Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 338 Han Sen is the South Wall
When the game entered the opening ceremony and Irving came on the court, in addition to boos, there was also a lot of applause and cheers.

It was outrageous for Irving to diss his parent team immediately after the trade, but that doesn't mean that no one will remember what he has done for the Cavaliers.

Many fans have not forgotten his season-ending performance against the Heat two years ago and his outstanding performance against the Heat last season.

Owen's eyes fluctuated for a moment, but soon turned firm again.

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

Bulls: Irving, Butler, Doug McDermott, Gibson, Gasol

Cavaliers: Wade, Hansen, Tucker, TT, Jokic
Jokic jumped to win the ball for the Cavaliers and the game officially started.

Hansen received the ball in the frontcourt and formed the strong side, calling for TT's pick-and-roll. After attracting the Bulls' defense, he immediately switched from the strong side to the weak side, and Wade got a chance to play one-on-one.

Although Wade is practicing three-pointers, his stability is definitely worse than Irving's.

And if he is just to create space on the three-point line, it would be better to replace him with JR as the starter.

So if you want Wade to play a role, it's best to let him have the ball in his hands.

But now he can't just step on the accelerator and get through double-teaming like he did in his peak period, so it is most appropriate to create one-on-one opportunities for him.

Especially after the Bulls traded away Covington, Butler was the only defensive spearhead left on the field, and this "only" could only focus on Hansen.

Opposite Wade is Irving.

The two protagonists of the transaction faced off head-on at the opening.

Amid the fans' cheers, Wade quickly broke through, and Irving followed Wade and moved quickly.

One is the Flash who can no longer move like lightning, and the other is Uncle Drew whose defense has been strengthened. As a result, Wade was unable to get past Irving in the first place.

But at the moment when the two sides got close, Wade used his signature phantom step.

Or maybe, it should have been closer to European pace by now.

The former relies more on burst, while the latter relies more on skill.

After Wade lifted the ball over Irving, he took advantage of the situation to confront Irving so that he couldn't exert his strength, and then made a premature jump shot before Gibson could assist in defense.

"Shh!"

The basketball drew a small parabola and fell straight into the net, and the booing at the scene turned into cheers.

Wade's first goal in his Cavaliers career came much faster than expected.

The Bulls had the ball in Irving's hands, and Butler ran to the weak side corner.

When the Cavaliers and the Bulls first negotiated, there was a plan to trade Butler for Irving.

But Han Sen thought that was inappropriate.

It's not a problem of Butler's ability. What is different from Hansen's impression is that Butler during this period was able to shoot three-pointers. This season, he averaged 3.3 shots per game with a hit rate of 36.7%. Although it is not excellent, it is much better than Wade.

After all, he relied on 3D players to make his mark during Thibodeau's time.

The reason why Han Sen didn't agree was mainly due to his personality.

Butler looks like Jordan and acts like Jordan.

If he came to the Cavaliers, in his eyes, there would be no difference between "working man" Jokic and Towns, Embiid and the like.

If you dislike someone every day, conflict is bound to occur sooner or later.

But to be honest, Butler is a very team player.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have given the ball to Irving at this moment.

In front of Irving is naturally Wade.

Wade hit Irving with the ball, but Irving...didn't intend to hit it back directly.

He called for a pick-and-roll with Gasol, then quickly broke through Jokic.

Jokic couldn't keep up with Irving and could only watch him get into the paint.

TT quickly assisted in defense, but Irving jumped up first and made an aerial pull-up to stop him from moving forward, followed by a quick layup to score.

After landing, Irving ignored TT, but turned around and looked at Jokic fiercely.

Perhaps at this moment, the outside world was able to glimpse the real reason why Irving chose to leave.

As he had said to Hansen before, what he cared about was not Malone, but the way Malone showed that Jokic was better than him.

Of course, there was also Hansen's non-direct answer when he asked him if he was not as good as Jokic.

In that case, he has proven Malone and Hansen wrong: he is far better than Jokic!

Jokic's reaction at this time was also very interesting. He didn't know why Irving looked at him like that. After showing a surprised look, he turned around and went to the baseline to serve.

