The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball
Chapter 642 - 311 The More Resistance, The More Excitement_2

Chapter 642: Chapter 311 The More Resistance, The More Excitement_2

After the first two games, both teams moved to Toronto to continue the competition.

At this time, the League announced the season’s dpoy award.

Hansen didn’t win the mvp this season, missing out on a three-peat opportunity, but he successfully retained the dpoy!

Even though Hansen’s defensive stats were not as exaggerated as the previous season, due to more energy being put into defense after empowering his teammates, the defensive highlights he contributed on the court were even more than the previous season.

Furthermore, this season, the Cavaliers’ defensive efficiency entered the League’s top five for the first time, making him even more deserving of the selection.

After successfully retaining the title, he also surpassed Jordan to become the second guard after Sidney Moncrief to accomplish this.

Speaking of Moncrief, that goes back to the 80s when the NBA had just established the dpoy award.

At that time, the award was somewhat diluted due to fewer candidates, with Moncrief, as a guard, averaging only about 1.5 steals per season and negligible blocks.

Thus, Hansen’s achievement felt truly shocking.

That night at the Bank of Nova Scotia Arena, the cameras were consistently on Hansen.

It wasn’t just because of Hansen’s achievements but also because of his performance there three months earlier.

The scene where Hansen consecutively won the three-point contest, the dunk contest, and the All-Star game during the All-Star event in Toronto was still fresh in everyone’s mind.

In the hearts of Maple Country fans, Hansen was their basketball deity.

However, as soon as the match started, with the encouragement of Maple Country fans, the Raptors played distinctly differently than in the past two games.

Derozan had struggled in the previous two games against Hansen, and Lowry hadn’t fared much better.

Irving’s improved defense greatly restricted his performance.

After the first two games, fans joked about them as the "Trash Brothers."

As the name suggests, they played like trash.

But back on their home court, Lowry increased his outside shots and was hitting them accurately.

By using the outside threat to pressure Irving to defend more aggressively, his breakthrough threat also increased.

On Derozan’s side, the pressure Hansen put on defense hadn’t decreased much, but he was still making his shots.

It was then that Hansen confirmed something, that Derozan indeed had some psychological issues.

Because only players with such an issue would show such a disparity in home and away performances.

Ultimately, the Raptors’ "Trash Brothers," one scored 35 points with 4 out of 7 three-pointers while the other scored 32 points making 14 out of 23 shots.

With their efforts, the Raptors defeated the Cavaliers 114-108 to win one back.

In the post-game press conference, a reporter asked about Hansen’s defensive issues during the match.

"Just got dpoy and faced with such a situation, does that bother you?" asked the ESPN reporter.

This could implicitly be taken as questioning the dpoy award decision for Hansen.

You see, this season before, both Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs and Green from the Warriors had very high acclaim.

"No, I hope they continue performing like this."

Hansen’s response surprised not only the reporter who asked the question but also left the other reporters bewildered.

Was Hansen being a masochist?

Of course, he was not.

The Raptors hadn’t given much resistance to the Cavaliers in the previous two games, which made it difficult for the Cavaliers to get into form.

If they face the Heat in this form, they are likely to get hit hard right from the start.

Now that the Raptors had put on some pressure, it was a good thing for the Cavaliers.

It’s like riding a horse; if the horse doesn’t resist a bit, you would find it dull, but when the horse starts to fight back, that’s when you get excited.

For Game 4, the Bank of Nova Scotia Arena was still packed to capacity.

It was noticeably apparent that the fans were much more enthusiastic than the previous game.

Moreover, some Maple Country celebrities were present, such as the famous rapper "Duck" Drake, who was donning Derozan’s number 10 jersey.

Previously, the Pacers had unfortunately lost G3, which made their G4 victory seem less significant.

After all, reversing a 0-3 deficit was completely impossible, not even they believed it.

