Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 388 News of Han Sen's Departure

Early in the morning on the second day after Game 1, Han Sen was awakened by the bleating of sheep.

He thought he was hallucinating, until Ajiali beside him also looked confused, then he was sure that it was not an illusion.

He got up and walked to the bed, looking down through the glass, and then he discovered that there was a tied goat downstairs.

He went downstairs in his clothes, and then saw JR playing with his phone in the living room out of boredom.

Hearing footsteps, JR quickly put down his phone and stood up.

"Did you get it?" Han Sen pointed at the goat outside the door.

JR nodded. "I was thinking that we wouldn't have a bonfire party later. These are authentic Boer goats. Nicola said they are best suited for making kebabs."

But as soon as he finished speaking, he immediately shook his head and explained: "No, my mother told me."

At the end he scratched his head in embarrassment.

Hansen now understood that this was Jokic's idea.

Why did JR give himself something?
Naturally, I thank him for what he said after the game last night.

The reporters' questions reflect the attitude of the outside world. If it weren't for Hansen's words, even if the Cavaliers won the game, JR would have become the target of public criticism after the game.

So JR gave Hansen something to express his gratitude.

But gift-giving is a science, especially for someone like Hansen who has everything he needs nowadays.

The meaning of goat is self-evident. Its English name is GOAT, which means the best in history.

With Hansen on track to surpass Jordan in the final season, this has the meaning of an early official announcement.

Of course, what was more important was that the reason JR gave made it impossible for Hansen to refuse, because Hansen did hold a bonfire party every year during the finals, and Boer goats were the most suitable type of goat for making kebabs because of their delicious meat and high lean content.

This guy Jokic has a really good brain.

"Thank you. Can you please inform everyone that we will have a bonfire party after the game tomorrow night?"

Han Sen is in a happy mood now, not only because of the goat given by JR, but more importantly, Jokic is now helping his teammates solve problems and is becoming more and more like a leader.

During this day's training session, Han Sen was extremely serious.

What he said after the game yesterday was not just polite talk.

Because similar to the game against the 76ers, the Pelicans are also the kind of opponent where the outcome is unpredictable once the situation enters a stalemate.

It would definitely not be possible to be like the first game, because although the Cavaliers won, it was a hard-fought win, which actually boosted the morale of the Pelicans.

Before the finals started, due to James's long-term losing streak, the outside world generally believed that the Cavaliers could win easily.

But it is obvious that the Pelicans have more than just James. It is an indisputable fact that they rank first in the league in defensive efficiency.

In this case, if the Cavaliers want to win the championship, they must defeat the Pelicans' confidence in the game as quickly as possible.

So G2 is crucial.

Han Sen did not discuss his thoughts with Ma Long, but some things do not need to be spoken out to be understood.

He had heard clearly what Han Sen said at the previous press conference, and combined with today's reaction, he could easily guess what Han Sen was thinking.

So after the training ended that day, Malone did not let Lue do the routine mobilization speech, but took the field himself.

"Since the beginning of the season, we all knew that they didn't want us to win the championship. They tried everything and even ignored our suspension requests. They were afraid that we would win the championship! But the more afraid they are, the more we have to show them! We just want to win this championship and carve Cleveland's dynasty into the history of the league!"

Malone's level of chicken soup for the soul is obviously not as good as Lu's, but his heartfelt words are more inspiring.

The injustice the Cavaliers have suffered this season exists and cannot be changed, and it is something they must overcome.

In Game 2 of the finals, the Quicken Loans Arena was packed.

Hansen's post-game comments earned him a huge fine, but the added effect of the $10 was that Cleveland fans felt the league was targeting them.

And the emotion that comes with that perception is anger.

They would not analyze and understand the alliance's motives like Hansen and Malone did. They just wanted to vent their pure dissatisfaction after being purely angered.

And the best way to vent that dissatisfaction is to transform it into passion for the home team.

After G2 officially started, the Pelicans enjoyed unprecedented boos.

The volume of the booing was so high that the Pelicans players felt a little confused.

Theoretically, although they lost the last game, they played with momentum and should win the respect of others, even the Cavaliers fans who are their opponents.

However, the injustice of the league can only make Cleveland fans vent their emotions on their opponents, the Pelicans.

In contrast, the Cavaliers players played more actively and aggressively on the court than in G1.

Even Jokic took the initiative to physically confront Davis.

Davis has strong assist defense ability, but he is still a power forward after all, and is much worse than Jokic in confrontation.

Of course, the most important person is Han Sen. He is a PG but does the work of a SF.

Not only did he continue to pester James on the defensive end, but he also began to use pick-and-rolls to single out James on the offensive end.

Although James' desire to play in G2 was not as strong as in G1, it was still much better than before.

But Hansen understands James better than anyone else. James has the worst mental attributes in this team and is the one who is most easily defeated.

Not to mention their previous experiences against each other, James has a psychological phobia against him.

In fact, it was just as Hansen expected. After Hansen began to suppress James on both offense and defense, James began to turn from being proactive to being passive.

The hands on hips on the offensive end, the classic hand-spreading at the referee's whistle, the shoving of teammates on the defensive end, those parts that fans are familiar with but have not had time to show before, all began to pop up like mushrooms after rain.

And this was a devastating blow to the Pelicans' morale.

Davis was originally trying his best to fight with Jokic in the interior, but suddenly he found that he not only had to deal with Jokic, but also had to deal with the player on the wing who missed the chance to rush into the interior.

Davis is now experiencing exactly what Green experienced last season.

It’s a pity that Davis is not Green. He will not lose his temper with James and can only endure it silently.

Davis' defense is indeed good enough, but it can't withstand such a torment.

