Hansen had prepared to lose his starting spot, but in the back-to-back gas against the 76ers, he still appeared in the starting lineup.
Of course, his treatnt on the court remained the sa; he still didn’t have many opportunities to perform.
It seed Jas still wanted to protect Coach Brown’s position.
After all, where could you find another coach so compliant?
Other coaches were labeled as "run-and-gun masters," "Zen masters," or "tactical wizards," while Brown was dubbed the "nanny coach."
Although he still hadn’t received what one might call fairness, the outco was much better than Hansen had anticipated.
At least by staying on the court, he could still fight for opportunities.
Handling the ball, defending counterattacks, tackling tough opponents... Although these ga aspects were challenging, they were not bad for him at this point.
He was, after all, in urgent need of these experiences to enhance his abilities.
However, not all situations were like when playing against the Celtics.
The biggest difference ca in the fourth quarter when Hansen’s rotation ti was extrely abnormal.
As the starting shooting guard, he would be put into the ga at the beginning of the fourth quarter, play for six minutes, and then be benched, not to return.
At first, he thought it was just a coincidence, but then it happened several gas in a row.
Even an article by Carrell on ESPN titled "Why Can’t the Team’s Best Defender Play in the Final Monts" didn’t change this.
This tactic was extrely sly.
In basketball, teams and players need to perform well for all 48 minutes of the ga.
But for the fans, unless it was a clash between strong teams, most of the ti they just watched the beginning and the end of the ga.
Especially the thrilling final monts, which fans loved the most.
But now, by not being able to play, Hansen’s exposure in front of the fans was greatly reduced.
Therefore, Hansen’s big heart, like the buzzer-beater against the Magic during the season opener, also had no chance to shine.
And the fans’ reaction wasn’t as intense as before; after all, although the rotation tis were different, Hansen was still getting enough ga ti.
From November 15 to November 23, the Cavaliers had two back-to-back matches, including a ga against the Celtics, playing six gas and winning five.
The one ga they lost was to the Mavericks, while their victories were against teams like the Bucks, 76ers, and Kings, none of whom were postseason contenders.
What a peaceful scene, akin to a prosperous dynasty.
Hansen always sat on the bench at the ga’s climax, utterly bewildered.
Since the Cavaliers didn’t seem eager to utilize him properly, why not just trade him?
Surely Jas couldn’t have such a love-hate relationship with him?
Was he really that important to Jas?
On December 23, Hansen celebrated his 21st birthday in Cleveland.
The next day, he boarded a plane to Los Angeles with the Cavaliers.
After boarding, Jas’s trainer opened a box, which contained a gift from Jas to his teammates: customized noise-canceling Beats headphones.
These headphones looked expensive, and the packaging bore Jas’s photo.
It seed this was a product he endorsed.
Hansen put on an eye mask and unsealed and wore the headphones, then began to rest and gather his energy.
[23VS24]was a topic Stern had been hyping since 2008, but despite his best efforts over the years, it had never materialized.
Finally, he had had enough and scheduled it for the Christmas battle.
Thus, it was foreseeable that this ga would attract unprecedented attention.
Upon arriving in Los Angeles late that night, Hansen didn’t rest like the others. Instead, he stayed in the hotel lobby for Carrell to conduct a pre-ga interview.
Early the next morning, an article titled "I Don’t Think Kobe is the Best Player in the League" appeared out of nowhere.
Since Kobe had led his team to a championship that year, his status as the number one player in the league had been recognized by the outside world.
So just the title alone was enough to catch people’s attention.
"I don’t think Kobe is the best player in the league yet because last year’s championship lacked substance,"
This was Hansen’s response when asked how he planned to handle "going up against the best player in the league."
"They were forced into a ga seven by the Rockets, and if Yao hadn’t been injured by Kobe’s collision, the Rockets would have won that playoff series,"
And his first argunt was the ga-winner.
