"James, didn’t understand."
Well, Hansen thought he should treat James and Guy as being on the same level of understanding.
It wasn’t until Hansen had retreated to his own half and James sat down that he realized what had happened, and he was so angry he punched the bench, startling the Heat players and Coach Spoelstra.
Haslem, seeing this, played the role of team caretaker once again, stepping forward to soothe James’ emotions.
Coming back from the timeout, both teams started to rotate players, and Hansen also went to rest.
At that point, the lineups on the court were, for the Heat Team: Norris Cole, Miller, James, McRoberts, and Haslem
For the Grizzlies: Conley, Tony Allen, Guy, Speights, and Faried
Allen took the lead in defending James.
Joerger knew James would stagger his play, so he had also made preparations in advance.
James received the ball at a high post, leaning on Allen, and quickly started to back him down.
The first bit of strength he gave was substantial, and the difference in their physiques forced Allen to sink his center of gravity, then James turned to the baseline for a jump shot.
Although the movement was hardly graceful, it did create a shooting opportunity.
And indeed, he made the shot.
At that moment, Hansen remembered watching tape from Game 6, the game against the Celtics where James had scored many points in this way.
In other words, when James had an advantage in a physical matchup, his turn-around jump shot had become quite reliable.
This wasn’t really a surprise because from the beginning of the season’s regular games against the Heat, James had shown a change in his play style, adding a lot of post-up strategies.
If he hadn’t made any progress after playing an entire season, that would have been the real surprise.
However, as a result, Allen’s effect in defending against James wouldn’t be too good.
Because unlike defending Durant or Kobe, the difference in weight would prevent Allen from utilizing his advantage.
The reality was indeed as such. After shutting down the Grizzlies’ offense, James switched sides and continued with his back to the basket.
This time, Allen leaned towards the baseline side, and James turned towards the free-throw line for another jump shot, hitting it again.
Seeing this, Joerger called Battier up to come into play.
Speights missed a mid-range shot after a pick-and-roll, and Faried grabbed the offensive rebound, drawing a foul on McRoberts to earn free throws.
Battier also took the floor at this time, replacing Allen.
Faried made one of two free throws.
Turning back around, James, seeing that he was being defended by Battier, started moving without the ball.
However, Battier stuck to him closely and didn’t get shaken off.
James continued to call for the ball with a high post-up upon seeing this.
Under Joerger’s instruction, Conley made a move to double, but James faked a pass and, along with Cole’s movement to the weak side, forced him to retreat.
Once the strong side was clear, James turned around and, after dribbling back a bit, suddenly accelerated past Battier and surged into the lane.
With Haslem blocking Faried out, James faced Speights’ help defense and delivered his signature tomahawk dunk over the defender.
Although he played sparsely during the starting period, staggered play was his forte.
Moreover, during this stretch, James exhibited all his versatile traits; he had indeed improved a lot compared to last season.
In fact, the "history" Hansen knew of also considered this year to be the season when James was at the peak of his individual power.
What, why wasn’t he effective during the starting period?
With the Grizzlies’ starting lineup, three perimeter stoppers and two towers inside, even Kobe and Durant would be daunted; it’s no wonder that James struggled.
But a game lasts for 48 minutes, especially since the dual towers consume a lot of energy, and maintaining that lineup on the court has its time limit.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was fixed at 16 to 22, with the Heat Team successfully narrowing the gap.
When the second quarter started, the Heat brought Wade in to lead the team, and Joerger used Hansen to replace Guy.
The gap on the scoreboard was consistently maintained at 6 to 8 points.
After about 4 minutes of play in the quarter, both sides gradually brought their starters back.
The score was then 22 to 28, with the Grizzlies still in the lead.
James wanted the ball beyond the three-point line, gave Guy a glance, and then pulled up for a three-pointer.
Guy hadn’t expected James to dare take such a shot, and his defense didn’t keep up.
Accompanied by a crisp sound, the three-pointer dropped straight in.
James pounded his chest and roared after the shot.
A surge of excitement ran through the venue.
A player’s performance and confidence are closely linked; the successive scores by James during staggered play had brought his confidence back.
In fact, in the game against the Celtics in Game 6, he also started off average, but as the Celtics switched to Petruus, he also started to play more fluidly.
The gap was once again narrowed by the Heat Team to a single point.
The Heat Team’s defensive intensity also started to increase.
Randolph’s low post position was constantly contended by Haslem, preventing him from comfortably receiving the ball.
Conley, seeing this, also turned to the other side, signaling for Hansen to come out and get the ball.
Wade’s defense on Hansen remained tight, but with a screen from Little Gasol, Hansen managed to receive the ball, though Wade was still in his face.
If we must discuss who in the League’s perimeter players deserves First Team All-Defense, with Kobe’s advancing age, that person should be Wade.
Wade has the speed and physicality, as well as defensive experience and skill; when he seriously defends, it’s very hard to break through him.
Hansen had a size advantage over Wade, but his back-to-basket game and footwork weren’t quite there; playing against Wade would still be tough.
His choice, of course, was to look for his good buddy. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡✶𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚✶𝙣𝙚𝙩