NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 609 Jia Likes You Very Much

Lin Ning had a great spot today, on the sidelines, where she could clearly hear what the players were saying during practice. Some NBA players are particularly rude, and they often make dirty jokes, which sometimes made her blush.

Celebrities are human too. Some Hollywood stars also use foul language, which is not entirely consistent with their image on the big screen.

Lin Ning didn't realize when Kemba Walker had come to her side. She saw Jia Fei's former teammate looking at her meaningfully with a smile on his face. Her face instantly felt hot, and she didn't dare to look him in the eye.

“Hey, I have some important information to share with you…” Kemba Walker said mysteriously.

Lin Ning's curiosity intensified, but she still didn't dare to look Kemba Walker in the eye.

“Jia likes you very much!” Kemba Walker said, emphasizing each word.

Lin Ning's face flushed. A flood of images and information rushed through her mind, overwhelming her. By the time she came to her senses, Kemba Walker was already gone. This left her momentarily dazed, her eyes unfocused. She stared blankly at Jia Fei practicing his shooting not far away, lost in thought…

The Celtics lost Kyrie Irving this offseason, but although they acquired Kemba Walker, Irving has an advantage over Kemba Walker in terms of both age and individual offensive ability.

Kemba Walker's advantage is that his presence will not hinder the growth of the two young stars, while Kyrie Irving's brilliance and strong personality have added an element of instability to the team and have also affected the growth of the two young stars to some extent.

The Celtics' future lies in their young star duo, and Kyrie Irving clearly doesn't want to be the one leading them. Since he's unwilling to play a supporting role, the only option is to part ways.

Jia Fei knew that Kemba Walker's departure from the Hornets was related to the Hornets' owner and management. Jordan had lost patience with Kemba Walker; they felt that a team with a star of that caliber as its leader wouldn't have much potential. But the question is, which star do you think would want to join a team like the Hornets?

Look at those Running Man contestants, they all went to big cities to develop after leaving their hometown teams. So does Facial Paralysis, he also went to a big city. Do you think any top superstars would consider the Hornets during the offseason?

Why are you considering the Hornets? Is it because your city is small? Because your team has no history? Because the team's owner is Michael Jordan?

Jordan has been retired for quite some time now. Even if you're a fan, you don't necessarily have to go to his team. Besides, many players know very well that Jordan was extremely scathing in his insults; in his eyes, other players were trash.

So Jia Fei supports Kemba Walker leaving the Hornets. Anyway, the salary is the same no matter where he goes, so why not go to a big city? Why not go to a strong team?

The starting lineups of both teams took to the field, and Jia Fei and Kemba Walker embraced.

Horford was unable to play in this game due to injury, and German center Theis replaced him in the starting lineup.

Although Theis is only 208cm tall and not the kind of big, strong player, he plays very tough, plays aggressive defense, is willing to do the dirty work, and is fast enough to switch on defense. He is a very good role center.

The Celtics start with a standard modern small lineup. The overall roster is small, with high mobility and strong shooting, but their weaknesses are rebounding and rim protection.

This team has had a rim protection problem for the past few seasons, and even with Horford on the team, the issue persists. Horford is a well-rounded player and an excellent defender, but he's not a particularly outstanding rim protector.

Theis and Olynyk are preparing for the jump ball near the center circle; the game is about to begin.

The jump ball began, and Theis won the jump ball against Olynyk, giving the Celtics possession for the first possession.

Kemba Walker dribbles the ball across half-court.

Kemba Walker has been in great form this season. At this stage of his career, it's already a success that he's maintained his form. Expecting him to continue improving is unrealistic, as the age of young guards has a significant impact on their development.

Jia Fei's idol, Allen Iverson, is a typical example. When he was young, he used his speed to dominate the world, but as he got older, he lost his speed and could not shake off defenders. At this time, his physical disadvantage was further amplified.

Father Time is cruel; he will slowly take away your speed, explosiveness, jumping ability, and stamina, but he cannot take away your technique, awareness, height, and weight.

That's why Kareem Abdul-Jabbar could play for so long and score so many points. Many people thought he only relied on his physicality to play basketball for so long on Running Man. His shooting has consistently improved, and his passing vision is historic. Even his haters wouldn't criticize his passing ability. They might criticize his timing and choice of passes, or things like shifting blame.

Kemba Walker passed the ball to Jaylen Brown, who received it and faced Dillon.

Jaylen Brown trained under Tracy McGrady and bears some of McGrady's traits, leading many fans to jokingly call him "McGrady's disciple." Many of his offensive moves do indeed resemble McGrady's; sometimes his dribble-and-shoot is incredibly smooth and flashy. However, he lacks McGrady's height and wingspan, as well as his first-step speed. In short, he seems inferior to McGrady in almost every aspect.

Many people misunderstand McGrady, considering his failure to lead his team to the second round of the playoffs a blemish. But the comparison is crucial. He's often compared to Kobe and Iverson, and not being as good as those two isn't shameful. However, compared to Jaylen Brown, he's far superior. At least currently, Jaylen Brown is significantly inferior to McGrady at the same stage of his career.

Jaylen Brown had a tough time against Dillon, who was physically strong and extremely aggressive on defense.

Jaylen Brown's ball-handling offense relies too much on his right hand, which makes his offense more predictable. He also doesn't have McGrady's first step and pull-up jumper height, so his jump shot success rate is a problem if he can't create space on offense.

Unable to continue, Jaylen Brown passed the ball back to Kemba Walker.

Kemba Walker was surrounded by Beverley and forced a three-point attempt with the help of a screen—but missed!

Jia Fei grabbed the rebound and brought the ball over.

Jia Fei passed the ball to Kyle Anderson and then ran off the ball himself.

Defending Jia Fei was Marcus Smart, known as "Smart Guy".

Although Smart is only 193cm tall, he is incredibly strong and an excellent defender, serving as the team's core perimeter defender. Not only is his defense outstanding, but his ability to flop is also exceptional, surpassing even the likes of "Running Man" and "Manu Ginobili." Perhaps only the legendary Cavaliers player, "The Actor" Varejao, could rival him.

He's clearly a muscular guy, yet he's a disciple of the "Eighteen Falling Techniques," which feels strangely incongruous...