NBA's King of Talking

Another task that isn't too difficult is "to have stats recorded in the NBA playoffs." Jia Fei remembers taking on a similar task before, which involved having stats recorded in the regular season. The only way for him to complete this task right now is to hope for garbage time. That's the only way.

He also took on three advanced tasks: reaching the NBA Conference Finals, reaching the NBA Finals, and winning the NBA championship. The third task is the most difficult. However, while each task is progressively more difficult, they could also be quite simple. For example, like him now, playing for a championship contender, if he's lucky enough to ride on their coattails and win the title, he might be able to complete all three tasks in a single season.

However, he did not accept tasks such as "winning the NBA Finals MVP trophy." He knew his own limitations and knew that, at least for now, he had absolutely no chance of completing such a task.

On April 28, Jia Fei received congratulatory calls from Coach Cahon of NCAA UConn, his roommate Lamb, and others, congratulating him on making it to the NBA playoffs with his team in his rookie season.

Kemba Walker also called, and he even asked to video chat with Jia Fei so he could congratulate him in person.

Jia Fei was somewhat embarrassed. It was true that he helped the team reach the playoffs, but in reality, the Thunder's playoff run had very little to do with him. It wasn't that there was absolutely no connection, but rather that there was only a tiny, insignificant one.

He suddenly thought of Da Ba and Sun Dasheng from the Chinese basketball world. Both of them won the championship with their teams back then, but in fact, their contributions to the team's championship process were almost negligible.

But you can't say they don't deserve rings. They do have rings, and they're championship rings that even NBA's 50 greatest players like the Jazz legends, Charles Barkley, and Allen Iverson don't have.

Is choice more important than effort? Not necessarily. While a championship certainly enhances a star player's historical status, for a fringe player, it makes little difference. For a fringe player, the allure and practical significance of a lucrative contract far outweighs any other factor.

In the video, Kemba Walker's tone revealed envy: "Jia, I really envy you having games to play in May. I'm already planning where to train and which river to go fishing in during the offseason!"

Jia Fei smiled wryly and said, "I have matches to play, are you serious?"

Kemba Walker understood the implication: "At least you have a chance to play. My team is already preparing for next season, and you can at least fight for the playoffs with your team. Even if you don't play, you can still watch the playoffs from the best seats. This is a privilege that not everyone can have."

Kemba Walker's Bobcats had a terrible season and were already out of the playoffs before the All-Star break even, making them one of the first teams in the league to prepare for next season.

"Okay, I admit I can watch the playoffs without buying a ticket!" Jia Fei admitted frankly, it seemed to be true. He not only got to sit courtside and watch the NBA game, but he also got close to the league's second-best small forward, saw the league's best sixth man's shapely buttocks, and witnessed Big Westbrook's alluring dance moves…

"Let's train together after your season ends!" Kemba Walker extended an invitation.

"No problem!" Jia Fei readily agreed. Putting aside their relationship, Kemba Walker, based solely on his individual ability, was a player with a good chance of being selected for the All-Rookie Team.

On the evening of April 29th, the Thunder will face the Mavericks in the first game of their playoff series at the Ford Center. The Ford Center is packed to capacity for this game.

In the home team's locker room, Thunder head coach Brooks had just delivered a passionate speech. He seemed like a very wise coach with a wealth of tactical knowledge, but judging from the Thunder's coaching over the past two seasons, the tactics were quite simple, mostly relying on star players' isolation plays or simple shooting and rebounding. It wasn't clear how rich or complex the team's tactics were. However, his motivational speeches were seriously underestimated, a sentiment shared by Jia Fei. Compared to Coach Li, who only knew "let's go," Brooks's language was more varied; one wonders if he had received professional training in public speaking.

A coach who uses motivational rhetoric isn't necessarily bad, especially when the team has exceptional talent. A coach who can manage relationships between star players and distribute ball possession effectively is far more suitable than an academic coach who is technically and tactically proficient but lacks interpersonal skills.

NBA rules and referee standards dictate that superstars are a team's ceiling in the playoffs. As the playoffs progress, creating isolation plays is often the safest and most reliable tactic.

The Thunder aren't lacking in talent, but rather in consistent role players on both offense and defense. Their starting frontcourt duo, Perkins and Ibaka, are simply not offensively effective. Whether starting or bench, their interior players are all role players, and the kind who can't even capitalize on easy baskets. This team is undeniably a perimeter-based team; how well their young trio performs will determine how far they go.

During pre-match practice, Jia Fei and Yi Jianlian greeted each other as usual.

Yi Jianlian was very happy to see Jia Fei. In this stadium with more than 2 people, there may be other people who can speak Mandarin, but only Jia Fei can have a fluent conversation with him in Mandarin.

"Jia Fei, long time no see!" A-Lian was still very shy, even his smile was shy.

"Hello, Yi Jianlian!" Jia Fei and Yi Jianlian hadn't actually been apart for very long, but they didn't know what to say, so this was the only thing they could say. Yi Jianlian wasn't good at socializing either. Sometimes he was a bit like Durant; he didn't seem like the type to joke around, but rather the kind of serious, hard-working player. Coaches all liked this type—obedient and hardworking.

Seeing Yi Jianlian's smile, Jia Fei suddenly recalled GD's famous quote from New Wave: "One-handed putback dunk + 8 rebounds, Yi Jianlian just smiled slightly, he has already won back the coach's trust." This article garnered millions of comments, coincidentally, the opponent of Yi Jianlian's team in this article was the Thunder. Besides this, there were also terms like "blocking feast" for just one block, "space Yi" for 2 points and 1 rebound, and countless other terms like "Yi-style block" and "Yi-style defense."

When it comes to sensational headlines, Sina Weibo's GD is king; when it comes to overpraising someone to death, Chinese media can't be left behind.

After a brief greeting, Jia Fei and Yi Jianlian returned to their respective halves of the court to continue their shooting practice. Their situations are similar; they rarely play during regular time and tend to guard their respective benches, competing to see who can wave their towel more forcefully and create more excitement.

Who says players only need to play well? Do they wave towels? Do they high-five? Do they bump chests? Do the team's star players prefer energy drinks or regular water?