Supersonics and Hornets returned to Seattle for the fifth game of the semifinals.
Before the game started, David Stern appeared.
He was met with a torrent of boos.
Fans disliked him because everyone knew that the Supersonics could potentially move away and it was this NBA commissioner who wanted it to happen.
But Stern was not someone who hated booing.
Otherwise, the NBA Draft would not have been held at Madison Square Garden for so long.
Tonight, Stern came to Key Arena for only one reason.
He was there to present the MVP trophy for the season to Yu Fei in public.
"What is the Most Valuable Player?" Stern picked up the trophy and said beside Yu Fei, "I believe Frye can fully represent the very meaning of the term. He can not only fill up the stat sheet but also influence the game in his own way, and most importantly, he can decide the rise and fall of a large market."
The fans did not want to listen to Stern’s drivel; they just wanted to see Yu Fei lift the trophy.
Afterward, Yu Fei smoothly took the deeply coveted award from Stern’s hands.
This was his fourth Most Valuable Player award.
For some sensitive people, this moment meant a lot.
"The gap has narrowed again."
"Frye’s MVPs are only one less than Michael’s."
"Only two less in championships."
That was the situation for Yu Fei; many people wanted to catch up to him, but his only target was Jordan.
For those who supported him, they would only compare Yu Fei with Jordan.
Paul, on the other hand, saw the trophy and mentally he had already accepted it, but when he saw this big treasure that was supposed to be his being held in someone else’s hands, he couldn’t help but feel lost. Continue reading stories on Freewebnovel
That night, the Supersonics were on fire.
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Yu Fei was not willing to let his milestone become a tragic milestone, and the Hornets, trailing by a large margin, lacked the mentality to persist to the end.
Especially Paul, who wanted to prove that he deserved the MVP as well, but how could he?
He increased his personal offensive weight, but the impact on the game was negligible.
The Hornets held on for three quarters and then collapsed in the fourth, as the Supersonics broke the opponent with a wave of defensive counterattacks.
4 to 1.
The Supersonics became the first team to advance to the conference finals.
The other contest in the West was tense.
The Lakers and Spurs were tied after four games, with the Lakers winning the fifth game by a whisker and the outcome of the sixth game still unknown.
In the Eastern Conference, both series were tied after four games, the situation tense.
Even though Tim Duncan put up a double 20 performance in the Lakers and Spurs’ game six, Kobe scored 30 of 16 shots under just a few free throws, ruthlessly blasting open the defense that Spurs were proud of.
Bowen and Caron Butler on the wing were like nothing in front of Kobe, completely unable to stop his offensive assault.
This kind of pure individual ability and unstoppable shooting reminded the Spurs of that man in the 2003 finals.
When Kobe instilled in them a fear that transcended death, the Spurs lost their formation and ultimately failed to drag the series to a seventh game.
The Spurs were out.
The coming summer, they needed to consider many things. The bloated salary cap was too heavy for their small-market team.
If they could win the championship, then they could grit their teeth and carry on.
But now, the situation was clear.
Bowen was too old, Butler did not fit into the Spurs’ system, Luol Deng’s rookie contract would soon expire, and he, averaging 15 points for several years, was the mainstay on the Spurs’ wing they could rely on – young and capable, someone they had to keep.
But if they were to offer Deng a big contract, then the Spurs would need to increase their revenue and decrease their expenses; those who should retire must retire, and those aspects that need optimizing must be optimized.
The era of wing dominance was approaching, and the Spurs believed they had the deepest wing roster in the Western, but when faced with an on-fire Kobe, they were powerless.
Moreover, their talented roster’s inability to fully perform due to the lack of a steady point guard was also their Achilles’ heel.
The playoffs are a place where strengths and weaknesses are weighed. If the strengths of the strong side are not enough to cover the weaknesses of the weak side, they naturally get exploited and defeated by the opponents.
The Spurs, with obvious shortfalls, were out.
The Lakers were eyeing Seattle from afar.
At that moment, Yu Fei was preparing to hold a press conference to deliver his speech for winning his fourth MVP award.
Hearing this news, Kobe clenched his fist and said to the person delivering the message, "No matter what he says, we will be the ones entering the finals!"
Meanwhile, in the East, the atmosphere for the decisive battle was even more intense.
Back on their home court, the Celtics knew how to play basketball again.
They decisively crushed the Magic, leading the series 3 to 2 before heading to Orlando for the sixth game.
The number one Celtics fan, nicknamed "Sports Guy" Bill Simmons, claimed that the real MVP of the season was Kevin Garnett, who furiously scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Unfortunately, tonight’s "Truth" was more like "falsehood."
