The Miami Heat were not in a good state.
Back in December, they had won 15 out of 16 gas, and then carried that montum into January by making it 21 wins out of 22 gas.
However, they hit a rough patch afterward, suffering four straight losses and losing five of their next six gas.
During that slump, fans were praising their opponents, particularly because four of the five teams the Heat lost to were playoff contenders.
The Heat earned a reputation for playing well against weaker teams but faltering against strong competition—a concerning pattern for a supposed championship contender.
After that, the Heat bounced back with eight consecutive wins and managed to win 11 out of their next 12 gas. This ti, six of those victories were against playoff-bound teams.
Then ca another dip: a five-ga losing streak, followed by a quick three-ga win streak.
The takeaway from these stats is that while the Heat were not a weak team, their biggest issue was inconsistency. At tis, they looked like they had worked out their chemistry, but then they'd turn around and seem like they hadn't improved at all.
Still, in terms of overall performance, the Heat were a stronger team than the Grizzlies, sitting second in the Eastern Conference and riding a winning streak.
As the season neared its end, fan interest in the regular season was waning, and this rematch between the Heat and the Grizzlies beca a pri focus for the league's marketing.
Could the Heat avenge their earlier loss and regain their dignity? Or would the Grizzlies complete a regular-season sweep and beco the first team to knock down Miami's "Big Three" twice in one season?
This ti, the matchup would take place in mphis.
The day before leaving for mphis, LeBron Jas was relaxing at ho when Rich Paul stopped by.
LeBron's team was large, but the core group was just four people: himself, his personal assistant Randy Mims, his business advisor Maverick Carter, and later addition Rich Paul, who acted as the team's marketing director.
Together, they were known as the 'Four Horsen.'
In 2006, they ford a marketing company called LRMR, which was nad after their initials.
When Paul arrived, LeBron sat up, eyeing the bag of white powder in Paul's hand with curiosity.
"King, this is so new stuff," Paul said as he sat down beside LeBron, using the nickna LeBron liked.
Paul explained the contents of the bag. It wasn't cocaine but rather a new type of drug he had gotten from a pharmaceutical company.
It was said to have effects similar to performance-enhancing substances but wouldn't be detected in drug tests because of its unique composition.
LeBron didn't seem particularly surprised. In the U.S., the pharmaceutical industry was advanced, and drugs were rampant in sports.
The NBA had drug testing, of course, but as long as the substances couldn't be detected, they weren't technically illegal.
Otherwise, how did you think all those chiseled jaws ca about? And why did so many NBA players look like old n the mont they retired?
Back in January, Derrick Rose almost caused a scandal when he spoke a bit too honestly about the use of drugs in the league.
"If a 1 ans no drugs and a 10 ans everyone's juiced, then the NBA right now is at a 7."
That was his original comnt, but after facing pressure, Rose backtracked and claid he had been misled, allowing the situation to cool down.
LeBron raised an eyebrow. "Side effects?"
"According to the information so far, there are no major side effects, but it can't be used too frequently."
This new drug wouldn't show up in tests, didn't have any obvious side effects for Black people, and didn't require long-term use. It was like popping a performance pill just to be fierce for one night.
Paul knew how important this ga was for LeBron, especially since Han Sen was now also playing as a small forward.
During the season opener, in the few tis LeBron and Han had directly faced off, Han had embarrassed him.
Going head-to-head again...
LeBron took the bag, sniffed it, but then put it down. "Nah, too risky," he said. "New drugs like this... who knows what the long-term effects are."
LeBron didn't need it anyway.
Despite the Heat's ups and downs, his own form had been improving. His scoring average for the season, at 26.7 points per ga, was his lowest in recent years, but his shooting percentages—both field goals and three-pointers—were career highs.
His lower scoring was simply a result of fewer touches, but his efficiency was improving.
LeBron felt confident that he wouldn't be embarrassed by Han Sen again, especially since the Heat had adjusted their lineup to include veteran Ilgauskas as a starter. He could easily use pick-and-rolls to deal with Han Sen this ti.
In the season opener, LeBron had been thrown off by Han's trash talk, and he hadn't realized sooner that using pick-and-rolls didn't make him weak—it was one of basketball's greatest strategies!
Jerry Sloan had built a legendary career off of it, and it had taken the Utah Jazz to multiple Finals appearances.
