Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 387 Strength is the Key

I thought the Game 7 between the Cavaliers and the Celtics was enough to attract enough attention, but until the finals started, people realized it was not worth mentioning at all.

When both teams were still warming up before the game of Game 1 of the Finals, the ratings had already set a new season high.

After all… who can resist the biggest fun of the season?

Even during the pre-game opening ceremony, Cleveland fans gave James a huge cheer.

They used to hate James to the core, but now they are grateful to him.

After all, as Hansen said, James personally brought the Cavaliers a dynasty, and even though he was constantly nomadic, he still persevered. Such behavior really makes it impossible not to cheer for him.

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

Cavaliers: Hansen, JR, Covington, TT, Jokic
Pelicans: Holiday, Moore, James, Davis, Baynes
James' performance in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals not only impressed Hansen, but also the fans.

I thought James would continue that form tonight, but things turned out to be completely the opposite of what I expected.

As soon as the game started, James and Davis played a beautiful pick-and-roll, assisting Davis to cut into the basket and score a dunk.

And looking back, after he was in assisting defense and rotating to face Jokic, he also used all his skills to engage in various hand-to-hand combat with Jokic.

Even though Han Sen had known James for a long time, it was the first time he had seen that scene.

It was his efforts that bought time for Davis, allowing Davis to finally complete the defensive block on Jokic.

Did James take medicine?
No, he should have been taking medicine all the time. It's not a matter of taking medicine or not, but he has a strong desire to invest in the game.

This is unusual, but not incomprehensible.

James didn't want to enter the finals before so he had no desire to play, just like he didn't want Wade to win the FMVP so he "released his power by 8 points".

But now he has to get in even though he doesn't want to, and the whole world is waiting to laugh at his joke. If he really plays like he did in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, he will really become a joke.

On the contrary, if he tries his best under the spotlight, even if it is just one game, even if he loses in the end, the outside world's doubts about him will be much smaller.

After realizing this, Hansen decisively switched defense with Covington.

This is not because he deliberately targeted James, but because he really let James perform and drive the Pelicans to perform, and the Cavaliers might not win.

Although the Pelicans have some problems on offense, they are the team with the best defensive efficiency in the league.

James repeatedly tried to use pick-and-roll to break through Hansen's defense, and it can be seen that his desire to play tonight is really strong.

Moreover, his physical fitness was better than Han Sen's. On the occasional occasions, when he accelerated, Han Sen could not stop him.

But most of the time, he was restricted by Han Sen and couldn't speed up.

After mastering the puppy step, Hansen's ability to deal with pick-and-rolls reached the peak of his career.

Of course, even if you can get around the pick-and-roll, it’s hard not to get mid-range opportunities.

The most crucial point lies in James' technical characteristics.

No matter how strong your desire to win is, if your skills cannot support you, it will still be difficult to perform well.

Of course, this refers to high-end games. Things like bullying in low-end games are not within the scope of this discussion.

However, James' mentality was really good tonight. After finding it difficult to score against Hansen, he chose to pass the ball to Davis more often after the pick-and-roll between them.

Before this season, Davis was very similar to Love and Cousins, all of whom were players with impressive statistics but had never proven themselves on the playoff stage.

But the facts have proved that Davis is stronger than Love and Cousins. You know, the Pelicans are not a team with three giants. Davis can reach the finals with James, which directly raises the gold content.

Of course, compared to the offensive end, Davis plays a greater role on the defensive end, especially in restricting Jokic.

Jokic is talented enough, but his talent is biased. He is essentially a center with a relatively slow offense.

Davis's speed of movement just happened to restrain him when he was assisting in defense.

Even if Jokic can pass the ball, Davis can rely on his assisting defense ability to return to defense.

And one thing that cannot be ignored is that Davis, who was on the finals stage for the first time, was in a very excited mental state.

With the two main players fighting so hard, the other players on the Pelicans also gave their all.

The scores of both sides rose alternately and the battle continued until the final quarter.

