NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 318: Two Home Games Won in a Row

Intermission.

"Coach Zhang, could you please summarize the first half of the game?" Yu Jia said.

"Good!" Coach Zhang nodded, gesturing with his hands, very serious, like a seasoned basketball player. "In the first half, the Hawks played more rationally than the Warriors, their shots were more decisive, and their spaghetti shot was better. The Hawks don't need to make many adjustments in the second half; they're playing very rationally. Just keep playing like that, keep being rational. Jia Fei, I think he's becoming more and more like Kobe. Hey, that decisiveness in his shots, it's really like he was made from the same mold as Kobe. The young man has a lot of potential."

In the second half, both teams stuck to their previous playing styles, with the Warriors making some minor adjustments. They reduced Ezeli's playing time and increased Speights' time in the paint, lowered their height, and increased their outside shooting.

However, perhaps due to the pressure of playing on the road, the Warriors' role players struggled with their shooting and their offensive rhythm was fragmented, allowing the Hawks to maintain control throughout the game.

Thanks to their overall performance and the leadership of Jia Fei on both offense and defense, the Hawks maintained their advantage until the final buzzer.

Ultimately, the Hawks defeated the Warriors by 12 points at home, winning the first game of the NBA Finals.

Jia Fei had an outstanding performance in this game. He played for 38 minutes and 21 seconds, scoring a game-high 33 points, along with 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals and 1 block.

No Warriors player scored more than 30 points. Curry was still the best performer, with 20 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 steals. However, he was double-teamed and helped by the Hawks throughout the game, which prevented him from maximizing his offensive firepower.

Klay was completely contained by Jia Fei, scoring only 8 points throughout the game. Facing the league's top perimeter defenders who closely guarded him, he struggled to find good shooting opportunities. His lack of ball-handling skills was magnified.

In the home team's locker room after the game, Jia Fei and Art Mayork embraced tightly.

"Art, we still need three more wins!" Jia Fei said with great emotion.

"Yes, Ja, only 3 more games to go!" Art Mayork was also very excited.

At the post-match press conference, Jia Fei, Horford, and Coach Buden were present.

Jia Fei was naturally the center of attention at the press conference.

"Hello Jia Fei, the first game of the finals wasn't an easy win. Have you found the key to winning the championship?" a reporter asked.

Jia Fei nearly vomited blood. The key to winning the championship? It was only the first game! At most, it was just testing each other. The opponent would definitely adjust in the next game. Winning the championship wasn't that easy. The Hawks weren't strong enough to crush the Warriors and win the championship; their absolute talent wasn't enough.

"This is only the first game. Our opponent will adjust. The series is long, and I hope the result will be favorable to us!" Jia Fei answered calmly. He's quite experienced in answering these kinds of questions now, avoiding absolutes, refraining from stirring up trouble, and staying within the reporter's topic traps. He uses witty remarks and avoids unnecessary arguments. The Chinese language and culture are profound and complex; how could American reporters possibly know the secrets of certain languages?

"Jia Fei, you had a conflict with Draymond Green during this game, and your teammate Art Mayork stood up for you and received a technical foul. What's your opinion of Draymond?" another reporter asked, raising a question that everyone was concerned about.

"What do you think? Haha, I want to beat him and his team, it's that simple. Of course I'm happy that Art stood up for me, he's my brother. If he gets fouled, I'll help him without hesitation, it's that simple!" Jia Fei said with a smile.

After he finished speaking, applause broke out in the room.

Game 2 of the Finals will continue on June 7 at the Hawks' home arena, Philips Arena. The Hawks, who won the first game, currently have an advantage. If they win another game and travel to the Bay Area with a 2-0 lead, their psychological advantage will be enormous.

On June 6, the Hawks held their routine practice in preparation for the upcoming games.

The Warriors will definitely make adjustments, that's for sure. Whether they'll change the starting lineup is unknown, but the rotation will likely be adjusted. Ezeli and Speights both had subpar performances in the last game, and one of them will probably be dropped for the next game. Will David Lee get a chance?

On the evening of June 7th, Game 2 of the finals officially began.

The Warriors did not change their lineup and used the same starting lineup as in the first game.

On offense, the Warriors adjusted their strategy against the Hawks' double-teams, with Curry receiving the ball more often on the move, and the team providing him with more off-ball screens to create shooting opportunities. Green was also more decisive in handling power play, quickly passing the ball to create open shots for his teammates.

The Warriors made adjustments to their second unit, with David Lee moving into the rotation, replacing Ezeli. Speights remained in the rotation but with reduced playing time, while Barbosa's minutes increased.

It's clear that the Warriors' rotation adjustments reflect their dissatisfaction with their offense in the first game, reducing the overall height of the lineup and increasing shooting and speed.

The Warriors also made adjustments on the defensive end. They started double-teaming Jia Fei, and consciously left Milwaukee, Teague and Schroder open for three-pointers, applying pressure on the strong side and rotating on the weak side.

In response to the Warriors' adjustments, the Hawks' Jia Fei increased the speed of his ball movement, while the others accelerated the ball distribution, and they took decisive shots when opportunities arose.

Reduce unnecessary passing and turnovers, and quickly get back on defense to prevent the opponent from launching easy counterattacks. Protect the defensive rebounds and reduce unnecessary fouls.

The two teams were evenly matched in the first half. In the third quarter, the Hawks' role players suddenly found their rhythm, hitting consecutive three-pointers and going on a mini-run to widen the score gap.

In the final quarter, the Warriors deployed a desperate small lineup to try and catch up, but the point difference was too large, and they ultimately failed to make up for it, suffering their second loss in the series.

The Warriors have lost two straight games and are now down 0-2 in the series.

The Hawks have won two straight games, and they are in a very good position now.

Many outsiders are already touting the Hawks as the champions and Jia Fei as the Finals MVP. While there have been instances in NBA Finals history where teams have been up 2-0 and then come back to win, the majority of the time the leading team has actually won the championship.

Jia Fei remained calm after the game. In an interview, he said, "The series only truly begins when we win on the road. Now is not the time for us to celebrate; there are still two more wins to go. I won't relax. In the Finals, the Mavericks also won the first two games, but the Heat won four straight to come back and win the series. I don't want to be the one who gets overturned!"

Jia Fei certainly remembered this lesson from the past. Unless you're leading 3-0, a 2-0 lead is really not safe at all, not to mention that both of your wins were at home.