Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 281 Noah is going crazy

After Hansen hit this layup, the Cavaliers took the lead for the first time tonight.

When the other players on the Cavaliers were not in good shape on the offensive end, even facing Thibodeau's Jordan Rule, Hansen still scored the Cavaliers' first 10 points.

And when he stepped onto the free throw line, shouts of MVP rang out from the audience.

This was not the first time since Hansen returned to Cleveland, but it was the first time in five years that such shouts were heard again on the playoff stage at Quicken Loans Arena.

"This year's Bulls team is excellent, but they are still no match for the Cavaliers." In the commentary booth, O'Neal was moved.

At this time five years ago, he and Hansen were both on the Cavaliers, and their opponent in the first round happened to be the Bulls.

But at that time, both of them were injured and could only sit on the sidelines in suits and chew gum.

Times have changed, but Hansen is still wearing the Cavaliers jersey and he is still sitting on the sidelines, but he has moved from the bench to the commentary seat.

Hansen made the free throw and the score came to 8 to 11.

The defensive shouts continued to resound throughout Quicken Loans Arena, and Cleveland fans had endless passion tonight.

The Bulls' positional offense still has nothing.

Looking back, Hansen held the ball with one hand in the frontcourt and continued to signal Garnett to set up a pick-and-roll.

This scene caused another round of cheers from the audience.

Starting from the second round, this was Han Sen's sixth consecutive attack with the ball!

Han Sen must be very exhausted now, but his actions showed his determination.

As that Cleveland fan said: What's your business if I destroy you!
When Hansen broke through again with the help of Garnett's pick-and-roll, "Han's gravity" erupted, and the entire Bulls team's defense converged on him.

It was at this time that Han Sen made a wonderful pass.

He was still breaking through, but the ball in his hand was gently thrown back by his left hand and flew straight to the 45° three-point line on the weak side.

It wasn't until Irving caught the ball that the Bulls players reacted, but it was obviously too late.

Irving got a wide-open three-point opportunity that was even better than the previous one.

This time he adjusted himself before attacking.

"Shh!"

With a crisp sound, someone other than Hansen on the Cavaliers finally scored!

After scoring the goal, Owen rarely roared towards the sidelines to vent the pressure in his heart.

8:14.

The Cavaliers had a 5 to 14 attack wave in the last 2 minutes!

The momentum of the game has turned to the Cavaliers.

The Bulls finally played a wonderful combination in the positional battle, but Covington's three-pointer from the corner still missed.

When the game situation reversed, it was the Bulls' turn to feel the pressure of the game!
Hansen was resting on the weak side to recover his strength, while Irving was attacking with the ball.

Garnett set up a pick-and-roll, and Irving broke through Noah and went straight to the basket.

The three-pointer just now helped him regain his confidence, but after he broke through, he was surrounded by many people.

The Bulls' offense was a bit out of power, but their defense was still on point.

Irving doesn't have Hansen's ability to handle the ball, so he can only complete difficult pull-up shots against the defense.

He successfully completed the shot with his excellent ability to combine with the ball, but the ball hit the rim and bounced out.

Noah then reached out to grab the defensive rebound.

But just before he was about to touch the basketball, a hand quickly touched the basketball before him.

The basketball seemed to be re-guided and fell straight towards the center of the basket.

When Noah turned around and saw the person who made the tip-in, a look of horror appeared on his face.

Why is it Han Sen again?

Doesn't Han Sen need to rest?

Is Han Sen everywhere?!
8 to 16, the score difference has begun to head towards double digits.

Thibodeau called a timeout.

When the players came down, he was furious at Butler, obviously dissatisfied with the latter's off-ball defense.

"The Bulls are very strong. To be honest, I don't think Noah's remarks before the game were big-mouthed or arrogant. They are a top five team in the league in defensive efficiency this season. They are really strong." O'Neal once again affirmed the Bulls.

"But they can't stop Han. Han can do whatever he wants." Perhaps because this Cavaliers team gave O'Neal enough sense of involvement, he seemed more excited than Barkley tonight.

After the timeout, Rose and Noah set a pick-and-roll, and after breaking through, they chose to make a quick stop and mid-range shot.

Irving tried to play the answer ball, and after passing Rose, he also chose to stop and shoot from mid-range.

However, due to Gibson's defense, his shot eventually went wide.

Irving's data was immediately posted on the large LED screen at the scene.

4 of 1 shots, 3 points and 1 turnover, Irving's performance so far tonight has been disastrous.

Noah protected the defensive rebound and the Bulls launched a defensive counterattack.

