In that substitute sequence, Guy was like a god descending to earth, totally blowing the San Antonio Spurs away.
By the time the main players came back, the Grizzlies took advantage of their victory and outscored the Spurs 29 to 16 in the second quarter, leading by 17 points at halftime.
The once lively AT&T Center had become eerily silent before the end of the first half.
When halftime was over, there was a noticeable drop in attendance.
Those fans who came to enjoy the game said they’d rather stick together in tough times next time.
But the Spurs hadn’t given up.
Coming out of the half, the Spurs played steadily and scored 29 to 22 in the third quarter, reducing the deficit to 10 points.
Then, Guy was up again, immediately overpowering Anderson.
Seeing this, Popovich finally substituted Leonard in for Anderson.
This was Leonard’s first regular-season appearance with the Spurs.
Leonard did not disappoint, managing to steal the ball from Guy right away.
Although he was still a rookie, his innate talent was maxed out, especially his hands that could cover a "F" cup, which put a lot of pressure on the ball defensively.
Guy, who had a slow start, was effectively shut down.
Seeing this, Hansen stood up and signaled Guy to draw a foul on Leonard before he could fall back.
The move was immediately effective.
Guy drew consecutive fouls on Leonard, infuriating Popovich to the point where he ran to the technical bench to loudly protest.
After all, Leonard was a rookie, inexperienced, and also not quite sure about the scale of penalties.
Usually, rookies would adapt through summer league games, but the 2011 class didn’t have the luxury of a summer league.
As the gap widened again, the spectators were somewhat numb.
They never thought they’d see the day they’d be defeated by Guy!
Ultimately, the Grizzlies beat the Spurs 95 to 82 on the road, grabbing a season-opening victory.
After the game, the stat line read: Parker 20 points and 6 assists, Duncan 18 points, 15 rebounds, and 4 assists, Manu Ginobili 13 points for the Spurs.
For the Grizzlies, Guy had 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals, Hansen 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists, Gasol 11 points and 10 rebounds, Conley 11 points and 6 assists, Randolph 10 points and 6 rebounds.
"They had 30 free throws and we only had 15; that’s not what you’d expect in a normal game," Popovich broke down.
Everyone who watched the game knew the Grizzlies were hitting the paint harder tonight, especially Guy, who alone took 13 free throws.
But he couldn’t just say he was unprepared for Hansen and Guy, or directly say he couldn’t beat the Grizzlies, could he?
People always need excuses for their failures.
Of course, his excuse cost him $25,000.
Because the Grizzlies won, the atmosphere at the post-game press conference was much more jovial.
"The feeling of being back on the court is incredible, I feel like I was repressed for a year and it all burst out at once," Guy replied, prompting laughter from the audience, and Hansen couldn’t help but facepalm.
Guy’s comment seemed to imply that his teammates’ passes were helping him release.
"Han, you delivered 7 assists tonight, setting a new career-high. How did you manage that?" After questioning Guy, the reporters passed the mic to Hansen.
"Really? My assist record is that low?" Hansen’s response got the reporters laughing again.
"I must thank my teammates; they were on fire, turning every pass from me into points."
See, that’s being modest!
"Zach struggled a bit today, are you worried about his performance?" Of course, there was an ESPN reporter who missed the mood.
"We need to learn to be satisfied. If Zach had also performed well, we would have beaten them by more than 20 points, and then someone would say we were committing a crime."
Hansen’s comments once again amused the reporters.
"With a big win over the Spurs and a season opener in the bag, you guys look even better than last season. Is reaching the finals the team’s goal this year?" Carrell asked, standing up.
"No, our only goal is the championship; no one can stop us."
The declaration at East University didn’t make enough waves, so naturally, a big official announcement was needed at the season start.
Forget the Lakers and Heat, and forget that the season just started—it’s all about that confidence.
And of course, there were haters. Updates are released by 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⁂𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⁂𝙣𝙚𝙩
Both Kobe fans and LeBron fans would probably criticize him for what he said.
After the game, Hansen also checked the news for the other two games.
The Lakers defeated the Bulls 100 to 88, with Kobe scoring 28 points and Paul having 18 points, 13 assists.
The Heat won 105 to 99 against the Mavericks, with James scoring a game-high 35 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists, Wade 24 points, and Bosh 13 points, 1 rebound.
It seemed that their teams were meshing well in the new season.
After winning the opener, the Grizzlies then continued their streak by defeating the Rockets and the King, achieving a three-game winning streak at the start of the season.
In the following two games, because the opponents were clearly weaker, the Grizzlies focused more on getting Randolph into form.
Randolph scored 18 points in one game and 21 in another, clearly warming up.
Hansen averaged 6 assists through the three games.
This feeling was bizarre because sometimes he found delivering a brilliant pass more thrilling than scoring.
This must be what they call the joy of passing?
Riding this wave of victories, the Grizzlies also took down the Thunders at home 98 to 95, continuing their winning streak.
Randolph’s performance improved further, scoring 24 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
"No one can stop us," Randolph confidently declared at the post-game news conference.