NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 426 All Thanks to Jia Fei

Durant seemed excited. Here, with a system and defense, he only needed to be himself. He would simply run the ball around within the tactical system, take easy shots, and participate in fast breaks. When the team was on the back foot, he would step up and force his way into scoring, fulfilling his job.

The Warriors' biggest problem before was that once their tactics were set in motion, their most effective one-on-one player was Curry. However, Curry's physical attributes and playing style meant he couldn't score like an extreme one-on-one scorer such as Kobe Bryant; his tactical significance outweighed his individual scoring ability. Durant's addition perfectly solved this problem.

If this Warriors team has any weaknesses, they don't have any major ones. To nitpick, the team's interior shooting is weak when playing a big lineup, and Green and Iguodala's shooting ability is inconsistent and weak when playing a small lineup, making it impossible to truly take advantage of the full-space lineup.

Another weakness that many people overlook is that even if the Warriors play a small-ball lineup, if the opponent can switch on defense indefinitely, they lack a strong penetrator to break through the defense and create quality shooting opportunities for their sharpshooters.

Kerr's passing and cutting system is based on the Splash Brothers' historic shooting ability, combined with Green's high-flying playmaking, which can easily dominate most teams. However, the passing and cutting system is vulnerable to switching defenses and highly aggressive one-on-one defenses. In these situations, passing and cutting increases turnovers and reduces quality open looks, thus affecting the Splash Brothers' shooting percentage. Even with Durant's arrival, this problem wasn't truly solved; he's neither a penetrator nor a drive-and-kick specialist. Iguodala should ideally play this role, but while he can occasionally do it, he struggles to penetrate against tough defenders.

Back to the game.

Both teams returned to the field, and the game continued.

The game has been going on for almost 4 minutes and the Clippers still haven't scored. While the opponent's strong defense is certainly one factor, their own problems are clearly more significant.

Beverley dribbled the ball upcourt and passed it to Harris in the high post.

Harris handed the ball to Jia Fei, and the opponent immediately switched to defend him.

Jia Fei vs. Green!

Green kept muttering to himself, "No matter how good you are, it's useless. We're all All-Stars. How many of us can you take on?"

"I want to take on 10!" Jia Fei said with a smile.

"You're bragging!" Green didn't believe it. "You'd have a hard time even hitting me!"

Jia Fei held the ball in his right hand, took a dragging step, made a feint, and suddenly changed direction to the left!

Green was slightly outmaneuvered, but he immediately caught up, his defensive positioning was excellent. As a representative of small-ball centers, he doesn't just rely on passion and dirty tricks; his defensive awareness and skills are superb.

Jia Fei couldn't completely shake off Green, so he accelerated again, then suddenly stopped and pulled back between his legs to create space, before pulling up for a jump shot—this time he finally succeeded!

2-7, the Clippers finally scored!

On the sidelines, Coach Li also breathed a sigh of relief. It was certainly gratifying to have made it to the Western Conference Finals, but if the Warriors beat them to a pulp, how could he, as the team's head coach, really stand idly by?

Warriors on offense, Curry nearly hit a long-range three-pointer! It gave Old Li a real scare...

Jia Feifei grabbed the rebound, brought the ball over, faced Klay's defense, made a strong drive while moving, then pulled the ball and changed direction, leaning against his opponent and forcing a layup. The whistle blew, and the ball went in!

"2+1! Jia Fei has a chance to score 3 points! My God, it has to be Jia Fei, he's too strong!" Wang Meng in the Tencent studio screamed.

Yang Yi appeared calm, smacking his lips as he said, "I knew it! The Clippers can only rely on Jia Fei; the others can't be relied on offensively on this kind of stage. He's the only superstar on the Clippers; the other players aren't at this level!"

Despite the frantic interference from fans at Oracle Arena, Jia Fei calmly made the free throw!

5:7, Jia Fei scored 5 consecutive points, narrowing the score to 2 points!

Curry, chewing on his mouthguard, dribbled over, and Durant came out to call for the ball.

Curry passed the ball to Durant and then drew the defender away.

Durant holds the ball high up, facing Wesley Johnson.

His signature double crossover dribble, cutting inside the three-point line, leaping high, and releasing a jump shot...

That shooting height is so high that even Jia Fei, let alone Wesley Johnson, couldn't reach it. It's too high, and he has such long arms and speed. A 211cm player playing small forward with such formidable shooting and ball-handling skills is truly a game-changer.

Even if you don't like Du Xiaoshuai, you have to admit his ability.

The ball went in easily, making it 5-9, and the Warriors scored.

After making the shot, Durant trash-talked Wesley Johnson, who was guarding him: "You can't stop me at all!"

Wesley Johnson could only smile wryly; he couldn't even respond to the other person, who was indeed far superior to him.

Beverley dribbled the ball up the court and immediately looked for Jia Fei.

Jia Fei had the ball and faced Klay Thompson; the opponents did not double-team him.

The Warriors are not a team that likes to double-team the ball handler. They prefer to switch on defense, grab defensive rebounds and fast break, and do not need to double-team the rotation to gamble on the opponent's outside shooting percentage.

Their confidence in not double-teaming Jia Fei wasn't based on ignorance of his skill. Rather, they didn't want to easily change their defensive strategy. Their thinking was, "If we can stop the others, can one person really defeat us?" Their defensive system and powerful offense gave them the confidence to do so. They defended the "Running Man" (Jia Fei) in the same way when they played the Cavaliers.

Jia Fei accelerated past Klay, turned and dribbled past his opponent near the free-throw line, cut to the basket, jumped in mid-air to avoid Zha Zha's block, and slammed the ball in!

7:9, still a 2-point difference!

Warriors are on offense. Curry, with the help of Zaza's off-ball screen, received a brilliant pass from Green and hit a three-pointer to answer back!

7:12, the score difference has reached 5 points.

Beverley dribbled the ball over and passed it to Jia Fei, who came out to receive it!

Jia Fei received the ball and faced a triple threat. Klay was somewhat wary of his drive and didn't dare to stick close, but unexpectedly, he pulled up for a three-pointer...

The ball went in perfectly!

10:12, Jia Fei scored 10 consecutive points, matching the opponent's powerful offensive strength.

The Warriors did not call a timeout! Kerr remained calm and composed. He was not afraid of a one-man team. No matter how strong one person is, how many nails can they crush?

The Warriors fans in the arena were no longer too confident. Jia Fei was too strong. Facing Klay Thompson, whose defense was so outstanding, he played without any pressure, easily making the shots and scoring as if the defensive pressure had never existed.

Before the Warriors could even focus their efforts on DeAndre Jordan, the Clippers quickly substituted Wesley Johnson.

With this change, Jia Fei was assigned to guard Durant, while Klay Thompson was matched up against Redick. The Clippers made the first adjustment.

The adjustment worked very well. Redick received a brilliant pass from Jia Fei and scored a three-pointer, taking the lead!