CHAPTER 662: CHAPTER 320: HANSEN RECRUITS JAMES

James looked absolutely livid, but he didn’t dare to argue back.

Kobe hadn’t retired yet, and his influence with the Lakers was unparalleled.

In fact, even if Kobe retired, his influence on the Lakers’ management wouldn’t just disappear overnight.

After speaking, Kobe kept an eye on James through his peripheral vision.

They had worked together for more than two years, and obviously, he hadn’t tried every method. He even tried softening his typically harsh demeanor this season to connect with James like a big brother, but James was still the same.

He was frustrated that James wasn’t living up to his potential and could only hope to awaken him through harsh criticism.

If James couldn’t understand his well-intentioned efforts, he’d find it hard to win a championship in his lifetime.

That was the experience of a five-time champion.

The Cavaliers secured an opening victory on the road, and did so fairly easily, a result that surprised everyone.

In previous years, a team breaking out from the West was almost equivalent to having one hand on the championship.

The last time a team from the East won the championship was the Celtics in 2008.

More crucially, the Cavaliers won on the road, which put the Lakers on the brink.

If the Lakers lose G2, heading to Cleveland, they might not win a single game there.

G2 therefore attracted a lot of attention.

Scott also realized it was no time to play games with who must start.

He removed Deron from the starting lineup and promoted Delavadova.

This adjustment had an immediate effect; not only was there no longer a weak spot on defense in the starting lineup, but adding Deron to the bench increased its depth.

Moreover, James’s defense for the Lakers wasn’t living up to his reputation, but for the Cavaliers, even with Irving’s improved defense, he was still far from being able to guard Kobe, the same choice Hansen had to face with Kobe on defense.

Even the officiating seemed to change in this game.

This wasn’t about biased calls, but the refs were calling it tighter than in G1.

This change favored offensive teams.

The Lakers had one of the top three offensive efficiencies in the league this season.

After two seasons, Silva seemed to finally grasp how to balance the game.

to 108, the Lakers evened it up at home.

The 1-1 match score was a scenario the league and neutral fans were happy to see.

If it was one-sided too early, the showdown between UA and Nike wouldn’t have satisfied them.

For the Cavaliers, the good news was that after winning on the road, they had taken the home court advantage from the Lakers.

If they could win the next two home games, a 3-1 lead would basically ensure they win the championship.

These would be two crucial home games.

Upon returning to Cleveland, Hansen continued participating in the "Face to Face with Hansen" radio program.

This was also a major part of attracting fans to Cleveland for the finals and enhancing the live atmosphere.

It was during this program that a fan posed a very profound question to Hansen.

"Is the officiating influencing the direction of the finals?"

To realize this, one must be a seasoned fan.

If the refs tightened the calls, it favored the Lakers; otherwise, it favored the Cavaliers.

"No, what determines the direction of the finals is the players’ performance."

In the last game, the Lakers’ win was partly due to the change in officiating, but essentially, the Lakers performed well offensively.

Being publicly criticized by Kobe, James didn’t dare to mess around, in stark contrast to his time in Miami.

After all, Kobe’s standing in Los Angeles was untouchable, and more importantly, since he was about to retire, James wasn’t foolish enough to mess up now.

Love and Deron each played their part as well.

No matter how LeBron fans and Kobe fans criticized the Lakers’ lineup after the loss, offensively, they were only second to the Heat in the league.

If they didn’t have that strength, even with help from refs, they couldn’t have turned things around against the Warriors in the West Finals.

But could the Lakers maintain that level of performance?

It’s really uncertain.

"This is what you can do."

With James coming to Cleveland for the finals, Cavaliers fans should give him a "warm" welcome, right!

On G3 game day, Quicken Loans Arena was bustling.

After more than a season, Hansen’s radio show had become well-known locally in Cleveland.

When he called for it on the radio, never mind fans elsewhere, Cleveland fans would jam-pack into the arena.

For those who couldn’t get in, there was a massive crowd around the LED screen outside the arena.

The Cleveland police had to deploy a large force on-site to maintain order.

Then, when the Lakers’ fans entered, James looked up and felt his scalp tingle instantly.

"FXCK LBJ", "Traitor", "who is your daddy", "Nomadic Chief"...

Setting aside James’s terrible reputation in Cleveland now, his previous comments had also once again hurt the fans there.

Even if Hansen didn’t incite them, they weren’t going to let James have it easy after coming back.

During the opening ceremony, James received the biggest jeers of his life.

Can you imagine the scene of more than twenty thousand people inside and outside the arena all booing one person?

It’s truly a sentiment that moves heaven and earth.