Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 339 Wade has always been a "good guy"

After his consecutive attacks were blocked by Han Sen, Owen finally calmed down.

As the Bulls pushed their offense back up the frontcourt, he quickly got the ball to Butler.

Owen was hard, but it seemed not hard at the same time, just like Eunuch Yin of South Korea declared martial law across the country, but it seemed not to be martial law.

Butler used Gasol's pick-and-roll to break into the three-second zone, then stopped the ball and faked a shot, causing Jokic to commit a defensive foul.

Speaking of talent, Butler is the NBA star with the worst talent. He is 2 meters tall with shoes and his wingspan is only 01 meters, and he does not have any particularly explosive athletic talent.

The feeling his game gives people is: unstable three-point shooting, mid-range breakthrough level, and the only mid-range shot he can show off is not top-notch because of lack of talent.

But there is a reason why he was able to play out.

First of all, he worked hard enough, because of the worst childhood experience. It is standard for NBA players to not be able to find their father in their childhood, but this is the only case where he was kicked out of the house by his mother because he could not find his father. If he had not met a kind family willing to accept him, he would most likely have been a homeless person.

It was that experience that made him play basketball with all his might. If we talk about the proportions, Butler's talent is 80, but his hard work is 99.

The second is defense. In this aspect that requires the most enthusiasm, he did his best and was selected to the best defensive second team five times in history.

Finally, there is his basketball IQ, which is probably the only top-notch thing God has given him. It allows him to know how to play basketball well and do the right things on the court.

In general, he is a team player whose efficiency value is not high, but he is excellent in defense and can handle a certain amount of ball possession.

That's right, the last similar Bulls player was Pippen.

The only difference between the two is that Butler is not as talented as Pippen, but his heart is bigger than Pippen.

If it weren't for Jokic, it would be a good choice for the Cavaliers to trade him to be the second-in-command.

Irving was locked down by Hansen, and the Bulls played well under the leadership of Butler and did not fall behind too much.

Five minutes into the game, the score was 12 to 15, with the Cavaliers leading.

It was at this time that the Cavaliers made a substitution, with Malone replacing Wade and Tucker with JR and Covington.

This substitution came very early, but after this adjustment, people don’t feel that the Cavaliers’ strength on the field has declined much.

The depth of the lineup brought by the previous trade is beginning to show.

But after this wave of substitutions, the Cavaliers' lineup on the field is: Hansen, JR, Covington, TT, and Jokic.

There is no so-called point guard anymore.

In other words, Han Sen played the role of point guard.

The 2-meter point guard looked somewhat special, because before that, perhaps only Magic Johnson was this tall.

However, the reaction of the fans at the scene was not that big, because this lineup was similar to the one when Powell was on the court during the half-month period when Deron was absent.

It was also during that time that fans realized that the Cavaliers didn't necessarily need a true point guard.

After the substitution, it was the Cavaliers' offense.

Hansen started to play pick-and-roll with Jokic. After Hansen passed the ball, Jokic broke into the inside and assisted TT to score.

After Wade left the court, the Cavaliers' offensive space suddenly increased, and the Bulls immediately fell into the defensive dilemma faced by the Warriors in the Christmas game. It was difficult to defend whether they contracted or not.

Because Hansen and Jokic are so good at handling the ball.

And after returning to the defensive end, Covington's role was also reflected.

Because of his tall stature, Covington is not much better than Tucker in defending guards alone, but his assist defense ability is much stronger.

So the Cavaliers' defensive strategy against Butler at this time was for JR to push forward, and then Covington to assist on the wing.

As a former Bulls player, Covington is also very familiar with Butler's playing habits. His super long wingspan can greatly interfere with Butler's passing routes.

Even if Butler passes the ball, he can quickly return to defense.

Once the ball is in McDermott's hands, there is basically no possibility of secondary processing, and the only option left is "shooting".

That would equate to defensive success for the Cavs.

When the game was about 10 minutes in, the Cavaliers had opened up a 26-18 lead.

