Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 161: Memphis' New Bear King
But in fact, Han Sen was frequently shown on the scene during the warm-up session.

Randolph couldn't play, and he was the one who gave the Heat the most headaches tonight.

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

Grizzlies: Conley, Hansen, Gay, James Johnson, Gasol

Heat: Chalmers, Wade, James, McRoberts, Bosh
James threw magnesium powder in front of the technical table as usual and posed for the camera. He was in a very good mood.

Hansen pulled Gasol aside and whispered to him for a while before going on the court.

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

Conley organized the game in the frontcourt, and as soon as Hansen and Gasol Jr. received the ball with off-ball screens, the Heat double-teamed him.

In Randolph's absence, the Heat were unscrupulous in double-teaming Hansen, and they used a small lineup in the starting lineup and were quite confident in their ability to help defend and rotate.

Hansen changed direction to pass Bosh, and then before being double-teamed, he made a no-look ground pass to the weak side.

Gasol Jr. did not stay where he was after the pick-and-roll, but cut in from the weak side.

After receiving the ball, he stepped directly to the basket and scored a two-handed dunk, giving the Heat no chance to assist in defense and rotate.

The Heat advanced to the frontcourt, and James directly pressed Gay to ask for the ball in the low post.

This was Wade's tactic last season, and obviously, Wade gave in.

Because it is a small lineup, Bosh and McRoberts can create space, and James has a lot of offensive space in the low post.

He put his entire weight on Gay, then quickly turned around and shot at the free throw line.

Gay tried to fight back, but James' weight prevented him from getting up immediately. When he got up, James had already made a shot and scored.

After losing the finals last season, James faced the biggest doubts in his career, and he also improved his skills in a rare way this summer.

Like Kobe did back then, he went to Houston to learn the dream dance steps from Olajuwon.

Although the effect cannot be compared with Kobe's after learning, fortunately, his foundation is not bad enough, and his physical fitness is good enough, so he can play low-post singles quite well.

Only then did Guy understand why Hansen reminded him before the game, because it was indeed difficult to defend against James when he played like that.

The Grizzlies continued to run the same tactics, but this time the Heat adjusted their defensive strategy. Bosh did not rush forward to attack Hansen, but James assisted in the defense instead.

Han Sen passed James with a change of direction...

Bosh was still forced to help defend, and Hansen saw the opportunity to throw the ball under the basket.

Gasol received the ball and shot the ball from close range, but Wade had already switched defense to the basket.

The defensive rotation speed of the Heat's small lineup is indeed extremely fast.

Wade jumped high and was about to block the big center.

However, the next second, Gasol suddenly changed his layup to a dunk, quickly pushed the ball into the basket, and caused Wade to commit a foul.

There was a commotion in the place.

Gasol pumped his fist and roared excitedly, then turned around and gave Hansen a vigorous high-five.

In fact, the person who benefited the most from last season's playoffs was actually Gasol Jr.

After withstanding the torture from Nowitzki, he became a sharp blade like refined iron that had been tempered.

At this time, Gasol has grown into the "white bear" of Memphis.

Gasol also made the free throw and scored 5 points in a row at the start.

5 to 2, to the surprise of everyone present, the Grizzlies actually had the upper hand at the start despite Randolph's absence.

Spoelstra reached out and touched his chin on the sidelines.

The reason why he dared to use a small lineup to play against the Grizzlies was because the Grizzlies had no independent offensive ability in the interior after Randolph was absent.

But now it seems that he underestimated Gasol Jr. a little bit.

But he did not adjust the lineup.

Although Gasol's performance was unexpected, he did not think that his opponent had the same destructive power in the interior as Randolph.

And more importantly, after playing last season, he knew that this Heat team was not strong in positional warfare no matter how they deployed their troops.

So no matter whether Randolph can play or not, he has to drag the game into a defensive counterattack.

The Heat still used James' low-post tactics in the frontcourt, but this time, at the signal of Joerger, Gay defended James from the front.

Chalmers didn't have a good angle to pass the ball, so he turned the ball to Wade on the weak side. Wade broke through with the ball and then passed the ball to the basket while moving.

At this time, James, who was surrounded, turned around and blocked Gay. After receiving the ball, he quickly shot under the basket and scored again.

So far this season, James' shooting percentage is 55%, which is not only a career high, but also ranks first among small forwards in the league.

The past two offensive rounds explain this well: James is now playing more like a power forward.

In other words, he used the body and playing style of the power forward to suppress the power forward player.

But once you use the power forward position to defend him, he will have an advantage in breaking through.

So whether he is in the low post or the high post, with the Heat's small lineup, his efficiency on the court will be very high.

Gasol received the pass from Hansen in the low post and was blocked by Bosh. The Heat launched a defensive counterattack and reached the front court at lightning speed in the blink of an eye.

