Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 266 "No One Wants to Play Next to LeBron"

As time goes by, the Christmas battle is getting closer and closer to the fans.

This year's Christmas battle is a classic and arguably more exciting than ever before.

The reason why it is a classic is that after Stern's efforts to create 23VS24 failed repeatedly, they could only focus on the Christmas game.

It can be said that during the years when James was still with the Cavaliers, the Christmas game felt like it was the Cavaliers and the Lakers playing each other every year.

23VS24 has large traffic and makes money, so it’s not a big deal.

Then this year's Christmas game is still between the Cavaliers and the Lakers, but the original opponents 23 and 24 are on the same team, and their opponent has become Hansen, who has become the best player in the league.

And the key is that this game will be played at the Cavaliers' home court. When James returns to Cleveland, fans will definitely not miss it.

However, with less than half a month left before the start of the Christmas game, Irving's words made the already highly anticipated Christmas game a hot topic.

The cause of this incident can be traced back to Irving's post-game interview after he defeated the Bulls.

In that interview, Irving said: If anyone can make Cleveland ultimately successful, I believe Hansen is the only one.

Irving received the pass from Hansen and made the winning shot. There is nothing wrong with such an expression of emotion.

However, this also aroused the dissatisfaction of James fans.

In other words, they already have resentment in them.

This season, James and Kobe are together, and when they win, James fans and Kobe fans get along well and face the outside world in unity.

But after the loss, the atmosphere became different. After all, neither James fans nor Kobe fans wanted their idol to take the blame.

In addition, the number of their fans is large enough, so there is a high probability of extreme hatred, and it is easy for a quarrel to break out if someone stirs up trouble.

It's just that James and Kobe are on the same team, so they can't just keep arguing. It feels like a couple who are arguing about divorce but can't, and are full of resentment.

So after seeing Irving's remarks, some James fans immediately stood up on social media to refute them.

"If LeBron returns to the Cavaliers, the Cavaliers will have a Big Three lineup of LeBron, you and Love. The Cavaliers will now be No. 1 in the Eastern Conference and you will be the favorite to win the championship, instead of being like now, where LeBron is the only one who can lead the Cavaliers to the finals. He is the only one who can lead Cleveland to success."

"What if" is the most imaginative thing in the world, especially when people are in bad circumstances.

Since James fans are less numerous than Kobe fans overall, they are at a disadvantage when they quarrel. At such times, they will think about what ifs.

And if James returns to the Cavaliers and eventually leads Cleveland to success, it will completely restore their reputation, so they are more willing to think so.

This argument was originally only on social media, but as more and more James fans resonated with it, it moved from online to offline.

Irving was asked about that "if" by reporters during a public training session.

"This is if you don't consider other people's ideas." Owen's initial answer didn't make anyone feel anything.

But when the reporter asked further questions, Irving showed his emotional intelligence in his normal state.

"I don't want to play with LeBron. Nobody wants to play with LeBron."

This is simply like an atomic bomb dropped on the James fan community.

Irving was instantly bombarded by James fans on social media.

"Who is Kyrie Irving? The core player who led the team to win the No. 1 draft twice in three years?"

"How can a player who has never played a playoff game have the qualifications to laugh at the league's MVP player?"

"Irving is the worst player in NBA history in terms of leadership ability. He is even the worst All-Star. If it weren't for Nike, he would be nothing."

……

To be honest, Irving's words are indeed very low in EQ.

Although his words are rough, his logic is sound, but he is a rising star of Nike and belongs to the same camp as James.

It is true that there is rebellion in your nest!
In late December, Hansen attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Han's Restaurant in Cleveland.

After he returned to Cleveland, many domestic companies began to invest in Cleveland.

After all, the revenue that can be brought by simply placing an advertisement on an electronic scrolling screen is too small.

These investments also attracted many Chinese people to Cleveland, providing some soil for Korean restaurants.

The cutting ceremony attracted many fans who were ready to show their support, as well as many reporters.

Irving has been a hot topic recently, and he was also asked about his opinion on what Irving said.

"Everyone has the freedom to express their opinions." Hansen's answer left the reporter unable to refute.

After all, this is the United States, a country that advocates "freedom" the most. Can you still stop others from saying something?

