NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 273 Many Grudges

“There are many Chinese fans here. Jia Fei, what would you like to say to them?” Zhou Ling’an continued to ask.

"I hope everyone enjoys the game and continues to support me. I won't let you down!" Jia Fei smiled slightly. Had he already won the trust of Chinese fans? Of course, otherwise why would they come here to support him?

The Clippers players were also practicing before the game. 58's perky butt was still as eye-catching as ever. It is said that a point guard with a perky butt is like having a high-powered motor, such as 58, such as Ma Zhengwei, such as Big Beard Davis, and such as Little Isaiah Thomas.

Blake Griffin, still as goofy as ever, showed off a between-the-legs dunk over an empty basket. DeAndre Jordan, who looks a lot like Liu Bei from the new Three Kingdoms, spun a windmill dunk. Barnes, hunched over, looked like a drug addict with poor health. JJ Redick, on the other hand, looked perfectly normal; you'd almost mistake him for a dog. Turkoglu was also practicing his shooting; had he not retired yet?

This game was broadcast live on TNT, with the commentary team consisting of the outspoken duo Barkley and Kenny Smith. Before the game even started, the two began warming up the crowd.

"Charles, do you predict the Hawks will achieve an 11-game winning streak?" Kenny Smith asked.

Barkley shook his head vigorously: "That's impossible. The Clippers are not like those bottom-feeder teams. I don't think Coach Doc Rivers' team would make such a mistake and let a player like Jia Fei score 45 points!"

Kenny Smith looked at Barkley with surprise, as if to say, "You mean Coach Rivers? Are you serious?"

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced. The Clippers' starting lineup, playing at home, consists of 58, Redick, Matt Barnes, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan.

The Hawks' starting lineup has remained unchanged.

After a cool entrance ceremony, the starting lineups of both teams took to the field, and the match was about to begin.

Taylor Swift was sitting on the sidelines when she saw Jia Fei and greeted him warmly: "Hi, Jia, I'm here!"

Jia Fei saw her too, walked up to her and smiled, but unexpectedly she gave him a warm hug!

The photographers on site were no pushovers; they were constantly snapping photos.

Jia Fei was speechless. American girls are really too enthusiastic and open. She hugged a guy she didn't know very well in front of everyone. This would be a very rare thing to happen in China.

As Sha Fen watched Jia Fei and Taylor Swift embrace, a spark of jealousy flickered in his eyes. He would never forget the time Jia Fei had insulted him before. He would never forget such things. Time may fly by, but his memory had not faded.

Not only Shafen, but 58 and Reddick also disliked Jia Fei. They had also been criticized by him, and those damn memories came back, making them feel like it all happened just yesterday.

The fans in the arena screamed continuously. The outcome of this game wasn't actually that important. The two teams were in different halves of the bracket and had no prior playoff rivalry. If they were to meet in the playoffs this season, it would only be in the Finals. But for these two teams to meet in the Finals was a feat comparable to Durant drinking Black Widow's bathwater, Howard learning Hakeem Olajuwon's footwork, Curry mastering his dunking skills, the Running Man no longer traveling, Kobe taking single-digit shots in a game, and Harden studying at home every night.

Jia Fei doesn't have Sharingan or Byakugan, but he can keenly sense the hostility from the opposing team's players. He just smiles slightly and says, "It doesn't matter if you're hostile towards me. The stronger the better. The more anger points I have after the game, the more points I'll get. Come on, eonbaby!"

Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, dressed in a sharp suit and looking very serious, appeared to be a man with an endless supply of tactics on his mind. But those who know him well know that what he has in his mind is not tactics, but rather thick motivational speeches.

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

The jump ball began, and DeAndre Jordan jumped with all his might. In the contest with Al Horford, the two were simply not on the same level when it came to jumping reach.

The Clippers gained possession on their first possession, and Chris Paul dribbled the ball across half-court.

The Clippers' offensive tactics revolve around Paul initiating pick-and-rolls, either with Blake Griffin or DeAndre Jordan, basically all sorts of pick-and-rolls.

Blake Griffin sometimes tries to post up, while DeAndre Jordan is all about easy baskets; he has almost no offensive ability outside of that. As for JJ Redick and Barnes, they are pure off-ball players; they rarely handle the ball and only take shots when they have the opportunity.

Paul and Blake Griffin executed a pick-and-roll, with Griffin driving to the basket, but he was contained by multiple Hawks defenders, allowing Horford to grab the rebound.

Teague dribbled over and passed the ball to Jia Fei.

Jia Fei faced Ba Ye's defense, but managed to grab the ball and pass it to Korver, who had circled out off the ball.

Korver received the ball and attempted a three-pointer, but missed!

The Clippers also looked for Redick's off-ball three-pointers, but they missed!

Both sides started by trying to find their respective marksmen, hoping to open up the game with 3 points.

Many teams will look for shooters at the start of the game. Once the shooters get going, the offensive space opens up, and the subsequent tactics will be implemented more smoothly.

—This is the unique tactical value of a striker to the team!

Whether it's Korver or Redick, they are more tactically significant to the team than perimeter players who can only shoot spot-up or are particularly accurate from a single spot. First, they have more than one sweet spot; second, they can receive the ball and shoot while moving, requiring less specific shooting conditions; and third, they can use off-ball movement to stretch the opponent's defense, enriching the team's offensive tactics.

Tonight, the two top strikers will face off, and whoever performs better will, to some extent, even determine the outcome of the match.

After a screen and pick-and-roll, Blake Griffin drove past Mike Dwight Howard, leaned against him, and drew a foul.

Blake Griffin looks strong and tough, but when it comes to drawing fouls, he's one of the best interior players in the entire league.

Sure enough, less than three minutes into the game, Griffin has already taken four free throws. The officiating is tight tonight, and there's a hint of home-court advantage, which is giving him a real treat for picking up money at the free-throw line!

Shabazz can score by faking a foul, and Milwaukee can't stop him, but he can't stop Milwaukee either.

Milwaukee struggles against tall, fast-moving big men, but he's an expert against shorter, shorter, and weaker big men like Blake Griffin. He repeatedly uses his face-up skills to drive to the basket, taking advantage of timing and footwork to exploit Griffin's weaknesses.

DeAndre Jordan tried to protect the rim, but Al Horford pulled him out of position. The Hawks' five-outside positioning is particularly effective against teams with defensive-minded centers.

Jia Fei's offensive desire wasn't very strong at the start; he kept setting up his teammates, resulting in a "power forward duel" between Milwaukee and Griffin.