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Chapter 119 Christmas Battle (Please Subscribe)

St. Louis, Missouri.

In a dilapidated old house on the street, Tatum was sitting in front of the television in the living room, staring intently at the screen.

A delicious aroma wafted from the kitchen—the smell of turkey and apple pie.

"Jason, come help me set those plates on the table."

Suddenly, a woman's voice rang out, accompanied by sounds of activity in the kitchen. It was Jason Tatum's mother, Ms. Brandy Cole.

"Mom, come right now! Please let me watch the Clippers and Suns jump ball. I hope the Clippers can win today."

Tatum was talking, but his body remained firmly seated in front of the television.

He was wearing Zhou Yi's Clippers No. 8 jersey, nervously gripping the hem, his eyes fixed on the screen.

On the television screen, players from both the Clippers and the Suns had already taken to the court.

Kaman and Suns power forward Stoudemire walked to center circle, ready for the jump ball.

"Welcome to TNT Sports. On Christmas Day, we thank God and the players from both the Clippers and the Suns for bringing us this exciting Christmas Day game."

Barkley's voice came through the television, and then his longtime partner Kenny expertly took over the conversation.

"The Clippers are currently fourth in the Western Conference, while the Suns are second."

"The Suns are averaging 110.2 points per game, the highest in the league, while the Clippers are third in the league with 107.2 points, so this will be a high-scoring game between the two teams."

Kenny finished reading the data, and then came the pre-match betting show that the audience had been looking forward to.

But when Reggie Miller brought up the topic, all three of them tacitly chose the Clippers.

Barkley has consistently supported the Clippers and benefited from their victories, while Kenny and Miller have been proven wrong by the Clippers and are now hesitant to support their opponents again.

"Haha, well, that's the power of the Wonder Boy. He's never lost a crucial battle."

As Barkley spoke, he shook his large head and ears, gazing at the court.

"Alright, everyone, the jump ball is about to begin..."

Inside Staples Center, Clippers fans had turned the entire arena into a sea of ​​blue and white.

To celebrate the holiday, the generous Ballmer even gave every Clippers fan who attended the game a small Christmas gift and an inflatable finger balloon.

In the audience, as 20,000 inflatable hands danced, bursts of unified cheers rang out.

Go Clippers!

"The MVP of the I Ching!"

Hearing the cheers around him, loud enough to lift the roof off, Zhou Yi nodded in satisfaction.

This is his home turf, and now 20,000 spectators are cheering for his name.

What a wonderful feeling!

As Zhou Yi pondered this, he glanced at the Suns players on the other side. He had lost to the Suns once before the season began.

But that was only the second game of the season, and they lost because of internal conflicts between Dunleavy and the team.

They are now back on track and winning game after game.

Therefore, in today's Christmas Day game at home, Zhou Yi decided to return the bitter taste of defeat to the Phoenix Suns.

The referee blew the whistle for the jump ball.

As expected of a well-known athletic forward in the league, Stoudemire had a significantly faster spring speed and greater height than Kaman in the jump ball.

After the ball was passed to Nash, the Clippers displayed full defensive discipline and quickly retreated to their backcourt.

During the Suns' offensive possession, shooting guard Richardson and small forward Hill quickly formed a "V" formation.

Two players stood at the two corners of the court, creating space for Nash and the two Suns big men to set screens.

However, Zhou Yi, who was originally supposed to stand opposite Hill, was replaced by Jamison in this game, while Zhou Yi stood opposite Stoudemire.

"Oh my god! Look, the Clippers have changed their defensive lineup. Zhou, the Clippers' best defensive player, has been assigned to face Stoudemire."

"It seems that Coach Malone plans to use Zhou's athleticism to counter Stoudemire's unstoppable face-up game."

On the TNT commentary stage, the seasoned Barkley quickly guessed the Clippers' tactics.

Kenny and Miller, who were standing nearby, nodded in agreement, but both remained cautious about the Clippers' lineup change.

Reggie Miller nervously rubbed his bald head, looking at Zhou Yi on the field with a worried expression.

"Amare is currently the most well-rounded power forward in the league in terms of face-up skills, so this is a tough task for Zhou."

On the court, when the Suns noticed the Clippers' switch on defense, Nash made a smooth bounce pass to Stoudemire.

In the first round, the Suns will test the Clippers' lineup changes to see if they are just playing around or if they are well-prepared.

On the sidelines, Clippers coach Malone was nervously gripping his whiteboard; this defensive lineup change was the result of two days of offseason practice.

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In the practice match, Zhou Yi was placed opposite Jamison, and in that 20-minute practice match, Jamison only made 2 out of 7 shots.

Returning to the field, Stoudemire is standing opposite Zhou Yi with the ball.

Stoudemire seemed unconcerned about Zhou Yi's defense.

His face was full of disdain as he looked the other person up and down, then his lips curled down in a sneer.

Although Zhou Yi has shown exceptional defensive talent when defending against players like Kobe, that was only on the perimeter.

He is currently the best and most aggressive inside player in the league in terms of face-up skills.

While thinking, Stoudemire immediately passed the ball, choosing to break through to Zhou Yi's right side.

But the moment Xiao Si touched Zhou Yi's body, Xiao Si's thoughts changed instantly.

The kid in front of him seemed even tougher than he had imagined; under those long arms, he could hardly dribble and continue his breakthrough.

"Stoudemire didn't break through."

The Clippers fans on the sidelines cheered loudly at the sight and frantically waved their finger balloons.

It seemed the entire audience wanted to tell the Suns that their best defensive player wasn't so easy to beat.

Seeing that he hadn't broken through Zhou Yi's defenses immediately, Xiao Si wasn't discouraged, because he had another powerful move besides attacking the basket.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yi kept a close eye on Xiao Si, who was opposite him.

For many people today, their impression of this star player of the Phoenix Suns comes from a line he said on CCTV.

"Let's see Nash orchestrate the process, and Stoudemire unleash his full power."

However, this powerful forward is also an absolute mid-range shooting talent, especially after returning from a major injury, his skills and shooting have reached their personal peak.

On the court, after a failed drive, Stoudemire quickly opted for a step-back mid-range jumper.

It seems that Ping was wary of Zhou Yi's jumping ability and wingspan, so his mid-range shot was noticeably longer, with a slight backward tilt.

You can't do anything about this shot, can you?

As he thought about it, Stoudemire aimed at the basket and released a shot that arced through the air.