NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 157 Bad Touch Leads to Destruction

Nelson isn't tall, but he's as stocky as a Type 58 cannon. You can pull on the forehead of this kind of short, stocky player, but don't expect to overpower him from behind, because his center of gravity is as low as a supercar.

Jia Fei was responsible for guarding Afflalo, while Korver was responsible for guarding Harkless, the opponent's small forward.

Arron Afflalo is one of the Magic's main scoring options. He has a reliable mid-range shot, decent ball-handling and off-ball skills, making him a solid scorer. His weaknesses are also apparent: his three-point shooting is inconsistent for a shooting guard, his ball-handling is average, and his physical attributes are relatively mediocre, limiting his potential.

Clearly, such players are suitable as pieces on a puzzle, but not as cornerstones. For rebuilding teams, pieces are easy to find, but cornerstones are hard to come by. There are only so many NBA stars; everyone wants them, but they are difficult to acquire. Tanking can indeed get high draft picks, but the problem is that high draft picks don't necessarily develop into superstars. Many number one and number two picks have been disappointing, not to mention ordinary lottery picks.

The Magic are also a half-court offense team; they play slowly and have fewer possessions per game. Here, Maxie van Gaal is trying to take a shot off Mills in the low post, but his turnaround jumper misses!

Horford grabs the rebound, and the Hawks attack.

The player guarding Jia Fei was Harkless of the Magic.

Harkless possesses outstanding physical attributes, with a height of 201cm, a good wingspan, and excellent speed and jumping ability. If he were in the NBA 10 years ago, he might have already been hailed as "someone's successor".

The Hawks moved the ball around and it ended up in Jia Fei's hands on the right wing!

Jia Fei's three-pointer missed, but he grabbed the offensive rebound and passed it to Horford on the left wing, whose shot also missed!

For the Magic, Vucevic pulled out for a long two-pointer, but it missed!

Both sides had a poor start, missing many shots and the score remained relatively unchanged, while the number of rebounds for both teams continued to increase.

Jia Fei's shooting touch was off; he'd gone 0-for-2. But the ball was back in his hands! He knew he had to play, because his teammates were also missing shots, and they'd clearly received instructions from the coach to have him take on the tough shots.

Horford set a screen for him, but Harkless was too fast, and the mismatch didn't materialize. With little time left on the shot clock, the Hawks spread out and let him go one-on-one.

Jia Fei vs. Harkless.

Since entering the NBA, Jia Fei has rarely encountered this kind of one-on-four isolation play. In the Thunder, it was either Durant or Westbrook who executed this kind of isolation play, and it also happened when Harden was on the team. His role on the team was to do the dirty work, create space for shooting, and finish on fast breaks.

Now that the team needs him to do this, he was momentarily dazed. Isn't this the role he's always wanted to play? Does he really want to be a 3D player forever?

The answer is of course no. Reason and emotion both tell him that he wants to be a star athlete!

Facing Harkless, Jia Fei tried a probing step, but Harkless, knowing his touch was off, didn't stick close. Since that was the case, he stopped probing and instead opted for a lowered center of gravity and a smooth step-through!

Harkless moved quickly to the side, and Jia Fei's first step was not enough to completely shake off his opponent!

Jia Fei leaned against Harkless, using his size advantage to accelerate while moving, cut to the basket, braked, and then power-started...

Harkless couldn't brake in time, causing a rear-end collision...

"Beep beep beep—" The referee's whistle blew, foul!

Jia Fei will go to the free throw line!

That was undoubtedly a foul, and even the Magic had no objections. Jia Fei knew that as an outside star, the best way to score when his shooting touch was off was to draw fouls.

A player who is obsessed with physical contact will never have the chance to become a superstar. The playoffs inevitably involve physical battles, and there are fewer opportunities for easy shots, requiring even greater physical strength and the courage to face challenges.

Jia Fei stepped to the free-throw line, but missed the first shot!

His teammates were encouraging him, and the fans at the stadium were also encouraging him.

He took a deep breath and made the second free throw!

4-2, the Hawks score their second point of the game!

On Magic's offense, Afflalo backed down Jia Fei, but his turnaround jump shot was blocked by the latter!

Teague initiated a counter-attack with the ball, and Jia Fei surged ahead, leaving everyone else in the dust!

Teague quickly passed the ball to Jia Fei, who received it and drove straight to the basket, drawing a foul from Maxiell!

Jia Fei stepped up to the free-throw line again!

This time the penalty wasn't missed, and the score is now tied at 4-4!

Coach Buden clapped his hands in satisfaction on the sidelines; this was exactly what he expected Jia Fei to do. When offensive plays aren't going well, the team needs a player who can handle the ball and create opportunities. Ideally, this player should be an outside shooter, because inside players have too many offensive limitations.

This is why it's difficult to win a championship with just one superstar inside player. Even someone as strong as Shaquille O'Neal needed an outside star like Kobe Bryant to help him achieve his dominance during his prime. Inside offense has its limitations.

Magic offense, Vucevic hits a three-pointer!

Turning back, Jia Fei received a pass from Korver, and Harkless gave him a step to shoot. He decisively took a three-pointer—and it worked!

Answerball!

On Magic's offense, Jia Fei switched to defend Nelson and prevented him from making a three-pointer. On the other hand, he drove hard to the basket and drew a foul from Harkless again!

Jia Fei's series of offensive and defensive plays completely ignited the atmosphere at the scene...

The Magic also called a timeout!

"Great job, Ja!" Coach Buden greeted him with a big smile, not forgetting to pat him on the butt.

The fact that the cephalosporin coach stood up and gave his seat to Jia Fei shows how much the coaching staff values ​​him.

Jia Fei was also very moved. In terms of emotional intelligence, both Cephalosporin and Buden were extremely outstanding. He had received such preferential treatment when he was with the Thunder!

After the timeout, Jia Fei stepped up to the free throw line.

On the sidelines, Cephalosporin sat next to Jenkins and said to him, "Jay does have the ability to attack with the ball. I feel that his confidence is much stronger now than it was in the preseason."

Jenkins said, "His ball-handling offense has been underestimated. Coach Brooks didn't give him a chance to practice it before, but now it seems that he really has the ability to perform well against average defenders."

In the first quarter, the Hawks broke their scoring drought and established an advantage thanks to Jia Fei's sudden explosive shot. Once their other players found their offensive rhythm, they completely solidified their lead.

贾飞首节打了10分59秒，砍下13分，还有3个篮板2个盖帽。他光是罚球就罚了6个，将防守他的哈克莱斯打了下去。

Thanks to his outstanding performance, the Hawks led by 5 points at the end of the first quarter, finishing 20-25.