Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 240 [As long as you participate in the dunk contest, you will be the champion]

The Grizzlies' first opponent after the trade deadline is the Thunder.

Because they are playing at home, the team can rest and wait for the opportunity.

They also had their final pre-match training session on the morning of the match.

The training session looked no different from yesterday, yet it also seemed very different.

Hansen is still playing the role of the "villain" or "driver", but the Grizzlies players' desire to play is obviously much stronger than before.

The championship is no longer that attractive to them, but Han Sen has kept them. Not for the championship, but for Han Sen, they will have to work harder this season.

Han Sen breathed a sigh of relief after noticing this change.

Basketball is a team sport. Even though his statistics this season are explosive, just like in the opening game, one person cannot beat the Heat.

But now, he finally has real confidence.

Although two-thirds of the season has passed, it is somewhat difficult for the Grizzlies teammates to return to the state of last season, but the chances are much greater than before.

Like the 2022 Warriors, and like the 1998 Bulls.

Good things come in pairs. Just after the training session ended, the black fan value in the system finally reached the 150 million that Han Sen wanted.

Thanks to Jordan, and thanks to those in China who are still insisting on bashing him because he didn't join the national team.

After returning home to rest, Han Sen opened the black fan system and exchanged for a higher level of dunk talent.

After understanding the idea of ​​[The Great Way is Simple], Han Sen now has a clear idea about exchanging talents, which is to make his scoring easier and more effective.

Then getting back to the essence of basketball, it is actually about running faster, shooting more accurately, and jumping higher.

The last time Han Sen exchanged for a dunking talent, it was to make his mid-range shots more difficult to defend.

Jump higher and stay in the air longer, both the offensive and defensive effects will be significantly improved.

However, when Han Sen found the dunking talent in a talent pool, he was obviously stunned.

There are many people who are good at dunking in the NBA, and the best dunker in every fan's mind is different.

Some people think that Jordan is the best dunker, because his most well-known nickname is "Air Jordan", AJ is the abbreviation of Air Jordan;

Some people would say Carter. Before his injury, UFO changed people's perception of dunks and saved the NBA's ratings.

Some people think that the option should be Zach LaVine. LaVine, who combines physical fitness and flexibility, deserves to be called the "greatest dunker in history";
Others will support Griffin because he can achieve the true meaning of "violent aesthetics";
Some people even think that this problem can only be solved by James, because the slam dunks of others are just fancy, and when it comes to the "actual slam dunk king", it has to be James.

As for Han Sen’s words, his answer is actually none of these, because the people who are really good at dunking are not in the NBA.

There are many dunkers in the NBA, but they can only dunk. Even if they are very good at it, they cannot play in the NBA. For example, "GOAT" Earl McNicaut who can do double dunks in one ball, "White Jordan" Jordan Kilgannon who can do scorpion tail dunks, etc. These folk dunkers are the real gods in the field of dunking.

But the name of this top-tier dunking talent in the system...

[As long as you participate in the dunk contest, you will be the champion].

It's really simple and crude.

But this easily reminds people of James' famous saying: As long as I participate in the dunk contest, I can win the championship.

As for whether I can win the championship, it depends on whether I participate or not.

However, considering the consistent style of the black fan system's name, this seems reasonable.

"Greatly improve jumping ability, air retention, body flexibility, and aerial confrontation talents."

The description of the talent is also very clear. It is a dunking talent that takes into account both performance and actual combat, and is more comprehensive than the talent name.

That night, during pre-game warm-ups, Hansen asked Carter to play a slam-dunk version of "PIG" with him.

This is a basketball game in the United States. One person imitates another person's shooting method. The winner has the right to shoot first. The one who fails three times becomes the pig.

This unique warm-up method not only excited the Grizzlies players, but also completely aroused the emotions of the fans at the scene.

This is the Grizzlies' equivalent of a dunk final.

Han Sen tried many difficult dunks, including the backboard dunk and the 540-degree turn dunk. There were successes and failures, but it was obvious that although he had just received the talent, he already felt that he was playing at a higher airflow level.

In the end, with a dunk over Faried's crotch, Hansen knocked Carter, the front wave, to death on the beach.

