Anthony's assist just now is not very pretty, it can even be said to be very dangerous. Because you don't know if this guy wants to pass the ball from the start, or if he makes an improvisation because he is blocked and there is no space.

But this can at least prove one thing: Anthony will not mess around again in order to win today!

After that, the Knicks still played well. Anthony's well-suited singles and Jeremy Lin's occasional harassment make the Knicks' offense very efficient. The most unexpected thing for Henson is that Tyson. Chandler, a defensive stalwart, also scored frequently in the Pacers' restricted area today.

In order to make up for Jeremy Lin and Anthony, the "King of Fighters" is always leaked. As a tough big man who used to be next to Paul, Chandler is not so skilled, but as long as the ball is passed to the basket, his finishing rate is still very high. Horford's defensive softness doesn't seem to be too good a constraint for Chandler.

On the Pacers' side, due to the lack of Paul, a master of the court, Hinrich, who did not have much creativity, could not lead the team to play a quick counterattack.

The Pacers' counterattack can only be launched by Horford's direct backcourt captain. But in Mike. With Woodson's emphasis on quick retreat, such a counter-attacking pattern is clearly not working.

And just like that, after eight minutes of the first quarter, the Knicks led by six points at 18-12. Henson called a timeout again, and it seems that the absence of Paul will still have a huge impact on the Pacers.

Stephenson looked at Henson with eager eyes, it's time for the rotation to play! However, Henson called Jimmy. Butler.

"I don't want to see the opponent's number one score again, not a single goal!" Henson almost roared at the players that the Pacers' defense was not satisfying for Henson. They did a good job defending against Anthony, but they were a little too lax with the others.

So after that, the Pacers' lineup became a very strange Jimmy. Butler, Matthews, Leonard, Yi Jianlian and Horford. There is no point guard, and only Horford is left with a high post tower.

Fortunately, the Knicks' second lineup is not very strong, and the two most threatening points of Shambaught were seen to death by Leonard and Matthews respectively, and the Pacers stabilized the point difference and did not continue to widen. At the end of the first quarter, the score became 24-19. With just 19 points in a single quarter, the impact on the offensive end is evident when the Pacers are missing a superstar-caliber on-court commander.

In New York at this time, there must have been countless Knicks fans cheering. After all, this is almost the toughest game the Pacers have played against the Knicks since Henson took over!

During the interval, Henson was not idle, but found a way to change the disadvantage. He replaced Horford with Anderson first, countering violence with violence and curbing Chandler's overly easy scoring on the inside.

Subsequently, Leonard was used to continue to play and keep the pressure on Anthony. Toughening up defensively, that's the only way Henson can do it now. At least until that kid Stephenson figured it out, it was the only way.

So in the second quarter, Pacers fans went through a long defensive battle.

Anderson guarded the box, and the threat of the old boxing king plummeted. And Leonard's appearance also forced Anthony to make two passing errors.

However, on the other hand, the Pacers' lineup is not very capable of scoring. Without Paul, a "jumping man" like Anderson would have no cake to eat. Leonard? His shooting percentage is only guaranteed in the open space, and even if Anthony's defense is poor, he will not let a defensive outside player like Leonard score like crazy.

Although the score was slightly lower, Henson also achieved his goal. The halftime was 45-42, a 3-point difference, and the Knicks' 45-point score was not too high.

Fortunately, the Pacers' other "Chris" played well today, which made the Pacers' defense impregnable.

"Chris. Anderson is undoubtedly the key to the Pacers' ability to stabilize the situation now, and his tough defense in the restricted area has kept the Knicks' interior offense at bay. And with Anderson on the floor, Horford was also freed up to be able to move more freely on the outside. At halftime, Horford scored 13 points on Stoudemire's head because he no longer had to fight Chandler as the best defensive player. ”

"That's right, Mike. Chris. Anderson's steady performance is sure to surprise his former teammate Anthony. In fact, since coming to Indianapolis, Anderson has been a different person. We barely see him off the pitch anymore, we just see him playing passionately again and again and helping the team to the advantage! Van Gundy immediately agreed, he didn't know what magic Henson had, and he could actually turn Anderson, who was abandoned by the Nuggets, into treasure.

In fact, Henson thinks he has magic so that Stephenson doesn't mess around anymore.

