Yu Fei's 28th win over James since 2003 was an unremarkable game in itself.

Aside from the supersonic championship coronation, there was not so much talk of the game.

However, George Carr was "obsessed" by the preferential treatment James received during the game.

The so-called never forget, there will be an echo.

When Carl said after the game that "LeBron has a walk every two breakaways," a dark wind began to blow around James.

In Yu Fei's previous life, this season was James' first MVP season, and it was also the first year that he was officially scrutinized with a magnifying glass.

But right now, James isn't the focus of the league, and he wouldn't have attracted much attention.

But when they tried to contaminate the cause and effect of the first person in the alliance, they were destined to be impossible to ignore.

Today's Nike and James camps are avoiding the topic of Yu Fei, because there is a huge gap between the two in honor at present, and forcibly tying them will only bring shame on themselves. But Yu Fei's camp will not let go of James, who is completely at a disadvantage.

Carl fired the first shot, and the follow-up public opinion pressure will also be directly given.

A few days later, James went down to earth in Milwaukee, slashing 48 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists to lead the team to defeat the Bucks.

However, his layup step count has raised questions from everyone.

"I may know basketball, but I may not know basketball that well, and that's how LeBron's game makes me feel."

ESPN's commentator Jeff Van Gundy commented with a bit of a yin and yang swagger.

The Bucks' sixth man, Louis Williams, was more direct: "In my understanding, the layup should be two steps after you get the ball. That's why it's hard for us to defend LeBron, because the game habits from childhood to adulthood have made us think like we've gotten into the game, and when we see him take two steps, we're ready to jump and defend, and no one thought he had a third step. ”

James' game left Pau Gasol in doubt about his understanding of the rules of basketball.

He wasn't sure if the NBA and FIBA were using the same set of rules.

So his answer was not confident: "It should be three or two steps." ”

As an early victim of the four-step layup, the media took the opportunity to open fire.

The Washington Post's sports column commented on James' layup step count controversy in the latest issue: "Those who argue about layup steps don't understand basketball at all, it's LeBron's patent, he calls it the crab step. If you're going to use this trick, it's best to pay him royalties. ”

Few people stand up to a magnifying glass.

The team behind James won't sit still.

Although James is no longer Nike's first target, the continued smear of James will affect the entire Nike brand, and they must respond.

From a basketball perspective, unless the league changes the definition of walking, the four-step layup, which is a superstar privilege that is obviously shaky, is really hard to wash.

Nike can't explicitly say, "Because this is LeBron, he can go to the basket in four steps, and you can't go to Stern."

If that is said, the firepower will naturally turn to the league, but James will also be blacklisted from now on, and it will never be possible to get special care again.

Therefore, Nike has opted for a trick that has been common since ancient times: expansion.

Again, no one can stand up to the scrutiny of a magnifying glass.

Even Yu Fei can find the footage of him walking suspiciously in the game without being punished by the referee.

In the period that followed, the stars began to come under scrutiny, and the walking violation became a homicide, and whoever committed it was a Jamesian clown.

The Coalition was also quick to react, trying to seal this evil spirit with harsh penalties.

Their intention was to convince the fans of the fairness and impartiality of the referee, but what they didn't expect was that the fans' scrutiny of the steps began to intensify.

This change in climate is both familiar and unfamiliar to Fei.

What is strange is that the alliance reacted violently to this matter.

Familiarly, the topic of walking is all too common on the Internet more than a decade later.

Any good ball appears, as long as you don't score directly after receiving the ball, there will be a walking brother who will come out to point out.

Like James, the innate walking eucharist is said to be walking for every non-shooting goal.

At that time, walking was no longer a simple criticism, but a program effect.

But for now, the league's strict requirements for layup steps have no impact on flying.

He can also walk, but his walk is like a right-handed person suddenly holding chopsticks with his left hand, it is a mistake. This kind of mistake feels awkward because it breaks a habit that has been cultivated for many years.

While the outside world is fighting for the number of steps to the basket, supersonic speed quietly blows the wind of change.

Their reclassification of basketball positions is subtly affecting other teams.

As the defending champions, the SuperSonics continue to get stronger because the core roster is made up of young people.

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They're just like the Celtics during last season's regular season.

Other teams are still grinding, and some teams even want to make some trades to reinforce, but the superSonics basically can't see the position that needs to be strengthened.

