Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 412 The Incarnation of Justice

If someone said before the season started that the Kings would make it to the finals, no one would believe it.

Not to mention others, even Han Sen himself probably didn't believe it.

But as Lu said during his mobilization, eight years ago no one thought the Mavericks could win the championship.

It's not even just a question of strength.

It can be seen from the first round against the Spurs that the Kings' overall strength is much weaker than that of the Grizzlies or the Cavaliers.

Even if they face the Rockets in the second round, they may not be able to make it.

But their opponent happens to be the Pelicans, and the Pelicans are very dependent on James.

Then, Lu's five-out tactics just hit the Warriors' weak spot, allowing them to narrowly escape defeat.

Of course, no one can deny that the main reason here is Han Sen.

Hansen has averaged 45 points per game in the playoffs so far, which is a more stable output than in the regular season. Even Jordan can't do it.

If the Kings can finally win the championship, Hansen will have truly won the championship as a single core player. That won't be about surpassing Jordan, but about widening the gap with Jordan.

Of course, the premise is that the Kings can win the championship.

The Kings' success in making it through the Western Conference was a matter of luck, and this was known not only to the Kings' players but also to the outside world.

Although the opponent is not the strongest Celtics, the Bucks' overall strength is much stronger than the Kings.

And more importantly, Lu's ultimate five-out tactics cannot be used against the Bucks.

This is different from the Warriors' death lineup back then.

To make an analogy, the Kings' current encounter with the Bucks feels similar to last season's Pelicans meeting the Cavaliers. They both appear to be finals teams, but if they're not careful they could easily get swept.

The only variable is Han Sen.

The best player of all time, anything is possible.

Before the finals started, ESPN conducted an online survey on the finals.

The result was shocking. More than 70% of fans thought the Kings could win.

ESPN thought there was something wrong with the survey, so it did it again and made the reason for selection a required item.

There was no difference in the results, and this anomalous result is explained by those reasons.

It’s not so much that fans think the Kings are more likely to win the championship, but rather that they hope the Kings can win the championship more.

Obviously, this has a lot to do with Han Sen's popularity.

Han Sen's current achievements and historical status have also won him many fans.

But in comparison, it was more out of disdain for the Bucks.

Any team that makes it to the finals by relying on stepping on others, whether it is the Warriors, the Bucks, or even the Cavaliers during James' era, will be despised.

This is even more despicable than forming a peak trio. After all, there is still some running-in when forming a team, but this just requires stretching.

Or in other words, the Bucks are now the evil villain, while Hansen and the Kings are the embodiment of justice.

Who doesn't want to see good triumph over evil?
The Bucks had home-court advantage, and the Kings flew to Milwaukee the day before the finals began.

This small city in the northern United States is not much different in latitude from Cleveland, or is even a little further north. If it is winter, there will be few people and cars on the road.

Hansen had played in the Eastern Conference for many years, and the Bucks were in the same division as the Cavaliers, so Hansen was naturally familiar with the place.

However, my impression of this city can be traced back to before I traveled through time.

Yi Jianlian was originally selected by the Bucks, and some people even joked that the Bucks during Antetokounmpo's era was the "post-Yi Jianlian era."

Well, during Game 1 of the Finals, Hansen saw someone wearing the Bucks' No. 9 jersey.

The Bucks started using their new arena this season, but the Fiserv Forum is the smallest arena in the NBA, accommodating only about 17,000 people.

Although the place is small, the enthusiasm of Bucks fans is still very high.

Although the Bucks are located in a small city and have not had a very good record since the turn of the century, they still have a glorious history.

In 1971, they won the only championship trophy in team history under the leadership of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

So, this is the first time they have made it to the finals again after 48 years.

In this context, no matter what method is used, fans want to see a good result.

There are even big KT boards with Antetokounmpo's head everywhere in the stadium to show the fans' love for this "Greek Monster".