After the competition, the two men smiled and bumped fists, which brought the atmosphere to a climax before the game.

This was definitely the most entertaining pre-game warm-up the Grizzlies have had in years.

After seeing the fans' support, Hansen even felt that this tradition could continue.

There are too few opportunities to participate in dunk contests. If there are dunk contests every day, it will be conducive to improving talents.

It can also liven up the atmosphere, killing two birds with one stone.

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

Thunder: Westbrook, Afflalo, Anthony, Ibaka, Lopez Jr.

Grizzlies: Billups, Hansen, Gay, Randolph, Gasol

Conley has a finger injury. Although he can play with the injury, the coaching staff chose to let him rest for safety reasons.

Ibaka jumped to get the first offensive opportunity for the Thunder.

Westbrook attacked Billups right away, took a spurt and rushed into the inside to complete his signature crescent-shaped dunk.

Gasol didn't have time to jump and couldn't jump.

After the introduction of the [vertical jump rule], Westbrook was also one of the beneficiaries.

This is not surprising. What is surprising is that after completing the dunk, Westbrook's roar of celebration was directed at Hansen.

This shot was also captured by the on-site photographer and put on the large LED screen on site.

So this was Westbrook expressing his displeasure with the Grizzlies' unique pregame warm-up method?

In the next round, when Westbrook broke through, he encountered Hansen's help defense. Instead of accelerating to break through, he used a sudden stop and zombie pull-up shot.

After the shot went in, he once again performed his signature "Lullaby" celebration toward Hansen.

Hansen realized at this point that this had nothing to do with the pre-game warm-up, but rather what the fans said on social media. His statement on the All-Star Media Day about surpassing Jordan would attract more challenges in the second half of the season.

Westbrook's idol is Jordan. He participated in Jordan's training camp when he was ten years old. He missed Jordan's autograph because he participated in a temporary game and cried for a whole night.

After realizing this, Han Sen's body gradually became excited.

The NBA schedule is long, with 82 games in more than five months, and it is difficult to stay excited all the time.

Especially this season, Han Sen needs to put a lot of energy into training. It is even more difficult for him to maintain his bullying tendencies or be paranoid.

So it is definitely a good thing if he encounters an opponent who challenges him in the game.

Especially since he just got a new talent, he needs to improve quickly through competition.

During the Grizzlies' attack, Hansen reached for the ball and then signaled to move away. Afflalo was already an old rival, and Hansen had a size advantage against him. In the past, most of the singles were back-to-the-basket, but this time he chose to face the basket.

Afflalo's defensive strategy was the same as before. He consciously pushed Hansen to the basket and prepared to double-team him with Lopez Jr.

This was exactly what Han Sen wanted. After changing direction and accelerating past the basket, Han Sen had already catapulted into the air more than a meter away from the basket.

Little Lopez jumped with his hands raised high.

The advantage of doing this is that he can avoid being dunked on by Han Sen, but the disadvantage is that because of the new rules, he is just a jumping wooden stake.

Han Sen dodged sideways in the air, then glided and dunked from behind.

"Oh!"

The moment the ball went into the basket, the FedEx Center was boiling.

This dunk was even more spectacular than Westbrook's opening dunk. After all, there was Lopez in front of him, so the requirement for staying in the air was very high.

Han Sen hasn't had enough fun with the dunk warm-up before the game, so he wants to follow it up with the actual game?
After landing, Hansen also "returned the favor" and made a signature hand-spreading gesture to Westbrook.

This aroused the opponent's competitive spirit.

Turning around, he took the ball and dribbled past Billups.

Conley can't play tonight, but his start is like a sports car, and he can speed up to the top with just one step on the accelerator.

However, he was unable to complete the dunk this time because Hansen predicted his movements and appeared on his breakthrough route in advance.

Westbrook dodged and made a layup, but Hansen's shot after turning around blocked the ball out of bounds.

Why is the [vertical jump rule] aimed at the inside line?
In fact, it is a problem of reaction speed. Outside players have time to turn around and then jump when defending, but inside players can hardly do it.

Furthermore, the ball just now also showed off Hansen's improved air suspension ability, and Westbrook couldn't dodge it even if he wanted to.

