The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball
Chapter 99 - 88 Your Father Is Coming Back

Chapter 99: Chapter 88 Your Father Is Coming Back

Ten days later, the NBA 2009-2010 season came to an end, and the final standings for the East and The West were also finalized.

The Cavaliers ended up with the league’s best record at 64 wins and 18 losses, which would give them home court advantage in all the subsequent series.

The Magic team came in second with 59 wins.

Surprisingly, the Celtics had started the season with an 11-game winning streak and had once dominated the top spot in The East.

However, as the season progressed, Garnett, Pierce, and Glen Davis were among those who suffered from injuries, which led to a decline in their performance.

Injuries are a part of the season; they are not exclusive to the Cavaliers.

They ended up with only 50 wins, just behind the Hawks in fourth place in The East.

This meant that if they could get past the first round, they would face the Cavaliers in the next round.

This also confirmed Hansen’s previous memory; although he couldn’t recall the specific games, that year in Cavalier history, they did indeed lose to the Celtics.

The Heat, Bucks, Bobcats, and the Bulls were ranked from 5th to 8th place.

Based on the rankings, the Cavaliers would face the Bulls in the first round.

The first game of the series took place on April 17th at Quicken Loans Arena.

On game day, the arena was buzzing with noise, and the fans were full of enthusiasm.

Although the Cavaliers were also the top of the league last season, and had a better record with 66 wins, the team was clearly stronger this season.

This season, they seemed to have aligned with fate, location, and unity entirely.

Of course, the only problem was injuries.

O’Neal and Hansen, both starters, sat in suits at the very end of the bench.

Hansen was chewing gum, laughing and chatting with O’Neal.

While they still couldn’t suit up to play, their recovery from injury was on track.

There was nothing to worry about as long as they could catch up with the second round.

After all, if the Cavaliers struggled to get through the first round without the two of them, they wouldn’t stand a chance at the championship.

Hansen was also quite familiar with this Bulls team.

Led by Derrick Ross, with Joakim Noah, Luer Deng, Kirk Hinrich, Tai Gibson... all were names he knew well.

This was the only Bulls team that could compete for a championship since Jordan’s retirement.

However, unlike what Hansen remembered, Bozer and Thibodeau hadn’t come yet, and the team’s head coach was still Vinnie Del Negro.

The game started quickly, and facing the Bulls’ contract defense, James began with a three-pointer from the outside.

Tonight seemed to be an unlikely night, and the Cavaliers didn’t even know how to lose.

Hansen even began discussing with O’Neal how to play against the Celtics.

But as the game continued, their conversation gradually stopped, and they both turned their eyes towards the court, as if by some agreement.

This was because the Bulls were giving as good as they got against the Cavaliers.

James had a hot hand from the outside, and the Cavaliers were smooth on the offensive end tonight; the problem came from their defense—they simply couldn’t stop Ross.

Ross didn’t have perimeter shooting and was a player who relied heavily on penetration, similar to James in his approach to the game.

The difference, though, was James relied on his body, while Ross relied on speed.

This hit the Cavaliers right in their soft spot.

Old Parker had experience and could handle contact, but he was notably slow on his feet, turning into Derek Fisher in front of Ross.

As for the interior, Varejao was good on rebounds and capable of defending pick-and-rolls, being especially adept at flopping.

But like Old Parker, he too was slow, and couldn’t cover the painted area like O’Neal could.

The result was that as soon as Ross began his penetration, the Cavaliers had to contract their defense, but once they did that, the Bulls’ entire offense came to life.

Ross’s playmaking might not be outstanding, but his split-decision passes were very stable.

At the end of the first quarter, both teams were tied at 24.

Well, it was just the first quarter.

Many fans thought so.

However, by the second quarter, the situation had not changed.

And worse, Ross was getting in the groove, even hitting a three-pointer from the outside.

This quarter, the cameras frequently focused on Hansen, who was sitting on the bench, full of visual storytelling.

If Hansen hadn’t been injured, Ross would never have been able to enter the Cavaliers’ area as if wandering in his own backyard.

Under Ross’s leadership, the Bulls actually scored 32 to 21 in the second quarter alone.

