Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 134 "I'll lead you to victory!"

After the press conference, Battier gave Hansen a "Batman" hug and whispered his thanks.

No matter how many compliments you say in front of reporters, they are not as good as saying this to their face.

"Let's save the words of thanks for later. Like you said, just winning a playoff game is far from enough." After they parted, Hansen smiled and patted Battier on the shoulder.

Memphis fans celebrated their victory wildly after the game, but Stan was already blown up on social media.

His successful predictions of two series upsets even earned him the nickname "Squidward."

Of course, it is too early to say that Stan has become a god. After all, there are 7 games in the series, and this is just the beginning.

Two days later, the Grizzlies and Thunder continued with Game 2 of the series.

Brooks showed his ability to adjust in this game. The Thunder shrank their inside line, which greatly weakened the Grizzlies' inside performance.

In contrast, after tasting success in G1, Hollins chose to stick to his strategy and tried every means to pass the ball to the inside.

结果最终，兰多夫16投5中仅得15分9板，灰熊队以92比106输掉比赛。

Moreover, the Grizzlies' offensive and defensive transition disadvantage was also highlighted due to poor performance in the interior. Harden, who only scored 8 points in the previous game, scored 21 points in this game.

Stan's analysis and prediction were accurate, but he seemed to have overlooked the gap between the two head coaches.

Just after the two sides played two games, the league announced the winners of the first batch of awards of the season: Best Sixth Man, Most Improved Award and Best Coach.

There was no suspense about the best coach award. After leading a team on the fringe of the playoffs to the top of the league, Thibodeau was elected with almost a crushing advantage.

The best sixth man award was given to Odom, who was blessed with the Kardashian buff. This was the first time that the league's famous sixth man was awarded this honor in his career.

This is not to say that he has reached the peak of his career this season, but that the award selection is based not only on his own performance but also on his opponents, and the competition for the sixth man this year is not fierce.

The most competitive award this year is the Most Improved Award, with Love, Westbrook, Hansen and many others competing.

乐福上赛季场均14分11板2.3助攻，这赛季20.2分15.2板2.5助攻；

威斯布鲁克上赛季场均16分5板8助攻1.3抢断，这赛季21.9分4.6板8.2助攻1.9抢断；

韩森上赛季场均13.2分2.5板1.6助攻2.1抢断，这赛季21.4分3.5板2.1助攻2.3抢断。

In the end, relying on the team's record and data growth, Hansen beat Love and Westbrook to be selected as the Most Improved Player Award.

In the training session after winning the award, teammates of the Grizzlies congratulated Hansen.

Although this award is not the most prestigious one, it was able to beat out Love and Westbrook to be selected. This should be the most prestigious Most Improved Player Award in history.

Hansen, however, could not be happy, not because the award was some kind of "cursed" honor, which was purely a stereotype, but because of the predicament the Grizzlies were facing in the playoffs.

Brooks has always been regarded as a "nanny-type coach" like Brown, but although both are nannies, their technical and tactical levels are very different.

Or you could say the biggest difference between Brooks and defensive coaches like Brown and Hollins is that he knows how to adapt to changing circumstances.

If Hollins sticks to his strategy of playing inside, the Grizzlies might really be eliminated in the first round.

And Hollins is a man of obedience, or you could understand him as stubborn.

When playing against the Lakers, Hansen had a disagreement with him over defending Kobe. If Joerger hadn't mediated, the two would have really quarreled.

The hard approach doesn't work on Hollins.

Hansen found Battier before the training started, and he wanted to persuade Hollins through Battier.

Battier was the only player he knew who had successfully convinced Hollins.

However, after the training began, the Grizzlies' training still revolved around low-post tactics.

It was during training that Battier told Hansen the result, and Hollins insisted that whoever controls the inside line in basketball games wins.

This is very true, otherwise the Grizzlies would not be the only team in the league that uses the classic twin towers to play low-post one-on-one.

It's not just the confidence brought by winning the first game, but Hollins' tactical system is like that, and it is also the foundation of his foothold in the league.

Han Sen then recalled what Conley had said. Hollins was a veteran of three terms, but there was a reason why he was not promoted to a permanent position in his two previous transitional coaching stints.

In Game 3 of the series, both teams returned to Memphis to continue the competition.

The FedEx Center was packed with people, more lively than ever before.

Although they lost the second game, with a score of 1-1, the Grizzlies have already snatched the home-court advantage from the Thunder.

And it is basically impossible for Randolph to play 16 of 5 again. The Grizzlies still have the advantage in the interior, and they are still the side with a better chance of advancing.

Many fans at the scene held up signs that read "I want to drink Scarlett's bath water" and "Do you want Swift's bath water?" Some even brought flags with "Whoop that trick" printed on them.

You can fully feel the enthusiasm of the Memphis fans. After all, the humiliating experiences in the past are not only felt by players like Battier and Jason Williams, but the fans will feel it even more deeply.

Because after that, the Grizzlies never even made the playoffs again.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.

Thunder: Westbrook, Sefolosha, Durant, Ibaka, Perkins
Grizzlies: Conley, Tony Allen, Hansen, Randolph, Gasol

The game officially started after Gasol Jr. jumped to win the ball for the Grizzlies.

