Brown was also looking at Hansen with admiration in his eyes.
It was hard not to be moved by Hansen’s composure, facing Wallace’s defense like Mount Tai remained unshaken.
You have to know, although Hansen joined the draft after completing his junior year, he had actually only played in the NCAA for one year.
This level of maturity made him doubt if this young man housed a soul far older than his age. Follow current novels on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦•𝘯𝘦𝘵
Of course, what was most important was that such a player was really suitable for James.
The biggest problem the Cavaliers faced last season was James’s breakthrough and passing, and the inability of the outside players to hit their shots.
This led to opponents aggressively double-teaming James or forcing him to take mid to long-range shots.
Not to mention Hansen’s defense experience, which also seemed mismatched with his age.
Hmm, the people James picked were truly strong!
He smiled and turned to look at James, only then noticing James with a troubled expression.
He couldn’t help but sigh.
Hansen was good in many ways, except he was rebellious and, for some reason, didn’t get along well with James.
It seemed he would have to play to his own strengths as head coach to reconcile their differences.
While Brown was lost in thought, out on the court Hansen and O’Neal were sparking fierce clashes.
Parker was an excellent 3D player; he executed the coach’s instructions on the court clearly, like a machine part rarely making mistakes.
But compared to Hansen, he lacked a certain flair.
Especially when both were on the court at the same time, it became particularly apparent.
Comparatively, Parker could spread the floor, but Hansen could create space.
Guarding Parker, the Bobcats only needed the defensive player to keep up, but guarding Hansen wasn’t enough just with Henderson.
For example, in the last round, after receiving the ball, Hansen faked a shot to throw Henderson off, then suddenly drove towards the basket, facing Chandler’s defense, he lobbed the ball for an alley-oop dunk with O’Neal.
Or the round before that, seeing the Bobcats planning to double-team O’Neal early, Hansen moved to the weak side high post to set a screen for Williams, and after setting it, quickly split to the top of the arc, disrupting the Bobcats’ defensive formation, allowing O’Neal to get a one-on-one opportunity and score under the basket.
Under the leadership of O’Neal and Hansen, the Cavaliers gradually erased the Bobcats’ lead and ultimately took the lead.
Brown once again stroked his chin, thinking that having Hansen and O’Neal on the court together might also be a good choice.
By halftime, the Cavaliers led the Bobcats 43 to 33.
Hansen played 15 minutes in the first half, contributing 8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, and 2 fouls.
Preseason games generally only involve half-game play, and in the second half, teams usually evaluate their fringe rotations.
So, the Cavaliers managed to preserve their dignity tonight.
O’Neal only played 16 minutes, contributing 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and also staged an alley-oop dunk, showing his ongoing dominance in the paint.
Hansen ultimately played 26 minutes, contributing 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers, and 3 fouls, and shooting 4 out of 7 from three-point range.
Thanks to his outstanding performance, Hansen earned the right to join the post-game press conference, along with O’Neal.
Even though it was a preseason game, since it was the season opener, quite a few reporters were present.
However, when the press conference began, the first questions from the reporters were about James.
Why didn’t James play tonight, was he injured, and would he be able to play in the regular-season opener?
O’Neal clearly looked displeased.
Hansen was also a bit speechless; despite he and O’Neal saving the day for the Cavaliers, the media was most concerned about the player who, for unknown reasons, didn’t play.
But after seeing the press badge on the reporter, he understood.
This reporter, Windhorst from ESPN, obviously came with an agenda.
After all of James’s questions were asked, it was finally their turn.
The first question was directed at O’Neal.
"If you underestimate the Big Shark because of his age, he will tear you apart!" When asked about his performance tonight, O’Neal looked fiercely at the camera.
"Don’t forget, buddy was still a third-team center last season, I didn’t even break a sweat tonight." Then he followed up with a laugh.
This guy was really funny.
Then, the microphone was passed to Hansen.
Similar to the question asked to O’Neal, he was also asked to evaluate his performance tonight.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, what score would you give your performance tonight?"