This five-minute game, to some extent, refreshed the fans' perception of basketball.

In the earliest basketball system, the five players on the court each had their own duties. The role of the point guard was to organize the offense and get the ball steadily to the team's scoring point. In the beginning, the scoring point was generally inside, and then with the emergence of Jordan, it slowly shifted to forwards and guards.

Then at the beginning of the century, with the emergence of the role of scoring point guard, the number of ball-holding core point guards gradually increased.

But that is more of a change in ball possession. Generally speaking, the point guard still needs to be responsible for organizing the team's offense.

But the Cavaliers played completely differently in the past five minutes.

Because it's simple enough.

It starts with a pick-and-roll, followed by Hansen or Jokic handling the ball, and the round ends.

During this process, the weak side does not even need to run a containment tactic.

Even in this simplest style of play, everyone is still doing what they do best.

Because Hansen is strong enough and Jokic is good at handling the ball, the other three players on the court only need to be ready to receive the ball and shoot at any time.

"I think the only thing that can limit them is physical strength!" Barkley, who saw the trick in the commentary booth, sighed.

After all, it is impossible for Hansen and Jokic to stay on the court all the time, especially the latter, whose current physical strength is only enough to play for 30 minutes.

Before he finished speaking, Butler used a pick-and-roll breakthrough to cause Jokic's second personal foul.

In addition to the characteristics mentioned above, Butler also has an excellent ability to draw fouls.

In "History", he was even nicknamed the Penalty Mamba by some fans.

However, unlike Harden's foul-making method, his foul-making is more about changes in rhythm and fearlessness of physical confrontation, and finally some acting skills, which can win more impression points from the referee.

His choice was very smart. If he couldn't defend, he would just beat Jokic.

It's just that it was a little late because the game had already reached rotation time.

Malone replaced both Hansen and Jokic in one go.

Wade, who had been substituted early on, also returned to the game at this time.

At this time, Malone's true intention of replacing Wade early was revealed.

Although he arranged for Wade to start, what he really needed Wade to do was to lead the bench.

Wade's performance at the beginning proved his strength, and that strength became an advantage when he came off the bench.

Although he is no longer at his peak, he is still an average player. And unlike Irving, he can accept Malone's rotation arrangement and is in good physical condition when he returns to the game.

Even after coming off the bench, he is surrounded by players with stronger spatial abilities such as Korver, Covington and Cunningham, and he can still carry the team with the ball in hand.

The Cavaliers entered the rotation with an 8-point advantage, but by the time the main players returned to the game in the second quarter, the difference was close to 15 points.

The depth of the lineup, which is what Han Sen talked about when he was communicating with Griffin, was fully demonstrated in tonight's game.

In other words, as far as tonight's game is concerned, the trade the Cavaliers made before was the best option besides keeping Irving.

In the end, the Cavaliers defeated the Bulls 106-90 at home and won this focus battle.

赛后的数据统计，韩森得到了31分7板11助攻，约基奇21分9板7助攻，韦德20分5板4助攻。

巴特勒24分5板6助攻，大加索尔16分8板，米罗蒂奇15分，欧文在韩森的防守下15投5中仅得14分。

"DW has been in the league for 13 years, he has more experience than any of us, he is one of the most popular teammates in the league, he is a good person, and his joining us is very important."

At the post-match press conference, Hansen publicly expressed his views on Wade joining the team for the first time.

"Kyrie needs to adapt to nights like this. If he wants to be the leader of a team, he needs to learn to face the pressure of a leader."

As for his defense against Irving in the game, Han Sen was also very straightforward.

Some things can be obtained by asking for them, like the crying child gets the milk; but some things must be earned by yourself.

Don't turn back until you hit the wall. It doesn't mean that you will know to turn back only after you hit the wall, but that by the time you hit the wall, there is no turning back.

There is still less than half a month left before the All-Star Game begins, and the Cavaliers still have five games to play.

The opponents in these five games are the Raptors, Rockets, Thunder, Wizards and Grizzlies.