Rose received a pass from Noah on a fast break, then cut in to attract a double team, and then passed the ball to Butler who was following up on the sideline. The latter shot from the right three-point line and hit the Bulls' first three-pointer of the night.

After Rose became the MVP, many people outside, including Thibodeau, persuaded him to adjust his playing style.

However, everyone is attached to the spotlight. If Rose adjusts his playing style, he will no longer be the MVP. In the end, he did not listen to the advice.

After years of suffering from injuries, he finally calmed down and learned to play at a slower pace.

The Windy City Rose is gone, but Rose has also been reborn.

13:16.

The score difference once again returned to within 5 points.

Noah, Rose... Twice in a row when the Cavaliers were about to widen the score, someone from the Bulls was able to stand up.

Thibodeau brings not only top defense to the Bulls, but also superb game resilience.

Although they both faced the Bulls in the first round, and although Rose and Noah were already on the Bulls at that time, as O'Neal said, the Bulls are much stronger now than they were back then.

At the end of the first half, the score was 41 to 48, with the Cavaliers leading.

On the way back to the locker room during the halftime break, Ma Long chatted with Han Sen as they walked.

Hansen scored 24 points and 6 assists in the first half.

His performance was undoubtedly MVP-level, but the physical energy consumption was much greater than expected.

Especially the Bulls team, who seemed to be an indestructible cockroach. If they continued to fight like this, Han Sen might not be able to hold on until the end of the game.

"Mike, there's nothing wrong with my physical condition." Feeling the concern in Malone's words, Hansen stopped.

The one-star-all-around strategy was decided upon by them together at the beginning, and they were all very clear about the pros and cons of this strategy.

Maybe looking back now, they should have insisted on letting Irving develop his organizational skills, even if it meant losing some games.

But be it tactics or choices, once you choose, you cannot change it and you can only stick to it.

"Maybe Kyrie will be back in the second half." In order not to make Malone worry too much, Hansen smiled and patted his shoulder.

After returning in the second half, Malone made tactical adjustments. He replaced TT with JR and used the Cavaliers version of the "Death Five".

This is a tactic he has been experimenting with during the regular season.

The reason why he used Garnett instead of TT was because he wanted to maintain the psychological warfare against Noah.

Irving was the first to try again.

He broke through Rose and made a mid-range jump shot.

This goal excited the Cavaliers coaching staff. Jordan dominated the league only after Pippen grew up. That doesn't mean Jordan is weak, but the game lasts 48 minutes, and no matter how strong a player is, it is impossible to carry the whole game, especially in the playoffs, which is about the success rate of offense under high-intensity confrontation.

If Irving can really handle the ball like Pippen did, allowing Hansen to rest for some time, the strength of the Cavaliers will be raised to a higher level.

But their excitement did not last long. After Butler made a three-pointer, Irving's breakthrough shot missed again.

The growth of players takes time and costs.

At this moment, Garnett used his excellent positioning to block Noah and grabbed the offensive rebound, and then went straight for the second attack.

But he really didn't have much explosive power, and the ball was covered by Noah with both hands from behind.

It's just that Noah's action was a bit too big. After grabbing the ball, he used his force to knock Garnett to the ground.

This ball was somewhat personal. After all, there was a grudge between him and Garnett. It was a bit too embarrassing to let the 39-year-old Garnett grab the offensive rebound in front of him.

The referee blew the whistle, indicating a foul by Noah.

Garnett was lying on the ground with his fists clenched. He is not a player with a good temper.

Just when everyone thought he was going to get up and cause trouble for Noah, he turned over, supported himself on the ground with his clenched fists, and actually did push-ups on the spot!
This scene instantly caused a stir at the venue.

Not one, not two, but seven push-ups before Garnett stood up from the ground.

"It's okay, I'm fine."

After standing up, Garnett signaled to his Cavaliers teammates that he was fine.

He was venting his emotions by doing push-ups.

The Cavaliers now have the advantage on the court, and a conflict would not be a good thing for them.

Garnett was fine, but Noah was excited at this time because he was dissatisfied with the penalty and was called for a technical foul by the referee.

There was booing at the scene.

Malone's choice at this time is also very interesting, because technical fouls are designated as free throws, and generally the coach will send the person who is most accurate in free throws to take the penalty.

As a result, Malone directly assigned Garnett.

Garnett made three free throws in a row and made all of them.

He even had a "friendly exchange" with Noah during free throws.

It seems that he is indeed fine.

During the Bulls' offensive round, Noah was assisting with his back at the free throw line. Without waiting for his teammates to finish their tactics, he suddenly turned around and rushed to the basket.

