Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 58 Take a Break

On game night, the Boston TD Garden was packed.

When Han Sen came out of the player tunnel, he looked up and saw the championship flags hanging on the roof of the stadium.

The Celtics have the most NBA championships with 17, two more than the Lakers.

Russell alone contributed 11 of them, including an unprecedented eight consecutive championships.

Although there were fewer NBA teams in that era and the championship was not as prestigious, it still illustrates Russell's dominance among his contemporaries.

Han Sen looked away with disdain.

It's ironic that a city with such serious racial discrimination relies on a black man to maintain the influence of the NBA!

Then his eyes were drawn to some signs on the stands.

"Fxck LBJ"

"Clown 77"

"Joke 77"

There were more signs mocking him than James. Han Sen didn't know whether to be happy or angry.

It goes without saying that this is related to the fact that he scolded that white man yesterday. He gained a lot of black fans last night.

On the commentary side, Barkley and Kenny Smith were already in place.

Although it is the regular season, every clash between the Eastern Conference giants is the focus of media and fans.

The players were still warming up on the court, and the two people in the commentary booth were also still warming up.

The topic that has the best effect in warming up the audience is naturally "Who do you think will win tonight?"

Smith is optimistic about the Celtics for a simple reason: form.

As Rondo grows up, the Celtics look like a Big Four team.

The role of Rasheed Wallace's addition was also underestimated. He filled the sixth man role that the Celtics lacked the most.

The result of all this is that in the past month, they have achieved the longest 11-game winning streak in the league!

"I'm optimistic about the Cavaliers because they put Han in the starting lineup tonight."

Barkley is optimistic about the Cavaliers, and the reason sounds absurd.

You can say it’s because Barkley is very optimistic about Hansen, or you can also say that he understands traffic very well.

After all, everyone knows that in a confrontation of this level, the impact a rookie can bring is very limited.

Han Sen couldn't hear what the two people in the commentary booth were saying. He just felt that the anti-fan value in the system was increasing rapidly again.

If I had known earlier, I should have added a stop in Boston during the tryout.

After the warm-up, the scene entered the opening ceremony and the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.

Cavaliers: Mo Williams, Hansen, James, Cunningham, O'Neal;

Celtics: Rondo, Ray Allen, Pierce, Garnett, Perkins.

The Cavaliers scored two goals on O'Neal at the beginning of the game, but the effect was average.

Perkins is a seriously underestimated low-post defender. If you only look at the statistics, he is mediocre, but his defensive value is completely beyond the data.

After that, James started his personal breakthrough with the ball, but the effect was also not good.

The Celtics are one of the best defensive teams in the league, and their defense on James can even take that one away.

Pierce leads the defense at the three-point line, Garnett provides assistance in the three-second zone, and Perkins guards the restricted area. It is a true trinity.

After half a quarter, the Cavaliers were trailing 10-15.

Han Sen got two chances to shoot in these seven minutes, which is not a small number for a role player, but they were both shots that were almost blocked.

Apart from the two shots that O'Neal made at the beginning, the ball was basically in James' hands on the Cavaliers' offensive end. James either didn't pass the ball or passed it accurately.

Moreover, Pierce has been concentrating all his energy on defending James and has not put much effort on the offensive end, so he has no chance to perform defensively.

Han Sen now finally understood why James put him back in the starting lineup.

Aren't you outsiders questioning why Han Sen's playing time was reduced? Then let him start. If he can catch the ball and make it in, it's his ability. If he can't make it in, it's just a waste.

Not all fans watch the live broadcast of the game. Those who don’t watch it will only think that Han Sen played poorly after looking at the statistics after the game.

Then after this, the Cavaliers can continue to use Hansen as before.

What a conspiracy!
James shouldn't come to play basketball, he should go into business!
Rondo's layup caused O'Neal to commit a defensive foul, and Brown replaced O'Neal with Ilgauskas.

"Ray, let's switch defense." At this moment, Pierce said to Ray Allen on the other side of the free throw line.

