NBA's King of Talking

During pre-game practice, Jia Fei tried using Allen Iverson's signature move, the Crossover, to see what 11% of "Iverson's peak skill integration" really meant. He felt it was slightly faster than before, but compared to Iverson's, the difference was still enormous.

It seems that there is no obvious effect if the integration rate is less than 50%. Jia Fei has accepted this reality and will now focus on being a good 3D player.

Soon, the starting lineups for both sides were announced.

For the Thunder, with Thabo Sefolosha out, his backup Daequan Cook started, while the other four players remained unchanged.

For the 76ers, the starting five are Elton Brand, Lavoy Allen, Andre Iguodala, Jodie Meeks, and Jrue Holiday.

In terms of roster height, the Thunder clearly have a significant advantage. The 76ers' two big men are both 206cm power forwards, while the Thunder's small forward, Durant, is 211cm tall.

In Jia Fei's view, the 76ers' roster has strong defensive capabilities and high mobility. The only weakness is the lack of absolute height in the paint, resulting in some deficiencies in rim protection. The problem with this roster lies on the offensive end. The veteran captain, Brand, is no longer the 20+10 machine he was with the Clippers. Iguodala is a great all-rounder, but as a primary scorer, his ceiling is too low.

After the game started, both sides were inefficient offensively, making this a likely stagnant game. Halfway through the quarter, neither team had scored in double digits.

At this moment, Jia Fei, sitting on the bench, was a little nervous. He was about to make his first regular season appearance in his professional career, a moment he had been waiting for for most of the season.

Harden entered the game after 6 minutes in the first quarter, while Collison entered the game with 5 minutes left in the first quarter. At the official timeout of the first quarter, head coach Brooks called Jia Fei's name and told him to get ready to enter the game.

Upon hearing this, Jia Fei immediately stood up from the bench, his heart pounding even faster.

The official timeout ended, and Jia Fei and two others returned to the court. At this point, the Thunder's five-man lineup consisted of Collison, Mohammed, Jia Fei, Harden, and Reggie Jackson.

The 76ers' starting lineup consisted of Vucevic, Evan Turner, Thaddeus Young, Lou Williams, and Iguodala.

Andre Iguodala, also known as "Little AI," is currently the star player of the 76ers, but it is clear that his ceiling as a single leader is not very high.

Compared to when AI led his team to the Finals, he hasn't been able to lead his team to the second round yet. His stats are well-rounded but not outstanding, and his scoring ability is still too average.

Coach Brooks instructed Jia Fei to guard the opponent's star player, Iguodala, when he came on the court.

Jia Fei readily agreed. For him, having the opportunity to defend against the opponent's key offensive player was an affirmation of his defensive abilities, so he naturally wouldn't refuse.

Come on, bro, I'll make you someone the whales call "nothing"!

At this point, there were 2 minutes and 42 seconds left in the first quarter, with the score at 16-17, and the Thunder trailing by 1 point.

The commentators for this match were Steve Kerr and Chris Webber from TNT.

Webber once played for the 76ers and fought alongside Iverson, but there are no familiar players on the current 76ers roster.

The game continued, and Reggie dribbled the ball across half-court. Harden immediately called for the ball, and he could only obediently stand on the weak side and wait. Harden's role in the Thunder's second unit is that of the ball handler; nominally he plays the 2, but in reality, he does the work of the 1.

Jia Fei positioned himself in the corner to create space; he knew his limits, and even Reggie barely had the ball. He was being guarded by the opposing team's point guard, Lou Williams.

This defensive strategy was obviously arranged by the coach. He assigned two excellent defensive wing players to guard the opponent's two high-scoring guards, while his own weakest defensive player was assigned to guard a 3-and-D player who didn't score much.

Jia Fei didn't feel insulted. "You guys are sending Lou Williams to defend me? That obviously gives me more opportunities to attack. That's a good thing!"

The player guarding Harden was defensive mastermind Andre Iguodala. Harden used a screen to drive to the basket and passed to veteran Mohammed for an easy layup, but the latter's skills weren't up to par and he couldn't get the ball in!

Collison tried again, but still couldn't get it in! These two players' skills are really rough. In fact, many people used to joke that Stoudemire could only finish easy baskets back then, but how many big men in the NBA can't even finish easy baskets properly? There are a lot of them. Butterflies and missed easy baskets are very common.

The Thunder's interior finishing ability is quite worrying. Perkins, the starter, has been scoring in single digits for years, and the two veteran interior players on the bench are not known for their offense. This team is actually a true perimeter team.

Collison missed the rebound, but Jia Fei leaped high and rushed to the basket while Lou Williams was still in a daze, grabbing the rebound over Thaddeus Young's head!

After grabbing the rebound, he didn't rush to power up, but instead passed it to Reggie at the top of the key!

Reggie was open, he received the ball and unleashed a three-pointer—but unfortunately, the shot missed!

Iguodala retrieved the rebound to protect it and then brought the ball over himself.

Jia Fei started to lead the defense from the backfield, forcing Iguodala to pass the ball to Lou Williams to advance.

"OKC's dunk champion is really aggressive on defense!" Chris Webber exclaimed.

Steve Kerr nodded: "I noticed it when he came on during garbage time last time; his attitude was really good!"

Lou Williams exploited the Thunder's slow footwork by using screens to drive to the basket and draw a foul from Reggie Jackson on his layup attempt.

Lou Williams went to the free-throw line and made both shots, making it 16-19, with the Thunder trailing by 3 points.

Harden dribbled past half-court and, after a screen at the top of the arc, broke through and passed to Jia Fei in the corner!

Jia Fei received the ball and faced Lou Williams, who was intentionally leaving him open, and decisively took a three-pointer—but it missed!

However, this ball is positioned at the front, so the discussion is a bit far off!

Jia Fei reacted quickly, leaping high to grab the offensive rebound over Lou Williams' head, then forcefully drove to the basket. The latter, struggling, pulled him back...

"Beep—" The baseline referee blew his whistle, Lou Williams committed a defensive foul!

Since both sides have reached the "Bonus" point, Jia Fei will step up to the free throw line!

Because it was an away game, fans near the baseline were frantically trying to distract him with white plastic sticks, and some even used posters of James crying to distract him. It was really creative!

Free throws are a highlight of Jia Fei's daily shooting practice. He was not disturbed and made both free throws steadily.

18:19, the score difference is still 1 points!

The 76ers were on offense. Iguodala drove and passed to Turner in the corner. Turner then drove to the basket and passed to Thaddeus Young. Young then passed to Iguodala, but the ball was stolen by Jia Fei!

After Jia Fei intercepted the ball, he held onto it tightly. Turner came over to double-team him but was called for a foul!

Jia Fei will step up to the free-throw line again.