Just shortly after the Cavaliers and the Pacers ended the first round, the League announced the regular season MVP winner.
After the Warriors had secured 73 wins, the anticipation for this award was all but lost.
Thanks to their 73 wins, and Curry’s season average of 30.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 2.1 steals, and a record-breaking 402 three-pointers in a single season, Curry was honored with this award for the first time in his career.
Including Hansen’s back-to-back MVPs from the past two seasons, UA was on a winning streak.
However, neither the Warriors’ management nor their fans were likely feeling too good at the moment.
Because in Game 4 of the first round against the Mavericks, Curry slipped and injured himself, and it was later announced he had suffered a medial collateral ligament sprain in his knee.
Although the Warriors didn’t disclose the exact severity of the strain, even a Grade 1 would require at least two weeks of rest.
Just as Hansen had thought, the 73 wins were indeed glorious, but Curry had paid a price, much like Wade had in his prime.
Or rather, if it were Jordan or Hansen, they might have taken the risk, but for Curry or Wade, who both had injury concerns, this kind of setback was almost expected.
Predictably, Popovich and James were probably grinning from ear to ear now.
Without a doubt, Curry was to the Warriors what an engine is to a car—once the engine is out, no matter how good the rest of the parts are, it won’t run.
Ah, and of course, Nike’s executives as well.
The Warriors dominated the regular season, and without complications, it would be difficult for any team to beat them in a playoff series.
But now, the chances for the Heat and the Lakers had just increased significantly.
With home court advantage, the Cavaliers continued to rest and wait.
While following his team in daily training, Hansen also watched the Heat’s playoff games in advance at night.
Having finished the first round with minimal effort, he was almost certain that the key for them this season was the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Heat were strong. Dıscover more novels at 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹✶𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲✶𝗻𝗲𝘁
That was Hansen’s real feeling after watching the games.
Although Big Gasol and Wade’s impact on the court had inevitably declined due to age, the Heat had plenty of capable players.
Joe Johnson’s performance since joining the team had been quite good.
Or in other words, playing with stronger teammates, you face less defensive pressure, and scoring naturally becomes easier.
And the kind of internal conflicts that teams fear most were kept at bay because Riley personally managed the team.
Durant was also in peak personal form this season, able to run, jump, shoot, and with plenty of experience and a steady temper.
Belatedly, Hansen remembered that since Durant had left the Thunder early, he hadn’t suffered from the severe right foot fracture.
For a moment, Hansen even thought he should have tempted Guy to come to Cleveland.
But that thought was quickly dismissed, for what would be the difference between him and James then?
Championships were indeed important, but the way one wins them is equally important.
Moreover, this was also how Hansen continued to elevate his own skills now.
The talents he needed to exchange in the Anti-Fans System were almost depleted, but his ability to improve remained.
The system provided only the talents, but skills were infinite in learning.
As long as tomorrow’s self was stronger than today’s, there would be no unbeatable opponent.
The next day, the Cavaliers faced the Raptors in the first game.
Theoretically, the Raptors had won only two fewer games than the Cavaliers in the regular season, putting them very close in terms of strength.
But in reality, just as a basketball game isn’t a simple math problem, the strengths of the teams weren’t directly comparable.
If compared to the Pacers, the Raptors were a team with stronger offensive capabilities but weaker defense.
DeRozan’s defense could only be considered average at best, and they didn’t have strong enough support defensively in the inside, meaning they couldn’t limit Hansen and Irving as well as the Pacers had.
As for offense, in Game 1, Hansen was assigned to defend DeRozan.
DeRozan’s style of play was much more traditional compared to Hansen during his time with the Grizzlies. He essentially lacked a three-point shot, and like Guy, due to a lack of sheer speed, if he was handling the ball alone, he could only rely on rhythm to shake off defenders for shots.
Thus, when Hansen was guarding him, his solo plays were basically ineffective, and he had to rely on off-the-ball movement and fast breaks to score.
This style of offense greatly limited the help he could provide to the Raptors.
In Game 1, the Cavaliers won a decisive victory over the Raptors, 112-84.
Under Hansen’s defense, DeRozan performed miserably, managing only 8 points and was restricted to just 6 shots for the entire game.
Although this was just data from three quarters, it already fully conveyed Hansen’s oppressive defense on DeRozan.
Come Game 2, this situation remained largely unchanged.
The Raptors’ head coach Casey increased the tactics and shot opportunities for DeRozan, boosting his stats to 20 points.
But with only 6 successful shots out of 21 attempts, the Raptors were still overwhelmed by the Cavaliers, 105-89.
At 0-2, and with both losses being heavy defeats, the threat Raptors posed to the Cavaliers was arguably even less significant than the previous Pacers.