203: Energetic and weak
"Good evening, this is Kenny. Smith, Charles. Barkley and Shaquille. O'neill! We're now at Conseco Arena in Indianapolis to bring you a live stream of the final game of the regular season between the Pacers and Bulls in 2011-12! ”
At half past seven on April 25th, Kenny. Smith's voice came out just in time and came out of the fans' televisions. Due to the particularity of this game, their strongest three-person "Funny Sky Group" was sent to the scene to explain the game. Of course, I didn't forget to bring the "man in the colorful suit" Sag as a sideline reporter to bring first-hand reports to the fans.
"Phew, it's been a long time since I haven't been to the Consec Arena! Can you believe that? If Coach Henson leads the team to win this game, then the Pacers will return to the first place in the East for the first time since the 03-04 season! Barkley looked around excitedly, since most of the broadcast rights of the Pacers games in the second half of the season belonged to ESPN, so Fliggy really hasn't been here to explain the game for a long time, maybe not to watch Henson's magical command live for a long time.
"Incredible results, there's no doubt that the Pacers played incredible. In this shrinking season, a team with 40 wins is already remarkable. Looking at the whole league, only the old Spurs and the Bulls, who have the youngest MVP, can achieve 50 wins! But if the Pacers win today, then the Pacers will become the third team in the league to win 50! O'Neill followed suit, he wasn't a fan of Henson, he just explained the facts.
50 wins in the shortened season, first in the East...... These labels would never have dared to be attached to the Pacers, not even Vogel and Paul.
But Henson, once again, he made the impossible possible.
In the luxurious private rooms of the Consec Arena, Bird and Pritchard also came to watch the game in person. This season, Bird's biggest impression is that his job is much easier.
Because many things and troubles are diluted or even broken by the constant victories brought by Henson. Bird doesn't have to rack his brains for rookies or think about halfway up for the sake of the team's record. He doesn't even have to worry about how the Pacers will function this summer.
Because Henson. Joe, a top student in statistics, will always submit the most exquisite transaction or contract application as soon as possible.
Bird even joked with Pritchard because of this: "I'm just going to give up the position of president to Henson. Joe's it! ”
In short, whether it is the commentators, the fans or the team management today, it is unanimously praise for Henson. These phenomena have hardly occurred in the past two seasons.
Results and wins are everything, and when your team is strong enough to compete for the top spot in the East, there will naturally be a lot less criticism.
Before the game even started, the cheers in the stands were wave after wave. Thibodeau didn't know if his players were under pressure, he was already driven crazy by the loud cheers of the battle.
What's more, Rose's stop-and-go situation this season has also made Thibodeau more infamy. And more infamy, naturally, made this best coach last season more and more upset.
"As we all know, the player who has averaged the most minutes per game in the league this season is not LeBron. James is not Cameron either. Anthony, but the Bulls starting forward Lore. Deng. He plays an average of 39.4 minutes per game! Almost 40 minutes, that's a pretty scary number! Coach Thibodeau seems to be a bit overly reliant on the main force, and it's hard for you to say, Derek. Whether Rose's continuous injuries this season are related to Coach Thibodeau's employment strategy? ”
At this time, the trio had already talked about this topic. Fortunately, Thibodeau couldn't hear the commentators, otherwise this guy would have been driven crazy before the game started.
At eight o'clock in the evening, the game kicked off on time. Although the game was not broadcast live in the United States, as the most important game in the closing stages of the regular season, the ratings were still high.
Thibodeau and Henson, as usual, stood on the sidelines in the first seconds of the game. It's just that the mental states of the two coaches are diametrically opposed.
Thibodeau looked exhausted, and Henson stared at his eyes blazing. After the start of the game, people found that the state of the coaches of the two teams seems to be a portrayal of the state of the players of the two teams.
Horford had a rare win over Noah's head for basketball, with the Pacers taking the lead.