By halftime, the Bulls were leading 56 to 45.

"The Cavaliers need Han." At halftime, even Mike Brin in the commentary booth couldn’t help but express his feelings.

There’s a saying that goes, it’s only when someone is gone that you truly realize how important they are.

Coming back from halftime, Brown didn’t make any strategic adjustments or, rather, he had no better strategy than to focus on defense.

But the Bulls also had a solid defensive foundation, and both sides ended the third quarter with a tied score of 23, leaving the Bulls still ahead by 11 points.

Now the Cavaliers were truly starting to panic, and by the final quarter, Brown lost control of his command, and the Cavaliers began to compete with the Bulls in offense.

This quarter they scored 38 points, but the Bulls also scored 29 points, and in the end, the Cavaliers lost narrowly with 106 to 108.

After the final whistle, the Bulls players celebrated wildly on the court, with Ross being lifted up into the air by his teammates after exploding for 31 points and 10 assists tonight.

Last year at this time, when the Bulls faced the Celtics in the first round, Ross, as a rookie, also exploded against the Green Army with 36 points and 11 assists, leading his team to victory.

Keep in mind that his regular-season average stats were only 20 points and 6 assists per game, and his performance has increased rather than decreased in the playoffs, proving he’s a player born for the big stage.

James felt somewhat embarrassed on the court at this time, as he was on fire tonight, hitting 4 out of 8 threes, erupting for 39 points, 10 boards, 8 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 5 turnovers, and 3 fouls, filling up the stat sheet.

But in the end, it was just a situation where "the team lost, but I didn’t."

Hansen was frowning as he watched the last two minutes; he really doubted James’s ability to make crucial shots.

One offensive foul occurred when James drove at Deng, and another time he was mismatched against Noah and ended up being intercepted, directly costing the team the victory.

If it hadn’t been for Mo Williams nailing two three-pointers at the end, the scoreline would have been even uglier.

After the game ended, Hansen stood up to head back to the locker room, but unexpectedly, reporters came up to interview him.

Although he hadn’t played tonight, he had appeared on the LED screen just as often as if he had.

"Will you be returning in the first round?" the reporter’s question was fully expected.

"This isn’t the end of the world," Hansen replied with consideration.

Would losing the first game put the Cavaliers at a disadvantage?

Obviously not.

Tonight the Bulls shot 50% from the field and 41.7% from threes; apart from Ross, Hinrich and Deng also contributed with 27 and 20 points respectively, which could be considered an exceptional performance.

Once the others return to their normal level, the Bulls can’t rely on Ross alone to beat the Cavaliers.

Of course, he was also tactfully answering the reporter’s question with a no.

Competing for a championship is great, but more than that, Hansen’s priority is to make his mark.

This is the biggest experience he’s gathered so far in his rookie season: having status means having a say in the team.

Regardless of whether he’s with the Cavaliers next season, that won’t change.

So he won’t risk an early return from injury.

...

Ten days later, the Cavaliers defeated the Bulls 96 to 94 at home, completing a gentleman’s sweep.

Ross contributed an average of 26.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 7.2 assists in the series, shooting 45.6% from the field and a rare 33.3% from three-point range.

But as Hansen had predicted, one man couldn’t beat the Cavaliers.

On the Cavaliers’ side, the most outstanding player was naturally James, who averaged 31.8 points, 9.2 boards, and 8.2 assists per game over the 5 games.

However, in the final home game, James injured his right elbow during a drive, scoring only 19 points and at one point being forced to shoot free throws with his left hand.

This undoubtedly cast a shadow over the Cavaliers’ prospects in the second round.

Keep in mind that they were set to face the Celtics, who also completed a 4 to 1 gentleman’s sweep against the Heat Team.

Before the second round started, reporters asked Hansen a similar question.

"Will LeBron’s injury affect your series against the Celtics?"

"No," Hansen said with confidence in his face, which was mixed with a hint of playfulness,

"Because their daddy is coming back."

The Cavaliers’ regular-season record against the Celtics was 2 wins to 1 loss; the game they lost was without Hansen, and in the two they won, Hansen scored 25 points and 31 points, respectively.