NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 170 Chinese Brothers

The next day, the entire Hawks team had a day off, while Jia Fei went to the training facility with Art Mayork for their daily training.

He had his trainer practice catch-and-shoot. Following Korver's instructions, he maintained his balance when catching the ball and controlled his hand shape when releasing it, making sure his shooting form was not too different from when shooting a spot-up three-pointer.

He practiced shooting from the baseline to the corner, from the baseline to 45 degrees, from 45 degrees to the top of the key, and then the reverse. Besides three-pointers, he also practiced catch-and-shoot mid-range jumpers. His mid-range catch-and-shoot ability is more advanced than his three-pointers because he incorporates some of Allen Iverson's techniques, and Iverson's catch-and-shoot mid-range game was one of his main scoring methods when he played shooting guard for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Jia Fei recalled that during Iverson's peak years with the Philadelphia 76ers, he played the shooting guard position. Coach Larry Brown had him play shooting guard, while the traditional point guard Snow was assigned to the point guard position. So when Iverson didn't have the ball, he would use off-ball movement to create opportunities, and Snow would pass him the ball for him to catch and shoot.

Many younger fans haven't watched Iverson's games properly, mostly just highlights. They naturally assume that someone of Iverson's height must be a point guard, and a ball-handling playmaker at that. In reality, while Iverson did take a lot of shots per game, he wasn't a ball-handling playmaker; he was an offensive playmaker. This was the style of play for the four great shooting guards of his time—lots of shots, but not always with the ball.

Times are changing, so Jia Fei has increased his practice of catching and shooting three-pointers. Compared to mid-range shots, catching and shooting three-pointers is more tactically significant and harder to defend, which can enrich his arsenal and make him a greater threat off the ball.

Jia Fei is ambitious. He doesn't want to be a star player with obvious technical weaknesses. He wants to be a true all-rounder, an omnipotent presence on the court.

He doesn't agree with the so-called "six-sided warriors" in the league right now. For example, LeBron James, the "running man," lacks the ability to pull up for a jump shot and catch-and-shoot on offense, which are his obvious weaknesses. Kevin Durant lacks stamina, his dribbling center of gravity is too high, and he's weak in physical battles. Carmelo Anthony is said to be an offensive kaleidoscope, but now he seems to only have one move left: a pull-up jump shot after a jab step. He can't get past his opponent one-on-one, he doesn't move off the ball at all, and on defense, he's almost a walking dummy. Paul George can't lower his center of gravity when driving, he plays floating, and his offense relies too much on his shooting touch. The Los Angeles Black Snakes are seriously injured and getting old.

Jia Fei knew that perfect players didn't exist, but players without obvious flaws did. He didn't want to be left wide open on offense and constantly targeted on defense; he didn't want to experience that kind of situation.

On November 17, the Hawks will host the Magic.

The Hawks played poorly as a team, and the injury to their starting shooting guard, Korver, further weakened the team. Conversely, the Magic had a phenomenal performance from beyond the arc tonight.

Ultimately, the Hawks lost at home to the Magic, suffering their first home defeat of the season. This means their home winning streak has been broken, and their three-game winning streak has come to an end.

Jia Fei's performance in this game was average, but he was still the best player on the team.

After this loss, the Hawks' record improved to 11 wins and 4 losses, maintaining their third place in the Eastern Conference.

After the game, the Hawks traveled to Houston overnight, where they will face the Rockets in a back-to-back away game in less than 24 hours.

The Rockets are one of the favorites to win the championship this season. They acquired Dwight Howard, their biggest free agent this summer, to fill the gap in their frontcourt. However, so far this season, although their record of 10 wins and 5 losses, ranking 4th in the Western Conference, is not bad, the chemistry between Howard and Harden has not been as ideal as expected, putting considerable pressure on head coach Steve Kerr.

On the evening of the 28th, at the Toyota Center in Houston.

This game is being broadcast live across the United States. Jia Fei vs. Jeremy Lin and Jia Fei vs. James Harden are both highly anticipated matchups.

Jia Fei and Jeremy Lin are both of Chinese descent, one from the basketball powerhouse Universiti Connecticut, and the other from the academically renowned Harvard. Both had relatively low starting points in basketball: one a second-round pick, the other an undrafted player. However, their subsequent developments have been completely different. Jia Fei started as a substitute, gradually building his skills and eventually becoming a starter on a different team, showing signs of becoming a core player. Lin, on the other hand, went to the Knicks, where he had a breakout season, a "Linsanity" phenomenon that earned him a lucrative contract with the Rockets and a starting position, although he was displaced from the starting lineup this season by Patrick Beverley.

A season ago, Jeremy Lin had just joined the Rockets and played all 82 regular season games as the starting point guard, leading the team to the playoffs. That would have been more prestigious than Jia Fei's time as a reserve player with the Thunder. But now, their situations are completely different.

This match was broadcast live on China Sports Channel, with commentators Yu Jia and guest Su Qun providing commentary.

During pre-game practice, Jeremy Lin approached Jia Fei in a friendly manner, and the two even bumped shoulders.

"Jeremy, it's been a long time!" Jeremy Lin said.

"Long time no see!" Jia Fei said in Mandarin.

"Jeremy, your Mandarin is really good!" Jeremy Lin spoke Mandarin this time as well, but compared to his fluent English, his Mandarin was slow and not very fluent. He had only recently started learning it intentionally. After becoming famous, he gained more and more fans from the Greater China region, and he followed his agent's advice and began to study Mandarin diligently. In fact, his parents always communicated in Mandarin at home, and he could understand them; he just hadn't spoken it before, and therefore didn't speak it well.

"Yes, your Mandarin has improved too. Someone must be giving you extra lessons lately!" Jia Fei joked.

"What is 'special treatment'? I'm sorry my Mandarin isn't very good, please forgive me!" Jeremy Lin was still very humble and polite.

"So someone is helping you learn Mandarin! I remember you weren't very good at it before!" Jia Fei laughed.

"Yes, I hired a tutor. Jia, have you ever been to China?" Jeremy Lin asked curiously.

Jia Fei shook his head and gazed into the distance: "I've always wanted to go, but I haven't been yet!"

"I've been there, and the fans there are incredibly enthusiastic. I think you'll feel their love when you go!" Jeremy Lin said with a smile.

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced. James Harden, the Rockets' key outside player, will not be playing in this game, so Jeremy Lin, who has been a substitute in the previous few games, will start in his place.

The Rockets' starting lineup consists of Jeremy Lin, Patrick Beverley, Chandler Parsons, Terrence Jones, and Dwight Howard.

Kyle Korver was absent from the game due to injury, and Demar Carroll, the "wild boy" with dreadlocks, replaced him.

Jia Fei played shooting guard in this game, his first time playing shooting guard this season.