The Wizards are clinging to the eighth place in the East heading into the final week of the regular season.

This week, they need to win three of their four games to secure a playoff spot.

The news about Jordan's possible comeback is getting more and more intense.

To that end, the Wizards held a press conference, and head coach Doug Collins was the one responsible for responding to questions from the outside world.

"Any news from Michael?"

Collins' shaky head shook slightly, and his voice raised slightly, not angry, not unpleasant, just unsettling enough, and his voice trembled a little.

"I spoke to Michael today." "He's feeling good, he's really thinking about a comeback, well, he's gone to Chicago today, he's obviously in good shape, otherwise he wouldn't have said that," he said. We talked for about five minutes and he said. Forehead. He's training a couple of times a day, he's got the feeling of playing and he's really keen to be back before the end of the season. So, I guess he's recovering well from his knee, and that's what I learned. ”

The key word in Collins's large passage is "basic information." When a professional basketball coach says "basically this is what I know," you can be sure that he's absolutely not telling you everything he knows, basic or otherwise.

"Basically" is one of those words that gives all coaches and politicians permission to lie and confuse. The media knows this, so whenever there is a coach using the word "basically". His subtext is basically something like this: Hey idiot, I'm trying to play you around.

Thomas Flynn, a reporter for the Wizards and a reporter for The Washington Times, asked a sensitive question that Collins was hard to answer: "What is Frye's attitude to this?" ”

"What did you say?" Collins couldn't believe Flynn would ask.

Flynn felt he might as well put the other way: "After MJ and Rip retired due to injury, a lot of people felt that the Wizards' journey this year was over, but Frye stepped up and kept the team playoff possible, and now it's his team, does he want MJ to come back?" ”

That's what Collins fears the most, and it's the biggest obstacle to Jordan's comeback.

But in front of the media, Collins couldn't possibly admit that there was such a problem with the Wizards.

"That's a terrible question!" Collins exclaimed, "Frye will never be a problem!" ”

"Frye won't, what about Michael?" Flynn asked in a deep voice.

"Enough!" Collins roared, "I'm not going to answer such ill-intentioned questions!" ”

Everyone in the room knows that Flynn is the Wizards' team reporter.

Since Flynn was able to ask this question, it shows that this problem has always existed with the Wizards.

Collins doesn't admit it, so what?

The contradiction between Yu Fei and Jordan is open and cannot be concealed.

Then, another reporter asked, "Will Michael join the team when he comes back from Chicago?" ”

"No, probably not." Collins replied.

"You don't know, or do you think Michael wouldn't do it?"

"I don't know, I don't know. I mean, he could show up at any time, you know. It depends on how he feels about himself. He might suddenly appear in front of me, get on the plane, and say to me, let's go. But for now, I don't know. He said his knee felt a lot better than it did before the surgery, so those were positive signs. ”

Still, Collins announced that if Jordan were to return, he would support it.

In other words, what Jordan's will is, his attitude is.

"I think I'll sit down with him and say, 'Okay, how long do you want to fight?' Do you want to play the second and fourth quarters? Do you want to play from the very beginning of the game? I think it was his decision. Whatever he wants to do, I'm going to try to make the team revolve around him. ”

A reporter asked: "According to the general procedure, shouldn't Michael be allowed to participate in two or three training sessions, and then participate in five-on-five training sessions before making a final decision?" ”

"It's not that much trouble." Collins became Jordan's biggest supporter, "and once he was ready, Michael would pop up, shoot a couple of shots, and say, 'I'm back.'" ”

The Washington Wizards play their penultimate game of the season at home against the Philadelphia 76ers in the absence of Allen Iverson.

That afternoon, the players spotted Tim Grover and Jordan's bodyguards at the Verizon Center.

That means Jordan is back in training.

Is he officially making a comeback?

When Jordan officially appeared, everyone's hearts fell into an inexplicable loss.

If Jordan had known about it, he would have been ashamed.

That is, his return did not give the team a shot in the arm.

The team, teetering on the brink of the playoffs, is not in the least excited about his return.

A few people are still wondering, will this affect Frye?

They have to think so, because after Jordan and Hamilton retired from injury, it was Yu Fei who led the team, and it was Yu Fei who led them to persevere, Yu Fei deserved the greatest praise, but now, Jordan behaved like the leader of the return of the king, as the actual leader of the team in recent times, how should Yu Fei deal with himself?

"Is he coming back?"

When everyone was concentrated, Yu Fei really asked Collins this question.

Jordan was there, but he wasn't shy about it.

"He just wants to practice." Collins reiterated that "Michael hasn't officially made a comeback yet. ”

But that's on the agenda, right?

In fact, a comeback now would be equally risky for Jordan.

His theoretical recovery time is two months, and even if the recovery speed is faster than the average person, it will take a month and a half.

And now it's only been a month.

For Jordan, he is no longer young, and his recovery rate is certainly not up to the theoretical standard of rapid recovery.

If the Wizards don't make the playoffs, Jordan is out for the season.

But now, they still have a chance to play in the playoffs, which brings a lot of variables.

Jordan's running and lateral movement were limited during training, and he definitely didn't recover 100 per cent, and if he came back now and got injured again, maybe he would retire completely.

For an athlete of his age, he can't afford a major injury at the ACL level.

Accept it, Michael, you're getting old, and now it's Frye's team.

More than one Wizards player dreamed of saying it to Jordan, but they all shut up when they walked up to Jordan and faced that face full of majesty.

They are not Yu Fei and cannot afford to anger Jordan.

In the end, Yu Fei needed to come forward himself.

"You want to come back?" Yu Fei asked.

Jordan looked back at Yu Fei, "Do you support it?" ”

"Why should I support it?" Yu Fei smiled and asked, "In the month you were away, I averaged 22 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists per game, and our winning rate was close to 50%, why do you think I should welcome you back?" Do you think I like to play slower-paced games, or do you think I can't do without you? ”

Jordan's face darkened.