Of course, Han Sen didn't say the second half of the sentence, but he should also be prepared to face the consequences of what he said.

No one knows whether Irving is ready or not, but it is true that he is very tough.

After the incident, reporters continued to ask him if he regretted what he said. Irving's attitude was just one word:

"Do not."

There is no doubt that after Irving said that, someone from Nike must have talked to him and even asked him to change his words.

But Irving is just that kind of person, with a rebellious streak in his self-esteem, and the more you talk about him, the more excited he becomes.

And he is also fearless.

After all, the only new stars Nike can come up with right now are him, George and AD, and George just suffered a broken leg injury and is out for the season, while AD is an inside player.

If you really make him angry, he will switch to UA next summer, which will be a real problem for Nike.

However, Irving's attitude is equivalent to putting James on the fire.

It was difficult for him to respond strongly. After all, his personality made him look very shameless if he got into a war of words with Irving, and Nike would not allow him to do so in such a crucial season.

But if he didn't respond, it would be tantamount to tacitly agreeing with what Irving said.

Owen has made him blocked from both ends.

Finally, he couldn't hold it in any longer and said the following in front of the media:

"Look, you can love me, and I know some of you hate me, but one thing you have to do is respect me and appreciate the way I approach the game and what I give to this sport."

This is a compromise, which is to respond but also relatively gently, reminding Irving to respect him.

Then Irving's follow-up response came, and he posted a status on social media:
"I don't respect anybody, not even Jordan, because I want to win."

This was a famous quote from Reggie Miller back then, but it goes without saying that Irving would post such a statement at this time.

Irving's idols are Kobe and Hansen, both of whom are stars with extremely strong personal scoring abilities, but James is not in that category.

This wave is getting bigger and bigger, and the heat of the Christmas war is getting higher and higher.

Time flies and it is already Christmas Eve.

It was snowing lightly in Cleveland.

Han Sen drove to the airport to pick up Ajiali.

Ever since she came back from the University of Tokyo, Ajiali has been eager to travel, and she has been flying around the United States in the past few months.

However, when winter came and the weather turned cold, her excited heart also turned cold.

After Han Sen parked the car, he found a lot of fans gathered at the entrance. After a while, a group of people came out and the crowd became agitated.

As luck would have it, this happened just as the Lakers arrived in Cleveland.

Generally, teams planning Christmas games would choose to fly after Christmas Eve, but the distance from Los Angeles to Cleveland is too far, even farther than Milwaukee, which James complained about in the preseason. Plus with the current weather conditions, it might not be possible to fly tomorrow, so this time they arrived a day in advance.

The appearance of these fans is not surprising. Apart from the fact that James has fans in Cleveland, Kobe also has his own fans in every city.

Han Sen also lowered the car window and looked over there.

Kobe saw the fans and stopped to sign autographs and take photos with them, but James, with a stern face, walked straight into the team bus with the rest of his teammates.

His expression looked very serious, and I didn't know whether it was because of Irving's remarks or because there was no Christmas Eve this year.

If his previous complaints had not been criticized so much on social media, he would probably have said, "Why do we have to fly to Cleveland to play the Christmas game on Christmas Eve?"
After a while, Han Sen came out of the car and Ajiali's plane had arrived.

Ajiali was wearing a thick plush coat.

Cleveland is also a city in the northern United States. Although its latitude is not as high as Milwaukee, the difference is not much, and the temperature is still very low in winter.

After seeing Han Sen, she came over and hugged Han Sen. After giving Han Sen a kiss, she took Han Sen's arm and walked out.

As she walked, she talked about her travel experiences and her longing for Han Sen.

People are like this, no matter whether they are rich or poor, they are usually busy running around for life. Only when they have free time will they feel everything around them and think about many things that they would not normally think about.

After getting in the car, when Han Sen was about to start the car, Ajiali said that she planned to live with Han Sen for a while this time.

Han Sen was a little surprised, but nodded.

He recalled the day he visited the Malones, and his ex-girlfriends. It seemed that he had never experienced living with someone for a long time.

But this is also the most important part of whether two people are suitable for each other.

After all, the pleasure that body shape and appearance can bring to the body is only temporary, but getting along well with others is long-lasting.

The next day, Han Sen woke up and saw that Ajiali was no longer beside his pillow. He walked to the living room and found that she was practicing yoga there.

