NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 164 dropped to 3rd

The visiting team's locker room was quiet after the game. The Hawks were mentally prepared for the loss, but being thoroughly outplayed was still hard to accept. While a narrow defeat and a crushing defeat both result in a loss in the overall standings, their impact on team morale and individual player psychology is quite different.

Jia Fei gave an interview after the match.

A reporter asked, "Did this loss make you realize the gap between you and the championship team? Is winning the championship still your goal for the season?"

Jia Fei replied firmly, "Of course, I think if our goal wasn't to win the championship but to tank, then there would be no need for us to train so hard. We were indeed defeated, but that doesn't mean our strength is limited to that. We will regroup and come back stronger!"

"If LeBron recruits you in the offseason, would you choose to join the Heat?" another reporter asked.

"I won't, I want to earn bigger contracts!" Jia Fei smiled slightly.

After the interview, Jia Fei and Art Mayork went to get something to eat. His performance in this game wasn't great either, scoring only 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists, while also committing a season-high 4 turnovers – quite an eyesore. He didn't even need to read the post-game news to know that the reporters were going crazy criticizing him again.

Losing one game isn't the end of the world, but it made him realize the gap between this team and the league's top teams. The Hawks' integration is far from complete; they hadn't experienced that kind of high-pressure defense before, so their teamwork was relatively smooth. In this game, they committed 17 turnovers, allowing the opponent to score many fast breaks, which was a major reason for the loss.

After finishing their meal, the Hawks rushed back to Atlanta, where they will face the Pistons at home in less than 24 hours.

Playing back-to-back games is indeed tiring. After an away game, players don't get a proper rest before having to travel to another place to play, even if it's their home ground. The short interval between the two games, coupled with the fatigue of travel, will increase the physical burden on the players.

Jia Fei is actually doing alright; even after incorporating Iverson's physical gifts, he doesn't feel fatigued. Keep in mind that peak Iverson averaged over 40 minutes per game, making him one of the players with the most playing time in the league at the time. A player like that is definitely a stamina monster.

The Hawks returned to Atlanta on a chartered plane after a trip to the South Coast, where they suffered a crushing defeat and were overtaken by the Heat in the Eastern Conference standings, dropping to third place.

If this were the standings after the regular season, the Hawks would certainly accept it. Although the East has been criticized for being weaker than the West in recent years, it is a fact that the championships in the last two seasons were won by Eastern Conference teams.

On the evening of November 21, the Hawks will host the Pistons.

The Pistons have missed the playoffs for four consecutive seasons and have been rebuilding for years, but clearly they haven't found a true cornerstone player yet.

But you can't say this team lacks talent. Both Drummond and Monroe are rebounding beasts in the paint. Add to that the additions of Jennings and Josh Smith this summer, as well as this year's 8th overall pick, Pope, and the team's talent is overflowing.

Many commentators predicted that the Hawks might lose this game, arguing that they had just gone through a tough battle and the Pistons, who were so strong in the paint, might have been fatigued.

This match was broadcast live on China Sports Channel, with commentators Yang Jian and guest Yang Yi providing commentary.

Yang Jian said, "The Hawks are playing the Pistons in a back-to-back home game. Yang Yi, do you think their undefeated home record this season will be broken?"

Yang Yi smacked his lips and said, "It's hard to say... The Hawks' interior players are relatively short, so they are more afraid of teams that attack the rim, especially teams with strong perimeter shooting. Like the Heat in the last game, James led a one-star-four-shooter lineup that made it very difficult for them. The Pistons' interior is also very strong, they are tall, but how to put it, it depends on the Pistons' own outside shooting. If they can't make their shots, the Hawks can collapse their defense, and then their interior advantage will not be able to be utilized."

During pre-game practice, Jia Fei saw several Pistons players and couldn't help but think that it's true that rivals often meet. He and Jennings had exchanged barbs during a previous game, and he wondered if Jennings remembered it. As for Josh, they had also traded trash talk, and the former Hawks player had a falling out with the team when he left this summer, so his first return to his former team's home court this season was bound to generate buzz.

The Pistons' current head coach is former Thunder assistant coach Cheeks. Jia Fei had a good relationship with him when he was with the Thunder, and the two hugged warmly before the game.

"Jia, go easy on him later!" Coach Cheeks joked.

"Of course, if we win in three quarters, I won't play in the fourth quarter!" Jia Fei laughed.

They both laughed. In the NBA, everyone plays for their own team; who can guarantee they'll stay with one team forever?

Coach Cheeks was the first to notice that Jia Fei's playing style resembled Iverson's when he was with the Thunder, and he always hoped that Jia Fei could play more games. However, Coach Brooks did not trust him that much.

Josh returned to familiar surroundings, but he didn't interact much with his former teammates, as if he had already severed ties with them.

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced, with the Hawks' starting lineup remaining unchanged.

The Pistons' starting lineup consisted of Draymond, Monroe, Josh, Pope, and Jennings. Their frontcourt was indeed very tall and big, but their backcourt was quite short and small.

Drummond and Horford are preparing for a jump ball near the center circle; the game is about to begin.

The jump ball began, and Drummond won the jump ball against Horford, giving the Pistons possession of the ball for the first possession.

Jennings dribbles the ball across half-court.

Jennings came to the Pistons in a trade this summer, with the Pistons giving up Brandon Knight, Khris Middleton, and Vyacheslav Kravtsov in exchange for him.

Jia Fei felt that Jennings wasn't that strong; the value difference between him and Knight was minimal, and they were basically in the same tier of players.

Jennings passed the ball to Pope, who then lobbed it to Drummond in the low post.

After receiving the ball, Drummond started attacking the basket aggressively.

Although Horford is not tall, his lower body is really stable, and Drummond didn't gain much of an advantage.

Drummond's turnaround hook shot missed, but he grabbed the offensive rebound and went up for a strong drive, but was blocked by multiple Hawks players protecting the rim!

Monroe touched the ball out of bounds...

Backcourt ball!

On the Hawks' offensive end, Jia Fei was being defended by Josh Smith, the former Hawks star who joined the team this summer.