Chapter 682: Chapter 682
It’s just that when they all started to pressure each other with high-intensity double-teaming, Irving wasn’t able to respond to Little Thomas on the other side.
Jokic’s stamina dropped in the final quarter, and he had a hard time performing against the twin towers of Towns and Horford.
After four quarters, the Celtics defeated the Cavaliers 114 to 108 to win the season opener.
Hansen scored 41 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists, Jokic had 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists, Irving underperformed with just 14 points and 4 assists.
Little Thomas performed excellently with 31 points and 5 assists, Durant with 30 points and 6 rebounds, Towns with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Horford with 12 points and 8 rebounds.
The Cavaliers’ ring night ended in defeat, but Malone didn’t take it to heart during the post-game press conference:
"Kyrie just didn’t have the touch tonight; the most important thing for us is that we’ve developed new team tactics."
Hansen was certainly not happy about losing, especially on championship night, but he didn’t blame Irving; instead, he reiterated what he said last season:
"We need to trust the process."
No one can both practice tactics and win games, and Irving’s success last season shows that some paths must be taken.
Despite the disappointment of losing the opener, the Cavaliers quickly rebounded, achieving a 9-game winning streak, leading the league with a 9-1 record.
This winning streak has a lot to do with the schedule.
As the defending champion, the league naturally has a tendency in schedule arrangements.
This also explains why Malone wanted to practice during the game against the Celtics, because tactics are only truly useful if they work in tough battles.
Jokic’s performance in these ten games was eye-catching.
In these ten games, he averaged 16.4 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists, with a shooting percentage of 55.8% and a three-point shooting percentage of 32%.
Except for a decline in three-point shooting percentage compared to last season, all other statistics improved significantly.
This has a lot to do with Malone elevating his tactical status, but it’s also clearly dependent on his own excellent game condition.
Opportunities are ultimately reserved for those who are prepared.
In the latest episode of TNT, Barkley exaggeratedly said, "How the heck did the Cavaliers get him?"
The Cavaliers’ management has also been elevated to the same height as the Thunders and Warriors management.
After all, the core members of the Cavaliers’ current lineup, Hansen, Irving, TT, Jokic, Conningham, all came from their own draft picks.
Just as the Cavaliers were getting on track, a sudden news story sparked a heated debate in public.
This news was related to Irving.
An NBA star’s life isn’t just about playing basketball. On off days, they participate in sponsor activities and attend some shows, which is quite common.
For example, since James joined the Warriors, he often attends Bay Area tech company events with Green to increase his influence.
Irving’s news was related to the Fallon Show.
Back in the day, Scarlett’s "Hulk Smash" remark on the Fallon Show made Hansen widely known among Hollywood actresses.
Nike now values Irving highly, so he naturally appeared on the show to continue enhancing his personal influence.
They talked about the topic of "do aliens exist?".
It’s not surprising this topic was brought up since Hollywood sci-fi movies are at their peak.
But when Fallon said Earth is round, Irving suddenly retorted: "Do you believe the Earth is round?"
And after Fallon’s counter-question, he followed up with his own view: "The Earth is flat. It’s not even a conspiracy theory."
The Fallon Show is well-known, and Irving is now Nike’s successor, so his remarks quickly hit the trending list.
Most people criticized Irving’s viewpoint.
Because "the Earth is round" belongs to basic common sense, which humans have long validated with science.
It’s not even a matter of validation, because the Earth is visibly a blue planet from satellite and International Space Station footage.
The most agitated among them were geography teachers, because as a player, Irving has a fan base, including some students.
Irving’s remarks influence their common sense judgment, greatly increasing their teaching difficulty.
However, there were quite a few who supported Irving’s statement.
Among them was one surprising figure, "Big Shark" O’Neal.
O’Neal openly expressed his support for Irving on TNT.
And he presented his own arguments for it:
First, I flew for 20 hours today, and I didn’t "flip over" or "turn upside down";
Second, people say that the Earth rotates? I have a lake at home, and I’ve lived there for over 30 years, yet I’ve never noticed the lake moving left or right.
Hansen found out about this matter when a reporter asked him during the team’s open practice.
He didn’t comment on the issue in front of the reporters.
He had heard about "Irving’s flat earth talk" before he traveled over, but he didn’t know the details, and back then, his reaction was primarily bemused.
However, now after playing for so many years in the United States, his view has changed greatly from before.
Because many seemingly absurd things can only be understood in conjunction with national circumstances.
For example, when it comes to vaccines, for a normal person, it’s a matter of course and has numerous benefits with no harm.
But in the United States, Hansen has seen numerous news reports exposing medical institutions using the guise of vaccination to test drugs on the American public like guinea pigs.
As for the flat earth theory, Hansen heard about it back when he was at Barry University.
It’s essentially about distrust of NASA.
They distrust those so-called moon landing photos released by NASA, as well as the Mars exploration videos.
In their view, it’s NASA’s way of deceiving the public and misusing taxpayers’ money.
"The Truman Show" is very popular in the United States; many of its loyal fans are also flat earth supporters. For origınal chapters go to 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✶𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✶𝓷𝓮𝓽
They believe NASA is trying to turn the real world into the Truman Show’s world from behind the scenes, so they need to wave flags, break the shackles, and breach the boundaries.
Thus, Hansen saw no need to make a statement.
Because people can have their own opinion, whether it’s right or wrong, and moreover, it won’t affect the Cavaliers.
That’s what Hansen thought, but the subsequent development was somewhat unexpected for him.
The Cavaliers were set to face the San Antonio Spurs on Thanksgiving in an away game, their second strong opponent faced in November.
Malone also took this game seriously.
The day before the game, Irving missed practice due to physical discomfort.
This wasn’t a big deal.
But during the game, Irving performed poorly, and the Cavaliers lost the game.
Counting the season opener, the Cavaliers have now lost two key matches, although this is part of the process, Hansen’s mood was evidently not great.
Yet he didn’t get angry; he just practiced more on his own after returning to Cleveland.
After all, losing a game isn’t the responsibility of one person, but rather of everyone.
But it was a piece of news that broke out online that finally got Hansen upset.
Originally, Irving’s appearance on the Fallon Show wasn’t the end, but just the beginning.
Because Irving subsequently accepted TNT’s invitation to appear as the main guest on a TV debate over whether the Earth is round or flat.
This also indicated that O’Neal’s previous statement was not just his personal thought, but was done to set the stage for this show.
This show’s effect was remarkable, and Irving’s fame increased further.
According to statistics, 20% of Americans believe in the flat earth theory, so Irving essentially gained the support of this group, laying a solid foundation for his upcoming advertising campaign.
Of course, this wasn’t the part that made Hansen angry.
After all, this is just a way of conducting commercial activities—"bad publicity is still publicity" is nothing new in the United States.
What truly upset Hansen was that the filming of this show took place on the very night Irving missed practice.
In other words, Irving’s absence from practice was not due to some physical discomfort, but was an excuse to catch a flight to participate in the show.
Because, with Malone’s personality, he clearly wouldn’t get approval using this reason directly.