Chương 67: You don't know what you're missing.
Before the game started, Han Sen had a brief conversation with Jawad Williams.
Once both teams took the court, Coach Brown quickly realized something was off— Han Sen was defending James!
Han, a shooting guard, should have been matched up against Parker.
Even Malone looked concerned.
Although in terms of height, Han, standing at 2.01 meters with shoes, wasn't much shorter than James, who is 2.03 meters, there was a significant difference in their weights.
James, a heavy small forward, weighed 111 kilograms when he first entered the league. After some offseason bulking, he now weighed 113 kilograms.
Even though Han had gained some weight over the summer, he was only at 100 kilograms.
With that weight difference, if James got up to speed, Han Sen would likely be knocked right off his feet.
The game was about to begin. Last time it was Pierce who officiated; this time, Malone took on the role of a temporary referee.
Refereeing involves running up and down the court with the players, and assistants like Malone can't quite keep up with professional referees in terms of stamina.
The game started quickly, with O'Neal tipping the ball back to half court, and Team One launched the first attack.
James didn't participate in the offense during the first possession. Instead, Williams initiated the pick-and-roll with O'Neal.
O'Neal's screens covered a lot of space, and Williams decisively took the shot, but unfortunately, his touch wasn't great today.
The ball bounced off the rim, and with O'Neal unable to return to the paint in time, Jackson secured the rebound.
Team Three advanced to the front court, and Han signaled for the ball. West passed it over immediately.
While Han was defending James, James... wasn't defending him.
Han glanced at Parker, then signaled for the strong side to clear out, before exploding into a direct drive.
Old Parker had defensive experience and good physicality, but his age made his footwork slower.
More importantly, the reason Han dared to make this move was that his [Phantom Steps] had reached a bottleneck during the Christmas Day game.
With raw speed, Han Sen blew past Parker and then launched himself into the air towards O'Neal's help defense.
O'Neal's massive body felt like a wall as it bounced him back, but before Han was knocked away, he managed to get a shot off.
The ball didn't go in, but Malone's whistle blew.
O'Neal reached out to pull Han Sen up from the ground but didn't say much.
He could clearly sense Han's determination from that play.
Han shook off his arm; his hand was steady as he made both free throws.
Team Three drew first blood. On the next possession, Williams ran another pick-and-roll with O'Neal, this time opting to drive to the basket.
Jackson was too slow to keep up, but Han rotated over to the paint and cut off Williams' layup angle.
Just as Williams made a bounce pass to a cutting James on the right side, who was about to go for a dunk.
Without any hesitation, Han turned and rotated over to contest the shot.
The two collided, sending Han flying out of bounds, but the contact disrupted James' attempt.
Malone's whistle blew again— blocking foul on Han Sen.
Compared to Pierce, Malone's calls were much more fair.
But with two fouls in the opening minutes, the clash between Team One and Team Three was clearly far more intense than the previous game between Team One and Team Two.
The man responsible for this was being pulled off the ground by his teammates.
Han got up and let out a deep breath, coughing twice— James' physicality was terrifying.
Fortunately, Han had managed to back off slightly to lessen the impact.
"My bad, I should've switched," Jawad Williams patted his chest, taking responsibility.
Han Sen, as a starter, was playing alongside the bench players to create opportunities for them.
He nodded without saying anything.
James made one of his two free throws, and Team One got on the board.
On Team Three's next possession, Han called for a screen from Jackson.
Though Jackson was only 2.06 meters tall, he weighed 115 kilograms, and his screen wasn't bad.
O'Neal didn't drop back but instead stepped forward to contest.
Han quickly changed direction, slipped past him, and sprinted towards the basket.
In that moment, it felt like he had truly entered a fantasy martial arts world, his feet dancing with [Phantom Steps] as he weaved through the defense.
Just as he reached the basket, James rotated over, timing his jump perfectly for his signature chase-down block.
But he underestimated Han's finishing ability.
Han Sen contorted in midair, pulling off a reverse layup with his left hand to avoid the block, and smoothly laid the ball in.
After reaching the bottleneck of [Phantom Steps], his body control had improved even further, making his movements appear even more fluid.
The score was now 4-1.
No one could have imagined that Team Three would start like this against Team One.
Or that Han's driving ability had reached such a level.
