most special players I've ever coached, and I can't put into words how lucky I am." ”

Jackson's words are equally touching, but his expression and tone are flat.

Although Jackson, Collins, Jordan and Kobe Bryant all insisted that the game was not a one-man matchup, the meaning of the individual matchup became clearer with Shaquille O'Neal missing the game with a toe injury and Kobe Bryant becoming the Lakers' lone star.

As a result, the Lakers won the game.

However, if you want to go into the details of the game, Kobe's performance is much higher, and he is mainly responsible for the opposite of Richard Hamilton. Although the two are friends, they are also rivals from childhood to adulthood.

In the 1995 and 1996 Pennsylvania state championships, Bryant led the team to victory over Hamilton, and even in a regular season game, Bryant had a heroic feat of hitting the stunner in the midfield.

Tonight, Bryant single-handedly blocked Hamilton in the first game of his comeback, and then scored his third career triple-double: 23 points, 11 rebounds and 15 assists (assists are career highs).

Despite Jordan's 21 points, he barely had a presence in the game because his scoring was concentrated in the first half, while Bryant's focus was on the second half, and Jordan did nothing when the Lakers took away the Wizards in waves.

Then, let's hear what he had to say about the game after the game.

"I feel like everyone is expecting me to take over the game, but I can't get the ball ......"

Yu Fei feels that if you trade the most passable veteran in the team for your own selfish interests, then you shouldn't complain that you can't get the ball.

"I think the Lakers' defense worked with Rip. They stepped up their defense against Rip, who obviously didn't get any results and he just came back and I can understand it. But it's definitely a lesson for us. We succumbed under pressure from the Lakers. ”

Is such blatant dumping the blame the best player of all time supposed to do?

"You know his [Phil Jackson's] team is going to play solid defensively. It's a bit harder. You can imagine what it was like for other teams [in Chicago] to play against us. ”

Well, Yu Fei knows what gift to give to Big Dog next Christmas, so he will collect every game video of the Bulls' last three consecutive games and give it to Jordan, so that he can continue to remember the past without returning to reality.

Phil Jackson is the only one who cares about Jordan: "41 minutes is too long for Michael, and given his age, it's risky. ”

Everyone could see that Jordan had difficulty moving on the court, but Collins "couldn't see it."

Two days later, against the Suns, Yu Fei continued to take a break, while the Wizards played with the troubled Suns until the last second, and then, Jordan suddenly woke up and scored a game-stealing shot in the last ten seconds.

It was the 28th time in his career that he had hit the final 10 seconds of a match.

For an old man who was already limping with his legs and feet, this was indeed a feat.

Then, Jordan's knee problems gradually worsened, and on his 39th birthday, he had to miss another training session.

Before the rematch with the Rockets, Jordan made a rare admission to his injury and told other young players, including Yu Fei, that "from now on, you have a chance to prove your strength." ”

Yu Fei returned to the daily watch list, and although he played 18 minutes, Collins did not let him play too long in the first game of his comeback in order to protect him.

Then, Yu Fei found that the team's situation had taken a turn for the worse, Hamilton had not recovered to his pre-injury level at all, and the others had behaved like headless flies after losing Chris Whitney, an experienced master controll, and Jordan, whose body was on the verge of collapse, had fallen into a state of "I can't have fallen here".

The Wizards lost to the Rockets, who were already in a shameless position.

Because Jordan was like an immovable stake throughout the game, arbitrarily scored points by opponents, in this case, he still played a whopping 36 minutes.

In an effort to save Jordan, Collins finally began to talk publicly about Jordan's plan to rest Jordan by rotation.

But Jordan's choice was to continue to fight hard.

He was so unreasonably strong that he forced Collins to play more than 38 minutes per game, and then he went crazy and shot like crazy.

Since losing to the Rockets, the Wizards have suffered a seven-game losing streak, and even if Yu Fei makes a full comeback, it won't help, because Jordan is in the devil.

