Chapter 800: Chapter 800
So Hansen’s words were actually meant to influence the Pelicans, especially James’ mindset.
If James hadn’t reached the Finals, losing wouldn’t be a big deal. After all, he’s already lost for 14 consecutive years since 2003, what’s another time?
But if he makes it and then loses, letting Hansen steal this biggest show in history, that’s sure to cause psychological problems.
After all, dynasties might come again, but being the backdrop of a dynasty is unique.
So just ask James if he really wants to make it to the Finals!
Before the game starts, Rondo and Hansen talked about where to go after leaving the Cavaliers.
Besides Griffin and Gilbert, Rondo is the only one who knows Hansen will leave the Cavaliers this summer.
Or rather, Rondo, his college teammate and roommate, is his most trusted personal team member.
Hansen’s first choice is definitely a big city.
Note, it’s a big city, not a big market.
Because with Hansen’s influence, wherever he goes will become a big market.
And what determines the market’s potential is not whether it was initially a big market, but the population of the city it’s in.
Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Dallas, San Antonio.
These are the cities in the United States with NBA teams and populations over a million.
Not too few, not too many, exactly ten teams.
"I heard Prokhorov is selling his remaining shares of the Brooklyn Nets, and Canadian Chinese Cai Zhongxin has the best chance to become the major shareholder."
Rondo gave Hansen a new piece of information.
Hansen certainly wouldn’t be unaware of Cai, but he didn’t know the exact time when Cai would become the Nets’ owner.
With this, the Nets could become an option.
In New York, having Cai as the owner is certainly better than Dolan by more than just one level.
Of course, whether it’s the Nets or the Clippers, Hansen just considers them as options.
He’s planning to emulate what Durant did back in the day, rent a villa and have a deep conversation with the management of these options before making a final decision.
This won’t be an easy decision, because Hansen is about to turn 30, and his next contract will be the last long-term one of his career.
Or in other words, if nothing unexpected happens, his next stop will be the last of his career, so his choice must be careful.
But there’s one thing that can be certain.
"No matter where I go this summer, I will demand they make you an important member of the team management."
Hansen hasn’t had managerial problems in Cleveland like he did in Memphis, thanks to the way he returned to Cleveland and because of Gilbert.
That’s a kind of luck.
The attitude of management towards players isn’t directly proportional to the player’s ability, evidenced by Jordan’s standoff with the Bulls’ management and the Lakers’ with Kobe. Newest update provıded by 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚑𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⚑𝕟𝕖𝕥
Essentially, players and management represent labor on both sides, it’s a cooperative relationship, one that’s uncertain.
The most reliable way to gain influence is having team members like Rondo enter management.
After being a judge in the All-Star game dunk contest, Hansen wants more control.
Doesn’t that sound just like what James did with the Cavaliers?
There’s nothing new under the sun.
Or, to put it another way, James wasn’t wrong about it, he had absolute influence with the Cavaliers.
The problem was, he just wasn’t good enough.
Victory can cover up a lot of internal problems in a team, and similarly, after success, no one will care whether you interfered with management.
But such conditions are quite harsh, and only a limited number of teams can accept them.
While they were chatting, the Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals had already started.
Then, Hansen and Rondo saw an offensively uninterested James.
James mostly stood on the weak side with his arms crossed, just feeding the ball to Davis for isolation plays.
Davis is strong in cutting without the ball, playing him one-on-one is too difficult for him.
Hansen couldn’t help but laugh in the end.
He really understands James; with what he said, James truly doesn’t want to play in the Finals anymore!
However, what’s hard to hold back is, maybe due to low morale, the Rockets’ outside shooting touch was frighteningly low tonight too.
And though James had little desire to attack, the referees were on their side.
Nike might not be as strong as before, but a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. It’s not as strong as UA but still stronger than Adi.
So this led to a vicious cycle.
The Rockets’ poor outside shooting forced them to make more penetrations.
But penetrations didn’t win them whistles, which allowed the Pelicans to boldly shrink their defense and force the Rockets to take more outside shots.
And then, they just kept missing more and more shots.
As the classic fan phrase goes, they almost bent the rim with their shots.
Repeated bricks led to long rebounds, and Davis’ mobility let him go crazy grabbing rebounds.
The Pelicans frequently utilized Davis’ rebounds to launch fast breaks.
James’ failure with the One Star and Four Shooters tactic back then is very similar to the problem the Rockets are encountering now.
With a good feel, hitting the most threes in history isn’t an issue.
But when the touch isn’t there and there’s no midrange scoring ability, this is the kind of disastrous game you encounter.
However, James wasn’t really here to win tonight, which is why even when the Rockets couldn’t hit a shot to save their lives, the Pelicans didn’t pull away fast.
Hansen felt it was unbearable towards the end; unlike the high-quality offense and defense showdown between the Cavaliers and Celtics in their Game 7, this was just rookies pecking at each other.
In the end, the Rockets crumbled first, they couldn’t make a shot even in open positions, as if cursed.
After an incredibly ugly game, the Pelicans defeated the Rockets 101 to 92 and advanced to the Finals.
The Rockets went 7-of-44 from three-point range, missing their last 27 attempts in a row.
This result can only be described as an unexpected surprise.
Although the referees were indeed against them, the Rockets’ shooting was ridiculously off.
Not saying they had to be on fire, but if they made even 30% of their shots, they’d be in the Finals.
One could say the Magic Ball is great, but just like the Magic Skills from martial arts novels, it’s easy to fall into deviation.
Davis was the Pelicans’ main contributor to the win tonight, pouring in 32 points and grabbing 20 rebounds, with 2 steals and 3 blocks on defense.
Given James scored just 18 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists, it’s fair to say Davis carried James into the Finals.
When the game ended, Davis was at the sidelines celebrating chest bumps with teammates, visibly excited.
After being on the Pelicans for so many years without reaching the Finals and almost wanting to leave,
now he’s made it to the Finals directly in his first playoff, and he did it himself, how could he not be excited!
However, during the post-game handshake, James looked even worse than if he had lost.
The Finals matchup is finally set for the Cavaliers and Pelicans.
Because of what Hansen said before, with this result confirmed, fans on social media have started celebrating.
"No time to mourn for James Harden missing his first Finals trip, let’s celebrate LeBron James making it to the Finals again!"
"The Finals matchups in the past three years haven’t been the same, but the same is that there’s James and Hansen in the players facing off!"
"From the Lakers to the Warriors, to the Pelicans, LeBron has switched teams three years in a row, but makes it to the Finals every year, an unparalleled historical achievement!"
"LeBron has shown his knack for picking teammates, guaranteeing the Finals, but unfortunately, standing across from him is always that man."
"Oh Mr. James, every meeting is a long-awaited reunion!"