CHAPTER 575: CHAPTER 282 MVP + DPOY!_2

Fortunately, after the post-game examination, Irving just had a sprained ankle and would be fine after some rest.

Hansen went to visit Irving after the game, and it was during this process that he remembered some things.

Even though he was a transmigrator, Hansen wasn’t a computer; he couldn’t possibly remember everything that occurred in "history."

Or maybe he was like those male and female protagonists with amnesia in the movies, only recalling some memories after certain specific events occurred.

Irving’s injury reminded him of the "Seven Jedi Warriors" from "history."

If he wasn’t mistaken, it was just this year during the Finals Game 1 that Irving suffered a fractured left patella, which not only ended his season but also significantly reduced his athletic ability.

And the reason he ended up with a fracture was because he had previously sustained a knee injury and then aggravated it by playing hurt.

So, after recalling these things, Hansen’s attitude towards Irving was to heal the injury thoroughly before playing again.

"But..." If Irving was to fully recover from his injury, that would take at least half a month, and by then, if the Cavaliers hadn’t been eliminated, they would have already started playing the Eastern Conference Finals.

"Do you think we can’t make it to the Eastern Finals without you?" Hansen’s rhetorical question silenced Irving.

Realistically speaking, even without Irving, Hansen ought to be able to lead the Cavaliers through the first round, although it might mean that the series goes to a full seven games.

"Getting your injury fully healed is more important than anything else." Hansen needed a better Irving, but the prerequisite was a healthy Irving.

The day after the Cavaliers advanced to the next round, all the first-round games in both the Eastern and Western Conferences came to an end.

In the East, the Cavaliers’ next opponent would be the Hawks; they had eliminated the Wizards 4-2 in the first round.

For the other two matchups, the Brooklyn Nets beat the Raptors 4-1, and the Heat swept the Bucks 4-0.

It’s worth mentioning that this would be their third consecutive postseason meeting.

While all the top teams in the East advanced, things in the West were much more chaotic.

Apart from the Warriors and Lakers, who made it through fairly easily with 4-1 victories over the Mavericks and Blazers, respectively,

the Rockets and the Thunders were both upset.

The Thunders lost quite badly with a 1-4 defeat at the hands of the Spurs.

The Rockets put up a good fight, but still lost 3-4 to the Grizzlies.

However, a detailed analysis could explain it: the Thunders had benefited from the playoff format to be placed in the higher bracket, but their strength was much weaker than that of the Spurs.

As for the Rockets, they had lost a key player to injury, and importantly, it was a big man.

You have to understand that even though the Grizzlies no longer had Hansen, they still had the "Twin Towers." If your front line is weak, you can’t withstand their assault.

The Rockets being knocked out also had a significant impact.

First of all, among the Nike Alliance, one of the three teams was gone in the first round, something nobody anticipated at the start of the season.

Secondly, Paul once again failed to reach the Western Conference Finals.

Then there was increasing dissatisfaction from fans with the playoff format, and the League also announced new rules after that, abolishing the "division winner must be seeded fourth" rule starting from the next season.

Lastly, the Grizzlies and the Lakers, two old rivals, met in the playoffs again, but this time the Grizzlies were without Hansen.

With all the second-round matchups decided, the League also announced the season’s most prestigious award, the MVP, before the games began.

Before the announcement, Curry, Durant, and Hansen were the three most talked-about candidates.

Curry had the worst stats of the three, but the Warriors had the best record in the League;

Hansen boasted the best stats of the three, but the Cavaliers had the worst record;

Durant was right in the middle – not the best stats, but not the worst record either, and the Heat had only five fewer wins compared to the Warriors.

In the end, the results were very close: Curry got 21%, Durant 23%, and Hansen 26%.

Hansen won the regular season MVP for the second year in a row!

When he found out the result, Hansen was still quite surprised.

Because the League was still a Nike League, he managed to win the vote over Durant.

Had Nike lost its influence?

Or had the media forgotten how he used to confront them?

The answer was neither, as it was evident from the voting percentages that Hansen’s win was somewhat fortuitous.

But this just goes to show how insane his performance was this season.

Averaging 32+10 points, Scoring King, Assists King, Steals King—these statistics look crazy enough!

Not to mention the changes Hansen brought to the Cavaliers.

Right after the MVP results were announced, during the latest episode of TNT’s commentary, Barkley offered an irrefutable reason.

"If this Cavaliers team didn’t have Han, not only would they not get 58 wins, would you even see them in the playoffs?"

The answer to this question is obvious.

It’s actually a bit like the Bulls during the ’87-’88 season.

At that time, Jordan averaged 35+5+5, securing the Scoring King and Steals King, and surprisingly led the Bulls to 50 wins.

That season, the Bulls’ record was even worse than the Cavaliers’, ranking only 7th in the League.

There are many definitions of MVP, but as many League awards are mocked as Most Improved Player awards, those that bring about a significant change to the team are the most recognized.

And when the variable bringing "improvement" is singular, he is the most valuable player.

Of course, this result is also somewhat related to Hansen’s performance in the first round.

Hansen managed to score an average of 40.5 points in the six games against the Bulls, which is still incredibly shocking in this era.

Especially since the Bulls’ defense was among the top in the League, Hansen’s statistics didn’t involve any puffery.

But it was precisely because of this that Hansen attracted much controversy after receiving the MVP.

The argument that the League’s fourth-best regular-season record shouldn’t get MVP was predictable.

Then there’s the fans’ doubt about the fairness of this regular season award, since media voting is too easily influenced by playoff performances.

So fans took this opportunity to once again call for a change in the rules to the League.

Silva responded, "Why were you all so quiet during Stern’s era, but now you’re one after another calling for rule changes since I took office?"

However, the League subsequently announced that starting from the 2016-2017 season, all votes would be cast before the playoffs start, and there would also be a Hollywood-style award ceremony to present the awards after the season ended.

The fact is, fans keep suggesting changes because Silva really does change things, while Stern truly didn’t care.

Or to put it another way, Silva is a reformer of the system, whether for better or worse.

The MVP chaos was still raging, but the second round of the playoffs had already begun.

Before the game, the Cavaliers released news that Irving would miss the entire division semi-finals, making the Hawks fans eager to try.

After all, they had secured 60 wins this season, two more than the Cavaliers.

And the Cavaliers were missing Irving, which seemed like a stable situation.

But once Game 1 started, they faced a fierce blow.

The Cavaliers applied the same defensive intensity they had against the Bulls.

Although they had four players in double figures, none of them scored more than 15 points.

In contrast, on the Cavaliers’ side, in addition to Hansen’s steady contribution of 30+ points, he also contributed 13 assists.

Under his leadership, JR scored 18 points, and Tucker got 13 points.

Is Irving important?

Of course, he’s very important.

But more important is Hansen.

Especially on the playoff stage, the Hawks’ team strategy didn’t have strong field offensive points, and once their tactics were stifled, they were completely finished.

Not to mention their defense was far worse compared to the Bulls’, which really allowed Hansen to play however he wanted.

Just one week later, the Cavaliers swept the Hawks 4-0, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Honestly, even Hansen hadn’t expected this result because he even wanted to drag out the series to give Irving more rest time.

But the facts proved that the Hawks turned into chicks in the playoffs.

And during the process of eliminating the Hawks, the League announced the winner of the DPOY.

Han, who had regrettably missed the DPOY last season, was named the 2014-2015 Season’s Defensive Player of the Year based on his outstanding performance.