"Get your asses up, is this how I taught you to defend?!"
Brown could only vent his anger on the first team players, but this also ant that he disregarded the rules and directly took charge of the first team.
Under his shouting, the defensive quality of the first team noticeably improved, while the coordination of the third team faltered, leading directly to a steal by Jas.
Jas quickly drove down the court and perford a signature tomahawk dunk.
After landing, Jas roared, finally venting his emotions.
The people on the sidelines, including Varejao, couldn’t help but shout excitedly as well.
Just trailing by 4 points? That’s before Jas started to exert his strength.
Once he started to push, catching up was just a matter of minutes!
Hansen continued to call for the ball in the frontcourt.
Breaking through is very physically demanding, which is known even by those who haven’t played basketball but have played a couple of 2K gas.
Especially since Hansen was also tangled with Jas on defense, his energy expenditure was even greater.
So in the previous round, he let West organize the offense while he took a brief rest on the side.
But as it turned out, basketball is really a sport driven by talent, and once the first team got serious, Hansen was the only one who could make a difference for the third team.
After receiving the ball, Hansen held it in his left hand and gestured with his right hand to play a pick-and-roll tactic.
West directed the weak side to spread out, and Jackson moved to the high post to set a pick-and-roll wall for Hansen.
O’Neal had been passed by Hansen once before, this ti he chose not to lunge out but switched defense with Conningham.
However, this kind of switch inevitably led to a gap, small though it was, but it was enough for Hansen to exploit greatly.
He first used Jackson’s pick-and-roll to move right, then when Conningham anticipated his move and lunged right, he directly changed direction and stepped back to the left to shoot a three-pointer.
Before crossing over, Jas had boasted about a type of pick-and-roll called the "Varejao pick-and-roll" on Redick’s podcast.
The only difference between that pick-and-roll and the one just now was that Varejao was moving during the pick-and-roll, which is technically illegal screening, but Jackson’s pick-and-roll didn’t move, and it was Hansen’s offensive threat that shifted the defense.
"Swish!"
Accompanied by a crisp swishing sound, the basketball, as if equipped with a tracking device, shot straight into the basket.
Hansen maintained his shooting follow-through.
He knew what he ca here to do today, and he was certain he could do it.
to 4.
The score gap reached 7 points!
At this mont, half of the 12 minutes of ga ti had already passed.
Jas started to get anxious, but just then, acting as the temporary referee on the sideline was Malone, not Pierce, and getting called for a travel made him feel completely out of rhythm.
This ntal fluctuation gave Hansen an opportunity.
"Slap!"
At the mont Jas changed direction to start, Hansen swiftly swiped the ball away.
Jas imdiately grabbed Hansen, resulting in a defensive foul called by Malone.
He couldn’t help but curse.
Hansen, expressionless, picked up the ball and walked to the backcourt to serve.
At this mont, he truly resembled the "Terminator" that O’Neal referred to.
Cold, like a machine.
With the change of possession, under Brown’s yelling, old Parker opted for a half-frontal defense against Hansen to restrict his ball receiving.
Seeing this, Hansen continued to gesture to Jackson, playing a pindown off-ball pick-and-roll strategy.
After trying twice in a row, Hansen finally got open through the pick-and-roll, and West’s pass quickly arrived.
However, the tactical intent was too obvious and took too much ti; when Hansen caught the ball to shoot, Jas had already flown over from the weak side.
Seeing this, Hansen took a quick step forward, drawing both Jas and Williams to him, then threw the ball out to West on the periter.
He was prepared for this because after making that three-pointer earlier, he could feel all the defensive attention from the first team focused on him.
West, after receiving the ball, didn’t panic. He shook off the returning Williams and took another step for a three-point shot.
"Swish!"
The basketball went through the net again!
When the wind is favorable, good shooting form is contagious!
After scoring, West found Hansen for a crisp high-five; he didn’t shout, but his excitent was fully evident in that slap.
to 4.
Brown was already drenched in sweat!
With a 10-point difference and less than five minutes, the first team really looked like they were going to lose!
Jas no longer dared to handle the ball for breakthroughs.
Despite his frustration, the reality proved that it was tough for him to penetrate Hansen’s defense.
At this point, O’Neal exerted his power under the basket, quickly pivoted to the baseline after catching the ball, and scored with a double-handed dunk past Jackson.
to 6.
