NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 112 Slam Dunk Feast

Reggie passed the ball to Kevin Martin.

Kevin Martin broke through with a screen and attempted a floater, but missed!

Jia Fei leaped to grab the offensive rebound and passed it to Reggie on the outside!

Reggie received the ball and made a strong drive, but Beverley stole it!

Beverley intercepted the ball and launched a counter-attack, making a solo run all the way to the frontcourt and turning the tide 0-0!

As Beverley was deciding on his dunking style, he sensed someone catching up behind him!

Beverley prepared to dunk; he didn't want to be chased down and blocked! He gritted his teeth, took three steps, and dunked with one hand!

As a result, the person behind him suddenly moved first, with a long arm suddenly appearing from the side and knocking the ball out of his hand!

A cheer erupted...

Reggie protected the ball and gestured to the person who had blocked the shot.

Beverley turned to look at the guy who blocked his dunk, and it turned out to be a handsome face comparable to his teammate Chandler Parsons, except that this handsome face was not a Western face, but an Eastern face.

Beverly glared at the other person, but to his surprise, the other person retorted, "Looking at me won't help. You'll never be even 1/10th as handsome as me!"

Beverley was practically spitting blood. How narcissistic could someone be to say something like that! But then he thought about it again, and it didn't seem entirely unreasonable. In terms of looks, he was ugly even among Black people, let alone compared to this guy…

He knew he was ugly; he could make fun of it himself, or joke about it, but hearing it from someone else felt completely different. What was worse, the person saying it was far more handsome than him, and he couldn't compete in looks, which infuriated him. What angered him even more was that this guy had the same skin tone as his rival, Jeremy Lin, which made him even more furious.

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Yu Jia exclaimed, "Jia Fei is too fast. He just grabbed the offensive rebound and was still under the basket when he became the first player on the team to get back to defend under the basket."

Su Qun nodded and said, "I think Jia Fei's speed is the fastest for his height in the league. Watching him get back on defense feels like fast forward."

The Thunder continued their offense. Kevin Martin had the ball and, after being double-teamed, passed it to Jia Fei in the corner!

Jia Fei then divides the old fish at a 45-degree angle!

Old Fish took a three-pointer—but missed!

But it was a long backboard, and the ball bounced into Jia Fei's hands.

Jia Fei passed the ball to Reggie at the top of the arc to continue the attack!

Jia Fei moves up to set a screen!

Beverley was like a mad dog; even though Jia Fei blocked him, he still shoved Jia Fei in the waist!

Jia Fei immediately complied!

Garcia, who was defending him, couldn't keep up with his footwork!

Reggie bounced the ball and passed it to Jia Fei!

Jia Fei received the ball and cut down the middle, facing the "King of Beating the Weak" Jones, and slammed it down the middle for a powerful dunk!

Jones had tried his best, but he couldn't stop the other person from working in the air above his head.

At 15:21, Jia Fei dunked successfully, and the crowd erupted in cheers!

Yu Jia exclaimed, "Jia Fei's pick-and-roll roll was just like an inside player's. His chemistry with Reggie Jackson is really good!"

Su Qun nodded and said, "He played very smartly. When his teammates on the perimeter were not in good form, he would attack the basket. The Rockets don't have any rim protectors right now, so attacking the basket is a good offensive option."

Harden dribbled over, and after the Thunder switched their defense following the screen, he made several passes at the top of the key. Suddenly, he accelerated, got past Collison, and passed to Delfino in the corner!

Delfino's drifting three-pointer missed!

Kevin Martin collects the rebound and passes it to Reggie!

Reggie passes to Jia Fei, who is making a quick run down the court!

Jia Fei passes to Old Fish outside the three-point line on the left wing!

Old Fish received the ball and feinted, giving his opponent a fright. He then tossed the ball into the air...

Jia Fei arrived in a flash, caught the ball, and slammed it home with a two-handed back dunk! Wow—Jia Fei's consecutive dunks have given the Thunder an 8-point lead!

The Ford Center erupted in cheers...

On the sidelines, Rockets head coach Kevin McHale looked helpless. He had planned to play Harden for the entire first quarter in order to play a "Tian Ji horse racing" strategy when the opponent's Durant and Westbrook were not available, trying to catch up with the score with the second unit. Unexpectedly, the opponent scored against him instead.

With Garcia's buzzer-beating three-pointer missing, the first quarter ended. 15:23, an 8-point difference.

The Rockets, an offensively-oriented team operating under the "Moreyball" theory in the regular season, only scored 15 points in one quarter. With such low offensive efficiency, it's impossible to win.

The Thunder's offense wasn't great either, but their defense was better, completely shutting down the opponent's perimeter.

The Rockets' offense consists of three main tactics: pick-and-roll and drive-and-kick by Harden and Jeremy Lin, three-pointers or second-chance opportunities by role players, and finally, isolation plays by Harden or Lin.

When the opponent is not afraid of your isolation plays and pick-and-rolls, and when the referees are more lenient in their calls, the offensive approach based on the "Moreyball" theory is prone to problems.

Ultimately, three-pointers are inherently unpredictable, and while role players may occasionally have a breakout performance, expecting them to do so under the targeted defense of the playoffs is extremely difficult.

The playoffs depend on star players and defense. The Rockets' star players are not as good as the Thunder's, and their defense is also inferior, which puts them at a disadvantage in all aspects.

The second quarter began, and the Rockets made a personnel change, with Harden going to the bench and Lin coming in. The Thunder did not make any substitutions, and Durant and Westbrook remained on the bench.

Jeremy Lin dribbled the ball across half-court and gestured to direct traffic at the top of the arc.

Jones, the "Prince of Dominating the Weak," came up to set a screen, and the Thunder immediately chose to double-team Jeremy Lin!

Jeremy Lin passed the ball out to Jones, who received it. Jia Fei rotated to the middle to block him, while other players rotated around the court.

Jones faced Jia Fei in a one-on-one situation, leaning against his opponent and attempting to take three steps forward!

Jia Fei stole the ball when the opponent got up to make a layup and exposed the ball in his hands!

After cutting the ball away, Jia Fei used his quick hands to protect it and passed it to Reggie to advance!

Reggie advanced into the attacking third and, facing Beverley's harassment, passed the ball to Jia Fei in the high position!

Jia Fei has the ball, and Collison comes up to set a screen!

The opposing team switched defenders, and Jia Fei faced off against the "Prince of Stomping Noobs"!

The fans in the arena shouted "Hit him!" The other Thunder players immediately pulled away, letting Jia Fei go and give the "little softie prince" a good beating.

"Come on, warriors!" the little prince of crushing noobs invited.

"As you wish!" Jia Fei suddenly started moving, shifting to the left!

The "Prince of the Minions" has decent foot speed, much better than his teammates Asik and Motiejunas, which is why they dared to switch him to guard the perimeter.

Jia Fei didn't shake off his opponent in the first step. He knew his ball control wasn't quite there yet, but that didn't matter, he still had a backup plan! He held the ball in his left hand, suddenly pulled the ball across to his right hand with a crossover, then pushed off with his left foot, and "whoosh!" he got past his opponent and cut into the middle!

The "Prince of Dominating the Noobs" got beaten. The Rockets had a bunch of short guys under the basket. Veteran Garcia is over 2 meters tall, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't smell Jia Fei's armpits.

Jia Fei thrust a scalpel through the middle and slammed it in with a powerful one-handed dunk!