It's been a week since pre-season training began, and under Henson's leadership, everyone is on track to get what he wants. On the training ground, the players have also become accustomed to a high-shot, high-hitting, high-turned, fast-paced attacking style. Compared to last season's obsessed with slow-paced defensive play, the Pacers have simply changed dramatically.

Henson proved to be a perfect fit for the team. He's not like O'Brien or Vogel himself, who always wants to fit players into what they're good at, but rather sets up such a fast-paced offensive system based on the Pacers' staffing.

Everyone's individual drills and confrontational drills are almost perfectly combined, and Horford's three-pointers often open up space for teammates in a fast-paced offense. George's growing ability to fight has made him a sharp knife in the transition offense, and his continuous rebounding drills against Granger have allowed him to play well at the No. 4 position......

After a week of intense workouts, the players have recovered from the holidays, and without the outside world knowing, the new Indiana Pacers team is ready to make a run for the playoffs.

That's right, the playoffs. That's Bird's goal this season, and that's Henson's goal this season. Both Bird and Henson have had enough of the embarrassment of not being able to get a good pick and not be able to play in the playoffs. But whether the team can play the playoffs or not is not up to Henson, but the game.

Time flies by to the beginning of October, the start of the NBA preseason, so that fans can't wait to see this new Pacers team, from owners to coaches to players.

However, in the preseason, the Pacers' results were very mediocre. Henson's command was not without bright spots, but what one saw more was chaos. Take the starting lineup as an example, in 5 games, Henson lined up 5 different starting lineups. As a result, they won just two of their five games, two against the Cavaliers, who lost James, and the Timberwolves, who were in a. For a high-profile team, such a result is clearly not enough to satisfy the fans.

Of course, it can't satisfy the media who are full of curiosity about this Chinese coach.

"Turning basketball into a game of sprints and shots, IMHO, is a simple tactic that a layman brings to the table. Even in the East, Henson. Joe's tactical philosophy will also make the Pacers' head bleed! ”

"There are two rules that will never change on the basketball court. First, basketball has always been a giant sport. Second, the closer you get to the basket, the easier it is to hit the shot. The Pacers are very different from these two basic criteria, and the 2.08-meter-tall Al Al is very different from each other. Horford was already their No. 1 player, and Coach Henson also had his players put most of their shot options outside the three-second zone. If this weren't a preseason game, there's a good chance the Pacers wouldn't even win two games! ”

"Too young, Coach Henson is too young, and the players Coach Henson has chosen are too young. Being young is a kind of capital, but it is also destined for them to eat a lot of closed-door soup. If the Pacers want to make the playoffs this year, they will probably have to put in a lot of hard work and a lot of luck. ”

After five pre-season games, the media everywhere gave Henson mixed ratings as a manager. But these different evaluations all have one meaning: Henson. Joe didn't live up to expectations.

Meanwhile in Atlanta, Roy. Hibbert also played at a quasi-All-Star level very "out of place". Hibbert's excellent low-post skills and unmatched height allowed him to average 20 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game in several games in the preseason! Compared with Horford's "pathetic" 13.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks, Hibbert's excellence goes without saying.

Giron reckons waking up with a smile when he dreams now, not only did he get a more dominant center, but he also "robbed" three draft picks by the way.

So people complained that Henson's exchange of the potential Hibbert for Horford, a center who is not traditional enough and cannot dominate the three-second zone, is simply digging his own grave. When the fans saw that Henson actually arranged for Horford, the center, to often pull out and shoot three-pointers, they even wanted to rush up and blow the head of the Chinese coach!

After five pre-season games, Henson's reputation in fan circles has plummeted. The Pacers didn't put up a spectacular performance and were no longer in the spotlight. How can a team that hasn't played in the playoffs for four years in a row, has a rookie on the team, and doesn't have a strong interior line, get enough attention from the league?

People must be more interested than the Indiana Pacers to see what kind of performance the Heat's Big Three can perform.

And just like that, on October 27, the day after the NBA opener, the Indiana Pacers and Henson finally had their first regular-season game.

"The first time I played the regular season as head coach was in San Antonio, and I have to say you're out of luck, Henson." On the plane to San Antonio, Frank. Vogel was sympathetic to Henson's current situation.

The poor preseason results are not actually because the Pacers are not strong, but because Henson's goal is not to win at all, but to try to get everyone on the court, so that everyone can adapt to the new system and find the feeling of the game. Therefore, he changed 5 sets of starters in 5 games, and the rotation time was very messy, just to let everyone get a chance to play.

The players knew that, so instead of being discouraged, they held their breath. The younger players are more hungry for victory than the older players, and they know very well that the team is not playing well in the pre-season, so they want to make a big splash in the regular season to silence the media and make a name for themselves.

The same was true for Henson, who had been a good opportunity to prove himself in the regular season. But the hapless Henson just ran into such a difficult opponent as the San Antonio Spurs.

The match was in the spotlight and tickets for the ATT Centre had already been snapped up. But people didn't come to see the Pacers, they wanted to see the Spurs in the new season. The Pacers are now out of the spotlight and even somewhat underestimated.

Facing the sad face of Vogel, Henson did not frown, as if he was very relaxed, "Luck is a part of the game of basketball, but it is never the most important part. It's true that we're unlucky, but that doesn't mean we're going to lose. ”

Henson turned his head to look out the window, and they were almost there......

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On match day, Henson and his players arrived early at the ATT Centre to prepare for the game. Although the main character of today's game is the San Antonio Spurs, when the Pacers' bus pulls into the ATT Center, it is inevitable to give interviews to the media.

Inside the players' tunnel, only a handful of journalists were allowed to cover the area. And the few reporters who are basically looking for players to do interviews just ignore Henson. Joe, a yellow-skinned Chinese coach.

It can be seen that the media is dismissive of Henson. As a scout and assistant coach, Henson's resume is perhaps magical enough. But in a position of head coach that is stressful and unlucky, everyone believes that Henson's "Cinderella Fairy Tale" is almost over.

There are even media outlets that believe that within 10 games, Frank. Vogel would take Henson's place.

Henson didn't care about that, he wasn't the kind of person who liked to live in the spotlight, so he was happy to have no reporters to interview him. As for the doubts from the outside world...... From the first day he crossed over to the United States, he was questioned, and he was used to it.

Walking into the visiting locker room at the ATT Center and looking at the clean tactical whiteboard, Henson took a deep breath. The first time he met Bird was during the Pacers' game against the Spurs. Unexpectedly, in just two years, he will personally command the team against the Spurs for Bird.

"Nervous? Henson. Seeing that Henson's body was trembling slightly, Vogel went up and patted his good partner on the shoulder.

Henson turned his head with a smile on his face, "No, Frank, I'm excited!" Call the lads in, it's time to lay out your plans for tonight's win! ”