James followed up with a layup in a fast break, and Conley couldn't pull him down, so he ended up hanging on him and making it 2+1.

The Heat took the lead.

After scoring the goal, James flexed his biceps in front of the camera. After gaining weight, he looked like an iron tower.

When he stepped onto the free throw line, shouts of "MVP" rang out from the crowd.

James couldn't hold on and obviously used too much force when shooting the free throw, and the shot bounced out of the rim.

But after the free throw, he showed a happy smile while retreating.

He scored the Heat's first six points, and that feeling made him feel great.

Seeing this, Han Sen reached out for the singles tactic.

The Heat's defensive counterattack was too fast, and the Grizzlies basically couldn't keep up, so they could only ensure the success rate of positional warfare.

After Conley passed the ball to him and everyone else moved away, Hansen stretched out his hand to signal Guy to come over for a screen.

Gay blocked Wade and Hansen faced James.

James' lateral speed is slow to begin with, and he does look like a tank after gaining weight, but like a tank, he is also a sitting duck.

This was already proven by the ball that Han Sen broke through and assisted in his defense.

However, James did not hide like he did last season, but was eager to try.

Hansen held the ball with one hand and created a triple threat. Because he made consecutive wonderful passes at the beginning of the game, the Heat's help defense did not dare to come up at this time.

In other words, it was only after he developed a stable pass this season that he truly possessed the triple threat of breaking through, shooting, and passing, rather than just the classic two threats.

After three threats, Hansen chose to break through on the right.

James followed Hansen's breakthrough.

But Han Sen didn't actually use his full strength, just to let James catch up. In the next moment, he quickly pulled back to the left.

Now, there was enough distance between James and him to put a table and sit down to have a cappuccino.

"Shh!"

Han Sen's mid-range shot hit the target steadily.

The Grizzlies took the lead again!
Although Randolph was missing, they still played with the same tenacity as last season.

James continued to position himself in the low post, and this time the ball was in McRoberts' hands. He made a beautiful ground shot and put the ball in.

Johnson chose to shrink his defense, and James quickly passed the ball back to McRoberts, who made a three-pointer from outside the arc.

As James played more confidently, he passed the ball more decisively.

In fact, in the "history" that Hansen knew, the Heat relied on this small lineup to beat the entire league and won two consecutive championships.

The only difference now is that Battier has been replaced by McRoberts.

This former No. 1 high school student in the United States, like Battier, is a forward from Duke University. He not only has excellent hands, but also developed a solid three-point shot after entering the NBA, which is also very suitable for the Heat.

Hansen continued to hold the ball in the frontcourt.

Spoelstra then stood up and made tactical gestures to the court.

When Hansen was playing pick-and-roll with Gay again, Wade squeezed through first and tried to prevent Gay from making the switch.

Spoelstra obviously wants to protect James.

It's just that James asked Wade to go away, and he took the initiative to switch defense to Hansen.

Han Sen would naturally not miss this kind of behavior of offering a head.

He once again broke through on the left after a triple threat, but this time his outburst was more thorough than before, and James struggled to keep up with Hansen's pace.

Then the next second, Hansen quickly pulled the ball to the right.

James' brain caught up, but his body couldn't. His brain and feet started fighting, and he finally staggered and fell.

There was an uproar at the scene.

Han Sen's mid-range shot hit the target again.

After scoring the goal, Hansen smiled and looked at James who had just stood up, then tapped his temple with his middle finger.

Friends who have gained muscle know that if you gain too much muscle in a short period of time, muscles will grow in your brain.

It's that delusion that I can conquer the whole world.

Looking back, James continued to play one-on-one in the low post, and after being double-teamed, he passed the ball. This time it was Chalmers who made a three-pointer from the top of the arc.

The Heat had a hot outside shooting tonight.

Seeing this, Joerger called Battier up.

Gasol Jr. and Conley missed the mid-range shot after the pick-and-roll. The Heat defensively counterattacked, and Wade made a fast break layup, causing Hansen to commit a defensive foul, and the game entered a dead ball.

Battier came on to replace Johnson, and Joerger used one big and four small players to deal with the Heat's small lineup.

Wade made both free throws, and the score came to 9 to 14. The Heat had extended their lead to 5 points.

"Defend! Defend!"

The scene was filled with cheers from Miami fans.

5 points is the biggest score difference after the opening. If we can defend against the Grizzlies' attack, we can widen the score in one go.

Han Sen continued to hold the ball after resting for one round.

This time James finally learned his lesson. He switched defense with McRoberts and ran to the corner to defend Battier.

Seeing this, Han Sen stretched out his hand to signal Battier to come over for a screen.

How could he fulfill James' wish?
This time James consciously stepped back and let Wade go forward.

