The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 611 - 298: Believe in the Process_2

Then, just as they finished their strength training and were preparing to go for breakfast, Hansen saw someone who shouldn’t have been there.

Jokic.

This guy actually didn’t arrive on the dot for training today!

No, no, that’s not right, today he was a full hour early!

"Nikola, did you set your alarm clock for the wrong time?" Conningham approached and asked.

Jokic scratched his head and then shook it.

"I thought maybe I should train a little more." He felt remorse after the words Hansen said at the press conference yesterday.

"A very correct idea," Conningham immediately gave him a thumbs-up for positive affirmation.

"Welcome to the Breakfast Club," Hansen said to Jokic then. freewebnσvel.cøm

Jokic grunted in agreement but then immediately grunted in confusion.

What is the Breakfast Club?

It was only after following Hansen and the others to the dining area and listening to Conningham’s explanation that Jokic learned the so-called Breakfast Club was an extra training session held before the regular training every day.

His pupils dilated in shock.

This... No, please no!

But Hansen had spoken, especially after Hanson’s stance yesterday made him realize how much Hansen had helped him; he couldn’t refuse at all.

He was now regretting it so much; why on earth did he have to come early for training!

Because it was a back-to-back game, Malone scheduled training for nine in the morning.

By the time training started, Irving indeed came to the training gym on his own, just as Hansen had said.

And he was laughing and joking with the others, no different from before.

Jokic was stunned as he watched, and the phrase "mercurial" immediately popped into his mind to describe Irving.

Of course, Hansen didn’t know what Jokic was thinking, but he knew Irving just needed some time to process his negative emotions on his own.

The Cavaliers’ back-to-back opponent was the Blazers.

The Blazers not only painfully lost Alderich over the summer but also their starting shooting guard Matthews to the Dallas people. They were significantly weakened.

In this game, Hansen also adjusted his game plan, reduced ball-handling, and then let Irving have more play.

The experience from last season’s playoffs was enough; if they really wanted to win the championship this season, relying on one person wasn’t enough.

Jokic was still too green, so the key was still on Irving.

Last season, for the sake of the record, Irving wasn’t pushed to train, but this season he had to be given ample opportunity.

If not during the regular season, then when?

Then, Lillard became the unlucky one.

Ask how much difference there is between Curry’s and Lillard’s abilities?

Perhaps the most accurate phrase is: Lillard’s only advantage over Curry is that he’s younger.

Let’s put it this way, Lillard has played four years in his career, and not once has his shooting percentage been higher than Curry’s three-point shooting percentage.

He is essentially an inefficient, bankrupt version of Curry.

Yesterday, Irving was frustrated by Curry; today, he took out his frustration on Lillard.

Not only did he make it very tough for Lillard on defense, but he also dominated him on offense.

In the end, Lillard only scored 17 points with 5 out of 19 shots, while Irving was 11 for 20, scoring 29 points, erasing the shadow of the opening game.

TT also performed well since the Cavaliers used a small lineup for a longer time, so he matched up with Vucevic, a rival from last season, in the paint more often.

Under his defense, Vucevic also only made 5 out of 16 shots and grabbed just 8 rebounds, while he himself contributed 11 points, 13 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

Just as Hansen thought last season, after going through the playoffs, several key players of the Cavaliers had grown to different extents.

The Cavaliers then successively defeated the Magic and the New York Knicks, securing a four-game winning streak to start the season.

Since the Heat surprisingly lost to the Raptors in their opening game, the Cavaliers temporarily took the top spot in the East.

For a team that hadn’t made significant changes over the summer, such a performance could be considered quite brilliant.

However, the focus of the outside world wasn’t on them, even if UA had gone full throttle with their promotions. This season, the Lakers already seemed to be on a path destined by fate.

They were also on a four-game win streak at the start of the season, and on average, they were beating their opponents by 15+ points, including an away game against their archrivals, the Celtics.

Pierce had returned to the Celtics this season, making that game particularly attention-grabbing.

Especially before the start of the game, the Celtics’ home crowd presented Kobe with a tribute video; they even gave Kobe a piece of the historic "old floorboard" representing the Green Army’s history as a gift, which was quite moving.

You have to understand that the Lakers and the Celtics are the League’s fiercest rivals; for Kobe to receive such treatment was the utmost respect a player could get.

Moreover, since it was the Lakers’ first away game of the season and Kobe’s last visit to the North Shore Garden Arena, this essentially marked the beginning of Kobe’s "retirement tour."

Hansen didn’t watch the live broadcast of the game, just the post-game news reports.

But reading those words in the reports, as a transmigrator, he couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.

Because in "history," the person James famously knelt to in a shocking display was the Celtics’ floor.

It was just a pity that Kobe had passed away by then; otherwise, he might have commented on that scene: You really knelt on what they gave me, this old trinket?

This year for the Christmas Day game, Silva still scheduled the Knight-Lakers showdown, so even though there was some time before the two teams would face off, Hansen was still asked about the Lakers’ performance.

"They’ve formed a ’Big Three,’ isn’t it normal for them to have such results?"

Hansen’s response seemed to say nothing yet everything at the same time.

But his remarks led to a heated debate among fans.

"Kobe is 37, so does that mean the Cavaliers are a ’Big Three’ because they have Garnett?"

"Love is just a numbers guy on a weak team, he’s not on the level of a superstar."

"Okay, let’s agree not to call Irving a superstar anymore. Irving’s not even as good as Love."

"Love can be strong, but not too strong."

"I think there’s a perfect way to settle the debate; Nowitzki is the same age as Kobe, why don’t we have Nowitzki join the Cavaliers?"

"The Primate Hunter assembly? You’re going to make me call the police."

...

The Cavaliers started with a four-game win streak, but their subsequent trip through the West only resulted in a 3-3 record.

In terms of standings, they were not only overtaken by the Heat but also fell behind the Raptors.

This led to a lot of doubt from the outside.

And among them, Malone felt the most pressure.

Since defeating the Warriors in the opening game, the subsequent matches saw Hansen’s ball-handling ratio decrease, while Irving’s increased.

But Irving’s playmaking abilities were clearly not as strong as Hansen’s, which led many fans, including Hansen’s loyal supporters, to question this decision.

"Why do they insist on letting Irving handle the ball when he clearly isn’t good at organizing? Wouldn’t it be better to just let him focus on finishing?"

"This setup doesn’t work for Hansen or Irving, and the results are bad. I don’t know what they’re aiming for!"

"It would be better to have Lue as the head coach. Malone doesn’t even understand who the strongest on the Cavs is—he’s supposed to be Hansen’s mentor!"

...

These opinions draped over the Cavaliers like an invisible net of pressure.

Back in Cleveland, Hansen was asked about this issue on the radio by fans.

His response was just four words:

"Trust the process."

Every team has its comfort zone, and to get better, you must step out of it.

And that process is inevitably fraught with twists and turns.

Just as Hansen had previously said to Irving: if the other shore is reachable too easily, then it’s not worthwhile.

Hansen had this psychological expectation after discussing it with Malone.

Following the path of the last season, whether it was the Warriors, Lakers, or Heat, they did not have enough confidence for this season.

If Irving could relieve Hansen’s pressure in the first three quarters, allowing him to enter the final quarter with enough energy, that would be the Cavaliers’ ideal state.

Before reaching that state, some sacrifices in the standings were acceptable.

This was especially true since they were not in the West, where you can drop out of the playoffs in a heartbeat, but in the East, with the East’s cushion, it’s almost impossible for the Cavaliers to miss the playoffs no matter what.

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