Moreover, the overall morale of Team Three was noticeably different.
What a strong team needs is teamwork, but what a weak team needs most is a star player!
And right now, Han Sen was that star.
The biggest change brought on by the boost in morale was their increased defensive intensity.
O'Neal posted up inside, attacking decisively, but Han quickly rotated over, disrupting O'Neal's shot with a foul.
O'Neal made one of two free throws.
Han took the ball again, facing old Parker once more.
This time, after getting past Parker, both James and O'Neal rotated over to help.
Han spotted the opportunity and passed the ball to an open Jackson on the baseline.
Although Han hadn't unlocked any passing-related talents, passing and ball handling were fundamental skills he had honed during his NCAA days.
This kind of pass, drawing the double-team and dishing to an open teammate, wasn't too difficult.
Jackson, with no one defending him, rose up for the easy layup.
Even though he was a bench player, he was still an NBA player- missing a wide-open layup was unlikely.
The score was now 6-2.
Coach Brown was getting anxious. He stood up and walked to the sideline.
"Pay attention to your help defense!" He didn't dare criticize O'Neal, so he yelled at Cunningham instead.
But more important than who he was yelling at was the fact that he was yelling at all of them.
These intra-squad scrimmages usually had no coach involvement, but Brown was now actively directing Team One.
Clearly, he was nervous.
Not just because losing to the bench players would be embarrassing, but more importantly, he could tell that Han was out to challenge James today.
If James were to lose, he couldn't even imagine what that would look like.
James finally took the ball.
He could sense that Han Sen had come prepared today.
But as soon as he got the ball, Han immediately pressed him.
That earlier collision taught Han that if James got up to speed, he wouldn't stand a chance defensively.
James couldn't shake him off.
Although Han wasn't as fast as Tony Allen, he wasn't much slower, and with his bigger body, James couldn't create any space by trying to muscle past him.
With Han's added weight, plus the talent boosts from [Star Catcher] and [Phantom Steps], his defense against James was surprisingly effective.
Unable to drive past, James called for a screen.
O'Neal set a high screen, as wide and solid as a wall.
But Han quickly maneuvered around it, clearly daring James to take the shot.
James decisively pulled up for the jumper.
As expected, the shot clanked off the back rim.
With O'Neal pulled up high, Jackson secured another defensive rebound.
This time, Team Three even executed a fast break, with West driving coast to coast and assisting Jawad Williams for the layup.
8-2!
Coach Brown wiped sweat from his forehead.
He glanced at the clock— there were still five minutes left in the game. As long as Team One found their rhythm, there was enough time to catch up.
James took the ball again, this time skipping the probing phase and immediately calling for a pick, choosing Cunningham instead of O'Neal for the screen.
Unlike O'Neal, Cunningham could shoot, so he could pull the defender away, leaving James with a clearer path to the basket.
James' thinking was sound, and his execution was spot-on. He accelerated towards the basket the moment the screen opened up.
But Han Sen was quick to follow, sticking to him even as James picked up speed.
The result was that while James had started his drive, it was like he was carrying a weight on his back, slowing him down.
He finally muscled through to the paint, powering through Han's defense to finish the three-step layup.
But with his speed not fully up, Han wasn't knocked away so easily.
James was forced to stop in the paint after two steps, powering up again to muscle Han out of the way before laying the ball in.
Malone's whistle blew.
"And one!" Coach Brown shouted excitedly.
James pumped his fist.
Six points felt like a lot, but if this free throw went in, the gap would be down to just three.
However, Malone's gesture left everyone in shock.
He rotated both fists in front of his chest like turning wheels— a traveling violation!
Brown's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Malone, do you even know how to referee?! Bring back Pierce!"
Did James travel? Yes, clearly, after taking his two steps for the layup, he landed with both feet, making it a textbook travel.
But the key issue is, in an official game, James wouldn't get called for this! Just like how Pierce didn't call Varejao for illegal screens during the offseason training camp— why call something in practice that won't get called in a real game?!
Malone remained unfazed, signaling that it was Team Three's ball.
"I've never tried to be LeBron's friend, nor will I blindly praise him. I'm a coach. If he doesn't do his job right, I'll treat him the same as any other player."
Just as Han Sen knew, Malone was a man of principles.
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