While most players were still recovering from their game, Yu Fei's competitive state had already reached match standard.
Facing Jordan's offense, Yu Fei guarded each movement perfectly, eventually forcing his opponent to pass the ball.
"Passing the ball?" Yu Fei trash-talked Jordan unreservedly, "Steve Kerr isn't here."
No sooner had he finished than Chris Whitney's three-point attempt clanged off the rim.
Jordan had to redirect his fury at Whitney, "What the hell are you doing?!"
"What good does it do you to provoke Michael like that?" Coach Lu asked.
He wanted to persuade Yu Fei to stop.
"You're wrong, he likes it," Yu Fei snorted, "Just look at how he treats Kwame. Instead of being passive, I'd rather take the initiative!"
Yu Fei was quickly struck down by divine retribution.
When he tried a low-post move on White, Jordan, anticipating this, double-teamed him and with a chop that contained a decade of skills, he knocked the ball away.
Jordan's coast-to-coast counterattack missed, but Johnny Bach called a ticky-tack foul on Yu Fei for a failed chase-down block attempt.
Jordan's brows relaxed and he mocked Yu Fei viciously, "You're even stupider than Karl Malone, that clueless bastard who only cares about scoring and not defending!"
How dare you bring up that steal from Karl?
Calling that push-and-shoot 'The Shot' really messes everything up!
Yu Fei completely entered the realm of a qualified Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012/pre-time travel Yu Fei) basketball fan. As someone who had no good impressions of Jordan, his dislike multiplied after meeting him, turning into a true "Anti-Mike."
"Indeed, I'm not Karl, and Karl isn't you. Who else can shove people around and get the refs to not let anyone touch you?" Yu Fei retorted mockingly, "You'd better make both free throws."
When it comes to free throws, Jordan is above average among superstars. At his peak, his free-throw shooting percentage reached 85%, with a career average of 83.5%, which is quite stable. However, today's scrimmage was Jordan's first intense confrontation since 1998, very different from the practice games in Chicago where he rehabbed. Artest, that blind fool, could just throw his weight around and break his ribs, indicating how much his body had been hollowed by wine and women over the years.
Jordan's first free throw was good, but he missed the second.
Yu Fei leaped up, snatched the defensive rebound with one hand, and upon landing, he immediately took off, racing down the court so fast that Ratner had no chance to foul him and he burst past the backcourt three-point line.
"Cassidy!" Jordan shouted.
What Yu Fei showed today was infinitely closer to the former rather than the latter.
For Jordan, who was aging and could not suppress Yu Fei with sheer strength, how could he possibly hope his handpicked young player turned out to be a mad dog like Reggie Miller and Isiah Thomas?
Ratner was determined to suppress Yu Fei's arrogance.
However, for ten continuous minutes of the game, Yu Fei did not give him any chance.
Because apart from fast-breaks, Yu Fei did not attempt to penetrate the inside during set plays; his floaters were too accurate. A small forward with the body for inside play not practicing hook shots or low-post backdowns but instead having a masterful floater was insane. Did he usually encounter giants that he must avoid with a floating shot?
Finally, in the latter half of the scrimmage, Ratner saw an opportunity.
Yu Fei was executing a buzzer-beater play, and his continuous fakes made Cassidy White struggle to maintain his footing. White's body swayed like a tree with no roots, teetering side to side, and soon he couldn't withstand the violent changes in direction and his knees buckled, sending him to his knees.
Yu Fei powered up, took one step inside, and jumped toward the paint. He was determined to dunk, but then Ratner appeared. With his physical condition, there was no way he could stop Yu Fei— even jumping would only serve as a poster backdrop for a dunk. Had he lost his mind?
Ratner set up his arms, elbowing aggressively toward Yu Fei's flank. In that instant, Yu Fei felt a jolt and a sharp pain burst from his waist as his body crashed to the ground like a meteor.
"Whistle!!!"
This time Johnny Bach had no choice but to call a foul on Ratner; the move was just too excessive.
"Frye?"
"Frye!"
Yu Fei lay on the ground, shifting his body slightly. It hurt, but it was bearable.
He clenched his fists as uncontrollable rage surged within him at lightning speed.
Ratner extended his hands innocently, "You all saw it. He was the one charging too hard. I just accidentally..."
Before Ratner could finish his sentence, Yu Fei, already on his feet, found his target and struck him directly in the face with a punch.
Ratner fell to the ground.
"WCNMLGCB!!!"
Yu Fei let out a hysterical scream in words that nobody understood and leaped onto Ratner, throwing punches wildly.
All of a sudden, the situation spiraled completely out of control.