Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 302 Han Sen's Enviable Life
119 to 108, the Cavaliers finally defeated the Spurs at home and got off to a good start in December.

This victory is very important for the Cavaliers because their performance in the past November was questioned by the outside world.

But more important than victory is that they got a qualified starting center.

32分钟，13投8中，三分1中1，罚球6中6，23分12板2抢断3盖帽。①
This is the stat sheet that Jokic submitted throughout the game.

Even Hansen, who had encouraged Jokic before the game, did not expect this kind of performance.

After the game, Jokic was treated to mineral water by his teammates in the locker room.

Unlike his serious expression during the game, Jokic started shouting along after being hit.

Maybe for him, what he is experiencing now is more exciting than how many statistics he gets in the game.

After the commotion in the locker room was over, Hansen also took Jokic to attend the post-match press conference.

This is the second time in Jokic's career, but unlike the last time he "temporarily replaced" Irving, this time he won it for himself with his performance on the court.

At the press conference, Hansen showed his preference by moving the microphone directly in front of Jokic and signaling the reporter to ask him questions first.

Jokic's reaction to the first question made the reporters at the scene laugh.

That's a common question reporters ask when they mention his stats tonight and ask him to rate himself.

"I got 23 points. Is that a lot of points?"

Even if you don't check the statistics during the game, you should pay attention to it after the game!

After getting confirmation from the reporter, he scratched his head out of habit.

"I just knew I scored a lot of points, but I didn't expect so many points." He subconsciously glanced at Han Sen as he spoke.

When Han Sen told him that he scored 20 points in his debut, he felt that he would never be able to do it.

Han Sen also cooperated and acted as a supporting actor. He took the other microphone in front of Ma Long and added: "I only scored 20 points in my first start that year."

This caused laughter from the audience, and Jokic's hand that was scratching his head moved in front of his head, and he scratched more frequently. It was obvious that Hansen had made him shy.

"I have to thank my teammates, Kyrie, old... Han, KG, and of course coach Malone. I'm just a rookie, and they kept passing the ball to me so I could score, and kept telling me what the right thing to do is. You know not all rookies have that opportunity."

When it came time to answer the questions formally, Jokic also demonstrated his excellent emotional intelligence and gave a perfect answer.

"The atmosphere tonight was great. We have the best fans in the league, and it feels even better to play at home without having to travel. I hope we can play all our games at home."

But soon, he "exposed" himself.

And a reporter also mentioned the nickname O'Neal gave him.

He originally wanted to say that he didn't like it, but when he heard that it was O'Neal who came up with it, he smiled and nodded.

This also caused laughter among the reporters at the scene. This kind of true character is very likable.

When Jokic finished the interview, the reporters passed the microphone to Hansen.

After answering some procedural questions, Hansen turned the topic back to Jokic.

"When I said here a month ago that Nikola would become an All-Star, I think most people would think I was joking, but after today's game, I believe more people will choose to believe that he is a piece of gold, and gold will always shine."

When the press conference ended, Hansen did not take Jokic back to the locker room, but went straight back to the stadium.

There was already someone he had made an appointment with waiting for him there.

When Jokic walked in and saw the people waiting, excitement instantly shone in his eyes.

Because that's O'Neal!
"Go ahead and say hello to your idol," Han Sen began.

Jokic turned around and looked at Hansen in surprise.

When Han Sen took them to the mall, he just casually mentioned that O'Neal was his idol, but he didn't expect Han Sen to remember it!

But thinking back to when Han Sen bought the pair of shoes for Powell, it makes sense. Unlike his carefree personality, Han Sen is a very careful person.

"You're not shy, are you?" Hansen urged after seeing Jokic's reaction.

Jokic shook his head, then walked towards O'Neal with excitement.

Then soon, he turned into a shy big boy.

He was indeed shy, but who wouldn't be shy in front of their idol?
O'Neal did not hide his love for Jokic at all, and even took the initiative to take a photo with him.