If there is any hidden danger, it is Sean Marion's mentality.

Marion wants to stay in Seattle, and the self-proclaimed champion is eager to get a contract with a maximum salary.

If it is mediocre management, it may really be tempting to give a big contract to the merit of winning the championship.

But Sam Presti is sober.

This season, Marion's average per game has dropped across the board, with only 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists per game, and the steals that symbolize the vitality of the sweep have dropped from 2 steals per game last season to 1.1 today.

This is very much in line with Presti's judgment.

A short and long-armed flank like Marion eats the rice of youth.

He is about to turn 31 years old, and he will decline every year after that, and they can't expect Marion, who is regressing every year, to help Yu Fei achieve supremacy.

In November, SuperSonics restarted negotiations with Marion.

Preston is only willing to offer Marion a four-year, $35 million contract extension, but Marion wants five years and $70 million.

The expected gap of $35 million is not something that can be cut by bargaining.

In late November, Marion used an NBA-style manifesto to suggest that the talks had broken down.

"I'm going to test the free market next summer."

Anyone can read the subtext of this manifesto.

He can't talk anymore with the supersonic.

He's definitely leaving next season.

But Marion promised that he would still fight for the title, that is, he would not seek a trade.

This kind of professionalism is so impressive that some Seattle media people have begun to criticize Presti.

The Seattle Times believes Presti screwed Marion's contract extension.

"I'm not going to be an NBA GM, but I'll never be able to understand Sam Presti's choice. What do you have to do to fill the void on Sean Marion? Can you find someone to do what he does? How many people in the league are as good as he is for carnival basketball? We live in Frye's time, but if we want this era to last into the 2010s, we have to do the right thing. For now, I don't see any benefit from this decision for hypersound. You treat meritorious deeds like this, who will fight for you in the future? ”

It was also the day after Marion's negotiations broke down, and the SuperSonics lost to the New Orleans Hornets on the road.

The 12-game winning streak at the start of the season was ended.

Marion, who promised Seattle to fight for a two-time winning streak, didn't balance his mentality.

In this game, Marion only scored 3 points, 4 rebounds and 6 fouls on 1-of-5 shooting.

This led the reporter to ask Yu Fei: "Did Sean Marion's contract renewal issue have an adverse impact on tonight's game?" ”

Yu Fei will not dwell on this issue.

Because if he answers positively, he will be asked what he thinks about Marion's contract renewal.

If he supports Marion's contract extension, Presti will be roasted on the fire, and if he doesn't support Marion's contract renewal, then Marion's mentality will rot.

"Your question isn't fair to Sean." Yu Fei said, "You seem to be implying that we lost tonight because of Sean's contract renewal issue? No, I can't agree with that. We lost the game as a team. This is a failure for all of us and cannot be blamed on one person. ”

Since the SuperSonics will play two games in a row with the Hornets. One at the opponent's home stadium and one at their own home stadium.

Back at home, Yu Fei played this season's masterpiece, shooting 22 of 23 from the field, with a 95.65% shooting rate of 55 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists, completely clearing the haze of ending the winning streak.

Suddenly, the public's eyes were taken away from Marion again.

They will complain about Marion, they will feel sorry for Marion, and they will even criticize the management of the hypersonic for them, but in the end, they all know who they only care about.

Sam Presti was on the scene that night.

He felt that Yu Fei's body seemed to be glowing, and he had become another level of existence, and one person could influence the mood of a stadium.

That's why he would never question his choice.

Do those people really care, do they care about Marion?

No, the essence of their concern was that they were worried that after Marion left, Yu Fei would not get a better helper.

If Marion had been given a big contract for the sake of the cocooned moral restriction of the so-called good treatment of meritorious service, then everyone would be happy now, but what about when Marion is too old to die? Believe that this group of people will wish Marion would evaporate from the earth.

They love Marion because they can help Yu Fei.

Someday, they will hate Marion for the same reason.

Then, the spearhead will return to Presti.

Sam Presti, why are you giving Marion such a big contract extension?

Presti stood up and turned to go backstage.

Yu Fei's rescue of the supersonic in exchange for the whole city to serve him, regard him as a god, and Presti is the one who can best determine the future of the god.

He made the right decision.

He was sure of it.