After a relatively easy schedule at the beginning of the season, it will naturally not be so easy for them in this section.

The Cavaliers eventually achieved a record of 3 wins and 2 losses.

Although including the game against the Bucks, the Cavaliers' record after the trade is 5 wins and 2 losses, which looks good, but this period of the schedule actually exposed big problems.

The biggest problem is that Wade's performance as a starter is not very good.

Let Wade start because he lacks spatial ability, so the ball is best in his hands.

Although he still had the threat of a breakthrough, he was no longer at his peak and his effect was obviously not comparable to Hansen's.

In other words, letting Wade hold the ball during the starting period is a way of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

In contrast, Wade plays a big role in the transition period as a substitute.

His personal ability, coupled with the Cavaliers' increased bench depth after the trade, will allow Hansen and Jokic to get enough rest during the rotation.

So everyone can see that Wade is a better choice as a substitute.

But this is obviously not that simple.

Just like Iverson would rather retire than play as a substitute, not playing as a substitute is the bottom line for many superstars.

Of course, these things can be put on hold with the All-Star Game approaching.

The day before the All-Star Game, Hansen's private plane carried a "happy" Jokic and Malone, who was elected Eastern Conference All-Star head coach, to New Orleans.

Speaking of which, this year's All-Star Game was quite eventful.

Originally, this year's All-Star Game was scheduled to be held in Charlotte, and it would be the first time Charlotte hosted it.

Curry, a Charlotte native who was born in Akron, is also eager to try out for this All-Star Game.

No one expected that this year, North Carolina, where Charlotte is located, introduced an HB2 bill to boycott LGBT, which aroused strong protests from the LGBT community. The protests became more and more serious, and the league was eventually forced to cancel Charlotte's hosting rights and temporarily moved the game to New Orleans.

The direct result of this was that Curry, who was preparing to perform well in front of his hometown folks, lost interest and did not participate in the three-point contest.

So this All-Star Game should be the most hasty and boring one.

Especially with Toronto's performance in last year's All-Star Game as an example, the contrast is even more striking.

So Hansen and Jokic brought their families with them this time, mainly to have fun.

Although there are no New Orleans wings in New Orleans, it is a famous tourist city in the United States and a place with a high degree of cultural tolerance.

As a former French colony, the architectural style here is also quite Spanish.

You can even see a cemetery full of hanging coffins here.

However, something very special happened during this All-Star Weekend.

That is, before the start of the All-Star Game, the Pelicans and the Kings reached a deal, sending Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Galloway, the 2017 first round (top three protected), and a future second round pick to the Kings in exchange for Cousins.

As Griffin said before, the Pelicans' target is Cousins.

However, Holiday did not appear in this transaction, and the Kings obviously failed to convince Holiday to renew his contract in advance.

Of course, this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that Cousins ​​is even worse off than Irving. Irving at least changed his team before the All-Star Game, but this happened before the game started!

The only one who was worse off than him was Barnes, who was notified of the trade after playing half a game in "history".

The Cousins ​​trade brought some fun to this boring All-Star Game.

In addition, the Western team worked together to feed the ball to Anthony Davis, the host and "Son of America", throughout the court, allowing him to score a record-breaking 52 points.

Hansen and Jokic basically didn't play much. One of them scored 21 points with a slight sweat, and the other only played for 8 minutes.

On the plane back to Cleveland after the All-Star Game, Malone and Hansen talked about Wade's problem.

Malone didn't want Hansen to do ideological work for Wade. Hansen was not a nanny who had to take care of everything.

He was raising his concerns.

He wanted to communicate with Wade and let the latter play as a substitute, but he was worried that something might go wrong.

Because Hoiberg did the same thing when Wade was still on the Bulls, but it ended in failure.

"Don't worry at all, we are completely different from the Bulls." Hansen's calmness surprised Malone.

"What if DW gets angry?" Malone was still worried. After all, Wade earns more than 2000 million dollars a year.

"He won't." Han Sen remained calm and continued,

"DW, he's always been a good guy."

(End of this chapter)