In this year's draft, the Sacramento Kings selected Marvin Bagley with the second overall pick.
This champion center from Duke University possesses extremely explosive physical qualities.
"I'm very happy to play against Kai Chen and Grayson on the NBA court," Bagley said jokingly in a pre-game interview.
"But now our identities have changed, and I won't be passing the ball to either of them anymore."
On the other side, the Clippers also chose Kai Chen as the cornerstone of their rebuild.
However, the Clippers fans watching live were not very impressed with Kai Chen.
After all, the price for acquiring Kai Chen was Blake Griffin, who had made significant contributions to the Clippers and had been one of the league's best power forwards in recent seasons.
If the rookie acquired in exchange for the team's former core does not meet the expectations of the Clippers fans, then Kai Chen's days in Los Angeles will definitely not be easy!
"I'm not worried about Kai Chen's adaptability; he will quickly realize his talent!"
Host Barkley said, "I believe Kai Chen will continue his form from college and the Summer League!"
Barkley's professionalism was undeniable; he quickly summarized some of Kai Chen's previous games.
Smith, who was next to him, quickly took over the conversation and briefly explained the situation of today's Clippers vs. Sacramento Kings game.
In the current era of small-ball dominance, the Sacramento Kings still maintained their twin-tower combination.
The inside duo of Marvin Bagley + Willie Cauley-Stein was the offensive core of the Kings.
At Staples Center, the American commentators live on site also mentioned the starting lineups of both teams before the game.
"If the starting lineup I have in my hand hasn't changed, then the Sacramento Kings will continue to use their twin-tower combination today."
"On the other hand, the Clippers are using Brook Lopez and Jeff Green!"
Although small-ball is popular in the league now, the significant height difference in the paint still made the two commentators feel a bit helpless.
The pre-game warm-ups for both sides quickly ended, and the starting players from each team successively stepped onto the court.
The Sacramento Kings were led by Marvin Bagley and De'Aaron Fox.
The other three were Harrison Barnes, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Buddy Hield.
Just looking at the Kings' starting lineup, on paper they were still very strong.
The Clippers' starters were: Beverley + Anthony + Jeff Green + Brook Lopez + Kai Chen!
When Kai Chen entered the game, there were still scattered sounds from the crowd.
Apparently, many fans had come specifically for Kai Chen!
Amid the sporadic noise, the centers from both teams walked to the center circle.
"Beep!"
With the main referee's whistle, the game officially began!
Willie Cauley-Stein won the jump ball against Brook Lopez, and the Sacramento Kings got the first offensive possession.
De'Aaron Fox dribbled the ball past half-court, and after waiting for the twin towers to get into position in the paint, he unhesitatingly lobbed the ball to Willie Cauley-Stein, who was posting up inside.
Willie Cauley-Stein, standing at 2.13 meters, had an absolute height advantage over Brook Lopez, who was only 2.07 meters.
On the NBA court, if one side has an obvious weakness, then there's only one outcome!
They will be relentlessly attacked by the opponent!
"Bang!"
With the ball in his hands, Willie Cauley-Stein showed no mercy, using the high post to bully Brook Lopez's lack of height.
Cauley-Stein went up for a high-arcing floater. He didn't even jump for this shot…
"Slap!"
However, just as he was about to release it, Brook Lopez, who was guarding him closely, rose straight up from a standing position, extended his long arm, and violently swatted the ball out of bounds!
After completing the block, Lopez didn't even glance at the stunned Cauley-Stein.
He very dominantly wagged his finger at the fans off the court.
"Wow, on the very first possession, Lopez delivered a solid block on Cauley-Stein!"
At the TNT commentary desk courtside, Smith excitedly said, "We need to know that Brook Lopez's rim protection has always been underestimated; last season, he averaged 2.1 blocks per game for the Los Angeles Lakers!"
"Exactly, on that play, Cauley-Stein clearly didn't take Lopez seriously; he didn't even jump."
O'Neal, who was beside him, saw it very clearly. "That arrogant attitude came back to bite him!"
The Kings inbounded the ball, and it was still Cauley-Stein aggressively attacking, relying on his height advantage.
However, Lopez's tough physical confrontation and excellent strength made him struggle, and his second offensive attempt also ended in a miss.
Jeff Green secured the defensive rebound and passed the ball to Beverley.
Beverley quickly dribbled past half-court and passed it to Anthony.
Anthony received the ball at the top of the arc, took one dribble, and on the other side, Kai Chen—who had run free using a double screen from Lopez and Jeff Green—directly extended his hand to signal for the ball.
"Swish!"
Anthony didn't hesitate at all, whipping the pass straight to Kai Chen.
"Bang!"
With the ball in hand, Kai immediately rose up. With a clean motion, his three-pointer swished through the net!
3:0!
The Los Angeles Clippers scored their first points of the season through Kai Chen.
Moreover, their first offensive possession was perfectly fluid, with no unnecessary dribbling or ball-handling.
From Beverley bringing the ball past half-court, to Anthony waiting for Kai Chen's movement, and then to the final three-pointer—
Seamless!
"What simple and efficient execution of a play; the Los Angeles Clippers' first possession of the new season ran perfectly like a machine."
Smith on the sidelines directly stated, "Especially Kai Chen's shot—it was incredibly quick, which is a display of absolute confidence!"
"The Clippers' young leader has drawn his sword; now it's his college teammate Bagley's turn!"
Sacramento Kings' offense.
Fox dribbled past half-court and decisively passed the ball to Bagley at the elbow.
However, in the next moment, to the surprise of all the fans—and even the commentators—it wasn't Jeff Green or Lopez defending Bagley, but Kai Chen!
"Is this a joke!?"
"Rivers actually let the 1.98-meter Kai Chen guard the 2.08-meter Bagley!?"
The huge height difference made the home fans believe the Clippers were giving away points!
Even Bagley himself thought so.
Facing Kai Chen, who was a head shorter than him, Bagley directly turned to face the basket with the ball, taking one step to try to power his way into the paint.
"Thump!"
However, just as he was about to drive, a pair of ruthless arms stretched out and slapped the basketball out of Bagley's hands.
Kai's precise and fierce move directly caused Bagley to lose control of the ball.
Immediately after, Beverley rushed forward, scooped it up, and passed to Anthony.
The Los Angeles Clippers got a fast-break opportunity!
Anthony dribbled up the court, and after attracting the attention of the Kings' defenders—
He threw an extremely flashy behind-the-back pass to Kai Chen, who was waiting beyond the three-point line.
The moment Kai Chen received the ball, all the teammates on the bench had already stood up with their hands raised.
Anthony on the court also raised his left hand and quickly ran back toward his own half.
"Swish!"
With an atmosphere like this, how could it not go in?
The basketball arced beautifully through the air and then swished cleanly through the net!
6:0!
The Los Angeles Clippers' opening lead continued to expand!
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