In one of the most terrifying games, the New Jersey Nets at home beat the Wizards by 47 points, 117-70.

At one point, the Wizards were beaten 27-0 in a humiliating scoring deficit.

Jordan's body was on the verge of its limit, and the Wizards' playoff prospects were in jeopardy, and the people around Jordan began to persuade him to rest. Whenever someone said something like that, he went berserk: "When have I ever missed a game at a juncture like this?" Do you know my body better than I do? ”

Ending the losing streak, the Wizards defeated the Heat by one point.

Yu Fei got his fifth triple-double of the season, and Jordan scored 37 points with incredible will, and he performed so well that observers wondered why people should wonder why Jordan was scarred.

But scoring 37 points meant Jordan had another tough night, playing another 40 minutes.

The Wizards suffered another three-game losing streak, with Jordan playing 38, 35 and 40 minutes.

He's just going crazy with a mission, but he's not efficient enough to lead the team to victory.

On this final night, Jordan was like a child, sensitive to anything, yelling at the referees, nitpicking at his teammates, and speaking harshly to his opponents, but he shot 33 percent from the field. And his legs seemed to be hanging with weights, and he was completely unable to move and run sideways like a normal person.

Six minutes before the end of the game, the Wizards were gone, and Jordan left the court early.

That night, in front of the media, the invincible Jordan showed a look he had never seen this season, saying to himself, "I'm getting old," and now he has to admit that age is going to be an issue. "I've felt some signs and it's clear that something is coming to an end"

The Wizards returned overnight on a special plane

On the plane, Yu Fei saw Jordan sitting silently next to Grover and his bodyguards.

"It's like someone died violently." That's how Kwame Brown describes the atmosphere.

When Jordan wasn't sleeping during the flight, he would usually tell the story of his alma mater, North Carolina, or he would make fun of his teammates and occasionally play cards.

These were his ways of killing time, but tonight, he didn't do anything.

The next day, Jordan's team announced a bombshell news through ESPN's David Aldridge: "MJ has torn the lateral meniscus in his right knee and he will have surgery tomorrow." ”

It's already March, and the recovery period for this surgery is two months.

In other words, Jordan is basically certain for the season reimbursement.

On the eve of the surgery, Jordan decided to go back to Verizon Center to take his belongings with him.

"I'll be back."

Jordan said to Fly, Lightner and Hamilton.

No one responded.

The atmosphere in the locker room was as solemn as that of a morgue.

"I'll be back." Jordan repeated.

"Okay." Hamilton reacted first and offered his own prepared diplomatic rhetoric, "I know you'll be back, and I hope you recover soon." ”

Lightner didn't speak, because he didn't know what to say.

Then, Jordan looked at Yu Fei and said again: "I'll be back." ”

Say something important three times?

"You don't seem to want me back?" Jordan had an uncomfortable confidence on his face, "I'll be back." ”

Fourth time.

Even if he is no different from a cripple now, he is still the ruler of the team.

Jordan seems to be proving that there can only be one ruler here, whether he is there or not.

"Hey, Michael."

Yu Fei's words made Jordan settle down.

In Jordan's impression, this was the first time Yu Fei called his name in person.

Yu Fei was so kind, but Jordan didn't believe that he was holding back any good words.

Yu Fei turned sideways and pointed to the locker room with his bracelet, "Until you leave, this team is still yours." ”

"But after you leave, it's not anymore." Every word and note that Yu Fei said was like the metallic sound of a silver needle falling to the ground, so loud and so harsh. "Go in peace, I'll finish your unfinished business, after all, not everyone is as blessed as I am to wipe your ass for the GOAT"

Yu Fei changed his tone: "I will lead them to the playoffs." ”

Then, Yu Fei walked in front of Jordan, and when he rubbed Jordan's shoulder to leave, he left the last sentence:

"At that point, the team won't be yours anymore."

(End of chapter)