The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 57 "He is just a 3D

"Shaq was absent from the game, we were called for 26 fouls, and our opponents only 15. This was not a normal night."

At the post-game press conference, Brown rubbed his forehead as he tried to rationalize the loss.

"Our perimeter shooting also did not meet expectations; we took 22 shots and only made 7, and we got 14 fewer rebounds than our opponents." Of course, passing the blame was necessary.

The Cavaliers’ dual failures of missing perimeter shots and not securing rebounds were never absent from their losses.

However, the reporters, especially those from Cleveland, had been hearing these statements so much over the last month that they were becoming tiresome, which naturally did not satisfy them.

"You mentioned that our perimeter shooting didn’t meet expectations, so why not give Han (Hansen) and Delonthe (West) more playing time?"

Brown cleared his throat twice, signaling for the next question.

"Early in the season, Han performed excellently and greatly helped the team, but since the game against the Thunders, his playing time has significantly decreased. What exactly happened?"

The next reporter’s question was even more direct.

Brown picked up his water bottle and took a sip tactically, but ended up coughing violently.

James frowned at the reporter.

"We heard that you and Han had a heated verbal exchange in the gym; did he talk back to you, and then lost playing time because of it?"

Carrell also asked a question at just the right moment.

This kind of confrontational scene was rare in past post-game press conferences, but now it was happening, indicating strong dissatisfaction with the team’s current state from outside.

James moved the microphone closer to himself.

"We all need to change, not just one person, but all of us. This is not the level we should be at."

After ending the press conference, James and Brown walked towards the locker room.

"Let that guy start next game," James said.

Upon hearing this, Brown breathed a sigh of relief.

The pressure he had been under for over a month, he could finally let go!

He genuinely had no issues with Hansen; strong defense, accurate three-point shooting, big-game temperament, and strong presence—no coach would dislike such a player.

Even though Hansen publicly complained about his playing time and had clashed with him, it hadn’t changed his opinion, as he was the one at fault initially.

But there was no choice, "orders are orders", and he did not want to lose his job.

Fortunately, it was all ending now.

However, having worked with James for many years, he understood James’s character. The scale of the press conference seemed big, but it was not enough to make James change his mind.

Just then, a staff member brushed past them.

Once the person had gone far enough, Brown continued, "If he performs well, our previous personnel choices might be heavily questioned."

At this point, James suddenly stopped.

Brown, realizing late, stopped and turned to look at James, noticing a gloomy expression flash across his face.

Then, he heard James say, "He’s just a 3D player."

...

"That was a beautiful breakthrough."

In the Cavaliers’ locker room, O’Neal sat next to Hansen and chatted with him.

Although he couldn’t play that night, he had sat courtside and watched the entire game.

In the beginning of the second quarter, Hansen made a beautiful spin move for a layup.

Hansen smiled wryly, a bit helplessly.

The Wizards’ bench was relatively weak, and he would have had more opportunities to showcase his improved breakthrough abilities, but his playing time was limited.

Just then, James appeared at the entrance of the locker room.

O’Neal got up and pulled his stool back to his locker.

After a while, Brown also came in.

"We need some new changes."

He started speaking as soon as he entered, causing all the Cavaliers players to look directly at him.

"Han will return to the starting lineup next game. This isn’t the end; anyone who doesn’t perform well will lose their starting spot."

Having said that, Brown immediately left the locker room.

At the same time, James grabbed a towel and entered the shower.

Conningham immediately got up, walked over to Hansen, and excitedly high-fived him.

"Congratulations."

O’Neal also spoke to congratulate Hansen.

Including West, who didn’t say a word but came over and fist-bumped him.

Varejao, however, snorted coldly, grabbed his bag, and left the locker room, pushing past Conningham.

Conningham didn’t get angry and whistled at Varejao’s retreating figure.

Old Parker’s figure seemed a bit lonely at the moment, as his performance had been fairly steady in the previous few games, except for tonight when he made only 1 of 7 shots.

Reactions varied, and Hansen, at the center of attention, was somewhat caught off guard.

Just because the fans called for his dismissal, he was sent back to the starting lineup?

Shouldn’t there have been an increase in his playtime as a transition?

No, Brown couldn’t have decided this alone.

Had James developed a conscience?

Hardly!

Looking at the empty chair in front of James’s locker, Hansen couldn’t figure it out for a moment.

But this was definitely good news.

Though the next game was against the Celtics, if he could perform well against a strong team and secure his identity as an indispensable player for the Cavaliers, then it wouldn’t be easy for Brown, or perhaps James afterward, to suppress him.

The game against the Celtics was an away game; the team took a flight to Boston the day before the match.

"I don’t like that place," O’Neal complained to Hansen on the plane.

"The racial discrimination there is too severe; no one would want to play there," he even said without any reservation.

At that moment, James and Williams, sitting in the rows in front and behind, showed no reaction to O’Neal’s comments—it seemed O’Neal wasn’t wrong.

Yet Hansen felt it strange; if he remembered correctly, O’Neal’s last stop in his career was Boston.

"I respect Bill Russell, not just for his achievements on the court but for everything he did in Boston," O’Neal started,

"You might not be able to imagine, but when he played for Boston, he couldn’t even stay in the same hotel as his white teammates. Yet, he never complained. He taught me to be strong, never whine, and never be a crybaby."

Hansen didn’t know much about the racial history of the United States but despised racial discrimination deeply.

And O’Neal’s words brought to Hansen’s mind an image from the 2017 NBA Awards Ceremony, where Russell was awarded the NBA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Legendary figures like Jabbar, O’Neal, David Robinson, Mourning, and Mutombo were present to congratulate him. freeweɓnøvel.com

Russell pointed to the five of them and said that famous line, "I would kick your asses."

And the five centers just laughed and clapped, acknowledging his statement.

At that time, Hansen didn’t quite understand; after all, in terms of historical status, Jabbar was very close to Russell.

Surely, just because you’re a predecessor, you can’t insult people publicly like that?

But now, it seemed the influence of Russell extended beyond the court.

After arriving in Boston, the team first went to the hotel.

There were quite a few fans gathered at the hotel entrance.

Did the Cavaliers have that many fans in Boston?

As Hansen stepped off the bus puzzled, he realized those were not Cavaliers fans at all, but troublemakers.

"LeBron is a loser," shouted the person at the front wearing a bright jersey.

There were hotel security guards present, but they did nothing.

James saw it but chose to ignore it and walked into the hotel.

It seemed he was used to it.

Hansen was confused. Wasn’t this just a regular game?

But soon, he couldn’t stay calm anymore.

Seeing that James ignored them and they became somewhat bored, they quickly targeted Hansen.

The person in James’s jersey directly gestured rudely at him.

"Shit!"

Hansen lost his cool and was about to confront the guy.

That’s when O’Neal grabbed him from behind.

"That’s why I told you all that on the plane."

The NBA had strict rules against players clashing with fans; if Hansen were suspended for this, he would waste his hard-earned chance to start again.

While O’Neal held Hansen back, the man, seeing this, waved his right hand and began singing at Hansen.

It sounded like Spanish.

Though Hansen didn’t understand, he knew it wasn’t anything nice.

"Come and face me one-on-one, you white pig!"

Perhaps because of Hansen’s aggressive reaction, the hotel security finally came over and drove the man away.

Hansen was persuaded to go back to the hotel, but he still felt a fire burning inside.

O’Neal was right—no one wanted to come to this rotten place.