Chapter 37: Directly Taking on the Star Player.
After the shooting practice, the team moved on to running tactical drills, with a focus on defensive tactics.
Han Sen stood out in this session as well, with his exceptional lateral movement allowing him to stay in position defensively.
Once the tactical drills were completed, it was time for the final part of daily practice: full-court scrimmage.
The Cavaliers players were split into two teams, black and white:
White Team: Delonte West, Daniel Gibson, Anthony Parker, LeBron James, Anderson Varejao (Jawad Williams, Coby Karl)
Black Team: Mo Williams, Han Sen, Jamario Moon, Leon Powe, Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Cunningham, Darnell Jackson)
The scrimmage would last for one 12-minute quarter, with assistant coach Lloyd Pierce acting as the referee.
Ilgauskas tipped the ball back to the black team, officially starting the game.
On the first offensive possession, Han Sen saw Varejao pulled out to the free-throw line by Ilgauskas and quickly cut in from the baseline.
It was a good opportunity, but Mo Williams had no intention of passing, opting instead to drive straight to the basket. After being contested by Varejao, Williams pulled up for a floater but was chased down and blocked by LeBron James.
Han Sen looked at Williams, somewhat speechless.
Before joining the Cavaliers, Williams played for the Milwaukee Bucks, where he was affectionately nicknamed "Mo No Pass" by Chinese fans due to his reluctance to share the ball.
Well, there are no wrong nicknames, only fitting ones.
It seemed that if Han Sen wanted to stand out, he'd need to focus on the defensive end.
On the white team's next possession, LeBron stood with his hands on his hips, not participating. The ball was in Daniel Gibson's hands.
Gibson signaled for isolation.
Drafted by the Cavaliers in the second round in 2006, Gibson, like Varejao, had been one of LeBron's trusted sidekicks and had been a solid rotation player, even starting at times.
However, with the Cavaliers' backcourt competition heating up this season, Gibson needed to prove himself.
What better opportunity than this: going head-to-head against Han Sen, his direct competitor, and an easy target.
Gibson dribbled, shifting from side to side before making a quick right-handed drive.
Whack!
In the next instant, everyone witnessed Gibson pulling off a "hen laying an egg" as Han Sen timed it perfectly and stripped the ball from him.
After the steal, Han Sen lifted his head and saw Mo Williams and Jamario Moon already sprinting beyond the three-point line.
Seriously, do all Cavaliers players sprint this hard on fast breaks?!
Han Sen quickly tossed the ball to Williams, who, despite dodging a block attempt by LeBron, managed to score with a fast-break layup.
While Williams might only have eyes for the basket, he definitely knows how to finish when given the chance.
Unfazed, Gibson called for the ball from West again, ready to go one-on-one.
But he soon realized that this matchup was a nightmare for him.
Although he accelerated past Han Sen, the latter recovered and stripped the ball from behind once again!
Han Sen was a little surprised by how easily he took the ball. Wasn't Gibson supposed to be one of LeBron's trusted guards?
With the white team getting back on defense quickly, the black team couldn't push a fast break this time. Han Sen followed up in the frontcourt, running an off-ball play using Ilgauskas's screen.
Then, he saw the basketball flying toward him.
Surprisingly, it was Mo Williams passing to him!
A gesture of reciprocation?
Turns out basketball isn't all about aggression.
Han Sen caught the ball and released his shot before Varejao could close out on him, knocking it down cleanly.
The earlier shooting drills had warmed up his touch.
Three points, two steals, and one assist—Han Sen's impressive debut at training camp seemed almost too good to be true.
On the sidelines, Malone was beaming in front of Coach Brown, as if watching his child make a name for himself.
Finally, LeBron took possession of the ball. After a pick-and-roll with Varejao, he bulldozed his way into the paint, muscling through Powe to slam the ball into the basket.
Powe was knocked over by the force of the dunk.
Pierce's whistle blew— an and-one.
Wow!
Although Han Sen wasn't a LeBron fan, he had to admit that his physical abilities were truly explosive.
However, Han Sen noticed something strange. After the dunk, LeBron didn't immediately go to the free-throw line but instead spoke briefly with Varejao.
