The 82 regular season games have all ended, and Henson did not start training immediately after the game against the Celtics, but gave the players a day off.

The NBA regular season ends on April 12, and the Pacers, as the first team in the East, will not start the first game of the playoffs until April 16.

So, they have a lot of time. Wouldn't it be nice to have a day off to relax the players physically and mentally, and not delay their preparations.

Henson remembers taking his players fishing before the playoffs began. But this time, Henson is just at home with his wife and children.

By the way, the situation in this year's playoffs was also analyzed.

The situation in the East this year is very clear, with the Pacers, Celtics and Cavaliers in the top three in the East, and they are also the first team in the East.

The Raptors, Wizards and Hawks fell into second gear. They may be able to pose some threat to the top three, but it will be difficult to beat them.

Finally, the Bucks, who don't have big stars, and the Bulls, who lost Rose, are considered third gear. For both teams, being able to play in the playoffs is already a victory. The promotion and the championship are not their share.

Henson and the Pacers faced the Bulls in the first round of this year's playoffs against the Bulls, who are ranked eighth in the East.

At the start of the season, after bringing in Wade and Rondo, people had high hopes for the Bulls. As everyone knows, the Bulls are just stepping into the playoffs.

There is no doubt that the Bulls' performance this season has been disappointing. After a regular season encounter, Henson also believes the Bulls won't cause him any problems.

The only caveat is that the Bulls have historically been a tough-willed team. Even if they don't have the upper hand, they will do their best to bite off a piece of your flesh. Therefore, the Pacers must not take it lightly in the first round series.

As for the second round, the Pacers' opponent will be the winner between the Wizards and the Raptors.

The Wizards, John. Wall was finally recognized this year. This season, Wall ranks second in the league with 10.7 assists per game. And his average of 2 steals per game is also tied with Paul for the first place in the league.

However, this is actually the third consecutive season that Wall has averaged a double-double per game. It's just that in the past, people had the impression that the Wizards were very weak, so everyone ignored Wall's growth.

But the shortcomings of the Wizards are also obvious, that is, they are inexperienced and do not play hard games. Henson believes that as long as they limit Wall, the Wizards will not pose any threat to the Pacers.

As for the Raptors, the prestige of the "garbage brothers" has already been powerful in the regular season. But it's not known what these two guys, especially Lowry, can do in the playoffs.

Lowry's playoff performance is not once or twice. When it comes to stability, the Raptors and Pacers are not comparable at all. As long as you take one or two chances, it won't be a problem to crush the Raptors.

Thinking of this, Henson's mind came to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Henson would very much like the Celtics to advance, but if it is James who makes the cut, Henson will have a way to deal with it as well.

As long as Korver and Delon. Williams don't want to "" in the playoffs, and the Pacers should be able to win the Cavaliers in six games. It's not that Henson is arrogant, it's that the knights are nowhere near as powerful as everyone thinks.

The Cavaliers have been very unbalanced offensively and defensively this season, scoring 113.8 points per 100 possessions on the offensive end, ranking third in the league. However, the defensive end has declined significantly compared to last year, conceding as many as 110.3 points per 100 possessions, and the defensive efficiency is only ranked 21st in the league!

The Cavaliers' defense, with the exception of James, is not very reassuring. In the playoffs, the importance of defense is unmatched in the regular season.

If the Celtics had advanced, Henson would have been more upset. Because the Celtics, like his Pacers, are a team-type team. Henson believes that team-based teams are tougher to play against than star-led teams.

However, while Thomas Jr. played at an MVP-caliber level in the regular season this season, Henson believes the Celtics are still a little worse than him in terms of roster depth. Thomas Jr. and Horford alone can't win a championship.

In the end, Henson's attention fell to the Warriors. The Golden State Warriors are a combination of a team and a star-led team. They can solve problems with the individual skills of their stars or play with the power of the team. With this, the Warriors opened up a gap between other teams.

"Henson? What are you in a daze? ”

"Huh!? No. After hearing Anjiali's shout, Henson immediately shook his head, he shouldn't have thought about work in the time he spent with his family.

"Are you thinking about the playoffs?"

Hearing Angeli say this, Henson lowered his head in embarrassment. Sure enough, his careful thinking couldn't hide from his wife's eyes at all.

"I'm telling you, in the first game of this year's playoffs, I'm going to sing the national anthem live." Angeli leaned into Henson's ear and smiled mysteriously.

"What!?"

"I have promised my father that my singing voice will bring good luck to your team. Good job, Henson, I'm sure you'll be able to take the championship trophy back. ”

"Hmm...... Looks like I have one more reason to win? ”

Henson put his arm around Angeli and looked at the sunset outside the balcony.

Summer is coming, the craziest summer, it's here again......

※※※

Jimmy. Butler navigated the tunnel, having played countless playoff games at the Bankers' Living Arena. And as a result, most of them ended in victory.

But this time, walking down the players' tunnel in the Banker's Life Arena, Jimmy. Butler felt more anxiety in his heart.

In the regular season this season, the Bulls and Pacers met four times, and the Bulls won 4-0. Since Henson's return, Jimmy. Butler has never won a single game against the Pacers.

In the regular season, the Pacers had already cornered the Bulls. Will the Pacers be worse off in the playoffs?

Jimmy. Butler didn't want to lose, he didn't want to be said, "That guy left the Pacers for status and money, it was a mistake."

He is eager to prove that he can make his own way without Pacers and Henson.

But the strength of the Pacers is also Jimmy. Butler felt hopeless.

After walking into the locker room, Jimmy. Butler discovers that Rondo and Wade are already getting their gear on. These two guys looked incredibly serious, as if they still had to fight this series.

"Jimmy, how slowly. Hurry up and get ready, and I'll go to the court early to warm up. In today's game, let's do our best to win. Wade glanced at Butler and went back to his business.

"Oh...... Oh...... "Jimmy. Butler scratched his head, and he had to win even if he died? Who gave Wade so much courage?

"Listen, everyone is in a precise position when running tactics today! How you do it when you train, how you run when you play! It's a playoff game, and the margin for error in the playoffs is very low! Cheer up and give the Indianapolis bastards some color and see! ”

On the other side, Rajan. Rondo also took command in the locker room. Rondo has always been a smart player and is very willing to put himself in the position of leader. That's why a lot of coaches don't have a good relationship with Rondo. Because, Rondo sometimes doesn't dump the head coach's account at all, and in his opinion, the head coach may not have thought about what he has arranged.

"Jimmy, why are you still stunned? Isn't it because you want to give up on the game? Seeing that Butler was still standing still, Rondo's burning gaze fell on him.

"No, how is it possible!" Butler hurriedly waved his hand.

"Well, there's never been a team in NBA history that has come back from 3-0 down, and no eighth-place team has ever won a championship. But there are many examples of the Black Eight Miracle. So, we haven't lost yet. Don't be fooled by the outside coverage, journalists will just fart. The game is played by ourselves! ”

After Rondo finished speaking, Jimmy. Butler silently sat back in front of his locker and began to change his clothes.

He came to Chicago because of the higher salary. Second, it's because of Jimmy. Butler wanted to be the boss, and he wasn't content to play just one sixth man in the Pacers.

But today, it was Rondo and Wade's performance against a strong opponent that made Jimmy. Butler learned what a true leader should look like.

I still have a long way to go......

Just when the outside world thought that the Bulls were going to lose, the Chicagoans were already preparing for their Black Eight tragedy.

There are no underdogs in the playoffs, before challenging the Warriors. The Pacers' road is not easy to walk at all.