Compared to the hollow complints of the past, Randolph’s words this ti were more sincere because they ca from the heart.
Three years ago, Randolph was still entangled in the who-is-the-boss dispute with Hansen. But now, he was willing to be Hansen’s second-in-command.
Just like he said, he admired Hansen not only for his performance on the court but also for his spirit.
Such a player, he respected wholeheartedly.
"I am very glad to be in a team with six All-Stars," Randolph’s words were deep, and when it ca to Hansen, the atmosphere beca lively.
When a reporter was puzzled about where the Grizzlies got six All-Stars, Randolph quoted a classic phrase from LeBron’s fans, which brought a burst of laughter.
"Will you continue to defend Curry like this in the next ga? I an, that could significantly diminish your stats," the next question ca from an ESPN reporter.
"We know you haven’t reached a contract extension with the team, and that might affect your new contract," the reporter added to make the question sound fresh.
Like the Grizzlies facing a hefty luxury tax, many people had forgotten about last sumr when Hansen didn’t reach an early extension and was now in his contract year.
Other players in a contract year would try to get more stats. Hansen, on the other hand, did the opposite. Was he really afraid of getting too big a contract?
Clearly, no one would turn down money. The reason Hansen didn’t extend his contract last sumr was that the Grizzlies didn’t offer enough money.
It wasn’t even entirely about the amount of money, as a max contract is a symbol of status.
If you are not even on a max salary, how can you talk about being the team leader?
"I will," Hansen replied simply with just two words.
The NBA managent has so fools, but not all are.
As last season’s finals MVP and a three-ti ticket king, the chances of Hansen not getting a max contract offer this sumr were lower than the national football team making it to the World Cup.
"Draymond said before the ga that he wanted to bury the Grizzlies. Now, do you have anything to say to him?" asked a reporter from NBC.
"I hope he enjoys the upcoming gas," Hansen said, pausing,
"There’s not much ti left for them."
After the first two gas of the series, the Grizzlies and the Warriors moved to Oakland to continue with ga three.
Joerger did not assign Hansen to guard Curry this ti.
Hansen was willing to sacrifice his stats, but as a coach, Joerger needed to consider more.
In ga one, with the Grizzlies’ offense out of sync, setting aside whether Hansen could guard an explosive Curry, as the head coach, Joerger couldn’t let the offensive core guard the opponent’s offensive core; that would only hasten a collapse.
But the situation was clearly different from ga one. The Grizzlies had regained their form, and there was no need to go all out in every ga.
Jackson made another starting lineup adjustnt in this ga, placing Landry back in the starting lineup.
He was turning into a mad scientist, always giving Joerger a little surprise.
Landry, known as "Birdman" and a forr Rockets player, left a strong impression on East University fans for his tenacity. His career’s classic mont was getting his front teeth knocked out.
He was the opposite of Green, strong in offense but weak in defense. Although he lacked three-point range, he had mid-range shots up to 16 feet.
Green played pick-and-rolls on the court. After setting a screen, he usually just popped out, but his cutting into the offense posed a significant threat.
With him starting, the Warriors’ offense was sowhat better than the last ga, and returning to ho court, they played with more grit.
The two teams were in a deadlock for the first half, and then the ga entered the classic Grizzlies mode.
The Grizzlies strengthened their defense in the third quarter, and it was then that Joerger assigned Hansen to guard Curry.
The Warriors scored only 16 points in the third quarter, and the Grizzlies pulled ahead.
Moreover, there was bad news for the Warriors in that quarter.
While being tightly defended by Hansen, Curry attempted a forced breakthrough and twisted his ankle again, forcing him to leave the ga early.
Curry’s tactical position in Jackson’s system wasn’t high, but without Curry, everyone realized the Warriors had lost their mainstay.
It was proven that even if Curry didn’t handle the ball, his off-ball movent was a significant constraint on the opponent’s defense.
The Grizzlies easily won over the Warriors 97 to 85, bringing the series to 2-1.
After the ga’s statistics, Hansen scored the highest with 28 points, while Curry, before exiting due to an injury, scored 18 points.
It is still unknown how much ti is left for the Warriors, but Green’s ti is certainly running short.
In this ga, Green only played for 10 minutes, making one out of three shots, scoring 2 points, and getting 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
Will Curry be able to play in G4?
This was the question that the Bay Area dia was most concerned about after G3 ended.
Because the final quarter of G3 made them profoundly realize the importance of Curry to this Warriors team.
The answer to this question ca the day before G4 began.
Curry would play G4 with an injection.
This news greatly boosted the morale of the Warriors team.
However, this was not the first ti Curry had played with an injection this year, or more precisely, this playoff season.
In the first round against the Nuggets in G3, he had also twisted his ankle and then played with an injection to help the Warriors to a 3-1 lead.
When Jas made a coback with the Knight, the morale boost brought about by Curry’s decision was similar.
Moreover, there was another piece of news that day that excited the Warriors fans.
David Lee, who had been ruled out for the season due to a hip flexor injury, announced that he would return in G4.
This operation, which could be called a dical miracle, undoubtedly gave the Warriors team another strong boost.
"It’s ti for the mphis people to know the real terror of the Warriors," Green voiced again on social dia.
You’ve got to praise Green’s thick skin; his personality ensures he would stand out as the most dazzling among all of Hansen’s haters.
Amid the eager anticipation of the Bay Area fans, both teams comnced the G4 clash in Oakland.
Curry and Lee playing despite their injuries undoubtedly gave a huge morale boost to the Warriors team, with Thompson and Barnes hitting consecutive three-pointers early on, helping them to a perfect 6-0 start.
But, to everyone’s surprise, that was the only ti they led the entire ga.
Indeed, Curry fighting through the injury did elevate the team’s spirit, but his performance was diocre due to the injury.
As for Lee, his return seed more inspired by Curry, as he only played for 3 minutes in the entire ga.
There was no dical miracle unless you pretend to be injured.
to 91, the Grizzlies defeated the Warriors, leading the series 3-1.
"Playing with an injection is a big risk for Stephen, but he is a warrior," Hansen highly praised Curry in the post-ga press conference.
To be honest, as a transmigrator, he had not known about Curry playing through injections before.
He also didn’t know whether repeated injections could impact Curry’s career, especially since Curry isn’t known for his physical toughness.
So, he genuinely admired Curry’s choice.
Hansen’s statent was ant to praise Curry, but to his utter surprise, it brought him a wave of unexpected hatred.
This brings us to Jas, who had already been "sent fishing" by the Grizzlies.
When the Thunders were eliminated, Jas insisted on attending the post-ga press conference despite his injury, uttering the classic phrase "It’s only basketball."
Although his statent t with much skepticism, the public could still understand him, as Brooks once said, injuries are unpredictable for athletes.
The result was that just after the playoffs, he began participating in various comrcial activities non-stop, even performing dunks at these events, appearing totally unaffected by any injury.
This led to quite a bit of skepticism on social dia.
So, Hansen’s originally comndatory words about Curry were directly interpreted by LeBron fans as mocking Jas.
Hansen couldn’t help but recall scenes from certain online forums back in his ho country before he transmigrated.
Whenever you ntioned other players, it sohow always connected mysteriously to Jas; the word "thus" beca a common phrase.
He once thought it was all LeBron haters setting the rhythm, but now it seems that the biggest LeBron haters are actually LeBron fans.
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