Moreover, Guy’s ball-handling also posed a problem.
During training with Grover, aside from physical conditioning, Hansen naturally practiced his ball-handling and passing fundantals.
Grover had provided so advice tailored to his ball-handling, of which the most crucial aspect was to lower his dribbling center of gravity.
For a player of Hansen’s height, low dribbling was no simple feat; besides its difficulty, it also reduced the player’s field of vision on the court.
But its advantage lay in the ability to dribble past opponents with a higher frequency of dribbles, as well as decreasing the chances of having the ball stolen by defenders.
Hansen ultimately heeded Grover’s advice, just as he had initially promised.
Then there was Guy, whose dribbling center of gravity was even higher due to his height.
A high dribbling center of gravity, coupled with slow speed, led to the inevitable result that Guy could neither use speed nor dribbling to shake off his defender, resulting in him having to rely on forcing jump shots after partially breaking through.
So, rather than saying he was obsessed with long two-point shots, it’s more accurate to say he had no other choice.
The ball changed hands, and Hansen took possession.
At this point, Guy got into a defensive stance and even clapped his hands in front of his chest.
It looked like he was prepared to redeem himself with defense after his offense had faltered.
After all, he had been quite effective at guarding Hansen in a full-court setting.
Hansen held the ball in one hand and did not rush his offense, posing a triple threat.
With a fake move to the right, he saw Guy shift his weight in that direction and then quickly changed direction to the left, stepping back to create distance for a three-pointer from the left side.
Guy’s interference on that shot was minimal; Hansen’s three-pointer was swift and decisive.
Guy’s technical shortcomings not only hampered his offense but also his defense.
His teammates let out a gasp of surprise; the Grizzlies had never really seen anyone play like this before.
Conley breathed a sigh of relief upon witnessing this—Hansen clearly ca prepared.
However, imdiately after, he inhaled sharply with a look of concern, knowing that if Guy lost, the problem would be even greater.
Guy, sowhat furious, pounded his chest forcefully before tossing the ball back to Hansen and assuming a defensive posture again.
Upon receiving the ball, Hansen imdiately raised his hand to shoot a three, prompting Guy to quickly leap to block it.
But Hansen was rely feigning; he quickly dribbled right and accelerated past Guy on the right side.
Just one round of comparison revealed the stark difference in their abilities to break through; Hansen’s dribble was both low and fast, and in the blink of an eye, he’d penetrated into the paint.
As Guy landed, he struggled to turn and chase after Hansen, who was about to attempt a layup, and made an effort to leap and block the shot using his physical talent.
But Hansen simply perford an air maneuver to the left, switching to a left-handed reverse layup and scored.
Guy had the physique but simply couldn’t find the strength to use it effectively.
The teammates on the sidelines once again expressed amazent; Hansen’s talent was obviously not on par with Guy’s, but his one-on-one skills were clearly superior.
What a joke, Hansen was the man who had one-on-one matches with Wade before even entering the League, and he had just spent this past sumr playing one-on-one with Durant.
If shooting competitions were his forte, then one-on-one post-ups should also be considered one of his strengths.
He may not have bested those two, but how could he not surpass you, Guy?
to 7, Hansen took care of Guy’s pride, not winning too easily.
But in fact, their teammates could see that Hansen’s one-on-one ability was much stronger than Guy’s.
Guy had simply underestimated Hansen’s strength and kicked a steel plate.
After the one-on-one, Guy stomped off, fuming with anger.
"Where are you going?" Hansen called out to him.
"A bet’s a bet!" Although Guy wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, he was honest and didn’t play the coward.
"Co back!" Hansen was really at a loss for words. Did you think your own brain wasn’t good and assu Coach Hollins’ wasn’t any better?
Hollins was reluctant to give Guy a higher tactical status because his tactical system was centered around the inside ga. The reason he indulged Guy in the training camp was that Guy had just signed a max contract, and if Hollins had really given all the tactical status to Hansen, it would have been going against the managent.