Paul opened his throat as soon as he opened the game and directed his teammates to run, and the rest of the Pacers were also very quick to intersperse runs. Clearly, the Pacers seem to be very excited.
George shook Hamilton off with a counterrun, and the 34-year-old Hamilton looked like he had lead on both heels. He consciously knew he had to keep up, but he couldn't take a step.
George gets a chance, Paul naturally won't let it go, and no chance can escape the eyes of this master of control.
He didn't hesitate to send the basketball inside, George caught the ball and jumped, swiped past Noah, who came to block, and pressed the ball into the frame with both hands!
"Wonderful buckle! Ha ha! As soon as the Pacers came up, they scored first with a violent dunk. They're excited, they're eager to give it a try! Barkley shook his fist hard, and it couldn't have been a better start!
George nodded to the cheering fans in the stands after he landed, this kid who was still silent last season has already had the domineering of so many stars this season!
As soon as he came up, he was dunked by the opponent, and the Bulls must be very unwilling. But Rose's first breakthrough layup was interfered with by Paul and Horford combined.
Rose was still the same lightning-fast bullet, but when he shot headlong into the heart of the Pacers, he no longer had the power to kill him.
He felt tired, even if it was just the first attack of the game, which made Rose feel inexplicably tired.
Every time you play against a pacer, every score you score is destined to be hard-won. The thought of having to face this intensity of defense for the entire 48 minutes made Rose feel tired.
But the Bulls and Rose simply didn't have time to catch their breath because the Pacers weren't going to stop running. As soon as the offense fails, the Bulls must run at full speed and beware of the opponent's counterattack!
So, fighting the Pacers is not only a test of ability, but also a test of willpower. A team with insufficient willpower, the Pacers can completely break their confidence in just a few rounds!
The Pacers, who played to the Bulls last season to tie seven, are no longer controlled by the Bulls this season.
The Pacers went on their second offense, and Paul and West played a pick-and-roll game they've used since their time with the Hornets.
West covered Paul's breakthrough, and Paul then distributed the ball to the mid-distance West to complete the "assassination".
It's a simple trick, but it works. No, when Boozer pounced on West and interfered with West, it was too late. It's not because Boozer isn't focused enough, it's that Boozer can't tell whether Paul is going to break through on his own or split the ball.
By the time Paul, who was staring at the basket, drew the defense and suddenly split the ball, Boozer was too late to interfere with West.
4-0, the two teams opened in diametrically opposite states. One team is clearly more eager to win, while the other is weak.
Thibodeau covered his face with his hands, as if he had washed himself with a refreshing cold water face, "Cheer up, cheer up!" ”
The best coach shouted in embarrassment just two rounds into the fight.
For the rest of the game, the Pacers kept the rhythm in check. Until the 8th minute of the first quarter, Henson made a substitution, and the Bulls were still the starting five tigers on the court. Because at this point, the Bulls are 7 points behind. It seems that Thibodeau is also planning to die today.
After Henson's substitution, Hamilton finally used his off-ball cover and his superb movement to score a three-pointer from Stephenson's head. This kind of smooth offensive coordination, the Bulls played for the first time today. Even if the Bulls scored before, they must have stumbled.
Thibodeau's eyes lit up, and sure enough, it was a wise choice to continue to put the main players on the field!
Stephenson looked at Henson, then at Hamilton, who had just scored, and pouted, "You're not going to score again, man." ”
Hamilton ignored the harassment of Stephenson, a junior, and went straight back to the defense.
As everyone knows, Stephenson is still nagging in Hamilton's ear.
"That's not what I said, it's Coach Henson. He told us you scored a goal at most in the first quarter, and you just scored, man. ”
Hearing Stephenson say this, Hamilton was a little nervous. If it's Stephenson's trash-talking, it's fine, but if it's really Henson. As Joe said, Hamilton had some heart palpitations.
Has the dominance of the "torture king" Henson spread to the court?