Ray Allen looked puzzled.

Pierce smiled and continued, "I'll take a break." I'll take a break!
Defending James is too exhausting, switch to defending Han Sen and take a break!
When Han Sen heard this, he felt like his chest exploded.

The resentment that had been accumulating since yesterday, to understanding what James wanted to do, and then to Pierce's provocation, the anger finally exploded!
10:17.

After Rondo made both free throws, the Celtics were already leading by 7 points.

In the contest between two strong defensive teams, 7 points is already a huge advantage.

In the Cavaliers' offense, after Hansen got into position, he took the initiative to set a pick-and-roll with Cunningham.

The Celtics' defensive focus was on James, and since Pierce was there to "rest," Hansen ran directly into an open opportunity.

But Williams, who had the ball, did not pass it over, but instead prepared to pass it to James.

At this moment, something unexpected happened to both teams. Han Sen yelled at Williams:

"Give me the damn ball!"

Williams was stunned. He had never seen Hansen so angry before, especially that expression, as if he would rush over and beat him up if he didn't pass the ball to him.

Overwhelmed by Hansen's powerful aura, Williams instinctively passed the ball over.

At this time, Pierce had bypassed Cunningham's defense and came to Hansen.

Cunningham wanted to come up for screen again, but Hansen signaled him to go back.

Pierce was amused after seeing this scene, and turned to Garnett behind him and said, "Kevin, no need for help defense."

The news that the Cavaliers adjusted their starting lineup broke out yesterday. Celtics head coach Rivers also made Hansen's technical characteristics clear during today's video analysis: 3D, average breakthrough ability, and negligible offensive threat with the ball.

Han Sen's aggressive look just now was obviously because he was angered by his words and wanted to prove himself.

Without the ball and as a rookie, he doesn't have many opportunities to bully others on the defensive end.

But just as he turned around, he saw a figure "whoosh" floating past him.

When he turned around, Han Sen had already passed him completely.

And because of his request just now, Garnett's assist defense was half a beat slow, Perkins was pulled out of the three-second zone by Ilgauskas, and Hansen broke into the inside and easily scored a layup.

"LeBron told me your defense is as soft as toilet paper, and it turned out to be true!"

After scoring, Hansen turned around and said to Pierce with a look of disdain.

Pierce: ?

James: ? ?
Pierce was very angry. After glaring at James fiercely, he looked at Hansen with fiery eyes.

How dare you, a rookie, talk trash to me?

Don't you know I'm a trash talker?!

In the transition from offense to defense, Pierce directly called for a singles tactic and asked for the ball with his back to Hansen.

Rondo quickly passed the ball over. Everyone present saw Han Sen's arrogant look just now.

Pierce turned around after catching the ball:
"Rookie, you will regret what you just said. You will soon understand what the 'truth' is."

"So much nonsense!"

Hansen didn't give Pierce time to continue pressing and pressed forward directly.

Seeing this, Pierce changed direction and broke through, then took a step forward and stepped back to the right for a jump shot.

During this process, his left hand made an obvious pushing motion.

This ball is very similar to Jordan's "last shot" back then, both of which are additional actions when a breakthrough fails to get rid of the defender.

The referee didn't blow the whistle. A rookie didn't deserve such a whistle in front of the All-Stars.

But Pierce's eyes were filled with fear when he made the move.

Because he didn't push Han Sen at all, and Han Sen didn't retreat but instead rushed towards him like a cheetah.

His step back did not give him safe space to shoot.

At this angle, he will be blocked!

Pierce was forced to raise his shooting angle and barely avoided Hansen's block.

But after the basketball drew a high parabola...it missed the target three times!

The defensive pressure Han Sen just applied was too great!

In fact, Han Sen himself may not have realized that the talent improvement brought by [Light Steps] has also taken his defense to a higher level.

After looking back, Han Sen turned to Rivers who was standing on the sidelines and shouted:

"He looks tired, are you sure you don't want to take him off to 'rest' him?"

(End of this chapter)