The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 415 - 214 Big Green City_2

This has something to do with James’ lack of desire to help on defense, but more importantly, it was because of Westbrook’s absence.

Passion is an intangible thing, but when facing a stronger opponent, its presence or absence makes a completely different spirit for the entire team.

Hansen continued to double-team James, and after receiving the ball from James, Afflalo faked a shot and broke past the helping defender Guy, but his abrupt mid-range jumper was off.

Afflalo’s mid-range ability isn’t weak, his mentality clearly fluctuated.

Offense and defense on the court are interlinked, unless you’re playing run-and-gun with the determination of the old Suns and Warriors, or harboring the earnest mindset of stat-padding like James—otherwise, a defensive loss will inevitably affect the offense.

Conley once again got past Fisher, tonight he seemed to have turned into Ross.

Facing help defense from Ibaka, Conley passed the ball to Randolph, and as Randolph saw Little Lopez coming to help, he tossed the ball into the air, and Little Gasol completed the alley-oop score.

The Grizzlies’ offense was fluid as mercury.

By now, some fans were getting restless.

Tonight’s Thunders were completely unrecognizable compared to the team they were familiar with.

James adjusted his offensive strategy.

Back-to-the-basket is a more static offense, more likely to draw double teams and create opportunities for teammates, but if the teammates miss, that amounts to a tactical failure.

James, holding the ball outside the three-point line, gestured for Fisher to come over for a pick-and-roll.

A classic mismatch pick-and-roll.

However, the Grizzlies didn’t switch at all, with Guy going around the screen and shrinking back.

James seized the opportunity to shoot a three-pointer from the outside.

"Clang!"

A resounding miss.

Little Gasol secured the defensive rebound, and the Grizzlies launched another fast break.

When Guy caught Hansen’s pass and completed another powerful dunk, the entire stadium was stirred into agitation.

to 3.

The feeling from the first two games of the series reappeared! ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

No, it was even more intense because experiencing it live was much more impactful than watching the broadcast.

And an even more pressing scene occurred on the court.

When the Thunders advanced to the frontcourt, the man defending James became Hansen!

In that moment James saw Hansen before him, he realized the Grizzlies weren’t going to make it easy for him tonight.

He was about to give up asking for the ball, but remembering the recent social media storm over the Nike headlining controversy, he chose to tough it out.

He jumped to receive the ball with his back to Hansen, reset his pivot foot.

Don’t forget, he too was a student of Olajuwon, and by the time of apprenticeship, he was actually Hansen’s senior brother.

But as James was gearing up to exert force, Hansen reached out for a steal.

To dodge that, James’ right foot subconsciously took a step.

Well, that was a wasted pivot foot reset.

But, James is still James. He continued dribbling and backing down Hansen as if nothing had happened.

In terms of theory, there’s a big weight difference between Hansen and James, and James could use his weight to force Hansen to lower his center of gravity.

But from his previous attempts to back down Hansen and being pulled off the bench, he didn’t dare apply full force this time.

It resulted in Hansen constantly applying pressure on the ball.

James eventually opted for a turnaround to drive to the basket, and his move was aggressively authoritative—as he cleared the way with his elbows.

When he got to the basket and saw Little Gasol coming to help, he jumped preparing to find body contact.

However, just as they were about to make contact, Little Gasol tucked in his hips and dodged, slipping away!

This had become an instinctive reaction from playing against James often.

With no leverage, James flew right past under the basket.

Yet, his physical abilities really were strong, for even as he lost balance, he managed to complete a little jelly layup with his right hand.

The arc of the ball looked like it would go in.

But before the ball reached its peak, a hand covered it.

Hansen, though jostled by James’ elbow, was still chasing from behind!

Plucking the moon from the sky, he directly snagged the ball with a block!

When Hansen landed, James, off balance, crashed into the press area.

Glancing down at James who had fallen to the ground, Hansen turned and swiftly initiated a fast break.

