NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 610 Clippers vs. Celtics

After Gallinari's injury, the Clippers made good use of Kyle Anderson, and the results were excellent. Anderson showcased his versatility in the starting lineup, and his playmaking and defense greatly benefited the team.

For the Clippers, Jia Fei drew the defense's attention, and Beverley received a pass from Kyle Anderson and got an open shot, but his three-point attempt missed!

Tatum grabbed the rebound in the backcourt and attempted a fast break, but Jia Fei caught up and stole the ball!

Amid cheers from the fans, Jia Fei dribbled the ball on a fast break, but his three-point attempt from the corner by Olynyk missed!

However, on the Celtics' side, Jalen Breen's pull-up mid-range jumper also missed!

Neither side had a good start, and they made a series of mistakes and missed shots.

Although the Celtics lack a tall interior player and rim protection is their weak point, the lineup built by their young coach has a defensive system. The biggest difference between having a defensive system and not having one is that it can cover up weaknesses as much as possible and make it difficult for the opponent to execute their plays.

What teams with defensive weaknesses fear most isn't teamwork, but the relentless, aggressive play of their superstars. The Hawks were so dominant in the playoffs back then, but they were ultimately crushed by Kyrie Irving's relentless isolation plays combined with three-pointers. The Spurs, also at the pinnacle of team basketball, were once defeated by the Grizzlies' peak "Grit and Grind" duo and the Thunder's dynamic duo.

Therefore, the strongest team isn't necessarily one that plays a team-oriented system, nor is it necessarily one that relies solely on superstars. Rather, it's a team that can combine both. For most of the regular season, they can reliably dominate weaker teams with their system, and when facing tough opponents, their superstars step up to take over. This minimizes the strain on their superstars, reduces the probability of injuries, and helps them conserve energy.

In the playoffs, superstars will step up and take over.

The Clippers operate on this model. Although Jia Fei's stats look explosive, leading many to believe he's overworked, the reality is that while his regular season attendance rate was high over the past two seasons, his average playing time was actually quite low, not even ranking among the league's best. His usage rate wasn't among the highest in the league either.

Coach Budenholzer knows how to reduce Jia Fei's workload. In the regular season, Jia Fei rarely plays more than 40 minutes unless there's overtime. If it weren't for injuries to Paul George and Gallinari, Jia Fei's playing time wouldn't have increased.

On the Celtics' possession, Tatum drove hard past Kyle Anderson and drew a foul!

Tatum will go to the free-throw line.

"Jason is going to be the second Kobe. I've never heard of young people wanting to be the second Jia Fei. It's clear that young people don't respect Jia Fei. They feel they can't learn any skills from him!" Barkley said in a serious tone, spouting nonsense.

"That's because you think Kobe's already retired, while Jia Fei is only 27. Many of the young people you call 'youngsters' aren't much younger than him, so naturally they wouldn't idolize him. You said the same thing about LeBron before, but he has a lot of young fans too." Kenny Smith didn't forget to take a jab at his partner, feeling that his teammate was going further and further down the path of criticizing Jia Fei…

Tatum made both free throws, and the Celtics scored first, 2-0!

Jayson Tatum is also a disciple of Kobe Bryant, and his moves are modeled after Kobe Bryant. However, objectively speaking, his physical condition and playing style are not suitable for learning from Kobe. He would be better suited to learning from the likes of Kevin Durant and Steve Nash. He is too tall, lacks Kobe's first-step speed, and his physical attributes are not top-tier. His running and jumping abilities are nowhere near those of the freakish wing players, and he is even inferior to Jaylen Brown, another third overall pick on the team.

Tall forwards need to be able to get past defenders one-on-one at the top of the key unless they can do a double crossover like Durant, a pull-up jumper like McGrady, or use pick-and-rolls to cut and pass/score like a fast-paced player. Otherwise, it's very difficult to shake off defenders. Unless they develop a low-post offense, which Tatum clearly doesn't have right now.

Tatum is a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. His shooting form is strange, almost disjointed. Fortunately, his accuracy is decent, unlike some other players with terrible shooting forms like Ball, Marion, and McGee, whose accuracy is abysmal.

On the defensive end, he can guard multiple positions and is not at a disadvantage in speed and physical confrontation, demonstrating his all-around ability.

It may be hard to accept at times, but the fact is that Tatum has the potential to be an excellent second option, but he's being groomed to be the primary star by the Celtics.

It can't be considered forcing growth; the young marshal isn't stupid, and the training method is not problematic.

Players from the Mamba Mentality share a common trait: they believe they are the best and will never be second to anyone, even if that person is better than them. This is true for Black Snake, Kyrie Irving, and Jayson Tatum is pretty much the same.

Beverley dribbled over, Jia Fei positioned himself with his back to the basket and called for the ball, Beverley passed the ball over, but the clever Gosmart intercepted it from in front of him!

Beverley's ability to pass the ball to star players is truly crude.

The Celtics stole the ball and launched a fast break. Jaylen Brown drove hard to the basket, drawing a foul from Dillon.

Jeff Brown also made both free throws, giving the Celtics a 4-0 lead!

Beverley brought the ball over and passed it to Jia Fei.

The Smart Center kept a low profile and occasionally reached out to interfere.

Olynyk came over to screen, Jia Fei dribbled the ball to the right side, the opponent switched defense, he made a double crossover and broke through, but encountered help defense!

Jia Fei passed the ball to Dillon in the corner, but Dillon's jump shot still missed!

However, Jia Fei grabbed the offensive rebound, but his strong layup attempt was disrupted and missed! He then put it back in and finally scored!

4-2, the Clippers finally scored!

The Celtics are on offense. Jeff Brown is one-on-one with Dillon and hits a step-back jumper, making it 6-2!

Clippers offense, Jia Fei has the ball on the right wing, passes to Kyle Anderson!

Then came a "Giveandgo" move, a sudden inward cut!

Kyle Anderson immediately puts the ball on!

Jia Fei received the ball, took a step to dodge, jumped again, switched hands in mid-air, dodged Theis's block, and made a jelly-like layup!

6-4, that was a beautiful shot, eliciting cheers from the crowd.

"The league is too soft now. Back in our day, we would definitely force a dunk on that kind of shot, not dodge and weave like Jia Fei did." Barkley said with a serious expression.

“Charles, but I’ve seen MJ score a lot of goals with pull-up moves and hand switches! Don’t talk nonsense!” Kenny Smith immediately pointed out.

"I'm not making this up. MJ is MJ, he doesn't represent our generation!" Barkley said, sounding quite convincing.

Kenny Smith: "..."

The Celtics were on offense. Tatum broke through and passed to Smart in the corner, but Jia Fei intercepted the ball!