Seeing that the game was so anxious that he couldn't help, Stephenson felt very uncomfortable. At half-time, Henson praised Anderson's performance in the dressing room, which also made Stephenson think a lot.

Chris. Anderson, what kind of character is this? I think at the beginning, this guy was much more noisy than himself! participated in the draft, but didn't even understand the rules, and in the end he could only go to China to play.

After returning to the United States from China, he finally got an NBA contract, but because he was obsessed with those "drugs" banned by the league, he was directly punished with a two-year ban!

Ordinary players were banned for two years, and most of them were abolished. However, Anderson didn't, in order to regain his dream and not make his mother sad, he trained hard for two years, kept his body, and did not waste it. The return two years later also staged the most classic "prodigal son" story in NBA history.

"I know it won't be like this forever, I can't always come back from stupid mistakes, but I've always been the same, I'm who I am. I just stopped doing what I used to do wrong, and now I'm smarter. Here's what Anderson said in an interview with reporters on the training floor on his first day with the Pacers. At that time, Stephenson was standing next to "Birdman", so Stephenson still remembers what this tattooed buddy said.

So, this season in Indianapolis, people once again saw the passionate hot pot of "Birdman", and just now, he brought a qualitative change to the Pacers' defense.

Stephenson's "little fights" are not worth mentioning compared to Anderson back then. However, now, Anderson has become an indispensable member of the team, and he can only watch the play silently from the bench.

A person who is worse than himself can succeed, why can't he himself?

From a boy to a man, from naïve to mature...... Stephenson looked at Anderson as if he saw a living example, one that was right in front of his eyes.

How you treat the basketball court, the basketball court will give back to you!

"Well, don't be afraid! In the second half, we continued to stay up with the Knicks on defense! You guys don't want Chris either. Paul must be by your side like a babysitter, right? Let him deal with family affairs with peace of mind, and let him know that even if this team lacks the star of the house, it is still a team that is not easy to mess with! ”

"Roar!" After Henson finished speaking, West led the players to yell, which took Stephenson out of his own thinking.

Then, the enthusiastic players rushed out of the locker room, ready to go on the field to rub the proud New Yorker on the wooden floor.

What about Anthony? What about Jeremy Lin? In the first half, you were only 3 points ahead!

Henson took a deep breath, he had rarely been as morale-boosting since Paul joined the team. But now that Paul is gone, he must "get back to his old ways." Don't say it, I haven't yelled so loudly for a long time, and my breath can't keep up.

Just as Henson and his coaching staff were about to go out, they found Stephenson still sitting in front of his locker.

"What's the matter with you?" Vogel went up and patted Finson on the shoulder, in this team, Henson usually plays the role of black face, and Vogel naturally plays white face.

"I ...... I've figured it out, sir. Stephenson stood up and looked at Henson very firmly.

"Figured out what? Figured out how to beat the Knicks? Don't talk nonsense, Lance, because even I haven't really figured out how to beat them. ”

"I figured out how to be a player who makes decisions with his brain. Let me play, sir. I also want to contribute to the team, like Chris did. I think...... Take basketball seriously. ”

After Stephenson finished speaking, there was a sudden silence in the locker room. Henson waved his hand and motioned for the rest of the coaching staff to go out first.

After so much time as a coach, Henson has actually improved a lot. Now he is not only the down-and-out scout who only uses his "special advantages" to see the player's ability, but getting along with so many players with different personalities and backgrounds has also allowed Henson to practice calm thinking and unique vision.

Is Stephenson really that bad? Henson doesn't think so, he's just too simple-minded. He was equally struggling and confused inside.

Henson, though, was more than happy to hear the simple-minded Stephenson say, "I want to take basketball seriously." ”

Not only now, this means that in the future, the probability of Stephenson provoking another moth is also very small. It's like, today's "birdman" Anderson.

People like Stephenson and Anderson are often the ones who are willing to risk their lives. If he's your brother, you'll love him, even if he'll occasionally get into trouble and get burned. But more often than not, you know in your heart that you need such a role in the team.

As long as Stephenson is willing to focus on basketball, as long as he doesn't have brain cramps, he's the kind of character that the team needs.

Henson didn't answer Stephenson's question of whether he would play or not, but grabbed his shirt and said, "Think about who you are and what you can do." ”

Henson then left, leaving Stephenson alone in the empty locker room.