Yu Fei and Duncan are like two styles of the same thing.

Duncan is full of millennial style, tenacity, team-first, and advocates the basketball concept of "pass the ball once".

The Bucks, who were also looking for open shooting opportunities first, played another kind of basketball under the guidance of Yu Fei.

Duncan didn't touch the ball for long, he was part of the collective, and while it was the most important part, it was still one of the collectives.

And Yu Fei is all of the bucks.

He controls the ball, calls pick-and-rolls, and dominates the initiation of each round and the end of most of the rounds.

Judging from the number of shots, Yu Fei is not selfish.

But his possession of the ball was staggering.

This way of playing challenged the notion of academic basketball experts, the essence of team sports was broken, and the game of the Bucks became essentially a game of sharing the cake, with Yu Fei holding a knife and giving it to whoever he wanted.

In Popovich's opinion, there is nothing uglier on the court.

This is a selfish move in the name of the team.

This is the reason for Yu Fei's data explosion. Whenever Popovich remembered that Duncan lost to Yu Fei in the MVP vote, he would be so angry that he couldn't even drink red wine.

In order to suppress Yu Fei's performance, in the second quarter, when the arrangement of Wai Bowen and Duncan did not move, the Spurs used joint defense throughout the whole process, and the three-point opportunities in the two bottom corners were not spaced out from time to time.

The Bucks did spot a corner opportunity, but they couldn't make a three-pointer from the corner.

Due to the distance problem, the bottom corner three points are the easiest three points in theory.

But sometimes the feel is so metaphysical.

Sprewell made a three-pointer at the top of the arc but threw a three-pointer from the bottom corner across the bridge, and Reed's previous three-pointer from the bottom corner reached 50%, but tonight he missed back-to-back shots.

Needless to say, Ray Allen couldn't shoot any three-pointers from any position tonight.

The Spurs, on the other hand, also don't have a shooting touch, but they are not a team that is obsessed with shooting.

Everyone revolves around Duncan, who is invincible and omnipotent.

Duncan's offensive feel is not good, but his presence on the interior is too strong, whether it is the protection of defensive rebounds or the pressure on the Bucks on offensive rebounds, which gives the Spurs more room for correction.

Yu Fei clearly saw the difference between the era of big balls and the era of small balls.

The small-ball era is strictly faster, more accurate, and smoother, while the big-ball era is tougher and taller.

On a conventional scale, the small ball can be reduced to the big ball, but once in the playoffs, teams like the Spurs will take full advantage of the version of the answer and force the shooting touch of a team like the Bucks to a similar level on the defensive end and physical confrontation.

When the Spurs' lead reached 5 points, Yu Fei stopped passing to the outside.

Four minutes before halftime, Yu Fei first scored on a jumper at the free throw line, and then scored a jumper against Duncan's help defense.

After scoring four points in a row, the Spurs' aggressive offensive momentum was interrupted, and the two sides were once again tugging at each other.

In the first half, the Spurs' final attack was executed by Duncan.

Mason was afraid of fouls, so he only interfered and did not dare to apply pressure at high intensity. It was his teammate Yu Fei who ran in from a high position, blocked Duncan's strong sidehand, and gave Shi Buddha two options.

Either pass the ball to an open teammate on the perimeter or finish with your left hand.

The Bucks shot just 35 percent overall from the field, and the Spurs were even worse at just over 30 percent, so passing wasn't in Duncan's options, and he preferred to use his left hand for the final touch.

This is also Yu Fei's ultimate goal.

Duncan's reputation for his fundamental skills is well-known in the basketball world, but through the deep battles in the finals, Yu Fei found that his free throws were inaccurate, and, compared to his right hand, the left-handed offense was rough.

Duncan put a basket with his left hand under strong interference and missed.

Yu Fei grabbed a defensive rebound and made a long pass to the fast Sprewell with only five seconds left in the first half.

Sprewell rushed forward as if he were on Hot Wheels. The only Spurs player to get back in place was Tony Parker, but his size was too limited to stop Sprewell.

With 1.4 seconds left before halftime, Sprewell scored on a layup.

48 to 47

The Bucks struggled to overtake the score.

This game of iron has become a contest of wills between the two sides, who can endure more, who dares to hit the ball to the basket, who can grasp the opportunity better, who can control the direction of the game.

At least eight of the 12 minutes of the second quarter were dominated by Duncan, and Yu Fei fought back in the final minutes to avoid giving the Spurs a lead into the second half.

At the same time, it also proves that the Bucks can play at this intensity.

Maintaining that intensity is the Spurs' way of winning, but if they can't maintain the intensity, once the Bucks' shooting touch picks up, their end will come.

At halftime, ABC played a data comparison between Yu Fei and Duncan.

Frye Yu, who played the whole first half, shot 6 of 10, and cut down 18 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks.

Tim Duncan, who played the full first half, shot 5-of-10 and had 14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks.

"We all know that Larry and the Magic are the most iconic rivals in NBA history, but in fact, their primes are staggered, and they have never played this kind of pin-and-needle scene on the court. The duel between Frye and Tim is sure to go down in history! ”

The commentators of various TV stations all gave Yu Fei and Duncan high praise.

