NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 293 Hawks vs. Wizards Second Round

The big screen at the stadium kept replaying the Hawks' exciting performance in the previous series, which made the fans' blood boil. They firmly believed that their home team could defeat the Wizards and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive season!

Get revenge on the Running Man! This has become a shared wish of Hawks fans! Last year they lost to the Heat, but the Heat didn't make the playoffs this season. However, the Running Man is still there, and the Cavaliers, where he plays, will most likely make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. What a great opportunity for revenge!

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced.

The Hawks, playing at home, still fielded the same lineup: Jia Fei, Korver, Horford, Middleton, and Teague.

The Wizards' starting lineup for the away game was Wall, Beal, Baopi, Nene, and Gortat.

The starting lineups for both sides were exactly the same as when they faced off in the regular season. Everyone was very familiar with each other, and there was already a bit of tension in the arena before the game even started.

As the starting players from both sides took to the court, both Bao Pi and Beal looked at Jia Fei with mockery and provocation. Jia Fei, on the other hand, looked at them with pity and sympathy, as if these two men had already become fish on his chopping block.

Art Mayork on the sidelines was rubbing his fists together, seemingly ready to jump in and start a fight at any moment.

Both coaches were very easygoing and serious, showing no signs of being relaxed.

Wizards head coach Randy Whitman appeared more cautious, knowing that his team was outmatched both in terms of ability and mentality.

The starting players from both sides took to the field, with Horford and Gortat preparing for the jump ball near the center circle.

The jump ball began, and the Polish Hammers were still more aggressive, slapping the ball into their own half, almost causing a mistake!

Wall dribbled the ball across half-court, with Teague on defense.

Unlike the previous game, in this game, Jia Fei was matched up against Beal from the start, instead of Bao Pi as he had done before. Bao Pi was matched up against sharpshooter Korver.

Baopi was furious. "Damn it, they look down on me! They actually let such a terrible defender guard me. It's like they don't respect my offensive ability!" He was aggressively demanding the ball, with an air of wanting to devour Korver whole.

Wall passed the ball to Bao Pi, who received it and immediately unleashed a series of offensive moves.

Korver tried his best on defense, but it wasn't good. This Hawks team has excellent individual defense and a complete defensive system. If there's one weakness in their individual defense, it's Korver.

In the past, Jia Fei was the one who guarded the opposing team's star wing scorers. However, the Wizards have not only Bao Pi but also Beal on the wing, so Korver will have to guard one of them. Compared to the young and energetic Beal, Bao Pi, although technically excellent, is ultimately an old man in his thirties. Even if he loses blood, it might not be a big loss.

Bao Pi opened the game with a jump shot, giving his team the first points. After making the shot, he kept shaking his head and muttering to himself, "They actually assigned a defensive liability to guard me. Basketball doesn't lie, I'm still me!"

The Hawks were on offense, and Bao Pi was responsible for guarding Jia Fei.

Bao Pi was making a lot of noise, and Jia Fei heard it, of course. He quickly changed his mind and started asking for the ball too.

Unlike some younger players who would relentlessly guard Jia Fei the entire game, Bao Pi didn't frantically try to front him to receive the ball. Firstly, his physical condition didn't allow him to do that, and secondly, he believed that as a star player, such aggressive defense was unbecoming of his status.

Jia Fei caught the ball with ease.

Wall, come and join the attack!

Jia Fei passed the ball to Teague.

Wall went back, and Teague passed the ball to Jia Fei again!

Jia Fei received the ball, turned and broke through with ease. His turn was so swift and smooth, like the skin of a goddess, even smoother than Dove chocolate!

Bao Pi didn't expect Jia Fei to turn around so decisively. He was already slow-paced, so how could he keep up? It was like a 2G signal encountering a 5G signal; they were not even in the same speed. It was like a dimensional reduction attack.

Jia Fei turned and drove in, facing the one-egg superman Nene guarding the basket, and made a smooth mid-range jump shot that went in easily!

2-2, both sides scored at the start!

The Hawks continued to attack Korver, while the Hawks double-teamed and rotated, eventually getting the ball to Wall.

Wall missed an open shot, then ran a pick-and-roll with Gortat, but his pass to the paint was poked out of bounds by Jia Fei, who was helping on defense...

The Hawks' defense is very clear: Wall can give you some open long-range shooting opportunities, but if you want to run pick-and-rolls with Gortat, you have to limit him.

With little time left on offense, Beal received the ball and faced Jia Fei head-on, but his strong shot was blocked!

The ball was blocked out of bounds, and the 24-second timeout indicator sounded at the same time.

The fans cheered for a while, then applause broke out, and a few shouts of "MVP" were heard.

"Don't think you can stop me just because you blocked my shot!" Bill was annoyed after being blocked and couldn't help but speak up.

“No one can stop you when it comes to your words!” Jia Fei said seriously.

The Hawks started running pick-and-rolls, and Jia Fei didn't keep going after Pierce. He had already tried that, and the opponent's strategy was to double-team him on the strong side, not giving him an easy opportunity to go one-on-one with Pierce. So he used his gravity to go to the weak side, or move around the baseline and wings more to disrupt the opponent's defense.

Baopi is getting old. He can keep up with Jia Fei running around like this, but he can't keep running like this forever. He'd probably vomit bile the whole time.

Wizards head coach Randy Whitman also saw through Jia Fei's intentions. He was furious. This guy really didn't know how to respect his elders. How old is Bao Pi? You want him to run with you? Does he think everyone in this league is a running man?

The Hawks' defensive strategy was to collapse the middle after pick-and-rolls, giving the wings some opportunities, locking down the paint to prevent Wall from accelerating to the basket and denying Gortat opportunities to attack the rim. When Nene was posting up, they would double-team him on the strong side; when Bao Pi was posting up in the paint, they would double-team him; and when he took a jump shot, they would pass him to the basket.

Bill, on the other hand, is in Jia Fei's hands!

The Hawks dared to defend like that because they had absolute confidence in their defensive rotations and Jia Fei's one-on-one defense. Of course, they showed no respect for the Wizards' shooting ability.

Go ahead and vote me out of here! Come on!

Five minutes into the first quarter, the Hawks led by two points, with the score at 10:12.

Only five minutes into the game, Bao Pi was already panting heavily. He was about to curse. Jia Fei, that little punk, was really good at running. What the hell was he running for? He should have gone to the weak side for a one-on-one duel. If he was going to die, so be it.

Wizards head coach Randy Whitman noticed that Bao Pi was struggling, so he quickly substituted Okon Porter Jr. to let the veteran rest.

“Charles, Jia Fei’s crazy off-ball movement is a challenge for the BP’s stamina!” Kenny Smith said.

Barkley scoffed, "Jia Fei is a real opportunist. He has absolutely no style like us old-school players. Someone like that can't and doesn't deserve to be a superstar; he doesn't have the aura of a superstar!"