Although James’ desire for the Game 2 wasn’t as intense as Game 1, it was still better than before.
But Hansen understood James better than anyone, knowing that James had the weakest mental attributes on this team and was the easiest to crush.
Not to mention those past encounters, James had a psychological fear of him.
As expected by Hansen, as he began to suppress James on both ends of the court, James went from being active and proactive to passive and lazy.
The classic gestures, hands on hips on offense, the spread of hands to the ref’s calls, shoving teammates on defense — all those parts familiar to fans that hadn’t been shown yet started to emerge like bamboo shoots after a rain.
And this was disastrous for the Pelicans’ morale.
Davis, originally striving hard, was battling Jokic in the post and suddenly found himself having to deal not only with Jokic but also with players leaking in from the flanks.
What Green experienced last season, Davis was fully experiencing now.
Unfortunately, Davis was not Green; he wouldn’t get mad at James and could only suffer in silence.
The result was that Davis got into foul trouble.
Regardless of Davis’ excellent defense, the constant hassle wore him out.
Moreover, his penchant for blocks led him quickly into foul difficulties.
And when Davis wasn’t on the court, the Pelicans’ defensive intensity dropped by two levels.
In this era of small-ball, the role of an elite, agile rim protector is both rare and irreplaceable.
By the first half, the teams were still entangled, but in the second half, with Davis collecting his fourth personal foul early, the Pelicans’ survival-leaning defense collapsed.
The Cavaliers seized the moment, eventually beating the Pelicans 114 to 89, transforming the finals score to 2-0.
If the Pelicans had lost honorably in the last game, this one was a complete rout, losing both the game and morale.
After Game 1, outsiders felt the finals were not as expected, with considerable suspense.
But after Game 2, the sense of suspense vanished completely.
Some fans even pulled out a leaderboard, naming James as the top core player to be swept in NBA Finals history.
However, the Cavaliers weren’t overly optimistic.
In 2006, to crown the Heat, the league’s refereeing standards were insanely biased.
Even knowing the Pelicans couldn’t possibly stop the Cavaliers, they would try to make each game seem evenly matched.
So now, what the Cavaliers need to do is to replicate what they accomplished in Game 2 for Game 3.
Although it can be predicted that the difficulty will be much greater than Game 2.
However, the Cavaliers players won’t need to think about that too much for now.
After Game 2, the players happily organized a bonfire party at Hansen’s estate.
Because there’s a possibility of clinching the cup on the road, this bonfire party felt more like a pre-departure ritual.
The goat sent by JR was indeed delicious, and Hansen publicly announced it as a gift from JR, giving JR immense satisfaction.
Everyone could sense, at this moment, JR was Hansen’s most loyal Sword Guard.
However, as everyone was nearly done with food and drinks, Hansen gathered everyone to announce his decision to leave Cleveland this summer.
Everyone was shocked, with JR snapping out of it and insisting Hansen was joking with them.
"It’s true, not a joke. I didn’t mention it before because I didn’t want to affect your mindset, but now, I hope you all help me win this championship, so I can complete this journey in the most fulfilling way."
Hansen’s following words made them realize he wasn’t joking.
Their faces were puzzled, but none directly questioned why Hansen was leaving.
JR wanted to speak, but Jokic immediately stopped him.
For such questions, if Hansen wanted to share, he would; if not, asking would only make things awkward for Hansen.
Hansen didn’t explain further, gesturing for everyone to continue the party after his announcement.
Shortly thereafter, JR approached Hansen: "Is it because of me? I already told Nikola not to send any goats, goats are the embodiment of evil, yet he insisted you’d love it. I..."
While explaining, JR had a face full of self-blame, truly believing Hansen chose to leave because of him.
Hansen couldn’t help but laugh, JR, although sometimes dim-witted, might not be a great player or even a good person, yet in reality, he was quite sincere.
"If I told you I planned to leave at this point before arriving in Cleveland, would you believe me?"
So Hansen decided to be honest with him, even though this statement left JR puzzled again.
"I have my career plans. Coming to Cleveland wasn’t my initial thought, but I didn’t slouch after arriving. Do you understand now?"
Hansen followed with a more straightforward explanation.
Now JR understood, but even understanding it was hard for him to digest.
Or perhaps, Hansen had helped him so much that he genuinely couldn’t foresee what he would become without Hansen.
"If you want to thank me for anything, more than the goat, I want this championship."
Despite his confusion, JR nodded vigorously.
He honestly couldn’t fathom so many things, giving him tasks to complete was what he desired more. This update ıs available on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝔫𝔢𝔱
"Oh, right, this is a secret, keep it for me." Hansen reminded him in the end.
JR might do plenty of foolish things, but what he’s told not to say, he would never reveal.
After JR, teammates began approaching Hansen to chat.
Some, like JR, came to ask why, others to bid farewell, some even urged Hansen to stay.
Jokic had the most complicated emotions.
Hansen meant too much to him, even from his experience, without Hansen, there wouldn’t be the current him.
Including previously not understanding Hansen when talking about leadership, making it sound like parting advice, which it indeed was.
He had many things to say but didn’t know where to start; finally, he asked something different from anyone else:
"Boss, this summer I want to visit East University, can you be my guide?"
"This summer might be hectic, but next summer for sure, as we’ll be attending the World Cup, and then I’ll take you to see the Great Wall, tour the Forbidden City, and anywhere else you’d like to visit, just tell me in advance."
Hansen was as always partial to Jokic.
"Thank you, boss." Jokic was at a loss for words, condensing everything into the shortest sentence.
The news of Hansen’s departure hit the media headlines the next day.
Like a storm sweeping across the nation, even globally, it triggered a tsunami of reactions.
Fans speculated on why Hansen was leaving and where his next destination might be.
Of course, some were puzzled why Hansen chose this timing to announce the news, knowing the finals weren’t concluded yet!
Especially when Hansen arrived in New Orleans, uncharacteristically avoiding interviews, making everything more enigmatic.
Until the game commenced, and the puzzle slowly unravelled.
The Cavaliers played harder than in the previous two games, every muscle telling others how much they wanted to win this championship, or rather, for Hansen.
More importantly, the officiating changed significantly this game.
The bias against the Pelicans was still there, but noticeably lighter than before.
If Hansen were to leave the Cavaliers, the effect would be akin to Jordan’s retirement.
That cloud over the East, even the league, would disperse, what reason would the league still have to prevent Hansen from completing this dynastic accomplishment?