The reporter seemed to have done his homework on Hansen’s "brilliant deeds" beforehand as he directed the question precisely.
"10 points," Hansen responded without hesitation.
The reporter subconsciously wiped sweat off his forehead, apparently underestimating Hansen.
However, what Hansen said next surprised everyone at the scene.
"But I’ll give half of those points to Shaq, as it was his dominance inside that provided me with such great opportunities outside."
O’Neal was beaming with pride.
This wasn’t just about flattering; it was Hansen giving him a sense of presence.
The reason he, at his age, was still flashing those ferocious expressions at reporters like he did in his youth was to create a sense of presence for himself.
After all, if reporters behaved even in a game that he put effort into, what would happen during the regular season?
Then came the business flattery segment.
"Guys, you should know that Kobe, in his rookie season, missed three consecutive three-pointers, but this guy could hit a three-point shot against Gerald Wallace’s defense—he’s a ’terminator.’"
Wow, they just slapped a nickname on him like that.
But this was very much in line with O’Neal’s usual style. Truth, Flash, Big Fundamental—these NBA nicknames all originated from him; he even gave himself dozens of nicknames.
He thought it sounded familiar, like someone else’s nickname.
He couldn’t quite remember at that moment.
But in the NBA, duplicate nicknames weren’t unseen; the nickname "Air" was first used by "Doctor J" Irving, then Jordan, followed by Carter.
Including "King," initially used by Chamberlain, which is also why domestic media called James "Little Emperor."
Nicknames aren’t on a first-come, first-served basis; it all depends on who is more famous.
After the press conference ended, O’Neal, hooking his arm around Hansen’s shoulder, returned to the locker room and even mentioned taking him to a club to party later.
Hansen seized the moment to significantly close the gap between them.
Hansen, freshly showered, had just changed his clothes.
"Rookie, go buy us fried chicken," a commanding voice suddenly rang in his ear.
Turning his head, he saw the creepy face he despised.
NBA had an unwritten rule that rookies had to run errands for senior players or the seniors might deliberately make life hard for rookies—a so-called "rookie hazing."
Common examples included stuffing popcorn in a car, requiring rookies to carry pink backpacks, etc. Many NBA stars had been hazed .
Of course, there were simpler tasks, like carrying bags or fetching food for senior players—Ricky Davis asking James to carry his shoes fell into this category.
However, the frequency of these simpler tasks varied; for instance, Sun Yue bought burgers for Kobe for an entire season.
Clearly, Varejao was taking advantage of this under the guise of retaliation after being verbally sparred by Hansen on the court.
"I refuse," Hansen said without a second thought.
"You refuse?" Varejao chuckled.
He had anticipated Hansen’s refusal; however, by refusing, Hansen was breaking the unspoken rule, which could lead to isolation by his teammates.
Indeed, after Hansen’s refusal, the other players in the locker room began to look at him differently.
O’Neal also seemed hesitant to speak.
"Today, I would do it for anyone else but you," Hansen said sternly, looking directly at Varejao,
"Because you don’t deserve it."
Hansen skipped all the pretense and went straight for the jugular!
He really wanted to retaliate physically, but remembering the last time he confronted Hansen and ended up worse for wear, his body instinctively didn’t comply.
Just then, Ilgauskas, clearing his throat, stood up and stepped between them.
"Let’s talk this out, Han," Ilgauskas said, while signaling to Hansen with his eyes, reminding him of their prior agreement.
"Fine, I’ll give face to Big Z. If you can make a mid-range shot on the court, I’ll do what I should. Otherwise, you better shut up, because I don’t want to buy stuff for someone who’s too scared to even shoot on the court—it’s disgusting."
Ilgauskas was relieved at first upon hearing Hansen’s words but felt helpless toward the end.
Indeed, Hansen had given face; he didn’t even swear.
Yet, it was a real humiliation.
In a way, by using such methods to retaliate after a bad game, Varejao had humiliated himself.