NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 597 Visiting Salt Lake City

On October 31, the Clippers will visit Salt Lake City to play against the Jazz.

The Jazz are a strange team. They haven't tanked for the past few seasons and have even made the Western Conference playoffs from time to time. But if you call them a strong team, they've never advanced past the second round of the playoffs. Yet they're not weak either, having been a Western Conference playoff team for many years.

The biggest problem for this team is the lack of a true cornerstone player, which is a result of not tanking thoroughly enough and having bad luck. Because they didn't tank thoroughly enough, they got fewer number one, second, and third overall picks, naturally reducing their chances of acquiring top-tier talent. And because they weren't lucky, their high draft picks and second-round finds didn't yield a superstar like Jia Feiyi who could serve as the cornerstone of the team.

Salt Lake City, located in Salt Lake County, Utah, is the state's capital and largest city, named for its proximity to the Great Salt Lake. Due to its high altitude, some altitude sickness is expected. However, compared to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China, Utah's plateau is relatively minor.

But a high altitude is still a high altitude, and many players who are not used to it will find it difficult to adapt when they come here to play, which will affect their performance. That's why the Jazz's home court, the Damei Center, is also known as the "devil's home court".

The Jazz are considered an old team in the NBA, having been founded and joined the league in 1974. They were originally established in New Orleans and moved to Salt Lake City in 1979.

Most fans' deepest impression of the Jazz comes from the pick-and-roll duo of Malone and Stockton. In addition, there's Coach Sloan, Deron Williams who "eats, sleeps, and plays 58," the "traitor" Boozer who specifically targeted Yao Ming, the "Turkish giant" Okur, and "AK47" Andrei Kirilenko.

But this team has never won a championship; their closest match was the old Jazz, who lost to the old bulls. Now, Coach Sloan has retired, and it's a completely new Jazz team.

On the evening of the 31st, at the Delta Center.

With the Clippers visiting the Jazz's intimidating home court, one of the key points of interest before the game was whether the Jazz could end the Clippers' four-game winning streak.

Of course, a four-game winning streak isn't a long one for the Clippers, considering they once held the record for the longest winning streak in NBA history.

This match was broadcast live on Tencent, with commentators Wang Zixing and guest Su Qun providing commentary.

"Mr. Su, Paul George is still not playing in this game. Do you think the Jazz will double-team Jia Fei like the Hornets did in the last game?" Wang Zixing asked.

Su Qun adjusted his glasses, nodded, and said, "I guess Coach Snyder will choose to double-team Jia Fei. The Jazz don't have any players who can match up against Jia Fei. If they want to limit Jia Fei, then the best way is to double-team him."

The Delta Center was packed tonight. Clearly, it's because Jia Fei is here, and because the defending champion Clippers are visiting.

The NBA is a purely commercial league. Even the most devoted fans will be less inclined to attend games if their team performs poorly. Therefore, when a high-profile team visits, the attendance at those games is usually very high.

With the Clippers playing away and the game being broadcast nationally, it's no surprise that the Jazz's home arena was packed.

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced.

The Jazz's starting lineup, playing at home, consisted of Gobert, Royce O'Neale, Bojan Bogdanovic, Mitchell, and Conley.

The Jazz's lineup is definitely a "one big, four small" combination. Gobert's "one big" is big enough, while the "four small" are really small.

Royce O'Neale, who played power forward for the Jazz, was only 193cm tall. Back in the day, that height would have been enough to send him flying with a single elbow from the Mailman. But in today's NBA, most players are shorter and play small lineups, so his height doesn't necessarily make him a target.

Bojan Bogdanovic's 2-meter height is quite respectable for the small forward position; he's not short at all. As for Donovan Mitchell, he's supposedly 191cm tall, but like Damian Lillard, he's a typical example of exaggerating his height. Standing next to Russell Westbrook, whose height is a solid 190cm, he immediately appears shorter, almost half a head shorter. So, his height is probably around 185cm at most.

Conley didn't exaggerate his height, but he's only 185cm, which is definitely short in today's league, no doubt about it.

Gobert stands out even more among the shorter starters; he is not only the tallest in the starting lineup but also the team's defensive anchor.

The Clippers' starting lineup for the away game was the same as in the previous few games, with Dillon continuing to start.

The starting lineups of both teams are on the field, and Gobert and Olynyk are preparing for the jump ball near the center circle. The game is about to begin.

Even in away games, there were quite a few fans wearing Jia Fei's No. 3 jersey, which was so conspicuous in the stadium.

The jump ball began, and Gobert won the ball against Olynyk, who had a bounce as small as a matchbox, giving the Jazz possession for the first offensive possession.

Conley dribbles the ball across half-court.

Conley, who was the fourth overall pick in the draft alongside Yi Jianlian, is technically solid and hardworking. Although you might not think he's particularly strong, he's genuinely reliable and steady, and he's secured a multi-million dollar contract. Aside from not yet winning a championship, he's already a winner in life.

The Clippers' defensive strategy was to have Beverley guard Conley, Dillon guard Mitchell, Jafiel guard Royce O'Neal, Gallinari guard Bojan Bogdanovic, and Olynyk guard Gobert.

Coach Buden's reason for not assigning Jia Fei to guard Mitchell but instead to guard the 3-and-D player Royce O'Neal was to reduce Jia Fei's defensive burden and allow him to fully showcase his offensive talent. Furthermore, having him guard Royce O'Neal would also allow him to utilize his help defense advantage.

Despite Beverley's relentless attacks, Conley calmly dribbled the ball up the court. His dribbling wasn't as flashy as Irving's or Curry's, but it was effective and had an extremely low turnover rate.

Conley used Gobert's screen to pass the ball to Gobert, who was cutting to the basket!

Gobert catches the ball, but it seems like he slips a bit...

After he finished his feint, Jia Fei's help defense was also on point, resulting in a huge block!

Poor Yanzu, he was beaten into a pulp by Jia Fei!

Dillon lunged for the ball, gained possession, and passed it to Jia Fei to advance.

Royce O'Neal was guarding Jia Fei.

Although Royce O'Neal played the power forward position, he was the height of a combo guard, and he was shorter than opposing shooting guard stars. Fortunately, he was physically strong, so power forwards in small-ball lineups generally couldn't handle him.

But Jia Fei isn't an ordinary person! He won't play push-and-pull games with you!

Jia Fei executed an In-Out Crossover, directly bypassing Royce O'Neal in one step, striding into the paint, and leaping on one foot, his body completely taking flight!

Bo Yangfei came over to help defend, and Jia Fei switched hands in mid-air to pull the ball back and then spiked it in!

Wow--