NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 416, Part 58: Comeback

The Clippers defeated the Rockets on the road, winning Game 1 of the series. This victory gave the Clippers home-court advantage.

The media naturally showered Jia Fei with praise after the game, calling him a GOAT-level player. Meanwhile, Harden and 58 became the targets of criticism. One was criticized for faltering in the playoffs but scoring a single point in the regular season; the other was described as consistently reliable in the regular season but prone to injury in the playoffs, gradually becoming one of the most representative figures of the "injury-prone" player.

Jia Fei, however, remained calm. He knew how hard-fought this game was. The Clippers' Achilles' heel had been exploited by their opponents, and if the Clippers hadn't been so inaccurate with their three-pointers, the outcome would have been very unpredictable.

The Rockets have a key to exploiting the Clippers' weakness – the Harden-Paul duo. Their pick-and-roll with the center is designed to exploit the Clippers' biggest defensive vulnerability. In this game, with only Harden on the court, it's impossible to target him like this for the entire game, and the Clippers' double-teaming rotations didn't create as many clear-cut opportunities for the Clippers. However, once the Harden-Paul duo is fully engaged, double-teaming Harden becomes extremely risky because Harden's ball-handling ability is far superior to Harden's. Furthermore, the Rockets can effectively utilize their pick-and-roll at positions one and five for 48 minutes…

The current Rockets are certainly not comparable to the Rockets of the 2017-18 season in Jia Fei's previous life. Back then, the Rockets' small lineup played exceptionally well, and their switch-everything defense almost sent the Warriors to their dominance. The current Rockets don't have Tucker, so they can't field a small lineup. Ryan Anderson at the power forward position is a defensive weakness, and Cardiff at the center position lacks shooting ability, so they can't field a five-outside lineup.

For the Clippers to defeat the Rockets, they can only hope that 58 is not 100% recovered; otherwise, the Clippers still face a huge risk of being reversed by their opponents.

After all, DeAndre Jordan's ability to defend pick-and-rolls, Doc Rivers' ability to respond, and the fact that Jia Fei is the only reliable scorer are all objective weaknesses that cannot be eliminated by simply boosting morale or changing the lineup.

As the team's second-best All-Star player after Jia Fei, DeAndre Jordan is practically guaranteed a spot in the final moments, let alone a DNP (Double-Point Contest). Would you dare not put him on the court in crucial moments? Rivers doesn't have that guts, and he doesn't believe Jordan's presence was the reason the team was defeated. As for Rivers' adaptability, do you expect him to suddenly transform from "the essence of human resilience" into a master strategist, a Zhuge Liang-like Rivers? Is that even possible? Can a hippopotamus turn into a rhinoceros?

As for Jia Fei being a reliable scoring option, that's a fact. In the regular season, Harris might be another relatively reliable scoring option, but in the playoffs, Harris becomes a role player, at best a quality piece, far from being a third option, let alone the second option on a championship-contending team. It's only because Jia Fei is truly outstanding, handling both offense and defense, that the Clippers were able to defeat the Rockets in the last game.

On May 3, the Clippers players continued training in Houston.

Coach Li was aware that DeAndre Jordan was being targeted by pick-and-rolls, but he didn't have a good solution. He couldn't simply shut Jordan out of the game; if they lost without him, he'd bear all the blame. Besides, Coach Li felt there was no one else on the team to replace Jordan. Harrell's defense wasn't good, and Art Mayok's rim protection and rebounding were inferior to Jordan's.

DeAndre Jordan may not be the right answer, but he is certainly the best solution right now. This is what Coach Li believes. He can't ignore his own position as head coach. It's not his fault that the team can't win the championship. Nobody ever thought this Clippers team could win a championship.

Furthermore, the Clippers won their first game, so there's no need to consider changing their lineup. Continuing to play as they are and then considering other options based on the situation is the more realistic approach at present.

In another Western Conference matchup, the Warriors rallied to defeat the Spurs in Game 1.

The result of the game wasn't too surprising. The Warriors, on paper, are the strongest of all playoff teams, and defeating the Spurs at home was expected. However, the Spurs led by more than 20 points at one point. But when their star player, Leonard, was injured and forced to leave the game by Zaza Pachulia's foul, the situation changed dramatically.

Jia Fei remembered that in his previous life, these two teams met in the Western Conference Finals, and in the first game, Jia Fei's stoic face was injured and forced to leave the game by a foul from Zaza. Now, they were facing off in the semifinals, and the process was almost the same. Jia Fei still couldn't escape Zaza's vicious kick.

This shouldn't be surprising. When someone forces you to trade blows, you can't escape. Just like when Love had his arm broken by Olynyk, was it an accident? Definitely not. They wanted to hurt you; it just so happened that your arm came at you. If it had been your foot, they would have attacked your foot instead.

Facial paralysis isn't the type to fly or teleport; he doesn't jump that often. But you always have a chance to jump, and no matter how high you jump, you always have to come down. That scumbag's poisonous kick is waiting for you. So, are you going to come down or not?

He suffered a facial paralysis injury, and post-game examinations indicate that his season is almost certainly over. With his season ruined, the Spurs' elimination is a foregone conclusion.

Zaza single-handedly sealed the series, making him arguably the best defensive player in the playoffs...

On the evening of May 4th, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Game 2 of the Clippers vs. Rockets series took place.

Before this game, the Rockets kept it extremely secret regarding whether 58 would return to the court, and no definite news was released until the pre-game practice. It wasn't until just before the game started that it was revealed he would be returning.

The return of player 58 to the starting lineup will be the biggest news before this match.

With 58's return, the Rockets adjusted their starting lineup, with Roundface stepping down from the bench and 58 and Harden starting as the team's backcourt duo.

After the game started, the Rockets used pick-and-rolls at the center and first position from start to finish, relentlessly targeting DeAndre Jordan. The Clippers, on the other hand, had Beverley guard 58 and Jia Fei guard Harden.

But when they run pick-and-rolls, they precisely target DeAndre Jordan's weaknesses: he can't switch onto guards and his footwork is too slow to keep up with rotations.

Comparatively, while Cardiff's defensive switches couldn't prevent Jia Fei from getting thoroughly exploited, his movement was still faster than Jordan's. Furthermore, the Rockets changed their defensive strategy, relentlessly double-teaming Jia Fei, packing the strong side, and giving him some opportunities on the weak side.

Judging from his physical condition after his return, DeAndre Jordan has not fully recovered, especially on the offensive end. He has not yet reached his peak form, so he has not been completely worn out yet.

The Clippers' problem is that Wesley Johnson on the weak side can't make shots, and Harris also had a poor shooting night, which made it very beneficial for the opponent to double-team Jia Fei.

The Clippers' two major weaknesses combined in this game. The return of 58 had a huge impact on them, further amplifying the team's inherent roster flaws.