NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 145 The Opening Battle Begins

Practice before the match.

Two Western Conference championship banners and one NBA championship banner hang in the rafters of the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, seemingly telling you that this arena is different from other ordinary arenas.

In the NBA, many teams have yet to win a championship, or even a conference title. Aside from the Lakers and Celtics, most other teams have only single-digit championships, so the NBA isn't entirely fair. Are Los Angeles and Memphis the same? Are New York and Minneapolis the same?

Given the same salary, would you choose to work for a listed company or a regular private enterprise? Would you choose to go to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen or a small fifth-tier city in western China?

"Jia, look, Vince!" As soon as Art Mayok finished speaking, Jia Fei turned to look at the other side, where old Carter had already taken off and completed a windmill dunk!

"That's really amazing! How old is Carter already!" Jia Fei exclaimed. He wondered if he would even be able to play when he reached Carter's age, but this guy was still doing windmill dunks. He's really good at endurance.

Who would have thought that among the "Big Four" shooting guards of that era, Carter would have a longer career than Iverson and his cousin McGrady, especially considering that he spent most of his prime years bedridden with injuries!

However, Carter's physical attributes were indeed excellent. Later in his career, he reduced his high-flying dunks and gradually transitioned into a catch-and-shoot player, which ironically reduced his injury frequency. To some extent, among the four great shooting guards of his era, Carter was the worst at ball-handling offense, but he was also the least dependent on teammates and systems. While Iverson and McGrady couldn't transition into role players after their performance declined, Carter did. Mentality is one aspect, but his playing style is fundamental.

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced. For the Mavericks, playing at home, the starting lineup is: center Samuel Dalembert, power forward Dirk Nowitzki, small forward Shawn Marion, shooting guard Monta Ellis, and point guard Jose Calderon.

The Hawks' starting lineup for the away game is: Center - Al Horford, Power Forward - Paul Millsap, Small Forward - Jia Fei, Shooting Guard - Kyle Korver, Point Guard - Jeff Teague.

This is Jia Fei's second start in a regular season game in his career. The last time he started was in the last regular season game of last year, when the Thunder rested Durant and Westbrook.

So this was Jia Fei's first official start in the strict sense, and he was very excited. As an NBA professional basketball player, who wouldn't want to be a starter?

After the Mavericks' entrance ceremony, the starting lineups of both teams came on the court, greeted each other, and Calderon shook hands with each of the Hawks' five starters.

When Monta Ellis saw Jia Fei, memories flooded back, and his brow furrowed slightly...

Jia Fei smiled slightly at him, a harmless smile that would make an unsuspecting person think that nothing had ever happened between the two.

Because Jia Fei went to the Hawks, the Hawks have suddenly become a popular team on Chinese sports channels, and their popularity is almost catching up with those traditional high-traffic teams. Of course, they can't compare with the Rockets, who are considered their "own sons," yet.

The host, Yang Jian, and guest, Yang Yi, were responsible for closing the match.

Yang Jian said, "Today, with the commentary of the two Yangs, we hope to bring the audience a great match!"

Yang Yi smacked his lips and nodded.

"Yang Yi, what do you think of Jia Fei's prospects with the Hawks?" Yang Jian asked.

Yang Yi scoffed and replied, "I think Jia Fei was a bit wasted on the Thunder. He clearly has the ability, but the Thunder didn't have enough players for him! Even Durant and Westbrook didn't have enough players. When Harden was on the team, he had to come off the bench to avoid playing with the two of them, which shows how little ball possession the team had. Now it's better, he's come to the Hawks. The Hawks don't have a true ball-dominant core player, so Jia Fei can get more ball possession than he did on the Thunder. I'm very optimistic about his future development with the Hawks; he should improve compared to last season!"

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

Many fans may not be familiar with Dalembert, but Jia Fei is very familiar with him. This guy was the Haitian center who was drafted into the NBA by the Philadelphia 76ers. Jia Fei often watched Allen Iverson's games, so he has some knowledge of him. He is very thin and has a quick leap, but on offense, he not only lacks a shot, but his skills under the basket are also terrible. Sometimes he can't even finish the easy baskets. On defense, he seems to be good at blocking shots and rebounding, but his lower body is unstable. He can't withstand the impact of heavy interior players and aggressive forwards one-on-one. His help defense and rotation awareness are very average, and he can't defend smaller players when switching. He is a very mediocre interior player defensively.

But why does such an inside player still get a job? Because he looks really good at blocking shots, and his defensive stats are actually pretty good, creating the illusion that he's a defensive powerhouse.

Many NBA executives also value statistics, which is unavoidable. Take Whiteside and Drummond, for example; one is a shot-blocking machine, the other a rebounding monster, but are their defenses really that good?

Duncan has never won a blocks title or a Defensive Player of the Year award, but do you really think his defense is worse than Marcus Camby's, who won the Defensive Player of the Year award?

The jump ball began, and Dalembert used his speed to get to the landing point, giving the Mavericks possession for the first offensive possession.

Calderon dribbled the ball across half-court and gestured to direct traffic at the top of the arc.

Jia Fei was assigned to defend Monta Ellis.

This was Coach Buden's arrangement. Normally, Korver should be responsible for guarding Monta Ellis, but Korver's defense is questionable. If he were to guard Monta Ellis, he would likely get completely destroyed. It's a better choice to have him guard Marion, whose offense is currently quite mediocre.

"Don't think you can stop me just because you're in the starting lineup!" Monta Ellis said fiercely, clearly still remembering the time Jia Fei mocked him last season.

"Yeah, I managed to stop you as a substitute last season. It's not a feat to stop you as a starter!" Jia Fei began to mutter seriously.

“You…” Monta Ellis glared angrily at Jia Fei. He couldn’t understand how this Asian kid could be so good at arguing. Did he learn that trick from somewhere?

Nowitzki called for the ball in midfield, and Calderon passed it to him.

Facing Milos, the height difference was huge. When he attacked from behind, Milos could only defend against his lower body.

Nowitzki attempted his signature "one-legged fadeaway jumper," but it went too short!

Horford grabbed the rebound, and Teague dribbled over.

On the Hawks' offensive end, Marion was guarding Jia Fei.