As one of the NBA's main partnership platforms, ABC won't let go of professionals who are there in person.

They first interviewed U.S. men's basketball head coach Larry Brown, and ABC wondered if Yu Fei and Duncan would be key members of his Dream Team.

"Every manager who has had the opportunity to coach Tim and Fry is lucky." "If the time comes, I'm sure the fans can see them wearing the U.S. jersey," Brown said calmly. ”

"So, who do you think is the better performer?"

"It's not the same in terms of the numbers." "But, in my personal opinion, Frye can score 99 points and Thiem has 100 points. ”

"Why?"

Brown began to talk at length about Duncan's contributions on the court.

Larry Brown's answer was no surprise at all.

Duncan represents a kind of political correctness on the basketball court. He plays the right way, guarantees that every round is reasonable, and also makes his teammates comfortable, and although his games are boring, he always wins.

This aura of "it's right no matter what" has been around Duncan for a long time, and finally crossed the OK Lakers barrier this year and embarked on the path of proving himself.

However, being recognized and left behind by the voting judges is also a testament to the hypocrisy of the Fourth Estate, whose support for the infallible style of basketball that Duncan represents is only lip service.

Their actual performance was no different from the superficial fans who found the Spurs game boring.

In addition to Larry Brown, ABC also interviewed Jason Kidd, who was in the midst of the rumors.

As one of the big fish in free agency this summer, Kidd's choice to come to Milwaukee to watch the Finals is a glaring hint that couldn't be more obvious.

Ever since Kidd turned down an early contract extension from the Nets during the season, rumors swirling that he would join the Spurs as a free agent in the offseason.

Showing up at the Bradley Center tonight is like telling the world that he's ready to join a 60-win Western team.

ABC reporters asked about Kidd's current situation and rumors from the outside world.

As a veteran, Kidd knows how to handle the media.

He won't reveal anything before he officially enters the free market.

Finally, the ABC reporter asked about the match.

"What do you think of the first half performances of Frye Yu and Tim Duncan?"

Kidd then said, "In my opinion, they all played at an MVP level, especially TD. ”

Kidd followed the same path as Larry Brown.

Unlike Brown, he showed more than just admiration for Duncan, but also a bit of flattery between his words.

'Thiem is the best player in the game. I don't really care about his stats, because no matter how bad his performance is, he can get 20 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks for you. The stats don't really show his value, you can see how willing his teammates are to fight for him, he's the kind of guy who can feel comfortable giving his back to him......"

Kidd realized that he was overtouting Duncan, and made up for himself: "Hmm...... I know my words sound like a hint, but I don't mean anything, I just want you guys to know what TD looks like in my eyes. ”

What about Fry?

'Frye is also very good, he's a very good player.

Yu Fei didn't care what the professionals on the scene said about him and Duncan.

If he were to compete himself against Duncan, he would admit that Duncan is better at the moment, but he is not bad at all.

The most pressing problem the Bucks are facing right now is fouls on the inside.

Starting center Dan Gazuric committed two fouls, and the two main No. 4s, Anthony Mason and Tyrone Hill, both committed three fouls.

The interior is the Bucks' weakest point, and they must be prepared to be single-pointed by Duncan in the second half.

The inside line is the gateway to defense, and once it is broken, it is difficult to fight back.

Thinking about this, everyone couldn't help but feel pessimistic about the prospects of the second half.

"Don't be discouraged, didn't I play well enough in the first half?" Yu Fei said to Mason, "Old thing, what are you doing in EMO?" ”

Mason stared at Yu Fei with wide eyes.

He doesn't know if this young man has no empathy, or really doesn't know that he can be on par with Duncan in the first half, it's all because the inside guys are desperately resisting?

If Duncan does open up, it's more than just "this" stats.

However, it was their duty to stand up to Duncan.

Yu Fei's performance really gave everyone a shot in the arm.

"You don't talk cool about it!" Mason said to himself, "If we can't stand ...... in the second half"

Yu Fei interrupted Mason's speech: "Then I will let their outside line not withstand it first." ”

This isn't the first time Mason feels he's close to a championship.

In 1994, he felt the same way.

Then, John Starks' war criminal play buried everything.

Can I trust him?

Mason gritted his teeth and said as if he were squeezing words out of his mouth, "You'll have a chance to prove it soon!" ”

Mason doesn't believe in cause and effect, he only knows that he gave everything for the championship, but that dedication was not rewarded. Now, in front of him stands a 94 Dream level opponent, who suffered so much in 1994 and has to suffer again.

The question is, will the salvation he did not receive in 1994 be received this year?

What if Yu Fei buries everyone's dreams like John Starks?

"Okay, somebody's looking ahead like the old stuff, just stay in the dressing room and don't go out, and now, I'm going back to the pitch and I want to be around me with a bunch of people who want to win." Yu Fei smiled openly, "As for those who can't believe that we will win, and are even afraid of losing this game, just fucking kneel here and wait for Lao Tzu's triumph!" ”

(End of chapter)