NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 733 The Young Scholar Who Wants to Challenge the Number One

Not everyone in this league wants to win a championship, and not everyone is willing to work tirelessly for their place in history. Many players become lazy or just clock out after signing big contracts, not because they lack professional ethics, but simply because they treat basketball as just a job.

When it comes to work, if you can earn a decent salary without putting in a lot of effort, would you still work that hard?

Players like "Goji Berry Bro" (a nickname for a player) play basketball like clocking in and out of get off work. They don't need to work particularly hard to get a very good contract, which makes people complacent. This isn't an unusual situation; many NBA players are like this.

You view NBA games as sacred, believing that NBA players should give their all for their teams—that's your problem. If you treat playing basketball like working at a company, you'll understand that work is work, and life is life. Would you work yourself to the bone for a company?

D'Angelo Russell, the Lakers' second overall pick, possesses an innate talent for shooting as a tall point guard. As a point guard, he can both orchestrate the offense and shoot, making him a perfect fit for today's small-ball league. However, his defense is still too weak for a point guard, requiring someone to cover for him. Furthermore, his playing style is somewhat soft, lacking physical strength, making him vulnerable to being targeted on both ends of the court in the intensity of the playoffs.

The Clippers' defender on Russell was Bridges, who guarded Russell the entire game.

Russell brought the ball over and passed it to Beverley.

Hart was guarding Beverley.

The Clippers' defensive strategy was to have Bridges guard Russell, Hart guard Beverley, Jafi guard Edwards, Grant guard Vanderbilt, and Hartenstein guard Towns.

Jia Fei was guarding Edwards, which excited Edwards. He was being valued by the league's top player, and if he could dominate him on a night like this, his chance to make a name for himself would truly have arrived!

Edwards is asking for the ball.

Beverley quickly passed the ball to Edwards.

Beverley is a shrewd player. Back in his Rockets days, whenever he played alongside Harden, he was a ruthless force, giving Harden the ball on offense, which allowed him to thrive. Later, with the Clippers, he partnered with Jia Fei, continuing his aggressive defensive style while not needing the ball on offense. He was always the first to step up when needed, constantly trading blows with opponents, and he did quite well with the Clippers as well. Now with the Timberwolves, he's still the same ruthless player. He's not stupid; the future of this team revolves around Edwards. By keeping Edwards on the team's leash, his own future with the team won't be too bad.

Edwards, still under 21 years old, was selected first overall by the Timberwolves in the 2020 NBA draft. In his rookie season, he averaged 19.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. These are actually quite good for a rookie. While his efficiency might be a bit low, for a young player just entering the league, the ability to handle a significant amount of ball possession is a crucial metric for determining whether a player has the potential to become a star. And he demonstrated that!

Edwards is 193cm tall and weighs 100kg, with a physique remarkably similar to Dwyane Wade. Because he bears a resemblance to Michael Jordan, many say he's a combination of Jordan and Wade. He possesses explosive athleticism, excellent jumping ability, and can both drive and shoot, showing great superstar potential. Compared to a younger Wade, he's an even better shooter. His weaknesses are also apparent: offensively, he's prone to getting carried away and sometimes becomes too focused on one-on-one plays; his passing ability is somewhat lacking, and he doesn't seem to have much ability to facilitate his teammates. Defensively, he's passionate and physical in one-on-one situations, and his speed makes him prone to leaving his man open during help defense rotations; his communication and rotation skills need improvement.

Edwards faced Jia Fei, and he wanted to prove himself. No one was more suitable to be his opponent than Jia Fei. Jia Fei was also a guard, considered the only player with a chance to surpass Jordan, and Edwards needed to defeat such a player to become a superstar.

The rest of the Timberwolves created space for Edwards to solo Jia Fei.

The crowd started to jeer. Few young people dared to confront Jia Fei head-on. Young people are fearless, and Edwards, at least, is commendable for his courage.

Edwards made a probing step, but Jia Fei remained unmoved.

Edwards suddenly dribbles the ball and starts his breakthrough!

Jia Fei moved, quickly and swiftly moving sideways to block Edwards!

Edwards was unable to shake off Jia Fei and made an in-out crossover to his left, but he was clearly not as skilled with his left hand as he was with his right!

In that instant, Jia Fei made his move, swiftly and decisively stealing the ball from Edwards's hand!

Jia Fei got the ball, which angered Edwards, who then committed a foul in his attempt to steal it back!

"Wow, Jia Fei's steal was absolutely brilliant!" Wang Meng grinned like Thomas.

Jia Fei tossed the ball to the referee without any particular expression.

"Hey, you fouled just now!" Edwards shouted at Jia Fei.

"Hehe!" Jia Fei was too lazy to pay attention to him. This was just like a pickup basketball court. If you get blocked, you say it's a foul. If you get the ball stolen, you say it's a foul. If you get shot in the face, you say it's a traveling violation. This is just a clear case of being a sore loser!

Cheers erupted immediately, and chants of "MVP" followed. There was no way around it; Jia Fei truly was the MVP. Of all the players on the court, he was the only MVP, so it was obvious the fans were chanting for him.

Edwards was very unhappy, but he envied being called MVP. He wanted to be MVP too; he dreamed about it constantly.

The Clippers are on offense. Jia Fei brings the ball over and faces Beverley's relentless attacks.

Coach Finch started Beverley specifically to target Jia Fei. Russell's defense is abysmal; sending him to guard Jia Fei would be tantamount to suicide. Edwards is the team's future and the core of their perimeter offense; he might want to guard Jia Fei, but the team won't allow it.

Russell, whose defense was terrible, was assigned to guard Hart, who didn't have much offensive involvement.

The Timberwolves' defensive strategy was to have Beverley relentlessly guard Jia Fei, while the fast, tall, and long-armed Vanderbilt was ready to help defend at any time. These two defensive stalwarts were a package deal for Jia Fei.

Beverley's defense was extremely aggressive, relentlessly using his body. Despite his short stature, he focused on his lower body, disrupting Jia Fei's dribbling and employing every possible tactic.

But Jia Fei still managed to dribble the ball steadily across half-court.

Harten came up to set a screen, and Beverley quickly squeezed through the screen!

Jia Fei passed the ball to Hart, then went to the low post to ask for the ball.

Beverly frantically circled around, while Jia Fei pointed upwards!

After Hart gave the order, he tossed the ball high into the air!

Jia Fei used his height and wingspan advantage to get the ball in the air!

But just then, Vanderbilt's help defense arrived!

While still in the air, Jia Feiren had already passed the ball...

The ball was passed to Grant, who was unmarked!

Grant catches the ball and dunks it with one hand!

The Clippers scored first!