Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 110 Some happiness can only be known by experiencing it
"What do you think Rudy will choose?"

After finishing their meal, Guy left first, leaving Hansen and Conley in the restaurant.

"Maybe the second one, maybe neither." Han Sen shook his head.

Humans are selfish and lazy creatures, especially Guy, who doesn't seem to be in a very good mental state.

Although Guy lost face today, as long as he is thick-skinned enough, he can pretend that nothing happened.

Because essentially, the fact that Gay has signed a maximum salary contract with the team is an established fact, and as long as he focuses on making a fuss, there will be no problem in maintaining his basic base.

Of course, Gay may not be able to hold on until the end. After all, as he said before, the Grizzlies have passed the rookie benefit period. If they can't achieve good results, reconstruction is inevitable.

"I'll go and persuade him." What Han Sen did today might not convince Guy, but it convinced Conley.

Having ability, knowing when to stop, and being able to give practical and useful suggestions, all of these combined together form personal charm, or leadership qualities.

Before, neither Gay nor Randolph of the Grizzlies, or even himself, were very bad at this aspect.

Sure enough, those who can stand out in a team like the Cavaliers are definitely not ordinary people.

Han Sen nodded.

He didn't know what Conley was thinking at the moment, but he knew that Conley was popular. If he could convince Gay, at least let Gay choose the second path, it would be a good thing for the Grizzlies.

Time flies and it is the end of September. The training camps of various teams have ended one after another.

It is unknown what Gay's final choice will be, because he did not give Conley a clear answer, but he settled down in the training camp and no longer worked alone like before.

This is good for the Grizzlies and for Hansen as well.

Because Hansen helped Hollins solve a big problem, his favorability towards Hollins increased significantly.

It was at this time that well-known NBA columnist Mark Stein released the first issue of the team strength rankings for the 2010-2011 season on social media.

In this list, the defending champion Lakers ranked first.

Following closely behind is the Heat with its peak Big Three.

The Celtics, Magic, Mavericks, Thunder, Jazz, Spurs, Bulls, and Bucks ranked 3rd to 10th.

The Grizzlies are ranked 20th on this list.

Although the trade between the Grizzlies and the Cavaliers during the offseason sparked a wave of heated discussions, and Hansen also made a bold statement after joining the team that he would help the Grizzlies win the championship, the Grizzlies were not favored for this reason.

After losing Hanson, James, O'Neal and Ilgauskas in succession, the Cavaliers ranked 22nd on the list.

This list prediction also caused considerable controversy.

The biggest focus of controversy is naturally the rankings of the Lakers and the Heat.

The Lakers' road to defending the title last season was obviously bumpy, and the lineup has hardly changed this season, and the lineup is obviously aging. Why is it still ranked ahead of the Heat?
The second one is the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies were very close to the playoffs last season. Hansen performed brilliantly in the playoffs. Although winning the championship is a bit unrealistic, how could they not even make it to the playoffs?
The last one is the Cavaliers. After losing three core players at once, why aren’t the Cavaliers among the bottom three in strength?
Because of these issues, Stan's personal social media was also bombarded by fans.

In the end, Stan had no choice but to publish a detailed article to explain several controversial points.

First, he explained that this strength list took into account the lineup restraint relationship. He believed that if the Heat and the Lakers faced off in the finals, the Heat's disadvantage in the interior would put them at a disadvantage in the matchup.

Secondly, he believes that Hansen's ability is overestimated, and he uses another player, Bonzi Wells, as an example.

威尔斯在2005~2006赛季效力于国王期间，他常规赛和韩森一样场均能得13.6分，并且季后赛在对阵卫冕冠军马刺的系列赛中以62.5%的命中率贡献23.2分12篮板（4.2个进攻篮板）。

But in the following season, Wells moved to the Rockets, averaging only 7.8 points per game and playing in only 28 games.

He believes that Hansen's potential injury problems will be infinitely magnified in a team like the Grizzlies that plays positional warfare, and his performance may even be worse than Wells.

In the end, although the Cavaliers lost James and O'Neal, they gained Mayo and Thabeet.

The former was considered a player with Kobe's lower limit and Jordan's upper limit when he was drafted. He did not receive enough training in the Grizzlies. The latter was in a similar situation. As the second pick, he only had a pitiful 13 minutes of playing time per game in his rookie season.

At the end of this detailed article, Stan also added a personal opinion:
"I still think the Cavaliers were the beneficiaries of that draft night trade, and it may take two or three years to prove it."

At the same time, the league announced the new season schedule for each team, including preseason games and regular season games.

