Chapter 152: No-Look Pass.
Before heading to Miami, Han Sen had one thing in mind: he needed to stir up some heat.
The season had ended, and he needed more hater points to unlock a new tier-one talent.
So, he opened up social media and posted:
"The Mavericks are going to beat the Heat and win their first-ever championship. They'll finish it in six games."
Prior to this, ESPN had conducted a survey, with the Heat overwhelmingly favored to win.
Even Stan, after the Grizzlies got eliminated, predicted that the Heat would take the title. There was plenty of reason for this belief since the Heat had exceeded expectations in the playoffs.
Initially, people thought the Heat would struggle in the postseason after a tough regular season.
But with strong defense, they took down both the Celtics and Bulls, each with a 4-1 series win.
These weren't easy wins, either—Boston was only two games behind the Heat, while Chicago had the league's best record.
In particular, against the Bulls, after losing the first game, the Heat tightened up their defense and swept the next four games clean.
This playoff run had fully prepared the Heat for the Finals.
On the other hand, although the Mavericks swept the Lakers in a thrilling series, they were taken to six games by the Grizzlies, even without Rudy Gay.
And even worse, Nowitzki injured a tendon in his left hand during that battle. Plus, with home-court advantage, the Heat had everything in their favor.
After posting his prediction, Han waited to reap his hater points. With the media backing the Heat, his contrarian take was bound to draw some hate.
But things didn't go exactly as planned.
Instead of hate, Han saw his follower count explode. It was as if people were saying, "I might just be a random fan, but if you're dissing LeBron, we're friends."
At first, Han didn't get it, but after thinking about it, he started to understand. He had failed to differentiate between "the media" and "the fans."
It was just like the world he came from, where political correctness was rampant in Hollywood.
Movies and games had to align with certain standards, or the mainstream media would drag them, and even demand "protection fees."
Under this kind of pressure, if a movie or game managed to defy the odds and come out solid, fans would go nuts.
It's the same situation now. Nike influenced the media, and the media backed the Heat.
But fans? They hadn't forgotten "The Decision."
The Heat had turned into the league's biggest villains, and in this era, "superteam stacking" wasn't admired—it was despised.
The beauty of basketball lies in competition, not who's more cunning or who takes shortcuts.
Sure, it's within the rules, but just like laws and morality, fans have their own bottom line.
They might not be able to challenge the media, but they have the freedom to choose where their support goes.
With this realization, Han knew if he truly wanted to rack up hater points, he should've predicted a Heat sweep over the Mavericks.
But this kind of stance leaves no room for backtracking. Still, gaining so many new fans wasn't a bad trade-off.
The Finals' first game would be in Miami.
Han flew to Miami, but he wasn't alone. Swift had released her new single at the end of April and now finally had some downtime.
Han planned to enjoy himself after a grueling season, so bringing Swift along made sense—they could watch the Finals and vacation in Miami.
On Game 1 night, Han and Swift showed up courtside at the American Airlines Arena, drawing cheers from the crowd.
Swift's popularity was at an all-time high, and after his playoff performances, Han had officially entered the realm of NBA stars. Together, they were a power couple.
Before the game, Han chatted with Nowitzki, inquiring about his injured finger. Nowitzki had on a specially designed finger brace.
"I don't shoot with my left hand anyway," Nowitzki replied optimistically.
Han could only wish him luck. Although Nowitzki wasn't a lefty, an injury to his supporting hand would still mess with his shooting touch.
The game began, and as expected, Nowitzki struggled early on, missing several shots. The Heat capitalized, running up a lead with their fast-break game.
Han couldn't help but admire Spoelstra's coaching adjustments—this wasn't the same Heat team that struggled in the regular season.
But once the Mavericks' bench hit the court, the momentum shifted. Their bench was deep, with Shaquille O'Neal and J.J. Barea giving the Heat all kinds of trouble.
It was reminiscent of the Grizzlies-Thunder series: the Heat dominated with their starters, but the Mavs' bench closed the gap.
After three quarters, the Heat led 75-71.
At the start of the fourth, things changed again.
Dwyane Wade, in peak form, put on a clinic. O'Neal looked out of his depth as Wade exploited his old teammate.
The Heat went on a run, and with seven minutes left, Wade drained a three to put the Heat up by 15. The familiar scoreline twisted Han's gut.
Then, in a timeout, LeBron and Wade started celebrating right in front of the Mavericks' bench, chest-bumping and even breaking into a little dance.
They thought they had this game in the bag. And that's when everything shifted.
After the timeout, Nowitzki came back in, and the Mavericks started their comeback.
Double-teamed, Nowitzki found Kidd for an open three.
The Heat were in a 2-1-2 zone, and LeBron got caught pointing fingers at Chalmers.
Next, Terry nailed a jumper, and Marion followed with a fast-break layup.
An 8-2 run prompted Spoelstra to call a timeout, but the Heat still couldn't score.
It wasn't that the Heat forgot how to play—they just couldn't stop the Mavs' offensive surge.
Once Dallas forced them into a half-court game, the Heat reverted to their regular-season struggles.
And Carlisle wasn't letting Wade beat them. They smothered him with double teams, aggressive help defense, and tight ball-denial.
Wade was neutralized, forcing the ball into LeBron and Bosh's hands, which was a disaster.
LeBron missed fadeaways. Bosh turned it over in the post. LeBron bricked two threes in a row.
