The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 534 - 264: Irving Has Only One Instruction Manual_2

Chapter 534: Chapter 264: Irving Has Only One Instruction Manual_2

"David, I’m not LeBron," Hansen said with a smile.

Despite having become the general manager only last season, Griffin was from the James era.

It had become an instinctive reaction to replace teammates who weren’t performing well.

Not to mention the season had only been going for a month, but even with the assets the Cavaliers currently had on hand, they couldn’t really get better ones in return.

The only valuable asset, Irving, was now at his lowest trade value.

However, Griffin’s words did remind Hansen.

After sending Griffin away, Hansen then made a trip to Malone’s house.

Malone now lived in a small villa provided by the team, and his wife, Jocelyn Malone, now lived there with him.

When Hansen arrived, Jocelyn made them coffee, then voluntarily went out and closed the door for them.

"You have a good wife," Hansen complimented.

"You might consider getting married too," Malone said, aware of Hansen’s well-known romantic history.

Hansen just smiled and didn’t respond.

"Actually, I wanted to see you too," Malone said as he gestured for Hansen to drink his coffee.

Hansen picked up the coffee with a puzzled look.

"I think there might be some issues with how we’re using Kyrie," Malone continued.

Taking a sip of his coffee, Hansen then began, "That’s actually why I came to see you today."

It seemed the master and apprentice were on the same wavelength.

Hansen had previously advised Irving to adjust his style of play, similar to how O’Neal had advised Kobe, aiming to help Irving understand the meaning of teamwork.

Irving was not Kobe, and Hansen was not O’Neal, so Irving eventually listened.

However, in actual games, Irving did not improve but, rather, got worse.

He held the ball when he should have passed and failed to finish when he had the opportunity to score, making him hesitant.

It can be said that after one month of games, Irving had proven he was not the type of player who could find a balance between organizing and scoring.

Or rather, Irving’s style of play had been set even before he entered the NBA.

So, hoping that Irving would play the game according to the previous tactical anticipation was meaningless, what needed to be done now was to design finishing strategies within the current tactical system for him, making him a pure finisher, just like Hansen had been.

"I’ll go and talk to him," Malone said as he sipped his still-warm coffee.

The two men were on the same page, which made communication quick.

Hansen nodded; letting Malone talk to him was the better choice.

After all, a month ago, he had made Irving play more as part of the team.

Whether this was good or bad for Irving’s future wasn’t something he could consider now.

After all, everyone chooses their own life path, and he couldn’t force others to live in a certain way.

The Cavaliers’ first December game was at the home court against the Hornets.

Some old fans might still be more used to calling them the Bobcats, but in May of that year, they had already changed their name to the Hornets and also inherited the Hornets’ history.

As for the Hornets, who had just changed ownership and were renamed the Pelicans, like the Thunders, they were a completely new team.

Last season, under the leadership of Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson, the Hornets had made it back to the playoffs after many years, and this season they had signed Lance Stephenson, showing a clear intention to improve.

For this game, Jordan, as the owner of the Hornets, also came to watch.

Because Hansen had said last season that he aimed to surpass Jordan as the greatest in history, the pregame live broadcast unusually framed both the player and the owner together.

However, Jordan did not stay at the venue for long, and soon got up and left since the Hornets were quickly blown out by the Cavaliers.

The Hornets couldn’t stop Hansen, which was expected, but crucially, tonight they couldn’t stop Irving either.

Malone’s strategy for Irving was simple, just spread the floor and let him go one-on-one.

It turned out that Irving was the kind of player who, when focused on getting the ball into the basket, could think of a hundred ways to do it.

His previous slump against the Grizzlies was only because the Grizzlies’ defensive strength was too strong.

But this was in The East, where teams with the defensive caliber of the Grizzlies were few and far between.

Moreover, Hansen discovered something interesting in this game—once Irving got fired up, he actually found a balance between scoring and playmaking, delivering several quite impressive assists.

It could only be said that Irving truly was one of the most unique entities in the NBA.

The Cavaliers ultimately crushed the Hornets in three quarters with Hansen racking up 26 points, 8 assists, and 4 steals, while Irving also added 20 points and 5 assists to his tally.

Although the Hornets were limited in strength, this game greatly helped restore Irving’s confidence.

After finishing the game against the Hornets, they flew back to home court, only to face the challenge from the Bulls next.

The Bulls had also pursued Big Gasol that summer, but unfortunately, he chose to go to Miami instead.

However, that didn’t affect them much, as they signed Mirotic, and with Tai Gibson, they were fully staffed at the power forward position.

What was most important for them was that after waiting for two seasons, Ross was finally making his return.

And during the two seasons Ross was absent, Jimmy Butler had grown.

With Ross and Butler on the perimeter and Noah and Gibson inside, plus Robert Covington, who they had picked up in the free agency, their starting lineup was incredibly strong defensively.

This turned out to be a tough game for the Cavaliers.

The game saw alternating leads and went down to the wire.

Ross’s last offensive play was blocked by Hansen, giving the Cavaliers the chance to finish the game.

Hansen, facing multiple defenders, squeezed the ball out to Irving at the perimeter. Irving nailed a three-point buzzer-beater ahead of Butler’s help defense arriving.

When the basketball hit the basket, Irving, like a child, began sprinting wildly around the court, eventually circling around and running back to Hansen for a hearty high-five and chest bump.

This was the first time since Hansen arrived in Cleveland that he felt Irving was truly exhilarated from the heart.

"I’m really excited, and very grateful to Han," quoted Irving, "Thanks for his trust; since coming to Cleveland, he’s constantly tried to make me feel comfortable playing. If anyone can lead Cleveland to success, I believe he’s the only one." freeweɓnovel~cѳm

Like being fired up to find peace between scoring and organizing, after the game, Irving’s emotional intelligence seemed a bit "abnormal."

But actually, anyone could understand his emotions.

When the Jordan of this era came to your team, he didn’t act superior.

And when you weren’t performing well, he didn’t scold you; instead, he was thinking of ways to help you play better.

Even if you struggled for a month, he still firmly believed in you.

And you were just a first pick who had led the team for four years without ever making the playoffs, facing enormous external doubts.

Who, with such experiences, could help but show genuine emotion?

"As I’ve said before, we all know Kyrie’s caliber," Hansen’s response remained casual.

Not that he was unmoved by Irving’s outpouring of genuine feelings, but it was just a regular-season game after all.

Some things only prove themselves on the playoff stage.

Indeed another reason for Irving’s excitement was that he had finally created an influential career highlight.

The post-game media coverage made him feel, after a long time, that he could still be the focus of external attention.

His performance in subsequent games also improved.

In the games of early December, he scored an average of 22.8 points over seven games, reaching a career-high field goal percentage of 48%, and even his three-point shooting percentage was a career-high of 41.5%.

The Cavaliers finally found the manual on how to use Irving.

Or rather, Hansen knew the manual; it’s just that he had to try it out before he knew Irving had only one such manual.

Visit freewe𝑏(n)ovel.𝘤ℴ𝑚 for the best novel reading exp𝒆rience