You know, if Antetokounmpo hadn't been selected, it would be hard to tell when the Bucks would be able to return to the ranks of strong teams.

When the new players of the Kings saw this scene, most of them looked disdainful.

Relying on stepping on others to make it to the finals was looked down upon not only by the fans but also by the players.

But Han Sen's expression was serious.

Speaking of which, Antetokounmpo once participated in his personal training camp. At that time, he felt that the opponent might be different from the "history" he knew.

But the result was that he was slapped in the face.

This illustrates one thing: no one is static.

Even James, during the Cavaliers 1.0 era, hoped to defeat his opponents and win the championship on his own.

But after experiencing continuous failures, my mentality has quietly changed.

To quote James fans, "He just wants to win too much."

Antetokounmpo is doing something similar now, or even more extreme: He’s wondering if this is his only chance in life.

Of course, Hansen's understanding of Antetokounmpo does not mean that he approves of his approach. On the contrary, he hates this approach more than the Kings' rookies.

But he knew one thing: shamelessness does not mean incompetence.

This Bucks team is quite strong. If you want to beat them, you must take it seriously and go all out.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both teams were announced:
Kings: Mitchell, Hield, Hansen, Tatum, Gasol

Bucks: Bledsoe, Brogdon, Middleton, Antetokounmpo, Lopez

Budenholzer was still very surprised when he saw this lineup. He didn't know what Lu was up to. After all, although Tatum was good at defense, asking him to defend Antetokounmpo was purely asking for trouble.

Of course, his face was full of anticipation. Lu liked to try these novel tactics, but who could guarantee that if he succeeded once, he could do it again?

The live camera was also given to Lu.

This arrangement looks very special. If it works, it's a tactical genius. If it fails, it's just a fancy trick. Lu's expression at this time is very interesting. He doesn't have the confidence as imagined. Instead, he looks worried, as if he is not very sure about his own tactics.

The game started quickly, and Gasol Jr. jumped over Lopez Sr., giving the Kings the opportunity to attack first.

Hansen was in the low post with his back to Brogdon.

One thing is certain, whether it is the current lineup or the five-out tactics, Lu is trying his best to play to Hansen's low-post advantage.

This is a bit against the times, but previous games have proven that Hansen can become a god even if he goes against the version.

Budenholzer was not as stubborn as Kerr, and he immediately signaled to double-team Hansen.

Antetokounmpo's quick assist defense allowed Hansen to seize the opportunity and pass the ball to Tatum.

After receiving the ball, Tatum faked a dribble past Middleton who was defending him, then took a step forward and made a quick stop and jump shot from mid-range.

When Lu saw this, he breathed a sigh of relief, and the worry on his face disappeared.

It is said that the playoffs are the best training stage. The Kings' newcomers are becoming more and more confident and able to withstand pressure as they play more.

In the transition between offense and defense, Bledsoe advanced to the frontcourt with the ball.

Just at this moment, a huge commotion was heard at the scene.

The person defending Antetokounmpo was not Tatum as imagined, but Hansen!

All doubts were explained at this moment.

Why did the Kings use this lineup and why did Lu have that expression.

The prerequisite for something like a flash of inspiration is inspiration. If it keeps coming out, then it becomes ability.

Obviously, Lu doesn't have that tactical level.

So this is basically what Han Sen asked for.

Han Sen didn't think he could defend Antetokounmpo at first, after all, there was a size difference between the two.

But Leonard had already set a good example in the previous divisional semifinals, so after reaching the finals, the first thing Hansen did was to study the games between the Bucks and the Raptors to see the details of Leonard's defense.

After watching it, he proposed the idea of ​​defending Antetokounmpo to Lu.

Lu's concern was not whether Han Sen could defend Antetokounmpo. He had worked with Han Sen for so long, and he knew that Han Sen would not mention anything he was not sure of.

What he was worried about was that just like the previous match against the Warriors, if Hansen invested too much on the defensive end, it would inevitably affect his performance on the offensive end.

