Duel.

Before the playoffs began, 'Octopus' Stan made his usual first-round predictions.

This year, he called for two upsets, both in the Eastern Conference, predicting the 76ers would topple the Bulls and the Hawks would eliminate the Celtics.

In the West, the Grizzlies and Mavericks matchup was the most uncertain, with Stan predicting the Grizzlies would ultimately come out on top, even foreseeing a Game 7 showdown.

However, his predictions were a bit off this year—the Celtics knocked out the Hawks, and the Grizzlies won more easily than expected.

Yet Stan retained his status as a top analyst by correctly predicting an eighth-seed upset for the fourth time in history!

He noted that Rose's lingering injury risk could easily resurface in the playoffs, and sure enough, in Game 1, with the outcome already decided, Rose stayed on the court and ended up out for the season.

Thibodeau's system was built around Rose, and with him gone, it was like the 2001 Sixers losing Iverson—it transformed into an entirely different team.

After this, fans swarmed Stan's social media, urging him to predict the Grizzlies-Lakers Western Conference Semifinals.

Stan didn't hesitate—he boldly predicted the Grizzlies would knock out the Lakers! His social media exploded with reactions.

The Lakers were this season's top title contenders, with even more buzz than the Heat's Big Three. Predicting the Lakers to lose in the semifinals? Outrageous!

However, many fans supported Stan, some even bringing up the Heat. With the Bulls upset in the first round, the Heat had no significant challengers in the East.

Even though the first round had just concluded, LeBron's fans were already eyeing potential Finals opponents.

When asked if they'd rather face the Lakers or the Grizzlies, they naturally replied: 'Neither.'

The Lakers were formidable, both on paper and in actual strength. As for the Grizzlies? Believe it or not, since forming the Big Three, the Heat had never beaten them.

"You know, it's just that our playstyles clash."

As for the Western teams, the Spurs and Thunder had a better chance of beating the Grizzlies than the Lakers did. 

For Heat fans, the ideal scenario was for the Grizzlies to knock out the Lakers, then have the Spurs or Thunder eliminate the Grizzlies, and finally, for the Heat to face either of those teams in the Finals for a clean championship path.

But LeBron fans were still a minority compared to Kobe fans, and Stan's prediction received a ton of criticism.

Especially since the league had just announced the second batch of awards, including the regular-season MVP.

Kobe won his second MVP trophy with near-unanimous support, receiving 121 out of 123 first-place votes, for a vote share of almost 40%.

Despite ESPN's efforts, LeBron ended up with only around 16% of the votes.

Media friends didn't overlook LeBron, but the Lakers' record was just too good, and Kobe's stats outshone his. 

No one could justify voting for LeBron just because he had a couple more assists. For Carmelo, maybe, given his lack of fan support and poor public image—but for Kobe? 

Unexpectedly, Han Sen garnered 5.8% of the votes.

While it may seem small, this placed him fourth among all players who received votes, behind only Kobe, LeBron, and Durant.

Despite the Grizzlies finishing fourth in the West, their record tied with the Heat for fifth in the league.

Rose's low appearances and Parker's mediocre stats made it reasonable for the Grizzlies' core to rank fourth.

Of course, this also owed a lot to Khalil's hard work at TNT. His articles were frequent and memorable, making it hard for media folks to forget Han Sen.

But the core MVP storyline was still centered around Kobe, who announced he would receive the trophy in the Staples Center before Game 1 of the second round instead of traveling to New York.

It was no surprise—receiving the award at home allowed him to thank fans and inspire the team.

During a Lakers open practice, reporters asked Chris Paul about the MVP award. 

Paul, as Kobe's teammate and LeBron's friend, was well-prepared.

"Without a doubt, Kobe is the MVP. His performance this season has been incredible, and he made the game look easy. As for LeBron, we all know he's the best player, and I think he deserves more votes."

"Do you mean someone else got too many votes?" a reporter asked, sensing Paul's implication—after all, the pool of votes is limited.

"I'm not saying that, but if your stats aren't strong and you're only benefiting from team strength, it's a bit unreasonable."

Paul nearly called out Han Sen by name. After all, Han Sen only averaged 23 points, a far cry from the other three.

The Grizzlies arrived in Los Angeles the day before the game and heard the news after landing.

"Why is CP3 always so foul-mouthed?" Gay fumed.

Han's words in Game 2 of the first round had clarified the purpose of his sacrifices, which had proven effective.

Without his sacrifices, they wouldn't have won Game 2 and would be headed for a Game 7 slugfest with the Mavericks, just as Stan had predicted.

But Paul took this opportunity to criticize Han. No one had even asked him if Han deserved his votes! Besides, Han's 51-point game against the Mavericks said it all.

Why could LeBron and Durant put up such stellar regular-season stats but falter in the playoffs? Just lack of desire?

"Whenever I want, I could lead the league in scoring every season."

Gay was about to bring up LeBron's famous quote from his Cleveland days.

