Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 207 NBA Data Key
The topic of Carril's exclusive interview is about the Grizzlies' playoff prospects.

Because as the current situation shows, the Grizzlies have a very good chance of topping the Western Conference in the regular season.

Among their potential first-round opponents is the Thunder.

After James' return, the Thunder's record has not improved but deteriorated, and they have dropped from sixth in the Western Conference to eighth.

If the playoffs start at this time, the Grizzlies will face the Thunder in the first round.

Simulating matchups will naturally involve issues regarding matchup situations.

It is in this context that Carril raised the question of how the Thunder can have a chance to beat the Grizzlies.

Hansen gave his answer: Substitute Guy and James off the team.

This may sound absurd at first, but upon closer analysis you will find that it is the only feasible solution.

First of all, when James arrived at the Grizzlies, he would not be able to adapt to the Grizzlies' twin-tower style of play, which would completely ruin half of his career.

James likes to play fast breaks, but the twin towers can't play fast breaks, which wastes the other half.

He and Han Sen would even have conflicts over ball possession, but Han Sen would never give up the ball like Wade did.

So when James joined the Grizzlies, the Grizzlies' strength plummeted.

On the other hand, Gay's current technical characteristics are defense and off-ball play during the starting period, and staggered travel during the transition period as a substitute, which perfectly suits the Thunder.

As one side gains strength while the other loses strength, the Thunder has a high probability of defeating the Grizzlies.

Then they brought up another topic, which is the reason for the Thunder's current decline in performance.

It's because of James' comeback and the incompatibility between James and the Thunder.

Carril's final summary was: The Thunder need to find a more suitable small forward. KD is the best candidate, and Gay is also good.

"We will not trade Rudy. To us, he is a better player than LeBron." Hansen finally said with a smile.

If you put Hansen's words in the context of the interview, you can actually hear that he is emphasizing Gay's importance to the Grizzlies.

But everyone is so busy, how many people actually read what is written in the interview?

And Caryl chose such a striking title, which was definitely bringing bad luck to Hansen!
In fact, after this article was published, it instantly attracted huge controversy.

"This is the worst time LeBron has been bashed. Han is the biggest LeBron hater. He has lost all his face just to bash LeBron."

"Don't even mention Guy. James has 4 MVPs. How many do you, Hansen, have?"

"I think Afflalo is a better player than Hansen? When you don't respect others, you don't expect to get respect from others!"

"LeBron does have some issues with the Thunder, but if you say he is not as good as Gay, you are wrong. LeBron is still one of the top three players in the league."

……

This time, not only James fans, but many neutral fans also felt that Han Sen had gone too far.

Han Sen was naturally very happy about this scene of being criticized.

He is now eager to redeem his talent for post-up singles, and he was the one who asked for Kalil's title to be written that way.

Moreover, the purpose of this interview was achieved, because the outside world basically tacitly agreed that "there are problems in the running-in between James and the Thunder."

The fundamental problem of the Thunder is the compatibility of Westbrook and James.

Westbrook can lead his team to sixth place in the Western Conference on his own, and James can do the same, and may even be better.

But the reality is that they are on the same team. If you, the Thunder, don't want to be finished, then hurry up and choose one of the two!
Hansen's counterattack hit the vital point directly, and both McMenamin and Windhorst became obedient immediately.

Because they also know that if the fight continues, the Thunder will be the first to go crazy.

ESPN has calmed down, but the previous article still had an impact on the Grizzlies.

Randolph certainly knew that it was an underhanded move by the opponent, and Wallace also said before that the team would not trade Randolph.

But knowing something and not having it happen are two different things.

A rift can arise between two friends because of an unintentional remark, not to mention that the problems faced by the Grizzlies are real.

Especially since Heisley has always been a money-saving player, with the high luxury tax next season, it is very likely that he will choose to trade.

Among the Grizzlies' starting five, Randolph, the oldest, is the most likely to be traded.

In fact, if this happened to Gay, it might be better, after all, Gay wouldn't think too much, but it is hard for Randolph not to have some thoughts.

After the training session that day, Hansen was about to go back to the locker room, but Guy pulled him aside to chat.

"I see that guy Zack is in a bad mood. Should we help him?"

Han Sen reached out and touched Guy's forehead.

