NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 233 The Future Is Yours

The Philips Arena was packed to capacity on the evening of the 25th.

No wonder the fans are so enthusiastic; the Hawks last reached the conference finals in the 1969-70 season. None of the current players on that team were even born back then…

The fans here crave the Conference Finals, the NBA Finals, and of course, the championship. Before this, few believed this team could make it this far this season. After their star center, Al Horford, was sidelined for the season, many fans even prepared for the team to miss the playoffs altogether. Who would have thought that, led by Jia Fei, this team would storm into the playoffs as the 5th seed in the East, upset the Bulls in the first round, and then swept the top-seeded Pacers in the second round, making one wonder if the sky's the limit for them? Their decisive victory over the defending champion Heat in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals has inflated the Hawks' egos. They're no longer satisfied with just reaching the Conference Finals; they're already dreaming of the NBA Finals…

However, Jia Fei knew that perhaps their ceiling for this season had been reached. The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven series, completely different from the single-game format of the NCAA's March Madness, and also different from the single-game elimination rounds of tournaments like the Olympics. Single-game series have an element of chance, while series are more likely to be won by the stronger team.

That's the biggest difference!

In Game 1, the Hawks could rely on surprise attacks and a hot shooting performance from the whole team to defeat the Heat. However, as the series progressed, when their shooting returned to normal, when opponents started targeting their key players, and when opponents began to dominate on both ends of the court, the gap became apparent.

In this game, the Hawks made their first lineup change since the start of the playoffs!

Antić is replaced in the starting lineup, and Scott is replaced in the starting lineup.

The Hawks have also started playing a "one big, four small" lineup. Unlike the Heat's "big one," Bosh, who is 211cm tall, the Hawks' "big one," Mills, is only 203cm tall.

After the game started, the Heat double-teamed the ball handler as they did in the previous game, focusing more on the strong side and leaving the weak side open.

Jia Fei has improved since the last game. He still can't accurately find his teammates on the weak side, but he is more composed when facing double teams and has made fewer mistakes.

Scott started, and the Hawks still used a five-outside lineup. However, the Heat's rotation was too fast, and they rarely had any truly open looks. This team lacked a true second scoring option and couldn't break through the Heat's double-team defense.

Teague was unable to punish the opponent despite being surrounded by screens, and Scott, who started the game, had a poor response from the outside and was unable to punish the opponent's open shots on the weak side.

The lineup change failed to produce the desired offensive results, while the Hawks' defense was extremely passive. Without a center, James and Wade relentlessly attacked the basket, linking up with outside shooters, forcing the Hawks to constantly face the painful choice of "choosing between two poisons."

The Hawks' offense and defense collapsed, resulting in another crushing defeat.

This loss brings the series score to 1-2, and the Hawks have relinquished their home-court advantage. But that's not the worst part; the worst part is their passive performance on the court. After changing their strategy, they were completely overwhelmed – it was a truly devastating blow.

On May 27th, Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Hawks made another lineup change, this time with Art Mayork starting.

This is Art Mayork's first playoff start, which is of special significance to him.

Art Mayork started and ran pick-and-rolls with Jia Fei, but the opposing team relentlessly double-teamed Jia Fei. When Jia Fei passed him the ball, his ability to handle situations with multiple defenders was limited. He also lacked a consistent long-range shot, and his drives to the basket were easily disrupted by help defense, making his efforts ineffective.

However, after Art Mayok entered the starting lineup, the starters became more impactful in terms of rebounding and presence in the paint. Although the Hawks still lost this game, at least they didn't suffer a crushing defeat.

After three consecutive losses, the Hawks are now down 1-3 in the series, with only one game left before they are eliminated.

Frustration spread within the team, and Jia Fei didn't know how to comfort his teammates. He still couldn't truly handle the double-teaming problem.

On May 29th, Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Hawks fought hard until the very end, but ultimately couldn't overcome the experienced Heat and were swept by their opponents...

The moment the final whistle blew, Jia Fei suddenly realized that his season was completely over...

There were no tears, no resentment. Jia Fei felt that his personal ability was not yet up to par... The team's lineup was one aspect, but he himself was indeed not yet capable of leading the team to a championship.

It's over, it's all over.

"Jia, don't be sad, we'll come again next year!" Art Mayor took the initiative to hug Jia Fei, afraid that his good buddy was in a bad mood.

"Yes, we'll come again next year!" Jia Fei said confidently.

Just as Jia Fei was about to leave, a strong man wearing a size 6 shirt and walking with his toes slightly turned out walked towards him. The man had a smile on his face, but you couldn't sense any smugness; he seemed to be friendly.

"Jia Fei!" This man is from the variety show "Running Man." If they had lost the game, he'd probably be in the players' tunnel by now...

Jia Fei had to save face, even though he didn't like this worldly and pragmatic man.

"Congratulations!" Jia Fei forced a smile.

The two shook hands, and the Running Man member acted like an old friend of Jia Fei, showing him concern and warmth. Before parting, he didn't forget to say, "Young man, the future is yours!"

Jia Fei almost vomited blood. Damn, why did those words sound so familiar? Wasn't that what the No. 21 rookie said when he swept this guy back then? Good heavens, this guy actually said something like that to him 7 years later. Isn't that hilarious?

"The future is yours before mine," who would believe that? Dumbass is a cunning fellow; he actually told such a lie to fool that shrewd Ah-Tan. And now, he's using it to fool other young people…

"Thank you!" Jia Fei said, then turned and left. In his mind, he was already cursing. "The future is yours"—only a fool would believe such nonsense!

When he said that, he was 31 years old. Damn, seven years have passed, and he's still a starter. Moreover, judging from his past career trajectory, his team will crush the Heat, the team that runs the Running Man show.

As for Running Man, Jia Fei was 39 years old in his previous life and was still playing the windmill game, averaging 25 points per game like it was nothing. Who will be the future of Running Man?

Those old geezers are all wicked! It's not that old people have become bad, it's that bad people have grown old…

"Jay, what did LeBron just say to you?" Art Mayork asked with concern.

“He told me, ‘The future is yours!’” Jia Fei said with a wry smile.

"Looks like LeBron has a good eye!" Art Mayork, of course, didn't understand the specific meaning behind those words.