Irving was very unhappy with the attitude of "It's just work, why do I have to make such a fuss?"

It was at this moment that Irving seemed to understand better why he could not accept that Jokic was given more attention than himself.

It is obvious that Jokic is just an employee who punches in and out at get off work, and he has put in a lot of effort and sweat to achieve his current achievements. Why should Jokic get more than him?

That's not fair!

The Cavaliers' offense used the same tactics, but this time when Wade broke through with the ball, Jokic moved to the high post and set a pick-and-roll for him.

Jokic's pick-and-roll quality has improved, and Irving spent some time bypassing the pick-and-roll.

This time was enough for Wade. He was out of position against Gasol, quickly broke through to the three-second zone, and made a fake jump shot, successfully tricking Gasol into turning around and stepping up and down to score.

The venue was filled with the cheers of the fans.

Wade scored 4 points in a row at the beginning, making a perfect start to his Cavaliers career!

Wade took the initiative to find Hansen and high-fived him while retreating. He certainly knew that his outstanding performance was inseparable from Hansen's support.

After high-fiving, Hansen patted Wade on the buttocks to show his approval.

In his prime, Wade could always defeat anyone in one step. He had experienced this before, so many fans define Wade as a player who relies on speed and explosiveness.

But only when Wade loses his speed and explosiveness will fans discover how good his skills are.

From the European step to the layup in the first ball, to the sudden stop and fake up and down steps in the breakthrough just now, there are not many guards in the league who can perform these techniques so smoothly.

The Bulls still had the ball in Irving's hands, and he seemed to think that what he did just now was not enough. After calling for a pick-and-roll with Gasol again, he did not rush to start a breakthrough. Instead, he waited until Gasol completely took Wade away and he was out of position against Jokic before launching an attack.

Malone signaled for help defense on the sidelines, and it was difficult for Jokic to defend against this military training method of calling out names.

However, Irving's offense this time was very decisive. Without waiting for the help defense to come up, he broke through and forced Jokic to retreat. He then quickly returned to the three-point line and decisively took a three-pointer.

It was difficult to interfere with Jokic once he pounced on him.

"Shh!"

With a crisp sound, the basketball went through the net.

Irving scored 5 points in a row at the beginning!
The two players who needed to prove themselves tonight both had very dazzling performances in the opening.

Irving didn't even just perform, because after making the three-pointer, he vented all his dissatisfaction to Malone on the Cavaliers bench:

"He's not as good as me! You can't win the championship without me!"

The players on the Cavaliers' bench were all stunned, and Malone's face looked extremely ugly.

If the two sides had only had a conflict outside the court before, and were engaged in a war of words, then now Irving was telling everyone with practical actions that the root cause of his conflict with the Cavaliers was Malone. Han Sen's face also changed.

His previous attitude towards Irving was more speechless.

Like the fans before the game, he certainly won't forget what Irving has done for the Cavaliers.

To be honest, without Irving, the Cavaliers really couldn't beat the Heat in the past two years relying on him alone.

Especially in the year when Irving played until the end of the season, before Hansen could perform a historic performance that broke the playoffs' highest score, the Cavaliers had already lost to the Heat.

This is also the reason why Han Sen, who is always good at talking nonsense, did not respond to Owen's remarks.

But Owen's behavior just now was too much.

No matter what, Malone has helped Irving.

It is not up to Hansen alone to let Irving develop his organization and defense. It is up to the coaching staff to implement it.

Malone has always been like that, treating everyone equally.

Develop Irving's organization and hand the ball to Hansen more comfortably; Jokic can hand the ball to Hansen better than Irving, and he will choose to do what is most beneficial to the Cavaliers.

After getting the ball, Han Sen did not continue to turn the ball to the weak side, but directly broke through the inside after TT's pick-and-roll.

This tactical change caught the Bulls off guard.

If Covington was still on the Bulls, he could help defend against Hansen's breakthrough.

But McDermott doesn't have that ability. The 2014th pick selected by the Bulls in 11, a super shooter who averaged 26.4 points per game in his final year of college, failed to start for the Bulls because of his defensive problems.

Hansen easily broke into the inside and jumped directly towards Gibson who was assisting in defense.

"Oh!"

