The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 106 - 90: Planning and Change (Two in One)_3

The Celtics, having returned to their home court, were high on morale as Rondo exploded with 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 12 assists, and The Big Three all scored in double figures.

However, they ultimately lost to the Cavaliers with a score of 93 to 101.

The Cavaliers’ performance on both offense and defense seemed as if they were injected with adrenaline.

Under his mother’s watchful eyes, James staged a king’s return, shooting 12 out of 26, and racked up 35 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, and 2 turnovers.

Jamison made 6 out of 14 shots to get 13 points and 9 rebounds, Williams shot 4 out of 12 to earn 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists, and O’Neal, in his comeback game, made 4 out of 6 shots, contributing 9 points and 4 rebounds.

Hansen also warmed up, making 5 out of 11 shots for 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals, while leading the defense against Pierce, who only made 5 out of 17 shots under his guard.

After taking down Game 3, the Cavaliers led the series with a 2-1 score.

In the best-of-seven series, odd-numbered games are crucial: the opening game, Heavenly King Mountain, Game 7, and of course the recently won Game 3 by the Cavaliers.

With the score at 2-1, if they won just one more game, they would reach match point.

Moreover, James’ physical condition was definitely tough. He produced such stats while being medically treated and didn’t show much after-effects post-game, suggesting he could receive another two doses for the upcoming games.

The Cavaliers’ prospects of advancing looked very promising.

This also made the Cavaliers’ players jovial and laughing during training, a significant improvement from the mood after the previous game.

However, Hansen noticed that Delonte West hadn’t shown up for training that day.

He asked O’Neal and Conningham and neither knew.

After asking Malone, he found out that West had asked for personal leave.

Taking personal leave during the playoffs, Hansen wondered what kind of issue West could have encountered.

He remembered that West had ended up homeless after retiring, seemingly due to mental health issues, and just hoped it wasn’t this troubling him.

When training ended, Hansen and Jamison practiced their shooting for a bit longer.

It was like the tribulations described in fantasy novels; he was now extremely close to reaching the "Giant Slayer" bottleneck, just one step away.

Half an hour later, their extra session ended, unfortunately without success.

It seemed they still needed "Life and Death Training (high-intensity games)" to break through.

As they walked towards the locker room after finishing up, they heard shouting from inside.

The voice was clearly James’.

They looked at each other, hesitating whether to avoid the situation for a bit.

Although James wielded significant power within the Cavaliers, they had never heard him quarrel with anyone in the locker room before.

Even when Hansen initially refused James publicly upon joining the Cavaliers, James had found a way to save face.

James was the type to plot behind the scenes if he wanted trouble, not openly.

So, the situation in the locker room was certainly unusual.

Especially for Hansen, who had seen James’ mother in the locker room before; she was also in Boston now, and it would be truly awkward if James and his mother were the ones quarreling.

Nevertheless, after a short time, Hansen moved forward.

Because he recognized the other voice was not James’ mother, but West.

West was now part of his camp, he couldn’t let West face James alone.

Seeing Hansen move, Jamison hesitated briefly but followed.

When they entered the locker room, the arguing abruptly stopped.

"What happened, Delonte?" Hansen looked at West, still unaware of the specifics.

But before West could respond, James scoffed, shot a threatening look at West, and angrily left the locker room.

"It’s nothing," West shook his head.

Hansen looked confused. What was going on?

"I’m a bit tired; I’m going to rest," said West, then he too left the locker room.

The two remaining in the locker room were utterly bemused, like confused fruits hanging on a confused tree, beneath which were you and me.

But ultimately, it was someone else’s business, so Jamison, coming back to his senses, didn’t ponder much, grabbed his bag, and motioned for Hansen to head back to the hotel.

The visitors’ locker room still had no hot water; they had to return to the hotel for showers.

Hansen nodded and also grabbed his bag.

When he regained his composure, he thought of a rumor from his memory.

It was termed a rumor because the people involved had denied it afterward.

He now just hoped it was only a rumor, otherwise, in tomorrow’s game, the Cavaliers would face significant difficulties.

On game day’s training session, West attended, but James was absent.

Brown’s explanation was that James’s right elbow injury needed time to recover, but Hansen already felt something wasn’t quite right.

He didn’t go to West to ask for details because he knew that if what he suspected was true, there was absolutely no way he could get a straight answer.

He went directly to O’Neal, ready to continue the discussion they hadn’t finished at the hotel that night.

"Is it still necessary?" O’Neal asked with a puzzled look. He had only taken six shots in the game and basically had no shooting rights.

"There’s been a change," Hansen explained briefly.

Seeing the seriousness in Hansen’s demeanor, O’Neal, though not understanding the reason, finally nodded in trust of Hansen.

That night, the Cavaliers and Celtics series Game 4 continued in Boston.

When Hansen walked through the player tunnel, he received the same treatment as the last game.

"Fxck you! 77!"

"77, get out of Boston!"

This wasn’t just banner talk. These were Boston fans directly cussing at him.

Just like outside the hotel during the regular season, the security personnel on site did nothing to stop them.

Conningham, excited, tried to step forward but was pulled back by Hansen.

Hansen smiled at the cursing fans and flipped them the middle finger.

Thanks to this brother for contributing to the hate value.

The angry fan wanted to rush forward but was stopped by security this time.

While the NBA doesn’t forbid trash talk between fans and players, physical actions are definitely not allowed.

Hansen smiled at the fan, waved his hand, then turned and entered the court.

"Boss, I think I should stick with you the whole time," Conningham said, once again worried about Hansen’s personal safety.

"Don’t worry, they wouldn’t dare," Hansen replied nonchalantly.

It wasn’t racial prejudice, but most white people pride themselves on nobility, mostly just trash-talking, who really wants to play with their life?

Of course, if the person was black, he’d still need to be cautious. The experience he and Conningham had in the Summer League was still vivid in his memory.

If someone pulled out not a dagger, but a gun like Conningham carried, then he’d truly see "heaven in a blink." ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

During the pre-game warmups, Hansen finally saw James.

James was still wearing his elbow brace, uncertain whether he had gotten an injection for the game, but more concerning than whether he had the injection was his expression.

Hansen had never seen such an expression on James before, just like he had never seen James argue with anyone in the locker room before.

What kind of expression was it? Well, constipation.

That’s the feeling, as if staying here a moment longer was unbearable.

It wasn’t good news, but it could be considered good news.

Because with James in this condition, playing well seemed almost unrealistic, which meant the strategic plan he and O’Neal had discussed might have a chance to be executed.

After the warmup, both teams’ starting lineups were announced.

Cavaliers: Mo Williams, Hansen, James, Jamison, O’Neal

Celtics: Rondo, Ray Allen, Pierce, Garnett, Perkins

This was the first time the Cavaliers had their whole team in the playoffs.

The game began quickly, and the Celtics quickly took the upper hand.

It wasn’t that they were playing particularly well but that James was playing exceptionally poorly.

Honestly, even though Hansen was braced for it, he was still shocked.

He had never seen James play so terribly before.

Driving with the ball either ended in a block or him losing the ball.

And he wasn’t positioning weak side like in Game 1; he was just recklessly attacking with the ball.

He clearly didn’t want to win.

Five minutes into the game, the Cavaliers were immediately down 0-8.

This forced Brown to call a timeout.

"LeBron, do you need a break?" Brown asked carefully, clearly noticing something off with James today.

James didn’t say a word, just nodded his head and then sat down directly on the bench.

Hansen and O’Neal exchanged a look at that moment, both tacitly nodding.

Their opportunity had come.