NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 118 The Constipation Competition

The Grizzlies' offense was also inefficient, while the Thunder's defense was very good. They had a tanky Perkins in the paint, a long-armed Ibaka, and a 7-foot-tall small forward like Durant. Their starting frontcourt was particularly tall, which made it very difficult for the Grizzlies and Memphis Grizzlies to play.

The Grizzlies' starting spacing is what it is. Tony can certainly defend, but offensively he's lacking in everything. The Grizzlies' "Grit and Grind" duo can both shoot threes, but that's about it; they don't generate much volume and mostly score in the paint. Conley and Prince are the only two players on the team with consistent shooting ability, but they're not the Splash Brothers and can't fundamentally change the team's offensive spacing.

The game was incredibly constipated, to the point that even a laxative wouldn't help. The offensive pace was slow enough, but both sides were playing a set-piece game, constantly missing shots, all sorts of shots. The most effective way to score was actually free throws—can you believe it?

The fans in the arena felt like they were watching a basketball game from the 1990s. At this rate, the two teams will probably not only break 100 points in this game, but their combined total will likely exceed 100!

Under this level of defensive intensity, Fisher didn't have many opportunities. The Grizzlies simply wouldn't double-team Durant; they were practically telling him to try and take him down by himself. Everyone in the league knows Durant's lack of stamina, and Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins has no reason not to know.

Coach Brooks finally made personnel adjustments ahead of schedule. Six minutes into the first quarter, he immediately substituted Kevin Martin to increase shooting and ball-handling offensive capabilities, replacing Thabo Sefolosha, who was useless on the court except for defense.

Kevin Martin's offense is undoubtedly several levels above Thabo Sefolosha's, but the problem is his defense isn't good. This team has too many players who excel on both offense and defense; currently, the only truly balanced players are Durant and Westbrook (everyone agrees Jia Fei's offense is weak).

Kevin Martin's entry into the game did not change the team's offensive slump; under this level of defensive intensity, his offense struggled to maintain high efficiency.

Jia Fei and Reggie are both sitting on the sidelines! Both of them really want to get on the court and fight for the team, but Coach Brooks has decided that their playing time will be later.

There's nothing we can do; the head coach simply doesn't trust them enough!

With 1 minute and 34 seconds left in the first quarter, a timeout was called on the sidelines, and the head coach called out Jia Fei and his teammates' names; they were to enter the game.

After the timeout, Jia Fei, Reggie Jackson, and Thabeet came on, replacing Fisher, Perkins, and Durant.

At this moment, the Thunder's five players on the court were Jia Fei, Reggie Jackson, Thabeet, Collison, and Kevin Martin.

The Grizzlies' starting five were Kenyon Dooling, Darrell Arthur, Jared Bayless, Quincy Pondexter, and Austin Daye. Both teams fielded their second units, and none of their starters were on the court.

The score was 12-9 at this point, and with the first quarter almost over, the Thunder had only scored 9 points...

If the Grizzlies' offense weren't also a complete mess, how good would their defense have to be to win a game with only 9 points in a quarter?

PS: Wade: "I'm familiar with 9 points, Jia Fei, do you want to participate in the dunk contest where I'm a judge?"

Reggie Miller said, "OKC brought in Jia Fei and Reggie. Steve, do you think bringing these two young guys in will help the team's offense play better?"

Steve Kerr nodded: "There should be hope. Memphis' starting lineup is too strong defensively, but the rotation lineup's defensive intensity is relatively average. These two young guys can bring out their impact and hopefully help the team catch up."

The Grizzlies inbound the ball to Dooling, who receives it and initiates an attack from the top of the key.

Jia Fei was primarily responsible for defending Bayless, sticking to him like glue.

Bayless's defensive explosiveness is the strongest among the Grizzlies' reserves; stopping him is equivalent to stopping the Grizzlies' second unit's key player.

Dulin dribbles past an opponent and passes to Pondexter on the outside.

Pondexter faked a pass and then passed the ball to Arthur in the low post!

Arthur's technique was also quite rough; he was different from the one in the game. He tried to challenge Thabeet's long arms while facing Thabeet's defense, but he failed to hit him!

Jia Fei leaped to secure the rebound and passed it to Reggie to advance the ball.

Reggie brought the ball up the court, used Thabeet's screen, and took a mid-range shot—missed!

But Jia Fei grabbed the offensive rebound and went up for a strong shot, only to have his shot blocked!

Thabeet grabbed the rebound and went back up, only to be fouled by Daye!

Thunder fans at the stadium breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, there was hope for him to score in double figures. He was just too cold, like a blacksmith was running a blacksmith shop, and the rim was about to be bent out of shape.

Thabeet stepped to the free-throw line and took the shot... but he didn't even touch the rim...

The Thunder fans in the arena were practically in an ecstasy. Dude, don't mess with us! You're a professional basketball player, after all!

Thabeet himself was a little embarrassed. He gave a silly smile, then immediately became very serious, his sharp eyes seeming to see right through people's hearts.

Thabeet's second free throw... This time he didn't miss the ball, but he still missed!

Thunder fans: "...Who's going to take care of this monster?"

Daye clears the board, and Dulin pushes in!

Bayless used an off-ball screen to receive the ball, and immediately attacked, driving diagonally towards the basket!

Jia Fei, like a mantis stalking a cicada unaware of the oriole behind, didn't rush to cut the ball, but instead stayed close behind him!

Bayless jumps, glides, and switches hands for a layup...

Jia Fei timed his steps perfectly, arriving first despite being behind, and delivered a powerful block to his opponent!

A cheer erupted from the crowd as Thabeet grabbed the ball, giving the Thunder possession!

Reggie dribbled the ball over and passed it to Kevin Martin!

Kevin Martin drives to the basket after receiving the ball, gets double-teamed, and then passes to Jia Fei on the weak side!

Jia Fei received the ball and made a second breakthrough, driving into the basket and drawing a foul from Arthur!

The Thunder have another chance to shoot free throws...

Some of the home team fans were stunned by Thabeet's "professional" free throw technique and felt a deep-seated fear of their team getting free throws.

Stop missing three shots, stop missing bricks, let's hear the beautiful sound of the basketball swishing through the net, my friend!

Jia Fei stepped up to the free-throw line.

The arena was quiet. He took his first free throw—and it swished through the net!

The sound seemed to echo throughout the vast stadium; it was so beautiful.

Jia Fei made both free throws, making it 12-11, and the Thunder finally reached double figures in scoring!

It wasn't easy, it was incredibly difficult!

Neither side managed to score on their last two attacks, and the first quarter ended.

Reggie Miller exclaimed, "This game feels a bit like the games we played back in the day!"

Kerr smiled slightly: "But we didn't score that low back then."

The third quarter began quickly.

Durant rested for less than two minutes before being replaced by Thabeet, and the Thunder stopped playing with their twin towers.

The Grizzlies also made a substitution, with Marc Gasol replacing Daye.