Dedmon’s abilities are underestimated. If he were on another team, just based on his defensive skills, he could definitely make it into the rotation.
Malone nodded with satisfaction at this moment; Dedmon’s performance tonight has exceeded his expectations.
Deron and Dedmon ran a pick-and-roll, passing the ball to the cutting Wade once again.
Wade is making his presence felt both on and off the ball tonight.
Wade took the ball with the Mysterious Steps, bypassed Pachulia, and faced James’ help defense to attempt another layup with a switch of hands.
But at that moment, James seemed to lose control of his body and directly knocked Wade out of bounds.
Wade and the photographers at the baseline collided into a heap.
The referee’s whistle sounded, indicating a defensive foul by James.
However, at that moment, James walked over to Wade and extended his hand towards him.
Wade, who was initially frowning, hesitated for a moment before reaching out and being pulled up from the ground by James.
James extended his hand and patted Wade on the backside in a friendly manner after he got up.
This scene must have left James’ fans impressed by their brotherhood.
Wade’s tightly furrowed brow immediately shifted to Hansen.
If it weren’t for the incident before the regular season, Hansen might have believed in the brotherhood between James and Wade.
But now it seemed obvious that James was changing his behavior due to last time’s fan backlash.
Hansen’s frown wasn’t because of James, but because of Wade.
Someone knocked you down, then offered a hand to pull you up, and Wade actually accepted this slap-and-sugar tactic.
Indeed, someone’s character doesn’t change; at the core, Wade is just a "nice guy" who gets trampled on.
Hansen relaxed his brows and then stood up.
When Wade was taking free throws, Hansen was subbed in for Deron.
This substitution happened a bit early.
Seeing this, Cole used Thompson to replace Makao.
Wade made one of two free throws; the earlier fall had affected him quite a bit.
The Warriors advanced to the frontcourt, with Hansen defending James.
Hansen essentially had "I’m here to target you" written all over his face.
James immediately began directing traffic at the top of the arc.
Thompson, running off the ball, received a pass from James, shot, but was disrupted and missed the basket again.
Thompson is the best off-ball shooter for James, but James is not the best ball handler for Thompson.
Because the roles of shooter and primary ball handler are reciprocal; if the handler doesn’t create offensive threats and simply directs traffic, it’s difficult for the shooter to get good opportunities.
Green’s ability to successfully direct traffic is because both Splash Brothers are on the court, running and drawing defense, always allowing one to get open.
The rebound was secured by Dedmon, who passed it to Hansen to advance to the frontcourt, signaling Conningham for a pick-and-roll.
He also hadn’t caught up with James in a long time.
Holding the ball with one hand, a drop-step start, and ultra-low dribbling, Hansen used his speed to drive past James inside.
James was putting in the effort as well; although he didn’t dare challenge Hansen offensively, after losing weight, he dared to defend Hansen.
The two charged into the paint, but Hansen’s next move caught everyone by surprise.
Hansen abruptly stopped at the basket, made an elbow-raising motion, and directly swung it towards James’ head!
James, caught off guard, fell straight to the floor.
The referee’s whistle quickly sounded, indicating an offensive foul on Hansen.
Just when it seemed like a conflict might erupt on the court, Hansen’s next move was once again unexpected.
He extended his hand towards the fallen James.
The crowd was in an uproar.
Hansen was essentially mirroring what James had just done to Wade, in exactly the same way. Dıscover more novels at 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲·𝗻𝗲𝘁
James’ choice immediately became a focus of attention.
You could clearly see the conflict in his eyes.
However, in the end, he extended his hand.
After all, he had just pulled up Wade; if he now did the opposite, it would show him as narrow-minded and hurt his public persona.
Moreover, the ref had already called an offensive foul on Hansen, and it wouldn’t upgrade to a flagrant foul due to his anger, so from a smart perspective, he should accept Hansen’s "Reconciliation Seal."
But what Hansen did next truly shocked everyone on-site, especially Wade.
Because just as James extended his hand, Hansen retracted his initially offered hand, ran it through his hair, and then turned and walked away!