Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 222 Bath Water Battle

Two days later, Game 3 between the Spurs and the Grizzlies came to an end.

After returning to the Holy City, the Spurs defeated the Grizzlies 108-101 to pull one back.

波波维奇尽管在G2的赛后嘴硬，但他到了G3还是乖乖用回了2-1-2联防。

Or maybe it could be said that his seeming breakdown after Game 2 was a deliberate act by him to paralyze the Grizzlies.

However, this was not the key to the Spurs' victory, because Hansen still scored 35 points.

The key issue is that the Spurs not only maintained their defensive intensity on this night, but also opened up their offense.

And the key to getting the offense open was a little guy.

Green shot well from three-point range in the Spurs' first two games, but struggled in the first two games against the Grizzlies, making only two of 10 shots from the outside.

You could say it was because Han Sen was defending him, but more deeply it was a problem with his mentality.

How can you keep your mentality when the reason you didn't let anyone shit on you on defense is because you pooped cleanly the night before?
But after using the zone defense, Green no longer had to face Hansen alone, and the situation was completely different.

Green, who released the pressure on the defensive end, had an explosive rebound.

He made 11 of 6 three-pointers in the game, including 6 of 4 in the first half alone. He scored 24 points in the game, playing the best game of his career.

The Spurs' current offense revolves around the pick-and-roll between Parker and Duncan, a tactic that just happens to restrain the Grizzlies, so Joerger's defensive strategy is to assist on the wing when encountering a pick-and-roll.

In this situation, the pressure that Green/Leonard put on the Grizzlies at the Spurs' strong side corner, whether they shoot three-pointers accurately or inaccurately, is completely different levels.

Green shot accurately, so Joerger had to ask Hansen to reduce his help defense. As a result, although Green's shooting percentage dropped, the Spurs' pick-and-roll was opened up.

This was a night in the life of a small man, but it awakened some memories in Han Sen's mind.

Popovich's hammer tactic is essentially a pick-and-roll tactic that Parker and Duncan use to target off-ball shooters.

The reason why it appeared in the 2013-2014 season was because of Green's highlight performance in the 2013 Finals.

In "History", in the finals against the Heat, Green was in great form, making 5 three-pointers in the first five games. It took him only five games to break Ray Allen's record for three-pointers in the finals, with a hit rate of an incredible 25%.

Just looking at the first five games, he is simply the top scorer in history.

Now the Spurs have been pushed to the edge of the cliff, and Green has exploded before the finals.

After Game 3, Joerger pulled Hansen aside to discuss countermeasures.

Because Green is the one Hansen is defending and Hansen is the one who needs to assist in defense, they have to make a choice.

This is a difficult choice to make because it is also a matter of choosing one cup of poison from two cups.

But Hansen knew that there was a high probability that Green would be able to maintain this accuracy in the future.

However, Han Sen himself started out as a shooter and knew that shooters need to maintain their touch, so he proposed a defensive strategy of tightening up first and then loosening up.

Specifically, the Grizzlies defended Green tightly at the beginning and did not give him any chances, and they tried their best to limit the Spurs' Parker and Duncan's pick-and-roll.

If we really can't limit them, we'll just go head-to-head with the Spurs.

Anyway, Parker and Duncan can't be on the court at the same time all the time, and as long as one of them goes down to rest, the pick-and-roll will naturally not be able to work.

Green's hands cannot get hot if he doesn't shoot, and it is difficult to guarantee his hit rate even if he is given a chance later.

Hansen's idea of ​​empathy was quickly recognized by Jorgel.

Just like he and Tois had said before, as long as he had the ideas, Hansen could become an excellent head coach after retirement.

When it came to Game 4, Han Sen quickly implemented the strategy they had discussed before the start.

No, it's even doubled.

Not only did he keep a close eye on Green, but he also physically confronted Green when he was moving, and even mixed in some trash talk.

When it comes to managing one's mentality, Han Sen is definitely a professional.

The two teams were evenly matched in the first half. In the second half, Hansen began to shrink and help defend the pick-and-roll, and Green missed many shots from the outside.

Green is still young after all. In the first two games, his mentality was unbalanced because he was beaten by Han Sen. It was hard for him not to have fluctuations in his mentality after being dominated by Han Sen for most of the game.

The Spurs' offense declined sharply in the second half, and the game turned into the Grizzlies' side.

