NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 115 Sweeping Through Advancement

On April 28th, Game 3 of the Thunder vs. Rockets series.

This game was essentially a do-or-die situation for the Rockets, who were already down 0-2 in the series. A loss would put them down 0-3, practically ending their playoff run; a win would extend the series and give them a chance.

Jia Fei hopes to give the opponent no chance, to sweep them if possible, and not to play too many games. The more games they play, the greater the chance that Westbrook will be ruined by Beverley.

That evening, at the Toyota Center.

The stadium was packed, and Jia Fei saw many familiar faces. Rockets general manager Morey sat courtside, looking rather chubby; one might mistake him for having a puffy face. Although Jia Fei disliked him, he had to admit the guy was quick-witted and adept at persuasion.

By acquiring Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik through poison pill contracts and then decisively trading for James Harden, this team instantly completed its rebuild and even made it to the Western Conference playoffs. Even if they don't have a chance to win a championship right now, their team-building strategy is sound. Their core players are all young, and they haven't lost any future assets. They could absolutely go all in to trade for a star player and contend for the title.

Besides Mo Gou, Jia Fei also saw several familiar figures.

Yao Ming!

Yao Ming actually showed up at the event. As a Rockets legend, Jia Fei should have guessed he might come. Accompanying Yao Ming were his wife Ye Li, his parents, and his daughter.

I remember Yao Ming's daughter, Jia Fei, was only a little over 3 years old, but she looked taller than many 5-year-olds. Jia Fei guessed that in a few years, she would be taller than Guo Degang.

There's no way around it, height really does depend mostly on genetics. Can Chairman Yao's child and Teacher Guo's child be the same height?

Jia Fei walked over and greeted Yao Ming.

Yao Ming has gained a lot of weight since last year, and when he stands up, he looks like a mountain. Jia Fei is also two meters tall, but next to him, she looks like a petite girl.

"Hello, Brother Yao, I'm Jia Fei!" Jia Fei introduced himself.

"Hello Jia Fei, I've watched your game, you performed very well!" Yao Ming's voice was deep and resonant, with a kind of bass voice that was hard to imitate.

"I still have a long way to go!" Jia Fei didn't forget to be modest. What did he have to brag about in front of Chairman Yao?

"Jia Fei, your Mandarin is really good. Have you ever been to China?" Yao Ming knew, of course, that Jia Fei, like Jeremy Lin, was of Chinese descent, which is why he asked this question.

"I've never been there, and I'm really looking forward to visiting China!" Jia Fei remembered that Sharapova had asked him the same question before. This made him even more eager to go back to China. It had been two years since he transmigrated here, and he longed to go back and see it for himself.

Jia Fei then greeted and shook hands with Yao Ming's parents and wife. Yao Ming's family members are all very tall; he is only slightly taller than the women in his family. Both Yao Ming and his father are considerably taller than him.

For such a large family, both the house and the bed have to be custom-made, which can sometimes be inconvenient.

The Rockets did not make any changes to their lineup in this game.

Jia Fei knew there wasn't much inside his refrigerator, otherwise he wouldn't have been criticized by fans as a coach with "random, improvisational tactics." Compared to coaches like Lao Li who relied on motivational speeches without any real tactics, he was indeed mediocre at spouting motivational platitudes.

Thunder, in any case, is about responding to all changes with unchanging tactics. The ancestor of unchanging formations is here, so who among you dares to act rashly?

After the game started, both sides traded blows, playing a very close game. The Thunder couldn't stop Durant and Westbrook's duo, but they could limit the other three starters. Meanwhile, the Thunder couldn't contain Harden on the Rockets' side, and the score remained close.

As the rotation began, the Thunder brought in their smaller lineup, and the score gradually widened.

Almost mirroring the previous game, the Rockets held their own in the starting lineup, but struggled to match the opponent's intensity with their bench players, ultimately losing the game.

In the end, the Thunder won another game, taking a 3-0 lead in the series.

In the history of the NBA playoffs, since the implementation of the best-of-seven format, no team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit to win a series. That's right, not a single one.

This also means that without a miracle, the Rockets are already out of the running. And a miracle seems unlikely, as their opponents are stronger in both form and talent. To win four straight games, unless you field a lineup with players of the caliber of Dongfang Xiang, Yuan Daying, and Wuji Zun, even bringing in the Dream Team might not be enough.

After the game, Jia Fei was very happy because the series was already 3-0, Westbrook was not injured, and everything was going in their favor.

Game 4 of the Thunder vs. Rockets series on April 30th.

Neither side made any changes to their lineups in this match.

It's obvious that the Rockets have run out of new cards to play.

After the game started, the plot seemed to unfold much like the previous match. The coach, Refrigerator, is definitely not a genius; he only knows how to use random tactics.

So at halftime, the Thunder established a lead thanks to the advantage of their second unit. Many Thunder fans watching the game on TV believed that their team was only half a game away from sweeping their opponents and advancing to the second round.

But the second half saw a dramatic turn of events, not in terms of the game's outcome, but because Beverley scored!

Westbrook suffered a severe knee sprain and had to leave the game immediately...

Jia Fei saw the scene from the bench and felt it was less serious than what he had seen on TV in his previous life, but everything would have to wait until the MRI scan to determine the cause.

After Westbrook's injury, the Rockets took advantage of the situation to close the gap, but at this time Durant began to dominate, and with the help of substitutes like Jia Fei, the Thunder displayed championship-level defense.

Ultimately, they narrowly defeated their opponent on the road, eliminating them with a total score of 4-0 and advancing to the next round.

What should have been a joyous occasion has been overshadowed by Westbrook's injury, casting a shadow over the team's prospects. If he misses the rest of the season, the Thunder's playoff run this season will be extremely difficult.

The atmosphere in the visiting team's locker room after the game was somewhat subdued. At times like this, celebrating wasn't an option, nor was not celebrating. Everyone's attention was focused on Westbrook's knee.

The Thunder players returned to Oklahoma City that night, while Jia Fei and Kemba Walker parted ways in Houston.

"Jay, we're not going to Oklahoma City either. Let's meet up again after your season ends!" Kemba Walker said as they parted ways.

Jia Fei remained calm. He had been subtly reminding Westbrook to be wary of Beverley, but after three games of caution, he still fell short in the final game. Sometimes, it seems like fate.

The only hope now is that Westbrook is physically strong and his injury isn't too serious.