The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 63 21 years old

After the opening ceremony, both teams’ starting lineups were announced.

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

Lakers: Fisher, Kobe, Artest, Paul Gasol, Binamu

Binamu tapped the ball back to the Lakers’ half, and the Christmas Day battle officially began.

The Lakers moved forward quickly, with Kobe immediately backing up against Hansen at the high post.

His intent to teach Hansen a lesson was clear to the entire world.

Hansen was prepared psychologically and set up his defensive posture in advance.

When Fisher slipped through the back door, clearing the strong side, Kobe initiated the attack.

He started with a back-to-the-basket one-on-one.

Hansen had already faced off against top scorers like Durant and Pierce, so he had some knowledge of this tactic.

But he quickly felt the difference with Kobe.

The most significant difference lay in Kobe’s footwork, executing a small hop before receiving the ball.

According to the rules, he didn’t have a pivot foot yet.

Translated, this meant Kobe could choose either foot as his pivot for initiating the attack.

This summer, Kobe had trained in the Illusion Step with Olajuwon, and this was the result of that training.

Kobe followed with a fake turn toward the three-point line, linked to a fake breakthrough after turning back, and then a turnaround jump shot along the baseline.

These fakes weren’t entirely deceptive, as Hansen felt that if he didn’t keep up, Kobe could choose to shoot at any moment.

But once he followed through these movements in succession, Kobe could effectively shift his defensive focus.

Hansen made a desperate leap to disturb Kobe’s shot, but Kobe’s physical condition was far superior to Pierce’s, using hang time to negate the interference.

"Swish!"

Kobe scored the opening basket.

"Welcome to the NBA, rookie," Kobe said with a smirk as he looked at Hansen after landing.

Pierce was the king of trash talk, but Kobe was no slouch either.

"Number 77 is going to have a tough night."

Tonight’s commentary came from ESPN, with Mark Jackson, a frequent guest commentator, unable to resist commenting.

Having played against the Lakers in the 2000 finals as a part of the Pacers, Jackson knew Kobe’s character very well.

O’Neal faced a double team in the low post, his hook shot in the paint missed the basket, and the rebound was secured by Gasol.

The Lakers quickly pushed forward, Gasol backing down in the low post to orchestrate the offense, attracting a double team after turning toward the basket, then assisting a cutting Fisher for a layup score.

"Your welcome ceremony was a bit brief, huh?" Hansen said to Kobe at that moment.

Kobe looked at Hansen in surprise.

While Hansen was just a rookie, his extremely arrogant claim of number 77 had reached Kobe’s ears.

Still, he had not taken Hansen seriously before, as outspoken rookies appeared almost every year.

However, since Hansen’s arrival in Los Angeles and his sequence of actions, this kid seemed to have something special.

Cavaliers’ offense, O’Neal had no opportunity in the low post, James and Conningham ran a pick and roll but couldn’t pass the ball out when faced with a double team, leading to a turnover.

With just 2 seconds left on the offensive clock, James headed towards the sideline to inbound the ball. ƒгeewebnovёl.com

Hansen didn’t move initially, only glanced towards Conningham, and as both began moving, he quickly shifted towards the sideline.

Conningham, understanding immediately, set a screen in advance.

Hansen got into position, and James’s pass reached him.

One flicked the ball expertly, the other caught it naturally.

"Swish!"

Hansen was feeling good today, sinking a three-pointer right off the bat.

"The best player with this level of defense?"

Watching Kobe, who had just bypassed the screen, Hansen faced him with disdain.

Unfortunately, at that time there were no microphones on the jerseys, otherwise Mark Jackson would have retracted his earlier comment.

Hansen was not so easily unlucky.

Kobe’s expression darkened, Hansen was not just special, he was indeed quite arrogant.

Lakers’ offense, Kobe again positioned himself high up.

Just what Hansen was waiting for.

In fact, one of the reasons Hansen provoked Kobe before the game was because of the Lakers’ advantage in the interior.

