Kevin Garnett's desire to play was intense, butCoach Malone wasn't in a rush to put him on the court.

On one hand, the five-out lineuphad worked wonders against the Heat, and Malone was still experimenting with it in games, making Garnett's debut less of a priority.

On the other hand — and more importantly — Malone wascautious about using a veteran at the tail end of his career.

Garnett's skills were still there. But aftertearing his right knee ligament in 2009, his legs had never fully recovered. His knee had become hisbiggest hurdle, robbing him of his explosiveness and slowing him down significantly.

Gone were the days when he couldpatrol the entire court on defense, covering large swathes of space. Hisagehad also started catching up with him, with his availability becoming a concern.Last season, he played only 54 games, andthis season, he'd suited up for just 42 so far.

From a pureperformance standpoint,Bargnani was still the better playerthis season. But the Cavs traded him for Garnettbecause they feared Bargnani might choke under pressure, much likeChris Paulhad in critical moments.

If they rushed Garnett back andhe got hurt, the trade would've been for nothing.

The Cavaliers' first opponent after the trade deadline wasthe Washington Wizards.

WithJohn WallandBradley Bealboth growing into stars, the Wizards had becomean Eastern Conference threat. They were performing even better this season, sitting atfifth in the East.

Their most notable roster change was swappingTrevor Ariza for Paul Pierceas their starting small forward.

This game had aninteresting storyline.

TheBoston Big Threehad long disbanded.Ray Allenwas semi-retired, whilePierce and Garnettwere now meeting as opponents on different teams.

During warmups,Pierce and Garnettshared a long conversation at midcourt, catching up like old friends. Theirbond remained strong, even if they were now wearing different jerseys.

When the game started, both teamsquickly locked into a tight battle.

The Wizards weren't a pushover.

In addition to Wall, Beal, and Pierce, their frontcourt featuredNene "The One-Balled Warrior"andMarcin "The Polish Hammer" Gortat.

The Cavs wereat a disadvantage in the paint, and they particularly struggled withdefending the pick-and-roll.

Both Nene and Gortat werepick-and-roll maestros, andWall's speedmade it even harder for Cleveland to defend without switching.

But once they switched,Wall mercilessly attacked the mismatches, punishing the Cavs' bigs.

TTpicked uptwo quick fouls, both drawn by Wall, andhad to check out early.

As TT walked toward the bench,Garnett abruptly stood up.

Thiscaught everyone off guard—he wasn't even on the active rosterfor the night.

But Garnettwasn't trying to sub in.

Instead, heimmediately grabbed TT on the sidelines and started lecturing him.

"Play tougher."

"Be a man out there."

His words wereloud and clear, andeveryone heard them.

When TT reached the bench, he grabbed the towel handed to him andangrily threw it to the ground.

It wasn't clear whether he was morefrustrated with his performanceorpissed at Garnett's scolding.

The Cavs couldn'tcontain the Wizards' pick-and-rollin the first half.

But on the flip side,the Wizards couldn't stop Han's penetration and kick-outseither.

At halftime, the score was54-54— adeadlock.

Han wasa bit latereturning to the locker room after conducting a courtside interview.

On his way through thetunnel, he spottedTT lingering there.

The momentTT saw Han, herushed over.

"KG's gotta chill, man! He's way too controlling!"

TheCavs' frontcourtwasalready their weakest link—Malone knew it, which was why he hadn't criticized them much during the game.

ButGarnett wasn't holding back. Every time the bigs made a mistake,KG was in their ear immediately.

AsCunninghamput it,Garnett acted like a "cranky old dad".

Unlike Han's days in Memphis, whenhe played the "bad cop" role to perfection, Garnett'sage and new environmentmade his style feel more intrusive.

Han couldn't help but remember therumors about KG punching teammatesback in Minnesota.

When Han finally stepped into thelocker room, he sawGarnett talking with Tucker.

"Paul struggles off the ball. He gets confused easily. You need to deny him touches as much as possible. And remember, his weakest shooting zones are theleft elbowandthe top of the key. Force him there."