After Hansen sped past the Thunders’ defense and executed a dragon-like dunk, James finally got up from the floor.

When the camera panned back to him, the live audience could scarcely bear to watch.

It dawned on them late, but that play made them realize that the Grizzlies were targeting James tonight.

From a strategic standpoint, such an adjustment was understandable, especially since Westbrook couldn’t play, leaving James as Thunders’ only ball-handler.

But the scene looked a bit too cruel.

Moreover, the Grizzlies’ style of play tonight was even more aggressive than in the previous two games, seizing every chance to counterattack.

This also had something to do with Westbrook’s absence.

Because Westbrook was a guard with a very fast-paced approach, the Grizzlies wouldn’t dare to play so fast when he was around.

One couldn’t help wondering if James missed Westbrook at this moment,

especially when, once again, as the Thunders moved to the frontcourt, Hansen still stood in front of James.

James tried to tough it out but ended up getting his shot blocked and quickly quieted down.

He stood at the three-point arc maintaining possession, then directed his teammates in strategic movements.

For a moment, Hansen was almost bewildered, as James in front of him seemed to truly become Green.

Unfortunately for the Thunders, they had no Curry and no Durant; Afflalo’s catch-and-shoot was disturbed by Guy’s flying defense and missed the mark.

Getting two points for the Thunders tonight seemed as difficult as the national soccer team scoring a goal!

Finally, the Grizzlies’ set offense failed to score, and turning back, Little Lopez’s cut to the basket after a pick-and-roll finally broke the Thunders’ prolonged scoring drought.

This granted some relief to the repressed mood of the fans in attendance.

But before they could fully recover, Hansen backed down James, and with a shoulder shimmy turnaround feint he successfully faked James out, and his one-two step floater off the backboard went in.

After the shot went in, Hansen spread his hands at James, his so-called senior brother.

The teacher leads you to the door, but personal practice is up to the individual.

The atmosphere at the venue was electric.

James’s expression turned so terrifying it was as if he was ready to kill.

And it was at this moment that Johnson walked towards the scorer’s table, ready to substitute in for Guy.

Right before the half was about to end, the Grizzlies led the Thunders with a score of 48 to 30.

That difference could take half a day to close.

Fans had already begun leaving early to avoid traffic.

At this point on social media, those led by the media started to lash back.

Not to mention last game, but during the past three games when Westbrook was present, the Thunders at least had some back-and-forth with the Grizzlies.

But now that he couldn’t play, the Thunders had no chance from the start.

With such a comparison, how shameless were those media outlets to claim that the Thunders would be better off led by James?

Had it indeed been James leading the team, the Thunders might have started fishing ten days ago!

Of course, more conspicuous than those was James’s stat line at the moment.

He had 2 out of 8, scoring just 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.

If Hansen initially felt that James resembled Green when they were matched up, then by now, his performance was that of Big Green City.

Why had James only taken 8 shots in the half?

It was all thanks to the Grizzlies.

Because during the times when the Grizzlies’ backups were in, they targeted him mercilessly—the more shots he took, the uglier his shooting percentage would become.

As for why he hadn’t erupted in anger, upon seeing the familiar Johnson, he just felt his head buzzing.

The first half was nearing its end, with Hansen defending James.

James was already on the weak side, hands on hips.

After struggling for half the game, he also realized he was outmatched by the Grizzlies tonight.

"Are you okay?" In that moment, Hansen looked at James with what seemed like concern.

James glanced at Hansen and then turned his head away while biting on his mouthguard.

He wasn’t a fool; he didn’t think Hansen had any kind words to say after targeting him for an entire half.

Even though he was mentally prepared, Hansen’s next words still made him stop biting his mouthguard, his fists clenched and eyes glaring at Hansen as if he wanted to tear Hansen apart with his gaze.

"Does your groin not hurt? Do your feet not feel like cramping? The injury on your elbow should be acting up by now, right?"