The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 44: Double Retribution

Before the game started, Brown arrived in the locker room with two assistant coaches and announced the starting lineup for the opening match.

Mo Williams, Parker, James, Varejao, O’Neal.

Having announced the starting lineup and delivered a brief pep talk, Brown then led his staff out of the locker room.

No sooner had Brown left than Varejao immediately let out a whoop, stood up, and flashed a challenging look towards Hansen’s direction.

The stance of O’Neal, combined with the changes during the past few days of training, had made him think he was about to lose his spot in the starting lineup.

But fortunately, this was James’s team, and as long as one clung to James’s coattails, what couldn’t be had?

O’Neal furrowed his brow.

"Hansen, come out for a second." Just then, Malone returned and called Hansen out of the locker room.

"The team has considered your lack of experience due to your youth and has decided to have you start from the bench. You need to adjust your mindset." Malone was there to clear Hansen’s psychological hurdles.

After all, based on his preseason performance, Hansen deserved to start.

Hansen nodded without much reaction.

"If there’s anything you want to say, you can say it. Don’t keep it bottled up." Malone was somewhat worried by Hansen’s unusual response.

"There’s nothing I want to say." Hansen replied with a smile.

"Nothing?" Malone was skeptical.

"Really, there’s nothing."

Seeing this, Malone didn’t push further and gestured for Hansen to go back and prepare properly.

Given the nature of their relationship, there was no need for Hansen to intentionally hide anything.

Even so, Malone still couldn’t fully grasp Hansen’s thoughts.

Before long, Pierce came to call the players to the court for warm-ups.

When Hansen entered the arena, he was stunned by the scene.

The Quicken Loans Arena, capable of holding twenty thousand people, was now packed to the brim, with even some young fans standing in the aisles.

Moreover, many fans had their faces painted with the Cavaliers’ emblem, their enthusiasm blazing.

This was a completely different atmosphere from the preseason games.

Although Cleveland was small, it had been a powerhouse in The East for years, with a large market and numerous fans.

There was still over half an hour before the game, which included the final warm-up time and the opening ceremony.

After shooting some three-pointers, Hansen took a seat on the sidelines to rest.

His shooting was feeling good tonight, best to save some for the game.

Just then, Conningham sat next to Hansen and leaned in,

"Why didn’t they let you start?"

"It’s good."

"It’s good?" Conningham turned around, looking puzzled at Hansen.

"I still prefer having the ball in my hands a bit more." Hansen said, glancing at the court.

Conningham followed his gaze, then saw James, who was still warming up with shots at the far end.

He instantly got it.

When James was on the court, the ball was always in James’s hands, and whether Hansen would get to touch the ball depended on James’s mood.

But coming off the bench, it would be a lot better.

Although Hansen was currently considered a 3D player, the preseason had shown that he was quite different from the pure 3D players like Parker.

As the warm-up was nearly done, the arena proceeded into the opening ceremony, introducing the away team first and then the home team.

The introduction of the away team was just a formality, and the Magic Team’s starting five were quickly unveiled:

Jameel Nelson, Vince Carter, Matt Barnes, Rashard Lewis, Howard.

The Magic Team was swept in the finals by the Lakers last season. The management made targeted reinforcements, trading away starting small forward Turkoglu for Carter, who had stronger one-on-one skills.

In the trade for Carter, they were forced to let go of last season’s starting shooting guard, Courtney Lee, so they signed Barnes from the market as a substitute.

As the visiting team finished their introductions, the lights in the arena dimmed, leaving only the lights between the first and second floors still glowing.

Then the background music started playing, and the opening animation began to roll on the LED big screen.

When the music reached its climax, the big screen darkened, and flames burst forth from the four corners.

"Cleveland~ it’s time to rise up, let’s welcome the starting lineup of the Cavaliers~"

It was then that the DJ’s clear and powerful voice sounded.

Every NBA team has its own style of opening ceremony and DJ, and based on what Hansen was hearing, this DJ was definitely up to par.

Not only was the mood of the fans in the stands completely stirred up by his drawn-out intonation, but even Hansen felt his blood boiling with excitement.

The starters could each have their own entrance act, and O’Neal’s was particularly special; he’d go on the court and "knock over" Parker.

Of course, the biggest reaction came with the anchor of the introductions, James.

His intro line was also quite distinctive.

"From Saint Mary’s High School in Ohio, the Chosen One, number 23, LeBron~ James."

Hearing the deafening cheers, Hansen couldn’t help feeling a touch of longing.

That was the thought, but now that he was in the NBA, who wouldn’t want to be a starter?

The game between the two sides began quickly, and Hansen sat at courtside to observe the situation on the court.

One advantage of being a bench player is that you can watch your opponents live, which is an effect that video analysis can’t match.

And since Hansen was a trainer, he could observe even more closely from the sideline.

Halfway through the first quarter, the Cavaliers were trailing 11 to 16.

One could clearly feel that the Magic Team’s offensive power had diminished greatly compared to last season.

This was partly because the Cavaliers had brought in O’Neal to contain Howard and partly because they had traded away Turkoglu.

Turkoglu was really the true offensive organizer for the Magic Team.

Organizing isn’t just about how many assists you rack up, but how you structure the offense for the team.

So, even though Carter might be able to match Turkoglu’s number of assists, the actual impact he had was very different.

Of course, compared to the decline of the Magic Team, the offensive problems of the Cavaliers were even greater.

Brown hadn’t changed the starting lineup, and the problems from the preseason games remained in the regular season.

In fact, as Hansen had said before, if they didn’t change the starting lineup, they could only hope that James’s outside shooting was on fire.

But the odds of that happening were obviously much lower than the odds of it not happening.

The cameras panned to Brown, and a murmur of agitation arose from the fans.

O’Neal’s public criticism was obvious to fans and had received the approval of many.

But now Brown’s stubbornness had put the team in a very passive situation.

Brown finally couldn’t withstand the pressure and turned to call up Conningham.

When Varejao came off the court, there were scattered boos from some fans in the stands.

for 3 shooting, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 1 turnover, 1 foul - that was Varejao’s stat line before he left the court.

After Hansen had fired him up before, he dared to take shots from open positions tonight, but the problem was he couldn’t score.

How could he suddenly develop a shot in just half a month when he hadn’t shot the ball in the first five years of his career?

As Varejao walked to the bench, Hansen said to him with a smile, "Grass is a type of plant."

The other teammates looked puzzled, but Varejao was so angry his face turned green.

This was a civil expression only the two of them could understand.

Hansen was repaying Varejao with interest for the provocation he had previously shown in the locker room.

This was also why Hansen had said "nothing" to Malone’s question earlier.

From a personal standpoint, it was unfortunate that he didn’t make the starting lineup.

But looking at the bigger picture, this outcome was actually a good thing because it allowed the fans to see just how unreasonable the current Cavaliers lineup was.

By that time, it would no longer just be O’Neal asking Brown to change the starters, but the fans would be demanding it.

Even LeBron, the so-called "King" of Cleveland, wouldn’t be able to stop the overwhelming public opinion.