Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 378 Cleveland All-Star Tragedy

After the timeout, James' team made adjustments and D'Antoni replaced Irving with Green.

The lineup of James' team on the court at this time: Curry, Durant, James, Green, and Antetokounmpo.

It must be said that if James is replaced by George, James' team will have space, speed and impact, and will be quite competitive.

But the All-Star Game is ultimately an entertainment event. It is impossible for D'Antoni to sour his relationship with James in such a place. After all, James is the captain of Team James.

However, after returning from the timeout, James' team adjusted the focus of their offense.

James still has the ball, but the rest of the team is trying their best to create off-ball opportunities for Curry and Durant's pick-and-roll.

Durant was defended by Hansen on his side, and Durant failed to create a scoring opportunity in the end, but on Curry's side, Harden was blocked by continuous pick-and-rolls.

As Curry ran for his shot, the ball was already whirling toward him.

After all, James was a teammate of Curry, and he fed the ball to Curry many times when they were on the Warriors.

Curry received the ball half a meter away from the three-point line, and without any adjustment, he shot before Davis rushed over.

"Shh!"

Curry's three-pointer was swift and effective.

The bench of James' team was boiling with excitement.
Team James, we still have to look to Curry at critical moments!

121 flat!
There were 5 minutes and 58 seconds left in the game and the two sides were tied.

Looking back, James' team continued to guard Hansen tightly, and Hansen also signaled Harden to continue playing pick-and-roll.

This time Jokic jumped out after the pick-and-roll, while Harden accelerated inside with the help of the pick-and-roll.

Harden trains others every day in the Rockets. His ability to beat bigger opponents is extremely strong. Even Antetokounmpo can't defend him.

At this time, James' team had to shrink their defense.

At this time, Hansen ran back to the 45-degree three-point position on the right after the pick-and-roll with Davis.

Harden raised his hand and threw the ball over while moving.

This was not a tactic that had been rehearsed in advance, but it was the tactic that Harden was most familiar with.

This season, the Rockets, under the coaching of D'Antoni, played a "Moneyball" strategy, which is a set of tactics that focuses on breakthroughs and three-pointers, based on the run-and-gun tactics and emphasizes extreme offensive efficiency.

Therefore, he can capture the three-point opportunities that appear on the outside at the first time.

Han Sen received the ball and shot the three-pointer without any hesitation.

The Quicken Loans Arena was instantly boiling.

Their previous feeling turned out to be correct. With the powerful firepower of this ultimate version of the Cavaliers, no team could possibly defend against it!
This time, Harden took the initiative to find Hansen and high-fived him while retreating.

Except for Hansen and Jokic, the other three players on this team have never played together, but they have a strong chemistry between them.

But looking back, it was Curry again, this time he changed his position, and after receiving the ball, he shook off Davis who was defending him, stepped back to the right to a position one meter away from the three-point line and threw the ball directly.

The basketball whizzed through the air and fell straight into the net like a cannonball.

124 flat!
When James' team was on the verge of collapse, Curry stood up and made consecutive three-pointers to keep the team alive!
Curry seemed very excited after scoring the goal, and he did his classic shoulder-shaking celebration while retreating.

When Han Sen saw this, the scene from the Paris Olympic final emerged in his mind.

Curry is really a reliable teammate!
Harden continued to run pick-and-roll with Jokic. This time, his breakthrough attracted a double-team from James' team, and he passed the ball to Jokic who was bouncing outside.

Jokic raised his hand to shoot, but the next second he passed the ball directly to the right.

Hansen had just gotten rid of Durant by running back when Jokic's pass came to him.

Compared to others, these two who have played together for three seasons have real tacit understanding.

James went to the basket to assist in defense at this time. After Han Sen jumped, he hugged Han Sen and fouled him to prevent him from shooting.

Hansen went to the free throw line.

Before the referee gave him the ball, he turned to look at James: "Good shot."

James knew that Han Sen was scheming and did not react, but the others on both sides of the free throw line looked at Han Sen in surprise.

As they were surprised, Han Sen continued, "Leave the game to Stephen, just like you did when you were on the Warriors. That kind of game will make people feel a little more fun."

When Han Sen finished speaking, everyone else's expressions changed from surprise to relief.

Praising you because you gave me the experience of competing is clearly Han Sen's way of speaking.

James couldn't help but puff up his cheeks.

