Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 334 "Cosmic Han"

Malone let Hansen and Jokic play the entire first quarter. Hansen was in hot form and scored 21 points in a single quarter.

Under his leadership, the Cavaliers scored 40 points in the first quarter.

The Warriors on the opposite side were not far behind, scoring 34 points under the leadership of James and Curry.

The two teams scored a combined 74 points in the first quarter, perfectly demonstrating the scoring explosiveness of the two teams.

You have to know that this was an era when the second offense had not yet been changed to 14 seconds, and the number of offensive rounds was very limited.

The Cavaliers fans at the scene were also extremely excited. The cooperation between Jokic and Hansen in the second half of the first quarter was extremely entertaining.

O'Neal made no secret of his love for Jokic in the commentary booth: "Han finally found his Pippen!"

It is impossible not to brag. One day in the future, when Jokic really plays well and says in an interview, "My idol is O'Neal", that will be an important moment for him to enhance his historical status.

However, the Warriors' strength is really not to be underestimated. After Green returned in the second quarter, they also opened fire at full power and beat the Cavaliers 40 to 35 in a single quarter.

At the end of the first half, the score between the two teams was 74 to 75, with the Cavaliers leading by 1 point.

The two teams scored 149 points in the first half, turning the Christmas game into a fierce battle.

Moreover, this was not just a point-scoring game. The offensive and defensive quality of both sides was extremely high, making it a fascinating sight to watch.

If these two sides played a series, it would definitely be a ratings bomb.

During the halftime break, after returning to the locker room, Han Sen saw that Owen was a little depressed.

Irving wanted to prove himself too much tonight, and as a result, his performance was not very good. He only scored 10 points with 3 of 7 shots in the first half.

This is understandable. After all, as the saying goes, "No one wants to be teammates with James", he is naturally bloodthirsty when he meets James.

Han Sen walked over to him and rubbed his shoulders, then sat down next to him:
"Relax a little. They will probably double-team me and Nikola in the second half. You have to seize the opportunity then."

Owen looked at Han Sen and nodded vigorously.

It's hard to feel hostility towards a boss like Han Sen.

Because powerful superstars usually have tempers. After all, just like when people have money, it is inevitable that they will become arrogant.

If it was Jordan, if you as a teammate didn't play well, he would scold you to the point that you couldn't take care of yourself;
If it were James, you would have gone from being a teammate to an opponent.

But Han Sen always finds an angle to encourage you.

This is the difference in people's personalities.

So you will see that Jordan's former teammates recognize Jordan's strength while also calling him a bastard, James' teammates will make all kinds of bold remarks after leaving him, but Han Sen's former teammates say that Han Sen is nothing but good.

After returning to the second half, both sides changed to a five-small lineup and adjusted their defensive strategies at the same time, starting to shrink their defense against the opponent's pick-and-roll tactics.

This is a summary and adjustment of the defensive strategy in the first half, and also a confidence in the team's defensive mobility.

What is tested at this time is the scoring stability of Irving and Thompson, the weak-side offensive spearheads.

Irving's performance improved in the third quarter and he played very determinedly.

But Klay Thompson on the opposite side exploded more thoroughly.

The title of the best shooter in history is a bit exaggerated, but Thompson, the best off-ball shooter in history, still has a good chance to compete.

The historical record of 9 three-pointers and 37 points in a single quarter that year is the best reflection of his scoring explosiveness.

Especially under the attraction of James and Ku's defense, once he finds his touch, it is like what some Dongda fans said, it is "the appearance of Buddha."

Thompson seized the opportunity in this quarter and made 5 three-pointers, and the Warriors scored another 37 points in the quarter.

Thanks to his performance, the Warriors widened the score difference to double digits with a score of 111 to 100 in three quarters.

Now the Cavaliers are in trouble.

Because it is too difficult to suppress the offense of this Warriors team.

Especially with the Splash Brothers in good form tonight, defense will become quite difficult.

Moreover, in the third game, Jokic's defensive problems were thoroughly exposed. When he faced the Warriors' small lineup, he had a hard time defending against pick-and-rolls.

If Jokic grows to the point where he can blast Green in the low post, it will be the end of the Warriors' small lineup.

But until then, he'll be caught and beaten on defense.

