Doncic lay on the ground for a while before his teammate pulled him up, and he was visibly frustrated after getting up.
However, when the sideline ball was thrown in, he still actively ran around looking for opportunities to catch the ball.
Although he’s known as the "Chosen One" from Europe, his competitiveness is much stronger than that of James.
But being overly competitive cannot solve all problems, especially when you’re not strong enough.
In the following time, Doncic was utterly dominated by Hansen on both ends of the court, literally.
Some fans at the scene covered their eyes, unable to bear watching. Of all people, why provoke Hansen?
However, the Cavaliers were not trailing too much, because the offensive core of the Cavaliers was Jokic, not Doncic.
Jokic didn’t hold the ball a lot at the top of the key like during Hansen’s era, but rather focused more on low-post moves like at the start.
When the Kings used Sabonis to guard, Jokic utilized his footwork more for offense. His footwork was inspired by O’Neal, refined by Yao Ming, and combined with his top-notch basketball IQ, has reached perfection.
And when Lue switched Stan to guard him, Jokic turned into O’Neal again, using his body to overpower Stan, making Stan’s physical qualities irrelevant. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚·𝔫𝔢𝔱
Clearly, after three seasons of accelerated growth, Jokic has developed into the number one center in the League.
"Lue should know that individually you can’t stop Nikola, just like how opponents wouldn’t use that tactic against me back in the day," O’Neal praises his fan Jokic without reservation, while also taking the opportunity to boast about himself.
This statement didn’t sound out of place from him, after all, Lue and he once played together on the Lakers.
But it’s clear that even if Lue knows this, he won’t choose to double-team Jokic, because he spent more time with the Cavaliers.
Jokic’s low-post dominance isn’t as strong as O’Neal’s, but his passing ability surpasses O’Neal’s by more than a notch.
The first quarter ended in a 30-30 tie.
Hansen scored 16 points in a single quarter, and Jokic also bagged 14 points.
This showdown unexpectedly became a direct confrontation between two foundational figures of the Cavaliers dynasty.
In the second quarter, during the substitute connection phase, both teams’ main players rested on the sidelines.
At this moment, the person commanding from the sidelines was Van Gundy.
Or rather, Van Gundy had been standing on the sidelines all along, it’s just that Lue now sat beside Hansen.
"We need to put more pressure on Nikola in the future games." Lue’s tactical level isn’t high, but he’s from the Cavaliers, so he knows Jokic well enough.
Or to put it another way, the biggest problem the Cavaliers faced during their dynasty period was always Jokic’s defensive issues.
Opponents would breach the Cavaliers tactically through this point, and they would also exploit Jokic’s stamina to reduce the Cavaliers’ offensive firepower.
Previously, with Hansen, the Cavaliers had a strong foundation, and most opponents’ targeting could be easily neutralized by them.
But now the Cavaliers didn’t have Hansen, Murray was out for the season, and Doncic was still a rookie. The targeting would be immediately effective.
Hansen nodded but didn’t speak.
Lue’s thinking wasn’t wrong, but he wasn’t focusing on that at the moment.
He glanced up at the score, a trace of worry appearing on his brow.
Because the most effective way to wear Jokic down is still his mismatched isolation plays.
In other words, in future games, the ball would still frequently be in his hands.
If things continue this way, his teammates will only become increasingly reliant on him, which isn’t a way to win championships.
Back in the day, Dean Smith taught Jordan the most important lesson in NCAA: Only a team can become the ultimate winner.
Hansen’s experiences over the years also continually validate this point.
Lue is quite understanding. Even though Hansen didn’t say it, having been in contact with Hansen for so long, he could more or less guess Hansen’s current thoughts.
This is indeed a very contradictory issue.
The growth of Kings’ rookies requires training in high-level games, but training won’t ensure victory in the games.
If it were an ordinary coach, at this time, they might just follow Hansen’s thinking, giving the rookies more opportunities to train. After all, the season has just begun, and the Kings don’t necessarily have to win the championship this season, so they should look ahead and not worry about the outcome of just a few games.
But Lue isn’t just an ordinary coach. He knows very well that Hansen is currently under tremendous public pressure. If he loses too much, criticism would surely pour in from all sides.
Back when Hansen returned to the Cavaliers and wasn’t successful in the first season, many people said that Hansen’s previous success was because the Grizzlies were already an outstanding team.
If he experiences the same with the Kings, there would inevitably be people saying Hansen’s success was inseparable from super rookies like Irving and Jokic.
"Han, I think Sacramento has had too many visions of the future. Compared to the future, I think what the people of this team want more is to win now," Lue cautiously says.
What he meant was very clear: the Kings have lost way too much in the past, they are in a state of being numb to losing, and now what they need most is to win, no matter how, instill a winning gene into this team first, only then can they think about other things.
Hansen looked at Lue for a while, then reached out to pat Lue’s shoulder.
Although he gave Lue a great deal of respect, that was mostly due to his recognition of Lue’s interpersonal communication skills.