NBA's King of Talking

Thabo Sefolosha is truly a warm-hearted person. He doesn't act like a long-time teammate at all, and is very willing to mentor the team's newcomers. He has always liked young players who enjoy defense, and Jia Fei has shown a strong liking for defense and a willingness to do the dirty work since training camp.

"Sabo, come guard me!" Westbrook hopped over and put his arm around Sefolosha's neck.

Jia Fei tactfully walked away, thinking to himself, "Sabo, second brother, I'm your good brother Luffy!"

On the evening of the 29th, the Thunder played the Grizzlies on the road.

The two teams battled until the very last moment, but the Thunder ultimately prevailed on the road thanks to Durant's outstanding performance, securing their third consecutive victory.

After the game, the Thunder players immediately took a chartered plane back to Oklahoma City, where they will face the Mavericks in a back-to-back game at home the following evening.

Jia Fei followed the team from one city to another, flying back and forth. He looked very tired, but he wasn't tired at all because he didn't play a single second on the court.

Like him, Reggie was always guarding the water fountain. Their main jobs were guarding the water fountain and waving towels as the main force of the atmosphere team on the sidelines to cheer on their teammates on the field.

From some perspectives, their job is pretty enjoyable: sitting in the best seats to watch NBA games, receiving a salary without playing, and without the risk of injury.

But for them, the feeling of not being able to play was absolutely terrible...

On December 30th, the Thunder narrowly defeated the Mavericks at home, securing their fourth consecutive win. This concludes their 2011 season. Since all four wins were close, there were no garbage times, so neither Jaffee nor Reggie Jackson received any playing time.

Before we knew it, it was January 2012...

If we start counting from the draft, Jia Fei has been with the Thunder for over half a year. Unfortunately, he hasn't gotten a chance to play.

His former teammate Kemba Walker has now secured a regular backup point guard position with the Bobcats and is performing well. As a key player in the team's development, his future looks bright.

As for his other teammate, Art Mayok, he was drafted by the Lakers and is currently playing in the NBDL, where he is in an even worse situation than Jia Fei.

On January 1, the Thunder narrowly defeated the Suns at home, achieving their fifth consecutive victory.

On January 3, the Thunder narrowly lost to the Mavericks on the road, ending their six-game winning streak.

A day later, the Thunder suffered a narrow defeat at home to the Trail Blazers, marking their second consecutive loss.

Eight games have passed, and the Thunder have a record of 6 wins and 2 losses, which is not bad overall. However, they have never had a big win or a big loss, which means that Jia Fei and Reggie have not been able to get a single minute of playing time.

After playing the Trail Blazers, the Thunder will have two days of rest before hosting the Houston Rockets on January 7.

After training on the 5th, Jia Fei said to Reggie, "Please let the next game have garbage time, so we can get on the field."

Reggie seemed somewhat uninterested: "There's no point in appearing during garbage time!"

"But it's better than us just sitting on the water cooler all the time, right?" Jia Fei shrugged and said, "I've been waving towels around a lot lately, and my wrists are sore. I'm afraid I'll lose my shooting touch!"

Reggie laughed: "Ja, you're a real joker!"

January 7th has finally arrived, with the Thunder hosting the Rockets.

As the home team of Chinese fans, the Rockets know their roster inside and out, from the owner and general manager to the bench players. Unfortunately, Yao Ming's retirement has caused a significant drop in the team's popularity among Chinese fans. They are eager to bring in the next Chinese player, and their scouts are frequently seen in the CBA, all in an effort to continue profiting from the Greater China region's influence.

Once you've tasted the benefits, you just can't stop.

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced. The Thunder's starting lineup remains the same as before. For the Rockets, the starting five are Scola, Kevin Martin, Dragic, Jordan Hill, and Budinger.

Chinese Rockets fans all know that these players all have nicknames: Scola is called "Diamond," Martin is called "Crooked Handle Machine Gun," Dragic is called "Chicken Catcher," and Jordan Hill is called "Sharp Brother."

After the game started, the Thunder, with their superior strength, quickly gained the upper hand. The gap widened significantly throughout the third quarter.

Jia Fei said to Reggie, who was sitting next to him, "You can get ready now. I think we'll have a chance to perform tonight."

Reggie knew about this, of course, but he still seemed a little unenthusiastic. It was just garbage time, so what if he made it onto the stage? What he didn't understand was why Jia Fei was so excited.

What Reggie didn't know was that Jia Fei needed to play in the NBA regular season; he had tasks to complete. Otherwise, would he really like playing garbage time so much? Did he really think he was that unambitious?

With 4 minutes and 55 seconds remaining in the final quarter, Rockets head coach Kevin McHale conceded defeat and substituted in the bench players.

The Thunder cooperated by removing their rotation players and bringing in a benchwarmer lineup.

Jia Fei and Reggie have finally gotten their chance to play! This is their 9th regular season game this season!

The Thunder's lineup consisted of LaMarcus Aldridge, Lazar Hayward, Jafi, and Nick Collison.

The Rockets' starting lineup consisted of Thabeet, Chandler Parsons, Jonny Flynn, Courtney Lee, and Marcus Morris.

The score at this point was 86-98, with the home team Thunder leading by 12 points.

After the timeout, the game resumed. The outcome was essentially decided, but seeing Jia Fei and Reggie on the court, many fans who were planning to leave changed their minds; they wanted to see how the two rookies performed. In the preseason, these two rookies had certainly impressed.

The game continued, and Jonny Flynn dribbled the ball across half-court.

Flynn is also a tragic figure. As the 6th overall pick in the first round of the 2009 draft, he now plays as the Rockets' third point guard and only gets playing time during garbage time.

Jia Fei was guarding the handsome and wealthy Parsons. The two were considered the two most handsome rookies in the draft, and their "duel of the handsome" attracted the attention of the fans in the arena, even though it was garbage time...

Johnny Flynn passed the ball to Thabeet in the low post after a screen. Thabeet turned very slowly and tried to hook the ball, but his footwork was unclear and the referee caught him traveling.

Rockets head coach Kevin McHale, nicknamed "The Refrigerator," shook his head helplessly on the sidelines...

Applause and cheers erupted from the crowd, clearly mocking Thabeet, who had cemented his status as the bust runner-up, a position that was virtually impossible to change.