In addition to the 38-style mid-range shot, Noah's only reliable offensive method is this kind of back-to-back turn and breakthrough.

Because his body was so wide, by the time I realized he had started to turn, it was already too late.

Noah successfully got rid of Garnett, and the latter couldn't catch up after losing his explosiveness.

But just when he thought he was going to succeed, that familiar figure appeared again.

With the exclamations of the fans at the scene, Han Sen assisted in the defense and pressed his shot directly onto the backboard!

After blocking the shot, Hansen grabbed the defensive rebound and then turned around to launch a fast break.

After crossing the three-point line, he made a long pass to Irving who was already moving forward.

Irving showed off his ability to connect with the ball during a fast break, dodging the ball with a pull-up and making a layup on a fast break.

Thibodeau went berserk again on the sidelines at this time, spitting in Noah's direction, obviously dissatisfied with Noah's previous offensive choice.

Thibodeau is an excellent coach who will give his players ample opportunities, but when it comes to the NBA, he is definitely one of those who have a bad relationship with the players.

After being scolded, Noah was originally prepared to assist with the game, but just when he received the ball in the frontcourt, Garnett opposite him stretched out his hands to applaud him, then opened his arms and shouted to him, "Come on, little cat."

When it comes to attracting hatred, Garnett is definitely an expert.

Noah instantly forgot about Thibodeau's scolding.

Damn it, he’s going to kill Garnett today!

He directly chose to break through Garnett with the ball.

"This is a bad choice!" Even O'Neal in the commentary booth shook his head after watching this ball.

Although Garnett is older and slower on his feet, he is still capable of dealing with players like Noah who hold the ball.

He predicted Noah's direction and stood in position, successfully forcing Noah to stop.

Noah turned his back and tried to hook the ball, but he did not notice Tucker who was already moving towards the basket.

Although the Cavaliers' lineup is small, it is very flexible.

Tucker seized the opportunity and cut the ball out of Noah's hand.

The Cavaliers quickly launched a defensive counterattack.

This time, Irving first received the ball at the three-point line, quickly advanced to midfield, and when he reached the front free throw line and met Butler's help defense, he threw the ball directly into the air above the right side of the basket.

Han Sen jumped up with the ball, grabbed the basketball in the air and did a slam dunk.

"Korea-Europe Connection" from Han Sen and Owen!
The Quicken Loans Arena exploded instantly.

Ma Long also stood up excitedly and applauded his teammates.

Because the Bulls are a defensive counterattack team, his strategy before the game was to play positional defense as much as possible.

There was nothing wrong with that game plan, and the Cavaliers had a much higher success rate in half court play than the Bulls tonight.

It’s just that Irving’s condition was too bad tonight, so he could only rely on Hansen alone.

Although Han Sen had a high success rate, fighting like this consumed too much of his physical energy.

He used the death lineup, which was actually to overturn the game strategy he had set before the game and fight the Bulls with defensive counterattacks.

Although this is a competition of strengths with the Bulls, it can at least allow Hansen to reduce some physical energy consumption.

It now seems that the effect is better than expected.

After all, Irving is just not very good at dealing with double-teaming, but he is still good at fast breaks.

43:57.

The Cavaliers beat the Bulls 9-2 in the second half.

His lineup adjustment had a miraculous effect.

Of course, Garnett played an indispensable role in this.

Speaking of which, Noah is a fan of Garnett and is very similar to Garnett in all aspects, including his temper on the court. Just be more patient and you will get your chance.

Thibodeau reached out and called a timeout.

After the timeout, Noah was directly replaced by Mirotic.

It is obvious that Thibodeau has high demands on the team's execution.

The camera turned to Noah, who looked unhappy but helpless.

After the timeout, Rose and Mirotic played a pick-and-roll, broke through to the basket and made a layup after getting away from Garnett.

The prerequisite for the Death Five and the Bulls' defensive counterattack is to be able to defend. Garnett does not have the speed and explosiveness now and is at a disadvantage when encountering a mismatch.

Ma Long also quickly called TT up.

TT walked to the technical desk and waited.

But at this moment, Hansen suddenly rushed into the inside and completed a violent dunk over Gibson.

The scene was quite brutal. After Noah left the court, the Bulls' ability to protect the rim in the interior declined significantly.

Perhaps because of Noah's previous move on Garnett, Hansen felt uncomfortable. After landing, Hansen turned around and shouted to the Bulls bench:
"Who said they were going to beat me? Why can't I see it?"

Noah is going crazy.

(End of this chapter)