Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 177 [Uncle Drew] Finally Reached a Bottleneck

科比下半场独得20分，但是灰熊队在下半场打了湖人一个46比38，最终以104比96击败湖人。

The Grizzlies won thanks to their twin towers in the interior. Gasol Jr. contributed a double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds, and Randolph also had 19 points and 9 rebounds.

Hansen's performance was mediocre, with 20 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists. Like Kobe, his points mainly came in the second half.

The winner of the game still depended on Paul. Paul scored 18 points and 5 assists in the first half, but only 2 points and 3 assists in the second half, and also made 3 turnovers.

He didn't attack much after being targeted by Han Sen in the second half, but compared to his offense, his plummeting state was more puzzling.

In the post-match press conference, the Grizzlies attended first as the visiting team.

Hansen was in attendance along with Gasol Jr.

"This was a typical Grizzlies victory. We defeated Kobe as a team in the second half." Hansen set the tone for tonight's game.

"After you switched to CP3 in the second half, his condition obviously declined. How did you do it?" the reporter asked the key question.

"I didn't do anything, and I think your statement is wrong. CP3 is a great player. He knows that he should pass the ball to the teammate who has the hottest hands."

Hansen's answer was confusing, considering that he publicly mocked Paul during the regular season!
But this can perhaps be understood as: Hansen and Paul became acquainted with each other through fighting, after all, they were not in the same division before.

After the visiting team is the home team's press conference.

Different from the relaxed atmosphere of the Grizzlies, the atmosphere of the Lakers' press conference was very solemn because they lost the game.

"They kicked our asses hard, and I beat the shit out of it." Kobe has never been one to hold back on criticizing himself, and you certainly won't hear these words from James.

"We should realize what kind of opponent we are facing. We must put aside all distractions and focus all our attention on the court. We must do that to win." Kobe turned his head and looked at Paul beside him while saying this.

Paul became the focus of everyone's attention, and Kobe did not give him any face.

Two days later, the series between the Lakers and the Grizzlies continued in Los Angeles.

Okafor made his comeback, and the Lakers' inside strength was strengthened.

But what is more noteworthy is that Kobe was extremely serious in this game and had a stern face throughout.

The atmosphere on the Lakers team was also very serious, but they played obviously better than in G1.

The two teams fought until the last minute, and the Lakers relied on their stronger strength to pull back a game with 112 to 108.

The Grizzlies' twin towers were suppressed, and Hansen scored 36 points, but failed to help the team win.

Kobe scored 32 points, and the most watched Paul had 18 points and 11 assists in the game, with only 2 turnovers in the whole game.

This result was somewhat unexpected, because since Kobe publicly accused Paul like that, Paul should have made a big fuss.

But if you think about it, it makes sense because the person speaking is Kobe.

Those who thought Paul would make a big scene completely underestimated the pressure of a famous superstar.

This is like Rodman, a well-known troublemaker in the league, who soon became a follower of Jordan.

It’s not that Jordan is so domineering, but that he is the core of the dynasty. At that time, no one knew how to succeed in basketball better than him.

Kobe's current achievements are only higher than Jordan's status when Rodman went to the Bulls.

So it’s not a question of whether Paul wants to do it, but whether he dares to do it.

Paul dares to play the "I don't want a championship that's not the FMVP" drama with Booker, but if this Lakers team makes it to the finals, will Paul dare to do that in front of Kobe?

Not to mention Paul, even if James and Kobe were on the same team, James wouldn't dare to release his power by only 8 points.

Due to the broadcast time, TNT's program was not aired until after G2, but it became the focus of fans' attention.

O'Neal fulfilled the bet and wore boxer briefs during the game, and the photographer also gave him an exclusive camera position.

Unlike Barkley who asked a donkey to kiss his ass, the "Big Shark" fulfilled the bet without any water.

This also caused laughter at the show, especially Barkley's smug smile that could not be hidden at all.

Ever since O'Neal came to TNT, the show kept talking about him having five championships, and occasionally teased him about not having a championship, which bullied him a lot.

Now, O'Neal has finally gotten his revenge, with his head shaved and his pants taken off.

Of course, the pants O'Neal chose were very loose, so you couldn't see the appearance of Little Shark.

