The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball
Chapter 380 - 200 Submission of Credentials_3

Chapter 380: Chapter 200 Submission of Credentials_3

But the video didn’t tell him Hansen also had such a skillful turnaround jump shot technique.

It gave him more of a headache than facing Kobe, although Hansen’s arsenal wasn’t as rich as Kobe’s, Hansen was bigger.

The good news was, Hansen didn’t give him much time to fret, going straight for a drive down the right lane.

But unlike before, Hansen didn’t drive too deep, just took one step before abruptly pulling up for a jumper.

Clearly, he felt his shooting touch was good and just went for it.

Ibaka displayed top-notch help defense abilities, successfully disrupting Hansen’s shot.

Hansen’s fadeaway hit the front of the rim and bounced out.

However, with Ibaka’s help defense, the Thunders’ rim protection was weakened.

Little Lopez, battling against the twin towers, couldn’t secure the rebound, and Little Gasol was fouled on the second chance opportunity.

It should have been a shooting foul, but the referee signaled no free throws.

Boos filled the arena, and as the cameraman tried to find Stern’s face in the crowd, it turned out he had slipped away early after presenting the rings.

But such calls were expected, as the Grizzlies had caused a stir in the last season’s finals, putting Stern in an awkward position, and they shouldn’t expect any favors this season.

Knowing you’re tough to mess with, daring not blow a real biased whistle, but one couldn’t avoid a slanted call.

The Grizzlies inbounded the ball, and Hansen signaled to clear out.

Although they expected such calls, doing this on a ring ceremony night was a bit disrespectful.

The rest of the Grizzlies cleared out, and Hansen went one-on-one against Afflalo.

After some left and right dribble probing, Hansen suddenly broke left.

His start was explosive, but Afflalo was agile enough to keep up.

Then, Hansen made a drop step to reset his pivot foot and turned for a fadeaway jumper.

Even Afflalo’s agility couldn’t keep pace with Hansen’s move.

Though he lunged forward in an attempt to block, he only served as a backdrop for Hansen’s shot.

A gasp went up from the crowd; Hansen’s technique was one Kobe often used, but Hansen executed it with an ease that seemed even more effortless than Kobe’s.

The similarity was in the beautiful form of the shot.

"Swish!"

The ball sailed over Afflalo’s head, dropping through the net as if guided by an aiming device.

Fervent cheers instantly filled the FedEx Forum.

Many fans were so excited their faces flushed red.

Your fadeaway shot has no wine, but I’m drunk like a dog!

Sacre also sprang up from the bench, waving his towel like a helicopter blade.

Since Hansen had the ball, he made 3 shots out of 4 attempts, all of them difficult fadeaways.

Although this leader didn’t look like a nice guy, he sure was strong!

When the first quarter hit the 9-minute mark, the Grizzlies led the Thunders with 23 to 18.

Both teams began to rotate players.

Hansen, with 14 points from 6 out of 8, was subbed out for a rest.

Sacre was the first to hand him a towel and water as he came off.

Hansen nodded to the old-looking rookie.

Even though Sacre couldn’t get on the court, he could’ve notched a triple-double from the bench that night.

He motioned Sacre next to him and struck up a conversation.

The lineup on the court at the time was, for the Thunders: Fisher, Afflalo, Seferosa, James, Nick Collison.

For the Grizzlies: Conley, Dentye Jones, Guy, Jamison, Faried.

In their first possession after the rotation, James scored with a post-up against Jamison.

As Jamison got older, what little defense he had became virtually non-existent.

Fortunately for him, his offense was on point. He turned the tables with a turnaround jump shot against Seferosa right after that.

Why was Seferosa defending?

James was on Jones!

Joerger micromanaged from the sidelines, having Guy switch back to defend James.

But James called for a screen from Seferosa and, after the charge, leaped past Jamison for a signature tomahawk dunk over the helping Jones.

At this point, it seemed clear why Brooks was able to persuade James.

Previously with Durant on the team, the Thunders let Westbrook lead the bench during staggered minutes.

In other words, these were Westbrook’s former staggered minutes, and now they belonged to James.

That made sense, scoring during off-peak times was much easier than during starting periods.

James, elated after the dunk, flexed his biceps for the camera in celebration.

And in the next possession, James took advantage of an opening and executed a volleyball-style block on Jones’s layup.

With not much time left for offense, Jamison caught a kicked-out pass from Guy and nailed a 3-pointer against the encroaching defense of Afflalo.

With the Thunders playing a small lineup, and James not guarding Jamison, Jamison had plenty of room to operate.

to 28, the score didn’t change much; the teams seemed to engage in a friendly scoring exchange.

On defense, the Grizzlies readjusted, with Jones switching to guard James.

This time, it wasn’t Joerger’s call, but Jones who volunteered to switch.

Jones’s rotation position wasn’t secure on the Grizzlies, and having been dunked and blocked lately, he wanted to regain some dignity.