NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 607 Not Black Pepper, But a Girlfriend

Building a team around Trish Vaughn presents a significant challenge: defense. Offensively, Vaughn is like a current Steve Nash—capable of playmaking and shooting, which is excellent. However, defensively, he's far worse than Nash. His size is undeniably a defensive liability, so unless the team provides him with a strong defensive lineup, the team's overall defense will suffer.

But simply pairing Curry with a defensive lineup won't work; he also needs offensive teammates. He's the Nash type, not the Curry type. If you make him the team's primary scorer, he can't handle that much output. This brings up the problem: there aren't many players in the league who can play both offense and defense, and these kinds of players are extremely expensive because every team wants them.

Therefore, building a team around the Sheep is very difficult, and the potential is not necessarily high; it is difficult from the start.

If you build your team around Jia Fei, you won't need to provide him with a cleanup lineup. He can clean up other people's messes himself, which makes team building much easier.

The Clippers' team building wasn't as difficult. With two forwards and other suitable pieces, they could achieve excellent chemistry. Moreover, both forwards are good on both offense and defense, which could compensate for any defensive weaknesses in the paint or point guard position. Role players don't need to be equally good on both ends of the court; they just need to have their own strengths.

Jia Fei can organize and sweep, so the point guard doesn't necessarily need to have exceptional playmaking ability; a regular point guard will suffice. In fact, he can even play point guard, allowing the team to field five forwards and maximize their defense. This has been a core advantage that enabled the Clippers to win championships in the past two seasons.

The saying "defense wins championships" is still relevant. For any team truly aiming for a title, a lack of defense is absolutely essential. Defense represents a team's floor, but what truly elevates a team's ceiling is offense, especially the offense of its superstars.

As the playoffs progress and bench strength diminishes, everyone becomes more aggressive, making it harder for players with obvious weaknesses to get playing time. In this situation, especially in crucial moments, the ability to score decisively and raise the team's ceiling becomes paramount.

Why can Nowitzki be the offensive core of a team and win a championship, while Harden can't? Nowitzki's offensive ability is what raises the ceiling of a team; he is the offensive core of a championship team, while Harden is the defensive core of a championship team.

Therefore, Nowitzki can be the leader, while Harden is the natural choice for the second leader.

Many people overemphasize the importance of defense, thinking that the Defensive Player of the Year award is an incredibly prestigious award. However, in reality, this award doesn't even trigger the Rose Rule, while being selected to the All-NBA Team is sufficient.

Four-time DPOY winner Warcraft was not selected as one of the 75 greatest players, but Lillard and Carmelo Anthony were...

Let's take an example. One player has a historic offense but average defense, while the other has an excellent offense and top-tier defense. Which player do you think is more suitable to be the core of a team? A is Dirk Nowitzki, and B is Klay Thompson. Or A could be Jokic, and B could be Anthony Davis.

This is still the inside players. If it were the outside players, the defensive requirements would be much lower because the inside players would be there to clean up their messes.

Facing the young and defensively inept Hawks, the Clippers secured a resounding victory at home, avoiding a losing streak.

Two days later, on November 19, the Clippers hosted the Thunder.

The Thunder's trade of Westbrook to acquire 58 points officially marks their entry into rebuilding, and this is their first step. They will use their immediate impact players to trade for more young draft picks. With Presti's excellent eye for talent and drafting ability, this team's future is promising.

But obviously not now, so the Clippers easily won the game at home, securing their second consecutive victory.

The Clippers' next game will also be played at home against the Eastern Conference powerhouse, the Boston Celtics.

It's worth mentioning that Jia Fei's good friend Kemba Walker joined the Celtics this summer and has now become a supporting player for the two young stars.

Kemba Walker was once a young player, but now he's 29 and at the age where he should be supporting the young star...

On the 20th, Jia Fei invited Kemba Walker to dinner at his home.

Art Mayorc grilled the steak again, while Jia Fei opened a bottle of his prized red wine and poured it into a vessel to decanter. Of course, this wasn't a 82 Lafite, but it was still quite valuable…

Jia Fei's status means he can afford any kind of wine, but that doesn't mean he has to drink 82 Lafite. Actually, 82 Wahaha or Coca-Cola would be fine too!

By the way, just wondering: Did Wahaha exist in 82?

"Hey Artest, you're not playing much these days. I think you should retire sooner rather than later and make room for the younger generation. You could open a restaurant and be the head chef. That would be great. With Ja in charge, you'd never have to worry about business!" Kemba Walker joked with a laugh.

Jia Fei chuckled. No player on the Clippers would dare joke like that with Art Mayok. Only Kemba Walker, their former leader at UConn, would dare say such a thing.

"Even a steak can't shut you up. I'm going to win three consecutive championships with the team! I want to be a part of the Clippers dynasty. I only have three rings now, but I want to at least fill one hand!" Art Mayork responded.

"Okay, you're really vain!" Kemba Walker said. Art Mayork turned to look at Jia Fei, who was still laughing. "Hey Jia, our star player, stop laughing all the time. Where's your girlfriend? Tell her to come eat with us. I haven't seen her in ages!"

The tone shifted so quickly that even a seasoned driver like Jia Fei was caught off guard. He deliberately coughed twice and changed the subject, asking, "Hey, is my steak ready yet?" He deliberately drew out his voice, clearly on purpose.

Art Mayork, who was in the kitchen at that moment, immediately understood and promptly chimed in, "Almost done, almost done! Please wait a moment, Ja, would you like some black pepper?" Art Mayork knew how to cover for others; what does it mean to be "a mind reader"? This is it...

"Yes, of course I want black pepper! By the way, Kemba, do you want black pepper?" Jia Fei asked Kemba Walker in a serious tone.

Kemba Walker was almost dumbfounded. Looking at Jia Fei's clear eyes and serious expression, he almost fell for it and forgot what he had just said. Fortunately, he knew his two best friends' personalities too well. He rolled his eyes and said, "Are you two putting on a show? Trying to fool me? I asked about Jia's girlfriend. What are you two talking about, steak and black pepper? What black pepper? I said girlfriend! Girlfriend! Get it right, girlfriend!"