The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball
Chapter 319 - 176: Uncle Drew Finally Reaches a Bottleneck_2

Chapter 319: Chapter 176: Uncle Drew Finally Reaches a Bottleneck_2

This is also a key reason for the success of the show, because with more freedom, a lot of unexpected things can happen.

Of course, all this is based on Barkley’s personal ability; he knows very well how to grasp that measure and scale.

Now, O’Neal is another one, whose commentary talent is no less than Barkley’s.

But now this emergent situation has posed a problem: if the two of them agree, how can the bet continue?

"Why don’t you guys start by saying what the wager is?" Kenny Smith was trying to push things along.

"The loser runs naked on the Los Angeles beaches!" Barkley, feeling he hadn’t won enough, was ready to go for a grand victory.

This made O’Neal intuitively cross his legs in his trunks; that was absolutely something he wouldn’t do.

"I have no problem, but I support the Grizzlies," O’Neal reaffirmed his position.

"I also support the Grizzlies," Barkley also reiterated his image.

Now the show really couldn’t go on.

Apart from The Big Three, there was also a host on the scene, who almost instinctively turned her head to look at Smith.

Although Smith, as one of The Big Three, had the weakest presence, he was still a member.

Then, Barkley and O’Neal also followed her gaze towards Smith.

The implication was clear: it could only be Smith supporting the Lakers.

Smith was flabbergasted; he was being dragged into the fray unexpectedly!

You could imagine O’Neal or Barkley streaking, but you definitely couldn’t picture Smith doing such a thing; it was just not something he could do.

"Why don’t you just bet on who will win this series?" After coughing dryly, Smith continued to suggest.

Barkley and O’Neal both turned their heads back.

A single game had its uncertainties, but a best-of-seven series was another story.

In terms of pure strength, the Lakers were obviously stronger than the Grizzlies, which was also proven in Game 2.

"How about this, we up the ante: the loser doesn’t go to the Los Angeles beach, but runs naked on Star Avenue. I support the Lakers," Barkley spoke first.

This move was ruthless—after all, there are many beaches in Los Angeles, and they hadn’t specified which one; they could just shoot a video from behind when there were fewer people.

But Star Avenue, that’s a landmark in Hollywood! There’s no possible time when it would be less crowded.

Moreover, he was preemptively snatching the Lakers; if O’Neal didn’t agree, it would be seen as backing down. Even if O’Neal also said he supported the Lakers, Barkley would have won in terms of morale.

Or perhaps, Barkley thought the previous wager was a bit too much, and this was a new bet O’Neal couldn’t accept, giving each other a way out.

"Fine, I support the Grizzlies!" Unexpectedly, O’Neal, disliking Barkley’s previous smugness, agreed directly.

"Kobe has never understood that basketball isn’t a one-man game, and his opponents the Grizzlies have long understood this," O’Neal added while seizing the opportunity to diss Kobe.

This stirred up a big commotion.

But it also maxed out the attention on the Grizzlies and Lakers series.

Game 3 of the series would continue in Memphis.

After returning to Memphis, Hansen was also pulling Allen to practice more.

His "Uncle Drew" was now very close to its limit, just missing that final push.

However, such things can’t be forced; there was still something missing.

After training ended, the two of them sat down at the side of the court to rest.

"Han, I’m planning to leave this summer," Allen’s sudden statement caught Hansen off guard.

But after thinking about it, it wasn’t surprising that Allen had such thoughts, with Guy coming back and Battier staying; his playing time had indeed been greatly reduced.

In the first two games of the series, Allen’s average playing time was less than 10 minutes, which was similar to his situation in Boston.

But unlike before, Allen was now 29 years old.

He really needed to change environments; otherwise, when his contract expired after next season, he might just disappear from the NBA.

"Got any plans for where to go?"

Allen shook his head; he was different from Hansen, not very good at socializing. Though he had been there for almost two years, he had only really communicated more with Hansen off the court.

