Chapter 375: A Christmas Clash with History on the Line.
It was breakfast on game day, and Han Sen sat with his Breakfast Club crew after a grueling morning workout. The atmosphere was light, and J.R. Smith was the most animated one at the table, his mood clearly lifted.
It was no mystery why. He had clawed his way back into the rotation, and the front office had abandoned any plans to trade him. The primary reason, of course, was his noticeable resurgence in form after weeks of intense training.
The secondary reason, however, had to do with the Cavaliers' current system.
The mismatch isolation offense—much like the triangle offense—was a system that revolved around star players. Role players were there to space the floor and defend. And with J.R. regaining his rhythm, his three-point shooting alone put him miles ahead of Murray.
What's more, when J.R. played with the right mindset, his physicality allowed him to defend far better than someone like Korver.
"Boss, I think you're already better than Michael," J.R. said with a grin, his voice dripping with enthusiasm.
He hadn't been thrilled with Han initially, feeling that his captain hadn't done much to stand up for him. But after learning that Han had vouched for him to get an extra month to regain his form, J.R.'s gratitude had become as overflowing as a river in a storm.
"You surpassing Mike is just a matter of time," Wade chimed in.
After all, Han was only nine seasons into his career. Even if he couldn't lead the Cavaliers to a dynasty this season, winning two more championships down the road would cement his place above Jordan.
Everyone knew Jordan's two three-peats were legendary, but people often forgot that his career wasn't limited to those six seasons. Comparatively, by his ninth season, Jordan had only just completed his first three-peat.
Moreover, Han was already rewriting history books. He even held the single-game playoff scoring record—something Jordan never managed to claim.