(TL/n: Didn't have access to my computer the entire weekend so couldn't do anything. Just got back ho, so hopefully I'll be back to the usual schedule starting tomorrow. I should have inford you guys there would be no updates this weekend, my bad...)
At this mont, Han Sen wasn't paying much attention to other matters. After surpassing a million [hater points], he finally unlocked the Tier 1 ball-handling talent.
This was the talent he truly found useful.
Within the hater system, the Tier 2 talent is called [Not Just Crossovers], while the Tier 1 talent is [Uncle Drew] ①.
Kyrie Irving: Didn't see that coming!
It was a classic case of karma.
When Irving joined Han's training camp before, Han had poked fun at his flashy moves. Now, it seed Han was ready to admit that Irving had been right.
In terms of ball-handling, both Irving and Iverson are top-notch, but Irving has a slight edge in finesse.
[Uncle Drew]: Significantly improves agility, coordination, ball feel, and ball-handling skills.
After unlocking the talent, Han eagerly headed to the practice facility.
Surprisingly, he found Conley and Gay already there, practicing intensely.
It was already past 9 p.m.
They seed equally surprised to see Han, and after chatting for a while, Han learned that they had been doing extra practice for so ti now.
Their motivation ca from Han's words at the post-ga press conference: "We all need to do more."
Marc Gasol had stepped up as a leader, and Han had beco the team's core. They knew they needed to step up, too.
Their extra practice focused on three-pointers.
With Han handling the ball more, the greater their threat from the periter, the harder it would be for opponents to double-team Han.
The Grizzlies could benefit greatly from this. Both of them had decent three-point percentages this season, around 36%, but they hadn't been shooting a high volu.
If they could increase their attempts or push their accuracy to around 40%, it would be beneficial both now and when Randolph returned from injury.
After their conversation, Grover arrived, and Han began his ball-handling training with Grover's assistance.
Just before starting, Han glanced back at Conley and Gay, who were still working on their threes.
When he first joined the Grizzlies, the team environnt had been tense, with constant competition.
Now, players were motivated and training on their own. With this atmosphere, no Big Three or "best backcourt in history" could shake them.
---
Ti flew by, and it was now late January.
Due to the shortened season, this year's All-Star ga would be held later than usual, and voting had only opened a week earlier.
The results of the first round of voting were out, and Han was leading Kobe as the top vote-getter in the West, with a small margin between him and Howard in the East.
Howard's high vote count was partly due to this year's All-Star ga being held in Orlando.
But for Han, his popularity had surged since his China tour last sumr. With Yao Ming's retirent, Han had inherited his fan base.
Unless Stern declared the Chinese votes invalid, it seed inevitable that Han would secure his first All-Star vote leader title this year.
Even though winning the top vote wouldn't add much to his hater points, his performance this season, leading the Grizzlies to maintain a top-four position in the West despite Randolph's injury, spoke volus.
So far this season, Han was averaging 22.8 points (sixth in the league), 4.6 rebounds, 6.5 assists (tenth in the league), and 2 steals (third in the league), making him a contender for MVP.
Around this ti, the Grizzlies were preparing for an away ga against the Cleveland Cavaliers, their first matchup of the season.
This was also their second nationally televised ga in January.
With Han possibly becoming the All-Star vote leader, this ga was drawing attention.
Then, before the ga, an interview with Irving made this matchup even more buzzworthy.
During a public training session, the Cavaliers' young star, known for his flashy play, was imdiately surrounded by reporters after practice.
Most questions focused on the Grizzlies ga and Han Sen.
"Why did you join Han's training camp?" one reporter asked.
"Why wouldn't I? Was there a rule against it?" Irving shot back.
"Do you think you have more potential than Han?" sensing Irving's attitude, a reporter switched angles.
During the draft, Cavaliers GM Grant had declared Irving as their future star. But with the Cavaliers still struggling, doubts were surfacing about Irving's ability to impact the team.
In response, Grant had reiterated his faith in Irving, comparing him to a young LeBron and calling him the best prospect they'd selected since then.
"No." Irving's answer shocked the reporters again.
But what stunned them more was what he said next.
"Han is soone I look upto, and I'll work hard to catch up to him."
If Irving joining Han's training camp had raised eyebrows, this statent solidified their connection.
After this interview, Cavaliers GM Grant, or perhaps the entire managent, found themselves in an awkward spot.
They'd passed on Han, who turned out to be a star, and now they'd chosen Irving, who idolized him!
Going forward, they might need to do background checks before drafting players!
---
"Kyrie's got personality; I can't help but like the guy," Gay laughed as he laced his shoes, chatting with Han before the Cavaliers' public practice.
"If I can help it, I'd rather keep him as a rival," Han chuckled.
He'd already experienced the headaches of training with Irving during the sumr camp.
"So, should we take it easy on him tonight?" Gay asked, standing up.
"No," Han said, also getting ready, "It's not about Kyrie."
With all the attention surrounding the ga, a large number of reporters had gathered at the Grizzlies' public practice session.
After practice ended, the reporters prepared to interview Han, only to find he had already slipped back to the locker room.
With no choice, they turned to Gay.
"How do you respond to Grant saying that Irving has more potential than Han?" one reporter asked after a few initial questions.
"Kyrie already answered that, didn't he?" Gay seed puzzled, having just discussed this with Han.