Speaking of which, O'Neal has always been encouraging towards the new generation of centers, and he had high hopes for Howard. It's a pity that Howard has been the same as James over the years, and his skills have not improved at all. He was so disappointed that he couldn't help but criticize him.

By now, the center has completely withered away, just as he showed in the commentary booth, it is really rare to have a good center seedling.

After taking the photo, Jokic thought it was over, but Hansen's next words completely surprised him.

"Shaq, he's on you from now on."

Hansen not only arranged a meeting between the two, he also asked O'Neal to give Jokic some advice!
Given the relationship between Hansen and O'Neal, this is not a difficult task, not to mention that O'Neal also likes Jokic.

But Jokic has a joker's shocked face.

He doesn't like working overtime, but this time he really wants to work a little longer.

Jokic's stunning performance against the Spurs made him look like he had a chance to compete with Towns for this year's Rookie of the Year.

There are even some exaggerated fans who say that the Cavaliers already have a "third giant".

But within two days, Jokic encountered his "rookie wall."

Unlike when Hansen started, Jokic is now a player with very obvious strengths and weaknesses.

Before, because he played as a substitute, opponents didn't pay too much attention to him, but after he shined against the Spurs, it became difficult for opponents not to target him.

This kind of targeting is simple and crude, just like what he encountered when playing against the Spurs. Jokic was frequently called out by opponents at the defensive end, and he tried hard to improve his defense, but got himself into foul trouble.

The foul trouble resulted in a reduction in playing time, which caused big problems for his offensive performance.

After playing several games in a row, Malone had to put Jokic back on the bench.

The ups and downs in life are always so exciting, but fortunately Jokic's mentality is stable enough. After returning to the bench, he performed well again.

In the game against the Timberwolves, although he still had 5 fouls and only played for 25 minutes, he still scored 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

Just as O'Neal said, what Jokic lacks most is defense. As long as he improves steadily, his success is only a matter of time.

The Cavaliers are not in a hurry for him. The core framework of the Cavaliers is still Hansen and Irving. Irving's growth has enabled them to have the strength to challenge the Heat and the Lakers.

It is already late December, and the Christmas battle between the Cavaliers and the Lakers is about to begin.

Over the past month, the league has been working hard to promote this game.

In addition to the Christmas battle element, there is another key point. The Warriors' record so far is amazing. After losing to the Cavaliers in the opening game, the Warriors then won an amazing 21 consecutive games!

That also includes a direct confrontation with the Lakers.

现在勇士队24胜2负的战绩傲视全联盟，也是继2012~2013赛季的热火之后，又一支有望拿下70胜并冲击公牛72胜历史记录的球队。

With such performance, it would be hard not to attract attention from the outside world.

Silva obviously wants to support the Lakers in the Western Conference this season, so in this case, he will definitely increase the publicity for the Christmas game.

或者说，斯特恩时代致力于23VS24的塑造，而席尔瓦这赛季则是冲着77VS23+24去的。

This year's Christmas game will be held at the Lakers' home court.

Because the weather was good, the Cavaliers did not fly to Los Angeles on Christmas Eve like the Lakers did last year, but instead planned to fly on the morning of the game day.

This also gives players the opportunity to reunite with their families on Christmas Eve.

Although most of their families are not in Cleveland, as long as they can get a flight to Los Angeles tomorrow morning and catch the daily training arranged by the team, it will be fine.

Of course, not all players will choose to do that.

For example, Jokic. Like Serbia and the University of Tokyo, they don’t celebrate Christmas, so there is naturally no Christmas Eve for him.

On the morning of Christmas Eve, the Cavaliers conducted their last training before the Christmas game.

After the training, the players returned to the locker room talking and laughing.

Christmas is the Spring Festival for Americans. It is a very happy thing to be able to reunite with family during the Spring Festival.

But at this time, Hansen noticed that Powell looked depressed.

His mood is a bit abnormal.

Powell is from California, so he can fly back early to spend Christmas with his family and then rush to join the team the next morning.

