The Grizzlies finally overpowered the Lakers at home court.
In the post-game statistics, Kobe from the Lakers went 14 for 35, furiously missing 21 shots, and notched up 41 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 turnovers.
Odom scored 15 points, and no other Lakers player scored in double digits.
For the Grizzlies, Randolph was 10 for 13, contributing a team-high 28 points, plus 13 rebounds and 4 assists, delivering an All-Star level performance.
Guy went 7 for 15 to grab 18 points, 5 rebounds, and a career-high 6 blocks, while Little Gasol got 10 points and 9 rebounds, and Conley scored 13 points and dished out 9 assists.
Hansen tonight focused mainly on tangling with Kobe, going 5 for 11 to score just 11 points, along with 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
After the game, Hansen and Randolph attended the post-game press conference together. The source of thɪs content is 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⟡𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵
"Defense was the key to our victory tonight, Hansen’s defense on Kobe set the tone for the game," Randolph said while adjusting his headband, unable to hide his grin.
Since their café meeting, he had found himself increasingly fond of Hansen.
"We all know how strong the Lakers’ frontcourt is, but Zack dominated them, tonight he looked like ’Big Shark’ O’Neal," Hansen also didn’t skimp on the praise for Randolph.
The two were engaged in mutual commercial flattery.
"Hansen, you only scored 11 points tonight, which is well below your season average. Does that bother you?" asked the reporter from ESPN.
"What’s the point of scoring 30 if the team can’t win?" Hansen replied, smiling.
He had seen more than enough of the "I scored but we lost" scenarios in Cleveland.
"Does defeating the Lakers tonight mean the Grizzlies now have the strength to contend for the championship?" the reporter clearly laid a trap for Hansen.
"No," Hansen shook his head,
"I said before the season started, our goal is the championship."
After leaving the press conference, Hollins intended to say something to Hansen but, looking at him, couldn’t get a word out.
In the end, he just turned his head and left.
It was clear that he was exasperated by Hansen’s big mouth.
"Not bad," Joerger slapped Hansen on the shoulder and then followed Hollins.
After taking a shower, Hansen returned home and immediately entered the Anti-Fans System.
His defense against Kobe in the first half had been quite effective, but in the second half, Kobe found his rhythm and still scored a good number of points.
It wasn’t that his defense had slipped, but rather that once Kobe felt the touch, his mid-range game could really ignore the defense.
Fortunately, after today, it would no longer be Kobe’s exclusive trick; Hansen could have it, too!
Entering the system interface, Hansen found the First Gear mid-range Talent and directly exchanged it for [Classical Master].
[Classical Master]: Significantly enhances the Talent for waist and body coordination, and substantially improves the smoothness of mid-range touch.
Like [Steel Bones], it is described with adverbs of extent.
And there’s one aspect of [Classical Master] that overlaps with [Giant Slayer]: body coordination.
This means that if he trains [Classical Master] to its limit, his hook shot ability will continue to advance.
Two birds with one stone: he had to train hard and get to that limit as soon as possible.
Hansen was a man of action; though he should have been resting, he couldn’t contain his excitement and immediately ran to the gym for extra training.
His training intensity was already high, and his body was tired from the game,
but the vision of Kobe making mid-range shots against him was all he could think about, feeling an endless surge of energy.
And although this was just the start of his training, he could already feel his shots becoming smoother.
A First Gear Talent was indeed powerful.
Time quickly moved to late December.
The League had been playing for two months, and Stan updated his power rankings once more.
Thanks to his bold rankings of the Heat and his willingness to quickly correct mistakes, the credibility of his list was rising fast, and many fans now held it in high regard, akin to the "Bible."
In this edition, the Bulls remained at the top of the list.
In the League’s latest MVP ranking announcement, Ross topped the list for the first time.
The Heat, after being ranked second since the first edition, rose back to second place.
After a dismal start of 9 wins and 8 losses, the Heat won 15 of the past 16 games over the last month.
Spoelstra hadn’t lied; after that two-person conversation, there had been significant changes in the Heat’s strategies.
Wade began making more off-ball cuts and increased his post-up frequency, with his shot selection significantly moving inside;
Bosh did the opposite of Wade, transitioning to the 16-foot area more often, taking mid-range shots and becoming a spacing option for the team’s offense;
James began handling the ball more, taking on the role of linking the team together.
The biggest change this adjustment brought was a sharp increase in James’ efficiency, as he began to return to a style of play he was familiar with.
Moreover, after being criticized twice, Stan had also learned his lesson.
For potentially controversial team rankings, he directly provided his analyses.
The reason he still didn’t rank the Heat first was that their performance over the past month was largely due to the schedule.
Out of the 16 opponents the Heat faced, only 4 were playoff teams, so the strength of those opponents somewhat inflated their record.
The San Antonio Spurs reached third place for the first time.