NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 341 The Season Begins

The Hawks' starting lineup is Horford, Middleton, Korver, Cup Cat, and Teague.

Clearly, in order to make up for the offensive deficit caused by Jia Fei's absence, Coach Buden chose to replace Jia Fei with Cup Cat, who currently has the best offensive ability on the wing.

Thabo Sefolosha's performance in last season's playoffs made it clear that he was running low on fuel; his offense remained unreliable as always, and his previously reliable defense was gone.

Rather than starting Sefolosha, who has nothing to offer, it would be better to start Cup Cat, who has a relatively balanced offense and defense.

The Pistons' starting lineup consisted of Drummond, Morris, Ilyasova, Pope, and Reggie Jackson.

Before the match, Reggie chatted with Jia Fei and expressed his envy of his former teammate's championship ring. Jia Fei said he could borrow it for a couple of days, but he had to return it.

Reggie Jackson was traded from the Thunder to the Pistons at last season's trade deadline. Obviously, with the Thunder unlikely to trade Westbrook, it's impossible for him to get a big contract.

The Thunder are a team that almost never considers the luxury tax. Back then, they were willing to give up Harden and Jafi to avoid the tax and save money, so giving up Reggie Jackson was to be expected.

In this league, not every team will pay the luxury tax to win a championship or strengthen their roster. The team belongs to the owner, and the owner's attitude is very important.

Jia Fei also felt that the Hawks' owner didn't seem like someone willing to invest heavily, which was something he found quite frustrating. From the Thunder to the Hawks, the owners seemed to be the same kind of people!

It has to be said that Warriors owner Lacob is quite good, and Cavaliers owner Gilbert is also good; both of them are willing to pay the luxury tax.

The Pistons' roster doesn't have a particularly high-caliber primary scorer, but they have one significant advantage: their size. At 206cm, Morris plays the small forward position and has a huge size advantage over Cupid. Drummond is also dominating the paint, scoring against two defenders at once.

Because Jia Fei wasn't playing, the Hawks played team basketball, moving the ball around a lot and having many plays. However, perhaps due to the excitement of the ceremony earlier, the players' shooting touch was off, and they missed many shots. They couldn't make their outside shots, and the rebounds were all going to the opponent, putting them at a disadvantage in the game.

On the other hand, the Pistons played their offense smoothly, making the most of their size and rebounding advantages, and completely dominating the Hawks.

The on-site director was very thoughtful; when the home team was being pressured, he would occasionally move the camera to Jia Fei, who was sitting on the bench at that moment.

The Hawks fans at the stadium really missed Jia Fei. They thought they would miss him during the playoffs, but they started missing him right after the first game.

Jia Fei desperately wanted to play, even more so than the fans. But there was nothing he could do; going on now would just be feeding kills, as he'd be completely outmatched by a guard of Pope's caliber. Right now, he couldn't even beat many CBA players, let alone Pope.

When it came to the rotation, the Hawks' star player stepped up, finally preventing the defending champions from losing too badly on home soil and managing to close some of the gap.

However, the performance gap between the two teams' starting lineups was too large, and relying on Xiao Hei alone was ultimately insufficient. Therefore, the result of the game was not in much suspense, and on such a memorable night for the Hawks, they experienced a milestone tragedy.

After the game, Jia Fei and Reggie shook hands and bumped shoulders.

"You took the ring, but I took the victory!" Reggie joked.

"You can take the ring, but remember to return it!" Jia Fei joked.

"Never mind, it's not my ring anyway, and I'm not even sure I'd feel comfortable wearing it on my finger. I'll wait until I have the chance to work out and get a ring that's right for me!" Reggie began to dream about the future.

"Good luck!"

"I wish you a speedy recovery!"

Jia Fei doesn't have many friends in the NBA, but Reggie is one of them. It's said that those who went to school together, fought together, or even frequented brothels together have a particularly strong bond. Reggie spent two years with him in Oklahoma City, as fellow rookies, experiencing bench games and playing side-by-side; they shared a classmate relationship.

Art Mayork had a mediocre game, and he didn't get many opportunities against the opponent's tall interior players.

"Art, you still need to be more decisive in your shots. You have a shooting ability, so don't hesitate to shoot, even if you miss. You need to let the opponent know you have a shot, which will potentially increase your threat and tactical importance," Jia Fei advised Art Mayork after the game.

“Okay, I understand!” Art Mayor nodded emphatically.

Even though Jia Fei didn't play, Art Mayork's words still carried the weight of a royal decree. Having been teammates for several years, Art Mayork's regard for Jia Fei had reached the point of being completely compliant.

This is absolute trust; only with such trust can one believe. Even if Jia Fei told him to jump into the river, he would jump without hesitation, without asking why.

On October 29, the Hawks traveled to New York, where they will play the Knicks on the evening of the 30th.

Jia Fei also traveled with the team. Although he couldn't play, he chose to stay with the team. Being with the team allowed him to maintain his training, and watching the games from the sidelines gave him a long-awaited opportunity to observe and learn. Sometimes he would discuss the game with the coach, which gave him more inspiration and ideas.

He discovered that the player's perspective and the coach's perspective are different; an outsider's perspective is clearer. How to integrate these two perspectives is the direction he will strive for next.

In their away game against the Knicks, the Hawks shook off the gloom of their previous loss, with five players scoring in double figures, easily defeating their opponents and securing their first win of the season.

Jia Fei felt that the Hawks' team offense and stable system should make them fine in the regular season. The real challenge would come in the playoffs, when everyone starts increasing the playing time of their core players and using shorter rotations to compete with their starters. That's when the team's weaknesses would become apparent.

This is why he has consistently advocated that teams shouldn't rest on their laurels and should acquire a star player. In the playoffs, team basketball often proves ineffective. Without a star player, you can't break the deadlock and are destined for elimination. Even a coaching staff as strong as the Spurs' couldn't lead Popovich to a championship without a superstar.

Basketball relies too much on talent; football is more talent-friendly in that respect. A coal mine owner of that height can become a football legend, which is impossible in basketball. Both are all-out offensive and defensive contact sports. In football, you can play defensively, park the bus, and play back-and-forth, but in basketball, you have 24 seconds—try not attacking! If a coal mine owner played basketball, DeAndre Jordan could dunk over his head every time.