If we talk about the two most incompatible people on the Grizzlies, it would be Gay and Randolph.

Unexpectedly, the first person to care about Randolph was Guy.

Are they falling in love with each other because of their daily quarrels?

"Don't think too much. I just think his depressed mood affects the atmosphere of our team," Gay explained.

"Rudy, I'm right, you are indeed a better player than LeBron."

Guy's face flushed. Although he wanted to deny it, his vanity wouldn't allow him to do so.

"So how do you want to help?" Han Sen asked.

"Hasn't Zach ever been selected to the All-Star Game? I think he would be happy if he was selected."

Han Sen thought for a while, then nodded.

You know what, the method Gay said seems a bit irrelevant at first glance. After all, Randolph was in a bad mood because he was worried about being traded, and it had nothing to do with whether he would make the All-Star team.

But think about it from another perspective, his value has increased after he became an All-Star, and the possibility of him being traded has decreased, so his mood will naturally improve.

After both of them thought it was feasible, they went to look for Gasol Jr.

Gasol Jr. raised both hands in agreement on the spot.

Originally, he and Randolph had a good understanding as partners and they also had a good relationship privately.

And the reason why his low-post skills improved so quickly was because Randolph shared a lot of experience with him.

As a result, the article made things awkward between them.

The three of them reached a consensus, so the rest of the things would fall into place naturally.

Han Sen went back to talk to Jorgel and the matter was basically settled.

Of course, the reason why things went so smoothly is also because the Grizzlies are strong enough this season.

Even though the Christmas game was difficult, it was because the opponent was the Heat team that could compete for the best in history.

At other times, the Grizzlies are still the team that can finish the game in three quarters.

So if Randolph takes a few more shots, the Grizzlies will lose the game?
That's obviously impossible.

What's more, Randolph is in great form this season.

Of course, everyone who knew about this did not tell Randolph about it, because if they did, it would not achieve their original goal.

And they also picked their opponents, giving the first time to the Rockets.

The Rockets' inside players are Patrick Patterson and Vucevic. Both of them are space inside players. Harden's ability to play so well this season has a lot to do with their presence.

However, the defense of these two brothers is very average, especially Vucevic. Although he looks big, he moves very slowly and basically has no help defense.

As long as Randolph uses his size to crush Patterson and get to the basket, he can basically get two points.

The head coach of the Rockets is McHale, also one of the legends of the Celtics. He adjusted the defensive strategy, letting Vucevic defend Randolph and letting Patterson assist in defense, but the effect was not good.

Randolph has skills. If you use a slow-moving big center to defend him, he will dribble past you facing the basket.

Randolph got 13 shooting opportunities in the first half, and he made 10 of them, scoring 25 points.

During the half-time break, Fatty Lan finally showed a long-lost smile.

When Guy saw this, he also bumped fists with Hansen, with an expression that said "Look how smart I am" on his face.

In the second half, the Rockets adjusted their defensive strategy again.

McHale seems to have finally remembered the strategy of helping defense, which can be done not only inside but also outside.

Qian De Le·Sha Pa Shi and Jeremy Lin began to shrink their defense one after another.

Randolph is straightforward. If you double-team me, I’ll pass the ball.

This is the benefit of not knowing the inside story beforehand. Although Randolph got more shots, he was essentially aiming to win.

Gay and Conley also performed well, scoring one after another after receiving the ball.

McHale showed his old-school coaching stubbornness by sticking with this defensive strategy, and the Grizzlies blossomed.

In the first half, thanks to Harden's explosive performance, the Rockets were only single-digit behind the Grizzlies at halftime.

But with McHale's move, the game lost its suspense after three quarters.

Randolph scored a triple-double of 30 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in just three quarters.

This is also his second triple-double in his career. The last time was achieved in the game against the Heat two years ago.

And this time he had a big triple-double, and the statistics were even better.

At the press conference after the game, Hansen kept praising Randolph.

"Zach was injured last season. That was not the real him. He is now the real him. He is still one of the best big men in the league." Even Joerger followed suit and praised him.

This made Fatty Lan feel a little embarrassed.

After that, Randolph continued to perform well, averaging 20+10+5 per game, which is in no way inferior to his peak performance two years ago.

In the game against the Knicks, he scored 44 points, a new career high.

