The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball
Chapter 311 - 173: This Is the Meaningful Sacrifice

Chapter 311: Chapter 173: This Is the Meaningful Sacrifice

"Playoffs 51 Points, Hansen Surpasses LBJ and KD"

After G1, Carrell published a striking article on TNT.

Not only did this net Hansen a considerable amount of hate, but even his social media got blitzed by Durant.

Those Hansen fan and hater throwaway accounts came swarming in, the scene was quite spectacular, with many leaving messages in the middle of the night.

Ever since he got connected with Scarlett, Durant had completely blacklisted him, with a +1.5 increase in hate value every time their teams played.

Actually, this wasn’t merely about Scarlett; it was about pride.

It’s like you fancy a female celebrity, not knowing if she has a boyfriend, but one day you find out a coworker has scored with her, leaving you feeling trampled upon!

And Durant is the sensitive type.

Back to the article, Carrell was mainly targeting James because the feud between Hansen and James was now out in the open; Durant was just mentioned in passing, given his limited number of fans at the moment.

But as it turned out, this just intensified the conflict between Hansen and him; if the two met in the playoffs, it was bound to be a bloody battle.

Of course, it’s still too soon to talk about that, since even if they wanted to meet, they’d have to wait for the Western Conference Finals.

Two days later, the Grizzlies hosted the Mavericks for another game.

Carlisle employed an extreme tactic in this game, tightly guarding Hansen’s receptions and shots.

In a sense, Hansen was being treated the same as Jordan had been, or perhaps Carlisle was using the "Jordan Rules."

This essentially gave the other four Grizzlies players on the court their chance; if they managed to beat the Mavericks, so be it.

Indeed, Carlisle proved himself a master tactician, as this strategic shift left the Grizzlies struggling to adapt.

Especially since Randolph couldn’t breakthrough Chandler’s defense, which left the Grizzlies without a tactical pivot.

At the end of the first half, the Grizzlies were trailing the Mavericks, 44 to 52, reversing the situation from G1.

This Mavericks team is nothing like the 2007 Heat Team.

Built around veterans, they didn’t lose motivation after their championship win, and the issues expected in a defending champion team concerning role, contract, and status, didn’t surface with the Mavericks.

This might seem unbelievable, but it all makes sense.

It’s not about the players being much different, it’s about the environment they’re in.

If it hadn’t been for the Lakers, even if Cuban kept the team together, they wouldn’t have had the same effect.

But with the Lakers as their precedent, Cuban’s actions to maintain the roster looked audacious, providing the Mavericks players with plenty of motivation.

After all, if the team’s owner can show such passion, they have no reason not to give it another go.

Moreover, the Mavericks’ moves during the summer were impressive; they boldly let go of Butler, who had conflicts with Marion, and then brought in Carter to maintain a competitive atmosphere within the team.

Plus, the Mavericks serendipitously landed the fifth spot, which automatically placed them in the mindset of that "never underestimate the heart of a champion" Rockets team.

A team like this is not so easily defeated.

During the halftime break, Joerger finished going over tactics and then tried to rally the team, but it wasn’t very effective.

Joerger ended up feeling somewhat guilty: "If only Lionel was still here."

Joerger was brought up by Hollins and had only served as a head coach in the development league before this, so his connection to Hollins was different from the players’.

Of course, his saying this didn’t mean the situation would be better with Hollins, but rather that Hollins would know how to adjust the team’s mentality at times like this.

Now the Grizzlies lacked nothing but experience—or what is commonly referred to as championship DNA.

But a team creating history with just one playoff win simply couldn’t have that kind of DNA.

To put it concretely, it’s about what mindset to adopt when facing adversity and how to find a breakthrough.

Although every champion team’s journey is different, there are similarities in what they go through.

Hollins not only had a long tenure in the league but also won a championship as a player.

After Joerger left, the players had some free time to themselves; not many talked, and the atmosphere in the locker room felt oppressively tense.

That’s when Hansen stood up.

"Guys."

As he started to speak, the players turned their heads to look at him one by one.

"Do you know why I didn’t take more shots during the regular season?" Hansen’s question caught everyone by surprise.

Is this a topic that can be openly discussed?!

"Because when I was in Cleveland, I knew that approach would only bring honor, not victory."

The players stirred, but Hansen continued,

"You can’t expect a player to perform in the playoffs if you don’t give him ball possession, tactical status, or chances during the regular season. Players are human, and humans need those things to maintain their condition."

Popovich knew this after just one season of Hansen being with the Cavaliers.

The commotion then died down, and the way the players looked at Hansen changed, especially Guy and Little Gasol.

They knew about the sacrifices Hansen had made, but they didn’t understand why he had made them.