"Han, take more shots, and hit them hard in the playoffs," Gay said, still fuming.

In truth, they all knew Han was the one who could 'up his stats whenever he wanted.'

"What did you just say?" Han turned to Gay, asking.

"I said we'll create more scoring chances for you," Gay replied, thinking Han hadn't heard.

"No, the part before that."

"Why is CP3 always so foul-mouthed?" Gay said, scratching his head, confused about Han's point.

"You're right," Han nodded.

Paul, while similar to LeBron in some ways, wasn't one to boast.

"He's trying to get me into one-on-one play," Han said, smiling.

He saw through it immediately—not only because Paul didn't typically talk like that but also because Han himself had used this tactic on Durant many times with success.

"They're afraid of us," Han added, seeing Gay's continued confusion.

Paul didn't have a hater system; he wasn't provoking for its own sake.

Realizing this, Gay slapped his head as it dawned on him.

Paul was using this tactic because he was wary of them.

...

The next night at Staples Center, the arena was packed.

When Han emerged from the tunnel, the cameras zoomed in on him, and boos erupted.

Since his rookie days, after declaring Kobe 'not the best in the league,' to his feud with Griffin, Han had riled up both sides of LA's fanbase.

He soaked up the boos, converting them into precious hater points.

His pregame routine was unaffected. Meanwhile, TNT's trio began their commentary warm-up.

TNT held broadcasting rights for the playoffs from the second round onward, so fans missed them in the regular season and first round.

Naturally, the main topic was "Who do you think will win tonight?"

"Believe me, folks, the Grizzlies will definitely win tonight's game. They're criminally underrated!" Barkley chimed in before Shaq could jump in.

Shaq, maintaining his persona, smiled and replied, "While the Grizzlies did great in the first round, I still think the Lakers will come out on top tonight."

Since joining TNT, Shaq had been betting more often—and wilder each time.

Just as they finished their playful banter, the lights in the arena focused on center court for Kobe's MVP ceremony.

When Stern announced the MVP winner and handed Kobe the trophy, the arena erupted.

Though Kobe had five championships, he only had one MVP, which many considered a career regret.

As the cheers subsided, Kobe began his acceptance speech, first thanking his family, then the management, and finally, his teammates.

"This is a team award, not an individual one. CP3, Pau, Ron—I still like calling him that—without them, we wouldn't be the league's top team, and I wouldn't have had this season. This MVP is ours."

Han applauded Kobe's speech, feeling the respect for his rival.

...

After the ceremony, both teams' starting lineups were introduced, and the game was about to begin.

Grizzlies: Conley, Han Sen, Gay, Randolph, Marc Gasol

Lakers: Chris Paul, Kobe, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol, Jordan Hill 

The Lakers swept the Jazz in the first round, but Okafor will miss Game 1 of this series due to a recurring knee injury.

Marc Gasol won the opening tip against Pau Gasol, officially starting the game.

The Grizzlies didn't initially go to Han Sen, opting instead for low-post offense, which proved effective.

With Okafor sidelined due to knee trouble, Hill was at a disadvantage against both the 'Black and White Bear.'

This freed up Han Sen to focus his energy on guarding Kobe.

After five minutes of play, the score was tied at 10.

As mentioned before, the result of their first-round series against the Mavericks was that the Grizzlies had fully hit their stride.

Paul was in good form today. With Kobe tightly guarded by Han Sen, Paul used pick-and-rolls with Hill to successfully find Randolph multiple times.

But this was a scenario the Grizzlies could accept; they had the upper hand with their bench, so as long as they didn't fall behind with their starters, they were fine.

Paul quickly realized this and switched to guarding Han Sen.

"Have you ever seen an MVP who doesn't even touch the ball?"

Paul is one of the league's trash-talk kings, and as far as Han Sen knows, Paul once told Green, "Go beg Durant to come back if you guys want to win."

Clearly, Paul's trash talk was a continuation of the pre-game chatter, trying to provoke Han Sen into playing hero ball.

Han Sen only smiled in response to Paul's trash talk.

After all, Paul was a point guard, and Han Sen didn't regularly match up with him, so Paul didn't know him well enough.

Did he really think such tricks would work on him?

Han Sen didn't take Paul's words to heart, but Paul assumed he hadn't said enough.

And so, Han Sen felt like a fly was buzzing around his ears.

Flies don't bite, but they sure can be annoying.

"You'll never win a championship, because we'll keep beating you."

Finally, after Paul's relentless efforts, Han Sen responded.

"You haven't even touched the Western Conference Finals court, have you?" Han Sen asked politely as Paul's face lit up.

Paul was stunned at first, then his face turned red.

After all, he had already been in the league for seven seasons, with his peak being the 2008 Western Conference semifinals, where they lost to the Spurs 4-3.

Just as Paul was about to retort, Han Sen proudly patted his chest and replied:

"I'm different. Even though I've only played for two years, I've already been there twice."

Although he didn't play that time with the Cavaliers, he still traveled with the team.

-End of Chapter-