NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 599 A Serendipitous Strike

Gobert's interior defense is undeniably among the best in the entire NBA. Shaquille O'Neal has mentioned more than once on television that if Gobert were in their era, he would have been thoroughly beaten, saying that a center who can't score doesn't deserve to be a top-tier center in the league and doesn't deserve such a large contract.

To put it bluntly, O'Neal's belittling of Gobert isn't just about elevating himself; it also reflects a sour grapes mentality. It's well known that the salary cap has skyrocketed, leading many players to sign lucrative contracts, Gobert being one of them. Compared to the past, today's mid-level exception is equivalent to what was once an unattainable maximum contract, and in some cases, even less. This has made many veteran stars feel resentful—why should players of their caliber earn so much?

The problem is that this is a result of the salary cap skyrocketing. Gobert isn't on a supermax contract, so why is Shaq so unhappy with him? Ultimately, it's because he's just a blue-collar center. If he were like Jokic, Shaq wouldn't be so sour.

Back to the game.

Gobert's least favorite type of defender is center Olynyk. Olynyk almost never enters the paint; he's either at the top of the key or the corners, constantly handing off players and setting screens. You never see him go down to the basket and go for a hard drive.

Gobert's greatest strength is interior defense, but when it comes to help defense and sweeping, he is far inferior to Anthony Davis, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Conley dribbled the ball over and passed it to Mitchell.

Mitchell takes on Dillon one-on-one with the ball.

Dillon kept provoking Mitchell, using all sorts of foul language in an attempt to enrage him and make him lose his temper, just like Westbrook, who is always prone to losing his temper.

Mitchell dribbled the ball repeatedly, changed direction, suddenly stopped and stepped back, and then jumped to shoot... The ball went in!

The fans in the stadium immediately cheered. Here, Mitchell was their Kobe. Although he was a bit short, he was still the 13th rookie and had the big heart of a Mamba.

11:7, the score difference narrowed to 4 points.

Clippers are on offense, Jia Fei continues to be double-teamed, and Olynyk misses a three-pointer!

Gobert retrieved the rebound and handed it to Mitchell to push forward.

Mitchell drove straight to the basket and scored after the buzzer!

2+1！11:9，分差缩小到只有2分了！

The Clippers have paused play!

The Delta Center erupted in cheers. Mitchell was also very excited, shaking his shoulders repeatedly, just like the way Running Man often acts when he's showing off.

Dillon has already committed two fouls and has to leave the game. Fortunately, the Clippers have a lot of players at that position, so there's no need to worry about foul trouble.

After the timeout, Bridges replaced Dillon.

Compared to Dillon, Bridges has a longer wingspan, moves very quickly, and is very good at defending speedy guards.

But this time, Mitchell seemed to be on some kind of drug, and he just couldn't be held down.

Meanwhile, the Clippers' outside shooting percentage dropped, and their inside game, anchored by Gobert, wasn't very efficient. Jia Fei was double-teamed, and other players couldn't score consistently, leading to a close game.

At this point, the team will still miss Paul George. After all, with Paul George there, the opponent wouldn't dare to double-team Jia Fei so recklessly. When the team enters a scoring drought, this second star can also come out and stabilize the situation with one-on-one plays.

Both sides have entered a rotation phase.

The Clippers' second unit is still led by Brunson, while the Jazz's second unit consists of players like Ingles, Ed Davis, Niang, and Mudiay.

Even when Gobert is off the court, the Jazz maintain excellent defensive discipline. This team is highly disciplined on both offense and defense, and head coach Snyder deserves much of the credit for this.

The rotations on both sides remained tight, with neither team able to gain a decisive advantage. The Jazz's second unit had a mediocre offense but a very resilient defense. The Clippers' second unit had explosiveness and talent, but was still too young and lacked experience.

At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers led by one point, 25-24.

Tencent Studio.

Wang Zixing looked at the data and said to Su Qun, "Teacher Su, Jia Fei scored 11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in the first quarter. His performance was very well-rounded, but the Clippers still couldn't pull away. Do you think there's something wrong?"

Su Qun adjusted his glasses and said, "The Clippers can't pull away because Jia Fei is double-teamed and the other players' offense lacks continuity. The Jazz's defense is very strong and their discipline is excellent. The other Clippers players need to play smarter and be more decisive in their shots so that they can make open shots. Only then will the opponents not dare to double-team Jia Fei so recklessly."

In the early part of the second quarter, the score difference between the two sides remained narrow. When the main players returned, the same old problem persisted: Jia Fei was double-teamed, and the other players had limited ability to launch their own attacks.

The Clippers also suffered an injury problem before the end of the second quarter, with starting forward Danilo Gallinari spraining his ankle and leaving the game early.

At halftime, the score was 52-54, with the Clippers trailing by 2 points.

Intermission.

During halftime, Coach Buden made a bold move, deciding to start Kyle Anderson in the second half, replacing Gallinari.

The third quarter began quickly.

The Clippers took the first possession, and Beverley dribbled the ball over and passed it to Jia Fei.

Jia Fei passed the ball to Kyle Anderson, then ran off the ball himself.

Kyle Anderson has the ball, and Jia Fei finishes his off-ball screen and suddenly cuts inside from the left at a 45° angle!

Kyle Anderson passed the ball to Jia Fei right on time. Jia Fei received the ball and, without hesitation, pulled up and took a mid-range shot... which went in cleanly!

54-54, the Clippers quickly tied the score!

The Jazz were on offense. Conley and Gobert ran a pick-and-roll, but Gobert's shot was stolen by Kyle Anderson who was helping on defense!

Kyle Anderson led the counter-attack with the ball and passed it to Jia Fei for a quick run down the court!

After receiving the ball, Jia Fei used a Euro step to shake off Royce O'Neal and dunked with one hand!

56:54, the Clippers take a 2-point lead!

That's not all. The Jazz are on offense, and Bogdanovic's strong drive to Kyle Anderson misses!

Jia Fei grabbed the rebound, brought the ball over, and passed it to Kyle Anderson. Anderson and Jia Fei executed a one-two pass, assisting Jia Fei to score a layup!

58:54, the Clippers scored 6 consecutive points, forcing the Jazz to call a timeout!

During this period, Kyle Anderson, who started in the second half, provided three assists in a row, allowing Jia Fei to avoid being double-teamed and interfered with, and to score on consecutive attacks!

The fans at the scene exclaimed that Jia Fei was not only invincible with the ball, but also just as terrifying without it.

The Clippers' bench erupted in cheers, and head coach Mike Budenholzer even gave Kyle Anderson a high-five. The team atmosphere was truly fantastic.

"Teacher Su, the Clippers' offense has improved since Kyle Anderson came on. His playmaking ability is really good!" Wang Zixing said excitedly.

Su Qun nodded and said, "Yes, Kyle Anderson demonstrated his playmaking ability when he was with the Spurs. He has that ability. With George out and Gallinari injured, it was a lucky coincidence that the Clippers gained another ball-handler, freeing up Jia Fei's offense."