The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball
Chapter 317 - 175: Hansen Behaving Unreasonably_2

Chapter 317: Chapter 175: Hansen Behaving Unreasonably_2

Of course, there was another important factor, Kobe hadn’t been aggressive in the first half, he too needed some time to find his rhythm.

The Grizzlies’ offense was still focused on the inside.

Little Gasol received the ball in the low post and went one-on-one against Turiaf, trying to take advantage of his height.

Hansen ran a distraction without the ball on the weak side, and when he was covered, he faced up against Paul.

"I’ll let you go one-on-one with me," Paul mimicked.

Hansen was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter.

When it came to trash talk, James was like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water, but Paul knew much more about it.

Little Gasol’s one-on-one eventually drew a defensive foul from Turiaf, earning two free-throw opportunities.

Turiaf was a defensive big man, but he was at a clear disadvantage in height, otherwise the Lakers wouldn’t have been reluctant to offer even 4 million for him.

Taking advantage of this moment, Hansen continued to cozy up to Paul.

"Wasn’t Kobe’s MVP acceptance speech brilliant?" Hansen said something completely out of the blue.

"What’s that got to do with you?" Paul was naturally competitive. Even though Kobe had cautioned him, he still wanted to see what tricks Hansen could pull.

Of course, this time was different from before. Having already figured out Hansen’s tactics and with experience under his belt, Paul was not about to be easily fooled again.

"It’s got nothing to do with me, but it has everything to do with you!" Hansen said with feigned enthusiasm.

Paul was puzzled.

Meanwhile, Little Gasol had already scored the first free-throw.

"If I were you, I definitely wouldn’t be trying so hard. You know what I mean?" Hansen winked.

"I’m not a roundworm in your stomach," it was apparent that Paul still didn’t get it.

"Ah!" Hansen sighed.

Little Gasol was now ready for the second free-throw.

"You go to all this trouble, and at the end of the day, the MVP goes to Kobe, and even if you win the championship, the Finals MVP would still be Kobe’s. What do you get in the end? Just a name mentioned in someone else’s acceptance speech."

"Swish!"

Gasol scored the second free-throw.

Watching Paul fall silent, a sly smile appeared on Hansen’s face.

But turning back around, Paul still passed the ball to Kobe.

"I know you’re trying to drive a wedge between me and Kobe, but it’s pointless, I only want the championship," Paul responded to Hansen after passing the ball.

Indeed, Paul was a smart player.

"You’re truly noble!" Hansen gave Paul a thumbs up.

Hansen’s sarcastic words made Paul frown.

Hansen glanced over at Kobe. Guy had created some distance from Kobe, and with Kobe not finding it easy over Guy, plus not feeling his shot, he didn’t directly opt for the jump shot.

"Cut out the sarcasm!" Paul called out Hansen’s behavior.

Hansen turned back, "Aren’t you noble? I think you’re greater than Kobe. Look at Kobe, back in the day, fighting with Shaq over power, and look at him now, he’s met you, the great CP3. I bet he feels lucky!"

"Clang!"

Kobe’s attempt to force a shot went awry.

When Kobe and Paul worked together effectively, it was usually with Paul organizing and Kobe playing off the ball, which relied more on Kobe’s feeling for the game.

Hansen’s clingy defense on Kobe in the first half had its rewards.

Little Gasol continued to post up Turiaf, Hansen still ran without the ball.

This time Paul was noticeably slow to help in defense, Hansen caught a pass from Little Gasol and stormed into the lane, finishing with a flying slam dunk.

The Grizzlies seemed poised to gain the upper hand.

Kobe then had another exchange with Paul, still reminding him not to get into verbal altercations with Hansen.

Paul was nodding, but his eyes clearly lacked the conviction they’d had before.

Hansen’s attempt to sow discord was indeed spotted, but were all those who fell for such schemes throughout history fools?

An ingenious scheme doesn’t fabricate lies out of thin air; it simply speaks some truths at the opportune moment.

Kobe’s past power struggle with O’Neal was public knowledge and needed no verification.

A boomerang never fails to return; it’s just a matter of when.

The Lakers’ offense kicked off with Kobe running without the ball, and Paul passed it to him.

The pass came a bit too late, and Kobe’s reception was not smooth.

It wasn’t that Paul did it on purpose, but it was quite apparent that he was somewhat distracted.