Pierce went 5 for 15 from the field, thoroughly outshined by the opposing Carter, while Red failed to show the prowess of the Eastern Conference’s top shooter.
The luxurious and deep roster of the Celtics lost on the road to the Magic with a score of 69 to 79.
At this moment, the criticism towards the Celtics reached its peak.
A team that claims to be the best in the league can’t win on the road?
The seventh game followed a familiar script.
The Celtics continued their splendid defense, keeping the Magic’s score under 70, while on their own side, every starter, Pierce, Garnett, Red, Rondo, and David Lee, scored in double figures. Leon Powe and Sam Cassell from the bench also performed excellently.
The invincible home team Celtics eliminated the Magic by 4 games to 3.
The excited Coach Pighead yelled at the reporters, "We have never lost confidence in ourselves!!!"
Then why can’t you win on the road?
"Buddy, does that matter? We won, and that’s all you need to know."
Could the Celtics become the first NBA champion team in history who didn’t win a single game on the road?
Coach Pighead said, "I don’t think we can’t win on the road, but if it happens, then it happens."
Rivers’ aloof style in interviews forced those critical Boston reporters to back down.
At the same time, the other Eastern Conference semifinal matchup had finished earlier.
The Bucks and Cavaliers series did not go to a seventh game.
In the decisive King of the Hill game, James gave his all, scoring an unmatched 45 points along with 11 rebounds and 10 assists. His performance was nothing short of perfection, but unfortunately, the Bucks had a roster that overpowered the Cavaliers.
Although Kevin Martin had a tendency to underperform in the playoffs, third-year star Danny Granger carried an air of leadership that felt familiar to the people of Milwaukee.
Even though Granger was no match for James, he did not shy away, responding to his opponent’s 45-point triple-double with 34 points of his own.
However, the Cavaliers had only James, while the Bucks had more than just Granger.
The dominance of Pau Gasol and Aldridge in the paint dictated the last two games of the series.
They made James’ godlike performance in game five futile.
Arriving at game six, James, as if he had exhausted himself in the previous game, seemed to lose the unstoppable spirit he had shown in game five.
Before the game, the Bucks’ emerging leader Granger said, "Frye has never lost to LeBron, and though we’re not as outstanding as Frye, we have a clear bottom line. That is, we won’t lose to the Cavaliers in the series."
Whether Granger meant it or not, his statement resulted in an unfriendly barrage of public criticism toward James.
Already beginning to doubt everything, James, affected by the public opinion, started to hesitate.
During the sixth game, it was noticeable that James was indecisive on the court.
He wanted to attack, but also to pass.
He wanted to take control, yet he wanted to involve his teammates.
This vacillation put the Cavaliers at a complete disadvantage from the start, like someone drowning, they struggled briefly, and then suffocated.
The Bucks celebrated a landslide victory in game six.
Everyone played well, scoring 120 points, while the opposing Cavaliers did not exceed 80 points.
It was a massacre with a margin of over 40 points.
At the end of the game, ABC displayed James’ stats for the game.
18 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists—in an elimination game for the star player, these were utterly inadequate numbers.
"The proudest moment of LeBron’s career so far is giving the illusion that he and Frye are on the same level," said TNT’s Barkley, known for his outspokenness, "What’s the reality? These two are not even close. They’re miles apart!"
ABC’s Hubie Brown said, "I think LeBron doesn’t have any excuses. The Bucks’ roster is stronger than the Cavaliers’, but nobody on the Bucks can match him. Let me tell you how a true superstar plays when the underdog challenges the top dog. You can look at how Frye single-handedly buried the Pistons in the 2005 Eastern Conference Semifinals, or how Michael crushed the Cavaliers in 1988. If you belong to that elite group, you have no reason to say ’they’re the better team’ in such a situation. You’re the best player; how can you back down?"
James’ reputation as a superstar rapidly crumbled after a series of playoff games.
The impact of this was comparable to when he got blown out by Fei in Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas debacle made people stop believing he and Fei were on the same level.
Losing to the Bucks without Fei, on the other hand, made a lot of the media question James’ superstar status.
The Spurs being knocked out and James’ defeat were both good news for Fei.
But at the moment, he had no time to gloat.
Because his fourth MVP award speech was starting.
More than a personal award acceptance, it was like a politician’s speech. Beyond the MVP significance, Fei emphasized how Seattle had brought him to this point. As his speech drew to a close, people across Seattle felt like they had contributed to Fei’s MVP.
"Regardless, the MVP is ultimately mine, and I am honored by that. But please believe," Fei concluded, "the championship will belong to Seattle!"
"!￥#￥￥"
That’s how the world is.
Some are stuck in a rut, while others scale the summit. Joy and sorrow do not intertwine.