Listening to the shouts around him and looking up at the cameras aimed at him, Irving’s face turned quite grim.
Although Hansen wasn’t in the League yet when he jumped on the Boston technical table, that phrase had appeared more than once since Hansen returned to Cleveland.
The most recent time was during last season’s championship parade, when Malone used that phrase to taunt James.
So he obviously knew what it meant.
Before Hansen went for the free throw, he directly walked over to Howard.
Howard looked puzzled at Irving’s approach.
Irving is quite a self-centered person, to what extent? He barely communicates with his teammates.
It might be hard to believe, but this was the first time Irving proactively came over to communicate with Howard.
"Dwight, you need to block Hansen."
Howard looked Irving up and down, and directly frowned.
Are you trying to teach me how to play?
Even Hoiberg didn’t dare speak to him in such a tone, and here you are, a kid who’s just been in the League for a few years, daring to talk ?
Back when I was playing and James couldn’t even get past The East, you probably didn’t even have all your hair grown!
Howard didn’t respond; he simply walked towards the free throw line, leaving Irving awkwardly standing there.
This scene happened right in front of Gibson. Orıginal content can be found at 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⚫𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵
With Deng, Ross, Noah, and others leaving, Gibson, who entered the League in 2009 and became the only remaining gem of that Bulls team, couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
What Irving said wasn’t actually wrong, because that was Hoiberg’s requirement.
But the problem was Irving’s almost commanding tone, which not even Howard, let alone himself, could accept.
This also seemed to explain why Irving was reluctant to communicate, because he simply didn’t know how to communicate properly.
When Hansen was taking the free throw, Gibson tried to communicate with Howard, but Howard, already annoyed, didn’t respond positively to Gibson.
Isn’t Hoiberg’s tactic now to let him post up Jokic?
Hansen’s free throw went in, bringing the score to 10-6, with the Cavaliers leading.
The Bulls advanced to the frontcourt, with Howard continuing to post up against Jokic in the low post.
This time, Jokic’s attempt to front half failed, as Howard used excellent upper body strength to hold him in place.
This was a better opportunity than before, but Irving didn’t pass the ball inside.
Irving signaled for Seferosa to come for a screen, and Seferosa exhausted himself momentarily delaying Hansen. Irving seized the opportunity to break through to near the free throw line and took a stop-and-pop mid-range shot.
The basketball went straight through the net, showing the stellar form Irving had been in since entering the playoffs.
However, before the ball went in, the referee at the baseline had already blown the whistle.
The referee then signaled an offensive three seconds violation, making the basket invalid.
Irving paused for a moment when he saw it, then turned and walked back.
Howard, on the other hand, was visibly agitated, waving his arms and cursing.
His point was clear: if Irving had passed him the ball earlier, he would have already scored another one on Jokic.
Malone found this scene amusing, straightening up and gazing towards the Bulls’ bench. When he saw Hoiberg frowning and getting up, he couldn’t help but laugh.
Finally, something he’d experienced was happening to someone else!
In hindsight, the words Irving once said had come back like a boomerang.
Because Howard didn’t have the patience to tolerate him like Hansen did.
Hansen continued to cut without the ball, employing the same tactic to draw the Bulls’ defense on the court.
It was at this moment that Jokic executed a brilliant Point East and Strike West pass, pretending to look towards Hansen, but without looking, he passed to JR, cutting along the baseline.
Irving and Howard’s defensive communication clearly faltered at this point, with neither chasing nor helping, leaving JR open for a spectacular folding dunk.
Quicken Loans Arena erupted.
Hoiberg extended his hand to call a timeout.
JR excitedly ran up to Jokic and forced a chest bump in celebration, causing Jokic to stumble away.
As Hansen exited the court, he glanced at the Bulls’ bench.
He hadn’t expected the Bulls to run into problems so quickly; he could say he hadn’t really done much.
But this was also what Malone meant by saying champions always come with sacrifices, and wanting to win the title requires more than just gathering a group of talented individuals.
After the timeout, Howard was substituted out, and Cristiano Felicio came in as a replacement.
It seemed Hoiberg hadn’t managed to resolve the issue between Irving and Howard, but instead made a passive choice.
This choice was easy because Irving was the offensive core of the Cavaliers and couldn’t be taken off the court.
This was good news for the Cavaliers because Howard clearly suppressed Jokic; with Howard off the court, Jokic would have more room to perform.
In fact, that proved to be the case, as Jokic began to exert influence on both offense and defense.
Felicio and Jokic had a lot in common; both were second-year players, both were international players, and both were chunky.
Standing at only 2.06 meters tall, he weighed 121 kilograms, while Jokic’s current weight was roughly 115 kilograms.
Against such an opponent, Jokic had the advantage in height and agility, allowing him to play with ease.
However, this big guy setting screens, especially dead screens, was quite effective, and Irving took advantage of the opportunity to showcase his game form.