NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 690 The Clippers' Core Advantages

39:42, a difference of 3 points!

That's incredibly fast! The Clippers' fast break, from blocking the shot and getting the ball back to the fast break dunk, took less than 5 seconds. That's the speed of a "real" man!

The Suns' defensive transition speed is still not fast enough. 58 is too old, and Ayton is too slow. The two forwards often go to the baseline, which greatly affects their defensive transition.

58 dribbled over and gestured to direct traffic at the top of the arc.

Booker calls for the ball, 58 points.

Booker dribbled the ball and attacked Dillon, who then launched a double attack on Booker with both physical contact and verbal communication.

Dillon enjoys the challenge of defending the opponent's key scorer, which ignites the fierce blood within him.

Booker took a series of probing steps, broke through, and then stopped abruptly to shoot a mid-range shot—which was disrupted!

The ball missed!

Jia Fei grabbed the rebound under the basket, pushed the ball up the court, faced Huang Zhong, performed a crossover dribble, then pulled the ball behind his back with a wide backhand, accelerated and cut in, using an in-out pass to get past Crowder, and then unleashed a powerful tomahawk dunk!

Wow--

The rim shook violently, a testament to the power of Jia Fei's dunk!

At 39:44, the Clippers went on a 6-0 run, forcing the Suns to call a timeout!

The Clippers' home arena, Intuit Dome, erupted in cheers immediately. Even though there were only 5000 fans in attendance, the screams were deafening. Jia Fei's girlfriend, Lin Ning, had already stood up to cheer for her boyfriend from the sidelines!

Coach Monty's face was grave; this was his worst fear. He wasn't unaware that the opponent would play a small lineup; just look at last year's Finals, where the Heat ultimately fell to the Clippers' small lineup. The Suns' Spanish pick-and-roll and pick-and-roll at the 1/5 positions struggled to create mismatch advantages against the opponent's switch-everything defense. Now, to break down the opponent's five-forward lineup's switch-everything strategy, they needed Ayton to dominate the paint, overpowering his matchup, drawing double teams, and creating opportunities for his teammates on the perimeter; or 58 or Booker to hurt the opponent in one-on-one situations, forcing them to adjust their defensive strategy.

Otherwise, simple pick-and-rolls or high post handoffs are difficult to be effective against switching defenses, and pick-and-roll tactics are also not very useful. The opposing team has no defensive weaknesses among its five players; they are all defensive stalwarts.

If the Suns can't break through the switching defense of their five-forward lineup, this series is over for them; if they can, the series is still going strong.

That's the situation. The Suns don't have many options, and their bench doesn't have any truly X-factor players. Their offensive core consists of their two backcourt engines and their interior anchor, Ayton. If these three can't create an advantage, it's hard to win the game.

There aren't many teams in the entire NBA that can field five forwards over 2 meters tall, and the Clippers are one of them. The Suns' advantage lies in their ball-handlers and Ayton's pick-and-roll; whether it's a delay or a switch, they can find mismatches. Booker is their go-to solution when their plays don't work out. When these two systems are in operation, most teams can't handle them. On the defensive end, they have excellent teamwork. While Ayton might be a bit too fastidious on defense, his speed and athleticism allow him to execute the team's defensive strategies very well.

The Suns are in real trouble now. They are vulnerable to switching defenses on offense and to superstar players with exceptional talent on defense. The Clippers have both.

The Suns' offense stagnated as they couldn't capitalize on pick-and-rolls at positions 1 and 5, and Booker's tough drives were contained by the opposing defense's stalwarts.

After the timeout, the game resumed.

Booker overpowered Dillon, managing to draw a foul from the latter!

Booker does have skill, but it's clear he's vulnerable to physically imposing wing defenders. He lacks absolute speed and explosiveness, making it difficult to shake off opponents. When defenders stick to him, he struggles to find enough space for a jump shot, and when he sets a pick-and-roll, the opposing defense can't find a slower big man or a shorter guard, forcing him into one-on-one situations.

The Suns inbound the ball in the frontcourt, 58 receives it, and bounces it to Ayton.

Ayton sat down to attack Grant in the low post, then attempted a turnaround hook shot—but it was disrupted by Jia Fei's help defense and still missed!

Dillon fought hard to grab the rebound and passed it to Jia Fei.

Jia Fei slowly dribbled the ball over and continued to face Old Huang Zhong.

Grant came up to set a screen, forcing a switch on defense.

Jia Fei VS Ayton!

The fans at the scene started to jeer, and some even waved KT boards with the number "58" on them!

58 wasn't blind to it; his face turned somewhat green...

Jia Fei dribbled the ball and attacked Ayton. Ayton naturally wouldn't come up to defend him closely, as he was afraid of being beaten by Jia Fei and didn't like having any physical contact with other men.

Ayton isn't Ayton; he's more like a "beloved concubine"...

Jia Fei held the ball in his left hand, slowly and leisurely, when suddenly, he made a lightning-fast crossover!

Ayton was trying his best to back away, but he couldn't keep up with the speed at all!

Jia Fei was too fast, so fast that Aiton didn't even have time to think. His body almost instinctively retreated, but even so, the other party still "whooshed" past him!

Jia Fei blew past Ayton and drove straight into the paint. Crowder stood outside the three-second zone, clearly trying to draw an offensive foul from Jia Fei.

Crowder isn't stupid. How could he protect the rim? His opponent is Jia Fei, someone who can dunk over him. With his height and jumping ability, going to protect the rim would just be giving away a 2+1!

Booker came over to help defend, but Jia Fei pulled the ball behind his back, followed by a jump step, and quickly and nimbly passed between Booker and Crowder to the basket!

Jia Fei jumped up and grabbed the opponent's hand behind his back!

Wow--

Screams erupted from the crowd, and the place instantly became abuzz with excitement...

“Teacher Su, that’s Jamal Crawford’s amazing dribbling move!” Wang Zixing exclaimed, his face showing an incredulous and shocked expression.

Su Qun was also somewhat shocked. He exclaimed, "That was such a beautiful play! Everyone thought Jia Fei was going to pass to his teammate in the open corner, but he scored in this way. It was like both the opponent and his teammates were fooled!"

The Clippers' home arena, Intuit Dome, repeatedly replayed Jia Fei's move. The move was seamless, from breaking through the opponent to finishing with a dunk, without any hesitation. The fluidity was perfect, reminding people of the team's former bench star, Jamal Crawford.

I never expected Jia Fei to use this move in this situation. He has more offensive moves than his idol Iverson and draws on the strengths of many others.

The Clippers led the Suns by 7 points, with the score at 39:46. The Clippers continued to score, while the Suns went through a brief scoring drought. They couldn't break through the Clippers' switching defense, and they couldn't contain Jia Fei on the defensive end. They could only watch helplessly as the Clippers slowly widened the gap.

58 couldn't sit still any longer. He overpowered Bridges, fought his way to the basket, and drew a foul on the latter!

58 made both free throws, finally breaking the deadlock for the team!

However, the Suns' offense did not fundamentally change despite 58's desperate efforts. The Clippers' offense did not take off completely either, but they relied on defense and counter-attacks to score more easily.