The Cavaliers are facing a dilemma. Although the Christmas game is ultimately just a regular season game, this game is of great significance to the Cavaliers.

It was under this pressure that Lu, as the chief assistant coach, proposed the ultimate basketball tactic to Malone: ​​give the ball to the strongest person.

In terms of scoring explosiveness, it is difficult for the Cavaliers to beat the Warriors in this state. The only way is to let Hansen work hard to create miracles.

Basketball is not simply a comparison of lineups or strength, because players are human beings, and human mentality will fluctuate.

Even if you are a heavily armed cavalryman wearing Ming Guang armor, you will still be afraid when you see a man opposite you wielding a Mo Dao and performing the "When the successor comes, both the man and the horse will be crushed" strategy.

As a master of chicken soup, Lu's ideas also start from a psychological level.

Malone took Lu's advice.

He replaced Hansen at the start of the fourth quarter.

After seeing this, Kerr decisively replaced James and Thompson.

When Han Sen played as a substitute in the transition phase, it was really like a three-body two-dimensional foil, a dimensionality reduction attack.

As the game progressed, Kerr soon discovered that Malone was not simply passing the ball to Hansen.

Because Hansen was very consciously attacking the Warriors' inside line.

Although this style of play is physically demanding, it is a huge test for the Warriors' weak inside line.

Especially since Green committed a lot of fouls tonight and had 4 fouls after three quarters, he didn't dare send Green on the court too early.

However, when Hansen led the team to narrow the score gap to single digits, Kerr had no choice but to bite the bullet and replace Green.

However, what he couldn't see was that when Green came on the court, Malone couldn't help but smile.

Hansen quickly caused Green's fifth foul by damaging his opponent's body.

This is what Ma Long was waiting for.

This directly became the turning point of the game.

Green had just come on the court and hadn't even warmed up yet when he was substituted out cursing.

At this time, Ma Long replaced all the main players at once and sounded the clarion call for the decisive charge in advance.

Han Sen became more and more courageous as the game went on. Whether it was a quick stop, turnaround, fadeaway jump shot, or a strong 2+1 shot in the paint, or even a three-pointer, he almost always hit the target.

Now the Warriors' defensive confidence was destroyed.

However, this also exposed the Warriors' relative lack of ability in key balls.

Although the Warriors played perfectly in the first three quarters, the pick-and-roll tactics relying on James and Curry consumed a lot of Curry's physical energy.

Apart from Curry, the Warriors have no one who can compete with Hansen in scoring.

Let's not talk about the season, let's talk about tonight. If it was Durant who joined the Warriors this summer instead of James, the Warriors would have a high probability of winning tonight, after all, they entered the final quarter with an 11-point lead. But James, he can't play that role.

Three minutes before the end of the game, Hansen chased Curry and scored 2+1 on a fast break, helping the Cavaliers to overtake.

Curry tried his best to pull Hansen, but he couldn't pull him down and could only shake his head.

"This is the performance of the God of Basketball!"

As Barkley raised his hands and shouted in worship, the fans at the scene could no longer hide their excitement and stood up and cheered.

What a worship of the ultimate personal heroism!
In the end, Hansen scored 28 points in the final quarter and 64 points in the whole game.

This score also allowed Hansen to break his own Christmas game record of 2012 points in 61.

Under his leadership, the Cavaliers defeated the Warriors 141-136 and won the battle.

"Han destroyed us and our defense was completely ineffective. We must do better in the next match, otherwise we will not be able to win."

Curry, who had 37 points and 11 assists, couldn't help shaking his head when talking about Hansen.

"I shouldn't have gotten into foul trouble, and it won't happen again next time, and we're still the better team."

Green, who only scored 8 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in the whole game and left the game with 6 fouls in the final quarter, was not discouraged. He still expressed his confidence in the next matchup between the two teams.

"The referees ruined the game, they turned a blind eye to the Serbian push and Draymond's foul, they just wanted the Cavaliers to win!"

James, who scored 26 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists, expressed his strong dissatisfaction with the refereeing of the game.

“I just pass the ball into Han’s hands and then I can get an assist.”

Jokic, who scored 20 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists tonight and got his first triple-double in his career, scratched his head and answered reporters' questions with a smile.

