NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 259 Volunteering to Take Over the Opponent

The fans in the arena went wild! Jia Fei was finally going up against Rose! This direct confrontation between star players was the most exciting part of the game!

Rose has excellent ball protection skills. Many people have always thought that he is just physically gifted, but in fact, his fundamentals are very solid and his ball control is very stable. He is just not as flashy as Irving or Curry.

Jia Fei didn't intend to steal the ball from Rose by guarding him the entire court. If it were that easy to steal the ball, the NBA steals leader wouldn't be averaging 2.x points per game; he'd be averaging 5.x points per game. His strategy was to wear down the opponent's stamina and limit their offensive time.

Rose dribbled the ball past half-court and, facing Jia Fei's tight defense, attempted to get past him with his signature double crossover dribble. His dribble penetration is his weapon of choice; most wing players simply can't keep up with his speed, even now, after his major injury.

To his surprise, he couldn't shake off Jia Fei with his speed. Jia Fei was incredibly fast and agile. Combined with his 201cm height and 220cm wingspan, he was like a giant spider, completely enveloping him.

Rose couldn't shake off Jia Fei, and there wasn't much time left on the shot clock, so his wife came out to screen for him.

Unexpectedly, Jia Fei anticipated this and squeezed past the eldest sister-in-law, providing almost no cover!

With little time left on the shot clock, Rose dribbled between his legs, stepped back, and launched a jump shot...

Jia Fei's block severely hampered Rose's jump shot, which went off-target and almost missed the rim!

With Milwaukee securing the rebound, the Hawks, thanks to Jia Fei's full-court defense and exquisite half-court defense, completed this defensive play.

Applause immediately erupted in the Philips Arena, with everyone chanting Jia Fei's name. Jia Fei's defense on that play was incredibly tough; it was on a completely different level compared to Teague's defense earlier.

Teague dribbled over, Korver's run didn't create an opportunity, and the ball was passed to Horford in the high post!

Jia Fei is facing away from the ball, and Horford lobs the ball to him!

Jia Fei backed down Jimmy, executed a signature Jordan-esque shoulder fake followed by a turnaround jump shot, and calmly released the ball...

Jimmy didn't fall for the fakes much, but there was a clear difference between the two in terms of jumping speed and wingspan. They were about the same height, but their dynamic and static talents were significantly different. Jimmy could only interfere with Jia Fei's jump shot and couldn't really block it.

The ball went in perfectly!

74:75, Jia Fei scored 4 consecutive points, going on a 4-0 run to take the lead!

The cheers from the crowd came in waves again and again; Jia Fei's offensive and defensive maneuvers were incredibly strong!

Mike Brin exclaimed, "Jia Fei's arsenal has grown again. He's learned the turnaround jump shot. It's not exactly his regular weapon, but he already has it. What do you think, Mark?"

Mark Jackson nodded in agreement: "Jia Fei's progress is incredible. He has worked hard this summer. I haven't seen him play like this in the series between the two teams last season."

Bulls head coach Thibodeau on the sidelines was also helpless. Jimmy Butler was already their strongest defensive starter. If even he couldn't stop Jia Fei, then it would be even more difficult for others to stop him.

“You rarely play me one-on-one!” Jimmy grinned.

For a moment, Jia Fei really thought he looked a bit like Jordan. People online say he's Jordan's illegitimate son, but Jordan never admits it. However, in terms of looks alone, young Jordan was much more handsome; Jimmy was probably an uglier version of young Jordan.

"Yeah, your defense is pretty good!" Jia Fei also acknowledged Jimmy's defense.

"So you're scared?" Jimmy smiled wickedly.

“You’re a bit stronger than them, but you can’t stop me. You’re all the same to me. Sometimes I just want to slack off!” Jia Fei shrugged, not taking Jimmy’s provocation seriously at all.

"You're quite the braggart. Don't even think about scoring in front of me!" Jimmy was also a little annoyed. Everyone said that Jia Fei was a big talker, but he didn't expect this guy to be so arrogant and really think he was something special!

Rose dribbled over, and under Jia Fei's close defense, he was still having a hard time. Teague had also tried to close him earlier, but it was too easy for him to lose his position, so he stopped trying to close him so often.

The eldest sister-in-law came up to cover them, and Jia Fei went around from behind.

To put it bluntly, it means giving you a certain number of three-point opportunities, but not allowing you to break through.

If they squeezed through the screen, given the quality of Rose's screen and his speed, it would be too late to catch up.

Unless you switch, any defense involves trade-offs. Switching is certainly useful, but the problem is that if the opponent sets a pick and roll at positions 1 or 5, switching will just create a mismatch and is not appropriate.

Switching on defense is suitable for flexible lineups, but it's not a panacea; in many cases, help defense and rotation are equally important. It's unrealistic to expect to completely shut down an opponent one-on-one.

Rose hesitated for a moment before shooting, and with that hesitation, Jia Fei's defense came up.

Rose was also surprised. Why was Jia Fei so fast? In his memory, among the Asian players in the league, Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian were inside players, so of course they couldn't be fast. Jeremy Lin was considered a small speedster, but Jia Fei was obviously faster. He didn't look like a 2-meter wing player at all; he looked more like a 8-meter guard.

If one screen doesn't work, try two. The teammate patiently sets screens for his teammates. He is truly a good teammate, capable yet humble.

Jia Fei continued to circle around the screen, and Rose had no choice but to shoot this time, so he took a three-pointer...

The ball missed, and Korver grabbed the rebound!

Rose's three-point shooting remains unreliable. If there's one skill in his offensive repertoire that's the worst, it's undoubtedly the three-pointer. While his mid-range shot isn't perfect, it's actually decent; both its volume and accuracy rank in the middle for a point guard in the league. But his three-point shooting is truly unreliable. Many teams defend him by allowing him to shoot but not drive, preferring to give him three-point opportunities while focusing on shutting down his drives.

Teague dribbled the ball over, and Jia Fei came out to receive it.

Jimmy kept physically resisting Jia Fei, and the atmosphere between them was very tense.

"Score another point over me!" Jimmy taunted.

Jia Fei smiled slightly: "Traitor!" He called for Korver to come and cover him!

Korver came over to screen, but the Bulls didn't want to switch, so Jimmy tried his best to squeeze the screen, almost squeezing the fair-skinned Korver into a meat can.

Jia Fei only needs a slight delay; a change of direction and acceleration will get him in!

With the middle lane wide open, the Bulls' flanks retreated to intercept him!

Jia Fei was surrounded by four players! Of course, he didn't choose to do what Coach Zhang's beloved blacksmith brother did, and instead made a fadeaway jump shot over these four players. He decisively passed the ball to Horford in the corner!

There was no one within a 3-meter radius of Horford. He adjusted his shooting angle, took a good aim, and then released the shot...

Mike Breen: "Bang—Al receives a perfect pass from Jia Fei and hits a three-pointer!"

74:78，一波7:0，老鹰队反超4分！

The Philips Arena was absolutely boiling over...