Even though they knew Han Sen was teasing, he always said things that made people want to beat him up.

Han Sen made both free throws, helping the Han Sen team continue to lead.

While retreating, Hansen also turned around and signaled to Harden and Thompson.

After James' team attacked the frontcourt, Hansen's team made a substitution and the person defending Curry became Thompson.

This adjustment works well.

Although Thompson, like Harden, is not a person with excellent lateral movement ability, his advantage over Harden is that he is better at going around screens than Harden, and he is Curry's backcourt partner.

No one knows Curry's offensive habits better than Thompson. It's not just where Curry's sweet spot is, it can even be as detailed as what Curry's forward swing movement is when he runs back.

However, although Curry is restricted by doing this, the problem arises that when Thompson defends Curry, the person who defends James becomes Harden.

With D'Antoni's tactical support, Harden has put up the best offensive performance of his career this season, but as a core player with the ball, if you want to put up good numbers on the offensive end, that means you need a lot of physical energy, and that requires sacrificing defense.

It just so happens that Harden's defense is not that good to begin with, and he has also gained weight in recent years to increase his breakthrough threat. As a result, the limited edition "Eye Defense Harden" also appeared this season.

James, who is also in the Western Conference, is naturally very clear about this.

He was already stimulated by Han Sen's words, so without any hesitation, he carried the ball half a meter away, then accelerated and broke through Harden.

He is the captain!
Of course Harden couldn't defend against James, even if James broke through in a straight line, because Harden dodged after seeing James's posture.

It's easy to get injured in this kind of head-on confrontation. This is just the All-Star Game, there's no need for him to take that risk.

Because Harden failed to delay James, Davis was pulled to the bottom corner by Green again. Jokic had no time to make up for the defense, and James performed a classic tomahawk dunk.

This also caused a commotion at the scene.

After landing, James beat his chest and roared excitedly. This is the feeling of being the protagonist.

After yelling, he turned to look at Han Sen, hoping to see a hint of panic in Han Sen's eyes.

However, after noticing his gaze, Han Sen gave him a thumbs up, once again affirming his performance.

This really confused him.

Even as a rival for many years, he had no idea what Han Sen was up to.

The game came to the last 2 minutes, and the score was 135 to 137, with Hansen's team leading by a slight advantage of 2 points.

In the past period, the two sides took turns leading the score.

James' team couldn't stop Hansen's team's attack, but Hansen's team couldn't stop James' attack either.

Harden's eye defense is more deadly than Jokic in this high-end game.

Stevens called a timeout at this time.

Just as he was coming down, Hansen looked at Stevens and said, "Let Russell go up." Stevens nodded.

The scene was odd because Stevens was the head coach of the Celtics, Hansen's main rival in the Eastern Conference.

But just like D'Antoni would not replace James, this is the All-Star Game, not to mention this year is the Cleveland All-Star Game, Stevens can't refuse Hansen.

As for Harden, instead of being unhappy, he sat down with a smile.

Playing seriously was Han Sen's request in the first place, and he agreed out of respect for Han Sen, but it was not a pleasant feeling to be used as a breakthrough point by James on the court.

The timeout is over and the players return to the court.

Just before going on the court, Hansen patted Westbrook on the shoulder and said, "Russell, LeBron is in your hands!"

In fact, Westbrook never expected that Hansen would let him play at the last moment. Although in terms of the position on the court, Harden played as a point guard, so replacing him was considered a replacement in the same position.

But Harden was substituted out because he couldn't defend James.

So the greater possibility is that he will defend Curry, Thompson will defend Durant, and then Hansen will defend James.

But after hearing Han Sen's arrangement, his eyes lit up instantly.

You asked him why he averaged a triple-double in the past two years, because since Durant left, the Thunder have been able to make the playoffs but have never won the championship.

In this nebulous situation, he has no other way to enhance his presence except to put up some good stats.

But loving to brush up his statistics doesn't mean he doesn't have the desire to win.

On the contrary, he is the player with the strongest desire to win in the league.

Especially when facing James, the guy who indirectly destroyed the Thunder.

So after nodding vigorously, he now just wanted to go on the court and kill James.

After the timeout, Hansen team attacked.

Hansen held the ball and played pick-and-roll with Davis, and the help defense from the weak side of James' team quickly arrived.

With Westbrook replacing Harden, Hansen's team's offensive space is bound to be compressed.

