The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 414 - 214 Big Green City

"If he’s afraid to make a move, then he’s definitely just thinking about padding his stats, and then it’s the team that loses, not him," Guy said with a look of disdain.

The Grizzlies, in principle, only needed to secure a win steadily; diversions weren’t good for them, but watching those kinds of things happen was really frustrating.

Hansen stared at Guy for a while. Guy had become smart, huh!

Having no chance of winning and not planning to make a move, what James had left really was just the familiar scenario of mutually boosting stats.

"You’re right," Hansen finally nodded.

Guy, seeing Hansen’s initial reaction, thought it was a no-go, but to his surprise, Hansen actually agreed in the end!

He had little expectation for Game 4 initially, but in that instant, he felt as though he was infused with endless energy.

He smiled, reached out, and gave Hansen a forceful high-five.

The two reached an agreement, but just the two of them weren’t enough.

Hansen then had Guy go call Little Gasol and the others over.

Actually, the reason he agreed with Guy, apart from not wanting James to get his way, was more importantly to help Westbrook.

It would show the Thunders management what it would look like if James led the team alone, and when making decisions in the summer, they would naturally lean more towards Westbrook.

Before Game 4, after the initial surge of traffic passed, the direction of public opinion was reeled in by the media.

The reports of James cursing were suppressed, and more negative reports related to Westbrook came in one after another.

"KD left Westbrook and delivered an MVP performance; it was Westbrook who held the Thunders back."

"Westbrook can’t be a qualified second-in-command; he needs a lot of ball possession yet plays extremely inefficiently."

"If it was Westbrook who got injured at the beginning of the season instead of James, the Thunders’ record would definitely be better now."

...

Westbrook didn’t have his own Windhorst or Carrell, facing such media pressure without much recourse.

Just as Hansen knew from "history," what Westbrook went through before he left the Lakers.

At the Chesapeake Energy Arena for Game 4, the attendance was only about eighty percent.

This was the first time in the series that the seats weren’t fully occupied.

Despite the surging public opinion, the fans in Oklahoma City, like Hansen, were also expressing their dissatisfaction in this way.

This involved the history of the Thunders team.

Theoretically, the predecessor of the Thunders was the Super Sonics, but in fact, due to the series of displeasures when they moved away from Seattle, the Thunders actually do not own the history of the Super Sonics.

So strictly speaking, the history of the Thunders should start from the summer of 2008.

That’s also why Durant would be from the Seattle faction, because he was the last rookie selected by Seattle.

Similarly, Westbrook was the first lottery pick in the history of the Thunders.

Plus his likable personality, Oklahoma City fans loved Westbrook more than anyone else.

During the pre-game warm-up, the camera focused on James.

James’ expression surprised everyone; he looked happier than in the past three games.

Thinking positively, he was still maintaining an optimistic attitude despite being in a dire situation.

But thinking negatively, it was Westbrook’s suspension, and he could have the ball all to himself now.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups were announced; the Grizzlies were still their regular five tigers, and on the Thunders’ side, Fisher replaced Westbrook as the starting point guard.

Little Gasol got the jump ball for the Grizzlies, officially kicking off the game.

With Westbrook not playing, the Grizzlies didn’t need to use the "red braised pork strategy"; Conley easily got past the trouser-pulling Fisher and assisted Guy who completed a thunderous dunk.

James completely lost his man on that play, stirring unrest in the crowd.

Turning back, the Thunders spread out the weak side, with James backing down Guy.

From a tactical standpoint, Fisher had a reliable three-pointer, allowing James more space to play one-on-one when he started.

Guy exerted pressure in front, and James seized the opportunity to spin and aim for a breakthrough to the basket.

But just as he turned, Hansen, using Little Gasol’s body as a shield, suddenly appeared like a wraith beside James.

"Smack!"

The help defense came so suddenly that James was caught off guard and Hansen stole the ball.

Hansen, with the steal, also accelerated, leaving Afflalo behind as he rushed to the frontcourt, took one step inside the free-throw line, and completed a gliding dunk.

The crowd stirred again.

The Grizzlies started the game with two massive dunks, setting a completely different tone than before.

James’ face darkened; he had already shown enough of a friendly signal with his initial defensive intensity, but the Grizzlies refused to receive it.

Especially Hansen, whose "EQ" was still so low.

Thunders’ offensive; James continued to back down Guy, this time paying attention to Hansen’s defensive position.

However, to his surprise, Hansen anticipated early and came over to help defend.

He passed the ball to Afflalo, and Afflalo’s three-pointer from the outside went in.

Seeing Afflalo score, he made a fierce face at the camera.

It seemed, however, that the Grizzlies didn’t care much about that shot.

Conley, advancing to the frontcourt, executed a pick-and-roll with Little Gasol; after the pass, Little Gasol shook Fisher off and burst to the inside, completing another dunk.

The arena was abuzz with excitement.

Three plays into the game, and the Grizzlies had dunked three times.

They were moving through the Thunders’ defensive zone as if they were strolling through their own backyard.