With 8 seconds left in the game, the Pelicans led by 96 point, 95 to 1.

It was a familiar scene, and the fans at the scene were looking forward to Han Sen's another buzzer-beater.

In the crucial defensive round, the Pelicans showed their league-leading defensive level, using Holiday and Davis to double-team Hansen.

Hansen passed the ball to Jokic through the gap. Jokic quickly attacked the basket with the ball but was pulled down by James and sent to the free throw line.

There were 4.7 seconds left in the game and Jokic had a chance to win the game with a free throw.

Since entering the league, Jokic's free throw percentage has remained above 80% for many years, and this season it has reached 85%.

However, from his continuous deep breaths after receiving the ball, it can be seen that this kind of ball not only tests the player's ability, but also tests the player's psychological quality.

The scene was also exceptionally quiet, as fans were afraid that any noise they made would affect Jokic's performance.

Jokic made the first free throw after adjusting.

There was also a burst of cheers at the scene.

Then, silence returned.

Jokic failed to make the crucial second free throw.

But at this moment, JR rushed to grab the frontcourt rebound!

After seeing James in front of him, JR dribbled the ball quickly to the three-point line.

His first reaction was to go find Han Sen.

However, Holiday and Davis also reacted quickly and cut off the connection between him and Hansen in the first place.

It was at this time that JR, who was in an empty position, entered a state of brain short circuit.

It wasn't until Jokic made a frantic gesture under the basket that he realized he should take the shot.

But at this time James had already pounced in front of him, and he passed the ball to Covington who was in an open position in the last second.

Covington had no chance to adjust his shot and ultimately failed to touch the basket, and the two sides entered overtime.

However, Malone on the sidelines suddenly looked very angry and he yelled loudly at the referee.

It turned out that he signaled to the referee to stop the game, but was ignored by the referee.

Malone's protest ultimately had no effect and the two sides entered overtime.

"Boss, I'm sorry." When he got to the bench, Jokic apologized to Hansen immediately. If he hadn't missed the second free throw, the game would have been over.

JR didn't even dare to look at Han Sen.

He still hasn't recovered from what happened just now. When he found that the ball couldn't be passed to Hansen, he even forgot what the score was on the field.

At that critical moment, the human brain is prone to short-circuiting, not to mention that his brain capacity is slightly less than that of others.

"If you're sorry, wait until we win the overtime game."

Han Sen's expression was not good at this time.

It’s not because of Jokic and JR, but because the referee actually ignored the timeout request.

Although he has been mentally prepared for the situation of 5 vs. 8 since entering the playoffs, this operation is really too much.

After a short break, both sides entered a 5-minute overtime.

As soon as the overtime started, Hansen showed his anger. After turning around and passing Holiday's defense, he faced Davis's help defense and shot directly.

It was not a good choice, but Davis was knocked away by Hansen's elbow, and Hansen glided through the air and sent the ball into the basket.

And this is just the beginning.

Han Sen is challenging the referees with practical actions.

If the referees feel it's okay for him to be ejected, then go ahead and call a foul.

The referees' whistles did not sound.

Defense requires a relaxed stance, which is also the tone of this round of finals. After all, that is more beneficial to the Pelicans.

Although Han Sen made some small moves, it did not exceed the predetermined penalty range.

Of course, more importantly, the league does not want to see the Cavaliers complete their dynasty, but they do not want Hansen to be sent off even more.

Hansen's influence around the world now is even greater than Jordan's back then, and that is an absolute guarantee of ratings.

So the Pelicans soon discovered one thing: the defensive method they used with Holiday and Davis to limit Hansen throughout the game was ineffective in overtime.

Han Sen was like a mad tiger, and no one could stop him.

Throughout the overtime, the Cavaliers scored a total of 10 points, and Hansen scored 10 of them!
Under his leadership, the Cavaliers scored 10 to 2 in overtime and eventually defeated the Pelicans 106 to 98, winning their first game of the finals.

