NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 521 They've Got Their Eyes on the Hammer

On the evening of November 16, the Clippers hosted the Spurs at Staples Center.

During the offseason, the Spurs finally traded away the "God of War" Kawhi Leonard, who always wore suits and never played, and acquired DeMar DeRozan, one of the "Trash Brothers," and center Jakob Poeltl from the Raptors.

If both are healthy, Kawhi Leonard is definitely better than DeRozan. But the problem is, Kawhi is strong, but he doesn't play! What's the use of being strong if you don't play? It's like having a villa but not being able to live in it—what's the point? Fortunately, both Kawhi and the villa can be traded, just not at market price, only at a discount. Clearing out the stock at a discount is still better than getting nothing when his contract expires.

Popovich, a man of great wisdom and resourcefulness his entire life, was betrayed in his old age by the stern, unsmiling boy he had painstakingly groomed as his successor. The blow was immense. The old man seemed to age five years overnight, and his overall mental state was far from good.

The Clippers and the Spurs are not comparable in terms of either their roster strength or popularity. The reason this game has generated so much buzz is because there are stories about the two teams.

Last season's Western Conference playoffs first round featured a matchup between these two teams, with the Clippers sweeping the Spurs 4-0. Furthermore, Clippers head coach Mike Budenholzer is a disciple of Gregg Popovich.

There's another thing, which concerns Spurs forward Kyle Anderson.

There have been rumors circulating for the past few days that the Chinese Basketball Association is trying to naturalize Kyle Anderson because of his Chinese ancestry. This naturally sparks discussion, and people are speculating whether Jia Fei was the one who suggested it. It's worth noting that not long ago, the General Administration of Sport of China publicly announced that Clippers star Jia Fei and his teammate Art Mayork had officially acquired Chinese citizenship and completed their naturalization process.

It was indeed Jia Fei who proposed this. He wasn't the one negotiating the naturalization; that was the Chinese side. He only mentioned the Chinese side, leaving the specifics to the professionals.

Jia Fei knew that Kyle Anderson, whom Chinese fans called "the essence of human movement" and "the hammer," was indeed later naturalized to the Chinese men's basketball team and renamed Li Kai'er.

During pre-match practice, Jia Fei approached Da Chui and had a brief chat with him.

He wouldn't force anyone to accept naturalization; he himself accepted it, and he couldn't force others to do the same.

However, Jia Fei was also well aware that since Da Chui had accepted naturalization in his previous life, the possibility of him accepting naturalization in this world was equally real. Moreover, he hoped that Da Chui could accept naturalization as soon as possible, so that they could work together to help the Chinese men's basketball team.

Wouldn't it be better to naturalize them sooner and fight side by side together sooner?

Jia Fei felt it was a very realistic situation: if he could make money with Da Chui, then naturally people would be more willing to accept naturalization. In the NBA, how many young people can resist the temptation of dollars?

Jia Fei felt that Da Chui couldn't possibly be a saint, otherwise why would he come to play in the NBA? Wouldn't it be better for him to become a monk?

This match was broadcast live on Tencent, with commentators Ke Fan and guest Yang Yi providing the commentary.

"Mr. Yang, the Spurs are playing the Clippers away in this game. What are your thoughts on this game?" Ke Fan looked at Yang Yi with a "humbly seeking advice" attitude, as if Yang Yi were the most important figure in the basketball world.

Yang Yi smacked his lips and said, "Let me put it this way, even if Popovich is as wise as Zhuge Liang, I don't think the Spurs have any chance against this Clippers. The Spurs' offense isn't good right now, and their defense isn't great either. After Duncan retires, do you expect Aldridge to defend? Don't have too many expectations. I don't think DeRozan can be compared to Jia Fei either. DeRozan is about as good as Paul George."

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced.

The Clippers' starting lineup, playing at home, consisted of Jia Fei, Beverley, George, Gallinari, and Art Mayork.

Olynyk will miss this game due to inflammation in his right shoulder.

Apart from Jia Fei, the Clippers' starting lineup has had varying degrees of attendance issues. Jia Fei remembers that in his previous life, Paul George had an excellent attendance record and was in great form this season, even making it into the MVP rankings. However, the attendance of the other players was less reliable. Fortunately, the Clippers have a lot of players available, so it doesn't matter if one or two role players are sidelined. In fact, it can give playing time to those who have been sitting on the bench.

With Olynyk out, Art Mayork, who had previously fallen out of the rotation, got a chance to play. Considering that Karel was better suited to be a substitute, Art Mayork started directly.

The Spurs' starting lineup for the away game was Aldridge, Kyle Anderson, DeRozan, Forbes, and Mills.

Popovich is very good at balancing the strength of the starters and substitutes, so players like Gay and Belinelli are not in the starting lineup.

Amid cheers from the fans, Art Mayork and Aldridge prepared for the jump ball near the center circle, the game was about to begin.

Lin Ning came again tonight. She often receives tickets from Jia Fei, which makes her a regular at the Staples Center.

And the seats she always gets are so good; she really can't imagine that one day she can watch games from such a good seat all the time.

Jia Fei said she is the Clippers' "lucky charm" because the Clippers won every game she went to Staples Center this season.

The jump ball began, and Art Mayork, who had been holding back for too long, shouted so loudly that he almost scared the referee who was throwing the ball, and passed the ball to Paul George.

Pickled Pepper almost dropped the ball and passed it to Jia Fei.

He dribbled the ball over, and Forbes was guarding him.

Art Mayork came up to set a screen!

Jia Fei dribbled the ball and set a screen with Art Mayok, then drove the ball inside.

The Clippers' lineup spread out very wide, and the Spurs dared not double-team them.

Jia Fei strolled leisurely, then tossed the ball into the air!

Art Mayork, understanding perfectly, leaped high, caught the ball with both hands, and slammed it into the net!

After completing the dunk, Jia Fei and Art Mayork gave each other a high five!

Art Mayork roared and slammed his fist on the backboard; he had been holding back for far too long.

On the Spurs' offense, DeRozan faced off against Paul George one-on-one, using a series of fakes and spin moves to draw a foul.

DeRozan made both free throws, tying the game at 2-2.

Many people only know Harden as the "king of flopping," but in fact, DeRozan is also very good at drawing fouls. His free throw attempts per game have consistently ranked in the top 10, and in some seasons he even made it into the top 5. It's just that he draws fouls more civilly, without so many floppings, and uses more fakes.

Beverley brought the ball over and passed it to Jia Fei.

Jia Fei passed the ball to Pao Jiao.

Pickled pepper outplayed DeRozan, scoring with a turnaround jumper and retaliating in kind.

"Jia Fei is really good at reading the game, and he's a very qualified leader!" Yang Yi couldn't help but praise.