Kobe’s final drive to the basket was disrupted by Little Gasol.

Without Okafor, the Lakers definitely felt the impact, but the Grizzlies’ twin towers, with Randolph not taken out by Paul’s pick-and-roll, were still like an impenetrable fortress in the paint.

On the Grizzlies’ offense, Hansen received a pass from Little Gasol on the weak side, drew the double team, and dished it out to Conley on the perimeter.

Paul lunged for the ball, but Conley easily shook him off and dropped in a three-pointer after just one dribble.

Grizzlies started the second half with a 7-0 run against the Lakers!

Brown immediately called for a timeout.

As Hansen was coming off the court, Joerger happily reached out to high-five him.

He hadn’t expected Hansen’s strategy to work so well; it really made a huge difference!

Hansen glanced over at the other half of the court, where Kobe just patted Paul on the shoulder without saying anything more.

Sometimes, communication between teammates isn’t always clear, because saying too much can lead people to overthink.

From this perspective, Guy was considered the best teammate, for he really was straightforward and didn’t play mental games.

After the timeout, Kobe held the ball in the frontcourt and ran a pick-and-roll with Big Gasol. Their coordination was seamless, and Kobe cut to the basket to score, stabilizing the situation for the Lakers.

Moreover, the Lakers started to set up a 2-1-2 zone defense to limit the Grizzlies’ twin towers’ performance inside.

Hansen instantly perked up at this.

He hadn’t been aggressive in the first half while grappling with Kobe and likely wasn’t shooting well, but if they were playing zone defense, it would be inhumane not to attack.

He received a high pass from Little Gasol and, from the right 45-degree angle, he took a mid-range jump shot that went in cleanly.

This kind of mid-range shot against a zone defense was much easier than the kind of one-on-one plays Kobe was making.

Brown was truly his "mentor."

The crowd was agitated because the Grizzlies had suddenly taken control of the game’s momentum in the second half.

"The Lakers need to let CP3 attack more. Kobe has been playing a bit too selfishly; he’s missed three of his last four shots!" O’Neal said with a "worried face" at the commentary table, giving advice to the Lakers.

"CP3 is locked down by Han; his defense is airtight," Barkley laughed beside him because it looked like he was about to win another bet. Since O’Neal had arrived, he was on his way to becoming undefeated.

"Bullshit! Has CP3 attacked at all in the second half?" Although O’Neal didn’t want the Lakers to win, he didn’t want to be in his underwear on the show, as that would reveal too much.

Kobe continued with the pick-and-roll with Big Gasol, and this time he assisted Gasol in scoring with an inside layup.

This veteran Lakers pair was still going strong.

However, on the flip side, Hansen’s mid-range catch and draw of the double team led to a pass to an open Randolph, who scored under the basket.

The Grizzlies were getting more and more in sync as the second half progressed.

Kobe asked for the ball in the frontcourt once again, making Paul look slightly awkward, as he became the heartless tool for dribbling the ball across half-court.

Actually, Kobe’s choice wasn’t wrong, considering Paul’s unstable condition. If the Lakers were to trail by a significant margin during the starting period, they would most likely lose the game.

And if they were to lose Game 1, not only would the Lakers give up home court advantage and break their undefeated playoff record, but it would also greatly boost the Grizzlies’ confidence, making upcoming games entirely different.

Thus, the Lakers must keep the score close, and indeed, Kobe and Gasol’s pick-and-roll was effective.

But after Paul made the pass, his mood visibly soured. What’s the point of playing if the league’s number one point guard doesn’t have the ball in his hands?

An invisible vicious cycle was set in motion.

Seeing this, Hansen knew it was time to unleash his trump card.

That’s right; he was still holding back something big.

While Kobe and Gasol were running their pick-and-roll, he spoke to Paul once more.

"If I were you, I would definitely seek advice from my good friend LeBron; he’s already taken the ’scepter’ from DW’s hands in Miami."

"Yes, I know you might say Kobe is already 33 years old, and he will eventually pass the scepter to you, but he is Kobe. Maybe that will only happen when he retires, so when will Kobe retire? At 38?"

As soon as Hansen finished speaking, Kobe made a slick move past Little Gasol and executed a violent gliding dunk.

It was clear that once free of Hansen’s entanglement, Kobe started to get back into the groove.

"That’s Kobe. I think he could play until he’s 40!" exclaimed Kenny Smith in the commentary booth.