104 to 93, the Grizzlies won the crucial G4, the score was 3 to 1, and they already had the match point.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers lived up to Hansen's expectations and tied the Heat 2-2 after four games, taking the game directly to the decisive stage, and seemed to be on track to fight the Heat into a Game .

A week later, the Eastern and Western Conference Finals were all over.

In the West, the Spurs fought back from a desperate situation and scored a goal on the road, but after returning to their home court, they still lost Game 43 after Hansen scored 6 points, and were eliminated by the Grizzlies 2-4.

Two years have passed and a lot of things have changed, but the ending remains unchanged.

Popovich was unexpectedly honest in this series. It’s not that he didn’t want to, but that he didn’t dare.

Facts have once again proved that when someone says you have weapons of mass destruction, you'd better really have them.

The Grizzlies kept Johnson and traded for Jones. Although neither of them is in the regular rotation this season, their deterrent power is like a sword hanging over the opponent's head.

Who says that players who can’t play can’t help the team?

From Sacre to Johnson and Jones, these Grizzlies bench players have played alternative roles.

Of course, if there is an MVP in the Western Conference Finals, it must be Hansen.

Hansen scored 6+ points in 3 of the 40 games and averaged 38.7 points per game. He played much crazier than Kobe, the first generation Spurs killer.

On social media, Hansen's identity as the mayor of Holy City is becoming more and more well-known.

Of course, there were also fans talking about what Hansen said before the series about revenge for Paul.

"If Han gives a Western Conference Finals victory speech, he will definitely mention CP3."

But in fact, if you really want Hansen to give a speech to thank the award, the person he would thank most is Popovich.

Thanks to Popovich's defensive style, he got a lot of post-up opportunities.

Before the finals, his [Dream Dance] finally reached a bottleneck.

[Dream Dance], [God's Fade Away], [Classical Master], [Uncle Drew], four first-class talents on the offensive end.

It’s hard to say where the Grizzlies’ confidence in playing against the Heat comes from, but Hansen now has enough confidence to play against the Heat.

The Grizzlies won early, but the game was delayed until a week later. The main problem was that the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals really dragged the game into a seventh game.

The good news is that the Heat's consumption in the Eastern Conference Finals was greater than Hansen expected.

The bad news is that Wade regained his form in the seventh game. He scored 32 points and led his team to beat the Pacers.

Han Sen had good luck, and the Heat's luck wasn't bad either.

In any case, after a season, the Grizzlies and the Heat met again in the finals.

On one side are the defending champions, whose core players loudly declared "establishing a dynasty" before the season and are determined to retain their title;
On the other side, after the trade, they won 70 games and are recognized as the strongest team in the league.

This time, Stern doesn't need to deliberately create the battle, and the two fans' most anticipated battle of the century will be staged on the stage of the finals. But before that, there is still a lot to do.

The most important thing, which also happens every year in the finals, is naturally publicity and promotion.

Or in other words, to create a "bonus".

Not to mention the distant past, in the past five years, there was the Boston Big Three and the yellow-green battle in 2008, Kobe's revenge battle in 2009, Dallas' dream-fulfilling battle in 2011, and Memphis' blazing fire in 2012.

This year, in addition to the second season of The Hunting Fire, there is another natural prize, bath water.

This has nothing to do with Durant's personal wishes, nor does it have anything to do with whether it is Scarlett's or Hansen's bath water.

You can equate it with dignity, honor, and the reason it is bath water is that it spreads easily.

The finals are played every year, but in the future, when fans mention the Bath Water Battle, they will instantly think of the 2013 Finals.

In addition to this jackpot, this time the league officials, led by Stan, also conducted a pre-game prediction survey.

This time the survey is no longer targeting fans in Florida, but rather online teams across the United States.

The survey results show that 69% of fans believe that the Heat will win the finals, and only 28% of fans believe that the Grizzlies will defend their title.

In a further score survey, 58% of fans believed that the Heat would win the seventh game 4-3.

One thing that is basically certain is that most fans recognize the strength of the Grizzlies, but they still think that the Heat will have the last laugh.

After all, when Wade regains his form, the strength of this Heat team is that of a team that ranks among the best in NBA history.

Of course, the TNT Big Three are indispensable at this time.

In the latest episode, the predictions of the three people were also full of show effects.