Besides, the Heat had also signed Mike Bibby, who had been shooting 44.1% from three with the Hawks before joining Miami. This added a new dinsion to their offense, far beyond what Arroyo or Chalrs had offered at the start of the season.
So, he didn't need any new drugs.
Seeing LeBron's resolute decision, Paul put the bag away, understanding that LeBron had it under control.
"You're right, King. You don't need anything extra. You've got this."
Paul had a keen sense for reading the situation. Though he had joined LeBron's inner circle later than the others, his influence had risen quickly. He didn't throw the drug away, though—after all, no one knew what the future might bring.
...
On March 24, the Heat and Grizzlies ga tipped off at the FedExForum.
The arena, which could seat 19,000 people, was packed.
Even without the league's promotion, mphis fans were fired up about the Heat ga.
After all, the Grizzlies had been the first team to beat the Miami Heat's peak Big Three, making them the first team to 'crack the shell of the crab.'
Or more accurately, they were the first team to force the Heat into garbage ti.
And that was on the road. Now, with the ga back in mphis, the fans were ready to give the Heat a warm 'welco.'
During warm-ups, the broadcast cut between shots of Han Sen and LeBron.
In theory, the Heat's leader was Dwyane Wade, but that's not how things worked. LeBron always got the spotlight.
Wade and Bosh were the foundation, but the Heat's ceiling depended on LeBron.
Unlike the season opener, there was no interaction between the two players before the ga this ti, but both had expressions of eager anticipation.
LeBron clearly wanted to restore his pride in this ga, while Han Sen was curious to see how strong he had beco after reaching the peak of his [Classical Master] talent.
After warm-ups, the starting lineups were announced.
Heat: Bibby, Wade, LeBron, Bosh, Ilgauskas
Grizzlies: Conley, Tony Allen, Han Sen, Randolph, Marc Gasol
Ilgauskas won the tip, and the Heat started on offense.
This ti, LeBron wasn't the primary ball handler to start the ga; Wade initiated a low-post play in the paint.
Allen's low-post defense was diocre, and while he tried to pressure Wade by swiping at the ball, Wade spun smoothly toward the free-throw line and hit a floater.
Wade's low-post abilities were severely underrated.
The only reason he didn't use them more often was that he wasn't a full-sized shooting guard and was frequently at a height disadvantage. But Allen was about his size.
On the other end, Randolph received the ball in the post and imdiately drew a double team.
With Allen in the starting lineup, the Grizzlies' offensive spacing had shrunk.
Under the pressure of the double team, Randolph tried a baseline fadeaway that missed.
Ilgauskas grabbed the rebound, and the Heat pushed the ball in transition.
Wade lobbed it into the air, and LeBron followed up with an alley-oop dunk—another 'LeBron-Wade connection.'
The crowd roared.
4-0.
Unlike the season opener, this ti, it was the Heat who took early control.
The biggest reason for this change was the differences in both teams' lineups.
The Heat's starting lineup had better spacing, while the Grizzlies' offensive spacing worsened.
Plus, the Heat's fast-break ability had greatly improved after so ti to build chemistry.
If the Grizzlies couldn't maintain a high shooting percentage, their two big n would be forced to constantly run back and forth.
At this point, Han Sen exchanged a few words with Conley, asking him to feed the ball to Randolph.
Once they got to the frontcourt, he also signaled Tony Allen to co over for a pick-and-roll.
Allen was a bit confused, but he trusted that Han Sen had a good reason for doing this.
The Grizzlies continued their low-post strategy, and at the sa ti, Han Sen on the weak side started running an off-ball screen with Allen.
Randolph was double-tead in the post as usual, but Han Sen's presence outside the arc pulled so defensive attention from the Heat. That allowed Allen to cut smoothly to the basket.
Randolph saw this and passed the ball directly to Allen, who quickly laid it up for two points.
Even though Allen wasn't much of a shooter or ball handler, he could certainly make those easy cuts to the basket.
More importantly, once the weak side was in motion, even the Heat's fast defensive rotations couldn't stop both the double-team and prevent open players.
On the way back on defense, Allen high-fived Han Sen, clearly pumped up.
When the Heat had the ball again, Wade went back to his low-post isolation. Seeing this, Han Sen started 'chatting' with LeBron.
"So, the King of Cleveland cos to Miami and turns into Pippen? Can't even touch the ball?"
