Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 128 Unfinished Business
Two days after the trade deadline, Hansen met the team's two new players in the locker room.

Battier is much bigger than expected, and his shoulder width is outstanding.

This easily reminds people of one of his nicknames, "Batman".

The nickname originally came from his first name, "Battier" and "Batter" sound similar.

But if he spreads his arms, the large horizontal area does give him the feeling of a bat.

Of course, what is more impressive than his figure is his expression.

That’s right, expression. It’s hard for a person to attract others because of his expression, but it’s hard for you not to be attracted by his expression.

If Randolph's impatient look on his face at any time can easily make people think of a powder keg that seems like it will explode at any time, then Battier's expression looks like a glass of water. When you look at him, you know he can quench your thirst.

Or, you can use another more concrete adjective: affinity.

When he was playing at Duke University, Battier had another, even more awesome nickname: The President.

It's hard to imagine how approachable a player would have to be to have such a nickname.

Battier was selected by the Grizzlies in 2001, but left the Grizzlies in 2006. The oldest player on this Grizzlies team was Gay, who happened to be the bargaining chip for the original trade for Battier.

So he had played for the Grizzlies for a long time before, but now there is no one who has ever been his teammate.

However, after he entered the locker room, several people from the Grizzlies came up to say hello.

Han Sen looked around and saw Conley, Tony Allen, and even Randolph all going up with grins on their faces.

It seems that although they have never been teammates, they have had very good experiences in those interactions as opponents.

"Sean, let me switch places with you." Conley took the initiative to propose when Battier was about to go to West's original closet position.

"No, Mike, thank you very much, but I was in that position when I played here before, and I'm more used to it." Battier declined Conley's enthusiasm.

Tsk, you can tell whether someone has the ability or not as soon as he opens his mouth.

Conley's corner position represents his status in the team. It would be embarrassing if Battier replaced Conley, but Conley invited him so warmly that it would be disrespectful to refuse.

But now, with just one sentence, not only did he give Conley enough face, but he also had a way out.

"Han, you've made me suffer a lot before." West's original seat was next to Han Sen. After Battier sat down, he spoke to Han Sen with a smile.

Hansen and Battier don't actually have much interaction, most of which comes on the court.

The last time the two teams met was last week. He played well and scored 26 points. The main defender on him in that game was Courtney Lee, and Battier also defended him.

"Your defense makes me uncomfortable too." Han Sen was quite good at business flattery.

"Haha, Yao often talks to me about you too."

Yao Ming?

This surprised Han Sen a little, because he had never played for the national team, and his interactions with Yao Ming, the legend of Dongda basketball, were not much more than those with other players.

"You mean I didn't join the national team?"

"That's not the case. He's been praising you, saying that you'll be the face of the University of Tokyo for the next ten years."

"Did he really say that?" Han Sen was even more surprised.

Battier nodded: "He also said that you will be a better East University player than him one day."

If he didn't know Battier was American, Han Sen would have thought he was sent by the Eastern University Basketball Association.

However, it was indeed surprising for him that Yao Ming really thought of him this way.

Because in essence, he is different from Yi Jianlian, Wang Zhizhi and others. He is completely out of the system and has nothing to do with the CBA. It is normal that he is not familiar with others, including Yao Ming.

If the Basketball Association had invited him to play in the World Championships last summer, the situation might have been different, but there are no ifs in the world.

This also reminded him of the years after Yao Ming retired, a chairman of the Basketball Association who had ideas but many things could not be implemented and finally gained a bad reputation.

"Yao is one of my best friends. I am lucky to have worked with him in Houston for five years. He also made me really understand the players of the University of the East. I know that the players of the University of the East are also very strong and confident, and can also become leaders."

"Of course. Dongda people are no less powerful than Americans." Han Sen was proud to be a Dongda person. After all, he was a time traveler. Before he traveled through time, Dongda was the light of the blue planet.

After the conversation started, the two of them had more topics to talk about.

They even talked about table tennis and made an appointment to play table tennis together later.

They kept chatting until Jorger came in and asked the players to go to training, then they stopped.