"We should predict who will win Game 3," Kenny Smith began to remind halfway through the show.

After O'Neal came, Smith should be the happiest among the Big Three, because he no longer had to bet with Barkley, and he could earn the same salary as before just by doing nothing, and the key was that he could have fun.

As the saying goes, it’s fun to watch the fun, and he is now the fun guy among the Big Three.

“You know, I’ve always been optimistic about the Grizzlies.” Barkley took the lead in raising his hand to express his position.

Then he continued to look at O'Neal smugly.

"I am also optimistic about the Grizzlies." However, what was unexpected was that O'Neal did not speak in accordance with his own personality.

The program and the commentary are different, especially their program called "In-depth NBA". In order to make the program appear more realistic, there is only a rough outline, and the rest depends on Barkley and others to play freely.

This is also the key to the success of this show, because with more freedom, many unexpected things will happen.

Of course, all this is based on Barkley's personal ability. He knows how to grasp the right measure and scale.

Now, O'Neal is another one, and his commentary talent is no less than Barkley's.

However, this sudden situation has now caused a problem. That is, if the two people agree, how can the bet continue?

"How about you guys tell me what the stakes are first?" Kenny Smith was trying to push.

"The losers will run naked on the beaches in Los Angeles!" Barkley felt that he had not won enough and was ready to win big.

This made O'Neal, who was wearing boxer briefs, subconsciously tighten his legs. That was something he absolutely could not do.

"I have no problem with that, but I support the Grizzlies," O'Neal reiterated.

"I support the Grizzlies, too." Barkley once again expressed his personality.

The show really can't go on now.

In addition to the Big Three, there was also a host at the scene. She almost subconsciously turned her head to look at Smith.

Although Smith has the weakest presence among the Big Three, he is still a member after all.

Then, Barkley and O'Neal followed her gaze and looked at Smith.

The meaning is very clear, Smith can only support the Lakers.

Smith was confused. He was eating the melon but ended up eating himself!
You can imagine O'Neal or Barkley running naked, but you definitely can't imagine Smith doing this. It's definitely not something he could do.

"How about you guys make a bet on who will win the series?" Smith continued to suggest after a dry cough.

Now both Barkley and O'Neal turned back.

There is randomness in a single game, but a series of games is a different matter.

In terms of pure strength, the Lakers are obviously stronger than the Grizzlies, which was also verified in Game 2. "How about this, the loser doesn't go to the beach in Los Angeles, but goes to the Hollywood Walk of Fame to run naked? I support the Lakers." Barkley spoke first.

This is quite ruthless. After all, there are many beaches in Los Angeles, and they don't stipulate where they must be. You can just find a time when there are few people and take a video from behind.

But the Walk of Fame is the landmark of Hollywood! It is impossible for it to be crowded.

Moreover, he has snatched the Lakers away first. If O'Neal doesn't agree, he is a coward. Even if O'Neal says that he also supports the Lakers, Barkley has already won in momentum.

Or maybe Barkley felt that the previous bet was a bit too high, so he made a new bet that O'Neal could not agree to, giving each other a way out.

"Okay, I support the Grizzlies!" Unexpectedly, O'Neal couldn't stand Barkley's previous smugness and agreed directly.

"Kobe has never understood that basketball is not a one-man game, but his opponent, the Grizzlies, has already understood this." Of course, when he added his reasons, he did not forget to diss Kobe.

This wave has become a complete commotion.

But it also drew a lot of attention to this series between the Grizzlies and the Lakers.

G3 of the series will move to Memphis.

After returning to Memphis, Hansen also asked Allen to practice more.

His current "Uncle Drew" is very close to the bottleneck, and he just needs the final push.

However, in this kind of thing, haste makes waste, there will always be a little short of it.

After the training was over, the two of them sat on the sidelines to rest.

"Han, I'm leaving in the summer." Allen's sudden words caught Han Sen off guard.

But if you think about it carefully, it is not surprising that Allen has such an idea. With Gay returning and Battier staying on the team, his playing time has indeed been greatly compressed.

In the first two games, Allen averaged less than 10 minutes per game, which is similar to his situation in Boston.

But unlike before, Allen is now 29 years old.

He really needs a change of environment, otherwise when his contract expires at the end of next season, he might disappear from the NBA.

