The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 453 - 232: Becoming Jordan

Bosh won the jump ball against Little Gasol, and the Heat Team obtained the first chance to attack.

Wade, with the ball in the frontcourt facing Hansen, signaled Bosh for a pick and roll.

But immediately, he felt the difference in Hansen.

Hansen rushed up to pressure him in an instant.

Ordinarily, such pressure would mean he’d just speed up and break past the opponent, but Hansen’s speed was too fast, and while pressuring, he used his body to check Wade, effectively stopping his initial drive.

The no-handcheck rule stated that defenders couldn’t use their hands, but it didn’t say anything about using the body.

More importantly, as Hansen checked him, he also neatly avoided Bosh’s screen.

By the time Wade regained control of the ball, Hansen was still in front of him.

Surprise filled Wade’s eyes.

In the first two games of the previous season’s finals, Hansen limited him because he was cautious about exerting himself; later, when he ignored his injuries and exerted full force, Hansen couldn’t stop him.

But now, after a summer of rest, he was in normal condition yet somehow found himself unable to start an attack against Hansen in that moment.

This feeling, he had only ever felt it when he was a rookie facing peak Kobe.

This year, due to injury rehab, he didn’t attend Hansen’s personal training camp; unexpectedly, Hansen had evolved again.

Attempting another pick and roll with Bosh yielded the same result.

If this were the finals, he would have moved the ball to the weak side to let Durant attack.

But this was a regular-season game, and after signaling Bosh to clear out, he chose to go one-on-one against Hansen.

This choice triggered jeers from the crowd; a one-on-one showdown between stars at the opening was so different from every other championship night.

Armed with the knowledge from their earlier encounter, Wade now had a higher defensive estimate of Hansen in his mind and immediately used the Mysterious Steps.

Small fakes followed by a European Step’s significant change of direction—Wade’s Mysterious Steps were still unpredictably elusive.

However, the crowd soon became restless again.

Because at the moment Wade changed direction and prepared to lay up, Hansen reached in and swiped the ball down!

Wade hadn’t entirely anticipated that, and by the time he reacted, Hansen, who had stolen the ball, was already hurtling down on a fast break.

Chalmers on the perimeter saw this and quickly moved to defend; the two rushed to the frontcourt one after the other.

Knowing he was disadvantaged physically, Chalmers set his feet to try and force an offensive foul on Hansen, but Hansen exploded off one foot, held the ball single-handedly, and glided past him with a lateral slip to complete a layup.

The restless noise in the venue instantly transformed into cheers.

Previously, Hansen just made people feel he was strong, but this season’s Hansen gave off an effortlessly graceful vibe.

In the next possession, Wade gave up on holding the ball for the attack.

His feeling was different from that of the fans; it was just one defensive possession, but Hansen had given him a strong sense of defensive pressure.

The Heat Team adjusted their offensive focus, shifting the ball over to Durant’s hands.

Bosh also moved to the weak side to screen for Durant.

The Grizzlies’ strategy was the same as last season’s, double-teaming, but Durant managed to lob the ball high to Bosh.

Although this lob pass was not as rapid as a bounce, that wasn’t the point; the point was that Durant successfully got the ball out!

Stan’s season analysis was very accurate; Durant now possessed a certain capability for playmaking.

He hadn’t been idle over the past summer; rather, he had put in significant effort.

After catching the ball, Bosh quickly drove to the basket.

His greatest strength was having a power forward’s frame while possessing a small forward’s technique.

Facing the help defense of Little Gasol, Bosh feinted a shot.

But Little Gasol didn’t bite on the fake; instead, he closed the gap to body up and contest.

Playing in the European championship might tire one out, but it also helped maintain a relatively outstanding game condition.

At that moment, Bosh also displayed his top player mettle, or perhaps one might say, through the last season, he had regained his confidence in the game. After the fake shot failed, he didn’t panic, but instead swiftly passed the ball through Little Gasol’s armpits to Perkins on the other side.

By the time Little Gasol turned around, it was already too late; Perkins took the ball and scored off the backboard without dribbling.

Although he didn’t have much offensive capability, he was confident with such an unguarded shot underneath the basket.

However, what nobody expected happened again—just as the ball was about to touch the backboard, another hand appeared out of nowhere, smacking the ball onto the backboard.

This scene stunned all the players on the court, but the venue erupted once more with overwhelming cheers.

Because the person who had blocked the shot was Hansen again!

And after making the block, Hansen even managed to grab the rebound before landing. freewebnøvel.com

During the Heavenly King Mountain battle of last season’s finals, Hansen gave them a feeling of being everywhere on defense.

That feeling was back now.

But different from last time was that Hansen seemed to be doing it much more effortlessly.

"This can’t be possible!" Barkley was dumbfounded at the commentary table.

To laypeople, it was all spectacle; to the insiders, it was all about the details. Essentially, the reason Hansen seemed to handle everything so effortlessly was that his speed was increasing.

Not just his movement speed but also his reaction speed.

Because fast and slow are relative, Hansen was able to deal more comfortably with the opponent’s offense.

And the last person who gave him this feeling wasn’t Kobe, it was Jordan!

If not for the fact that Hansen’s physical talent didn’t match Jordan’s, he would really think the person on the court was Jordan and not Hansen.