NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 219 Complete Suppression of Offense and Defense

Because the Pacers' starting lineup lacks a true shooter, the Hawks are able to collapse the floor when David West and his teammates find their rhythm inside, giving the Pacers' perimeter players some open looks.

This approach is perfectly normal. Between three-pointers and the basket, if you had to choose, you'd definitely prioritize protecting the rim. Because while your dunking percentage can approach 100%, even a sharpshooter can't guarantee a consistent three-point shooting percentage. Even when you get an open shot, it doesn't guarantee you'll make it; that's just the way things are.

The Pacers did prioritize protecting the paint, but the Hawks didn't need every three-point shot to go in. They just needed to maintain a higher offensive efficiency than their opponents. A 100% three-point shooting percentage is something you can't achieve even in a video game without cheating.

The Pacers' adjustments continued to be suppressed. The Hawks' three-point shooting wasn't explosive, but it was still consistent enough to make the Pacers feel terrible.

Coach Vogel had no choice but to substitute his favorite player Gao Yuanyuan halfway through the first quarter, replacing her with Scola, nicknamed "Diamond," who is very familiar to Chinese fans.

With 6 minutes and 01 second remaining in the first quarter, the Pacers made a substitution, replacing Gao Yuanyuan with Scola.

The Hawks immediately made a synchronized adjustment, replacing Antić with Jia Fei's good friend Art Mayork.

Yu Jia was somewhat surprised: "Antic and Gao Yuanyuan, sorry, they're on the same roster as Hibbert. Is Coach Buden planning to use Antić to restrain Hibbert?"

Su Qun nodded: "Antic has the ability to shoot threes and create space, so he can definitely pull Hibbert out of the paint."

The score was 13-10, with the Hawks leading by 3 points.

Teague dribbled over and passed the ball to Jia Fei.

Jia Fei had the ball and was facing Paul George, so Art Mayok immediately came up to screen for him.

Art Mayork's cover was very solid. Jia Fei used the cover to move in, and suddenly accelerated, catching Scola off guard!

After leaning against his opponent, Jia Fei changed direction again, forced a layup, drew a foul from his opponent, and scored!

2+1!

Scola was frustrated, as he immediately gifted his opponent a 2+1 play. Who could have imagined that Jia Fei, who had been shooting from the perimeter, would suddenly and decisively attack the paint?

Yu Jia exclaimed, "Jia Fei's breakthrough was truly decisive. If it weren't for the pre-arranged game plan, his ability to read the game would be truly remarkable."

Jia Fei stepped up to the free-throw line and made the free throw!

16:10, the point difference has widened to 6 points.

For the Pacers, Stephenson drove hard to Korver, drawing a foul from the latter.

The Pacers made another substitution, with Carroll coming on and replacing Korver.

Carroll came on, and Jia Fei substituted him, with Jia Fei going up to guard Stephenson.

Stephenson is known as "Blowing Guy" because his GIF of blowing on the face of a Running Man in Akron has gone viral on the Chinese internet, making him a true internet celebrity.

"You guys sending Kyle, who's a defensive liability, to guard me is disrespectful. You should have been guarding me a long time ago!" Stephenson was clearly unhappy with the Hawks using Korver to guard him. In his opinion, unless Jia Fei personally guarded him, it was disrespectful to him.

"Do you think you're better than Paul George?" Jia Fei asked.

Stephenson, with an air of "I'm the best in the world," declared, "When the ball is in my hands, I am the GOAT!" After saying that, he received a pass from Jiao Zhixi, grabbed the ball with one hand, and taunted Jia Fei wildly.

Seeing this, many female fans in the stands seemed to be pregnant from afar, their faces beaming with love, as if Stephenson were their destined lover, as if he were possessed by the god of basketball.

Stephenson's skillful one-handed ball-catching maneuver didn't provoke Jia Fei's frantic pursuit. Jia Fei noticed the Asian man's confident expression, which surprised him. Shouldn't a young man his age be hot-tempered? As he hesitated, suddenly, the other man reached out his hand—completely without warning!

It was too fast! So fast that there was no time to scream for help. By the time Stephenson realized it, the ball was gone! Jia Fei had stolen the ball with lightning speed, making a successful interception!

Stephenson, enraged, stole the ball from Jia Fei and hit him, resulting in a foul by the referee!

Coach Vogel on the sidelines shook his head slightly, disappointed with Stephenson's brainless idiot behavior. "You're provoking people, fine, but mind your own business, buddy!" This guy is just missing a screw; despite possessing All-Star caliber physique and ball-handling talent, he constantly pulls off "Shaqtin' a Fool" plays. In this respect, he's no different from McGee and others.

Possession changed hands, and Teague received a pass from Carroll and dribbled the ball over.

Jia Fei came out to receive the ball, and Art Mayok continued to come up for a screen!

Jia Fei dribbled the ball in, and Art Mayork immediately cut to the basket!

To be honest, Scola's pick-and-roll defense is really bad. He doesn't know who to guard and just wanders around like a headless fly.

Jia Fei faked a shot and bounced the ball to Art Mayok, who was cutting to the basket!

Art Mayork received the ball, drove hard to the basket, and easily dunked it with both hands!

At 18:10, the point difference had widened to 8 points, and Coach Vogel had no choice but to call a timeout!

Art Mayork and Jia Fei excitedly high-fived. Their teamwork required no verbal prompting; a single glance was enough!

Yu Jia exclaimed, "The Hawks' strategy was too targeted. When Hibbert was on the court, they would use various handoffs from the top of the key to shoot three-pointers. When he was off the court and Scola came on, they would constantly attack the basket and use pick-and-rolls to attack him. Obviously, their pre-game preparation was very thorough!"

Su Qun nodded in agreement: "Jia Fei has made all the right choices in the game so far. Now we just need to see when he starts hitting three-pointers. If he does, the Pacers will be in real danger."

Their planned strategy was to have Antić and Gao Yuanyuan both in and out of the game. Their pre-game preparation focused on offense, emphasizing their five perimeter players and actively speeding up the pace to attack transition offense, specifically targeting the opponent's dominant center. Once Gao Yuanyuan was out, regardless of who came in, Art Mayork would enter, changing the offensive approach. They would no longer rely solely on their five perimeter players, but instead increase pick-and-roll plays in the paint, attacking the opponent's paint at opportune moments to create chaos for the opposing team.

Of course, all of this is based on the premise that they cannot be overwhelmed on the defensive end. If they can't hold on on the defensive end at the start of the game, everything may be in vain.

Without defense, there is no transition offense; without defense, the pressure on the offense increases significantly. In the playoffs, the saying "defense wins championships" holds true; even the strongest offense won't go far without defense.