But Tatum's previous performance matched what Hansen said at the time.

“Our boys have grown up.”

Basketball is not a one-person sport. Winning the championship cannot be achieved by relying solely on personal ability.

There are many idol factors that enabled the Kings to reach the finals, and Hansen's performance is worthy of the term "single core".

But as the series went on, the growth of the Kings' rookies was visible to the naked eye.

In other words, these people selected by Hansen may not be as talented as Jokic, but they have also proved their talents.

Antetokounmpo tried to get into position with his back to the basket, but Hansen simply chose to half-circle and interfere.

And Mitchell also put a lot of defensive pressure on Bledsoe.

Bledsoe failed to pass the ball to Antetokounmpo, and the Bucks' offense ended with Middleton missing a three-pointer from the outside.

Hansen defending Antetokounmpo is a matchup, but the Kings did more than that. Van Gundy directly evolved a defensive system based on this mismatch.

This system gradually unfolds as the competition progresses.

In summary, it is to put the maximum defensive pressure on the ball handler, then limit Antetokounmpo's receiving the ball, and double-team Antetokounmpo when he breaks through with the ball, giving the Bucks' outside shooters some opportunities.

Tatum, Mitchell and Hield have a common defensive characteristic, that is, they have good awareness and ability of assisting defense.

As the game progressed, this defensive strategy proved to be effective.

It is not easy for Antetokounmpo to receive the ball, and his passing ability is not as good as his assists.

In other words, his playing style is really similar to James. Most of his assists come from sudden passes, which are easy to predict and defend.

Moreover, Van Gundy really knows how to defend. Although he has arranged a help defense strategy, he is also selective in the help defenders. Basically, Bledsoe and Lopez are left open. Brogdon and Middleton generally do not give them open opportunities.

So the Bucks fans were excited at the beginning of the game, but as the game progressed, that emotion plummeted like the US AI stock.

Because the game was so different from what they had imagined.

When the ESPN investigation came out, they were very disdainful. After all, this kind of emotional judgment is brainless, and they expected the home team to give them a slap in the face.

But as quickly as their emotions at the scene dropped, the emotions of those fans supporting the Kings on social media rose as fast.

They didn't see so many tactical details, they only knew that Hansen risked his life to defend Antetokounmpo and succeeded.

What a passionate plot of "there is nothing that Han Sen can't do".

Moreover, the stable performance of the Kings' rookies on the offensive end also caused them to "line up to apologize."

After all, Hansen averaged 45 points per game in the playoffs to get the Kings to this point, and the improvements made by others are bound to be criticized.

Especially Tatum, who is often criticized, played so well in G1, which really impressed them.

At the end of the first half, the Kings led the Bucks by 58 points, 46 to 12.

The Kings limited the Bucks' score to less than 50 points at halftime, which shows how successful their defensive strategy was.

However, some people on social media began to worry that Antetokounmpo would repeat the same trick.

After all, if the lower limit is broken once, it will happen again. Antetokounmpo may not dare to step on Hansen, but would he not dare to step on Tatum or Mitchell?
Amid this concern, both sides entered the second half of the game.

The Kings maintained the quality of offense and defense in the first half. Although the Bucks played obviously harder than in the first half, they were unable to narrow the gap.

Antetokounmpo did not strike again as fans worried.

Things like stepping on others' feet have a huge off-court impact on players. After all, Antetokounmpo is young and not as thick-skinned as James, so he still has concerns.

In the end, the Kings defeated the Bucks 113-100 on the road and won their first victory in the finals.

布莱德索24分5助攻，阿德托昆博16投5中得12分23板7助攻4盖帽8失误。

韩森得到43分9板8助攻3抢断，塔图姆21分11板，米切尔19分。

When the game ended, social media went wild.

Justice has triumphed over evil, and the true king is about to be crowned!
(End of this chapter)