Han overheard the conversation and wasmomentarily confused.

"Paul?"

It took him a second to realizeGarnett was referring to Pierce.

That realization made Hanpause in surprise.

The image ofKG warmly chatting with Pierce pregameflashed in his mind.

Now, here he was,spilling all of Pierce's weaknesses without hesitation.

Thecontrast was jarring.

Han walked over andcalled TT to his side.

"Hey, you're up for free agency this summer, right?"

TT, still grumpy, nodded.

He and Kyrie Irving were from the same draft class. Kyrie had been thefirst overall pick, while TT was thefourth pick.

Last summer,Kyrie had already secured a max contract extension from the Cavs, but TT hadn't. He would become arestricted free agentthis coming offseason.

"KG's a veteran with tons of experience. His entire career has been built on pick-and-rolls. He's an expert at defending them. You should learn from him — it'll help you a lot."

Han Sen's words left TTcompletely stunned.

He had been expecting Han totalk to Garnettand ask him to ease up on the criticism. Instead, Han flipped it around andurged him to take the initiative to learn.

"A man needs his pride. But setting aside your pride for a moment can earn you greater respect in the future."

Han knew this wasn't an easy pill to swallow, especially forsomeone as proud as TT.

TT didn't respond immediately. He hesitated for a while before eventuallystanding up and walking toward Garnett.

Han watched as TT approached KG.

There were two possible outcomes.

Either the two would argue, maybe even come to blows.

Or they would start a meaningful conversation.

After observing for a bit, Han noticed that things were moving toward thesecond outcome.

Maybe it was Han's words that had swayed TT. Or maybe TT realized thatif he wanted a big contract, he needed to improve. Either way, he chose tolower his headand take the first step.

Whatever the reason, it was apositive development. In fact, this could bean unexpected benefit of having Garnetton the team.

Even if TT couldn'tlearn all of KG's defensive skills,any improvements on defense would be a big boostfor the Cavaliers.

And that would begreat news for Cleveland.

After all,Jokic might arrive in the NBA next season, but as a rookie, his role in the paint would be limited.TT would remain the key to their interior defense.

...

Second Half Begins

The game resumed after halftime.

Han Sen opened the half byposting up Bradley Bealandscoring easily, setting the tone for the Cavs.

On the next possession, the Wizards ran anotherpick-and-roll between Beal and Nene.

But this time,TT's defensive approach had clearly changed.

Instead ofcharging out early, heheld his ground inside the paint, positioning himself toprotect the rim. This way, he couldlimit Wall's driving laneswhile stillchallenging any floaters or layups.

It worked.

Wall's layup missed, andTT grabbed the defensive rebound.

"Great job! That's it! Keep doing that!"

Suddenly,Garnett leaped to his feetfrom the bench,pumping his fists and cheering TT on.

The Cavs players on the bench couldn't hide theirmixed expressions.

It was hard to process.

Wasn't this the same KG who had been tearing into TT with trash talk just a moment ago?

And now he wasfervently cheering for him?

Thecontrastwas jarring.

But Han Sen wasn't surprised. Watching the scene unfold, he knew his earlierassessment of Garnett was spot on.

KG wasn't "playing the villain." He had become one.

This wasn'tmalice. It was adeeply ingrained competitive mindset.

It was the same mentality that players likeJordanandKobehad. They werehard on their teammates, not out of spite, but becausethey wanted to win.

They wouldscold teammates for mistakesandcelebrate them when they performed well.

In their world,there were no "coworkers" or "polite formalities" on the court.

The only goal was to win.

Put simply,KG was a workaholic.

You wouldn't want a boss like him. Buthe could make your team better.

After confirming this, Han understood whyGarnett chose to join the Cavaliersat the trade deadline.

Despite hisage, KG's mentality hadn't softened. He wasn't looking for a comfortable end to his career. He wanted tocompete.

