Chapter 41: Bringing Humiliation Upon Himself.*
At this moment, Brown was also looking at Han Sen, a gleam of admiration in his eyes.
The way Han Sen stayed composed while facing Wallace's defensive pressure, not flinching even as if a mountain were collapsing in front of him, made it hard for anyone not to be moved.
Even though he declared for the draft after his junior year, in reality, he only played one season in the NCAA.
Such maturity made Brown wonder if this young man's body housed a soul far beyond his years.
But the most important thing was that this kind of player was just too perfect for LeBron.
The biggest issue the Cavaliers faced last season was that after LeBron penetrated and passed, the outside shooters couldn't hit their shots.
This allowed opponents to double-team LeBron crazily or force him into mid-to-long-range shots.
Not to mention, Han Sen's defensive awareness also didn't match his age.
Hmm, the player LeBron picked was truly strong!
Brown turned his head with a smile to look at LeBron, only to notice that LeBron had a troubled expression on his face.
He sighed.
Han Sen was great in every way, but he was also headstrong and rebellious. For some reason, he and LeBron just didn't seem to get along.
It seemed that Brown, as head coach, would need to step in and use his skills to mediate more between them.
While Brown's thoughts were wandering, Han Sen together with O'Neal was clashing fiercely on the court.
Parker was an excellent 3-and-D player, executing the coach's game plan on the court like a well-oiled machine, rarely making mistakes.
But compared to Han Sen, Parker lacked a bit of creativity.
Especially when both players were on the court at the same time, the difference became more pronounced.
Parker could create space, but Han Sen could generate space.
Guarding Parker only required the Bobcats to keep a defender on him, but guarding Han Sen? Just Henderson alone wasn't enough.
For example, in the previous play, Han Sen faked a shot after receiving the ball, making Henderson jump, then suddenly drove to the basket. Facing Chandler's defensive help, Han Sen lobbed the ball into the air, setting up O'Neal for an alley-oop dunk.
In another earlier play, after seeing the Bobcats prepare to double-team O'Neal early, Han Sen moved to the weak-side high post to set a screen for Williams. After setting the screen, he quickly rolled out to the top of the three-point arc, disrupting the Bobcats' defensive formation and allowing O'Neal to score a one-on-one in the paint.
Under the leadership of O'Neal and Han, the Cavaliers gradually erased the Bobcats' lead and eventually took the lead themselves.
Brown stroked his chin again, considering that playing Han and O'Neal together seemed like a pretty good option.
By halftime, the Cavaliers were leading the Bobcats 43 to 33.
Han played 15 minutes in the first half, contributing 8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, and 2 fouls.
In pre-season games, teams usually only play through the first half, and in the second half, coaches typically evaluate players on the fringe of the rotation.
So the Cavaliers' pride was ultimately preserved tonight.
O'Neal played only 16 minutes, scoring 12 points, grabbing 5 rebounds, dishing out 3 assists, and putting on a show with an alley-oop dunk, demonstrating his continued dominance in the paint.
Han ended up playing 26 minutes, tallying 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers, and 3 fouls, shooting 4 of 7 from three-point range.
Thanks to his stellar performance, he was invited to the postgame press conference, alongside O'Neal.
Although it was a pre-season game, it was the season opener, so quite a few reporters were present.
But once the press conference started, the first question posed by the reporters was about LeBron.
Why didn't LeBron play tonight? Was he injured? Will he be available for the regular season opener?
O'Neal's face clearly showed displeasure.
Han was also a bit speechless. He and O'Neal had just saved the Cavaliers' pride, but the media was most concerned about the guy who didn't even play.
However, after glancing at the press pass of the reporter asking the question, he understood.
The reporter, named Windhorst, was from ESPN— it was obvious he had come with an agenda.
Once the LeBron questions were out of the way, it was finally their turn.
The reporter first questioned O'Neal.
"If you underestimate the Big Diesel because of his age, he'll tear you to pieces!" O'Neal said, putting on a fierce expression for the camera when asked about his performance tonight.
"Don't forget, man, I was still an All-NBA third-team center last season, and tonight, I didn't even break a sweat," he added, grinning afterward.
This guy really knew how to entertain.
Then the mic was handed to Han.
The question for him was similar, asking him to evaluate his own performance tonight.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your performance tonight?"
The reporter seemed to have done his homework on his 'notorious' past and boxed him in with a tricky question.
"10," he answered without hesitation.
The reporter instinctively wiped his brow, realizing he had underestimated him.
However, what he said next left everyone at the scene astonished.
"But I would give half of those points to Shaq. It was his dominance in the paint that gave me such good opportunities on the perimeter."
O'Neal's face lit up immediately.
This wasn't just about flattering him— Han Sen was giving him recognition.
At his age, O'Neal put on that fierce expression in front of the reporters as a way to assert his presence.
After all, if the media was acting this way even in a game where he contributed, what would happen when the regular season started?
Then came the commercial praise segment.
"Guys, you have to know that when Kobe was a rookie, he airballed three straight three-pointers. But this guy? He's hitting threes over Gerald Wallace's defense. He's a 'Terminator'."
Whoa, O'Neal had just given him a nickname!
This was totally in line with O'Neal's style— Truth, Flash, The Big Fundamental, all NBA nicknames coined by him. He'd even come up with a dozen for himself.
But Terminator?
He seemed to recall someone else had that nickname too, right?
He couldn't quite remember for the moment.
But having multiple players with the same nickname wasn't unheard of in the NBA. The nickname "Doctor J" was first used by Julius Erving, then Michael Jordan, and later Vince Carter.
Even the nickname 'King' was initially used by Wilt Chamberlain.
Nicknames weren't on a first-come, first-served basis— what mattered most was who became more famous.
After the press conference ended, O'Neal put his arm around Han Sen's shoulder and said he'd take him out to a nightclub later.
Han Sen was making the most of the moment, bringing himself closer to O'Neal.
After he showered and finished changing into fresh clothes…
"Rookie, go buy us some fried chicken," a commanding voice suddenly called out near him.
He turned to see the face he despised— a sleazy grin.
There was an unwritten rule in the NBA that rookies had to do chores for the veteran players, or sometimes veterans would deliberately make things difficult for rookies, known as 'rookie hazing'.
Common pranks included stuffing popcorn into a rookie's car or making them carry a pink backpack, which usually only happened once. Many NBA stars had been victims of such pranks.
Other, more straightforward tasks involved carrying bags or buying food for the veterans. Ricky Davis asking LeBron to carry his shoes was an example of this.
Of course, the number of times this happened varied—Sun Yue had to buy burgers for Kobe for an entire season.
It was obvious that after Han Sen had trashed Varejão on the court, he was now seeking revenge under the guise of rookie hazing.
"I refuse," Han replied without a second thought.
"You refuse?" Varejão laughed.
He had expected him to refuse, but breaking this unwritten rule would mean Han Sen was violating team protocol and would risk being isolated by his teammates.
Sure enough, after Han Sen refused, the way the other players in the locker room looked at him began to change.
Even O'Neal seemed to hesitate.
"Anyone else on the team could ask me, and I'd go, but not you," He said with a calm expression, staring directly at Varejão.
"I'm not buying food for someone who doesn't even dare take a shot on the court— you're not worth the effort."
Varejão's face flushed with anger.
Han Sen had bypassed all the subtle games and gone straight for the kill!
Varejão wanted to retaliate, but remembering how things had gone the last time he clashed with him, his body held him back.
At that moment, Ilgauskas cleared his throat, stood up, and walked between the two.
"Would you mind getting us some fried chicken?" he said with a smile.
Han Sen paused for a second, then replied, "Sure thing!"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone