The Cavaliers’ consecutive dunks set the arena abuzz and showcased the drive of this young team.
Youth has its disadvantages, of course, but also its advantages; much depends on who is leading the team.
After Thompson’s successful free throw, the scoreboard moved to 5-6.
The Grizzlies’ perfect start and their momentum had been countered by the Cavaliers.
However, the shift in momentum did not affect the comparison of strength in the paint between the two sides.
At the peak of their powers, the black and white bear duo was on par with the Heat Team on the offensive end, even when Hansen was fully invested in defense. Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✶𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✶𝕟𝕖𝕥
Little Gasol, handling the ball at the high post, directly charged past Hawes, attacking the rim and scoring with a sky-high hook shot off the backboard.
This kind of interior suppression also affected the offensive end.
When Irving and Hawes executed a pick-and-roll, successfully passing the ball to Hawes, his three-point shot from the top of the arc failed to connect.
Little Gasol successfully secured the defensive rebound, giving the Grizzlies a chance to regain control of the game.
Conley advanced the ball and continued to feed it to Little Gasol.
This was after recognizing Little Gasol’s advantage in the post, preparing to break through from there.
Hansen continued to shrink in and help on defense.
Wiggins repeated his previous maneuver, cutting in from the middle before soaring into the air after receiving Little Gasol’s pass.
But the same move surely wouldn’t work on Hansen twice.
Hansen had kept an eye on Wiggins’ movement this time and preemptively moved to help on defense; he jumped nearly simultaneously with Wiggins.
Although Wiggins tried to elevate the basketball in his hands, he didn’t have the upper hand in jumping reach.
His attempt was swatted by Hansen; their struggle in midair concluded with Hansen crashing down an emphatic block that sent Wiggins sprawling to the ground.
Watching from afar, Guy couldn’t help but cover his face.
He felt he should have warned the rookie earlier; Hansen, last season, was not dpoy but might as well have been, challenging him was nothing but embarrassing himself.
The block once again boosted the Cavaliers’ morale.
As the Grizzlies took a sideline throw-in, Conley’s mid-range attempt was fiercely contested by TT and went off the mark.
Hawes also successfully corralled the defensive rebound.
He then showcased his own passing ability, immediately tossing the ball to Hansen on the perimeter.
The Cavaliers quickly transitioned to a defensive counterattack, with Hansen pushing the ball up the court swiftly.
But the Grizzlies’ perimeter defenders retreated swiftly as well.
When Hansen attacked the basket, both Wiggins and Guy closed in on him.
This was not a good opportunity.
Hansen simply took off.
Wiggins and Guy also jumped, and although Hansen was strong, with both of them together restricting the shooting angle, it was very difficult for Hansen to score.
However, right after they jumped, their eyes widened.
Because Hansen had spun in midair and, while turning, tossed the ball behind his head.
As they turned their heads, following the ball’s trajectory, and saw Tucker, who had just fast-broken to the far corner three-point line, they realized Hansen’s pass was intentional!
Tucker, unguarded after catching the ball, slightly adjusted and launched a three-pointer.
He scored the Cavaliers’ first three-pointer of the night!
The Cavaliers leveled the score.
After landing, Guy looked at Hansen with a wry smile.
Hansen was still that Hansen, the one who kept getting stronger every year.
But now, from a teammate to an opponent, he felt that sense of powerlessness on the defensive end.
Regret is one thing, but Guy got back into action without hesitation, playing give-and-go with Little Gasol and then hitting a mid-range jumper to help the Grizzlies stabilize the situation.
No matter how talented Wiggins was as a rookie, with Hansen gone, Guy had become the core of the Grizzlies’ perimeter.
Having been through the dynasty journey, he was now fully capable of taking on this role.
There had been controversy about Gins’ Nike three-team rankings and the Cavaliers, but the Grizzlies being sixth was uncontested.
But soon enough, Hansen responded again on the offensive end, breaking past Wiggins and swiftly scoring with a layup in the paint.
Earlier Hansen had passed an alley-oop to Thompson, Randolph couldn’t commit fully to help defense, and could only watch Hansen score.
To let Hansen score or to let Hansen assist, the Grizzlies were somewhat at a loss on how to handle him.
Or rather, Hansen in these few plays had made it clear to everyone on-site: Wiggins simply couldn’t guard him.
This was totally different from when Hansen first joined the Grizzlies; back then, he could go head-to-head with top scorers like Kobe and Durant right away.
In fact, Wiggins’ dynamic and static talents are exceptional, talent dictates defensive potential, and coupled with his defensive zeal, his defense isn’t bad.
It’s just unfortunate that in his very first game, he had to face Hansen, just like Guy said, the kid was a bit too unlucky.
The Grizzlies swiftly replied, with Conley handling the ball at the top of the arc, executing a pick-and-roll with Little Gasol, and then using his speed advantage to get past Hawes for a layup off the backboard.
However, as soon as the ball touched the backboard, Hansen had also shrunk back to the basket and delivered a massive block on Conley’s attempt.
Just five minutes into the game, Hansen had already made two blocks!
This not only sent the Cavaliers’ bench into a frenzy but also had the TNT Big Three on the commentary desk exhilarated.
"If averaging 2.9 steals and 1.5 blocks isn’t enough to make you dpoy, then do it again, and do it even better!" Barkley shouted.