NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 290 Hawks vs. Nets

Jia Fei, of course, understood the implication in his good buddy Kemba Walker's words. He smiled confidently and said, "Don't worry, keep the nest you've prepared for yourself. Nobody will take it from you."

Tickets for Games 1 and 2 of the playoffs at Philips Arena sold out well in advance, making the Hawks one of the favorites to win the championship. The fans there are more enthusiastic than ever before. Fans want to see their home team contend for the title, and the game against the Nets is just the beginning. Whether it will be a good appetizer depends on the home team players.

Jia Fei arrived early with Art Mayork to practice. He was calm; after last season's Eastern Conference Finals, he was now at ease about the first round. But calmness didn't mean arrogance or underestimating the opponent. He didn't believe that teams making the playoffs were truly weak. If you dare to look down on others, you'll eventually be proven wrong.

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced.

The Hawks' starting lineup, playing at home, consisted of Jahlil Giannis, Al Horford, Jordan Middleton, Kyle Korver, and Jeff Teague. A very stable starting five, all five of whom are All-Star players.

The starting lineup for the visiting Nets consists of Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, Thaddeus Young, Brook Lopez, and Makélé Brown.

The Nets' head coach is former Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins, whose former head coach Jason Kidd has been traded to the Bucks.

Back in last season, the Nets appointed rookie head coach Jason Kidd. Kidd had previously played for the Nets, leading the team to the NBA Finals for two consecutive seasons, making him a key player for the team. After last season, he led the team to a 44-38 record and successfully made the playoffs.

At the start of the season, Kidd wanted to be more than just a head coach; he also wanted the power to appoint personnel, but this was rejected by the Nets' management. Ultimately, the Nets' management fired him and sent him to the Milwaukee Bucks as head coach, in exchange for the Nets receiving second-round draft picks in 2015 and 2019 from the Bucks.

The Nets, under the ownership of Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov, were incredibly wealthy. They emptied their future to acquire a group of aging veteran stars like Patrick Brockfords, but the final result was less than ideal.

They've already squandered their future; tanking is pointless since they don't even have draft picks in their hands. They want to improve their ranking but lack the necessary talent. If the Eastern Conference playoffs weren't so competitive, making the playoffs would have been virtually impossible given their record.

This match was broadcast live on Tencent, with commentators Wang Meng and guest Su Qun providing commentary.

Wang Meng said, "Welcome everyone to this first-round playoff game in the Eastern Conference, with the Hawks hosting the Nets. Commentary will be provided by me and Mr. Su Qun. Mr. Su, what are your thoughts on this game?"

Su Qun adjusted his glasses and said, "Judging from the strength, the Hawks definitely have the upper hand. The Nets don't have a player who can really defend Jia Fei. I'm wondering who they will send to defend him."

"What's your prediction for the final score?" Wang Meng asked.

"4-0 or 4-1, the Nets will win at most one game!" Su Qun said decisively.

Amid cheers from the fans, the starting players from both teams took to the field, and the match was about to begin.

The jump ball began, and Brook Lopez won the jump ball against Horford, giving the Nets possession of the first ball on offense.

Deron dribbles the ball across half-court.

When Deron Williams was with the Jazz, he played under the veteran coach Sloan. He and Boozer were known as the younger version of the "Utah Jazz duo," comparable to Stockton and Malone in their prime.

However, practice has proven that the gap between his passing ability and Stockton's is like the gap between DeRozan and Jordan.

Deron Williams is known for his "eat, sleep, and beat Paul" mentality, but it seems he only truly shines as a top-tier guard when facing Paul. Otherwise, his performance is inconsistent. His offense is unpredictable; he can explode for 50+ points in a game, but when he's off, single-digit scoring is not uncommon. As for his defense, it's abysmal…

Jia Fei remembers the game that started "Linsanity," where Jeremy Lin was matched up against Deron Williams.

Deron Williams left the Jazz and Sloan, hoping to prove his abilities were stifled by Sloan's system, which claimed his talent was far from adequate. However, after joining the Nets, it became clear that Sloan's system had a filter on him; his abilities seemed to be merely a "Device Harris Plus" version. He didn't seem to match Sloan's level, and even compared to guards like Lin and Teague, he didn't have a significant advantage.

Deron Williams' signature offensive move is a wide crossover followed by a drive or a pull-up jumper. His first shot isn't actually that fast because of his weight, but he's strong and has a physical advantage against most point guards, allowing him to create space for his shot.

He's actually more of a combo guard than a pure point guard. The person who compared him to "Stockton's successor" back then was truly blind.

Deron Williams used a screen to pull up suddenly for a mid-range shot, but it was disrupted and missed!

Jia Fei grabbed the rebound and passed it to Teague as he dribbled over.

Jia Fei ran to the frontcourt and found that Makélé Brown was sticking to him all the time, as if he wanted to stick to him the whole time.

Mackie Brown was a second-round pick this year. He is only 191cm tall and weighs less than 90kg, making him look rather petite next to Jia Fei.

Jia Fei wasn't actually that tall and strong, but he was definitely a size bigger than Mackie Brown.

It's not hard to understand why the Nets assigned Makélé Brown to guard JaVale James full-court. Logically, they should have assigned Joe Johnson to guard him, but Johnson is the team's main perimeter scorer (the other being Deron Williams), and he's also getting older.

Teague passed the ball to Horford in the high post. Horford had the ball, but Jia Fei was tightly guarded by Mackie Brown and couldn't easily get a chance to receive it.

It has to be said that Mackie Brown's speed and aggressiveness are quite impressive. Whether he can effectively defend Jia Fei is another matter, but he can certainly wear him down.

For the Hawks, Mills was posting up Thaddeus Young, but his shot missed!

Brook Lopez grabbed the rebound, and Deron Williams dribbled the ball over.

Both sides were a bit tense at the start, and their shooting rhythm wasn't quite right, so neither side could easily make a field goal.

Deron dribbled the ball over and passed it to Joe for the one-on-one.

Joe Johnson was once the Hawks' star player, having played for the Hawks for many years. He played 3-and-D for the Suns and was the Hawks' main scorer. Now he's older, but his offensive ability is still there.

Before this series, there was some news about Jia Fei vs. Joe Johnson, a clash between the new and old Hawks king, but it didn't attract much attention. The reason is that Joe Johnson is getting old; he can no longer truly influence the game, especially in a series.

But even a weakened camel is bigger than a horse; Joe's offensive skills in one-on-one situations are truly excellent.