The preseason opener will start on October 10th, and the first game will be the Lakers vs. Timberwolves.

The regular season will begin on October 10.

The Grizzlies' first game will be on October 10th, when they will travel to Miami to challenge the Heat.

As the league's operator, Stern knows what kind of script fans are most looking forward to.

This arrangement attracted fans' enthusiasm, but also aroused doubts from some Heat fans, mainly James fans.

The Heat have just formed a team and need time to get used to each other, but the Grizzlies' style is obviously designed to restrain the Heat, so this arrangement is not good for the Heat.

However, what they overlooked is that Stern was a staunch opponent of "The Decision" and he was unwilling to see the league form a group.

Because the old labor-management agreement will expire next summer, labor and management have already started negotiations as early as February last year. If they form a group at this time, many bosses on the capital side will start to worry about losing their star players and thus losing their appeal to fans.

Going further, when the top stars all stick together, the league will become a game for a few teams, and other teams will sink.

If we want to prevent this phenomenon from continuing to happen, we must implement a hard salary cap, and this is precisely the biggest disagreement between labor and management.

If the differences cannot be bridged in the end, Stern will have to usher in a league shutdown during his tenure.

Hansen was very satisfied with the league's arrangement. Although Gay's problem had not been truly resolved, as a time traveler, he knew that the Heat's Big Three had greater problems with early coordination than the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies have a chance to give the Heat a heavy blow in this game.

However, it is still early in the regular season and they still have seven preseason games to play.

The Grizzlies' first preseason game is at home against the Pacers.

The Pacers are ranked 21st on Stan's power list, on par with the Grizzlies.

After the game started, the Grizzlies quickly gained the upper hand.

At this time, David West had not yet joined the Pacers, and the Pacers only had Tyler Hansbrough and Josh McRoberts at the power forward position.

One of them has a lot of brute force but doesn't know how to use it, and the other has never been good at defense. They are obviously no match for Randolph in the low post.

Hansen's role in the game was also fully demonstrated. He stood at the 45-degree angle of the three-point line on the strong side and created enough space for Randolph to play one-on-one.

This also caused the on-site commentator to sigh: "As long as Han stands there, he is worth 1000 million."

Although Mayo performed well from beyond the three-point line last season, he is not a true three-point shooter and does not have the three-point tactical ability.

But when the Grizzlies took the advantage, Gay began his one-on-one performance.

Facing Mike Dunleavy's defense, Gay, who is better in all aspects including speed, has the advantage.

His mid-range jump shots after passing Dunleavy several times drew applause from the audience.

Seeing the situation was not good, Pacers head coach Jim O'Brien replaced Dunleavy with Paul George.

George is the 10th pick of the Pacers this year. His static talent is similar to Hansen, except that his wingspan is 2cm longer. However, his dynamic talent, including jumping height and jumping speed, are better than Hansen, and his body flexibility is also very good.

The Cavaliers wanted to trade Hansen for him before, but the Grizzlies offered a higher price and gave up the deal.

Seeing the Pacers replace the rookie, Gay's desire to play one-on-one became stronger.

It's just that he completely underestimated George's strength. Although George is a rookie, he has excellent lateral speed, which makes it difficult for him to pass the opponent easily.

In addition, the Pacers have the 2-foot-tall Roy Hibbert guarding the inside line, and he will most likely be in danger if he tries to get into the inside line without being able to get rid of George.

This forced him to use a back-to-the-basket attack, but his mediocre back-to-the-basket skills, coupled with George's fast cutting speed, meant that he was almost intercepted.

Gay's scoring efficiency was declining, which allowed the Pacers to seize the opportunity to launch counterattacks frequently.

Although it was not successful every time, it successfully forced the Grizzlies' twin towers to run back and forth on the court, and the entire rhythm was completely controlled by the Pacers.

If the previous team competition was just a glimpse, then this preseason game can more clearly explain why Hollins is reluctant to give Gay more tactical status.

The twin towers lineup is essentially about lowering the number of game rounds and trying to score in every round.

This way, as long as they can hold their position, their chances of winning the game will be doubled.

But now Gay is not efficient enough, and when both sides run and play, the twin towers become a burden on the court.

In the end, Hollins had no choice but to replace Gay with Sam Young, and the Grizzlies were able to stabilize the situation on the court again.

Han Sen was also speechless about this scene.

Although Guy did not make a clear statement, his previous behavior made him think that Guy had accepted his advice.

But now it seems that Guy still hasn't turned that corner.

It also reminded him of Gay's entire career.