Han Sen was using his experience from trash-talking Kobe before, bringing out the big guns right away.
LeBron's face... Well, it's hard to tell with soone that dark, but you could see the tension—his fists clenched.
Just when you thought Han Sen's trash talk in the opening ga was brutal enough, turns out that was just the warm-up!
In the anti, Wade hit a quick turnaround fadeaway near the baseline.
Allen was defending more tightly than before but still couldn't stop Wade. If this continued, Wade might really blow him up.
On the Grizzlies' next possession, Han Sen ran the pick-and-roll with Allen again.
One of Han Sen's key reasons for using Allen in the pick-and-roll was to force a switch and get LeBron in front of him.
That's right, even though Han Sen was playing small forward, the Heat had Wade guarding him.
This ti, Wade stuck with Allen, and Randolph passed the ball to Han Sen outside.
LeBron's switch was noticeably slow.
Maybe he thought Wade would get around Allen's screen.
Han Sen caught the pass, shot the three—clean, like a knife through butter.
After the shot, Han Sen didn't look at LeBron but turned to the Heat's bench, throwing his hands up at Coach Spoelstra:
"Do you guys not practice switching defenses?"
LeBron was nearby, and though his expression didn't change, he probably felt just like Kobe did before, wanting to tear Han Sen's annoying mouth off.
But obviously, he couldn't do that, and Han Sen wasn't about to stop either.
After all, Han Sen knew very well that the 'Chosen One' would never stoop to trading trash talk with ordinary mortals like him.
On the Heat's next possession, Wade went for another low-post isolation, but this ti Han Sen sagged into the paint, and as Wade glanced around, Allen jumped in for a clean steal.
Just as Han Sen had observed in practice, Allen had extrely high defensive awareness. He might not always stop you, but if you slipped up, he'd pounce on the opportunity.
The Grizzlies ran a fast break, and Han Sen's layup drew a foul from LeBron.
"They say DW's a 'shorter Jordan,' but you know what? You're the real Pippen—tall, but still just Pippen," Han Sen sneered at LeBron as he walked to the free-throw line.
Han Sen knocked down both free throws, scoring five straight points to give the Grizzlies a 7-6 lead.
On the next possession, LeBron called for the ball at the three-point line.
After receiving the pass and with the other players clearing out, he didn't even wait for Han Sen to start talking. He signaled to Bosh for a pick-and-roll.
It wasn't that LeBron was completely rattled by Han Sen's trash talk, but he knew Han Sen was going to stick to him defensively all night—just like in the opening ga, when Han Sen followed him during the bench rotations too.
There was no avoiding the one-on-one battle.
So instead of waiting for a situation where he had to take Han Sen, he decided to go at him now.
Plus, as Coach Spoelstra had pointed out in the pre-ga briefing, the Grizzlies had a defensive weakness.
Randolph was poor at defending the pick-and-roll.
Bosh set a solid screen, and Han Sen took a mont to get around it, giving LeBron a brief opportunity for a mid-range shot.
But LeBron, as expected, didn't pull up. Instead, he used the opening to accelerate and drive hard to the basket.
His steps were full of montum, but unfortunately, despite his quick burst and impressive drive, Randolph was like a brick wall standing between him and the rim.
LeBron ran into the wall. No whistle from the ref.
The play ended with LeBron losing balance and awkwardly throwing up a reverse shot that almost missed the rim entirely.
Han Sen, who had been trailing behind, couldn't help but laugh at the sight.
LeBron's lack of finesse in finishing was really showing. If only he had a decent floater, he wouldn't be so reliant on brute force.
Randolph grabbed the defensive rebound.
Once they pushed it upcourt, Han Sen signaled to Conley for the ball.
Tonight, Randolph had gone to the low post twice, and the Heat had aggressively double-tead both tis. It was clear that Spoelstra's defensive focus was on the interior.
This was the perfect ti to stretch the defense a little from the periter.
Han Sen caught the ball, smiled, and glanced at LeBron.
"Co on, let Daddy show you how to run a pick-and-roll!" Han Sen said, signaling for Marc Gasol to set the screen.
-End of the Chapter-
TL/n: I'm testing the footnotes option in this Chapter. Let know if you guys can see it.
Also, sorry for the inconsistent updates. GOT's got hooked..
edit: Removed footnotes since it doesn't show up in the app. Also edited out so unnecessary parts.
Reviews
All reviews (0)