The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball
Chapter 237 - 144 Boomerang

Chapter 237: Chapter 144 Boomerang

A stretcher was finally brought onto the court.

Manu Ginobili couldn’t even stand up anymore.

Hansen was there talking to the referee.

"He pushed me before retreating, so I dove in a bit too aggressively, by the time I wanted to pull back, it was too late."

Why did Hansen’s explanation sound so smooth? James did the same thing to him during the regular season when playing against the Heat.

If it was used by James, it must have been battle-tested.

Sure enough, the referee ended up giving Hansen a technical foul, the same penalty that had been issued to Ginobili earlier.

Such a ruling indicated that they both were considered unintentional, yet dangerous.

After the penalty was announced, Popovich appeared very agitated, yelling from the sidelines,

"He did it on purpose! He did it on purpose!"

He was one hundred percent certain, because Hansen had come over to him before Game 1 to talk about doing it intentionally.

But his yelling did not elicit a response from the referee, just as Hollins’s earlier protests against Ginobili’s actions had been ignored.

After the technical time-out, the game continued.

Ginobili’s exit obviously affected the Spurs, as with Duncan not performing well, they had to rely more heavily on Parker.

However, the problems the Grizzlies faced were much greater, not smaller.

Without Randolph, the Grizzlies’ inside influence significantly decreased, and Hansen was forced to handle the ball more.

Popovich targeted Hansen’s lack of passing, double-teaming him aggressively.

And Duncan also began to make a contribution.

Although he couldn’t switch on the superstar mode anymore, he still managed to score repeatedly with his inside attacks.

Johnson wasn’t a physical match, and Little Gasol appeared rather inexperienced in front of Duncan.

The absence of Randolph impacted more than just offense; the Grizzlies’ defense in the paint also noticeably weakened.

After about 10 minutes into the first quarter, the score was 21-15, Spurs leading.

Hansen and the other starters were subbed out to rest.

With Ginobili hurt, the Spurs’ bench strength plummeted, and they did not have the capacity to widen the gap during this period.

Similarly, the Grizzlies were also unable to close the gap.

Keep in mind their bench strength was already weak, and without Randolph, the inside rotation was severely limited.

Thus, the play on the court began to resemble a comedy of errors.

Hansen watched the situation on the court and fell into deep thought.

Theoretically, it wouldn’t matter if the Grizzlies lost tonight’s game, since only Randolph was ejected, while Ginobili likely wouldn’t be able to play anymore.

However, the future held too many variables.

After watching for a while, he pulled Little Gasol and Conley aside for a discussion.

Hollins noticed the activity behind him at this time, turned his head for a glance, but said nothing.

The Grizzlies’ problem now was on offense. To turn the tide, they had to find a breakthrough on the offensive end, but with Randolph’s ejection, Hollins didn’t know where to begin.

Four minutes into the second quarter, the main players were gradually brought back ahead of time.

The score on the court was 28-20 at the time.

Up came the Grizzlies’ offense.

Hansen didn’t continue to dribble the ball but instead set up a pick-and-roll with Little Gasol, a "Conningham pick-and-roll."

McDyess was thrown off by Hansen’s movements, and at that moment, Conley’s pass reached Hansen’s hands.

Without the slightest hesitation, Hansen lifted his arm and shot a three-pointer.

"Swish!"

Quick as the blade.

What offensive advantage could the Grizzlies hold onto tonight?

Hansen’s hot hand.

He had started the game on fire.

So instead of being forced to dribble, it was better to create off-ball opportunities through tactics.

This off-ball was different from the previous one because it shifted the tactical focus from the inside to the outside, essentially a new attempt.

Luckily, the Grizzlies were used to playing as a team and tactically, so the switch wasn’t difficult.

"Defense! Defense!"

Hansen’s three-pointer reignited the emotions of the Memphis fans.

With that chant, the Grizzlies’ defensive enthusiasm also rose.

Parker’s drive was stopped by Little Gasol, Duncan’s putback was disrupted by Little Gasol, and Little Gasol secured the defensive rebound.

Little Gasol had given his all during that play.

After grabbing the rebound, he raised the ball with his right hand first, then looked up towards the three-point line.

Hansen and Conley had already sprinted ahead.

This was the second advantage they had figured out while talking on the bench.

Previously with the twin towers, the Grizzlies had a bigger advantage in the half-court offense, but now without the towers, their fast-break play became advantageous.

After all, at their core, they were a young team, and young players can run and jump.

Looking at the Spurs, Duncan was firmly planted on the ground by plantar fasciitis—running too much could completely ruin him.

And McDyess and Blair, one old, one slow, left the Spurs with only a few perimeter players who could keep up.

Little Gasol’s long pass from the backcourt reached Conley, who drew the defense and dished to Hansen, and Hansen glided for a layup off the backboard and scored.

30-25.

The gap was reduced to just 5 points.

Popovich became restless but did not dare approach the court, only shouting from afar for Parker to slow down the pace.

Parker complied, but as the home crowd’s defensive chants grew louder, the Grizzlies’ defense became impenetrable.

Duncan’s last attempt to play the role of the stabilizer in the low post went awry under the increasing defensive pressure, and his bank shot veered off the basket.