freenovelworld Chapter 734: The smoke of cigarettes begins.
Chapter 734: The smoke of cigarettes begins.
"Jia Fei's pass was absolutely amazing! How did he see Grant's open spot?" Wang Meng exclaimed in disbelief.
Yang Yi smacked his lips and said, "That's what makes Jia Fei better than other top scorers. He can accurately capture these fleeting passing opportunities. Of course, he could take the ball and pass it again, but by then the opponent's rotation might have already started."
Russell dribbled the ball over, and Edwards continued to call for it.
Russell signaled Edwards to go to the corner so he could run a pick-and-roll with Towns at the top of the key.
But Edwards wanted to get his revenge quickly; he couldn't wait!
Left with no other option, Russell passed the ball over!
However... Jia Fei, who anticipated the play perfectly, intercepted the ball!
Jia Fei's arm was too long. Edwards thought he had blocked the way, but it was still broken!
After intercepting the ball, Jia Fei launched a quick counterattack, and Russell and Edwards hurriedly returned to defense!
Edwards put in all his effort, always thinking he was one of the fastest shooting guards in the league, but... when he met Jia Fei, he couldn't even see his opponent's taillights!
Amidst the gasps of the fans in the arena, Jia Fei completed a flying dunk!
The chants for "MVP" grew even louder!
0-4, the Clippers take a 4-point lead thanks to Jia Fei's pass and dunk!
In just one minute, Jia Fei has already made two steals, both against the opponent's star player, Hua Zi!
Jia Fei doesn't usually smoke, but when he does, he likes to smoke Huazi cigarettes, and he especially likes to smoke the soft-pack version!
"Anthony Edwards is really arrogant. He actually thinks he can beat Ja one-on-one. He really doesn't know his own strength. You're just a baby and you think you can beat Ja? Dream on!" Kemba Walker, sitting on the sidelines, shook his head and smiled.
Russell dribbled over and gestured with his hands to demonstrate the tactics.
Edwards stopped asking for the ball and instead went to the weak side to create space. In these two consecutive possessions, he not only failed to score a single point but also committed a foul and was stripped of the ball twice by the opponent. He was utterly humiliated.
Russell slowly set a pick and roll with Towns, then passed the ball to Towns.
Towns set a screen and then mismatched Bridges, driving in with the ball, but Bridges was very close to him!
Towns couldn't push the ball in, he stopped the ball, and passed it back to Russell!
"He can't even beat Bridges, Towns is too soft!" Yang Yi couldn't help but complain.
Towns is definitely soft; the nickname "softie" didn't just start today, he's always been soft.
Russell played a through ball to Van der Biel at the far post.
Vanderbilt took a wide-open three-pointer—but missed!
Biao Ge's three-point shooting is indeed inaccurate. In fact, it's not just his three-point shooting that's inaccurate; he's not good at any offense. Even when he catches the ball and tries to dunk, he often butterflies his hands.
Jia Fei grabbed the rebound and suddenly launched a long pass from the quarterback position!
Hart sprinted down the court early, caught the ball, and completed a two-handed dunk!
A mini-run of 6-0!
The Clippers' home arena, IntuitDome, erupted in cheers...
"Mr. Yang, Jia Fei's long pass from the quarterback position is truly impressive!" Wang Meng exclaimed with a smile.
“Jia Fei wouldn’t have been able to pass this ball in the past, but he’s different now. He can pass it like it’s nothing!” Yang Yi said.
The Timberwolves were on offense. Russell used a screen to block Bridges with his backside and slowly advanced inside, attempting a floater—but missed!
Grant secured the rebound and passed it to Jia Fei.
Jia Fei pushed forward, and Beverley rushed over to grab it, but he turned around and passed by with a flourish!
A gasp of amazement rippled through the crowd as Jia Fei surged forward and unleashed a three-pointer!
The shot missed, but Hart got the offensive rebound!
Amazing kid Hart!
Hart passes the ball to Jia Fei!
Jia Fei received the ball, faked out Edwards, broke in, leaned against Fan Debiao, and went up strong. After the whistle blew, he switched the ball to his left hand and made a layup... The ball went in!
And one!
Even after hitting the target, Jia Fei remained expressionless, as if everything was under his control. That charade deserves a perfect score of 100!
The Timberwolves have taken a timeout!
Timberwolves head coach Finch was somewhat discouraged. Their offense and defense were completely outmatched by their opponents. The players were like headless flies on the court, not knowing what to do. The whole team seemed lifeless.
The Timberwolves players returned to the bench. They all looked somewhat dejected; it was clear the Clippers were not on the same level as the Pelicans and Jazz they had faced in the play-in tournament.
"The Timberwolves haven't scored yet, Mr. Yang. What do you think is the reason for the Timberwolves' poor offense?" Wang Meng asked.
"The Clippers' defense is excellent! Look at their five players on the court, every single one of them is a great defender. They're athletic, can defend one-on-one and help, and are fast. It's normal that the Timberwolves can't find good opportunities. Russell and Edwards, their offensive initiators, are outmatched, and Towns can't exploit the Clippers' mismatches on the wing. You can't expect Beverley and Vanderbilt to initiate the offense!" Yang Yi explained.
After the timeout, the game continued.
The Clippers maintained their high-intensity defense, with Jia Fei effectively guarding Edwards; he played very seriously.
Even the team leader was playing defense so seriously, which gave the other players extra motivation.
The Clippers' defense made it very difficult for the Timberwolves to attack, and they only scored 5 points in 6 minutes of the first quarter.
The Clippers' offense itself wasn't the problem, but the Timberwolves' defense still had too many weaknesses that couldn't be completely concealed. Towns, as center, isn't a strong defender, and he doesn't put in much effort on that end. Beverley is no longer the All-Defensive Beverley he once was; now he just looks aggressive, but his defensive effectiveness is mediocre. His assignment to guard Jia Fei was purely to annoy him, with little real impact. As for Russell, he can't guard anyone. The reason he was assigned to guard Hart was because Hart's offensive role is minimal. But the problem is, while Hart doesn't score much, the Timberwolves are grabbing offensive rebounds like crazy!
The Clippers' offense is simple: in half-court sets, they pass the ball to Jia Fei, letting him isolate and guard Beverley one-on-one. When double-teamed, he passes the ball to an open teammate for a shot. Much of their offense relies on rebounding after a defensive play and fast breaks, capitalizing on the opponent's slow recovery.
This defensive counter-attacking style is incredibly effective against teams that aren't top-tier.
Edwards was completely out of sorts in the first quarter against Jia Fei's defense, scoring only 2 points from free throws after drawing fouls, going 0-for-5 from the field and committing 4 turnovers.
Jia Fei contributed 5 steals in the first quarter alone, practically turning Edwards from a tough guy into a soft one...
The Timberwolves' second unit has decent athleticism and bench depth, with players like Naz Reed, Prince, and Beasley all possessing considerable talent.