NBA's King of Talking

Pre-match practice session.

The Grizzlies' players are all big and strong, especially the Grizzlies' duo, who are as thick as doors. In contrast, the Thunder's Durant and Kevin Martin both appear incredibly slender.

When Jia Fei practiced shooting before the game, he felt great and made 20 three-pointers in a row, leaving the shooting coach stunned.

Jia Fei knew it was nothing special; everyone has their off days when they're incredibly accurate! And it couldn't be called pure luck. He had been training hard for months during the offseason, focusing on shooting, especially spot shooting, so now it was just catching up with him.

No pain, no gain.

This game was a highly anticipated match, and the commentators were former NBA superstar Charles Barkley and his partner Kenny Smith from TNT.

The two began to warm up the crowd for the match.

Barkley said, "Kenny, I bet you the Memphis Grizzlies will end OKC's winning streak in this game."

P.S.: Thunder fan: "Looks like it's all set, thanks to my old buddy Jazz!"

Kenny Smith shook his head vigorously: "Charles, I must seriously correct you, I don't think so."

"You never think the same way I do!"

"No, I'm just stating the facts."

"So what do you think is the key to OKC's success?"

"OKC is home, they have stronger superstars, and they have better bench depth."

"But they couldn't stop those two bears!"

"..."

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced. The Thunder's starting lineup is the same old one, as consistent as Tim Duncan.

The Grizzlies' starting lineup is: the Grizzlies' duo of Grindelwald and Grindelwald, Conley, Rudy Gay, and Tony Allen.

After the game started, the Grizzlies clearly focused on their inside game, while the Thunder focused on Durant and Westbrook. Tony Allen, once known as the "Durant stopper," isn't as effective against the current Durant. Durant has evolved; he's no longer as afraid of physical defense that locks down his lower body. He might be afraid of double teams now, and fatigue in the fourth quarter is also a problem, but when he's at his best, there's really no one in the league who can truly shut him down one-on-one.

The Grizzlies didn't use a double team, instead having Tony Allen defend Durant one-on-one.

The Grizzlies couldn't stop Durant, and the Thunder couldn't stop Randolph. Whether it's Perkins or Ibaka, they were destined to be overpowered by Randolph.

Westbrook had a poor shooting night, while Rudy Gay was on fire for the Grizzlies, causing the home team to fall behind early on.

There's a strange phenomenon with the Thunder right now: once they fall behind, their two stars (Durant and Westbrook) attack even more relentlessly, while the other three players get even less ball possession. This makes it easier for opponents to focus on containing just those two.

Simple tactics have their advantages. When you're on a hot streak, they're straightforward and effective, with very few mistakes. But when you're off, they become incredibly easy to defend against and counter.

To address the offensive issues, Coach Brooks substituted Thabo Sefolosha with the high-scoring Kevin Martin less than halfway through the first quarter.

After Kevin Martin came on, the Thunder faced strong defense and had little ball possession, so their offense didn't improve significantly. The Thunder were constantly on the defensive end, much to the frustration of the fans in the arena.

During the official timeout in the first quarter, Jia Fei was called by head coach Brooks.

"When you go on the court later, if Rudy is still on the court, you guard him. If he's resting, you guard Jared Bayless," Coach Brooks instructed.

"Okay!" Jia Fei nodded repeatedly. It felt good to be entrusted with such an important task. At least in the head coach's mind, he was already the team's perimeter defensive ace! This was very important. You know, to play alongside the two young stars, defense and off-ball ability are essential. Without these two attributes, you can only use them separately.

Thabo Sefolosha's defense has declined somewhat this season compared to the previous two. His outside shooting percentage is decent, but his output is too low, often leaving him open to double-team Durant and Westbrook. A 3-and-D player who gets left open by the opponent is less effective.

After the timeout, Jia Fei returned to the court. Many Thunder fans cheered and shouted in response. He still has a following on this court; many admire his defense, his passion, and his domineering presence.

Some people just have that charismatic quality that's so appealing. If Durant had that quality, he might have even more fans. Whether in China or the US, men with a "loser" or "ordinary" demeanor are generally less well-liked.

The Thunder's on-court lineup consisted of Jafi, Mayno, Kevin Martin, Thabeet, and Collison.

The Grizzlies' starting lineup consists of Rudy Gay, Jared Bayless, Wayne Ellington, Quincy Pondexter, and Marreese Speights.

Rudy Gay, who had a hot hand in the first quarter, was still on the court.

The score at this point was 20-15, with the Thunder trailing by 5 points.

Bayless dribbled the ball across half-court. Jia Fei, following the head coach's instructions, was assigned to defend Gay.

Barkley said, "I think OKC is planning to have Jia Fei guard Rudy Gay. What is Coach Brooks thinking? Does he really think this second-year rookie can guard Rudy?"

Kenny Smith said, "I don't know if he can defend him, but you can't put Kevin Martin against Rudy."

Gay received the ball at the left wing corner, facing Jia Fei. Without any unnecessary movements, he dribbled past Jia Fei, creating space before taking a mid-range jump shot—which sank cleanly!

22:15, the point difference has reached 7 points!

The Thunder fans in the stands, watching Gay's hot hand, dared not look at the game. They could accept being outplayed by the Black Bear, but being outplayed by Gay was something they truly didn't know how to accept. After all, they had the league's leading scorer, Kevin Durant, at that position!

Jia Fei felt that Gay's physical strength was better than he had imagined. It was very difficult to defend a player like Gay one-on-one once he was on fire, because he was stronger than you and could get open before shooting. If you stuck too close, you would easily get fouled.

Meno dribbled the ball over and passed it to Kevin Martin.

Jia Fei positioned himself in the corner, his usual offensive position.

Kevin Martin was naturally the opponent's main defensive target, and he was heavily guarded, so the ball ended up in Collison's hands in the low post!

The opponent retreated, and instead of launching a strong attack, Collison passed the ball to Jia Fei in the bottom corner!

Rudy Gay, who was guarding Jia Fei, didn't take him seriously at all; he was still helping out under the basket!

Jia Fei has an open shot! At this point, he won't choose to pass the ball. If he doesn't take the shot when he has this opportunity, he doesn't deserve to be called a qualified 3D player!