Moreover, if Hollins actually knew the reason behind it, his impression of Hansen could turn sour.
Isn’t that why Hansen had earlier said it was just for fun?
"Take out to eat," Hansen continued.
Guy was stunned for a mont.
Conley reacted imdiately, knowing that Hansen was giving Guy another way out.
He rushed over with a smile, pulling Guy with one hand and Hansen with the other, then started talking about where in mphis one could find delicious food.
The players dispersed one after another. Randolph’s expression was sowhat lackluster; he had thought there would be a good show to watch.
Inside the private room of a mphis restaurant, the three of them sat down to eat.
Due to the incident they had just experienced, the atmosphere in the private room was a bit awkward.
Conley tried to find so conversation topics to ease the mood, but nothing worked.
"Why are you targeting ?" Guy could not hold back and finally spoke.
"What Rudy ans is that he feels like you seem to have so hostility toward him," Conley hurriedly translated to Hansen, trying to alleviate the tension.
Hansen replied very directly, "I want to be the Grizzlies’ outside core."
There was no need for Guy’s mind to be tangled with twists and turns.
"You sure don’t hide it," Guy scoffed coldly.
"Wasn’t OJ ao thinking the sa way before?" Hansen looked at Guy with a smile.
At this, Guy’s expression grew even uglier.
His dissatisfaction with Hollins was not only because of a disdain for the team’s tactics but also because Hollins never truly established his role as the outside core!
He and ao were like two Gu Worms thrown into a Gu jar, waiting to see who would survive in the end.
He had finally outlasted ao, only for Hansen to co along.
Actually, he had wanted to leave this sumr, but the team got rid of ao and offered him the max salary he wanted, which ultimately kept him around.
"I claim this outside core role not only for personal reasons but also because you are not capable enough."
"What Han ans is..." This ti, Conley scratched his head forcefully; he couldn’t translate what Hansen had said!
"On what basis do you say that? Just because you beat one-on-one?" Guy was defiant.
Hansen shook his head. One-on-one ability was important in basketball, but it wasn’t everything; otherwise, Durant and Anthony would have won championships by now.
"You have a small forward’s body, a power forward’s speed, and a shooting guard’s style of play."
Guy did not understand.
Hansen rubbed his forehead, realizing he still had to be direct.
"Your basketball IQ is lacking. Despite having a small forward’s physique, you choose the less efficient playing style of a shooting guard. With you as the core, you can produce impressive individual stats, but it’s very difficult for the team to make the playoffs, not to ntion contending for a championship."
Guy’s face turned red instantly. He wanted to retort but found himself at a loss for words.
Because in his years with the Grizzlies, just as Hansen had said, his stats were good, but the team never made it to the playoffs even once.
The team’s improved record last season was achieved after Hollins established Randolph as the team’s core.
"Han, Rudy also wants to win gas," Conley spoke up for Guy at that mont.
What Hansen said was the harsh truth, but experiencing it was painfully sharp.
"LeBron said the sa thing," Hansen shrugged.
Conley coughed dryly.
"Alright, since we’re talking about winning, let tell you what you can do for this team," Hansen softened his tone.
Now not only Conley, but Guy too looked at Hansen with curiosity.
"There are two ways. First, change your style of play, move from ball-dominant to off-ball, make more cuts to the basket and engage in off-ball tactics. That would utilize your physical talent and shooting ability."
This was what Guy did historically after he joined the San Antonio Spurs, and facts proved that it was the most suitable style for him.
Guy frowned. That would an losing a lot of ball-handling opportunities, and since the Grizzlies didn’t often use such tactics, his stats would definitely decline.
Hansen seed aware that the current Guy would not choose this path, although it was the best option for the Grizzlies.
"The second way is to focus on defense when you start and then lead the team during the stretch with the bench unit. That way, you not only avoid conflicting over ball possession with Zack (Randolph), but you can also display your individual talent, and your stats won’t be much different."
Alternate peak hours for Guy?
Why not.
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