Then, Nowitzki nailed a layup, capping off a 17-2 run that tied the game with a minute left.
The American Airlines Arena fell dead silent. The Mavs were once again the kings of playoff comebacks.
Spoelstra called another timeout, but it didn't help.
Wade finally got an open look but missed, his rhythm gone after being denied touches for so long.
Back down the court, Nowitzki drained a three off a Kidd assist, effectively sealing the game.
With just seconds left, the Heat's last hope, Chalmers, hit a corner three off a LeBron drive, tying the game once more.
Han couldn't help but laugh. The scenes were all too familiar to him.
With 25 seconds left, Nowitzki caught the ball at a 45-degree angle, spun around Bosh, and laid it in past LeBron's help defense, just like he had against the Grizzlies.
There were 3.6 seconds left. The Heat were out of timeouts.
Wade's last-chance heave clanged off the rim, and the Mavericks completed yet another epic comeback, taking Game 1 of the Finals 95-93.
Post-game stats showed Wade's impressive 36 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. LeBron had 20 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals but also 5 turnovers. Bosh was ice-cold with 4 of 16 shooting for 12 points and 8 rebounds.
Nowitzki led the Mavs with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Marion and Terry added 20 and 16 points respectively.
Han felt like his trip to Miami was more than worth it.
The Finals were proving to be one of the most dramatic in years, and the memories of LeBron and Wade mocking Nowitzki were even richer now.
Back at the hotel, Han took Swift on sightseeing trips during the day and practiced basketball at night, focusing on post-ups and off-ball movement.
Two days later, Game 2 rolled around. Swift stayed back at the hotel to rest, while Han attended the game.
It played out similarly to Game 1, with Nowitzki struggling early, and the Heat's starters gaining an advantage.
Spoelstra made adjustments earlier, staggering LeBron's minutes and hacking O'Neal to disrupt the Mavs' rhythm.
But once the starters returned, the game shifted again, with Nowitzki finding his touch earlier this time. He dropped 12 points in the third, pushing the Mavs ahead.
The Miami crowd was tense—they knew losing both home games would be a death sentence.
Thankfully for them, they had Wade.
Just like in Game 1, he carried the Heat in the final quarter, driving relentlessly and flipping the lead back in their favor.
The last three minutes were a slugfest, with both teams struggling to score.
With a minute left, Wade made a tough floater to give Miami a two-point lead.
But then, Nowitzki, despite being double-teamed, drained a fadeaway to tie the game—securing his 34th point of the night.
In the last 20 seconds, the game was tied once again.
It was a similar situation, except this time, the Heat had possession.
LeBron drove to the basket, and Wade exerted all his effort to keep Nowitzki locked down.
LeBron dished the ball to Bosh, who sank a clutch mid-range shot to seal the game.
Bosh redeemed himself, and Miami avoided the sweep that Han Sen had feared.
It must be said—Miami owes Wade a massive thank you.
Wade dropped 36 points in Game 1 and 29 in Game 2, averaging 32.5 points over the two games—numbers reminiscent of his 2006 Finals performance.
On the other hand, LeBron only put up 20 points in the first game and 17 in the second, averaging 18 points—a performance that had truly turned him into Pippen.
This left Han Sen even more intrigued about the next games.
The Finals still followed the 2-3-2 format, meaning the rest of the games would be in Dallas.
Han Sen left Miami—not due to the schedule, but because Swift had suddenly wanted to head back and work on her music.
So Han Sen went back too, but instead of going to Dallas, he returned to Memphis.
The lockout wouldn't start until July, after the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expired, so he wasn't in a rush to start training camp.
After watching the first two games of the Finals, Han Sen had a new idea for using his talent points.
Passing was crucial for him, but it wasn't something that required a top-tier talent.
His current focus was on becoming a scorer like Wade, not a primary playmaker like LeBron.
Part of this was due to the Grizzlies' team-oriented style.
While he needed to be capable of one-on-one plays, he didn't require an elite-tier talent for that.
On the other hand, if he altered the Grizzlies' style and became the central playmaker, it might not be the best choice.
That's because being a primary ball-handler not only takes a lot of effort, but it can also wear out teammates and limit the team's ceiling.
In other words, when it came to passing talent, "good enough" was all he needed.
So there was no need to wait.
He currently had 600,000 Hater Points, which was more than enough to exchange for a second-tier passing talent.
Moreover, after making the exchange, he could continue accumulating points since talents required training to reach their peak.
By mid-season—or maybe even before the season started, thanks to the lockout—he could aim for a chance to get a top-tier ball-handling talent.
Having elite ball-handling would greatly enhance his offensive threat, just like Wade had demonstrated in the Finals.
With this in mind, Han Sen found a passing talent within the second tier that cost 230,000 points:
[No-Look Pass without Ball Fakes]: Enhances finger coordination and flexibility, improves passing vision.
—End of Chapter—
Author's note: Injuries to existing players will follow historical accuracy.
Translator's note:
2011 NBA Labor Dispute: In 2011, the National Basketball Association (NBA) initiated a lockout of its players following the expiration of the 2005 collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
The lockout lasted 161 days, beginning on July 1, 2011 and ending on December 8, 2011.
It was the fourth lockout in the history of the NBA, and the second labor stoppage resulting in a cancellation of
games, shortening each team's 2011-12 season from 82 games to 66.
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