Barkley was the funniest. When he appeared on the stage, he was wearing a bear leather suit and a big bear head. Only after he took it off did everyone realize it was him.

The moment he showed his head, he had already made his absolute position clear without saying anything.

O'Neal didn't have to compete with Barkley this time, because as the core of the Heat's 2006 championship, and with James having left the team, he supported the Heat unreservedly.

As for Kenny Smith, it doesn't matter who he supports, what matters is what he can offer.

This involves the bet between the two.

Having a position, according to their custom, betting is necessary.

The popularity of the last finals, the brothers' naked bet not only added a lot of popularity to the game, but Barkley also gained an unprecedented wave of traffic by fulfilling the bet.

It's like having a pile of dollars in front of you. If you don't reach out for them, they're just pretending.

And this time, their bet is of course...bath water.

It would be a waste not to use something as topical as a bet.

Their bet was that the loser would drink Smith's bath water on the spot in the live broadcast room.

Don’t ask why it’s Smith again. As a member of the Big Three, if you don’t make some contribution, you will be kicked out of the Big Three like James.

"I hope you have taken a bath before taking the bath water." The host also made a suggestion. After all, the head soup is too strong and it might make people vomit.

But no matter what, this wave of linkage between TNT programs has completely confirmed the bath water battle in this year's finals.

The Heat have home-court advantage, and the finals will begin in Miami.

On the night of G1, the American Airlines Arena was packed.

Heat fans are passionate.

If that deal hadn't been made last summer, the Heat would definitely be nervous facing the Grizzlies again this year.

But after that deal, the Heat had a 70-win record, and their confidence didn't recover but instead inflated.

For them, this year's situation is exactly the same as the Lakers in 2009, another year of revenge.

In fact, the Heat also made corresponding preparations before the game. They placed a red T-shirt with the word "Avengers" printed on it on each seat. Although not everyone wore it, the main red color looked like a raging fire of revenge at first glance.

During the pre-match warm-up, there were also split shots of Durant and Hansen.

Han Sen looked very relaxed, as if he was facing the same Heat team as last year.

Durant's expression was much more serious in comparison.

In fact, Durant is usually a boy who loves to laugh off the court, but now everyone is making jokes about bath water, and no one can laugh.

Of course, in addition to these two people, shots of other players from both sides were also given on the scene.

Wade, Bosh, Randolph, Gasol, Ray Allen, Carter...

This year's finals is even more star-studded than last year.

Of course, in addition to this, Hill also got an exclusive shot.

Hill, who has already made it into the rotation in the playoffs, is also a well-known gentleman in the league when facing the Grizzlies who have abandoned him. This contrasting factor concentrated in one person is also a major attraction.

After the warm-up techniques, the scene entered into the opening ceremony.

The Grizzlies still have their regular starting five.

When the Heat came on the field, the familiar jets of flame, the enthusiastic cheers from the crowd, and of course the names of the players, the atmosphere was at its peak.

Chalmers, Wade, Durant, Bosh, Perkins.

Before the game, some fans speculated that Spoelstra would go big in G1 and directly put Ray Allen in the starting lineup, break through the Grizzlies' defense at the start and take the initiative in the game.

But it is clear that Spoelstra is not a mad scientist like Jackson. He is a typical mature young coach.

The game is about to begin and the starting players of both sides have arrived on the court one after another.

"Are you ready to score another 61 points tonight?" Wade greeted Hansen after facing him. The topic of the Christmas game seems to be continuing.

"It's not impossible." Han Sen replied with a smile, although he felt that the current situation did not require him to score so many points.

"Don't worry, I won't let you get it." Wade's expression suddenly became serious. He had to win this time.

"You have no say on this." Han Sen had other plans. Wade was the core of the Heat's ball handling, and it would be a good choice if he could be consumed on the offensive end.

Just as he finished speaking, he felt a gaze on him.

Turning around, there was no need to guess, the person looking at him was none other than Durant.

How can I put it? The anti-fan value is very hateful, the West has been eliminated for two consecutive years, and Scarlett's bath water...

If you really think about it, the grudge between him and Durant is not much less than that between him and James.

Well, there is also the All-Star Game that Hansen didn’t count.

Durant originally prayed that Hansen could make it to the finals, and now his prayers have come true.

(End of this chapter)