The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 43: O’Neal’s Way

James didn’t keep the fans waiting too long, as he returned in the second preseason game against the Pistons.

The Pistons are also a legendary team in The East, with their "Bad Kids Army" having suppressed Jordan for a long time until Jordan finally dismantled them.

In the new century, their "Pistons Five Tigers" also suppressed James for a long time, but differently, they broke down due to the core players aging.

This summer, Old Wallace also ran off to Boston to chase his second championship, leaving only Hamilton and Prince from the former Five Tigers.

They had fame, but their power had already set in the west; choosing such an opponent as a debut for the new season was, in Hansen’s understanding, very smart.

However, the game turned out to be much more difficult for the Cavaliers than anticipated.

At the start of the game, James acted very generously, signaling for a strong side clear out before taking the ball to feed O’Neal under the basket.

But the Pistons’ strategy was very clear, leave James open from the outside and immediately collapse to the paint.

Even though their team’s power had deteriorated, after facing James for so many years, they knew all too well about James’s level from the outside.

As a result, James was forced to take mid- to long-range shots at the opening of the game, all of which ended in misses.

Then James gave up on the idea of continuing to pass the ball to O’Neal and started to drive with the ball himself.

But as soon as he started doing that, O’Neal turned into a huge liability on the court.

With no shooting ability to speak of and now slow to move, unable to set or break picks, he was only a threat when near the three-second zone.

But as long as he stood near there, he was blocking the route for James’s drives.

Especially with Varejao also on the court at the same time, James would basically have to face a triple-team upon breaking through.

The situation was, just as Hansen knew, as awkward as it could get.

Only when O’Neal sat down to rest and Ilgauskas came onto the court did James start to feel comfortable playing.

After O’Neal left the court, he glanced at the score, then turned to look at Hansen still sitting on the bench, completely firming up his resolve to fulfill the agreement reached between them.

Hansen played for 20 minutes in this game, contributing 9 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block, making 2 of 4 three-pointers.

His playing time and performance were not much different from the last game, and one could even say he showed a rare stability among rookies.

But it was clear that he had far fewer opportunities than in the previous game since James’s return.

However, Hansen was doing okay, with O’Neal having it the worst.

O’Neal played for 15 minutes tonight, going 3 for 6 on his shots, only scoring 6 points and grabbing 5 rebounds.

After the game at the press conference, James attended alone, following Brown.

"I don’t have any issues, just had some reaction in my body previously, we all know it’s just preseason," James began by proactively explaining the reason for his absence from the last game.

"I’m feeling great now, I gained some weight this summer, and I feel like I’ve reached a new level in my career," James said, not skimping on the praise when discussing his performance tonight.

"Shaq’s fine, he’s in great shape and feeling good, I know that clearly from training camp, we just need some time to gel," and when it came to O’Neal’s performance tonight, James’s response was also very appropriate.

It was a very successful press conference, as successful as a rehearsal for a show.

Then, this nearly became the routine of the Cavaliers’ preseason.

"Shaq’s fine, he’s in great condition, we just haven’t found the right chemistry yet."

"I believe Shaq is fine, the coaching staff is looking for the best way to utilize him, everything will work out."

"I don’t think Shaq has any problem, he knows what he can bring to the team, and we all know that too."

...

Never mind the fans’ ears forming calluses, Hansen felt like he had been pulled into the world of the TV series "Journey to the West Continues."

To put it bluntly, the problems exposed when playing against the Pistons were not something that could be resolved simply by changing the opponent.

At this time, Brown’s tactical level was also thoroughly exposed.

It was inevitable that there would be a conflict in the technical characteristics between O’Neal and James, but O’Neal and Wade had this problem as well when they were with the Heat.

Wade, especially the earlier Wade, like James, was not known for shooting.

But after Riley stepped down, he was able to solve this problem by adjusting the lineup and tactics, while Brown was practically just looking on helplessly.

Finally, O’Neal couldn’t stand it any longer.

In the preseason game against his former team, the Heat, he demanded the ball inside and played strong one-on-one.

Because the Heat’s starting power forward was Beasley, who had poor defensive help abilities, O’Neal ended up with stats of 20 points and 11 rebounds, overturning his previous downturn.

Then, at the post-game press conference, he openly stated his demands in front of the journalists and Brown:

"We need a starting power forward who can spread the floor, which would make it more comfortable for both LeBron and me to play."

O’Neal’s remarks were unexpected and surprised both Brown and James, who were beside him.

Because such a suggestion would be better discussed privately, but O’Neal chose to announce it publicly at the press conference.

This was not a suggestion, but a demand.

Moreover, O’Neal was indeed cunning, as he had included James in his demands.

This suddenly put Brown at a loss.

He turned to look at James and saw that James was also looking at him.

"We’re also considering how to make it more comfortable for LeBron and Shaq to play. There should be an answer to this problem soon," Brown could only deflect with a vague response in the end.

After the press conference, Brown didn’t seek out O’Neal to discuss the topic further.

O’Neal reported this situation to Hansen and also expressed his own opinion.

After all, his status in the league was not what it used to be, and this was the Cavaliers, so the coaching staff might not listen to his requests.

Hansen assured him not to worry, because after O’Neal made such a public statement, he had essentially already achieved his goal.

After playing the Heat, the Cavaliers completed their 7 preseason games.

Hansen averaged 24 minutes per game, managing to score 9.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 2.1 steals, 1.3 blocks, with a shooting percentage of 46.2%, and a three-point shooting percentage of 41.3%.

Such performance was already quite outstanding for a 16th pick, especially in a championship-contending team where opportunities were limited, as the preseason progressed, it increasingly resembled the regular-season rotation.

The Cavaliers’ last preseason game was on October 23rd, and their opening game of the regular season was on October 27th, leaving four final days of rest.

During those four days, Brown attempted to pair Conningham with O’Neal on the court during practice.

This was a very positive sign.

Winning O’Neal over had already paid off for Hansen, and if Conningham could also start, that would be a huge additional gain.

...

In the blink of an eye, it was October 27th. The Cavaliers were at home court welcoming the start of the 2009–2010 regular season, facing off against the Magic Team.

The Cavaliers were unexpectedly eliminated by the Magic in the previous season’s playoffs, leaving fans frustrated for a whole season, and now at the very start of the new season, came an opportunity for revenge.

In terms of the schedule, the League had never disappointed the Cavaliers and James.

Hansen was equally filled with anticipation for the imminent regular season.

James’ words at the press conference were rather formulaic, but one thing he said was correct: the preseason was just the preseason.

Only when the regular season truly began would the season officially start, and that was when he would truly step onto the NBA court for the first time.