This viewpoint had been hotly debated online the previous year, especially his ntion of Yao being injured because of Kobe.
"This discussion also includes intentional and unintentional topics."
"If it wasn’t for KG’s injury, the Lakers wouldn’t have been their match either, you need to know that even without KG, the Celtics still pushed the Magic Team to the seventh ga."
Hansen imdiately threw out his second argunt, which had also been a hot topic among netizens: the Lakers’ finals were too easy against the Magic Team.
"So who do you think is the best player in the league?"
"Of course, it’s... Tim Duncan."
"TD is the youngest FMVP after ’Magic’ Johnson, and he has 4 championships, 3 FMVPs, and 2 MVPs, you can’t ignore him just because he’s low-key. If he had played in Los Angeles, I believe he would already be chasing Michael Jordan."
"I know you might say TD is old, but what I want to say is that people say this every year, yet TD is still one of the top five players in the league, and many people probably overlook that TD is only two years older than Kobe."
The argunt is clear, and the evidence is substantial; though Hansen’s view is novel, it is also thought-provoking.
Although upon closer examination, there are still so issues.
For example, when Hansen confirms who the best player in the league is, he completely uses a comparison of honors.
But in fact, honors and player ability do not directly correlate; it’s an accumulative process, depending on who has better teammates and who plays longer.
Then there’s the injury issue; if the Celtics didn’t win the championship in ’09 because KG was injured, could the Lakers not winning in ’08 also be due to Binamu’s injury?
Including Yao Ming’s injury, if we bring up this topic of injuries, it’s an endless discussion.
But does any of this matter?
Not really, as long as it appears logically consistent, it will naturally provoke thought and naturally spread.
Especially for Kobe fans, the largest fan group, they will surely attack him.
It’s all for the sake of discrediting.
But it’s not entirely for that reason.
After playing against the Celtics, he felt his "Wave Riding Skill" improving rapidly, and he could even see the ceiling.
This breakthrough in talent was much faster than he had anticipated.
This made him realize even more the importance of high-quality competition.
But strong opponents aren’t available every night, especially being in the East; therefore, coming up against a team like the Lakers is an opportunity that must be utilized.
Especially Kobe.
Apart from having MVP-level offensive power, he also possesses the skill of a nine-ti first-team all-defensive player.
Moreover, this guy is notoriously obsessive on the court.
Though he is not as genuine as Durant, would he remain indifferent if such news were spread?
Of course, Hansen took action on the day of the news report, the ga day, and stuck with the team throughout, never being a lone wolf.
The LeBron fans already have extre enthusiasts, and the Kobe fan base is even larger in number.
...
On the evening of December 25th at the Staples Center, there wasn’t an empty seat in the house.
The NBA League has two stadiums that never worry about ticket sales, one is Madison Square Garden, and the other is the Staples Center.
So the Bass Family, although one of the poorest owners in the league, would hardly go bankrupt as long as the NBA exists.
The festive Christmas atmosphere was thick at the venue, but so of the signs stood out distinctly.
"Fxck 77"
"77, you understand nothing about basketball"
"KB recognized as the best active player"
...
Hansen, arriving at the stadium, was put on the LED big screen by a photographer right away, the venue booing intensely.
This Christmas Day ga was originally shaped by Stern as the destined battle between 23 and 24, even featuring an OK reunion gimmick, but no one expected that the first to steal the show would be the rookie, Hansen.
This made two people in the stands shake their heads, one being Stern who attended in person, and the other the Cavaliers general manager Ferry who ca with the team.
Hansen naturally enjoyed being at the center of attention.
He hadn’t done anything yet, and his negative fan value was already growing as fast as it did when he scored a 2 1 on Tony Allen.
Indeed, 6 billion Kobe fans are terrifying.
However, just when he was feeling proud, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
This feeling was much stronger than when he was in Oklahoma.
Hansen turned his head, only to see a pair of cold, snake-like eyes staring at him.
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