In the original timeline,he had no choice in Brooklyn. TheNets wanted to win, buthis abilities no longer matched his contract, leaving him with no options but toreturn hometo Minnesota.

But now?

With a chance tojoin a competitive team,he took it without hesitation.

...

The Cavaliersdominated the second half, outscoring the Wizards50-35and securing a104-89 victory.

The formula was simple:Han Sen was unstoppable offensively.

If the Cavs couldtighten up defensively, they wouldwin games.

It was apromising start.

The Cavaliers followed it up bydefeating the Hornets, Sixers, and Knicks, extending theirwinning streak to four gamessince the trade deadline.

Sure,those teams weren't strong, but that's theEast's benefit. Wins are wins, and the Cavs would take them.

Their next game, however, was aserious challenge— arematch against the Lakers.

It was thesecond meeting of the season, and Coach Malone had finally decided tolet Garnett make his debut.

Withjust over a month left in the regular season, Malone wanted KG tostart building chemistry with the team.

The Cavaliersarrived in Los Angeles a day earlyfor the game.

During theopen practice session, a large number ofreportersgathered.

After practice, the reporters swarmed to interview players.Kyrie Irving, who had shined during theChristmas game, andKevin Garnett, who was about to make hisCavs debut, were both popular targets.

Of course,Han Sendrew the biggest crowd.

Thefirst questionwasn't about the upcoming game.

"Do you have any thoughts on Chris Bosh's situation?"

The biggest post-trade-deadline news wasn't about any deals but aboutBosh's unfortunate diagnosis.

After theAll-Star break, Bosh had beendiagnosed with blood clots in his lungs, forcing the Rockets to announce thathe would miss the remainder of the seasononFebruary 22nd.

"I'm praying for him. I hope he recovers soon."

Han offered his well-wishes.He didn't know Bosh well, butnobody wanted to see something like this happen.

He also knew thatthis might signal the end of Bosh's career.

Then camethe spicy question.

"Some people on social media are calling KG's move to Cleveland 'forming a superteam.' What's your take on that?"

Han grinned.

"I'm lucky. I'm always on a superteam."

His responsestunned the reporters.

"I mean, when I was in Memphis, people said the same thing. They claimed we had five All-Stars on that team."

His commentgot a good laughfrom the reporters. After all,nobody considered the Grizzlies a contender anymore.

The final question:

"Will you participate in the dunk contest?"

"Yes, I'll join next year's contest."

"Are you sure this time?"

Han smirked.

"Tell LeBron I'll be waiting for him at the dunk contest."

Han directlycalled out LeBron, referencingJames' comments from the All-Star break.

His bold statement sparkedhuge pregame buzz.

The league had already announcednew voting rules, so Han had no reason to skip next year's All-Star Game.

And thispublic challengeputLeBron in a tough spot.

If LeBronrefused, it would look likehe chickened out.

But if heaccepted,he wasn't confident he could beat Han.

GivenLeBron's history of avoiding difficult challenges, Han guessedhe'd ignore the invite.

But there was always a chanceNikemightpressure LeBronto join forbusiness reasons.

Han smiled to himself.

LeBron must beregretting running his mouth.

BecauseHan wasn't one to hold grudges.

But he always got his revenge.

...

The next night,Staples Center was packed to capacity.

The Cavaliers had beenhot since the deadline, while theLakers were riding a three-game winning streak.

During warmups, thecameras constantly focused on Han.

TheCavs were now second in the East, thanks to Han's leadership.

Hispersonal statswere jaw-dropping:32 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 9.2 APG, 3.1 SPG, 1.4 BPG.

It was clear — Han Sen was theundisputed best player in the league.

As the game approached, Han entertained the crowd bythrowing down a between-the-legs, self-lob, 360 dunk.

The fans went wild, thinking it wasanother jab at LeBron.

But Han wasn't thinking about the dunk contest.

He wasexcited for something else.

After the game against thePacers, he had finallyreached a bottleneckwith his[Magician] talent.

Tonight, atStaples Center, was theperfect stage to break through.

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com