Gay seems to have bad luck. When he was in the Grizzlies, the Grizzlies never made the playoffs, but when he was injured, the Grizzlies were eliminated in the eighth place. When he left, the Grizzlies broke history by going straight to the Western Conference Finals.

When he was with the Raptors, the Raptors were at the bottom of the Eastern Conference every year. As soon as he left the Raptors, the Raptors immediately returned to the playoffs after a five-year absence.

He played for the Kings for four years, and the Kings never won more than 4 games.

Now it seems that it was not bad luck at all, it was purely a problem of playing style.

This situation lasted almost the entire preseason.

Gay's ability and condition are the best since entering the league, but his playing style is obviously not in line with the team.

Han Sen even had the urge to break Guy's brain open to see what was going on in this guy's mind.

But it is obvious that after signing the maximum salary contract, Hollins has no way to deal with Gay.

Before the final preseason game against the Mavericks, Hansen approached Hollins.

"You want me to arrange Rudy as a substitute?" Hollins was surprised by Hansen's suggestion.

The top-paid player plays as a substitute. Only you, Hansen, could have thought of this!
"Rudy is so unscrupulous right now because he thinks no one can do anything to him."

Hollins didn't say anything. He knew Hansen was right, but the problem was that management wouldn't let him do that.

"If we let Rudy continue like this, we will most likely not make the playoffs in the new season. Then I'm afraid you, the coach, will be implicated."

This time Hollins looked up instantly.

Most of the time, people only care about things that are related to their own interests, from Toews to O'Neal to Hollins, it's all the same.

"And it's just this preseason game, so of course we won't say that." Han Sen's meaning was clear, he wanted to give Guy a warning.

Hollins stroked his chin and thought for a while, then finally agreed.

The method Han Sen mentioned may be the only feasible method.

On October 10, the Grizzlies faced the Mavericks at home in the preseason.

It was nearly five months since Han Sen last saw O'Neal, and O'Neal seemed to have gained a lot of weight.

Speaking of which, O'Neal's injury last season was also largely related to his poor weight control.

The two reminisced about the past and talked about their current situation.

O'Neal's days in Dallas were very comfortable.

Although racial discrimination is quite serious in Dallas, elite black people like O'Neal don't feel much of it there.

Moreover, he and Nowitzki are so comfortable playing together in the interior, and the Mavericks' entire team has more offensive space than the Cavaliers before.

After reminiscing about the past, the game between the two teams started soon.

Gay did not start in this game. He sat on the bench with a sullen face. There seemed to be a murderous aura around him, and his teammates unconsciously sat away from him.

On the court, the Grizzlies and the Mavericks fought back and forth.

Carlisle used O'Neal to match up against Randolph, and then let Nowitzki defend Gasol Jr., which made it difficult for the Grizzlies to carry out low-post offense.

At this time, Hansen seized the opportunity to show himself well. He took advantage of the opportunity that O'Neal was tied out of the penalty area by Randolph and frequently attacked the Mavericks' inside line.

Caron Butler, who plays against him, is one of the Wizards' trident, but he is a complete defensive black hole. Compared with him, Jamison is considered a defensive stalwart.

However, the Grizzlies could not stop the Mavericks' offensive. The scene of Randolph facing Nowitzki was like a tank being kite-followed by a shooter.

Even if Hollins adjusted and let Gasol Jr. go to the matchup, Nowitzki could still rely on pick-and-roll to find Randolph.

Nine minutes into the first quarter, the two sides were tied at 9.

Hansen scored 9 points in a single quarter and performed quite well.

Because the regular season is approaching, the two teams are really playing and rotating according to the normal schedule.

Gay was replaced by Hollins at this time.

Then, Gay, full of anger, came on the court and beat up DeShawn Stevenson, who was on the opposite side, and even completed a humiliating dunk.

Although Gay has some problems with his playing style, his strength and condition this season are indeed good enough, and he is a complete dimensionality reduction strike in the transition period as a substitute.

At the end of the game, the Grizzlies defeated the Mavericks 107-98, winning the last and most beautiful preseason game.

Hansen contributed a team-high 24 points, and Gay also scored 20 points off the bench.

After the game, Hansen returned to the locker room.

As soon as he sat down, Guy came towards him.

This time Guy did not look down on Hansen, but sat next to him.

"you are right."

After hearing what Guy said, Han Sen smiled.

Only by experiencing off-peak travel can you know the joy of it.

This is also another purpose for him to let Hollins arrange Gay to play as a substitute.

For simple people, some simple and crude methods are more effective.

(End of this chapter)