"Han, we’re about to be champions!" Guy couldn’t contain his excitent and sidled up to Hansen.
Coach Joerger noticed that so of his players were getting a little complacent and made a point to remind them before the training session in Los Angeles began.
However, the effect was not that great.
The players felt that Joerger was being a bit too harsh.
This was related to Joerger’s normal coaching style, which ca with its pros and cons—being skilled in communication could also an being easy to talk to.
In the end, Hansen had to take on the role of the villain.
During the full-court scrimmage in training, he once again joined the third team.
This ti, it didn’t take him many tries to knock down the first team.
The team’s ntality was indeed floating a bit.
Although this was not entirely surprising—due not solely to a string of good news, but also because the Grizzlies were fundantally still a young team.
After the win, Hansen shouted at everyone, "Have we accomplished anything yet? Have we already won?!"
Hansen’s words were like a splash of cold water, and compared to Joerger, his words carried more weight.
After all, it was he who had established the team culture, and it was he who had led the team to its current heights step by step.
Of course, his words had an effect.
By the ti training ended and they returned to the locker room, Guy ca up to Hansen to apologize.
Guy was not one for beating around the bush.
"Rudy, I understand how you feel, and how everyone feels, but..." When Hansen looked up, he saw the other teammates looking at him.
"I really don’t want to lose again."
Last year, having lost to the Mavericks, the outsiders deed them the runners-up since the series against the Mavericks was the longest.
If this year they were to lose to the Lakers and the Lakers went on to win the championship, would they get another runner-up title for fighting to ga seven with the Lakers?
But does the NBA have a prize for the runner-up?
Can you summon a championship by collecting seven runner-up titles?
Kobe’s "Number One Loser Theory" couldn’t be clearer: in competitive sports, there’s only one winner, the rest are losers.
The next evening, the Grizzlies’ ga seven against the Lakers kicked off in Los Angeles.
Hansen saw Scarlett on the sidelines.
Previously, due to the upcoming release of ’The Avengers,’ she had been running around with the film crew for promotions, but now that the movie was officially out, she finally had ti to co.
Moreover, she had just gotten so free ti and heard that Hansen was performing incredibly, so she had to co.
Of course, more notably than Scarlett, was Paul.
Whether he could play was the most attention-worthy issue of the evening.
Paul was in his training gear.
His fingers were wrapped in protectors; he was indeed injured, the previous reports weren’t unfounded.
This was also unsurprising, after all, Paul was in Los Angeles.
In a place like Los Angeles, full of eyes and ears, any little movent becos public knowledge almost instantly.
However, Paul did participate in the pre-ga warm-up and was listed in the starting lineup during the opening ceremony.
Paul was indeed injured, but he was set to play despite his injury.
At this revelation, the way the Grizzlies players looked at Hansen changed.
If they previously thought Paul wouldn’t play and then saw him take the court, their ntality would surely fluctuate.
But now, they had already adjusted their mindset, so whether Paul played or not didn’t make much of a difference to them.
And that ntality was a guarantee that the Grizzlies would not perform poorly that night.
On the contrary, for the Lakers, although Paul played with his injuries, his performance on the court wasn’t as effective as Duncan’s the previous season when he was troubled by plantar fasciitis.
After all, despite Duncan’s injuries, his sheer size was an advantage.
For Paul, passing was heavily reliant on the fingers, and among the talents Hansen had exchanged before, there was the flexibility of the fingers.
Nevertheless, the ga didn’t lose its suspense early on, thanks to the Lakers having both Kobe and Gasol.
The veteran duo’s strength demonstrated in adversity was admirable.
They kept entangled with the Grizzlies all the way into the fourth quarter.
But by the ti the fourth quarter arrived, the Lakers began to face stamina issues.
Whether it was Kobe or Gasol, neither of them was young anymore.
Or perhaps the earlier assessnt by the outside world about this Lakers team was the most accurate: the roster was constructed in such a way that they couldn’t afford to lose any of their core players.
In the end, the Grizzlies outscored the Lakers 30 to 20 in the final quarter, and ultimately triumphed in the ga seven battle with a 106 to 94 victory, eliminating the Lakers with a 4 to 3 series win.
At the postga press conference, Kobe attended alone for the Lakers.
"Because of CP3’s injury and the team’s stoppage in the semifinals, do you feel frustrated?" the ESPN reporter asked directly.
"No, losing is indeed upsetting, but our problem isn’t the injury. We missed the opportunity to clinch the series in G4 and G6," Kobe’s response seed familiar.
"But the fact is that CP3’s injury did change the balance between both teams," the reporter reminded.
"The Grizzlies’ Zach Randolph hasn’t been in his best condition due to injury, but they still managed to give us a run for our money. They were the better perforrs in the series, and they deserve this victory."
"We’ve faced defeat, but we will be back. I look forward to facing them again next season," Kobe said before leaving the scene.
Compared to the Lakers’ subdued nature, the Grizzlies’ postga press conference was much more relaxed after their victory.
"Tell CP3 I’m going to play in the Western Conference Finals again."
As soon as the press conference began, Hansen dropped his bombshell.
And this statent carried a different flavor to the ears of East University’s netizens because CP can also stand for referee; Hansen was playing with words.
"I love Charles Barkley, but now I’m really looking forward to his performance on Star Avenue."
Hansen was naturally aware of the bet between Barkley and O’Neal, whom in a sense had unwittingly given him a big hand.
O’Neal being called ’the little shark’ was practically confird. So, does that an Barkley is also a little flying pig?
"Is injury the key factor in this playoff series?" the inevitable ESPN reporter asked.
"If it weren’t for the inconsistency in the refereeing, we might have ended the series in mphis." It’s just a 25k fine, right? Hansen wasn’t concerned.
"Do you have anything to say about the upcoming Western Conference Finals against the Thunders?" the reporter continued.
Previously, the Thunders had co from a 0 to 2 deficit to win four straight gas, eliminating the Spurs 4 to 2 and advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
"You know, KD is my good brother. We’ve trained together in the sumr, but this is the playoffs, and I can only give it my all. Of course, if he still needs Scarlett’s bathwater, let him know I can help him out."
The series against the Lakers took a lot out of him; comparatively, he was looking forward to the Western Conference Finals against the Thunders, after all, Durant is his good brother.
After finishing the press conference, Hansen went out with Scarlett.
In Los Angeles, Scarlett certainly knows her way around better than him.
The two went to a private cinema.
Scarlett had taken him to see The Avengers.
That was sothing Hansen hadn’t expected, but revisiting the old film was quite interesting nonetheless.
Especially seeing the actor from the movie sitting right next to him, it was quite a unique experience.
During the break, Scarlett went out to the restroom, and when she returned, Hansen noticed she was dressed in Black Widow’s costu from the movie.
This scene that seed to co straight out of the film instantly excited him.
You know, Scarlett is soone who seeks thrills.
...
"Hansen is just a loser. He’s rely been lucky; if CP3 hadn’t been injured, he’d already be gone fishing!"
"KD is not really his good brother; he is a shaless guy. KD wouldn’t want to be associated with him!"
"Just wait, the Thunders will eliminate the Grizzlies, KD will enter the finals, and all Hansen will be able to do is go back and cry quietly!"
Durant typed furiously on his keyboard, outraged by Hansen’s comnts after the ga.
But in the end, he suddenly felt bored and stopped his typing.
It was because he was always confronted by Durant haters, but tonight there wasn’t a single one.
It seed that after so many confrontations, he had successfully beaten them.
However, despite his victory, he felt an inexplicable sense of loneliness.
...
"The movie is over," Hansen paused.
"No, don’t stop."
...
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