NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 600 The Essence of Human Creep

Jia Fei, sitting on the bench, was also very excited. He and Kyle Anderson rarely played together. He was a starter while Anderson was a substitute, and he didn't bring the second unit, so their playing time was basically staggered. If Gallinari hadn't been injured during the game, they might never have had such a wonderful display of teamwork.

This made him imagine the scene of the two of them playing together on the Chinese men's basketball team. In the previous Men's Basketball World Cup, he was double-teamed, and as a result, the Chinese men's basketball team did not have a second person who could control the ball in such games. If Kyle Anderson had been there at that time, the outcome might have been completely different.

Kyle Anderson, nicknamed "the human essence of crawling," is a tall, versatile forward who can play both the 3 and 4 positions. He possesses excellent ball-handling skills, capable of attacking with the ball and initiating pick-and-rolls. In transition, he can pass the ball to teammates on the fast break and finish with the ball himself. Although his movements are very slow, almost like he's on deceleration, his finishing efficiency is quite high.

Defensively, he can switch onto smaller players, post up against average-sized big men, and keep his center of gravity low, performing well in both one-on-one and help defense. He has a high steal rate and good shot-blocking ability, making him a versatile defender and a better defender than Gallinari.

His weaknesses are also obvious, namely a lack of shooting ability. It's not that he can't shoot threes, but he's not very accurate, and his release is too slow. His shooting form is also strange, making it hard to believe that he has the ability to become an elite shooter.

As a role player, lacking a consistent shooting ability is a significant disadvantage in today's league, which is why the Spurs were willing to trade him. If he could develop above-average shooting ability, he would have the potential to become a versatile forward like Iguodala or Odom. Such versatile role players often become valuable pieces in a championship puzzle.

As for expecting him to become a star player, that's unrealistic. With the right skill points, he's unlikely to become a star player. He's too slow and doesn't have any offensive specialties, making it difficult for him to carry the team's offense.

The timeout is over and the game continues.

Mitchell opted for a one-on-one attack against Dillon, but his shot missed!

Gobert grabbed the offensive rebound and drew a foul from Olynyk!

Gobert made one of two free throws, and Kyle Anderson grabbed the defensive rebound.

Jia Fei signaled to Kyle Anderson to move forward, which gave the latter confidence.

Kyle Anderson dribbled the ball up the court, while Jia Fei moved off the ball, leaving the Jazz unsure whether to double-team or not.

Double-teaming without the ball is a major no-no, because it naturally creates a numerical advantage for the opponent. Given the abilities of NBA players, in such a situation, they are highly likely to be beaten.

Why do double teams always choose to double team when the ball is in possession? Because this tests the opponent's passing and receiving skills. Even if the opponent passes the ball smoothly, you can still use rotations to cover for them, or even leave open players who are not good at shooting.

Jia Fei attracted a lot of defensive attention, while Kyle Anderson assisted Beverley, who cut to the basket and scored 2 points!

60-55, the Clippers lead by 5 point!

"Kyle Anderson made a really good pass!" Wang Zixing exclaimed in the Tencent studio.

“Yes!” Su Qun nodded. “Jia Fei attracted a lot of defensive resources. During that offensive play just now, he was just like Curry in the Warriors’ offensive system, moving off the ball, attracting defensive attention, and creating opportunities for his teammates!”

Jazz offense, Bojan drives hard to Kyle Anderson, but is blocked by the latter!

Jia Fei received the ball and launched a counter-attack, passing it to Beverley who was making a quick run down the field!

But Beverley's layup was blocked by Mitchell!

But Kyle Anderson grabbed the offensive rebound and passed it to Jia Fei at the top of the arc!

Jia Fei calmly faked out Royce O'Neal after receiving the ball and calmly shot a three-pointer... The ball went in smoothly!

63:55, the score difference has reached 8 points!

Jia Fei also exclaimed that Kyle Anderson's nickname is "the essence of human crawling", but it turns out that he is actually not slow when running without the ball. So why is he so slow when he does the Euro step or goes for a layup?

Sometimes it's really hard to understand, yet all of this is precisely what truly exists.

Coach Snyder on the sidelines looked somewhat helpless. He hadn't expected the Clippers to bring in Kyle Anderson, which actually broke their strategy of double-teaming Jia Fei. Their first-half strategy had been executed perfectly, but the result wasn't what they hoped for. Of course, the game wasn't over yet; they still had a chance!

The game continued, and Gobert received the ball under the basket and tried to force his way past Olynyk, but his hook shot still missed!

His hands were so hard, like a baguette that had been sitting out for a week; they could practically break your teeth.

Kyle Anderson grabbed the defensive rebound and dribbled the ball up the court!

Jia Fei suddenly made a ghostly slicing motion, then pointed his finger!

Kyle Anderson made a decisive pass, and Jia Fei received the ball, switched hands in mid-air, and scored!

65:55, the score difference has reached 10 points, the game is starting to feel like it's going to be over!

The Jazz called another timeout. Coach Snyder knew that if he didn't call a timeout soon, it might be pointless to leave it until the fourth quarter. The opponent's offense was flowing smoothly, while his own offense was repeatedly thwarted.

Of course, you can't blame the players; they've already tried their best. Sometimes it's not a matter of teamwork, but a matter of ability. Can you say Gobert didn't try hard enough on offense? He did try his best, but his skills are rough, and he's worlds apart from Jokic—that's something he can't change. A baguette can't be turned into a soft, long loaf of bread; that's basically common sense.

Kyle Anderson received a warm welcome from the coaches and players when he left the court; everyone went up to give him high-fives, which made him very happy.

Coach Budenholzer also felt that after Paul George's injury, the team's starting lineup only had Jia Fei as a reliable ball-handler, which led to Jia Fei frequently being double-teamed by the opponent. Furthermore, Jia Fei's passes after being double-teamed couldn't directly translate into assists, a major reason why the team couldn't pull away in this match. Previously, they wanted to utilize Olynyk's ball-handling ability, but his individual attacking skills are still limited. He can create opportunities, but he lacks the ability to attack with the ball, so the opponent easily broke through his marking.

After the timeout, the Jazz began to target Kyle Anderson, leaving him open for shooting, paying attention to his connection with Jabeur, and trying to cut off his passing lanes.

The Clippers' strategy was to have Jia Fei handle the ball and have Kyle Anderson act as a setter, similar to Draymond Green's role on the Warriors, to handle localized power play.

As a result, the Clippers' offense remained fluid, and the game was completely controlled by the Clippers.

The Jazz tried to let Mitchell take over the game with the ball, but after Dillon committed four fouls, Jia Fei took over Mitchell himself, completely extinguishing the Jazz's hopes of a comeback.