The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball
Chapter 306 - 170: 2011–2012 Regular Season Ends_2

Chapter 306: Chapter 170: 2011–2012 Regular Season Ends_2

The Nuggets and the Jazz were ranked seventh and eighth, respectively.

The Rockets, with one less win, were ninth and missed the playoffs.

"If Zack hadn’t been injured, we wouldn’t be in such a mess," Guy couldn’t help but vent to Hansen in the Grizzlies’ locker room after the final rankings were released.

The Grizzlies had strung together consecutive wins at the end of the season, not only because they were in form but also to make a push for the third spot; after all, facing the Mavericks in the first round was very different from facing the Clippers.

But now, even if they got past the Mavericks, they would have to face the Lakers in the second round.

Unfortunately, the Thunders also finished the season strong, and in the end, their efforts fell short.

"This isn’t necessarily a bad thing," however, Hansen seemed quite philosophical.

They were bound to face the Lakers at some point this season. Playing against the Mavericks first could help get them into the right state.

The Mavericks, though in the bottom half, were no less strong than any team in the top half.

In fact, the Mavericks fell to the bottom half because Nowitzki was not in the best form at the beginning of the season due to injury.

And if they couldn’t beat the Mavericks... then what was the point of talking about championships?

Moreover, Hansen was keen on a rematch with the Mavericks in the playoffs.

After all, he had wanted to face them again ever since he heard from West that the Mavericks wanted to "do it over."

Guy felt helpless; it seemed like there was nothing in the world that could worry Hansen.

"Instead of that, let’s focus on how we’re going to celebrate," Hansen said as he stood up and called his teammates over.

"Celebrate?" Guy looked puzzled. Celebrate that they were about to play the Mavericks?

...

Coach Joerger headed to the training facility with his assistants as usual, his normally cheerful face clouded with worry.

The final ranking wasn’t just a concern for the players of the Grizzlies; he, as the head coach, was equally troubled.

The Mavericks first, then the Lakers, and finally one of the Thunders or Spurs—such difficulty was rare in history.

The only thing probably harder than their path was that of their opponents, the Mavericks.

It felt, as he had from the start, that he was incredibly unlucky as a head coach.

When he arrived at the training facility, he found not a single player there.

This made him turn his head in confusion towards Tois.

"I’ve already called them," Tois explained.

Just as they were wondering, Hansen suddenly rushed into the training facility in a hurry.

"Coach, there’s trouble!"

Seeing Hansen’s panicked state, Joerger immediately sensed that something was very wrong; he had never seen Hansen like this before.

His master and elder martial brother had been kidnapped by a monster?

"Rudy and Zack are fighting in the locker room!" Hansen blurted out urgently.

Hearing this, Joerger’s face turned pale, and without a word, he ran towards the locker room.

It wasn’t unusual for Guy and Randolph to not get along in the Grizzlies, but they had at most exchanged words previously.

Especially since Hansen arrived, they rarely had open conflicts.

But now they were fighting, and Hansen had come to report it, which meant the situation must be serious.

Indeed, he hadn’t even reached the locker room when he heard noisy quarrels coming from inside.

"Coach, slow down!" Hansen shouted after Joerger from behind.

The locker room door was open, and Joerger rushed in.

Then, he was the one who suffered.

There was no fighting inside; instead, once he barged in, champagne sprayed at him from all directions.

The players were all laughing and giving him a champagne shower, including Randolph and Guy, whom Hansen mentioned were fighting.

Only at that moment did he realize he had been tricked.

Every year, at the end of the regular season and before the playoffs begin, the League would announce the season’s first batch of awards.

This year, despite the condensed season, the awards ceremony came as scheduled.

Joerger was named the Coach of the Year in the League.

The NBA Coach of the Year should theoretically go to the coach of the best team of the season, but in reality, it often goes to the team that exceeds expectations.

