Guy was already on his way at a gallop.
Circling around screens was the weak link in Wade’s defense, so James, even if unwilling, still ended up being served up to Hansen like a dish.
Hansen dribbled the ball, looking for the angle to dive in with his chopsticks.
James’s recently domineering gaze swiftly turned a bit hollow.
It’s not his fault, really. At the start of the season, it was somewhat easy for Hansen to get past him. Now that Hansen had reached "Uncle Drew" status, getting by him was like passing a wooden stake, wasn’t it?
More importantly, these kinds of matchups not only greatly reduced his defensive efficiency, but they also looked ugly on the court.
He decisively turned his head to call for help defense.
This scene also prompted another round of jeering from the crowd.
Who calls for a double-team before even starting to defend?
Wade was preparing to come over for the help defense, but Hansen had already changed direction and broke through on the side of the free-throw line as soon as James turned his head.
By the time James reacted, he had already been beaten.
He just tried to chase from behind.
But Hansen’s drive was decisive, and the finish was even more so; a quick stop and a pop shot from the paint hit its mark.
James’s flying block grabbed a handful of Memphis air.
Watching James descend in front of him, Hansen spread his hands.
They were both spreading their hands, but the meanings were quite different.
Then, upon returning to the defensive end and signaling to Guy, Hansen switched to defend James directly!
The Grizzlies starting lineup didn’t lack help defenders on the inside; the key was perimeter defense.
Like Allen, Hansen had the ability to restrict James’s drives, but his advantage over Allen was his bigger size, and he wasn’t afraid of James’s post-up game.
Upon seeing this, James immediately lost the desire to request the ball.
Such is the harsh reality.
But Hansen had his own ways. Fresh chapters posted on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✶𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✶𝓷𝓮𝓽
"DW just isn’t up to par."
Although James had become more or less immune to Hansen’s trash talk, this particular comment still managed to catch his attention.
Could it be that Hansen was thinking of joining the Heat?
That would be quite the creative idea. With Wade starting to suffer injuries this season, swapping him for Hansen could bring a brighter future for the Heat Team, not to mention their past experience working together.
However, the continuation of Hansen’s remark couldn’t be more unrelated to what James had thought, if not completely the opposite.
"You know, back when Pippen scored only 8 points, Jordan could score 45 and lead the team to victory, but DW can’t do that."
James understood then because the mention of scoring 8 points was extremely sensitive, not to mention that Hansen had brought up Pippen.
But he couldn’t refute it.
Because if he said he was not Pippen, it meant claiming his capability was definitely worth more than 8 points.
Yet, to prove his worth was more than 8 points, he had to admit it was intentional to relinquish control of the offense.
What you might call a red-hot, poisoned, sharply honed boomerang—a piercing dilemma with no clear escape.
And then, something Hansen didn’t expect happened.
"So what?" And then, James hit back with his rare piece of trash talk.
And he even looked towards Wade, who was preparing to break past Guy.
Clearly, it meant that Wade voluntarily gave up trying to be like Jordan.
That suffocating feeling from the regular season returned.
Hansen felt like cracking Wade’s head open just like he did with Guy back then, to see exactly what kind of sludge was in his brain.
But he quickly ordered his thoughts.
After all, the situation now was different from the regular season.
He looked at James, still laughing over there, and continued to speak:
"So I’m curious if you’ll be swept out the door just like Pippen!"
The smile on James’s face froze in an instant.
Hansen could say whatever else and he wouldn’t care. After all, as long as he was thick-skinned enough, everything was not an issue.
Just like he once described in a classic "when life lets you down" moment, the sun would still rise as usual tomorrow, and he would continue living his emperor-like life.
But this point Hansen raised was precisely what he was most worried about at the moment.
If the Heat didn’t win the championship, they indeed might become the fastest-dismantled superteam.
Riley wasn’t someone to hold on to past sentiments; when trading O’Neal to The Suns, he didn’t consider the championship O’Neal brought to the Heat.
Moreover, they had failed two years in a row.
And if it came down to dismantling the team, he wasn’t sure he could stay, or even if traded, he wasn’t sure he could go to a team of his choosing.
Because it involved something very key which he lacked: a no-trade clause!
Why did Kobe manage to exert so much pressure on the management every time he pushed for changes? It was because his contract included that clause.
The era of designating preferred destinations in contracts wasn’t here yet.
So, once traded, or as Hansen put it, swept out the door, and ending up somewhere undesired, his entire career plan and business operations would fall into disarray.
"We will beat you guys," James retorted.
Hansen laughed, for James’s trash talk was at a kindergarten level.
His reply of just two words left James red-faced:
Wade broke past Guy, but his floater under Little Gasol’s help defense went off the mark.
This season, after yielding control, Wade mainly played hero ball, which directly resulted in injury issues.
It wasn’t too evident during the regular season, but come playoffs, his performance had significantly declined compared to the last season.