It was only after he stood up that Han Sen realized that the two had been chatting for so long, but he didn't even feel anything.

No wonder Battier has the nickname of the President, it's not a joke.

However, it was only after he stood up that Han Sen noticed another new recruit who was "neglected".

Crawford's body looks very thin, especially since he is positioned next to Randolph, he looks a bit like a child.

Perhaps because he was ignored, he didn't seem to be in a particularly good mood.

But who cares about a fringe player?

During the full-court training session, Hollins directly put Battier in the starting lineup.

This arrangement is not surprising. Battier has always been a starter in the league, and the Grizzlies paid a high price to trade him.

You have to know that a sixth man, a first-round pick, and a young player were traded for him, who only had half a year left on his contract.

There is no way the Grizzlies would spend so much money to have him play as a substitute, not to mention that Sam Young was only a temporary replacement after Gay was injured.

However, such an arrangement is bound to make both people unhappy.

One is naturally Yang, who did nothing and lost his starting position;

Another was Tony Allen, who tried his best to train with Hansen, only to find that he had no chance.

It's just like in the workplace, being parachuted in is the biggest dampener on people's enthusiasm.

After the confrontation between the starting lineup and the substitutes, Hansen went to the sidelines to rest. He found that Battier had come to Hollins' side without him knowing when. The two talked for a while, and finally Hollins seemed to be convinced.

After the full-court confrontation training was over, Hollins announced the game plan, and Young was still in the starting lineup.

Now many people subconsciously turned to look at Battier. Apparently, Hansen was not the only one who saw the exchange between Battier and Hollins.

Obviously, this was given up by Battier.

After Hollins and the others left, Yang swept away his frustration during training and went over to have a passionate conversation with Battier.

Even Allen found Battier later, and the two went on the court to practice, probably exchanging defensive experiences.

Han Sen felt it was weird. The NBA is full of competition, and it was abnormal for Battier to be the starter.

You have to know that Carter was forced to give Jordan an All-Star starting position.

And the key is that Battier is a stable 3D player, and it is better for the Grizzlies if he starts. After finishing the training and returning home, Hansen asked Rondo to get him a ping-pong table.

When I went to Guy's house before, he thought about getting a boxing ring, but unfortunately the place he rented didn't have a good location. But Battier mentioned table tennis, which is also a very good choice.

In the stereotype of foreigners, Kung Fu and table tennis are things that every Tokyo University student can play.

But in fact, most of the Dongda University students who know kung fu exist in film and television materials, but there are indeed many Dongda University students who know table tennis.

Han Sen was one of them. He put together a makeshift ping-pong table from his desk and books. It was one of his unforgettable memories from his student days in his previous life.

But when Rondo really got the ping-pong table the next day, he discovered a crucial problem: table tennis requires two people to play, and he is now in the United States.

You only need hands to play 2K, but not to play table tennis.

So he quickly invited Battier to his home.

After the game started, Hansen found that Battier was quite capable, and the two of them fought back and forth.

For a moment, Han Sen thought of Battier's nickname again, and it seemed more and more reasonable to him. After all...

The US President is good at ping-pong diplomacy.

After playing table tennis, the two sat on the sidelines to rest.

"Why did you let him start yesterday?" Han Sen was still curious.

Not to mention age, Battier is still a starter for the Rockets this season.

"Han, do you think my career is successful?" Battier suddenly asked him a question at this time.

Han Sen didn't expect Battier to ask this out of the blue.

Although Battier's career has not yet ended, it is not time to make a final judgment.

But 32 years old is indeed old enough for most players.

"If we look at it from the perspective of the champion, no, but if we look at it from the perspective of the alliance status, yes." Han Sen gave a very pertinent evaluation.

After all, Battier is not even a star, but being respected by so many people on a new team is a success in itself.

"No, I'm a complete loser." But Battier's next words shocked Hansen.

Not that bad, huh?
Isn't it because they have never won a championship? The vast majority of NBA players have never won a championship!
"Have you learned about the history of the Grizzlies since you arrived in Memphis?" Battier asked another question.

