Capítulo 88: Daddy's Coming Back.
Ten days later, the NBA 2009-2010 season came to a close, and the final standings for both the Eastern and Western Conferences were set.
The Cleveland Cavaliers finished with the league's best record at 64-18, securing home-court advantage for every series in the playoffs.
The Orlando Magic followed closely behind with a 59-win season.
The most surprising team was the Boston Celtics. They started the season with an 11-game winning streak, sitting atop the Eastern Conference for a while.
However, as the season progressed, injuries to key players like Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Glen Davis took a toll, and their performance declined.
Injuries are part of any season, not something unique to the Cavaliers.
The Celtics ended up with just 50 wins, finishing behind the Atlanta Hawks in the fourth spot in the East.
This meant that if they won their first-round matchup, they would face the Cavaliers in the second round.
This confirmed Han Sen's memories— while he couldn't recall the exact games, he knew that in Cavaliers' history, this was the year they lost to the Celtics.
The Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Bobcats, and Chicago Bulls rounded out the 5th to 8th seeds.
Based on the standings, the Cavaliers were set to face the Chicago Bulls in the first round.
Game 1 took place on April 17 at the Quicken Loans Arena.
On game day, the arena was packed with excited fans.
Although the Cavaliers had also finished first in the league last season with 66 wins, this season's team was even stronger.
They had everything going for them— timing, location, and people.
The only concern was injuries.
Shaquille O'Neal and Han Sen, two of the team's starters, sat at the far end of the bench, dressed in sharp suits.
Han Sen was chewing gum and chatting with O'Neal.
Even though they couldn't play yet, their recovery was on track.
As long as they could return for the second round, there was nothing to worry about.
After all, if the Cavaliers struggled to win the first round without them, there was no point in dreaming about a championship.
Han Sen was very familiar with this Bulls team.
Led by Derrick Rose, they had players like Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, and Taj Gibson— names that were all too familiar.
This was the first time since Michael Jordan's retirement that the Bulls had a championship-caliber team.
However, one key difference from Han Sen's memories was that neither Carlos Boozer nor coach Tom Thibodeau were there yet— the team was still led by Vinny Del Negro.
The game started, and LeBron James quickly hit a three-pointer against the Bulls' compact defense.
It seemed like an odd night— Cleveland was playing well offensively, and it was hard to see how they could lose.
Han Sen even started chatting with O'Neal about how they would play against the Celtics.
But as the game went on, their conversation slowed, and they both began to focus on the court.
The Bulls were keeping pace with the Cavaliers.
James was hot from the outside, and the Cavaliers' offense was clicking. But the problem lay on the defensive end— they couldn't stop Derrick Rose.
Rose, a player who lacked an outside shot and relied heavily on his drives, played similarly to James in terms of style.
The key difference was that while James relied on his strength, Rose relied on his speed.
And that hit the Cavaliers where it hurt most.
Old Parker had the strength and experience, but he was too slow on his feet, turning into Derrick Fisher in front of Rose.
On the inside, Anderson Varejao was great at grabbing rebounds and defending pick-and-rolls, and he had a knack for flopping.
But like Parker, he was also too slow, and he couldn't defend the paint like O'Neal.
As a result, every time Rose drove to the basket, the Cavaliers were forced to collapse on defense, opening up the Bulls' offense.
Rose wasn't the best at playmaking, but his drive-and-kick game was steady.
At the end of the first quarter, the game was tied at 24-24.
"Okay, that's just one quarter," many fans thought.
But by the second quarter, nothing changed.
To make things worse, Rose got more comfortable, even hitting a three-pointer.
Throughout the second quarter, the cameras kept panning to the bench and zooming in on Han Sen, filling the screen with anticipation.
If Han Sen hadn't been injured, Rose would never have been able to stroll into the Cavaliers' paint like it was his backyard.
Led by Rose, the Bulls outscored the Cavaliers 32-21 in the second quarter.
At halftime, the Bulls were up 56-45.
"The Cavaliers need Han," Mike Breen remarked from the commentary booth as the half ended.
There's a saying: "You only realize how important someone is when they're not there."
Coming out of halftime, coach Mike Brown didn't make any significant adjustments. To be fair, apart from focusing on defense, there wasn't much he could do.
But the Bulls were also a solid defensive team. In the third quarter, both teams scored 23 points each, and the Bulls maintained their 11-point lead.
By the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers were getting desperate. Brown lost control of the game, and the Cavaliers started to trade baskets with the Bulls.
The Cavs put up 38 points in the quarter, but the Bulls still scored 29, and the Cavaliers ultimately lost 106-108.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Bulls celebrated wildly, and Rose was mobbed by his teammates after putting up 31 points and 10 assists.
Last year, in the first round against the Celtics, Rose, as a rookie, also put up 36 points and 11 assists to lead the Bulls to victory.
Keep in mind, Rose had only averaged 20 points and 6 assists in the regular season, yet he thrived even more in the playoffs— a player born for the big stage.
LeBron James looked awkward on the court. He had a hot shooting night, going 4-for-8 from three, and filled the stat sheet with 39 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 5 turnovers, and 3 fouls.
But in the end, it was one of those nights where 'the team lost, but I didn't'.
Han Sen frowned as he watched the final two minutes. He really couldn't trust James in clutch moments.
One offensive foul on Deng during a drive, and then a mismatch with Noah that ended with a turnover, burying the Cavaliers' hopes of a win.
If not for Mo Williams hitting two last-minute threes, the score would have been even uglier.
After the game, Han Sen stood up to head to the locker room but was unexpectedly approached by a reporter for an interview.
Even though he didn't play, he was on the big screen more than enough times tonight.
"Will you return in the first round?" the reporter asked, as expected.
"This isn't the end of the world," Han Sen responded carefully.
Would losing Game 1 put the Cavaliers at a disadvantage?
Clearly not.
The Bulls shot 50% from the field and 41.7% from three. Beyond Rose, Hinrich and Deng scored 27 and 20 points, respectively— way above their usual output.
Once they came back down to earth, the Bulls wouldn't be able to rely on Rose alone to beat the Cavaliers.
Of course, Han Sen was politely dodging the reporter's question. No, he wouldn't return in the first round.
Winning a championship was great, but Han Sen had a bigger priority— establishing his value.
This was the biggest lesson he had learned in his rookie season. You need status to have a voice on the team.
Regardless of whether he stayed with the Cavaliers next season, that wouldn't change.
So he wouldn't rush back and risk injury.
...
Ten days later, the Cavaliers won Game 5 at home, 96-94, completing a gentleman's sweep of the Bulls.
Rose finished the series averaging 26.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 7.2 assists, shooting 45.6% from the field and an impressive 33.3% from three.
But as Han Sen predicted, Rose couldn't carry the Bulls to victory by himself.
The Cavaliers' standout performer was, of course, LeBron James, who averaged 31.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 8.2 assists over the five games.
However, in the final game, James injured his right elbow on a drive. He finished with just 19 points and even had to shoot free throws with his left hand at one point.
This cast a shadow over the Cavaliers' chances in the second round.
Especially since their next opponent was the Celtics, who had also completed a gentleman's sweep over the Miami Heat.
As the second round approached, a reporter asked Han Sen a familiar question.
"Will LeBron's injury affect your series against the Celtics?"
"No," Han Sen replied with a confident smile, a hint of mischief in his voice.
"Because their daddy's coming back."
The Cavaliers went 2-1 against the Celtics in the regular season. The one loss came when Han Sen was absent, and in the two wins, Han Sen scored 25 and 31 points, respectively.
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