NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 444 The Growing Pains of Adjustment

After sinking that bank shot three-pointer, Luol Deng arrogantly flashed a "3" sign at Paul George. The two had faced off multiple times in the Eastern Conference and naturally wanted to dominate their opponent. Given the opportunity, they were ready to unleash their full potential without any reservations.

Many gloating fans in the stands were cheering and laughing. Many Lakers fans knew their team was unlikely to have a good season, but that didn't stop them from being happy to see the Clippers fail. If their team couldn't win the championship, they'd rather another team win it than see the Clippers win it.

LaVar Ball laughed arrogantly, boasting to his companions about how awesome his son was, as if the Lakers' offensive play was orchestrated by his son, Lonzo Ball.

On the Clippers' bench, Coach Budenholzer held a clipboard, diligently drawing up plays for the players. Compared to Coach Li, who was always "Come on!" and giving pep talks, he seemed much more low-key and pragmatic. His team, responsible for giving pep talks, was Coach Ham, who had played for the Pistons during his playing days—the same coach who was also the Lakers' "head scalp god" in Jia Fei's previous life.

"That guy Luol just got lucky!" Paul George said to Jia Fei, still somewhat resentful about Luol Deng's bank shot three-pointer right in front of him.

"It was a fluke, but they made it. Let's increase the intensity for them and let them know the price of provoking us!" Jia Fei said to Paojiao.

"Okay, sure!" Paul George clenched his fist. He wasn't a coward, even though his playing style preferred jump shots to attacking the basket.

Despite being crushed at the start, the Clippers didn't panic. They had reached the Western Conference Finals last season and had experienced everything, including the Warriors. Why would they be afraid of a bunch of rookies from the Lakers?

The commentary booth on the sidelines.

"Charles, the Clippers' offense hasn't been going well at the start of the season. How successful do you think the combination of Jia Fei and PG will be this season? Are there any issues with their chemistry?" Kenny Smith asked.

Barkley gestured and said, "I don't think there will be much of a problem with their integration, but if you ask me what the ceiling of this combination is, honestly, I can't see it. The Clippers got rid of Doug and brought in Coach Budenholzer. In my opinion, they want to completely erase the imprint of the CP3 era and establish Jia Fei as the absolute core to start a new era. Obviously, they want to replicate the success of the Atlanta Hawks in the 2014-15 season, but the Hawks' success was due to luck. Their opponents suffered from injuries, and there was no opponent as strong as the Warriors at that time."

The timeout is over and the game continues.

Beverley dribbled over and was met with Ball's full-court defense and intense pressure.

That's the nature of young teams. When they get going, they're fearless, regardless of whether you're the defending champions or a super team, whether you're facing the league's best player or a superstar. They're like "a newborn calf isn't afraid of a tiger"—they don't care if they lose; youth knows no failure!

Although Beverley is short, dribbling is not really his forte. Under pressure from Ball and with the cheers from the fans, he made a mistake, dribbled too far, and was stolen by Ball!

Ball stole the ball and launched a fast break. Several young Lakers players rushed to the frontcourt like they were on steroids!

Beverley gets back on defense very quickly; he's definitely going to get his revenge. The ball was stolen from him, so taking it back is the only way to redeem himself.

Ball is very fast, and Beverley is not slow either; the two are like a race!

The fans at the stadium wanted to witness Lonzo Ball's first dunk of the season, and his father, LaVar Ball, had already stood up on the sidelines, excitedly taking off his baseball cap.

Unexpectedly, Ball didn't dunk, but instead did a "look back at the moon" and passed the ball to Ingram who was following up!

Ingram received the ball, his heart pounding with excitement. He wanted to dunk over Beverley, that short, stocky guy. He jumped with all his might, swinging his hand in a wide arc to smash the ball inside!

Just then, Yingge suddenly realized that the ball in his hand had been knocked away, and his hand hit the rim, causing his wrist to ache!

A collective sigh rippled through the crowd as the ball flew out of bounds and struck the cameraman behind the baseline with deadly accuracy. The cameraman's glasses were knocked off, and he saw stars!

Jia Fei had already gone over to offer his condolences when Ying Ge realized why the ball had disappeared – it turned out Jia Fei had blocked it!

The Clippers' bench was going wild. Art Mayork waved a towel and said to Dillon and White next to him, "See that? Trying to dunk in front of Ja, this is what happens!"

White and Dillon nodded repeatedly and clapped continuously. As newcomers to the team, they were fortunate to witness the defensive prowess of Jia Fei, the league's top player, and were filled with admiration.

LaVar Ball on the sidelines looked disappointed, constantly criticizing Ingram: "He wasted a great pass from my son. If you can't dunk, just go for a layup. That hook shot was ridiculous!"

The Lakers inbounded the ball from the baseline, and it ended up in Lonzo Ball's hands at the top of the key.

Beverly stuck it on like a plaster.

Ball passed the ball to Brook Lopez in the high post.

Big Lopes handed his hand to Ruyl Deng!

Luol Deng took the ball and attacked Paul George again. This time, George defended very seriously, and Deng had no chance, so he passed the ball to Nance Jr. in the corner.

Nance Jr. has no three-point shooting ability. He dribbles for one step and the ball dies, but the shot clock is almost up, so he has no choice but to force a shot!

The ball almost missed three times...

Jia Fei retrieved the ball and brought it over himself.

Facing Ingram's defense, Jia Fei tried to drive inside and passed to Gallinari in the corner!

Jiali's three-point attempt missed!

Jia Fei leaped to grab the offensive rebound and then made a quick bounce pass to Olynyk on the other side!

Olynyk's volley also failed!

Nance Jr. gets a rebound!

The Clippers' poor shooting at the start of the game was truly remarkable. Their teamwork was still rusty, their offensive rhythm was off, and even open shots felt unreliable.

Jia Fei knew that these were all necessary steps. Everyone was getting to know the team, both the players and the system. They would encounter various problems during the first 20 games of the season, and they had to be mentally prepared.

Lakers offense, under the Clippers' high-pressure perimeter defense, Ingram's pass went wrong...

The Clippers were indeed scoring, but the Lakers also went scoreless for a while after their 7-0 run, and their play was quite ugly. They couldn't organize an effective offense. The team's height is indeed terrifying, but they couldn't utilize their height advantage. Instead, their offensive spacing was constipated. They couldn't score one-on-one, and they couldn't penetrate the defense. Their offense was very chaotic.

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

Jia Fei received the ball and passed it to Olynyk in the high post, then set an off-ball screen for Paul George.

Paul George received the ball, drove forward, pulled up for a jump shot, but still missed!

Olynyk hit the ball away, and it ended up in Beverley's hands.

Beverley sets a pick-and-roll and passes to Jia Fei!

Jia Fei received the ball and made a second breakthrough, leaning against Ingram before turning around, taking a small hop to the basket, faking out before rising and drawing a foul from Nance Jr.