NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 452 Defending Against One Running Man

In the NBA, several teams are highly sought after: Spurs assistant coaches, former Rockets players, and the Suns' "miracle doctor." Popovich is indeed a master, with countless protégés. Assistant coaches who leave the Spurs are very popular in the league and easily find jobs; this is true for both Budenholzer and Brown.

Before the game, both teams were practicing, and Joel Embiid was practicing his three-pointers with his backside sticking out. Embiid is the 76ers' darling; the team is willing to spend money to keep him injured, which shows how good they are to him. He is indeed exceptionally talented. As a rare offensive weapon in the league today, he has excellent footwork in the low post, can face-up and isolate, and has a three-point shot—his skills are very well-rounded. Defensively, his rim protection is also excellent. Some have compared him to a combination of Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing, the future ruler of the paint in the small-ball era.

Ben Simmons, another talent of the 76ers, was the number one overall pick in 2016. Even before entering the league, he was hailed as "the next Running Man" and "the left-handed magician." Standing at 208cm, he plays point guard, possessing outstanding physical attributes, excellent passing vision, and overflowing talent. However, he has one weakness: poor shooting. This is even worse than when he first entered the league; his shooting form clearly indicates a problem with his shooting, and his accuracy also reflects this.

Positions 1 and 5 are the two most important positions in both traditional and modern basketball. In today's league, it's not accurate to simply consider point guard and center as the most important positions; a more accurate understanding is that they are the offensive initiator (primary ball handler) and the defensive anchor in the paint (rim protector). The former represents offense, and the latter represents defense. Of course, if the offensive initiator can also act as a lead defender, and the center also possesses offensive capabilities in the paint, then the importance of players in these two positions will increase even further.

Jia Fei proactively greeted several big names on the 76ers' sidelines. These were all players he admired, including his idol Allen Iverson and Dr. J, who had consistently supported him publicly. As for Dikembe Mutombo, given his connection with Yao Ming, the two acted like old friends upon meeting, displaying exceptional warmth.

"Jay, you're getting better and better. Keep up the good work, and I'm really looking forward to you becoming the GOAT!" Iverson, the idol, sent his blessings.

"Thank you, you flatter me, I will try my best!" Jia Fei was also a little flattered. GOAT, this is not just a goat, this is GOAT, the goal that a certain king of the League has always dreamed of becoming!

The attendance at Wachovia Center this season is significantly better than last season. Simply put, the team's performance has improved. Even though Philadelphia is a major city, its market can't compare to Los Angeles or New York. Teams that consistently tank, with fans flocking to see them only to be fed garbage—are there fans like that? Of course, but definitely not many. Some people might have masochistic tendencies, enjoying being abused or subjected to S&M, but most fans aren't like that.

This match was broadcast live on Tencent, with commentators Wang Meng and guest Yang Yi providing commentary.

"Mr. Yang, the Philadelphia 76ers have had a very good season. Do you think they can maintain this record?" Wang Meng asked.

Yang Yi smacked his lips and said, "It's hard to say! The 76ers have really been terrible for years. I've almost forgotten when they last made the playoffs. But in the East, the competition for playoff spots isn't as fierce as in the West, to be fair. Now Embiid is playing well, Simmons is in good form, and role players like Covington and Saric are also playing very well. I think they have a chance this season. As long as their record doesn't drop too much later on."

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced.

The 76ers' starting lineup for the home game was Embiid, Saric, Covington, Redick, and Simmons.

The overall height of this lineup is terrifying; to put it another way, it's somewhat similar to the Lakers, the Clippers' opponent in their opening game. The difference is that the 76ers' point guard is 208cm tall, while the Lakers' shooting guard is also 208cm tall.

Redick looks like a kid in the 76ers' lineup, but he's noticeably taller than Beverley when standing next to him.

Redick is a former Clippers player, but he's not particularly fond of the Clippers' roster under coach Jia Fei. Basically, the old Clippers players all left after Jia Fei arrived, and the current roster consists of new Clippers players. Redick isn't stupid; with 58-year-old Blake Griffin gone, his departure was only a matter of time. Since he's not in the team's future plans, finding a team willing to offer him a high salary is inevitable. The 76ers' contract is short, only one year, but the annual salary is a whopping $2300 million. Even if he's not in the 76ers' future plans, a contract exceeding $2000 million a year is still too tempting; he'll take it first.

The 76ers were willing to give Redick such a big contract because this starting lineup was sorely lacking in shooting. Saric and Embiid can both shoot, but they're not true shooters. Covington is a 3-and-D player, but his three-point shooting isn't very consistent. As for Ben Simmons, does he even have a shot?

The Clippers' starting lineup remained unchanged when playing away.

Both teams have started their respective lineups, and the match is about to begin.

The jump ball began, and Embiid jumped lightly, securing possession of the ball.

Simmons dribbles the ball across half-court.

Jia Fei was the one defending Simmons.

Although Jia Fei plays shooting guard and Simmons plays point guard, having the 185cm Beverley guard him is a huge mismatch. Simmons may lack shooting ability, but he can be used as an inside player. When he backs down to the basket, even with Beverley's aggressive play, the height and weight difference is still too great.

Beverley went to chase down Redick.

When Simmons reached the top of the key, Jia Fei didn't stick close to him for long, but he didn't leave him too far either—just a very safe distance. This was already giving him plenty of leeway; this is the defensive distance used against players with shooting ability.

Inside the penalty area, Embiid sticks out his back, asking for the ball.

Simmons's ball handling is incredibly smooth. It must be said that in terms of ball handling ability, passing ability, court vision, and defense alone, he's truly outstanding. However, if you combine that with shooting and aggression, he falls short.

In this respect, Running Man is much better than Simmons. Running Man has always been aware of his shortcomings and has been working hard to improve. Even though his shooting form is as ugly as a crab's, his accuracy is actually quite good, which clearly shows that he has put in a lot of hard work. On the other hand, Simmons could still shoot a few shots when he first entered the league, but now he doesn't shoot at all, which is really unbelievable... Even if you can't shoot, you should still be able to shoot, otherwise people really won't guard you.

Embiid showed off his footwork in the low post, taking down Olynyk one-on-one.

The Clippers didn't double-team, and Embiid scored with a high post shot, giving the 76ers the first points.

Clippers attack.

The 76ers' defensive strategy involved Redick chasing Beverley, 3-and-D player Covington guarding JaVale, and Simmons guarding George. They weren't bound by position, but rather used the players best suited to their roles. Brown, like Budenholzer, truly is a disciple of Popovich.