Chapter 680: Chapter 680

Hansen was also fully focused.

He knows Irving’s defense, which has improved above the league average last season, but in the previous rounds, it was clear that facing Little Thomas was basically at a giveaway level.

As Hansen knows, this season is Little Thomas’s peak season, ranked among the top five MVP players in "history".

His defense can be ignored, so it’s all about his offensive performance, and you can imagine how difficult he is to deal with.

Upon seeing Hansen, Little Thomas reacted like James, directly calling for a pick-and-roll with Horford.

Hansen quickly sidestepped, but still got bumped by Horford.

Horford has a loud nickname among fans, called the "Basketball Blind Identifier".

As the name implies, fans who only look at the stats would think this guy’s career peak was merely 18 plus 8, and being an All-Star is overrated.

But those who have watched the games know how influential Horford is in the games.

Like before, blocking Jokic created a chance for Towns to secure the defensive rebound, and now successfully delaying Hansen in the pick-and-roll, these things don’t show up in the stats.

Little Thomas quickly bypassed Jokic, who is completely at a loss facing such a short player. Read full story at 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✶𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✶𝓷𝓮𝓽

However, Hansen chased Little Thomas from behind, and Jokic quickly switched back to Horford, the latter having three-point range and already popping out after the pick-and-roll.

Over there, Towns also has a three-point range pulling TT to the baseline, leaving the paint wide open.

Little Thomas made a very clever move at this point, always keeping his hip facing Hansen, preventing Hansen from getting in front of him.

After reaching the basket, he used his hip to push against Hansen first, then jumped up for a quick reverse layup.

Hansen’s jumping chase couldn’t match his shot speed, Little Thomas successfully scored.

After the goal, Little Thomas roared with his arms bent.

This shot stirred up a commotion at the scene again.

Little Thomas scoring continuously against the Cavaliers’ dual core, his performance was extremely impressive.

Because it was the night of the championship ring presentation, TNT’s The Big Three were also there for commentary.

"He’s the strongest 1.75 meter on this planet!"

Barkley exclaimed at this moment.

Just like Iverson crossing over Jordan, Little Thomas avoiding Hansen’s block to score will become a notable moment in his career.

Also, Barkley’s words weren’t an exaggeration.

There have been many short players in the NBA, popular ones like "Spud" Webb, "Mugsy" Boggs, "Dunk King" Nate Robinson, Boekins, and others, but none reached Little Thomas’s achievements.

As a 60th pick rookie, Little Thomas started in his first year in the NBA, averaged 20+ in the third season, and became an All-Star last season.

To make a historic strong team like the Celtics build around him speaks enough of his personal ability.

Height is a shortcoming for him, but his other talents are top-notch.

Hansen patted Little Thomas on the hip to express his respect.

Earth’s strongest 1.75, he of course had heard of Little Thomas’s stories, but what he admired more was the fighting spirit Little Thomas showed right from the start.

Some, despite being only 1.75 meters, give the impression of a giant on the court, while for others, you feel they’re short even if they’re 2.03 meters tall.

The Cavaliers’ attack, Deron posted up Little Thomas, forcing the Celtics to help defend.

Deron relies on physical suppression to handle Paul, there’s no way Little Thomas can withstand it.

Deron seized the moment to pass the ball out.

The Cavaliers’ outside kept swinging the ball causing the Celtics’ defense to rotate, after playing together for two seasons, they now have excellent team chemistry.

By the time the ball got to Jokic at the top of the arc, the Celtics’ defense was already struggling.

Just as Hansen predicted, the Celtics’ defensive system is still a bit immature compared to the Warriors.

Having defensive holes like Little Thomas on the court allows defense to easily fall into passiveness.

Jokic’s shooting motion for the three-pointer, but when everyone thought he was going to shoot, he unexpectedly threw a fast, rainbow-like direct pass to the paint after lifting the ball to the highest point!

Hansen jumped directly for an alley-oop, performing a windmill dunk.

The scene was instantly filled with cheers from the fans.

Hansen’s dunk was remarkable, and Jokic’s pass was equally amazing.

Malone couldn’t help but stand up and applaud.

Starting from training camp, he had increased Jokic’s tactical position, and facts proved that such a decision was very correct.

Jokic’s passing ability is outstanding, he can make the Cavaliers’ offense easier and harder to defend.

Little Thomas continued holding the ball for a pick-and-roll with Horford, but this time Hansen chose to go around the defense.

Little Thomas’s decision was still sharp, pulling up directly to shoot a three-pointer off the pick.

Speed is his biggest advantage, being decisive and fast is the basis for him being the earth’s strongest 1.75.

Just as he shot, he saw Hansen already jumping to block him.

The key to Little Dog Steps, the nimble footwork allows the defender to go around the pick faster.

Little Thomas was forced to adjust in mid-air to evade, though he narrowly managed to escape, but the original opportunity became a difficult shot, the ball eventually went noticeably off-target.

Jokic protected the defensive rebound under the basket.

However, the Celtics retreated quickly, the Cavaliers had no chance to directly fast break.

Deron pushed the ball to the front court, at this moment Hansen reached out and asked for the ball.

For general teams, the preseason is the stage for refining tactics and lineup.

But for the Cavaliers, who are in the rising phase and are the defending champions in the East, the regular season is actually the same.

The Cavaliers’ ultimate opponent is the Warriors, and to defeat this "Universe Warriors", they must become stronger.

Hansen called for a pick-and-roll with Jokic.

The pick-and-roll is the simplest and most complex tactic, simple because basically every team uses it, complex because it requires many details to be effective.

Back when Hansen was with the Grizzlies, the "Poison Pick and Roll" with Randolph was a headache for opponents.

Compared to Randolph, Jokic has more potential, because his basketball IQ and ball-handling ability are top-notch.

Of course, it’s still just potential now, it needs to be realized through practical games.

Jokic’s pick successfully screened Bradley, which is his biggest improvement compared to last season.

Although this slowed down his roll a bit, it was enough to force the Celtics to switch defense.

If the ball handlers were James, they could still go around the defense, but Hansen’s shooting threat is too strong.

This equaled forming two mismatches at once.

Horford lunged forward desperately, but Hansen tossed the ball to Jokic, who had a good cutting position.

To realize Jokic’s potential, naturally, more opportunities must be found for him.

Bradley tried to interfere with Jokic from below, but the height difference between the two made it as useless as tickling.

Towns was forced to come over and help defend.

Jokic waited a bit until Towns was in front of him, and then delivered a gentle pass at Towns’s waist.

TT caught the cake delivered to his mouth on the other side of the basket, stepped up for a powerful double-handed dunk.

The crowd once again erupted in overwhelming cheers.

"What an incredible attack!" Barkley exclaimed on the commentary booth.

The Cavaliers’ last two plays were entirely different from last season.

The One Star and Four Shooters strategy overall is quite monotonous, though when your core is strong enough it’s unbeatable, but it’s relatively monotonous in terms of watching.

However, the coordination the Cavaliers showed in the last two plays was completely pleasing to the eye.

Of course, outsiders watch the excitement, insiders look at the skill, and what Barkley said was unbelievable, was because both players initiating the pick-and-roll have top-notch ball-handling abilities, which is extremely rare in NBA history.

No, it doesn’t exist, this is the strongest pick-and-roll!