However, Battier's pick-and-roll was of good quality, and Wade failed to get around him. Hansen got a three-point opportunity and he took the shot decisively.

The timing and rhythm of this shot were fine, but the feel was a bit off and the ball hit the rim and bounced out.

But Gasol grabbed the offensive rebound!
In order to match the Heat's small lineup, Bosh can only play the five position.

But he is a relatively thin inside player, and it can be seen from the beginning that he is at a disadvantage when facing a pure center like Gasol, both in terms of positioning and fighting for the ball.

Gasol grabbed the rebound and hit Bosh, then passed the ball to the middle.

Hansen cut towards the middle after missing the three-pointer.

James became excited when he saw this and rushed towards Hansen.

He couldn't defend against Han Sen's breakthrough head-on, but assisting defense was his forte!

This time, he was going to make Han Sen eat a good beating from him.

Han Sen looked up at the basket and saw James leaping up from the side.

However, the next second, James found that he had no ball to block.

Hansen made a no-look pass that didn't require any faking and passed the ball to Battier in the corner!

Battier was originally the person James was guarding, but after James went to Hansen, he was left open.

Bosh saw it and rushed out, but it was obviously too late.

You can trust Battier's corner three-pointer as much as you trust Jordan's mid-range shot.

"Shh!"

There was no suspense at all, Battier made the three-pointer with ease.

The shouting at the scene stopped abruptly.

12 to 14, the score difference returned to one goal.

Spoelstra rubbed his forehead vigorously.

Hansen did show improvement in passing in previous games, but that can also be explained by the Grizzlies' well-rounded lineup.

Gay's return has greatly improved the offensive strength of the Grizzlies' starting lineup.

But tonight, Randolph was not there, and the Grizzlies temporarily adjusted their style of play, with the offense revolving around Hansen, and then Hansen really held his ground.

In other words, in tonight's game, Hansen proved that he is capable of supporting a team's tactical core play, without having to rely on Randolph's containment in the low post like last season.

James continued to position himself in the low post, but this time his defender changed from Gay to Battier.

Battier is not as heavy as Gay, but his defensive skills are much better than Gay.

After facing a stronger shield, James' low-post technique suddenly became poor again.

In the end, he knocked Battier down with an elbow, and Battier was called for a defensive foul.

Battier was lying on the ground looking innocent. After being pulled up, he explained to the referee and imitated James' elbow swing, but the referee did not explain much.

James shook his hands and walked towards the free throw line with a domineering step.

Another important reason why he is in high spirits this season is that the whistle is back.

But don't forget that Stern is also a squid and a businessman at heart. Punishing James for one season is enough. He will never break up with Nike, the big sponsor.

"I have to go apologize to KD." Han Sen was standing on the side of the free throw line at this time, and turned to James and spoke.

James was stunned by these nonsensical words.

"I said he had to rely on refereeing to gain a foothold in the league, and he replied, "Don't compare him to me. It seems he was right."

James gritted his teeth. Han Sen was really a bad mouth.

"when!"

His first free throw went wide.

"Tsk! KD is definitely better than you, at least he can make the free throw.

"when!"

James' second free throw also missed.

It's strange to say, after James gained a lot of weight this season, his three-point shooting percentage has hit a career high, but his free throw percentage is the lowest in recent years.

Missing two free throws is equivalent to a turnover.

With Gasol Jr. protecting the defensive rebound, the Grizzlies had another chance to tie or even surpass the score.

Hansen continued to hold the ball and continued to play pick-and-roll with Battier.

James lunged forward this time.

Hansen scored a hat trick and once again passed James.

After gaining weight, James doesn't just look clumsy, he is really clumsy.

After seeing that it was McRoberts who came to assist in defense, Hansen threw the ball directly into the air.

Gay, who was cutting into the basket, was lifted into the air by the ball.

"Oh!"

It appears, Han Gai makes an alley-oop!

After the alley-oop, Guy swung around the basket and excitedly bumped chests with Hansen after landing.

Gay's playing style has changed subtly this season. Perhaps he himself did not realize that the plan that Hansen proposed to him at the beginning, "cutting to the basket and running without the ball", is what he has already played like in the starting lineup.

The reason is simple. If you can easily score two points, who would want to huff and puff with the ball? Or spend a long time dribbling to make a difficult shot?

This is just like off-peak travel. Only by experiencing it can you understand its benefits.

Of course, the premise of all this is that Hansen’s passing skills improve.

This is different from the effect of Conley and Gasol Jr., because Hansen himself has a great personal offensive threat, so as long as Hansen can pass the ball out in a double-team, he will definitely have a chance to score easily.

14 square meters.

The Grizzlies tied the score again!

The scene was agitated.

Han Sen's stats for tonight were also displayed on the large LED screen at the scene.

上场7分钟，3中2，4分4助攻。

A new bear king is born!
(End of this chapter)