That’s right, although he played the small forward position, the Heat were using Wade to defend him.
This time Wade stuck with Allen, and Randolph passed the ball to Hansen on the outside.
James was obviously slow on the switch.
Or perhaps, he thought Wade would get around Allen.
Hansen caught the ball, shot the three, swift as a knife.
After scoring, Hansen didn’t look at James but turned around, spread his hands towards Spoelstra on the sidelines:
"Don’t you guys practice switching strategies normally?"
James was not far away at this time, feeling exactly like Kobe did earlier, really wanting to tear Hansen’s adorable mouth to shreds.
However, clearly, he was unable to do so, and of course, Hansen wouldn’t just stop there.
After all, Hansen knew very well that the high and mighty Chosen One disdained to trash talk with ordinary people like them.
In the Heat’s offensive round, Wade continued to play in the low post, and this time Hansen drew in. When Wade turned his head to observe, Allen made his move and completed the steal.
Just as Hansen had felt during their training sessions, Allen’s focus on defense was very high. He might get beaten, but if you slack off even slightly, he would seize the opportunity.
The Grizzlies countered with a fast break, and Hansen’s fast-break layup caused James to commit a foul.
"They all say D-Wade is ’Jordan minus five centimeters,’ but I want to say, you’re the real Pippen, because you’re as tall as he is," Hansen seized the opportunity to continue dishing out to James. Googlᴇ search 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⟡𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵
Hansen made both free throws, scoring 5 points in a row, and the Grizzlies overtook the lead, 7-6.
Next round, James asked for the ball at the three-point line.
After the ball came over and the others spread out, he didn’t wait for Hansen to speak but signaled to Bosh for a pick-and-roll play.
He wasn’t completely infuriated by Hansen, but he felt Hansen would be tight on him defensively that evening, just as he had been during the season opener, playing alongside him during the reserve link-up. The one-on-one with Hansen was inevitable.
So, rather than waiting until he had no choice, he might as well do it now.
Of course, there was another point, which was also mentioned by Spoelstra before the game, the weak point in the Grizzlies’ defense.
Randolph was poor at defending the pick-and-roll.
Bosh’s pick was solid, and as Hansen got around it, he took a bit of time, giving James an instant mid-range shooting opportunity.
As expected, James didn’t choose to shoot but used the gap to accelerate, driving hard towards the interior with the ball.
His steps were powerfully quick, but unfortunately, even though he started fast enough and with sufficient momentum, Randolph was still like a wall, blocking his path to the basket.
James hit a wall, and the referee didn’t blow the whistle.
This round ended with James losing his balance and making a somewhat comical turn-around toss, with the ball nearly missing the rim.
Hansen was chasing behind him, and this scene brought a smile to his face.
James’s finishing moves in penetration were truly one-dimensional; if only he had a floater, it wouldn’t have been such an injury—no wonder he could turn Hibbert into "Black Yao Ming."
Randolph protected the defensive rebound.
Advancing to the frontcourt, Hansen then waved to Conley for the ball.
Tonight Randolph had attacked the low post twice, and both times the Heat firmly double-teamed him. It was clear that Spoelstra’s defensive focus laid out before the game was the interior.
This time, they needed him to shift the defense to the outside.
After catching the ball, he smiled at James: "Come on, daddy will teach you how to play the pick-and-roll!"
Having said that, he gestured to Little Gasol for a pick-and-roll play.