Han Sen shook his head. He only knew that the Grizzlies had only made it to the playoffs, but had never won a championship or made it to the Western Conference Finals.

But he still didn't understand why Battier asked these questions. He initially just asked Battier why he was allowed to start.

"The Grizzlies have only made the playoffs three times in their history, from the third year after I joined the team to the year before I left the team."

"Isn't that quite successful?"

Although this result is indeed somewhat different from what Han Sen imagined, it is like hearing that he did not score 100 points, but finally found out that he only scored 60 points, but Battier helped the team reach the playoffs for three consecutive years. Isn't this a success?
"You know how it feels to make it to the playoffs for three consecutive years but get swept for three consecutive years?" Battier said with a wry smile.

what?
This... Han Sen really doesn't know the answer!
He remembers that Gasol should have been on the Grizzlies during that time?
The top All-Star who is comparable to Wade in the eyes of James fans is not as good as Pierce in leadership ability?

But it was at this moment that he suddenly understood why the reporters reacted so strongly when he said he wanted to win the championship for the Grizzlies.

This is not a question of whether or not they have made it to the finals or the Western Conference Finals, but that they have never won even a single playoff game!

"Helping the team win a playoff victory was my unfinished mission back then, and it's also the reason why I came back to Memphis this time."

Battier's next words matched what Hansen was thinking, and this sentence also explained why he made the starter.

The Grizzlies are now ranked fifth in the Western Conference and are on the right track. If he takes away someone else's starting position as soon as he arrives, it will inevitably cause conflicts within the team.

He is willing to make sacrifices to win.

"But I think it would be better for the team if you start." Han Sen still felt that it might not be a good choice. After all, it was Yang who started instead of Guy.

"Han, my feet are not as fast as before. If I face Kobe or Durant, they can pass me with a change of direction, which will only force you to spend more energy on the defensive end. If necessary, I can still defend them in the decisive moment, but it is not a good choice to start the game."

Battier obviously considered more.

Hansen is no longer the role player he was in the Cavaliers, but the Grizzlies' real outside core.

The physical strength of players is limited. Hansen's defense is indeed excellent, but you can't expect him to play the ultimate offense and defense for the entire game. That's unrealistic.

Therefore, what the team's No. 3 player needs to do now is to take on more defensive tasks so that Hansen can devote his energy to offense.

Especially at the beginning of the game, if Hansen puts a lot of energy into defense at the beginning, it will greatly affect his offensive rhythm throughout the game.

Therefore, Young or Allen are more suitable than him in the starting lineup.

"By the way, when I was chatting with Tony in the afternoon, he said that he was training with you, and you were strengthening your mid-range shooting?" Allen and Battier talked a lot.

But considering that he and Battier talked about all sorts of things, it's not surprising.

Han Sen nodded.

"I can help you too. Although my feet aren't as nimble as Tony's, and my hands aren't as fast as Tony's, I am still very experienced in mid-range defense."

Battier is absolutely qualified to say this. His two unique defensive skills are causing offensive fouls and blocking defense.

The former is more targeted at the opponent's breakthrough, while the latter is the opponent's shooting, especially mid-range shots.

“That would be a waste of time.”

"It's not a waste. Helping you improve is helping the team improve, and it's also helping me complete my unfinished business."

Battier's logic is clear.

But Han Sen felt that he was different.

Because of the words "unfinished business", the first thing that came to his mind was James' hometown basketball.

James led his home team to fulfill his wish after seeing their accumulated talent.

But Battier is constantly making sacrifices and contributions for that unfinished business.

They both want to win, but one does it more for himself, while the other seems to do it for himself, but in fact it is for the team.

"Sean, your idea could be bolder." But at this moment, Han Sen thought of another thing.

"Huh?" Now it was Battier's turn to be confused.

"Winning one playoff game is not enough. You should win a championship with me for Memphis."

Yes, Hansen remembered that Battier's career was successful because he later went to the Heat to be a star and won two championships.

But Battier has returned to Memphis now, so how can he go to the Heat again?

(End of this chapter)