After all, as Popovich said, both guards of the San Antonio Spurs and Hansen were in direct competition for the All-Star selections.
Hansen practiced for a while, then sat down to rest on the sidelines. Randolph also sat next to him, draping an arm around his shoulder and pointing at their figures on the LED screen, talking about how "popular" he was at the moment.
Hansen just smiled and watched Conley and the others warming up on the court, but he became curious about something.
"Zack, why did you choose number 50?"
"It’s related to my high school coach," Randolph, now on good terms with Hansen, was happy to share his past.
"When I was tall and big as a kid, Coach Midley wanted me to join, so he invited me out to eat, and I ended up eating exactly 50 chicken legs."
Hansen was startled; he hadn’t expected such an amazing story.
"You should have eaten five more chicken legs."
Randolph still didn’t get it.
Hansen pointed to his own jersey and then pointed at his.
chicken legs, number 55, and the Grizzlies’ starting lineup would all have odd numbers.
Randolph finally understood and burst out laughing.
However, he could feel that, although Hansen was deep in the whirlpool of public opinion and constantly under the spotlight, his mindset was exceptionally stable.
After the opening ceremony, both teams announced their starting lineups. Latest content publıshed on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩✶𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚✶𝕟𝕖𝕥
Grizzlies: Conley, Hansen, Guy, Randolph, Little Gasol
San Antonio Spurs: Parker, George Hill, Richard Jefferson, Duncan, Dejuan Blair
The improvement in the Spurs’ performance this season mainly stemmed from changes in the rotation, with Manu Ginobili starting for the first time in years and performing excellently.
But tonight, Popovich had Ginobili come off the bench again, starting Hill instead.
Duncan won the jump ball for the Spurs, giving them the first offensive opportunity.
The pick-and-roll between Parker and Duncan met Randolph, scoring with a jumper.
Randolph’s defense against the pick-and-roll was weak, and the Parker-Duncan screen play was precisely the Spurs’ strong suit.
And in return, Hill immediately adopted a front defense against Hansen, not allowing him to easily receive the ball, even blocking him from initiating plays from behind the three-point line.
Not only Hill, but Parker, defending Conley, also positioned himself on the side where Conley was passing to Hansen.
Popovich had said before the game that he wasn’t paying much attention to Hansen, but this setup was clearly focused on marking Hansen as the core of the Grizzlies’ perimeter.
No wonder they call him the GOAT.
Conley lobbed the ball to Randolph, then looped around Parker.
Randolph went one-on-one against Blair in the low post, and although Blair was only 2.01 meters tall, his size and speed matched him well.
He missed his turnaround shot, but immediately followed up with a rebound and scored on the second attempt.
One overlooked detail was that Randolph was only sixth among Western forwards in the first round of voting, while Big Gasol was second.
In terms of performance, the two were almost on par this season, but because Gasol played for the higher-profile Lakers, this obviously gave him an edge.
Five minutes into the first quarter, the score was 10-4, with the Grizzlies leading.
Parker and Duncan’s screen play was damaging, but Coach Hollins made an on-the-fly adjustment. Little Gasol let Blair go and early shrunk to the basket, which worked well.
But the Spurs struggled with Randolph.
Although Blair could compete with Randolph physically, his height disadvantage left him vulnerable in defense against Randolph.
Popovich had no choice but to switch Duncan to guard him, but once Randolph got going, he not only scored over Duncan but also drew Duncan’s defensive foul.
No wonder they say Randolph is a formidable weapon in the low post; once he is hot, no one can effectively guard him.
Left with no choice, Popovich stood up, subbed Blair with Antonio McDyess, and made tactical adjustments to the team’s defense.
The Spurs brought out their most skilled weapon: a 2-1-2 zone defense.