NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 153 looks delicious right now.

Lowry lobbed the ball to Terrence Ross.

Terrence Ross, with the ball in his hands, faced Korver and chose to force his way through!

Korver was weak in physical confrontations, but Terrence Ross was also thin, so he wasn't able to gain much of an advantage!

In his haste, he slightly tightened his arm, and Korver, who was defending him, fell backward like a kite with a broken string...

"Beep beep beep—" The referee's whistle blew—Offensive foul!

Terrence Ross could hardly believe his eyes. Korver had been quite strong when he was close to him, and the guy looked to be at least 200 pounds! So why did he fall over as soon as he was touched?

"I didn't foul him, he flopped!" Terrence Ross argued with the referee.

"You made a move with your elbow!" the referee declared. Didn't he realize Korver was faking it? But then again, if you don't use your elbow to clear a path, his fake fall won't work. You only have yourself to blame for giving him the opportunity to act.

There is an old Chinese saying, "Don't tie your shoes in a melon patch, and don't adjust your hat under a plum tree." This means that you shouldn't tie your shoelaces in a melon patch or adjust your hat in a plum orchard, as it can easily lead to misunderstandings, and you'll be unable to defend yourself later.

Jia Fei and Teague had already pulled Korver up from the floor.

"Kyle, you defended brilliantly!" Teague said.

Korver humbly replied, "I still need to work harder!"

The Hawks were on offense. Terrence Ross was guarding Jia Fei, and he frowned and said, "You're not getting a single point from me!"

Jia Fei was stunned. This guy was really arrogant. Scoring 1 point against you? Even a top perimeter defender like Kobe wouldn't dare to say that! With your defense, how much better is it than Korver?

Jia Fei positioned himself at the baseline, and Teague passed the ball to Korver on the weak side!

Jia Fei scooped out from the bottom corner to receive the ball!

Korver passed the ball to him! He received the ball and chose to drive to the basket!

Terrence Ross was fast enough not to be left behind!

Jia Fei relied on the opponent's drive to force his way to the basket, drawing a foul from the latter!

Terrence Ross is about to lose it. How did he foul again? Korver flopped but it wasn't a foul, even though Ross clearly didn't actually touch him!

Jia Fei was about to go to the free throw line, while Terrence Ross had only played for less than a minute before committing two fouls and had to leave the court reluctantly.

Before he left the court in a disheveled state, he heard Jia Fei say, "I'm going to take the free throw!"

He glared at Jia Fei, but the man didn't even look at him, making him feel like he had no way to vent his anger on him! Just then, his teammate Augustine handed him a towel, which he slammed onto the floor!

Kevin Harlan in the commentary booth laughed and said, "Terrence seems quite unhappy!"

Chris Webber nodded and said, "He accumulated two fouls in less than a minute, so it's normal for him to be unhappy!"

Jia Fei stepped to the free-throw line and easily made the first shot!

Although he missed his second free throw, he still scored against Terrence Ross.

Terrence Ross was substituted off the court and replaced by Landry Fields.

Fields' most memorable moment for Jia Fei was when he played for the Knicks and let Jeremy Lin, who then had a non-guaranteed contract, sleep on the couch so Lin wouldn't be homeless. He played very well with the Knicks, which earned him a big contract. However, after joining the Raptors, his performance was mediocre and completely failed to meet the team's expectations.

On the Raptors' bench, Terrence Ross sat next to Rudy Gay. The two looked at each other, speechless.

The Raptors' offensive rhythm deteriorated further with this change. Jia Fei guarded DeRozan, and while he couldn't completely contain him, DeRozan's offensive efficiency still dropped. DeRozan certainly has excellent offensive skills, but he has a fatal flaw: he almost never shoots three-pointers.

Many teams in the league today are adopting Moreyball's "Moreyball" theory, with their average three-point attempts increasing season after season. Many teams even require their big men to have three-point shooting ability to create space on offense. A player who doesn't shoot threes, especially if he's a shooting guard, is definitely out of step with the demands of modern basketball.

So, when Jia Fei defends DeRozan, he only needs to guard against his drives and cuts. If you get a three-pointer, just shoot it. It's not that DeRozan has a low three-point shooting percentage; he simply doesn't shoot them. If you don't shoot, you can't create offensive space, and you become a bit of a liability when you're off the ball.

DeRozan has excellent jumping ability, but a major drawback compared to Kobe and Jordan is his relatively slow first step. Kobe and Jordan's first steps were incredibly quick, often allowing them to gain position and establish an advantage through drives or pull-ups for mid-range shots. DeRozan's slower first step often makes it difficult for him to shake off defenders. Therefore, he needs to use more fakes and feints to create space for himself.

Sometimes that's also a matter of talent; his absolute talent certainly doesn't match that of those top swingmen. McGrady and Grant Hill's first step was also very quick, requiring no complicated dribbling techniques, just a direct, simple drive.

With Korver not being targeted on defense, the Hawks no longer needed to double-team him. They relied on excellent team defense to limit the opponent's offense, and on offense, they used team passing and cutting to share the ball and exploit the Raptors' weakness of Valanciunas' slow movement. They suppressed the Raptors on both ends of the court.

The Hawks fans at the stadium were very satisfied with the team's performance, which was excellent on both offense and defense. Although the team's big summer acquisition, Jia Fei, did not show the ball-handling and one-on-one ability of a superstar, he plays very intelligently and his talent is truly formidable! Whether it's DeRozan or Gay, it's very difficult for them to score against him one-on-one. On offense, he can create space to hit three-pointers, make off-ball cuts, and control the ball. There is no need to worry about his integration into the team.

The initial estimate was that it might take twenty or thirty games to fine-tune the lineup, but it seems the integration is progressing very well. Jia Fei isn't a player who needs the ball in his hands to be effective; he can operate without it, creating space by positioning himself in the corner and maneuvering off the ball to draw the opponent's defense. Defensively, he can cover multiple positions and is extremely effective; he's truly amazing.

The only concern now is whether he can maintain this consistent performance against strong teams? Is his ball-handling and offensive ability effective against tough defenses?

But the Hawks are clearly not in a hurry. They don't have the pressure to win the championship right away. Jia Fei is only 21 years old and has plenty of time to improve. Perhaps the sky's the limit for him!

The Hawks dominated the Raptors throughout the first quarter, and the score at the end of the first quarter was 22-29, with the Hawks leading by 7 points.