NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 708 The Ultimate Showdown

The men's basketball final of this Olympic Games is between the Chinese men's basketball team and the US Dream Team XIII, which is probably the most anticipated match. Although the Chinese men's basketball team's previous Olympic record is not outstanding, with their best result being two 8th place finishes, they are no longer an ordinary team. A team with the best basketball player in the world should not be underestimated.

At 10:30 a.m. on August 7, the Tokyo Olympics men's basketball final officially kicked off!

Before the game, Jia Fei gathered the players together and said, "Tonight's game, the pressure should be on the other side. They cannot afford to lose. As for us, we have already made history. Next, we just need to give it our all. If we win, we will become champions; even if we lose, we have already made history, and we will all become a part of the history of the Chinese men's basketball team!"

Jia Fei's words ignited a flame in the hearts of the Chinese men's basketball players, and everyone united as one, determined to compete with the Dream Team.

Before the match, Jia Fei and the coaching staff discussed strategies for the game.

In Jia Fei's view, the strength of the Dream Team is self-evident. Their strength lies not in the brilliance of any one player, but in the overall strength of the team. From the starters to the 12th man off the bench, almost every player is an All-Star. Many of them are the star players of their respective teams. This allows them to maintain a formidable lineup for 40 minutes in principle, something that almost no other team can do.

The Dream Team's players possess exceptional individual skills, making their games relatively simple. They don't require complex teamwork; individual ability is often enough to solve many problems. Their playing style emphasizes applying pressure on the ball, launching fast breaks, and creating a mini-run in an instant to secure the victory. From the very beginning of the Dream Team to now, they have often played this way.

They might not be able to use this pressing tactic at the start of the game because everyone is in good physical condition. But once your physical condition drops, their main and substitute lineups are roughly equal in strength and can apply pressure indiscriminately. So the collapse often happens in the second half.

Jia Fei's opinion is that the Chinese men's basketball team needs to "slow down"!

Slowing down doesn't mean playing incredibly slowly, sticking to the 24-second rule. Instead, it means playing a positional game as much as possible, not following the opponent's rhythm in transitions, utilizing height advantage to attack the opponent's paint, and creating opportunities for teammates on the perimeter.

The Dream Team also has its weaknesses. First, NBA rules differ significantly from FIBA ​​rules. The NBA has a three-second rule, allowing for more open offensive spacing and making zone defense less effective. FIBA, on the other hand, allows for extended periods of zone defense. The NBA's three-point line is longer, and penalties for traveling are more lenient, while FIBA ​​is much stricter in these areas. Goal-scoring also differs between the NBA and FIBA; in the NBA, six fouls result in ejection, while in FIBA, it's five, and so on…

The Dream Team's teamwork wasn't as good as imagined. They were a temporary team, lacking years of consistent practice, so their chemistry was often inferior to other teams. This is why they often preferred counter-attacks and transition plays to avoid positional attacks; positional play can indeed be difficult.

The biggest weakness of the Dream Team roster is its interior defense. The decline of American centers is not a recent phenomenon. In fact, since the 08 Olympics, the Dream Team's centers have never been strong; their strengths lay in their forwards and guards. This year's Dream Team XIII only brought two centers: Bam Adebayo and JaVale McGee.

The fact that JaVale McGee, a regular on the "Shaqtin' a Fool" segment, made it into the Dream Team shows just how bad the Dream Team's centers are. As for Bam Adebayo, he's only 206cm tall, making him a small-ball center in the NBA, more of a role player. His advantage lies in his versatility, but his dominance in the paint is practically nonexistent.

During pre-game practice, everyone was an NBA player and knew each other well, so they exchanged pleasantries. Yi Jianlian, who had played in the NBA for many years, also knew players like Durant from the Dream Team.

The Dream Team also includes Jia Fei's current Clippers teammate, Jeremy Grant.

This match will still be broadcast live on the sports channel, with the host Yu Jia and guest commentator Zhang Weiping.

"Coach Zhang, the final of the men's basketball tournament at this Olympics is about to begin. Please give us your final commentary before the game!" Yu Jia asked, throwing out a suggestion to bring up the legendary Coach Zhang.

Coach Zhang cleared his throat and said, "We've always known that the American Dream Team is very strong. Back in 08, Yao Ming led the Chinese men's basketball team to play against them. We're not afraid of them. As long as our players play reasonably, we are not without a chance of winning."

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced.

For the Chinese men's basketball team, the starting lineup is Jia Fei, Anshan Paul, Li Kaier, Space Yi, and Art Mayork.

For Team Dream Team XIII, the starting lineup is Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Dilraba Dilmurat.

The Chinese men's basketball team is basically composed of twin towers, tall forward Li Ke'er, and two guards, while the Dream Team XIII has a small center, Adebayo, Du Xiaoshuai, and three guards.

The United States is renowned for its abundance of guards, especially in today's small-ball era, with a diverse range of guards and wings. While centers have declined in popularity, perimeter players haven't diminished at all; on the contrary, there's been a surge in talent.

Art Mayork and Dilraba are near the center circle preparing for the jump ball; the match is about to begin.

The jump ball began, and Art Mayork won the jump ball against Dilraba, giving the Chinese men's basketball team possession of the first ball.

Paul dribbled the ball over from Anshan, and Lillard was guarding him.

The defender guarding Jia Fei was naturally Holiday; Popovich tailored Holiday as the defender for Jia Fei. It's worth noting that Holiday was the strongest perimeter defender in the Dream Team XIII lineup, while many of the selected players were offensively oriented, such as Lillard, LaVine, and Beal.

Here, Booker is guarding Lee Kyle, Durant is guarding Yi Jianlian, and Dilraba is guarding Art Mayork.

Basically, the Dream Team XIII is a size smaller than the Chinese Men's Basketball Team. Of course, Paul and Lillard from Anshan seem to be about the same size.

Lillard's defensive pressure was not strong, which allowed Paul to dribble the ball safely.

Space Yi came up to provide cover, Anshan Paul broke through, and passed to Jia Fei on the other side!

Jia Fei held the ball, observing the opponent's defense. They didn't seem inclined to double-team him. He immediately decided to take the shot himself, without the slightest hesitation!

Holiday tried his best to defend, but Jia Fei was just too fast. He couldn't stop him unless he fouled!

Jia Fei charged in, directly pushing past his former teammate Du Xiaoshuai, and scored with a left-handed layup!

China Men's Basketball Team scored first!

Du Xiaoshuai was knocked down by Jia Fei. He was still wearing stockings and still had long legs, instantly giving people a "Doflamingo" feeling.