The fans watching this game were like a roller coaster.

But, it's storytelling enough.

This will become a classic event in the future!
Hansen and Jokic attended the post-match press conference together.

韩森全场比赛贡献了51分8板8助攻，约基奇得到21分12板7助攻。

"I almost messed up the game. Although we won in the end, it was a good lesson for me. I must make myself stronger mentally."

Jokic once again mentioned the final free throw in front of reporters.

If he were to take that kind of free throw again now, he would definitely make it.

But this is the psychological change that occurs at the critical moment of the game. If you don't have strong enough psychological quality, or you haven't lived two lives like Han Sen, it is normal to miss the free throw.

Not to mention that he is a center, even if you replace him with a guard who is known for his stability, he may not be able to make both free throws with certainty.

"Nikola's penalty shot may not be a good thing for us."

At this moment, Han Sen took the initiative to pick up the microphone in front of him.

"Based on the penalty criteria tonight, if he made the free throw, our opponent would have had two free throws in the final moments."

Han Sen really didn't want to pretend anymore.

You have to know that there were still 4.7 seconds left, which was more than enough time to call a defensive foul on the Cavaliers.

There was a commotion among the reporters in the audience.

Only Han Sen would dare to say such a thing. Otherwise, based on his attitude, he would have to be suspended for one game as a punishment.

But even Han Sen couldn't escape the fine.

Of course, their riot was because Han Sen dared to say it, not because of what Han Sen said, because based on the referee's tendency tonight, what Han Sen said was definitely something that might happen.

"What was JR thinking at the time? Why didn't he choose to take action?" At this time, a reporter from NBC asked Hansen a question.

Compared to Jokic's one of two free throws, JR's brain short circuit in the final moments was more fatal, which almost destroyed the Cavaliers' possibility of ending the game in regular time.

And it’s not the first time that JR has done such a stupid thing. If it weren’t for Hansen’s divine performance in overtime, JR would have been nailed to the pillar of shame in history.

"That's not his responsibility." However, Han Sen immediately denied the reporter's statement.

"After Nikola made the second free throw, he got the offensive rebound for us, and we know how difficult it is for a guard to get a rebound in that situation."

"But he neither took a shot nor called a timeout in the final moments," the reporter added.

"It's not the role players' responsibility to end the game at a critical moment. He wanted to pass the ball to me, but it didn't work."

Although JR's choice at the last moment was stupid, it was understandable, because if he really missed the shot and lost the game in the end, he would be the first person responsible, and not everyone has the awareness to take responsibility.

"As for timeouts, we are all familiar with the story of Chris Webber calling timeouts. Players don't count whether the team has timeouts." When he said this, Han Sen's tone became gloomy again.
"But the referees ignored Coach Malone's request for a timeout. The reason they gave was that they had their backs to Coach Malone and didn't see him. Do our referees only have eyes but no ears?"

Han Sen's words caused another commotion among the reporters on the scene.

Han Sen's words were no longer a complaint; they were a direct and public attack.

But it is clear that Hansen is the league's ratings player, and Silva may do anything, including what Hansen said, but a ban is impossible.

“We’re not going to let the game get to that point again.”

And at the end of the press conference, Han Sen also made a harsh remark.

Of course, he knew that even if he greeted the referee's family, it would not change the status quo, because Silva did not know that he would leave the Cavaliers, and he did so from the perspective of the league's interests.

Well, since the current situation cannot be changed and the league wants the Pelicans to win so much, then they can simply not allow the game to reach that moment.

Hansen's comments in the interview earned him a huge fine of up to $10, but also sparked heated discussions among fans on social media.

The argument that we can't win even if we are playing 8 against 5 is simply unstoppable.

Of course, more people are lamenting that Jokic and JR have met a good team leader.

Because of the role reversal, if James led the Cavaliers to encounter such a thing, the Cavaliers would most likely lose, and Jokic and JR, especially JR, would become eternal sinners.

(End of this chapter)