NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 448 DeAndre Jordan Returns to Staples Center

After Jia Fei finished speaking, applause and cheers erupted from the audience, with Art Mayork naturally receiving the most enthusiastic response.

Paojiao respected Jia Fei greatly. Jia Fei had high emotional intelligence, making him very comfortable to be around. Most importantly, Jia Fei's abilities surpassed his own, which was the fundamental reason he was willing to be the second-in-command.

In the NBA, everything still comes down to performance!

The team meeting was a success, at least judging from everyone's reactions and the consensus reached so far. Losing is inevitable, but how to learn from defeat and make progress is one of the keys to a team becoming strong and mature.

On November 2, at Staples Center, the Clippers' head coach faced off against the Mavericks.

This is the first time in DeAndre Jordan's career that he's played an away game at the Clippers' home arena as a visiting player. It's certainly a strange feeling, but all good things must come to an end. Playing for one team is wonderful, but only if you have the ability to control your own career, or if the team genuinely doesn't want to trade you.

DeAndre Jordan didn't exchange pleasantries with his former teammates during pre-game practice, indicating his dissatisfaction with leaving the team in this manner. In a pre-game interview, he stated that he shouldn't have left the Clippers this way. He wanted to show everyone his abilities, acknowledging his crucial role in the team's success last season.

The Clippers still produced a beautiful tribute video for DeAndre Jordan. In the video, Jordan is incredibly awesome, showcasing various alley-oop dunks, blocks, and rebounds. In the highlight reel, everyone looks like Jordan, but it's clear from the reel that his offensive repertoire is limited to dunks; it's all about easy baskets, and on defense, he's relegated to the bench – a very distinct playing style.

After watching these videos, DeAndre Jordan couldn't help but feel emotional. He didn't want to leave, but the team traded him anyway. Fortunately, the Mavericks still liked him and traded him to them, which made him feel a little better.

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced. The Clippers' starting lineup, playing at home, remains the same as in the previous few games: Jia Fei, Paul George, Beverley, Gallinari, and Olynyk.

The Mavericks' starting lineup for the away game is DeAndre Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Harrison Barnes, Wesley Matthews, and Dennis Smith Jr.

Dirk Nowitzki is definitely committed to the Mavericks. Mark Cuban still shows genuine affection for Nowitzki, maintaining respect for him at this stage of his career. Nowitzki is also very grateful, sharing the highs and lows with the team.

The order of appearance at the Clippers' home are: Paul George, Gallinari, Olynyk, Beverley, and Jia Fei.

As the team's leader, Jia Fei naturally made his appearance last.

There's no doubt about Staples Center's attendance; even with the Clippers' recent poor form, the market remains incredibly hot.

This match was broadcast live on Tencent, with commentators Wang Zixing and guest Su Qun providing commentary.

"Mr. Su, the Clippers are playing the Mavericks at home today. Do you think the Clippers have a high chance of winning?" Wang Zixing asked.

Su Qun adjusted his glasses and said, "The Clippers lost to the Warriors in their last game. Their problem now is not defense, but that their offense hasn't developed good chemistry yet. The Mavericks are far inferior to the Warriors, and the Clippers are playing at home. I heard they even had an internal meeting yesterday. This game is a great opportunity, and they have a better chance of winning."

DeAndre Jordan refused to even greet Jia Fei, believing that Jia Fei's role in his trade was undeniable. Jia Fei had disliked him and Coach Li since last season's Western Conference Finals, but Jordan maintained that the loss had nothing to do with him.

DeAndre Jordan and Kelly Olynyk are preparing for the jump ball near center court; the game is about to begin.

The jump ball began, and Olynyk's leaping ability was no match for DeAndre Jordan's.

The Mavericks gained possession of the ball on their first possession, and Dennis Smith Jr. dribbled the ball over.

Dennis Smith Jr. was selected by the Mavericks with the 9th overall pick in the first round this year, with the team intending to develop him as a long-term player. He's an extremely explosive point guard, reminiscent of the Bulls' Rose, the Oklahoma City's Turtle, and the Capital's Wall.

Dennis Smith Jr. passed the ball to Nowitzki, who then isolated Gallinari in the sweet spot near the free-throw line.

Nowitzki has really aged. His once blond hair is now shaved off on both sides, and the wrinkles on his face when he smiles make him look more like the Silver Horn King from Journey to the West. What remains unchanged is his dashing one-legged jump shot, with its unique shooting posture and extremely high arc.

Nowitzki unleashed his signature one-legged fadeaway jumper, but missed!

Age has taken away his explosiveness and speed, but not his height and shooting ability. The problem is that the decline in physical function will make it more difficult for him to shoot. Even if his shooting ability has not deteriorated, his shooting percentage will not be as stable as it was in his peak period.

The driver is definitely getting old...

Olynyk grabbed the rebound and passed it to Jia Fei to advance the ball.

Jia Fei advanced, and the player responsible for guarding him was Wesley Matthews, a 3D player for the Trail Blazers back in the day.

Matthews isn't tall, but he has a massive posterior comparable to Harden's, making him exceptionally tough on defense. In a one-on-one post-up, most centers struggle to penetrate him. However, his speed is a weakness, especially when guarding players like Jia Fei, whose height allows him to easily pull up for a jump shot over Matthews.

The Mavericks also have a difficult task in assigning a defender. If they let North Carolina Blackhawk Barnes guard JaBryant, then Matthews will have to guard Paul George, and there is a significant height difference between them, so he will still face the risk of being pulled up for a jump shot by the opponent.

Jia Fei pushed forward and passed the ball to Olynyk in the high position!

Olynyk was in the high post, and DeAndre Jordan didn't come out, so he opted for a long-range shot!

But the ball missed. DeAndre Jordan grabbed the rebound with a powerful gesture, yelling as he slapped the ball hard, making a loud "slap slap" sound, even louder than the later "slap slap slap" sound.

The Clippers' shooting touch wasn't quite there at the start. They did have a team meeting, but that doesn't mean the adjustment period will be easily shortened. However, their defense was excellent, their defensive system was showing significant results, and their teamwork was visibly improving, which was quite encouraging.

The Mavericks also struggled to score, as the Clippers' defense was very aggressive. Their perimeter players, Jia Fei, Beverley, and George, were too strong defensively. While their interior defense was average, their defensive flexibility was good, and their help defense rotations were quick, making the interior defense almost impossible to penetrate.

DeAndre Jordan is only good at finishing on the rim, but the Clippers know him too well. They don't give him easy pick-and-roll opportunities, preferring to give Dennis Smith Jr. more jump shot opportunities. But Smith Jr.'s jump shot isn't very reliable, and he can't punish the Clippers' strategy.

After a little over three minutes, the score was tied at 2-2. Both sides had very low scoring efficiency, and their frequent missed shots made the fans in the arena drowsy.