"Then let’s wait until after the season is over and think about it properly. Let me know once you’ve decided," Hansen said, patting Allen on the shoulder.

He couldn’t decide what trades the team made, but if Allen really had a place he wanted to go, Wallace was willing to do him a favor.

In Game 3 of the series, the teams were neck and neck in the first half; Kobe exploded in the second half, scoring a whopping 45 points throughout the game to help the Lakers win 113-106, reclaiming home court advantage.

"Basketball isn’t a game of one-on-one, but the person who scores more wins the match," Kobe said in a meaningful tone at the post-game press conference, clearly responding to O’Neal’s previous comments.

This season, Kobe had done many things, including forcing the team to trade for Paul, largely because O’Neal had swept him and won the championship last season. Now O’Neal was on the commentary desk, contradicting him, dissing him—it was like he had triggered Kobe’s bloodthirst.

Win by 8 points, lose by 4, lose by 7; after three games in the series, all the margins of victory were in single digits.

To be on equal footing with this Lakers team was enough to prove the Grizzlies’ strength.

But being down 1-2, with the Grizzlies’ sole win coming in Okafor’s absence, was enough to show just how formidable this Lakers team was.

And for whatever reason, Kobe had gotten into his groove; the Grizzlies were now pushed to the edge of a cliff.

If they lost the next game, the series would effectively be over.

But facing such a Kobe, such Lakers, winning was never going to be easy.

Especially now that Paul was dominated by Kobe, it was difficult to find a psychological breakthrough.

Now the only way left was to go head-to-head.

Before Game 4, the Grizzlies conducted their pre-game training.

Due to the unfavorable situation, the training atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.

During a full-court scrimmage, Hansen specifically requested to join the third team.

He wasn’t doing it to stimulate or motivate his teammates this time, for the Grizzlies were actually playing well; the real difference in strength between the teams was just a few points.

And those few points, he needed to make up for.

So what he was doing now was artificially creating pressure to push himself to reach the "Uncle Drew" threshold.

It was indeed effective, as the Grizzlies’ starting lineup was no pushover; Hansen kept losing several times in a row.

Yet he grew more resolved with each battle, feeling that he was on the verge of reaching that threshold.

Finally, after shaking off Guy to make a game-winning shot, leading the third team to victory over the first team, he hit that threshold!

Guy’s memory instantly flashed back to when Hansen first joined the Grizzlies, back when he was still struggling for his place on the team with Hollins.

Back then, it was Hansen on the third team who had beaten him decisively.

In just over a season, his status on the team seemed to have dropped after all.

But as he was thinking this, a hand reached out to him.

Hansen smiled as he pulled him up from the ground.

Guy smacked his head, dismayed by his muddled thoughts. Hansen had made such great sacrifices for the team, and here he was, still fixating on such matters.

Actually, it wasn’t just Guy; the rest of the Grizzlies felt a change in their mood too.

But unlike Guy, they sensed that Hansen was using this method to show them the idea of "the weak can overcome the strong."

And they were also reminded of last season; they had defeated the stronger Thunders then, so surely they could defeat the Lakers this season.

The next evening, the FedEx Forum was filled to capacity.

Despite the team’s dire straits, the fans’ support was unwavering because the culture of "courage and resilience" that the team established last season had deeply touched them, and they believed their team wouldn’t be easily defeated.

As Hansen walked out of the player’s tunnel, the surrounding fans chanted his name, and those asking for autographs extended items like clothing and hats.

Then, as he looked up, he saw that kid again.

This time the child was sitting on his father’s shoulders, wearing a Grizzlies’ number 77 jersey, standing out prominently.

Hansen stopped to give them an autograph.

He also gestured for the kid to take off the jersey he was wearing.

After signing the jersey, he tossed it back.

"Han, we’re going to win!" the boy shouted excitedly after catching the jersey.

Hansen nodded with a smile, waved to the fans, and then turned to head toward the court.

Yes, they were going to win!