Also, because it often goes to the team with the greatest improvement, fans jokingly call it the "Most Improved Coach Award."

After O’Neal became a commentator this season, he described the Lakers as follows, "Even my grandmother could coach them to first in the league."

Therefore, Brown, the theoretically most likely candidate, was actually the least likely.

On the contrary, although the Grizzlies didn’t have the biggest improvement in record, their core Randolph was injured at the beginning of the season which created a big problem in the lineup.

And there’s also a very important point, Joerger is a young coach.

If you look over the history of Coach of the Year, you’ll be surprised to discover a fact: the award is used to polish the resumes of young coaches.

Thus, the celebration that Hansen was talking about, that’s what it referred to.

And he himself took the field, and to achieve the effect, he didn’t even notify Tois.

When Hansen and Tois came to the door, they just saw Joerger, who was the "victim."

Actually, judging by the players’ willingness to cooperate, Joerger was still dearly loved by them.

"You could go to Hollywood to be an actor," Tois remarked, unable to help himself after the initial shock.

"Really?" That just coincidentally, Hansen had plans to appear in a movie during the summer to broaden his influence off the court.

After the champagne shower inside ended, Hansen then walked in with a smile.

When Joerger saw Hansen, he pointed at him with a laugh. Hansen had utterly fooled him; his freshly cleaned suit had been washed for nothing.

But after such a commotion, the worried look on his face had disappeared.

By the way, it also reminded him of what Hansen had said after the last season ended.

Taking the towel handed to him by Battier, he wiped his face and then started to speak, "I know some people are worried about the upcoming playoffs."

As he said this, the players who had been frolicking around gradually became serious.

Having a bit of fun was nice, but it couldn’t make the immediate problems disappear.

Joerger continued:

"But right now, the ones who should really be worried are the Dallas people. They’re afraid of repeating Miami’s fate from 2007 and getting knocked out in the first round; the Lakers are also worried, if they lose to us in the semifinals with their superstar lineup and can’t make it to the conference finals, what will they do; the Spurs and the Thunders are also worried, because they both were defeated by us in the last season."

After Joerger finished speaking, the eyes of the Grizzlies’ players were noticeably different.

The worries and frowns had vanished, replaced by an eagerness and excited glint in their eyes.

Hansen was also a bit astonished at this moment, but he quickly understood and silently gave Joerger a thumbs up.

Joerger wasn’t a motivational speech master like Rivers, but how could a coach who excelled at communication not know how to boost the team’s morale?

You know a master when you see one in action!

At this moment, Joerger pointed at the motto hanging in the locker room.

The players all looked up one after another; each time they saw that phrase, they were reminded of the last season’s playoff experiences.

Then, Joerger said the words he had thought of from the beginning:

"Just like Han said in the last season: nobody wants to face us this season!"

As soon as his voice fell, the players burst into excited cheers.

Joerger then raised his hand, and seeing this, the players gathered their hands above Joerger’s head. Together they shouted the Grizzlies’ classic slogan:

"Whoop that trick!"

The battle call inspired the troops, and they aimed their spears straight for Texas!

After shouting the slogan, the players all rushed out of the locker room with a jog.

Joerger, watching his players leave, had a joyful smile on his face.

But he quickly realized something – what was he going to do with his still-wet suit?

—Divider—

①: In the 2011-2012 season (in reality), Randolph played only 28 games due to injury, starting in 8 of them, with an average of 11.6 points, 8 rebounds, 1.7 assists per game. In the playoffs, he played 7 games, averaging 13.7 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game.

②: In the NBA, each conference has three divisions, and the division leaders are automatically seeded in the top half (top four), but playoff matchups are still determined by the number of wins.

③: Scoring list for the 2011-2012 season (from the novel): Kobe (28.5) Durant (28) James (27.1) Love (26) Westbrook (23.6) Hansen (23.2) Anthony (22.6) Nowitzki (22.5) Wade (22.1) Alderich (21.7)