NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 488 Center Jia Fei

In the last game, the Warriors' strategy was to have Curry guard Beverley, Iguodala guard Jafi, Durant guard Paul George, Klay guard Gallinari, and Green guard Olynyk.

But this game changed, as Olynyk was not playing and Dillon replaced him. The two played different positions; Olynyk was a center, and Dillon was a wing.

The Warriors' strategy was to have Klay guard Dillon and Green guard Gallinari.

This was a temporary adjustment. In the eyes of the Warriors players, the Clippers must have made Gallinari play the center position.

Beverley passed the ball to Jia Fei.

Jia Fei has the ball and sets a pick-and-roll with Beverley. Clearly, his intention is to target Curry.

There is still a significant gap in defensive ability between Curry and Iguodala. Given Curry's importance to the Warriors on the offensive end, wearing him down would definitely be a worthwhile deal.

The Warriors also had a backup plan. Everyone in the league wanted to name Curry when facing the "Death Lineup," but did he expect to be called out? Sure enough, Curry and Iguodala made an early switch on defense, which prevented a mismatch from occurring.

Beverley is too small to be a screener, while Curry and Iguodala are fast, have high basketball IQ, and have great teamwork, making it harder to call out their names.

Jia Fei noticed this and passed the ball to Pao Jiao.

Paul George dribbled the ball against Durant, executed a smooth dribble, and then took a jump shot, but missed!

Green grabbed the rebound, brought the ball over, dribbled across half-court, and passed it to Curry.

At this point, everyone could clearly see the Clippers' man-to-man defense strategy.

The Clippers' man-to-man defense strategy is as follows: Beverley will continue to guard Curry, Paul George will continue to match up with Durant for the entire game, Gallinari will continue to guard Iguodala, but the person guarding Klay Thompson is no longer Jia Fei, but the rookie Dillon who started this game. The biggest change is that Jia Fei is guarding Green!

Yes, you read that right, the one guarding the Warriors' small-ball center is Jia Fei!

The fans in the arena were surprised, and even Warriors head coach Steve Kerr on the sidelines raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected the Clippers to not only play a small lineup but also employ the same defensive tactic used by Jabeur to guard Green.

So, does that mean the Clippers' small lineup will have Jia Fei as their center?

This lineup, this arrangement, even the so-called "mad scientist" Nelson wouldn't dare to arrange it like this, right?

Clippers head coach Mike Budenholzer, who has been criticized for being conservative, surprisingly used such an unconventional lineup and matchup arrangement in such a crucial Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, which completely overturned many people's understanding of the Clippers team.

"Teacher Su, the Clippers have assigned Jia Fei to guard Green! Do they want Jia Fei to play center in a small lineup?" Wang Zixing almost shouted out loud; he was genuinely surprised.

“Yes, that’s exactly what surprised me. I thought they would put Gallinari at center, but it seems the Clippers are planning to have Jia Fei play that position. It’s a bold attempt, and if it succeeds, the ceiling for this lineup will be very, very high.” Su Qun seemed quite excited. In his view, having Jia Fei play center is like the Warriors having Green play center back then—a brave attempt, although it carries considerable risk, but if successful, the rewards will be enormous.

Curry and Green set a pick and roll, and the Clippers switched on defense without even thinking.

Curry faced off against Jia Fei.

The advantage of a small lineup is its speed, making it more suitable for switching defenses, and it excels at double-teaming, rotating, and switching back to defense.

Cheers erupted from the crowd. Curry and Jia Fei, this was a battle between MVPs!

Green was calling for the ball as he cut to the basket, but Curry didn't choose to go it out with Jia Fei. Instead, he passed the ball to Green!

Green received the ball and faced Beverley, but his layup attempt failed!

Beverley may be small, but his defense is incredibly tough. Green may be strong and agile with excellent passing vision, but his finishing ability is really questionable.

Many fans previously jokingly referred to Draymond Green as the "Eastern Little Green" on Running Man, which is indeed a great compliment to him. Even his haters wouldn't consider Green to be on the same level as a Running Man star, right?

Even if Green's defense is better than that of a prime player like Running Man, his offense is still miles behind. While Running Man may have had his signature "Eight Steps to the Heavens" and "Yangcheng Lake Jump Shot," and enjoyed star player status in his early years, his offensive ability is simply incomparable to Green's. His finishing ability around the basket alone is something Green could never develop in his entire life.

Gallinari secured the defensive rebound and passed it to Jia Fei for a fast break!

The Warriors' transition defense is very fast. After they stopped using a center and played a small lineup, the Clippers' transition points decreased significantly. The Warriors are not the kind of team that is obsessed with grabbing offensive rebounds. They pay great attention to protecting defensive rebounds and also to transition defense.

Instead of rushing to make a change of course, Jia Fei focused on consolidating his position.

Beverly tried to come over and cover for Jia Fei, but he shook his head and refused.

Jia Fei signaled to his teammates to pull them apart, and they naturally complied.

Jia Fei holding the ball against Iguodala is not an uncommon sight. It easily brings to mind the NBA Finals three years ago, Hawks vs. Warriors, where Jia Fei overcame difficulties and defeated Iguodala, the former 76ers star who was called "Jia Fei's terminator" by many fans.

It was as if time had reversed, returning to three years ago, when Jia Fei was still wearing the Hawks jersey. What remained unchanged was that Art Mayork was still standing beside him, and the coach was still Budenholzer.

Unlike 3 years ago, not only has Jia Fei changed teams, but he has also become stronger! And Iguodala has gotten older!

Iguodala is 34 years old this year and still maintains a good physical condition, but even the best maintenance can't withstand the ravages of time. He has become slower and his explosiveness is declining. These are the marks that time has left on him, and they are the laws of nature.

Jia Fei, holding the ball in his right hand, performs an in-out move and then changes direction to his left. It's well known that Iverson prefers to play right-handed, but Jia Fei is equally adept with both hands; his left-handed layup ability is no less than his right, which is rare in the entire league.

Iguodala retreated and followed, with Green also coming over to help defend!

Jia Fei made a crossover step and created space, then jumped and completed the jump shot just as Green was about to help defend and Iguodala was created again!

It went in perfectly! The timing of that shot was spot on, leaving Green with no choice but to grit his teeth and swallow his bitterness.

The Clippers scored first!

The Warriors' offense still revolved around Curry and Green's pick-and-roll, while the Clippers continued to switch on defense.

Curry passed the ball to Klay.

Klay, facing rookie Dillon, completely disregarded this mad dog-like guy and forced a shot over him—but missed!

Jia Fei grabbed the rebound, pushed the ball up the court, accelerated at the top of the arc, and sprinted into the paint, drawing a foul from Green!

The Warriors' defense was quick, but Jia Fei still managed to seize the fleeting opportunity.