"We want to know your opinion," the reporter clarified.
"Oh, okay... Are you talking about the Most Improved Player, the one who led his team to the Western Conference Finals, or the one currently in the MVP race?" Gay responded bluntly.
Potential? Han had been improving steadily with leaps each season; who could match that potential?
"And, who is Grant?" he added.
The reporters reminded him that Grant was the Cavaliers' GM, and Gay had an "aha" mont. "Oh, him? The guy who traded Han to us? And you trust his judgnt?"
"The forr GM Danny Ferry traded Han; Grant was only the assistant GM then," a reporter corrected.
"Even so, if he had good judgnt, he should've objected back then," Gay replied smugly.
The reporters got it now—Gay was as straightforward as they co.
"But Han is only averaging 22.8 points this season. I think Kyrie will surpass that by his third year," an ESPN reporter remarked.
Gay looked annoyed. "Do you guys at ESPN only care about stats? Basketball is a team sport!"
This left the reporter speechless. After all, Gay had once cared deeply about his own stats.
But they overlooked how the environnt had changed him.
Han's increased ball-handling with Randolph out hadn't led to more shots for himself but to more assists.
anwhile, Gay and Gasol's scoring had increased. Naturally, Gay was going to stand by Han.
"If he wanted to, he could score 40 points anyti," Gay said before ending the interview.
That evening, the arena was packed.
This had beco a trend in Cleveland. Attendance might be low usually, but whenever Han returned, fans showed up in droves.
"Kyrie, that kid's got confidence," Gay comnted as they ward up.
Han was curious.
The Cavaliers weren't strong, so the Grizzlies winning seed likely.
"Look at all these fans here for you. They only get one chance to see you each season, so make it worth their tickets!" Gay argued.
Han Sen chuckled—what kind of twisted logic was this?
He looked up and noticed quite a few people holding signs supporting Irving. Sotis, a player's style of play can make fans overlook their record.
Most of the crowd, however, held supportive signs for him, much like last season, giving off the vibe of hotown pride as if one of their own kids had made a na for themselves.
Han Sen nodded, not entirely because of the fans, but because his new talent needed gas to improve.
Against strong teams, the focus was on winning; against weaker teams, it was the perfect opportunity to train through competition.
Seeing this, Gay excitedly punched Han Sen's chest. Han Sen couldn't help but shake his head, wondering where Gay's enthusiasm ca from.
After warm-ups, both teams went into the prega ceremony. When Han Sen was introduced, he received the usual cheers from Cleveland fans.
This reaction was typical for most of the players, but because it was a nationally broadcast ga, it sparked a lot of discussion online.
Despite Han Sen having left over a season ago, the fans still welcod him warmly, showing just how deep his fanbase in Cleveland was.
After the ceremony, the starting lineups were announced.
Grizzlies: Conley, Han Sen, Gay, Faried, Gasol
Cavaliers: Irving, Old Parker, Omri Casspi, Jamison, Varejão
Thanks to his active defense and hustle, along with Johnson's mixed performance, Faried earned his first career start.
Before the ga officially began, there were three final minutes for preparation.
On the Cavaliers' bench, their new head coach, Byron Scott, was rallying the players.
The forr Lakers legend and NBA Coach of the Year was determined to carry out managent's directive to win tonight's ga.
Though it would be tough, since it ca from the managent, it had to be done, no matter how hard it was.
Jamison and Old Parker exchanged glances, thinking Scott's plan was unrealistic.
They rembered last season when the Cavaliers' ho ga was a blowout loss to the Grizzlies, with Randolph ejected and effectively out of the ga.
But Scott wasn't there then.
And now, after a three-ga losing streak, expecting them to beat the Grizzlies felt unreasonable, like everyone happily slacking off only for the boss to co in and announce a push to et company targets.
It was hard not to feel resistance.
Yet one person was unusually focused—Irving, who had been under heavy scrutiny for his prega comnts.
After Scott finished speaking, he held out his hand.
This was a signal to start a team cheer.
Irving placed his hand on top first.
"We're going to win this ga! We can do it!" he said, looking around.
The teammates paused for a second.
Irving's earlier comnts had been a bit of a downer, but now he seed the most confident of them all.
The contrast was clear, but his determination was contagious.
One by one, the players stacked their hands.
"Go Cavaliers!"
Just then, the whistle blew, and the Cavaliers' starters took the court after their chant.
Han Sen, attracted by the shouting, happened to lock eyes with Irving.
It was a familiar look, but sothing felt different.
The ga began with a jump ball, and Varejão tipped it back, giving the Cavaliers the first offensive possession.
Irving brought the ball up to the frontcourt, called Casspi over for a pick-and-roll, and then, after the screen, faced Han Sen and signaled for an isolation play.
This instantly ignited cheers from the crowd.
Irving knew the difference in strength between the two teams.
If he wanted his teammates to believe they had a shot, they needed an opening play that showed confidence.
And nothing could do that better than challenging Han Sen directly.
-End of Chapter-
① It's referring to Kyrie Irving's popular alter ego, "Uncle Drew," a character he played in a series of Pepsi comrcials that beca hugely popular and even inspired a feature film.
Uncle Drew is an old man with incredible basketball skills who schools young players on the court, showing that experience and skill can outshine youth and overconfidence.
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