"Are you ready to go somewhere?"

Allen shook his head. Unlike Han Sen, he was not very good at socializing. Although he had also been there for almost two years, he only communicated more with Han Sen off the court.

"Then think about it carefully after the season is over and let me know when you're ready." Han Sen patted Allen's shoulder.

He can't decide what trades the team makes, but if Allen really wants to go somewhere, Wallace is still willing to sell him a favor.

In Game 3 of the series, the two sides were evenly matched in the first half. Kobe exploded in the second half. He scored 45 points in the game, helping the Lakers win another game with a score of 113 to 106 and regain the home advantage.

"Basketball is certainly not a game played alone, but the one who scores more points wins the game." At the post-match press conference, Kobe also made some meaningful remarks, which were obviously a response to O'Neal's previous remarks.

What Kobe did this season, including forcing the team to trade for Paul, was largely because O'Neal swept him and won the championship last season. Now O'Neal went to the commentary booth and sang against him and dissed him, which made him look bloodthirsty.

Win by 8 points, lose by 4 points, lose by 7 points, after the first three games of the series, the score difference between the two sides was all in single digits.

The fact that they can play against the Lakers in such a situation is enough to show the strength of this Grizzlies team.

But when the Grizzlies were trailing 1-2, Okafor was absent in the game they won, which is enough to show how strong this Lakers team is.

And no matter what the reason, Kobe has gotten into the state, and the Grizzlies are now pushed to the brink.

If we lose the next game, the series will basically be over early.

But facing such a Kobe and such a Lakers team, it is not so easy to win.

Especially now that Paul is suppressed by Kobe, it will be difficult for him to find a breakthrough from a psychological level.

Now the only option left is a head-on confrontation.

Before Game 4, the Grizzlies conducted pre-match training.

Because of the unfavorable situation, the training atmosphere seemed somewhat depressing.

During the full-court confrontation training, Han Sen specifically asked to go to team three.

This time he did not do this to stimulate or inspire his teammates, because there was actually no problem with the Grizzlies' performance, and the actual strength gap between the two teams was just a few points.

And those few points require him to achieve them.

So what he is doing now is to use this method of artificially creating pressure to make himself reach the bottleneck of Uncle Drew.

This is indeed effective. The Grizzlies' starting lineup is no pushover now, and Hansen has failed to win several times in a row.

But he became more and more courageous as the battle went on, because he felt that he was about to reach that bottleneck.

Finally, after shaking off Gay and completing the buzzer-beater, leading three teams to win against one team, he reached that bottleneck!
Gay's memory was instantly pulled back to the scene when Hansen first arrived at the Grizzlies. At that time, he was still arguing with Hollins over the team's status.

At that time, Han Sen went to Team 3 and beat him up.

More than a season has passed, and his status in the team seems to have declined.

But just as he was thinking this, a hand reached out to him.

Han Sen smiled and pulled him up from the ground.

Guy slapped his head suddenly. What a mess of thoughts he just had. Hansen made such a great sacrifice for the team, but he was still entangled in such things.

In fact, it wasn't just Gay who had a change of mood at this time. The other members of the Grizzlies had their moods changed.

However, they thought differently from Guy, because they felt that Hansen was using this method to show them that "the weak can defeat the strong."

And they also subconsciously thought of last season. They were able to beat the Thunder, who were stronger than them, last season, and they can definitely beat the Lakers this season.

The next night, the FedEx Center was packed.

Despite the team's unfavorable situation, the fans' support remains unchanged because the culture of "courage and resilience" established by the team last season has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and they believe that their team will never be defeated so easily.

When Han Sen walked out of the player tunnel, the fans around him were shouting his name, and those who wanted autographs took out clothes, hats and other things and handed them forward.

Then he looked up and saw the child again.

This time the child was sitting on his father's shoulders and wearing the Grizzlies' No. 77 jersey, which was very conspicuous.

Han Sen also stopped and signed for them.

He also motioned for the child to take off his jersey.

After signing the jersey, he threw it back.

"Han, we will win!" the little boy shouted excitedly after receiving the jersey.

Han Sen smiled and nodded, waved to the fans, then turned and walked towards the stadium.

Yes, they will win!

(End of this chapter)