His previous scoring record was in 2007, when he was still playing for the Trail Blazers and scored 43 points in a game against the Grizzlies.

At that time, he was still a "data brush", but this time he really cut it down.

"Zach Randolph is reaching the peak of his career," this became the focus of media reports.

At this time, the All-Star voting has already begun, which also closely links him with the All-Stars.

So, can NBA statistics be inflated?
Some people think that is impossible. NBA is the highest basketball hall. It is not easy to score a point in it. How is it possible to inflate the statistics?

The answer is of course: Yes.

But that requires a prerequisite. The first is that the player must be strong enough. If you don't have that strength, you can't score even if you are given the ball.

The second is that the team must be strong enough. A weak team cannot keep improving its statistics for long because you will be exposed quickly due to poor performance.

Therefore, if you want to have good statistics and not be questioned, you have to stay in a strong team at all times.

Or at worst, you must have strong enough teammates to protect you, so that you don't lose too badly.

Time flies and it is already the end of January.

The results of the 2013 All-Star voting were also released at this time.
Without much suspense, Hansen became the fourth player in NBA history to win the vote-winning title three times in a row.

Although his statistics are "ordinary", being the defending champion, No. 61 in the Western Conference, and scoring points in the Christmas game, these alone are enough.

Not to mention the University of Tokyo, the world's largest voting base that can still give a large number of votes even if you give it a ratio of 100 to 1.

Then, Randolph was not only selected to the All-Stars, but also joined Hansen in the starting lineup.

In addition, Gasol Jr. also won the trust of the coaches and was selected for the substitute list.

This is also the first time in the history of the Grizzlies that three players have been selected for the All-Star Game.

However, the three candidates for the top team in the Western Conference are also quite reasonable. After all, the Heat also have three players selected in the Eastern Conference.

And this time, the 2009 rookie is once again on the screen.

Except for Curry who unfortunately failed to be selected, Hansen, Griffin and Harden were all on the list.

Moreover, Jrue Holiday, the 2009th pick in the 17 draft, became the leader of the 76ers after Iguodala left, and was also selected to the bench lineup due to his outstanding performance.

As soon as the results were announced, Hansen was the first to speak out in front of reporters about Guy's failure to be selected.

"Rudy is one of the best small forwards in the league and he deserves a roster spot."

Has there ever been a team in history with four players selected as All-Stars?

Of course there are, and quite a few.

Not to mention the 2015 Hawks and 2017 Warriors, the most classic teams in "history" that Hansen knows.

There are already quite a few who have appeared so far, like the Celtics had four players selected in 2011.

Let me tell you another unexpected story. In the 1998 All-Star Game, the Lakers had four players selected: O'Neal, Kobe, Van Exel and Eddie Jones.

To put it bluntly, the team with the best record has exposure, and as long as the data is slightly better, it is normal to be selected.

However, Han Sen's protests also brought him a lot of criticism.

Some of them said that Hansen was greedy. After all, the competition in the Western Conference was fierce. Curry and Iguodala, as the core players of their respective teams, were not selected. The Grizzlies should be secretly grateful that three people were selected. They actually wanted more.

Of course, it was more because Hansen mentioned Guy again.

His previous remarks that "Gay is better than James" have not been forgotten by fans.

What? Are we really going to let James give up the starting position to Gay?
After these two waves, Han Sen’s black fan value has skyrocketed.

Taking advantage of the All-Star voting results, Kalil revealed that Hansen would not participate in the 2013 Asian Championships.

It is not news that Hansen has never considered participating in Asian competitions.

But he had not participated in the Olympics before, and the men's basketball team had a hard time winning in the Olympics, so the Basketball Association has been putting the blame on him.

So this news has caused a chain reaction, and some radical fans in the country are already shouting that they want him to be kicked out of the national team permanently.

With wave after wave of adversaries, Han Sen's black fan value soon exceeded one million again.

-Dividing line-

① Western Conference starting lineup: Hansen, Kobe, James, Griffin, Randolph
Substitutes: Paul, Westbrook, Parker, Harden, Duncan, Nowitzki, Gasol

Eastern Conference starting lineup: Rondo, Wade, Durant, Anthony, Howard
Substitutes: Irving, Jrue Holiday, Paul George, Bosh, Garnett, Noah, Brook Lopez

(End of this chapter)