Although Han Sen couldn't hear what was said from a distance, he did catch Varejao turning to smile slyly in his direction.
That smile felt annoyingly creepy!
LeBron missed the free throw, and Ilgauskas secured the rebound.
In the next possession, Han Sen didn't touch the ball. Williams ran a pick-and-roll with Ilgauskas and drained a shot.
The black team was off to a strong start, leading 7-2.
LeBron continued to handle the ball for the white team, but this time, Varejao stayed on the weak side and set an off-ball screen for Gibson.
Varejao, with his wide frame, set an excellent screen. However, Han Sen had already mastered the [Star Chaser] skill, improving his ability to fight through screens.
As he was about to chase Gibson, Varejao suddenly moved and used his elbow to block Han Sen's body.
Gibson took advantage of the situation, catching LeBron's pass and hitting the shot.
Han Sen looked over at Pierce, wondering if that wasn't an illegal screen.
But Pierce didn't blow the whistle.
Varejao smiled slyly again in Han Sen's direction.
On the next possession, Han Sen tried to get open off-ball again, but this time Williams didn't pass, opting instead to take it to the rim himself and miss the shot.
Give him the ball once, and he'll return the favor once— beyond that, don't expect much.
On the white team's next play, Varejao used the same illegal screen tactic.
This time, Han Sen tried to force his way through.
Varejao wasn't known for his physicality, and since Han Sen was the aggressor, it wasn't easy for Varejao to hold him off.
However, as Han Sen squeezed past, Varejao dramatically flopped to the floor like a leaf blown by the autumn wind.
Pierce's whistle blew, calling Han Sen for a defensive foul for pushing.
"You're not calling his illegal screens?" Han Sen angrily protested, finding the referee's double standards too blatant.
"They wouldn't call that in an official game either," Pierce retorted with surprising confidence.
"Damn!" Han Sen cursed in Chinese.
So, the league's favoritism toward the Cavaliers extends even to their in-house training!
"You should learn what respect means," Varejao taunted as he got up, puffing out his chest.
"Don't you know 'grass' is just a plant?" Han Sen sarcastically retorted, shoving Varejao aside. He didn't think Varejao would understand that "grass" was a curse word, just like how his Rockets teammates once thought "damn it" meant "tomato."
Unexpectedly, Varejao flopped to the ground like a woman fainting in front of a rich man.
Wow, this guy really is an Oscar-level actor, flopping even during an intra-team scrimmage!
Pierce blew his whistle again, calling Han Sen for another foul.
And there was Varejao, still with that sly grin on his face.
At that moment, Han Sen suddenly calmed down.
He turned his gaze to LeBron at the far end of the court.
Since the three-point contest began, Varejao had been messing with him.
At first, Han Sen thought Varejao was just acting like a mad dog biting everyone, but now that he thought back, it was right after Varejao spoke with LeBron that he started targeting him.
So, Cunningham was right yesterday— LeBron wasn't going to let yesterday's incident slide easily.
Even when Han Sen left the gym earlier, the [hater points] supported that theory.
LeBron didn't even need to get involved personally; he could just send someone like Varejao to do his dirty work.
Even if Han Sen beat up or even humiliated Varejao, it wouldn't affect LeBron at all.
After all, isn't that what lackeys are for?
To do the dirty work so the boss doesn't get his hands dirty.
If Han Sen actually started a fight, everything he had achieved in training today would go up in smoke.
There really was no solution to this!
The ball was still with the white team, and this time, they inbounded the ball to LeBron. Varejao set a solid screen for him again.
LeBron powered his way into the paint once more.
After seeing what happened to Powe earlier, Moon, who was on the weak side, didn't dare to step in to help defend.
LeBron flew through the air in the paint, lifting the ball over his head, ready to perform one of his signature tomahawk dunks.
But just as he was about to throw it down, a figure rushed in from the free-throw line, launching himself into the air and swatting the ball from LeBron's hand!
The ball bounced off the backboard, then hit LeBron's head before flying out of bounds.
LeBron stared in shock, wondering what had just happened.
The whole gym fell silent.
LeBron's dunks were like fire to defenders— who would dare to challenge him at the rim?
But Han Sen did!
And he blocked LeBron James!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone