"If he’s afraid to make a move, then he’s definitely just thinking about padding his stats, and then it’s the team that loses, not him," Guy said with a look of disdain.
The Grizzlies, in principle, only needed to secure a win steadily; diversions weren’t good for them, but watching those kinds of things happen was really frustrating.
Hansen stared at Guy for a while. Guy had beco smart, huh!
Having no chance of winning and not planning to make a move, what Jas had left really was just the familiar scenario of mutually boosting stats.
"You’re right," Hansen finally nodded.
Guy, seeing Hansen’s initial reaction, thought it was a no-go, but to his surprise, Hansen actually agreed in the end!
He had little expectation for Ga 4 initially, but in that instant, he felt as though he was infused with endless energy.
He smiled, reached out, and gave Hansen a forceful high-five.
The two reached an agreent, but just the two of them weren’t enough.
Hansen then had Guy go call Little Gasol and the others over.
Actually, the reason he agreed with Guy, apart from not wanting Jas to get his way, was more importantly to help Westbrook.
It would show the Thunders managent what it would look like if Jas led the team alone, and when making decisions in the sumr, they would naturally lean more towards Westbrook.
Before Ga 4, after the initial surge of traffic passed, the direction of public opinion was reeled in by the dia.
The reports of Jas cursing were suppressed, and more negative reports related to Westbrook ca in one after another.
"KD left Westbrook and delivered an MVP performance; it was Westbrook who held the Thunders back."
"Westbrook can’t be a qualified second-in-command; he needs a lot of ball possession yet plays extrely inefficiently."
"If it was Westbrook who got injured at the beginning of the season instead of Jas, the Thunders’ record would definitely be better now."
...
Westbrook didn’t have his own Windhorst or Carrell, facing such dia pressure without much recourse.
Just as Hansen knew from "history," what Westbrook went through before he left the Lakers.
At the Chesapeake Energy Arena for Ga 4, the attendance was only about eighty percent.
This was the first ti in the series that the seats weren’t fully occupied.
Despite the surging public opinion, the fans in Oklahoma City, like Hansen, were also expressing their dissatisfaction in this way.
This involved the history of the Thunders team.
Theoretically, the predecessor of the Thunders was the Super Sonics, but in fact, due to the series of displeasures when they moved away from Seattle, the Thunders actually do not own the history of the Super Sonics.
So strictly speaking, the history of the Thunders should start from the sumr of 2008.
That’s also why Durant would be from the Seattle faction, because he was the last rookie selected by Seattle.
Similarly, Westbrook was the first lottery pick in the history of the Thunders.
Plus his likable personality, Oklahoma City fans loved Westbrook more than anyone else.
During the pre-ga warm-up, the cara focused on Jas.
Jas’ expression surprised everyone; he looked happier than in the past three gas.
Thinking positively, he was still maintaining an optimistic attitude despite being in a dire situation.
But thinking negatively, it was Westbrook’s suspension, and he could have the ball all to himself now.
After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups were announced; the Grizzlies were still their regular five tigers, and on the Thunders’ side, Fisher replaced Westbrook as the starting point guard.
Little Gasol got the jump ball for the Grizzlies, officially kicking off the ga.
With Westbrook not playing, the Grizzlies didn’t need to use the "red braised pork strategy"; Conley easily got past the trouser-pulling Fisher and assisted Guy who completed a thunderous dunk.
Jas completely lost his man on that play, stirring unrest in the crowd.
Turning back, the Thunders spread out the weak side, with Jas backing down Guy.
From a tactical standpoint, Fisher had a reliable three-pointer, allowing Jas more space to play one-on-one when he started.
Guy exerted pressure in front, and Jas seized the opportunity to spin and aim for a breakthrough to the basket.
But just as he turned, Hansen, using Little Gasol’s body as a shield, suddenly appeared like a wraith beside Jas.
"Smack!"
The help defense ca so suddenly that Jas was caught off guard and Hansen stole the ball.
Hansen, with the steal, also accelerated, leaving Afflalo behind as he rushed to the frontcourt, took one step inside the free-throw line, and completed a gliding dunk.
The crowd stirred again.
The Grizzlies started the ga with two massive dunks, setting a completely different tone than before.
Jas’ face darkened; he had already shown enough of a friendly signal with his initial defensive intensity, but the Grizzlies refused to receive it.
Especially Hansen, whose "EQ" was still so low.
Thunders’ offensive; Jas continued to back down Guy, this ti paying attention to Hansen’s defensive position.
However, to his surprise, Hansen anticipated early and ca over to help defend.
He passed the ball to Afflalo, and Afflalo’s three-pointer from the outside went in.
Seeing Afflalo score, he made a fierce face at the cara.
It seed, however, that the Grizzlies didn’t care much about that shot.
Conley, advancing to the frontcourt, executed a pick-and-roll with Little Gasol; after the pass, Little Gasol shook Fisher off and burst to the inside, completing another dunk.
The arena was abuzz with excitent.
Three plays into the ga, and the Grizzlies had dunked three tis.
They were moving through the Thunders’ defensive zone as if they were strolling through their own backyard.
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