However, what was unexpected was that Hansen suddenly increased his determination in attack. He directly attacked despite the double-team and caused damage.

One thing that is easily overlooked is that when the game came to the decisive moment, Hansen's presence on the offensive end was not high because he was under the focus of defense from James' team.

Even on the defensive end, he did not go to the basket to assist as frequently as many people were familiar with.

One result of this is that Han Sen now has much more physical strength than others.

In this situation, it is not so easy to stop Hansen from scoring.

Hansen made two free throws to help the team establish a 4-point lead.

James continued to hold the ball in the frontcourt, and when he saw that the person defending him was Westbrook, his face became even uglier.

First it was Harden, then Westbrook. Did Han Sen want to humiliate him in this way?
Although he still didn't know what Han Sen wanted to do, he would definitely make Han Sen regret doing so!
James usually retreats, but Westbrook is different from Harden, he just pounces forward.

Harden will consider the injury, but Westbrook is too excited to care about that.

James' ball-handling skills are average, and he was really made uncomfortable by Westbrook at the moment. In the end, he could only protect the ball with his back to the basket.

And after his attempt to turn around failed, he reached out and called for a pick-and-roll for Antetokounmpo.

With the help of a pick-and-roll, he finally turned around and broke into the inside.

But before he could take two steps forward, Han Sen's help came and forced him to stop the ball at the right time.

After the break just now, Hansen completely changed his playing style.

James turned around and was about to look for Durant, only to find that Hansen and Jokic had already switched defense tacitly.

Jokic also opened his arms at this time to interfere with James' passing route.

"Snapped!"

And just as James was protecting the ball and looking for other teammates, Westbrook had bypassed Antetokounmpo's pick-and-roll, came over from James' blind spot, and directly cut the ball from James' hands!

By the time James reacted, Westbrook was already on a fast break with the ball in his hand.

This fast break is really fast!

Han Sen placed his right hand on his forehead as if looking out into the distance.

Westbrook had already fast-forwarded to the frontcourt and performed his signature scimitar dunk.

After landing, Westbrook performed a Ninja Turtle-style overlord step and his emotions exploded.

135 to 141, the score difference on the field has reached 6 points!
There was still 1 minute and 20 seconds left in the game, and with this lead, James' team was in a bad situation.

And when James had the ball again, Westbrook's defense was even more aggressive than before.

Theoretically, Westbrook cannot defend James because of the size difference between the two.

But Westbrook can limit James's start and prevent him from getting into the paint as easily as before.

And more importantly, Hansen will help defend, which means that James' breakthroughs will no longer be as effective as before.

James was forced to stretch out his hand again to signal Curry to run without the ball.

He has contributed so much as captain, it's time for others to do something.

Curry was very competitive and this time he successfully shook off Thompson and received the pass.

However, his three-point shot hit the rim and bounced out.

Jokic secured the rebound and then passed it to Westbrook, who made another fast break dunk.

135比143，韩森队暂停回来后一波6比0的攻势，分差已经来到了8分！
With only 1 minute left, James' team doesn't have much time left.

On the bench, Stevens touched his chin and looked at Hansen with a frown.

He could now feel Han Sen's terror more clearly than ever before.

Han Sen did not make many personal attacks in this decisive stage, but he did much more than scoring.

Curry was in hot form after returning from the timeout, with consecutive three-pointers helping James' team keep the score close.

Because James' team has Durant, if Hansen switches to defend Curry, Durant is likely to explode again.

So Hansen chose the safest method and let James score.

Compared with Curry and Durant, James' iron-blooded two points had the least impact on the situation.

In particular, letting James score has another benefit: it can cool down Curry's touch.

Shumpert, who was a teammate of James in "History", once complained on a TV show that when playing with James, he could not touch the ball for a long time, and was asked to shoot key shots as soon as he received the ball, making it difficult to maintain his hit rate.

The effect is similar when Curry can't catch the ball when his hands are hot.

And whether it was Harden or Westbrook, it was a trap dug by Han Sen for James, and James would jump into it even though he knew it was a trap.

Such a layout and planning, even the layout that Hansen made according to each person's personality and ability, was terrifying even for him who prided himself on his tactical ability.

When Kuzma did the action of bringing his own crown before, James misunderstood Han Sen and thought that Han Sen was the surgeon.

But tonight, he should have truly experienced what kind of desperate situation he would face when Hansen was the surgeon!

(End of this chapter)