NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 589 Pickled Pepper Leg Injury

With the return of Running Man and Anthony Davis, the Lakers stabilized their situation. But with the return of Jia Fei and others, the Lakers' advantage disappeared.

At halftime, the Clippers led by 8 points, 50-58.

In the third quarter, the Clippers continued their strategy of collapsing their defense inside, and even when Anthony Davis and Chris Paul hit three consecutive three-pointers, they did not change this strategy.

The Lakers struggled against the Clippers' collapse defense, and they also found themselves uncomfortable against the Clippers' five-outside lineup. Even with Anthony Davis's help defense, having a center on the roster means you'll be targeted – there's really no way around that.

When the rotation began, Brunson led his team to a crushing defeat of the Lakers' second unit, effectively ending any suspense in the game.

Ultimately, the Clippers easily defeated the Lakers 101-117 at home, securing a victory in their opening game. On such a special night, they certainly wouldn't want to start their championship run with a loss.

贾飞砍下全场最高的38分10个篮板8次助攻3个抢断2个盖帽，依然是那个无解的男人。

After the game, some experts have been discussing Jia Fei's offensive changes. In this game, he not only used the behind-the-back step-back layup that Crawford used frequently, but also made a small variation when using Iverson's signature crossover: a step-back. This crossover followed by a step-back creates better offensive space and helps reduce interference when shooting. This technique isn't uncommon in the league; Harden uses it often. However, Harden uses consecutive step-backs, while Jia Fei can not only use a step-back but also a lateral or diagonal step-back, further increasing the difficulty for defenders.

At this stage of his career, Jia Fei, already one of the league's strongest players, is still evolving, expanding his arsenal, and improving and refining his offensive skills.

So tonight, when Jia Fei used his new skills, it was refreshing. When he used a crossover and step-back to take down Anthony Davis, everyone really felt like, "Who on Earth can stop him?"

The Clippers' home victory over the Lakers was acceptable to Lakers fans. The game wasn't a blowout, and the Lakers even held an advantage at one point. If that damned Leonard hadn't had to leave due to injury, the outcome would have been uncertain! After this game, those fans who were previously reminiscing about Ingram and other promising rookies, and criticizing Pelinka's team for trading Ingram and other potential stars for Davis, have fallen silent.

Anthony Davis is amazing, absolutely amazing! He's a two-way player, the center version of the answer in small-ball lineups. If Davis has any weaknesses, it's very few on the defensive end, at most he might struggle a bit against big centers. Offensively, he does have some flaws, such as his shooting isn't consistent enough, especially his long-range shooting; he can play with and without the ball, but his ball-handling skills aren't top-tier. He has more moves than his arch-rival, Harden, but he lacks a killer move; his ability to break double teams needs improvement, his passing is slow when double-teamed, and his turnover rate is relatively high.

Overall, Anthony Davis is one of the most well-rounded big men. After all, no one is perfect, and trading Ingram and others for Davis is definitely not a bad deal. If Davis hadn't specifically requested to come to the Lakers, there are plenty of other teams that could offer him these assets; the Pelicans could have easily traded him to another team.

The Clippers won the game, but there are still some concerns. The biggest concern is that Paul George's leg seemed to have a problem during the game; he appeared to be sore afterward and may need to be checked out.

Everyone knows that Paul George has a history of leg injuries. Although he hasn't played every game in the past two seasons, his attendance rate has been quite good. Now, with an injury occurring so early in the season, it's definitely not good news for the Clippers.

On the bright side, Paul George's injury is minor; with rest and some treatment, it shouldn't be a problem. Moreover, in terms of timing, getting injured now is better than getting injured before the playoffs. The team has enough depth at the forward position and certainly has the opportunity to give him some rest.

Jia Fei will have more pressure on his shoulders, but there's nothing that can be done about it, since he's the team leader!

On October 23, the Clippers officially announced that the MRI test of the leg of their star forward Paul George came back negative.

With the result in mind, Clippers fans finally breathed a sigh of relief. If Paul George hadn't had the game, the Clippers' chances of a three-peat this season would have been slim. Relying on Jia Fei alone would have been too difficult. Many teams now have two-man teams, and even three-man teams. No matter how good Jia Fei is, he's still just one person!

The team doctor advised that the player rest for two weeks and then have him checked again.

Jia Fei agreed with this suggestion, believing that it is necessary to take extra care of minor injuries during the regular season, otherwise it would be very easy to cause regret if problems arose in the playoffs.

Paul George did not travel with the team to the Bay Area; the Clippers' next game will be an away game against the Warriors.

The Warriors lost Durant in the offseason but acquired Nets' star D'Angelo Russell, so their overall strength is definitely lower than last season. Durant and Russell are not even in the same league. If Russell could be considered to be drawing fouls on Durant, it wouldn't be this Russell, it would be Bill Russell.

Lakers fans are certainly familiar with D'Angelo Russell; his nickname "Water Russell" isn't without reason. If the Warriors weren't worried about getting nothing in return for Durant, they wouldn't have wanted Russell; it's simply that Durant wanted to leave.

On the evening of October 24, the Clippers played the Warriors on the road.

This is the first meeting between the two teams since the Western Conference Finals last season. The rivalry between the two teams goes without saying. Even though the Warriors lost Durant this season, they are still one of the top teams in the league. The core of the Splash Brothers and Bulls is still there, as is Kerr. The 73-win Warriors team is still there.

That night, at the Chase Center, the Warriors' home arena.

Chase Center officially opened on September 6th of this year, and this arena will serve as the home court for the Warriors in the 2019-20 season. This designation of the arena as the Warriors' home court signifies that Oracle Arena will officially retire.

The Chase Center, which broke ground in 2016 at a cost of approximately $13 billion, is located in downtown San Francisco and has 18000 seats. Its giant screen is the largest in any NBA home arena.

The arena was originally designed with a room for fans and tourists to visit and exhibit. It displays the Warriors' history, the NBA careers of the Warriors' players, championship trophies, and more. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and the other members of the Hampton Five are all on display. The portraits are created by top American artists and are highly collectible.

The new arena is indeed very advanced, including the away team locker room, which is much better than the previous Oracle Arena's away team locker room.

Jia Fei also lamented when the CBA in China would catch up in terms of hardware facilities, so that players and fans could have a better experience.