NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 178 Short Fragrance 58

The Clippers assigned small forward Dudley to defend Jia Fei.

Dudley is a 3-and-D forward, but while he's considered a 3, his D role is more of a stretch. However, the Clippers' starting budget is mostly allocated to the point guard and two big men, leaving insufficient funds for the wing positions, making it impossible to acquire a player who excels on both offense and defense.

The Clippers had previously tried to acquire Jia Fei, but their offer was far less attractive than the Hawks', so they had to give up.

After a series of passes, Teague missed his jump shot!

DeAndre Jordan easily secured the rebound.

DeAndre Jordan's physical attributes as a center are truly exceptional. From his physique to his athleticism, it's hard not to like him. This was the main reason he was invited to the green room during the draft, but unfortunately, he ultimately fell to the second round.

But aside from his physique and athleticism, his offensive ability as a center is truly terrible. He has almost no ability to create his own offense, relying entirely on easy baskets, and is completely threatening outside the paint. He lacks ball-handling skills and cannot participate in many plays. On the defensive end, his switching is inflexible, he is prone to fouls, and his defense relies more on natural talent.

However, a center like DeAndre Jordan would also have good value alongside Paul, because he's really good at finishing easy baskets.

The city of lobbies isn't called that for nothing; it's truly a result of its hard work and dedication!

Jia Fei was assigned to defend Willie Green, not Dudley.

Willie Green later became the head coach of the Pelicans. Jia Fei remembers that he was also a teammate of Allen Iverson on the Philadelphia 76ers. At the time, he thought that Iverson was about to be out of the game, but he found a job with the Clippers.

Paul and Griffin run a pick-and-roll, and Griffin immediately cuts to the basket after setting the screen!

Paul tossed the ball into the air...

Griffin leaped high, attempting to dunk over Middleton!

But the spike missed, and the referee blew his whistle – Miguel fouled!

Mi Shen felt wronged and appealed to the referee that he had not committed a foul!

Griffin scoffed: "If that's not a foul, then there's no point in fighting for the rebounds!"

Jia Fei couldn't help but retort: ​​"Could you please not use your supporting hand to press down on the defender next time you dunk over someone?"

"Are you teaching me how to play basketball?" Griffin laughed. He didn't expect that Jia Fei, a second-round pick, would be teaching him, the number one pick, how to play basketball. Don't think that just because you're being hyped up on a weak team, you've forgotten who you are. In the Thunder, you're just a substitute!

"I can't teach you, your arms are too short, there are some moves I can't teach you..." Jia Fei said seriously.

Griffin: "..." He was speechless! His short arms were his eternal weakness. He could jump so high, so why was he always bullied by the Black and White Bears? Because their arms were longer and stronger than his, blocking him and preventing him from jumping. The reason he liked to hold down his opponents when dunking was also because of his short arms; he needed to prevent them from interfering with him with their arms.

The referee warned Jia Fei to stop arguing, as Griffin was about to take a free throw!

Perhaps influenced by Jia Fei's words, Griffin, who usually has a decent free throw percentage, missed both of his attempts...

Miguel held onto the backboard tightly and passed the ball to Teague.

Commentator Mike Brin chuckled, "It seems Blake was influenced by Jia Fei's words; I think his free throw rhythm is off!"

Van Gundy agreed: "I heard that Jia Fei is very good at trash talk, and Josh has been affected by his trash talk and has lost his form for almost two weeks."

Teague dribbled the ball up the court and passed it to Horford in the high post.

Jia Fei circled out to the weak side and handed Horford his hand.

Jia Fei received the ball and drove inside. Facing DeAndre Jordan guarding the paint, he stopped abruptly and took a mid-range shot, which went in smoothly!

The Hawks scored first!

Hawks fans in the stands cheered excitedly. Attentive observers would have noticed that since the beginning of the season, there has been an increasing number of fans wearing the home team's number 3 jersey at Philips Arena.

More and more Hawks fans are starting to like Jia Fei, and his popularity in the city is constantly rising.

Paul dribbled over, used a screen, and took a mid-range shot, which went in smoothly, answering Paul's call.

Since his injury, Paul has stopped attacking the basket like he did with the Hornets, and his most consistent scoring method has become the mid-range shot. It's hard to imagine that a 183cm player could have such a consistent mid-range game in the NBA; it's truly remarkable.

Jia Fei followed the same prescription, and after a pick-and-roll with Horford, he didn't delay in protecting the rim against DeAndre Jordan, and made another mid-range shot!

Clippers offense: Griffin posts up against Mills in the low post and passes to Willie Green on the perimeter!

Willie Green's three-point attempt missed!

DeAndre Jordan grabbed the offensive rebound, but Dudley made a mistake when passing to the outside!

Korver intercepted the ball and passed it to Jia Fei, who was making a quick run down the court!

Amidst the screams of the fans, Jia Fei surged ahead, holding the ball in one hand and unleashing a spectacular dunk!

2:6, Jia Fei scored 6 points in a row at the start, and was in very hot form.

Old Li on the sidelines appeared very calm, giving the impression of being "confident and prepared." But whether he had no contingency plan or was genuinely confident, that remains to be seen.

"Bang—Jia Fei dunks and scores 6 points in a row. He's on fire and unstoppable!" Mike Breen's passionate commentary showcased the charisma of ESPN's chief commentator.

Paul dribbled over and directed traffic at the top of the key.

Griffin sets a screen, Paul brings the ball over and passes to Griffin on the cut.

Griffin drove in and passed to Dudley in the corner.

Dudley took a three-pointer—but missed!

After Jia Fei secured the rebound, he launched a counterattack and passed the ball to Korver on the right wing!

Korver slammed on a three-pointer, but it was just a little short!

Dudley closed the gap, then passed to Griffin!

Griffin dribbled up the court, behind his back to get past Mills, and drove straight to the basket!

Jia Fei positioned himself in advance and was knocked down by Griffin...

"Beep beep beep—" The referee's whistle blew, an offensive foul!

Jia Fei lay on the ground, smiling slightly, his fists clenched.

Korver and Mills helped him up from the floor, while Griffin continued to argue with the referee.

Jia Fei ignored him and said to Mi Shen, "Don't be fooled by how flashy his dribbling is; he always goes in a straight line, so just stand directly in front of him!"

Griffin naturally heard this and glared at Jia Fei, but Jia Fei completely ignored him, which drove him crazy.

Paul restrained Griffin; he was experienced and worried that Griffin might resort to violence, which would definitely put them at a disadvantage.

"Jia, you're on fire today, you're about to score 30 points!" Mi Shen said with a smile.

"I wish I could get 58 points!" Jia Fei said with longing.

"58 points!" Paul felt like he had been struck by something. The damned memory resurfaced in his mind. He felt a surge of anger towards the guy who wore the same number 3 jersey as him. He really wanted to use his powerful punches to warn the guy and shut him up!

What? 58 points? Is this ever going to end? Can't you speak properly?