"It's not a wise choice to anger Han." The commentators tonight were the TNT Big Three, and Barkley gave a piece of advice in the commentary booth.

Unconsciously, the advice related to Han Sen has changed from "Don't exchange trash talk with Han Sen" to "Don't talk to Han Sen", and now to "Don't try to provoke Han Sen".

Anthony then pulled Westbrook's head over and whispered to him, and it was obvious that the two of them got along really well.

The Thunder had the ball in the frontcourt sideline. Afflalo pulled Hansen to the far end of the weak side. Anthony received the ball and turned around and shot a quick stop jump shot against Gay.

Westbrook has been diss-ing James this season, not only because they had a bad relationship last season, but also because Anthony was able to step up and score when his offense was blocked this season.

In the Grizzlies' frontcourt, Hansen ran without the ball and Gasol Jr. passed the ball to him.

This time Afflaloti retreated inside. The failure of defense in the previous round made him realize that the previous defensive strategy was no longer effective.

However, what he didn't expect was that Han Sen chose to make an emergency stop and shoot from mid-range after receiving the ball this time.

No, you switched your offensive mode too quickly!
Fortunately, Afflalo's reaction speed was fast enough. He jumped forward quickly to interfere.

But soon he discovered that something was wrong again.

Why is Han Sen jumping... so high?

Previously, he was able to interfere with Han Sen's jump shot, but for this shot, he basically looked up at Han Sen.

"Shh!"

Han Sen's shot hit the target steadily.

The cheers at the scene broke out again.

Although their feelings were not as strong as Afflalo's, the feeling of altitude and suspension was very obvious.

Other people's jumping ability peaks when they debut and then slowly declines with age, but why is it the opposite for Han Sen?

Westbrook wanted to attack Billups again, but Hansen had already switched defense by then.

Before he could start, Anthony came over and set a pick-and-roll for him.

Anthony has excellent positioning skills, especially last season when he started to gain weight and became a forward swingman, the quality of his pick-and-roll has greatly improved.

Moreover, he was very fast in breaking the ball and cutting directly to the basket, so Han Sen had to follow him.

Just after reaching the low post, Anthony began to reach out for the ball with his back against Han Sen.

Westbrook also cooperated well and signaled to move away after passing the ball.

It seems that when the two of them were communicating just now, Anthony was talking about letting him get his place back.

Anthony does have that ability.

When it comes to low-post singles skills alone, Anthony is definitely at the master level.

To make an analogy, if James, who is of similar weight, has a low-post singles ability of 50 points, Anthony must be at least 90 or above.

Han Sen couldn't block Anthony and could only lower his center of gravity to push forward.

Anthony also seized the moment when Han Sen's center of gravity sank, and directly used a probing step and a killer move [Washing Machine Drum], and circled around Han Sen.

The fans at the scene exclaimed, Anthony's offense at his peak was a work of art.

Anthony dribbled past Hansen and made an easy layup, and was about to score two points easily.

But at this moment, the exclamations at the scene suddenly turned into cheers.

Because Han Sen was dribbled past, Han Sen turned around after Anthony jumped and actually took the initiative to shoot the basketball in the air!
"boom!"

A sideways chase-down block, the basketball was hit directly onto the backboard.

The cheers at the scene exploded.

It all happened so fast that Anthony's eyes were full of disbelief, and when he landed, the rebound was caught by Gay.

Han Sen had already rushed out of the three-point line quickly.

Gay made a long pass from the backcourt, and Hansen rushed to the frontcourt after receiving the ball. He started his show time amid the cheers of the fans and performed a 360-degree turn and slam dunk.

Anthony was still signaling to the referee that the ball must have been an interference shot.

The LED screen was also replaying Han Sen's goal.

It was at this time that the cheers at the scene became louder.

Because the slow-motion replay showed how agile Han Sen was and how high he jumped.

This is a block that will go down in NBA classics.

"Melo has perfect singles skills, but Han has better talent." Kenny Smith exclaimed.

"Han should participate in the dunk contest. Believe me, as long as he participates, he will definitely be the champion!" Barkley shouted from the side.

(End of this chapter)