However, a 1-2 situation is completely different, as long as they hold another home court, they will push the Cavaliers onto Heavenly King Mountain, making it a 50-50 situation.

So, this home court is very important and worth looking forward to.

Moreover, in this game, Casey made adjustments to the lineup, substituting Biyombo, who performed well last game, for Valanciunas as a starter.

Biyombo also won the tip-off for the Raptors right at the start.

Lowry’s first offense hit a three-pointer from the outside, continuing his excellent shooting touch from the last game.

Irving and Jokic’s pick and roll breakthrough to the basket was interfered by Biyombo, causing the throw to miss the basket.

Like Ibaka, Biyombo is also from Congo and has similar attributes—extremely robust.

However, unlike Ibaka, he has no shooting range; offensively, he can only really pick and roll and finish easy baskets.

But where he is stronger than Valanciunas is his defense, he not only can protect the rim in the low post, but his help defense is also very mobile.

After Derozan and Lowry’s performance rebounded, boosting the team’s offense, the Raptors needed such adjustments to enhance their defensive power.

But as Biyombo was getting ready to turn around and grab the defensive rebound, a dark figure descended from above.

"Bang!"

Hansen dunked the ball over Biyombo with one hand, instantly stirring up the crowd.

It felt as if they were suddenly pulled back into a dunk contest.

And in the next offensive round for the Cavaliers, Hansen received the ball and after a pick and roll with Jokic, he drove past Biyombo to perform an airborne 360° spin layup.

Though the incredulous 360 from the free-throw line by Hansen had been seen in the dunk contest, when Hansen made this move, the crowd couldn’t help but erupt once again.

After the opening two rounds, the fans in Maple Country could already fully sense how different Hansen was tonight.

Casey felt it too; he stood up next defensive round and gestured for a double team on Hansen.

Unfortunately, the Raptors didn’t have the defensive resources like the Pacers did, and Hansen managed to turn around for a baseline fadeaway before the double team took effect, scoring again.

When Casey boldly attempted to double team Hansen right at the three-point line, Hansen’s quick pass cut through the defense and reached Irving’s hands.

Irving, unmerciful, nailed the three-pointer as soon as he caught the ball.

Clearly, other players on the Cavaliers weren’t pushovers either.

Casey faced an even bigger headache than the Raptors’ Sam Mitchell did back in the day.

Back then, Mitchell had planned a man-to-man defense against Kobe, but if he didn’t use man-to-man defense on Hansen now, the Raptors would lose even faster.

You have to choose one of two ways to die.

Eventually, Casey made the same choice as Mitchell.

By allowing other players to reserve their energy for the offense instead of defense, it ensured a higher success rate for the Raptors’ offense.

Moreover, defensive strategies can be summarized in two types: either double team the player with the ball to limit his shots or wear him down with continuous rotation.

At the end of the first quarter, Hansen had scored 20 points, with the Cavaliers leading 32-24.

In the second quarter, Hansen’s shooting ran cold, scoring only 10 points, and the score at halftime was 55-50 with the Cavaliers still ahead but with a narrower lead.

This affirmed Casey’s belief in his strategy.

Returning from halftime, the Cavaliers set up a small-ball lineup.

The advantage of a small-ball lineup is speed, and as the pace picked up, the Raptors’ defense began to lag.

Frankly, the Raptors didn’t have enough defensive resources.

While the Pacers could use Allen and George to defend Hansen, their only options were Carroll and Derozan.

In a set defense, Carroll could still hold Hansen off with his physicality, but in a fast break, he couldn’t keep up.

Midway through the third quarter, Jokic secured a defensive rebound and tossed the ball to Irving, who fast-breaked up the court and lobbed the ball to the other side of the air where Hansen caught it for a windmill alley-oop dunk.

That move had the Maple Country fans holding their heads in their hands.

And when the screen displayed Hansen’s stats for the night, seeing that 44-point total, they suddenly realized something:

They wouldn’t become just another background board, would they?