The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball
Chapter 250 - 149 "He is that Monkey

Chapter 250: Chapter 149 "He is that Monkey

"Beautiful! That was a perfectly reasonable play!"

At that moment, far across the ocean in the CCTV-5 commentary booth, Zhang Weiping let out an excited shout.

Although the media, driven by the Basketball Association, had nearly banned Hansen, this ban lost its effectiveness once the Grizzlies made it to the Western Conference Finals.

Because once the playoffs reached the division finals, broadcasts were no longer selective.

Hansen’s performance in Game 1 changed many people’s opinions.

Hansen didn’t gain many haters, but his fan base was increasing at an exaggerated rate.

Especially with Yao Ming nearing retirement, it was hard for the Grizzlies not to become the favorite of the people.

Hence, Zhang Weiping, a commentator with strong subjective bias, was loved by the fans once again.

As for Zhang Weiping, he was the person who was shocked for a whole year by Hansen’s statement at the draft: "The Cavaliers need me too much." His subjective desire was extremely strong.

During this substitution segment, with the performance of Hansen and Little Gasol, the Grizzlies not only took the lead but managed to score an advantage.

By the time the main players rotated back in, the Grizzlies were leading 30-26.

Back to the Mavericks’ offense, Nowitzki received the ball high up, and as his teammates spread out, he faced Little Gasol and executed a "Golden Chicken Stance" fadeaway shot.

Little Gasol regained his defensive confidence, timing his block very well.

"Swish!"

But Nowitzki’s fadeaway, despite the strong interference, still found its mark.

Here he goes again!

"This Nowitzki’s really been formidable this year; he truly has a bit of that ’Silver Horned King’ aura, commanding the wind and rain." Such a performance also made Zhang Weiping exclaim from the commentary seat.

But turning back, Hansen immediately responded on the offense, answering with a mid-range jumper after a pick-and-roll.

"Look at how powerful Hansen is, scoring one after another!"

"Hansen hasn’t sat out this quarter yet," Yang Jian remarked on the side at that moment.

Indeed, Hansen hadn’t yet left the court, because Carlisle, after the main players returned in the second quarter, put up a 2-1-2 zone defense.

Playing like this posed a problem for Hansen’s stamina, so the Mavericks just needed to limit Randolph’s performance.

Unlike Hollins, who was coasting on autopilot online, Carlisle was truly a master tactician.

Hansen ended up playing the entire quarter.

Under his leadership, the Grizzlies led the Mavericks 47-45 at halftime.

Hansen scored 23 points in the half, breaking his personal playoff record for a half.

But the cost was high; when he left the court, his jersey looked as if it had been soaked in water, and his physical energy was greatly depleted.

"Hansen is really going all out!" Zhang Weiping exclaimed with emotion after seeing this.

Coming back to the second half, Carlisle continued the 2-1-2 zone defense.

Hollins finally adjusted, moving Little Gasol to a high post to coordinate and play high-low with Randolph.

Randolph displayed his strength, attacking swiftly with consecutive spins after receiving the ball.

His strong start was now paying off, as Chandler was troubled by fouls this evening and dared not make big movements, allowing him frequent scoring.

The third quarter was tense for both teams, with the lead changing back and forth.

Due to the tense situation, Hansen had no chance to rest.

He played through the entire third quarter again.

At the end of the third quarter, a statistic was displayed on-site: Hansen had been playing continuously for 26 minutes.

By the time the third quarter ended, Hansen was gasping heavily, clearly having physical issues.

At the start of the fourth quarter, he had to rest off the court.

The Grizzlies summarized their first-half experiences and directly went for a "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy.

However, Hansen only rested for two minutes because Carlisle quickly realized something was wrong and soon substituted O’Neal out.

Even without O’Neal on the field, they still had Terry, Baria, and even Peja.

The superb depth of the Mavericks’ lineup meant O’Neal wasn’t indispensable for them.

This time, Hollins decided to substitute all the starters back onto the court.

He knew this game was a must-win for the Grizzlies, rather than forcibly depending on Hansen alone, it would be better to exert full effort from the entire team.

The teams were tense again, tied at 90 with five minutes before the end of the match.

It was now the Mavericks’ timeout.

After the timeout, the Mavericks advanced to their frontcourt and played a special tactic.

Before Nowitzki received the ball, he set an off-ball screen for West, waiting until the screen successfully forced a defensive switch before he backed down Hansen and asked for the ball.

"This is a great opportunity, Hansen defending Nowitzki is a catch," Zhang Weiping said with a smile after seeing this.

"The Mavericks probably want to use this method to deplete Hansen’s energy," Yang Jian timely reminded on the side.

Zhang Weiping’s commentary was distinctively personal but rather superficial, while the all-rounder Yang Jian observed meticulously.

"Carlisle is so cunning!" Zhang Weiping exclaimed upon realizing this.

Carlisle was indeed trying to exhaust Hansen’s energy.

In fact, at this point, Hansen hardly had any energy left.

Although "Steel Bones" managed to somewhat reduce his energy consumption rate, in such a high-intensity game involving both offense and defense, it was like a drop in the bucket.

However, when Nowitzki started his one-on-one play, Hansen’s defense didn’t falter.

Even when Nowitzki took the shot, he managed to touch the ball.

But Nowitzki’s form this year was just too good; his rhythm disturbed, he still managed to adjust in mid-air and make the shot.

This kind of play really crushes defensive confidence; Hansen directly pulled up his jersey and sucked on it.

Replenishing salt and such are all lies, but the taste really gets one high, quite invigorating.