Randolph asked for the ball in the low post to challenge Perkins, Sefolosha stepped back to help defend, and Randolph turned around and made a fade away shot towards the baseline.

The FedEx Center suddenly erupted with cheers from fans.

Yes, that's right, Randolph can't continue the bad touch he had in the last game.

The Grizzlies stuck to their strategy, but the Thunder made another adjustment. Durant did not stand up and play a singles game at the beginning of the game, but Westbrook broke through the basket. He suddenly changed direction and passed Conley to the restricted area and scored a layup over Gasol.

This speed is extremely fast.

Wall's performance in the rookie game amazed fans, but in fact Westbrook is only faster than Wall.

His speed is completely at the NBA historical level, and he can even participate in the Olympic 100-meter race.

Looking back, Randolph continued to play singles in the low post.

However, this time the person who assisted in defense was replaced by Ibaka from Sefolosha.

Ibaka's assisting defense ability also shined in the rookie game, and the level of interference he brought was far greater than that of Sefolosha.

And Ibaka was obviously also adjusting. When he was assisting in defense, he paid attention to the interference of his arms and cut off Randolph's passing route to Gasol Jr.

Randolph was finally forced to lean back and the basketball hit the rim and bounced out.

Ibaka used his speed to protect the defensive rebound, and the Thunder directly launched a fast break.

Westbrook caught the ball so quickly that an afterimage appeared on the camera and the lens couldn't keep up.

This is really like stepping on Hot Wheels.

When the camera cut again, Westbrook had already rushed to the Grizzlies' backcourt, jumped up, stretched his body as far as he could, and performed a crescent-shaped scimitar slam dunk.

After landing, Westbrook's veins bulged and he roared loudly, causing chaos at the scene.

Playing at home, the momentum of the game was originally on the Grizzlies' side, but he relied on his passionate performance and snatched the momentum away.

After five minutes of the game, the Thunder took the lead 10-4.

Randolph's touch tonight must have been better than in the last game, because except for the opening shot, he made both of his free throws.

But Brooks' pre-match adjustments were even more sufficient than in the previous game. When Randolph used his low-post skills to turn around and get to the basket, the shrinking Sefolosha directly chose to foul, not giving him a goal and sending him to the free throw line.

This strategy is obviously aimed at disrupting Randolph's touch.

Although Randolph made both free throws, his shot in the next round missed.

Seeing that something was wrong, Hollins turned around and called Battier up from the bench.

The idea behind this substitution was that Allen's presence caused Randolph to be double-teamed in the low post, so he was replaced by Battier, who had spatial ability.

When Brooks saw the substitution, he immediately stood up and did some micro-management on the sidelines. Sefolosha did not retreat and continued to use Ibaka to assist in defense.

Randolph tried to pass the ball to Gasol from outside the baseline, but Ibaka's long arms blocked it.

There was little time left in the final attack, and the Grizzlies' attack was unsuccessful.

"They need to find a way to get the ball into Hansen's hands more often." Barkley sighed in the commentary booth.

The game scene in front of him reminded him of basketball games in the last century. The Grizzlies played too rigidly.

As he spoke, Durant changed direction, passed Battier and made a steady mid-range shot.

In the first two games, although Durant scored a lot of points, he was restricted by his nemesis Allen. He made 22 of 10 in one game and 18 of 8 in another game, and had 3 turnovers in each game. His performance was obviously limited.

But against Battier, as Battier himself said, his current footwork speed cannot keep up with Durant, and his defensive effect is obviously not as good as Allen when Durant is in full physical condition.

During the Grizzlies' offense, Hansen's cut caused the Thunder to commit an off-ball foul.

At this time, there was a substitution on the sidelines, and Harden came on to replace Sefolosha.

This is a signal that the Thunder widened the score in the last game by shrinking their defense and Harden's defensive counterattacks.

The current situation is even better for the Thunder than in the last game. Brooks' substitution is a preparation for early harvest.

Han Sen then gathered all the Grizzlies players together for a "small meeting".

"Give me the ball." There was not much time left, so he said it simply and directly.

If they continue to play like this, the Grizzlies will inevitably be eliminated in the first round.

Moreover, starting from G2, Brooks adjusted his tactics and the defensive pressure he now faces has obviously dropped to a lower level.

Randolph nodded. He felt very uncomfortable being double-teamed in the low post in the past two games.

Neither Gasol nor Battier said anything, but Conley glanced back at the Grizzlies bench.

Although he has the power to call tactics on the court as a point guard, that power must be under Hollins' strategy.

If he didn't do that, he would definitely be reprimanded by Hollins.

Han Sen saw Conley's reaction, and then quickly and firmly repeated:

"Give me the ball, I'll lead you to victory!"

If this kind of words came out of the mouth of a second-year player, if it were anyone else, you would think that this person was showing off.

But when Han Sen says it, you don't get that feeling.

It’s not because Han Sen’s mouth is so big, but because Han Sen has done it.

As the father of the Celtics and the terminator of the technical desk, no one thought that Hansen was bragging at this time.

(End of this chapter)