And he has a high tendency to block shots on defense, which quickly gets him into foul trouble.

When Davis was not on the court, the Pelicans' defensive intensity dropped two levels.

In the era of small ball, the role of top-level mobile rim protectors is rare and irreplaceable. The two teams were still entangled in the first half, but in the second half, as Davis received his fourth personal foul early, the defense on which the Pelicans relied collapsed.

The Cavaliers fought back with all their might and eventually defeated the Pelicans 114-89, changing the finals score to 2-0.

If the Pelicans won the last game with honor, then this one was a complete defeat. Not only did they lose the game, but their entire morale was crushed.

After G1, the outside world felt that the finals were different from what they expected and there was a lot of suspense.

But after the match against G2, the suspense was instantly dispelled.

Some fans even started to come up with a list, and among the core players who were swept in the Finals in NBA history, James ranked first on the list.

However, the Cavaliers are not so optimistic.

In 2006, in order to help the Heat win the championship, the league used really crazy penalties.

Even though they knew the Pelicans had no chance of stopping the Cavaliers, they still tried to make the game look evenly matched.

So now what the Cavaliers have to do is to repeat what they did in G3 in G2.

Although it is foreseeable that it will be much more difficult than G2.

But the Cavaliers players don’t have to think so much for the time being.

After finishing the game with G2, the players happily held a bonfire party in Hansen's manor.

Because the current situation makes it possible to win the trophy away from home, this bonfire party is a bit like a memorial service for the soldiers before going to war.

The goat that JR sent was indeed delicious, and Han Sen announced in person that it was a gift from JR, which gave JR a great sense of satisfaction.

Everyone could feel that at this moment JR was Hansen's most loyal swordsman.

However, just as everyone was finishing their meal, Hansen called everyone together and announced that he would be leaving Cleveland in the summer.

Everyone at the scene was shocked, and JR even came to his senses and said that Han Sen was joking with them.

"That's true, not a joke. I didn't tell you before because I was afraid it would affect your mentality, but now, I hope you can do your best to help me win this championship, so that I can end this journey in the most perfect way."

Han Sen's next words made everyone realize that he really wasn't joking.

They looked confused, but did not ask Hansen directly why.

JR wanted to speak, but was stopped by Jokic.

If Han Sen wants to answer this kind of question, he will naturally tell it. If he doesn't want to tell it, then asking it will embarrass Han Sen.

Han Sen did not continue to explain. After the announcement, he signaled everyone to continue the party.

Not long after that, JR found Hansen and asked, "Is it because of me? I told Nicola not to give him a goat because it is the embodiment of the devil. But he insisted that you would like this. I..."

JR looked remorseful as he explained, and it was obvious that he really felt that Han Sen chose to leave because of him.

Han Sen couldn't help but laugh. Although JR sometimes had a short circuit in his brain and was not a good player, or even a good person, he was actually a relatively sincere person.

"If I told you that I had planned to leave Cleveland before I came here, would you believe me?"

So Han Sen chose to be honest with him, even though this made JR's brain short-circuited again.

"I have my own career plan. Coming to Cleveland was not my original idea, but I didn't stop playing after coming here because of that. Do you understand now?"

Han Sen then gave a more straightforward explanation.

Now JR understood, but even though he understood, he still found it difficult to comprehend.

Or maybe Han Sen gave him too much help, and he really didn't know what he would become after leaving Han Sen.

"If you want to thank me or something, I want this championship more than the goat."

JR was confused, but he nodded vigorously.

He really couldn't figure out so many things, so giving him things to do was what he wanted more.

"Oh, by the way, this is a secret, keep it for me." Han Sen reminded finally.

JR might do a lot of stupid things, but he would never say anything he is asked not to say.

After JR, teammates came to chat with Hansen one after another.

Some people came to ask the reason like JR, some came to say goodbye to Han Sen, and some came to persuade Han Sen to stay.

Jokic has the most complicated emotions.

Han Sen meant so much to him that from his own experience, he wouldn't be who he is today without Han Sen.

He had never understood why Han Sen mentioned the term leader to him, and made it sound like a parting instruction, but in fact, it was not.

He had a lot to say, but he didn't know what to say. Finally, he asked a question that was different from everyone else:
"Boss, I want to go to the University of Tokyo this summer. Can you be my tour guide?"

"This summer may be busy, but next summer will definitely be, because we will all be participating in the World Cup. Then I will take you to see the Great Wall and visit the Forbidden City. Of course, you can tell me in advance if there are any places you want to go."

Hansen still prefers Jokic as always.

"Thank you, boss." Jokic really didn't know what to say, and all his words were condensed into the shortest sentence.

The news that Han Sen was leaving became a hot topic in the media the next day.

It was like a hurricane sweeping across the country, or even the world, causing a tsunami-like response.

Fans are discussing the reasons why Hansen left and where he will go next.

Of course, some people are wondering why Hansen chose to announce this news at this time. You know, the finals haven’t really ended yet!

Especially when Hansen arrived in New Orleans, he rarely accepted interviews from reporters, which made everything even more confusing.

It was not until the game started that the doubt was gradually resolved.

The Cavaliers played harder than in the previous two games, and every muscle in their bodies told others how much they wanted to win this championship, or for Hansen.

Of course, more importantly, there were big changes in the penalties in this game.

The referees still have a tendency to penalize the Pelicans, but it is obviously lighter than before.

A very simple truth.

If Hansen were to leave the Cavaliers, the effect he would bring would be the same as when Jordan retired.

The dark clouds that had been looming over the east and even the alliance were about to dissipate. How many reasons did the alliance have to stop Hansen from completing the achievement of a dynasty?

(End of this chapter)