"I had a struggle but Han encouraged me, like he has done in the past, and I don't think there is a better leader than him."

Irving, who had 22 points and six assists, also mentioned Hansen when talking about his own offensive ups and downs.

"Tyron gave us a good suggestion today. Our tactic is to give the ball to Han and let him handle everything."

Ma Long never forgets the person who dug the well. While praising Han Sen, he also gave a nod to Lu.

"We all know he's the best basketball player on the planet, but I think tonight he was just a cosmic performer."

Lu, who was sitting in the corner of the conference, praised Han Sen highly.

After defeating "Universe Warrior", "Universe Korea" was born.

"We are a proven team and as long as we keep believing in ourselves we can beat any opponent."

Hansen emphasized the importance of teamwork, just as he said at the beginning of the season: "Our biggest enemy is ourselves."

Just like with media days, the regular season after regular season makes it difficult for Hansen to maintain his passion for the game every night.

But the facts prove that when he arouses his desire, it will be a disaster for his opponents.

After the Christmas game, the Cavaliers had a rare three-day off, and Malone also gave the players a day off.

It was at this time that UA officially signed Jokic with a four-year, $4 million contract that included a $800 bonus each year.

Previously, O'Neal said that Jokic "is becoming Hansen", and the contract UA gave to Jokic is almost exactly the same as Hansen's.

Although there is a factor of inflation here, Jokic is an inside player and such a contract is already very exaggerated.

It is reported that Han Sen played a major role in the signing of this contract.

It was Hansen who made UA believe that Jokic would become a superstar in the near future, which also made UA train Jokic as his successor.

As soon as Jokic signed the endorsement contract, he did something incredible.

He dug out the diamond from his championship ring, then bought a Rolex watch and asked a craftsman to inlay the diamond on it to form the number "77", which he then gave to Han Sen.

Hansen was stunned when he received this gift from Jokic:
"Are you imitating Scotty?"

As we all know, Pippen took the diamond from his ring and made it into earrings for Jordan. That is a well-known story.

"This is Natalia's idea. I don't know what gift to give." Jokic scratched his head, and he was also very sincere.

"Let's get married soon so I can give a gift sooner." Han Sen ate a handful of dog food and accepted the gift.

"Did you pick all the diamonds off the ring?" After looking at the watch for a while, Han Sen suddenly felt it was outrageous.

"The ring is just a symbol, and there will be more in the future."

Jokic's words successfully made Hansen laugh.

The next day, he followed Jordan's example and gave Jokic a customized Rolls-Royce.

It is not easy for a player of Jokic's size to buy a suitable car.

After three days of offseason, the Cavaliers traveled to Miami to challenge the Heat.

The Heat are in the process of rebuilding, and there is no suspense in this game itself.

But this is the Cavaliers' first visit to Miami this season, and what is more worthy of attention than the game itself is Riley's fulfillment of his previous promise.

The American Airlines Arena was also packed tonight.

This is a very strange thing, but it also perfectly reflects the American people's admiration for the strong.

You will never accept being defeated by others in a group, but if you are defeated again and again by frontal strength, then you will really be convinced.

Especially after Han Sen came here with the momentum of breaking the record after the Christmas battle, it seemed even more appropriate.

The Cavaliers players also looked excited.

Not to mention rookies like Murray and Jones Jr., even veterans like Deron were seeing this scene for the first time.

When the No. 77 jersey was pulled out of the box and slowly rose into the air, there was light in their eyes.

The Heat players on the opposing team actually felt the same way.

They didn't have the opportunity to compete with Jordan, nor could they directly feel Jordan's influence on the game.

But they could truly feel Hansen's dominance.

Accompanied by applause from the audience, the No. 77 jersey finally rose to the top of the stadium, right next to Jordan's No. 23 jersey.

This scene is so classic because of Han Sen’s famous quote back then.

All of God's basketball talent is here.

Riley was of course there too.

This should have been a rather humiliating thing, since he had not defeated either Jordan or Hansen.

But he felt an inexplicable sense of joy in his heart.

After all, the jersey numbers of the two greatest basketball players in history are hung above the American Airlines Arena.

Isn’t this also a kind of history?

(End of this chapter)