The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 196 - 127 Unfinished Business_2

You should know that a sixth-man, plus a first-round pick, and a young player, were traded for him with only half a year left on his contract.

The Grizzlies wouldn’t have paid such a high price to have him come off the bench, especially since Sam Young was only filling in temporarily due to Guy’s injury.

However, this arrangement was bound to displeased two people.

One was naturally Young, who did nothing yet lost his starting spot;

The other was Tony Allen, who had trained hard alongside Hansen, only to realize there was no chance for him.

This was just like the workplace: a parachuted placement is the greatest hit to one’s enthusiasm.

After the scrimmage between the starters and the reserves was over, Hansen went to the sidelines to rest, and he noticed that at some point Battier had joined Hollins and they had a long conversation, which seemed to have persuaded Hollins in the end.

When the full-court scrimmage was over, Hollins announced the game plan, and Young was still in the starting lineup.

Many people then subconsciously turned their heads to look at Battier, obviously not just Hansen had noticed the exchange between Battier and Hollins.

Clearly, Battier had given up his spot.

After Hollins and the others left, Young shook off his dejection from practice and went over to warmly interact with Battier.

Even Allen sought out Battier later, and the two went onto the court to gesticulate, presumably exchanging defensive experiences.

Hansen felt it was strange—competition permeates everywhere in the NBA, and Battier’s relinquishing of his starting position seemed very abnormal.

Keep in mind that even when Carter made way for Jordan for the All-Star start, it was under duress.

And more importantly, Battier was a stable 3D player; his starting was better for the Grizzlies.

After the practice ended and he returned home, Hansen got Rondo to set up a ping-pong table for him.

When he had visited Guy’s place before, he had thought about putting in a boxing ring, but unfortunately there wasn’t a good spot in the rental space, whereas Battier had mentioned ping-pong, which also was a good choice.

In foreigners’ stereotypes, kung fu and ping-pong are things every East University person knows how to do.

But in reality, East University people who know kung fu mostly exist in films, while those who play ping-pong are indeed numerous.

Hansen was among them; he had fond memories of makeshift ping-pong tables consisting of desks and books from his past life as a student.

However, once Rondo got the ping-pong table the next day, Hansen discovered a critical problem: ping-pong required two players, and he was now in the United States.

Playing 2K only required hands, but ping-pong didn’t work that way.

So, he quickly managed to bring Battier over to his house.

It wasn’t until they started playing that Hansen realized that Battier actually had some skills, and the two of them had a good back-and-forth.

For a moment, Hansen was reminded of Battier’s nickname, and it seemed even more fitting, considering...

The President of the United States had his ping-pong diplomacy.

After playing ping-pong, the two of them sat down to rest on the sidelines.

"Why did you give up the starting spot yesterday?" Hansen was still curious.

Neglecting the age factor, even this season Battier was still a starter for the Rockets.

"Han, do you think my career has been a success?" Battier instead suddenly asked him.

Hansen wasn’t expecting such a question from Battier.

Even though Battier’s career wasn’t over and it was not the time for final conclusions,

At 32, for most players, indeed, it was nearing the end.

"If we’re talking championships, no, but if it’s league status, yes," Hansen offered a fair assessment.

After all, Battier was never even considered a star, but to be respected by that many people on a new team was a success in itself.

"No, I’m an utter failure," Battier’s subsequent words shocked Hansen.

Come on, man?

Is it just because you haven’t won a championship? Most in the NBA haven’t won one either! freēwēbnovel.com

"Have you looked into the Grizzlies’ team history since you arrived in Memphis?" Battier then asked another question.

Hansen shook his head; he only knew roughly that the Grizzlies had only made it to the playoffs and had never won a championship, nor had they reached the Western Conference Finals.

However, he still didn’t understand why Battier was asking this; he was initially only asking why Battier gave up his starting spot.

"The Grizzlies have only been to the playoffs three times in their entire history, from my third year on the team until the year before I left."

"Isn’t that quite successful?"

Although this achievement was indeed a bit short of Hansen’s expectations, feeling like hearing you didn’t score 100 but found out you only got 60, how could Battier helping the team to three consecutive playoff appearances not be considered successful?

"Do you know what it’s like to be swept in the playoffs three years in a row?" Battier said with a bitter smile.

Ah?

This... Hansen really wasn’t particularly clear about that!

He remembered that Big Gasol should have been with the Grizzlies at that time, right?

LeBron fans used to compare Wade’s top-tier all-star leadership abilities and thought he wasn’t even on the same level as Pierce?

But it was at that moment he suddenly understood why those reporters had such a big reaction when he first said he wanted to win a championship for the Grizzlies.

This damn problem wasn’t just about not making it to the Finals or the Western Conference Finals; it was about not having won even a single playoff game!

"Helping the team win a playoff game, that was the unfinished business of my career, and it’s also why I returned to Memphis."

Battier’s follow-up words aligned with what Hansen was thinking, and his statement also explained why he would let himself start.

With the Grizzlies ranked fifth in The West, on the right path, if he started immediately upon his arrival, it would inevitably cause internal conflicts on the team.

To win, he was willing to make sacrifices.

"But I think you starting would be better for the team." Hansen still felt that might not be the best choice since the current starter was Young, not Guy.

"Han, my feet aren’t as fast as they used to be. If I’m facing Kobe or Durant, one move from them would get them past me, which would only force you to expend more energy defensively. If needed, I can still defend them in crucial moments, but starting isn’t a good choice."

Battier was obviously thinking about more.

Hansen was no longer the role player from his Knight days, but the bona fide perimeter core of the Grizzlies.

A player’s stamina is limited, Hansen’s defense is indeed excellent, but you can’t expect him to perform at his utmost offensively and defensively for an entire game; it’s not realistic.

So the team’s small forward now needed to take on more defensive responsibilities to allow Hansen to put his energy into offense.

Especially at the beginning of the game, if Hansen put a lot of his energy into defense, it would affect his offensive rhythm for the rest of the game.

So for starting, Young or Allen would be more suitable than him.

"By the way, I was talking with Tony this afternoon, and he said you’ve been training together, and you’ve been working on your mid-range shot?" Allen and Battier sure talked a lot.

But considering he and Battier have conversations about all sorts of things, that wasn’t surprising.

Hansen nodded.

"I can help you too. My feet may not be as quick as Tony’s, nor my hands as fast, but I have a lot of experience in defending the mid-range."

Battier certainly had the credentials to say this, with his two major defensive tricks: drawing offensive fouls and cover defense.

The former was more about the opponent’s penetration, and the latter was about shooting, especially mid-range shooting.

"That would take a lot of time."

"It’s not a waste. Helping you improve is helping the team improve, which is also helping me complete that unfinished business."

Battier’s logic was clear.

But Hansen felt there was something unique about him.

Because of the words "unfinished business," the first thing that came to Hansen’s mind was the hometown basketball of James.

James went to lead a team with accumulated talent after seeing they had it, to fulfill his own wish.

But Battier, on the other hand, was constantly making sacrifices and contributions for that unfinished business.

They both wanted to win, but one was more for himself, while the other appeared to be for himself, but was actually for the team.

"Shaun, actually, you could think a bit more boldly." And it was at this moment that Hansen thought of something else.

"Hm?" Now it was Battier’s turn to be puzzled.

"Why settle for just one playoff game? You should join me in winning a championship for Memphis."

Yes, Hansen remembered that Battier’s career was successful because he later went to the Heat Team as a major leg up and won two championships.

But Battier was back in Memphis now, so how could they let him run back to the Heat again?