Han Sen didn't bother her and sat down at the dining table. The chef had already prepared breakfast for him.

What surprised him was that there was a heart-shaped egg inside. It was obvious that it was prepared by Ajiali for him.

He sat there eating and looking at Ajiali. This fresh feeling was wonderful.

In other words, this was the first time he felt at home other than his original family in his previous life.

By the time Han Sen finished eating, Ajiali's yoga had also ended.

Han Sen was going to training, while Ajiali planned to go to the Cleveland Zoo first and then go to the Quicken Loans Arena in the evening.

Han Sen called Rondo and asked him to arrange bodyguards for Ajiali.

Although Cleveland is not as chaotic as Memphis, it is still necessary to have someone accompany you for safety reasons.

After kissing Ajiali goodbye, Hansen also drove to the Quick Loans Arena.

……

In addition to the tactical system, Ma Long also has some special methods in training.

For example, he continued the three-point training method from Brown's era, forcing players to face interference from big men when shooting. This is also an important reason why the Cavaliers have an excellent three-point shooting percentage this season.

For example, during full-court training, he did not always group the players according to the main force, substitutes and bench, but often disrupted them and let Hansen and Irving play in their own teams.

For example, today, he asked Hansen to lead all the substitutes and Irving to lead the remaining main players.

The two sides were in a stalemate at the beginning, but when the confrontation came to the second half, Hansen locked down Irving on the defensive end, and then took the game away with a personal wave on the offensive end.

There is no need to worry about physical fitness in this kind of single-quarter confrontation, so it is easy for Han Sen to win.

"Boss, you look more excited today than usual!" After taking a break after the fight, Cunningham sat next to Hansen.

Hansen turned to look at Cunningham with a "really?" expression.

"You usually don't exert your strength until the official competition," Cunningham continued.

Han Sen then smiled.

In his last season with the Grizzlies, he put on a mask and turned himself into a villain. Under his encouragement, the team's training intensity was almost the same as that of official games.

But when he returned to Cleveland, he threw away the mask.

Living with a mask on is too tiring, and that method actually hurts the relationship with teammates.

Your teammates will indeed be grateful to you for your success, but which colleague would really like to be bullied?

Normal people don't have any masochistic tendencies.

So what Cunningham said is true.

Maybe it was because of Ajiali? Or maybe it was because the opponent tonight was the Lakers?
Although Irving and James had a big fight before the game, what he said during the offseason will not be forgotten so quickly.

That night, the Quicken Loans Arena was packed.

When Han Sen entered the stadium, in addition to things related to Christmas, he also saw quite a few eye-catching signs.

"LeBron × Han√", "We never need a traitor LeBron", "I don't respect you LeBron", "23+24＜77"...

Before we knew it, more than four years had passed since James made his original decision.

Time is the best medicine, and the original emotions of the fans have been diluted a lot by time.

But with the return of Hansen and the former Cavaliers players, and the fallout between Irving and James, all those memories were awakened again.

Time will only dilute the past, but it will not make people forget the past.

No wonder James had that expression at the airport. He must have foreseen what would happen tonight.

There are indeed still people who love him here, but there are definitely not just a few people who hate him as he said.

After Han Sen withdrew his gaze, he exchanged glances with Ajiali in the front row, who blew him a kiss.

This time, the front row seat was not bought by Ajiali, but given by Hansen.

After returning to Cleveland, the management gave him the best tickets.

Usually Han Sen would give tickets to fans in need. Now that Ajiali is here, the best ones will naturally be reserved for her.

After the warm-up, the opening ceremony began, with the Lakers taking the stage first as the visiting team.

There are still some fans cheering for old Cavaliers like Varejao. Although he is a loyal lackey of James, he still fought for the Cavaliers for so many years after James left.

When James took the court, he was greeted with boos comparable to the first time he returned to Cleveland after Decision 1.

Although he was prepared, the boos and the waving signs made James' face pale and his mood was absolutely the worst.

In contrast, when Hansen stood up as the last player of the Cavaliers, cheers much louder than the boos that came before were heard.

This Cavaliers team no longer needs James because they already have Hansen.

Just like Irving said, in the hearts of most Cleveland fans, Hansen is the only one who can truly lead them to success.

(End of this chapter)