He could feel that Yu Fei was not here to chat.

"What do you want to say?"

"Are you sure you want me to say it?"

Yu Fei responded loudly.

Suddenly, everybody looked.

Jordan glared at Yu Fei fiercely, I don't know when the people in the Wizards training hall have become accustomed to having someone confront Jordan.

Because it's the same person every time he hits him.

However, suddenly one day, Yu Fei escalated the collision into "humiliation".

He gained his authority by attacking Jordan.

And Jordan didn't have anything to stop him.

Today, the same thing will happen again.

"Looks like you really want me to say that, so well, who's calling me the bad guy?" Yu Fei smiled, "We don't need you!" ”

"What do you say?!!!"

"We don't need you." After that, Yu Fei turned around and faced the other teammates, it felt good to be the focus, and it felt good to be watched. "Everyone, you all know very well that this man's return will only bring destruction, but you are all good people with a conscience, even if this old man is self-righteous, you will tolerate him. But I'm different, I'm sorry, I don't have a conscience, especially when it comes to this kind of person, I don't have a conscience. That's all I said today, we don't need him! ”

Yu Fei didn't even look at Jordan, but his voice became louder and louder.

"While he's here, everyone is insulted!"

"He willfully came on the court with an injury and took us from the top four teams in the East out of the playoffs!"

"Then he left, and from then on we didn't need him anymore!"

"Without him, we beat the Lakers!"

"Without him, we stayed competitive! To this day, we are still in the playoffs! ”

"We didn't need him before, and we don't need him now!"

"We're going to make the playoffs without him, and the last thing we need is for him to step up at a time like this and say we need him like a damn megalomaniac!" Yu Fei finally turned to Jordan, even though the other party was annoyed and angry, eager to eat him alive, he still said the last words, "I'm sorry, we don't need you." ”

Yu Fei faced Jordan's death stare without flinching.

"That's the reality."

Jordan looked at the others, the people who complimented him on a daily basis, the people who usually regarded him as a god, the people who never dared to disobey him.

Those are still the ones standing here, why is his rule gone?

"Do you all think so?" Jordan gritted his teeth, and he didn't know how much anger he could hold back before he asked this sentence.

Dead!

The stadium is as quiet as a mass grave!

I can't even hear the sound of breathing!

They don't have the courage to stand up and say "we don't need you" like Yu Fei, but they can quietly ask Jordan to confirm the "reality" in Yu Fei's mouth.

Silence is also an answer.

Jordan pursed his lips, his brown eyes were bloodshot, and he turned his head and glared at Yu Fei fiercely, his eyes full of resentment and anger.

“OK”

Jordan nodded, turned and walked out of the arena.

Was this a symbolic moment for Jordan to end his reign?

Most Wizards players have this idea in their heads.

Only Doug Collins knows that this is not the end.

Jordan's lost authority today will be returned tomorrow in another way.

He's still Jordan.

He just can't fly anymore.

But the influence and majesty of the Flyer Jordan are still there, and Yu Fei broke him in the Wizards, so what will Jordan do?

Collins knew the result, but for some reason, he didn't think Yu Fei had done anything wrong.

Yu Fei's only mistake was that he was favored by Jordan in the 2001 draft.

This in turn led to another mistake — the Wizards traded his signing rights from the Cavaliers.

This sparked a series of subsequent conflicts.

But is Yu Fei really wrong? He's just a proud, dignified and bloody young man, like Jordan, who came to the Windy City and threatened to turn the Bulls into a respected team like the Celtics and Lakers.

At a young age, he had big dreams, but the gravitational pull here was too heavy, and Collins couldn't imagine how much Yu Fei had paid to get to this point.

Perhaps the facts will prove that Yu Fei's efforts are not worth mentioning for Jordan, but that doesn't mean he was wrong.

Collins supported Yu Fei.

Confirming this fact, Collins felt trembling all over, like a loyal servant who had inadvertently betrayed his emperor.

Then, Yu Fei said: "Keep training, we want to win tonight's game." ”

Verizon Center was restored to its original state.

It's as if Jordan never came back.

Or rather, as if Jordan never existed.

On this night, the Wizards hosted the 76ers.

With Allen Iverson absent, the 76ers seem to be lacking in offense than the Wizards.

Although Yu Fei didn't find the shooting touch tonight, his teammates all had a determination to prove themselves.

They wanted Jordan to know that "we don't need you" is definitely not an empty phrase.

Halfway through the game, the touch of his teammates let Yu Fei know that he only needs to do a good job of defense and passing to win the game today.

In the end, Yu Fei, who focused on defense, rebounding and passing, scored his ninth triple-double in his rookie season.

With 15 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists, he was easily elected the best of the game.

Larry Brown's praise for Fly is nothing short of dark humor to anyone in the know: "It's hard to deal with just one of Frye's, and if Michael can return in the playoffs, I have no doubt about their competitiveness." ”

Even if he is not an insider of the Wizards, the contradiction between Yu Fei and Jordan is an open secret.

Brown's statement can be described as nonsensical.

And Yu Fei's live interview with NBC after the game faintly revealed some unknown things.

"How do you feel about Frye, you only need one more win to secure a playoff spot?"

'It's great, I'm so proud of my team-mates and I'm incredibly proud that we can do this.'

"There is news that Michael may be back in the near future, what do you think?"

"Fake news."

"Really? Is this fake news? ”

"I hope it's fake news because even if Michael comes back, it's going to be hard for us to win a championship, and without Michael, we can play the playoffs as well, so instead of risking it back, it's better to rest and hope for next season. Here's my idea, well, my own thought. ”

(End of chapter)