NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 517 Old Li Returns to Staples Center

Old Li is definitely a man with extremely strong mental fortitude, or to put it bluntly, "he's thick-skinned." As a head coach, he's not entirely without ability; at least in coaching teams with mediocre records and developing young players, he has some expertise. However, if he's coaching a team aiming for the championship, unless there's an on-field coach, you can't expect much from his in-game adaptability. As for being a "tactical genius," that's not his forte either; his specialty is "open-ended management."

As the team's core player, Jia Fei still took the initiative to greet Lao Li. In any case, he had to at least be presentable on the field.

Old Li smiled and exchanged pleasantries with Jia Fei. Anyone who didn't know better would think the two were truly kindred spirits! But in reality, neither of them looked down on the other.

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced.

The Clippers' starting lineup, playing at home, remains unchanged: Jia Fei, Beverley, George, Gallinari, and Olynyk.

The Bucks' starting lineup for the away game consisted of Bledsoe, Brogdon, Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Brook Lopez.

The starting players from both sides have entered the field, and the match is about to begin.

Brook Lopez and Olynyk jump for the ball, giving the Bucks possession for the first possession.

Bloody dribbles the ball across half-court.

Brook Lopez came up to set a screen, Bledsoe drove with the ball and passed to Giannis Antetokounmpo on the right wing.

After receiving the ball, Giannis Antetokounmpo took a big step and rushed in without hesitation. You can guarantee that he didn't think about a jump shot the moment he received the ball. Since he built up his muscles, he has long forgotten the jump shot that he used to have when he first entered the league.

Although Gallinari is a white striker, he is at least 208cm tall and has a certain weight, so he is not really a paper tiger that can be knocked down at the slightest touch.

Giannis drove into the paint, but was double-teamed and unable to attack the basket, so he passed to Brook Lopez at the top of the key.

Brook Lopez took a three-pointer—and almost made it!

Jia Fei grabbed the rebound and launched a fast break, but veteran rookie Brogdon and Bledsoe came over to stop him from attacking the basket directly!

Jia Fei delivered a brilliant pass to Beverley in the middle!

Beverley drove straight to the basket for a layup—but Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had arrived in time, blocked the ball out of bounds!

A gasp of amazement rippled through the crowd. That was a brutal shot! Giannis Antetokounmpo slammed his way past Beverley's layup like a spike in volleyball.

That wasn't the end of it. After blocking the shot, Giannis launched into a barrage of trash talk at Beverley and even wagged his finger.

Beverley was annoyed and wanted to start a fight, but was stopped by the referee.

A chorus of boos erupted from the crowd, with Clippers fans criticizing Giannis Antetokounmpo for being too arrogant. "He blocked Beverley and he's acting like this? If you blocked Jia Fei, you'd be pulling out your dick!"

The Clippers inbounded the ball in the frontcourt, Paul George received it, faced Middleton, and after a series of smooth moves, his jump shot missed!

Giannis grabbed the rebound and sprinted forward! He really takes a lot of strides; he reached the frontcourt in just a few steps on the huge basketball court.

Gallinari couldn't stop him, and ended up committing a foul.

"I think Giannis's impact is comparable to LeBron's back in the day. No one on the Clippers can stop him!" Barkley said.

"But Giannis doesn't have a jump shot. If he just drives, the Clippers will be much easier to defend!" Kenny Smith said.

The Bucks inbounded the ball, using the same tactic as before. Brook Lopez returned to the 45-degree angle, received the pass from Giannis Antetokounmpo, and hit a three-pointer!

3-0, the Bucks score first!

Brook Lopez is indeed amazing. Back in his Nets days, he didn't have a three-point shot and was primarily a low-post scorer. Now, to adapt to this small-ball league, he's developed a three-point shot. His current partnership with Giannis involves him creating space on offense and shooting threes, while on defense he protects the rim, and Giannis handles the sweeping and help defense.

Beverley dribbled the ball over, but it was stolen by Bledsoe!

Blake Griffin drove the length of the court, shoving past Beverley for a smooth layup...

A figure flew by, and Bloodcloth's layup was blocked by the opponent!

"It's Jia Fei!" Brock Lesnar couldn't help but exclaim. He used to be a Clippers player, and because of his energetic playing style, he was nicknamed "Chicken Blood Brock" by fans. Now, after all these years, he's not as energetic as he used to be, and his explosive physical abilities have declined.

A gasp of amazement rippled through the crowd as Jia Fei caught the ball with one hand and advanced from the backcourt. Bloodcloth came over to intercept the ball, but Jia Fei used his assist hand to block him!

Middleton came over from the other side to double-team, but Jia Fei suddenly dribbled past them with a single pass!

Jia Fei dribbled the ball and charged quickly towards the frontcourt, where Giannis Antetokounmpo and Malcolm Brogdon came to intercept him!

Jia Fei made a no-look pass to Gallinari on the left wing!

Gallinari unleashed a three-pointer... but it didn't go in!

But Olynyk grabbed the rebound!

Jia Fei suddenly cut inside from the middle!

Olynyk delivers a bounce pass!

Jia Fei received the ball, launched a powerful dunk, and took off directly, facing Brook Lopez protecting the rim under the basket. He swung his right hand in a wide arc and slammed the 2.13-meter tower over the opponent's head with a powerful dunk!

Da Luo was completely dumbfounded. What did I do to deserve this? How could he be so fierce?

Lin Ning, who was standing on the sidelines, jumped up and shouted "Jia Fei" excitedly, but her voice was immediately drowned out by the noise of the crowd.

3-2, even though it was only a two-pointer, the crowd erupted immediately...

"MVP", "MVP"... The cheers from the audience came one after another, which showed how popular Jia Fei was!

Giannis Antetokounmpo clenched his fists tightly; the other side was clearly threatening him, and he was determined to fight back.

Bledsoe brought the ball over and passed it to Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Giannis Antetokounmpo used Brook Lopez's screen to drive straight to the basket!

Suddenly! Jia Fei appeared in a flash, and with a "backhand grab"!

Giannis lost the ball!

Jia Fei intercepted the ball and launched a counterattack. No one could keep up with him. When he got to the frontcourt, he slowed down slightly, jumped on one foot, and made a clean and neat windmill dunk to take away 2 points!

3:4, Jia Fei scored 4 consecutive points to take the lead!

Staples Center was in an uproar. They hadn't expected the game to be so exciting, with such rapid changes in offense and defense. Jia Fei had demonstrated his ability as a 3-time MVP and 1-time DPOY last season.

Bucks offense: Middleton isolates against George, but his step-back jumper misses!

However, Giannis Antetokounmpo grabbed the ball in the frontcourt and drew a foul from Olynyk!

Giannis Antetokounmpo steps to the free-throw line.

Giannis made one of two free throws, tying the game at 4-4.

Beverley brought the ball over and passed it to Paul George.

Jia Fei positioned himself with his back to goal, and Paula lobbed the ball over to him!

Jia Fei turned his back to Brogdon.

Jia Fei learned the "Fe3O4" technique from Kobe Bryant in the summer, which is known worldwide, but he didn't showcase it much in previous games. In this game against Brogdon, he started using his back-to-the-basket moves in the first quarter.

Jia Fei turned his back and sat inside. Although Brogdon wasn't tall, he was quite strong and not so easy to push.

After Jia Fei faked a shoulder movement, he turned and jumped to shoot, making the shot cleanly!

4:6, Jia Fei scored 6 consecutive points, showing excellent form.