Han Sen turned around and asked Cunningham beside him, and then he found out what had happened.

It turned out that Powell received a notice in the morning that he was demoted to the Development League. Because there was a game the next day, he had to report in the afternoon.

Powell has few opportunities to play for the Cavaliers. Instead of continuing with the team, it would be better for him to go to the Development League for training. There is nothing wrong with this in itself.

It’s just that the timing is a bit cruel, because with this arrangement he won’t have the chance to spend Christmas with his family.

After a while, the team members left one after another, and Han Sen was also ready to leave.

But he noticed that Powell still had his head down and hadn't left.

Han Sen recalled his experience at the training camp and stood up and walked over to him.

Powell looked up.

Only then did Han Sen realize that he was crying.

After seeing that it was Han Sen, Powell seemed to have finally found someone to talk to. He asked hoarsely, "Why did they send me down today?"

He worked hard to get into the NBA and trained hard, but he didn't even have a chance to spend Christmas with his family. What was the point of all his hard work?
Perhaps at this moment in his heart, he was full of resentment towards the whole world.

Han Sen didn't know how to comfort the young man, but this was the treatment of marginal players, no one would consider you so much.

He could only persuade: "Norman, if you feel you don't belong there, prove it to them."

Han Sen's words were simple, but Powell was stunned.

Those who are involved in the matter are often confused, while bystanders can see things more clearly. Being angry or crying will not solve anything. After all, he is just a second-round pick who can be abandoned at any time.

All he could do was, as Hansen said, go to the Development League to prove that he didn't belong there.

After taking a deep breath, Powell wiped away his tears.

"Thank you, Boss."

Han Sen didn't expect that just one sentence from him could help Powell regain his confidence. Perhaps, as he felt at the beginning, Powell was indeed a good young man and he just needed some encouragement.

He finally reached out, patted Powell on the shoulder, and said, "Come on!"

Hansen invited Jokic to his home to celebrate Christmas.

This was not a favoritism, but a way of repaying the fact that the Christmas gift suggestion he had given himself had worked wonders.

He found a Bengal cat as a Christmas present for Ajali, but that night Ajali turned into a wild cat.

In fact, to be more precise, the invitation this time should be from Jokic and his girlfriend.

His girlfriend is Natalia Mesecic, who came to the United States earlier than Jokic and is now a sophomore at Seminole State College.

So in a sense, Jokic came to the NBA to accompany his girlfriend.

Jokic's eyes widened when he arrived at Hansen's house, or to be more precise, the entrance of the manor.

There are two 7s on the iron fences on the left and right sides of the gate, representing Hansen's No. 77 jersey.

Once you get inside, you will see seven buildings alone, as well as an outdoor swimming pool, a stadium, a tennis court, a golf course, and even an open-air helicopter pad.

As expected, Han Sen bought the land and spent more than 20 million and more than a year to rebuild the house. It has personal characteristics and is very luxurious.

Jokic stared around the whole time, his eyes were much more exaggerated than when Hansen first arrived at O'Neal's mansion.

After the Christmas dinner, Ajali taught Natalia yoga, while Hansen sat at the dining table with Jokic drinking and chatting.

"Boss, you are so enviable."

Jokic is much more direct than Hansen was originally.

He earns a top salary, owns a mansion, is the top player in the league, and even his girlfriend is a second-generation rich man with great looks and figure. Although his assets are not as good as those of the richest man, his job is just playing basketball, and in terms of quality of life he is already in a class of his own.

"One day you will have it too," Han Sen said with a smile.

Even if Jokic did not come to Cleveland but went to Denver, he would become the No. 1 player in the league in "history".

Unexpectedly, Jokic shook his head:

"I just want to make enough money one day, live with Natalia in my hometown, and go to horse racing from time to time. That would be the happiest thing."

-Dividing line-

①: The data refers to Jokic's actual game data when the Nuggets played against the Spurs on November 2015, 11.

(End of this chapter)