You could say the Lakers are strong because of Kobe, but you could also say the Lakers are strong because of their towering front line.

Just like the previous round demonstrated, Conningham’s small frame wasn’t enough against Gasol.

So rather than letting the Lakers utilize their interior advantage, it was better to pull hatred on Kobe like they did with Durant earlier, and let Kobe go one-on-one.

Kobe launched another back play, but this time, Hansen adjusted his defensive strategy. He didn’t stay close to Kobe but maintained a slight distance so that Kobe couldn’t sense his defensive focus.

Seeing this, Kobe aggressively backed into him, but in doing so, he opted for the central foot.

Hansen also pushed forward in response, engaging Kobe directly, and then quickly retreated after the confrontation.

This strategy was intended to keep a distance, preventing Kobe from detecting his defensive center of gravity.

Kobe found it impossible to shake off Hansen as easily as before.

However, this version of Kobe was too experienced. After noticing that Hansen would retreat after each confrontation, he used this to his advantage and continually drove inward.

Soon, the two reached the low post.

At this point, Hansen began to use his body to protect one side of the basket, pushing Kobe towards the baseline.

Although Kobe was capable of making shots from unfavorable angles, getting him to turn towards the free-throw line was even more deadly.

Hansen made the right choice, and his defense was already halfway successful.

But Kobe’s next move was unexpected, as he suddenly dribbled with an extremely low center of gravity, crawling past Hansen’s body on the floor, and then... he passed.

Gasol cut into the middle from nowhere, caught the ball, and finished with a tomahawk dunk.

"I’m not 21 years old," Kobe pouted at Hansen after the score.

Damn, I was tricked!

Kobe had faked his expression earlier.

Is this what 31-year-old Kobe is like?

Although Hansen had said in an interview that Kobe wasn’t, he had to admit, at that moment, a rational Kobe in this mindset was the best in the League.

Brown called Ilgauskas up from the bench.

When the game had a dead ball, Ilgauskas entered, replacing Conningham, and the Cavaliers directly put up a twin towers.

Conningham’s build was no match for Gasol, and Varejao didn’t fit well in the interior line with O’Neal, a choice made out of Brown’s desperation.

"Now there are four players on the court over 213cm tall, which is extremely rare in NBA history."

This scene made Mark Jackson express his emotions again.

After the Cavaliers set up the twin towers, the pace of the game on the court visibly slowed down.

In this slower-paced game, the Lakers clearly had more experience.

When the first quarter reached 6 minutes, the Lakers led the Cavaliers 12 to 7.

During the Cavaliers’ offense, James and O’Neal’s pick-and-roll was clamped down, forcing the ball towards Hansen at a weak-side 45-degree angle.

With only 5 seconds left in the possession, Hansen caught the pass.

But this time, unlike before, Kobe used his "Little Dog Steps" to get past Ilgauskas’s screen.

When Hansen received the ball, Kobe was already standing in front of him.

With no time to hesitate, Hansen immediately initiated the "Mysterious Steps."

A slight change in direction brought him closer, seamlessly connecting to a straight-line drive towards the free-throw line to confuse the defense.

Kobe, frequently battling Wade in the NBA, was familiar with this kind of breakthrough and preemptively moved to the left, ready to block Hansen’s change of direction.

But Hansen instead switched from "Mysterious Steps" to a straightforward burst, accelerating past his defense.

This sudden change caught not just Kobe off guard, but also Binamu, who was holding down the interior for the Lakers, failed to react in time.

By the time he thought to cover, O’Neal had already used his solid body to firmly block him.

Hansen burst into the interior, soared into the air, and directly pulled off a small hook shot...

"Bang!"

He slammed the ball into the basket heavily.

The crowd erupted with noise.

seconds to receive the ball, dodge past Kobe, and still managed to show off a layup dunk at the last moment—why does this feel so familiar?

After landing, Hansen turned and looked back at Kobe, radiating youthful energy:

"I just turned 21."