The pressure of critical moments can overwhelm most stars, but some exist precisely for such times.
"Put in Michael Redd," Yu Fei took the initiative to say to George Karl, "We'll run X-Offense!"
Karl looked at Yu Fei, "Shooting is unreliable under this kind of pressure."
"Not necessarily, George," Yu Fei said, "They won't give Ray any open chances because Ray has a 40% three-point percentage, and Michael has a 44% three-point percentage. Do the Spurs dare to bet on his touch? I'll go all-out on offense with their help."
To Karl's surprise, he felt he could trust Yu Fei.
Why? Because Yu Fei was the reason the Bucks had gotten this far.
Last season they didn't make the playoffs, but this season they secured the league's best record with 63 wins.
There was a reason, and without Yu Fei's average performance of 26+9+8, they wouldn't have made it here.
Now, the youngest MVP in league history was asking for full cooperation—was there even anything to consider?