Gibson was happy to get a background board.

After completing the warm-up, Hansen also switched defense with Wade and moved in front of Irving.

Owen didn't expect Hansen to switch defense directly in front of him.

He is of course well aware of Han Sen's defensive strength, and winning DPOY again is not Han Sen's limit.

From a rational point of view, he should give up the ball at this time.

In fact, after seeing this scene, Butler also moved from the weak side corner to prepare to receive the ball.

However, Irving did not choose to do so. The questioning of him by the female fans on the sidelines before the game and the humiliation of him by the male fan emerged in his mind.

Just as he thought before the game, he had to defeat Hansen.

He once again called for a pick-and-roll for Gasol, and after Gasol set up the pick-and-roll wall, he took the initiative to initiate a breakthrough.

But when he accelerated his first step, Hansen bypassed Gasol and appeared in front of him.

Han Sen learned the Puppy Walk in the summer. Although it did not have an obvious progress bar like the talents given by the system, Han Sen had gradually mastered it.

That greatly improved his ability to get around screens when facing pick-and-rolls.

Owen faced Hansen head-on and immediately made a gesture of worshipping Buddha.

However, when the ball hovered in front of him, Han Sen snatched it away.

If Owen had expressed his dissatisfaction to Han Sen at the beginning, Han Sen would have been able to resolve his doubts.

Is basketball a sport that can be changed purely through hard work?

The answer is obviously no, otherwise, with Han Sen's personality, he would have made a name for himself in his previous life.

Han Sen's success is inseparable from his hard work and the talent he received from the system.

Similarly, the biggest reason why Jokic receives so much attention is because of his talent.

Talent and hard work are both indispensable.

But if we put it into concrete proportions, Hansen's talent is 99 and his effort is 85, while Jokic's talent is 95 and his effort is 60.

Irving, on the other hand, has 88 in talent and 80 in effort.

After completing the steal, Han Sen went straight down the field.

Wade followed up quickly at this time.

Although his body is no longer in its prime, his subconscious ability to speed up has been developed over the years.

Butler defends one against two in the backcourt.

After Hansen reached the front three-point line, he began to attack the basket, forcing Butler to focus the defense on himself and then pass the ball to Wade.

Butler reacted quickly. He did not try to cut the ball when Hansen passed the ball. Instead, he quickly turned to help Wade after Hansen passed the ball.

But just after he turned, Wade threw the ball directly into the air.

Hansen jumped up following Wade's pass, grabbed the basketball in mid-air and then made an alley-oop slam dunk!

Wade, who passed the ball, had already made a gliding celebration move in advance.

The scene exploded instantly.

The James-Wade connection is the most representative move that Heat team left to the fans. Now Wade is still there, but James has become Hansen!

This scene is bound to become a hot topic after the game.

At this time, the male fan in the front row who had confronted Irving stood up excitedly and waved his fist.

He was right. Whether it was Owen, DW, or anyone else, it didn't matter. What mattered was Han Sen!

Owen's face was gloomy.

When the Bulls advanced to the frontcourt and Butler came over to ask for the ball again, he simply ignored the other party's request.

Butler could only move to the weak side, and this time, Irving faced Hansen directly without even calling for Gasol's pick-and-roll.

Han Sen was a little surprised to see Owen's choice. It seemed that Owen was determined not to turn back until he hit the wall.

The booing at the scene reached a climax.

Irving looked 100% focused. He reduced the frequency of his ball control and used more changes of direction.

However, soon, with the fans' cheers getting louder and louder, he found that he could not get past Han Sen.

Time seemed to have gone back to five years ago, when Hansen returned to Cleveland as a Grizzlies player, and he also switched defense on Irving.

At that time, Owen was in a bit of a mess because of Hansen's defense, and now that he had become stronger, he was in even more of a mess.

With Han Sen's current defensive ability, if he puts all his effort into it, it would be impossible to get past him without strong enough talent.

Irving was finally forced to stop the ball, and then he turned around and shot backward.

And the result of doing so would be the same as five years ago.

Han Sen jumped up at the right moment and slapped him in the face.

Owen won't turn back until he hits the wall, and Hansen is the wall!

(End of this chapter)