The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 93 - 85: Don’t Know How to Lose (Two in One)_2

Having sent off Ilgauskas, the emotions of the players finally burst forth on the training court.

The quality of the training match was unprecedentedly high, James soared and swooped, extremely thrilled.

It wasn’t just him, Hansen noticed that O’Neal also seemed very excited.

"Is Jamison really that strong?" When the training match ended, Hansen couldn’t help but look towards O’Neal.

This was his first time seeing O’Neal like this in Cleveland.

One would think that after so many years in the league, there shouldn’t be much that could stir O’Neal’s heartstrings.

"You have no idea how strong this guy is," O’Neal said as he sat down at the sideline.

"Big Shark" class was in session, not just Hansen, but even a few others gathered around.

Most of them had a similar impression of Jamison as Hansen did, a former All-Star player, a 33-year-old who could still score 20+ and a twenty-thousand-point man.

"My deepest impression of this guy was on Christmas Eve in 2000, back when he was with the Warriors, Phil told us to keep a close watch on a third-year player because he had scored 51 points in Seattle just three days before."

O’Neal was indeed suited to be a commentator, just this opening line was enough to captivate everyone.

On December 4, 2000, Jamison scored 51 points, but the visiting team narrowly lost to Gary Payton-led Supersonics.

Three days later, the Warriors returned to their home court to face the Lakers led by OK, and Jamison scored another 51 points, leading his team to a 125-122 victory over the Lakers.

"He could post up, shoot long twos, handle the ball at the high post and drive, pass out of double teams, even score off second-chance rebounds. His three-pointer was also a massive threat; he could do everything, and that night we tried all we could but couldn’t stop him." freewebnσvel.cѳm

O’Neal spoke with such immersive detail that Hansen couldn’t resist looking up the stats of that night on his phone.

out of 29, 51 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 4 turnovers.

Yikes—terrifying indeed!

And that was back in 2000, before the hand-check rule was abolished, and the Lakers’ defense was among the best in the league at the time.

O’Neal was really not exaggerating.

And something interesting he found was that Kobe also scored 51 points in that game, but he was 18 for 35 shooting, and had as many as 8 turnovers.

No wonder O’Neal was so impressed—it’s rare in NBA history for two players from opposing teams to score 50+ in the same game.

He also looked up Jamison’s stats against the Supersonics, 23 out of 36, 51 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 1 turnover.

This Jamison was indeed a force to reckon with!

At this moment, O’Neal revealed the real reason for his excitement during today’s training:

"With him, I really don’t see how we can lose."

O’Neal was on a roll, probably forgetting how the Lakers’ famous F4 had lost back then.

But his confidence was understandable.

This wasn’t the era before Hansen’s time travel where teams commonly banded together; it was rare to see two top superstars on the same team.

Even the previous Celtics, Pierce and Ray Allen were just leaders of weaker teams; the real superstar was just Garnett.

Even considering the Celtics, there was just that one team.

Other teams, at most, were like the Lakers, a superstar leading a former weaker team’s leader.

But now with the Cavaliers, there’s James as a superstar, and then there were already three potential second-in-commands like Mo Williams, O’Neal, and Jamison.

Not to mention Hansen, whose abilities were rapidly improving.

And speaking of rotation, West, senior Parker, Moon, Varejao, they were all starters last season.

It was like using two starting lineups against you, on paper, it indeed seemed hard to lose.

Of course, basketball games were never really about what’s on paper, or else the Heat’s peak Big Three era wouldn’t have ended with only two championships.

O’Neal and James had already been adjusting for so long, how long would it take for Jamison?

You know, only two months remained after the All-Star break until the end of the season.

Moreover, having many star players really tested the coach’s ability to manage.

Especially for a team that included James, who had such a strong desire to control the ball.

Without guaranteed shot attempts, just like Hansen had experienced before, it was hard to maintain performance.

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Still, from the look of the training matches, things were optimistic for now.

After all, Jamison could be seen as an all-around better Conningham, a perfect fit for James.

The next day, Malone led Jamison to the Cavaliers’ locker room, where he would take over the locker corner that Ilgauskas had left.

Hansen’s first gaze at Jamison was drawn to the distinct scar on his right cheek.

Although the Cavaliers had previously encountered the Wizards, such details were hard to notice on the court.

This gave off a fierce vibe, but the moment he spoke, he "gave it away."

Jamison’s smile was warm and genuine, contrasting strongly with his large frame.

Everyone who came up to greet him received a warm welcome, leaving them with a very humble and polite impression.

But after greeting everyone, he quietly sat there, preparing his training gear.

This made Hansen a bit worried.

It wasn’t that he held stereotypes, but having played in the United States for so long, the black players he met, including Rondo and Conningham, were usually very talkative; this kind was rare to see.