The next day during practice, Han Sen paid close attention to LeBron's behavior. He seed to be in a great mood, with a smile constantly on his face.
There was no way his team wouldn't have inford him of everything that happened on social dia yesterday, but it looked like he didn't care at all.
His reaction had now completely dispelled Han Sen's final reservations. He could already envision the scene of himself acquiring the floater talent and becoming stronger in his drives.
However, during practice, Han encountered a bit of a problem— he started to feel significant discomfort in his groin. After practice, he went to the team doctor to have it checked out. The doctor took him to a hospital partnered with the team, where they determined the issue was caused by overexertion.
To help Han Sen better understand, the team doctor explained the concept of the "rookie wall".
Rookies often hit a point in their first NBA season where they seem to lose all their energy, like they're facing an invisible wall that blocks their path forward. The causes vary but are typically attributed to the difficulty of adjusting to the NBA's intense schedule, resulting in fatigue or injury.
Han Sen was now experiencing sothing similar.
Even players from Division I NCAA teams only play around thirty gas per season, including March Madness. That's not even three months' worth of NBA gas. Add to that the fact that NBA gas are packed much more tightly than NCAA gas.
"And you've also put a lot more strain on your body with your sumr weight gain, your training load, and your change in playing style," the team doctor warned after considering Han Sen's specific circumstances.
The doctor advised him to take extra care with his recovery after gas and practice, including small details like icing sore areas. Additionally, he was advised to cut back on his training volu and let his body gradually adjust to the intensity of the NBA schedule, then slowly ramp up his training again once he's more acclimated. On top of that, he was told to prioritize sleep and cut down on late nights.
The team doctor was quite professional. After all, Cleveland might be small, but its healthcare system is well-developed.
After leaving the hospital, Han checked the [Hater System]. Until now, he had been focused on upgrading his abilities and hadn't paid much attention to injuries.
After browsing through the system, he found only one talent under the first tier that could improve his body's resilience to injury— [Iron Bones]— but it cost 2 million hater points. That was still a long way off for him.
It seed like his only option now was to follow the team doctor's advice. More important than how well he played was whether he could stay on the court. The NBA has seen many players' careers ruined by injuries, and he didn't want to be the next.
Around this ti, the NBA's annual All-Star voting had begun. The All-Star Ga would take place in mid-February, still over a month away, but the voting process involved four rounds, so it started earlier.
According to current rules, each team submits a shortlist of four players to the league, and only those on the list will appear in the voting interface.
The Cavaliers' selections were LeBron Jas, Shaquille O'Neal, Mo Williams, and Hansen.
Along with submitting nas, teams also promote their players for votes. This year, the Cavaliers were no exception.
The PR departnt asked each player on the list to write a slogan for their campaign, which would be used in promotional materials.
Han Sen was currently being heavily targeted by opponents. In theory, he should be ramping up his practice on his floaters, but due to his physical fatigue, he had no choice but to cut back on training. This inevitably left him feeling a bit anxious.
As a result, he wasn't particularly interested in making the All-Star team. What he really cared about now were hater points.
He needed to unlock the floater talent as soon as possible and start intensive training to get past his current challenges.
His plan to praise LeBron had worked well, and his hater points were still increasing. However, this tactic required the right monts and a careful balance— too much too fast, and even LeBron would start catching on.
So, he needed to combine it with other thods.
But making the All-Star Ga wasn't going to happen. This voting wasn't going to gain him any haters...
Wait a minute.
Suddenly, an idea hit Han Sen like a bolt of lightning, opening up new possibilities.
Maybe he could use this opportunity to stir up so controversy and attract more hater points?
After all, the team was releasing these statents to the entire league.
He could say sothing bold, like, "Vote into the All-Star Ga, and I'll beco the MVP."
But that seed a little too clownish.
Searching through his mory of various strange campaign strategies, Han Sen finally ca up with the perfect idea.
...
David Griffin was in charge of the Cavaliers' All-Star promotional campaign.
In addition to slogans, he had to create highlight videos for each player and even handle mass email campaigns for fans who had bought tickets. The workload was enormous, and staring at a computer screen had left him with tired, strained eyes.
At that mont, his assistant handed him the players' slogans.
Griffin rubbed his eyes and skimd through the list. When he got to Han Sen's slogan, he suddenly felt wide awake.
Because he had written: 'Vote into the All-Star Ga, and I will date Taylor Swift!'
Was this so kind of joke?
Griffin went straight to find Han Sen, eventually tracking him down in the dical room where he was undergoing treatnt.
"Yes, that's the slogan I ca up with," he confird.
The idea had been inspired by Joel Embiid and his public pursuit of Rihanna.
Back then, Embiid's strategy had earned him four or five hundred thousand votes.
Of course, the votes weren't the main point. The main point was that Embiid's stunt, though not as wild as when Kevin Durant said he wanted to drink Scarlett Johansson's bathwater, had brought him a ton of criticism.
Embiid, as a Caroonian, wasn't exactly beloved in the U.S. He was talking about chasing Arica's sweetheart, Rihanna. How could he not be mocked?
This was a perfect fit for Hansen, too— an Asian in Arica, at the bottom of the racial hierarchy.
As for why he chose Taylor Swift, it was sothing he found while searching online.
Over the past year, she had beco the hottest celebrity in Arica. Three words described her best: "Red hot superstar."
At the MTV Video Music Awards this year, she beat Beyoncé for 'Best Female Video', prompting Kanye West to storm the stage and grab the mic to defend Beyoncé. Later, at the Arican Music Awards, she took the 'Artist of the Year' award from Michael Jackson. She even graced the cover of the prestigious music magazine 'Rolling Stone'.
With her vocal talent, good looks, and innocent persona, it was impossible not to be a star in Arica.
So Han Sen saying he would date Taylor Swift would inevitably provoke one response: 'Dream on. You're not Worthy!'
And with that, the hater points would start rolling in.
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