This dunk boosted the sagging morale of the first team, preserving their hope.
Although his relationship with Hansen off the field was good, just like his days with Kobe on the Lakers, he kept it strictly business on and off the court.
Hansen continued to set pindowns with Jackson in the frontcourt.
After Jas stopped handling the ball offense, he didn’t need to expend energy on the defensive end, so his stamina was able to recover.
After receiving the ball, facing Jas who ca over to help defend, Hansen suddenly made a sharp change of direction to the left.
Jas charged too fiercely and couldn’t stop in ti, flying right past.
Although he used his powerful athletic talent to forcibly brake and supported his body with one hand to prevent himself from falling,
by the ti he had steadied himself, Hansen had already taken a healthy step past him.
And just as Jas, relying on his incredible physical abilities, forcefully lunged to provide help defense, Hansen suddenly stepped back to the three-point line.
The arena fell silent; in this exchange, Jas was completely played by Hansen!
Vallejo was so angry his teeth were bared, and his eyes nearly popped out.
If he were on the court, he would definitely pick a fight with Hansen!
But of course, soone did that for him. While Hansen was shooting, Williams, who clearly couldn’t stop him, committed a foul to halt Hansen.
Malone’s whistle blew. Hansen approached the free-throw line for three shots.
This wasn’t a ga with fans present, yet Vallejo kept barking nonstop.
Even Ilgauskas, standing nearby, couldn’t help but frown at the noise.
Hansen sank all three free throws, each swishing through.
His gaze was fiery, his hands remarkably steady.
Vallejo instantly quieted down.
to 6!
There really was no suspense left in the ga.
With less than three minutes left, even if O’Neal managed to keep scoring inside, his team couldn’t catch up.
Moreover, the third team still had the option to use the hack-a-Shaq strategy.
And at this point, they already began running down the clock on offense.
As ti slowly passed, despair began to appear on the faces of Team One’s players.
Under Brown’s shouting, Team One tried a full-court press, but Hansen broke past them, coordinating seamlessly with West to push the ball into the frontcourt.
Hansen was eventually fouled and went to the free-throw line.
This ti his hand did shake slightly, making one of two shots.
But this felt more like a silent taunt, as the ga’s outco was no longer in question.
In the final minute, Williams managed to hit a three-pointer, but it was too late.
With O’Neal’s cathartic slam dunk on the final play, Malone blew the long whistle to end the ga.
The final score rested at 18 to 11.
Of the 18 points scored by Team Three, Hansen scored 11.
Basketball isn’t a one-man show, but today Hansen virtually single-handedly defeated Team One.
The atmosphere in the gym was exceedingly strange.
Finally, it was Vallejo who broke the silence, calling the second team onto the court to try and reclaim so dignity for Team One.
Brown didn’t stop him, as it’s common in team practices to rotate players into the ga.
This ti, Pierce acted as the temporary referee.
Pierce also gave the second team so face, calling a defensive body foul on Hansen right from the start and offering his usual explanation: "You’re a rookie, they would call this on you in a ga too."
But this didn’t change anything, as Hansen quickly adjusted to the new standard of officiating and cleanly stole the ball from Danny Gibson twice.
Gibson was in good form tonight, but just like during the training camp, when facing Hansen who is slightly bigger and stronger, and nearly as fast, he found it difficult to get an open shot.
And this second-team lineup didn’t have much offensive power inside, relying entirely on the periter.
As for Vallejo, who had been the loudest on the sidelines—you know, dogs are most fierce when their leash is in their owner’s hand, but they quiet down imdiately once you let them off.
to 10, Hansen scored another 14 points, leading Team Three to beat Team Two.
At this point, the gym fell utterly silent.
Hansen had managed to do what seed completely impossible, and he had done it twice.
Ferry had co to the gym at so point, standing beside Brown, also looking incredulous.
Clearly, he had been there for a while.
Hansen was a bit surprised to see Ferry, but it was better that he was there.
He walked directly towards them, and as he walked, his voice echoed in the vast gym.
"Who is the most talented person on this team? It’s LeBron!
Who has the most experience on this team? It’s Shaquille!
Then who is the person who can help the team win the most?
It’s !
Without , you can’t beat the Magic.
Without , you can’t beat the Celtics.
You guys damn need so much!
Without , you wouldn’t even make it to the finals!"
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