At first, everyone expected the Raptors to stop the Pacers' winning streak. But after the game, it was found that the gap between the Raptors and the Pacers was still bigger than expected.

VanVleet's slump, Anunoby's embarrassment and the weakness of the Raptors' bench are all their Achilles' weaknesses. These weaknesses may not be so obvious when dealing with other teams. But against the Pacers, it was all infinitely magnified by Henson.

The day after the game, the media was full of Raptors coach Nick Brown. Nas-related news. Of course, Nas would not be happy to see him so famous.

Because, the way he became famous is very strange.

"The whole game, I was dominated by Coach Henson. We lost, which is a shame. ”

Nas's soft words were spread around the world with the "help" of the media. And his sad expression at the press conference was also made into an emoji by Chinese fans.

It was Nas who became famous, but it was Henson who was on fire.

The Indiana Post's summary is apt: "Henson. Towards the end of his career, Joe still feared the world. ”

The word "end-of-career" is key, and without a doubt, it's what gets everyone to talk about the most.

In the final season of Kobe's career, he completely let himself go. He averaged only 17 points per game, and his average shooting percentage per game was only 35.8%, which is far from great. The entire Lakers team is enjoying basketball with Kobe.

In the final season of Dirk and Wade, no one will ask them to play well. As long as they can see these two guys playing, the fans will be satisfied.

If compared to the head coach, Jerry. Sloan and George. Carl's final season was also very embarrassing, as they were all suffering from illness and couldn't compete properly, let alone pursue victory.

In the final season of these guys, all they got was the respect of the people. What they have left behind is only the glory of the past.

People will say, "They used to be good." ”

'They've done everything they can and can enjoy the game.'

"Their final season shouldn't be measured by wins, as long as they can finish peacefully, it's a victory."

Henson, his final season was unlike anyone else. He still has demands on his results, and the outside world still demands his results.

As everyone knows, this is a man who will retire in less than a year and almost died because of basketball.

People are interested in Henson. Joe's expectations for his final season are harsher than those for everyone else's final season. As if as long as he couldn't win the championship, the final season would not be a success.

More unusually, however, Henson. Joe did a flawless job under such demanding conditions.

After defeating the Raptors, Henson couldn't help but convince the opponent as a "quasi-retired coach", and it allowed the Pacers to achieve another five-game winning streak.

So far, 30 games have been played in the regular season, and a third of the season has passed. And the Pacers' defeat is only 2 games!

70 wins, overall championship...... Never before have there been so many expectations of a person who is about to retire. Henson's peculiarity in the history of the NBA is absolutely unique.

Therefore, although Nas was reported by the media, he was extremely troubled.

Because he has just become a stepping stone.

"Hahaha, I didn't expect that kid to say such a thing. Henson, it's a shame you're retiring. Look, even if you are in your twilight years, you are still a shadow in most people's hearts! ”

Bird sat in his office, holding the newspaper and laughing. And across from him, sitting is the absolute protagonist of this event - Henson. Joe.

"It's a shame you're retiring, Bird. Truth be told, you don't need to abdicate with me. ”

"No, think about it, if the two of us build a second dynasty, then wave and turn away. Oh my God, the whole league will be fascinated by our backs! ”

Bird seems to be looking forward to the picture when he succeeds in pretending, and I have to say that the gene of pretending to be forced has been deeply rooted in Bird's bone marrow.

"But no one likes the backs of two bloated old men, Bird. By the way, I'm here to tell you. I didn't plan to play Antetokounmpo for the last week. If you're okay, I'll talk to Janis about it. ”

"A week? Why? As far as I know, the day after the match, Antetokounmpo had a fever, right? ”

"That's right, he's fine. But I want him to take a week off and get some adjustments. Also, in the last few games we have not been very strong against opponents. I want to see where Siakam's ceiling is. If he can carry the load, I'll increase his usage in the playoffs. ”

After listening to Henson, the playful smile on Bird's face disappeared in an instant.

Even Popovich wouldn't dare to be so willful! Starting testing squad depth four months early, Henson is probably the only one who will.

But then again, Henson's crazy plans are many, but he never misses them.

"Are you serious?"

"Seriously." Henson nodded.

"Then what do you have to ask me, it's a basketball business. We said okay, I'm not going to interfere with the Pacers' basketball affairs. I'm the chairman of basketball, but I'm just in name. ”

"You know, after all, it's in the interest of the team and the league. Antetokounmpo is a star, and he's a box office guarantee for the league and the team......"

"Just do it, Henson. As long as Antetokounmpo agrees, I'll take it down for you. Before Henson could finish speaking, Bird patted his chest.

He wanted to pretend to be crisp in front of Henson, but as everyone knows, Henson was not surprised by his crispness.

"Actually," the Chinese coach curled the corners of his mouth slightly, "Antetokounmpo has agreed, and I will come this time, in fact, to inform you." ”

The old king of Indianapolis found that he never seemed to be able to find the thrill of pretending to be in front of this Asian American.

※※※

As Henson said, the Pacers' opponents for the next week are not very strong.

The Nets, Wizards and Hawks have nothing to do with the league's top teams.

Externally, the Pacers claimed that Antetokounmpo had a very bad flu and therefore missed the game. For this matter, the league has also called Bird countless times to confirm Antetokounmpo's injury.

However, Bird also kept his promise and helped Henson fight the incident, and insisted that Antetokounmpo's cold was not good.

In this way, there is no reason for the league to punish even if it wants to punish. Although he knew that Henson was deliberately resting the main team, on the surface, he was recuperating from illness, and if the league fined Henson, he would definitely receive a lot of criticism.

Henson still learned this trick from Leonard. Anyway, I'm just injured, and I just refuse to fight, why do you like it.

Xiao Hua had no choice but to turn a blind eye to the "rogue team" of the Pacers. Anyway, it's impossible for the Pacers to rotate Antetokounmpo for long.

So, for the following week, the Pacers didn't have Antetokounmpo. It was expected that the Pacers' winning streak would be broken. However, Pascal. Siakam, however, spent a whole week performing well to make Henson's experiment a success.

In the big game against the Nets on December 21, Siakam had 28 points and 12 rebounds, including 5 of 7 three-pointers, leaving Hollis Jefferson with no face.

On Dec. 23, the Pacers host the Wizards. Wall and Beal were in terrible form in the backcourt, and they just missed smashing the basket at the Bankers' Living Arena.

Wall shot 1-of-7 from the field, and Bradley was 1-of-7 from the field. Beal made just 2 of 11 shots. The two combined for 14 points, giving the Wizards a humiliating defeat.

In stark contrast to the Wizards' twin guns, it is still Siakam, who continues to be the starter.

25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, plus two steals and two blocks. This guy's all-round performance made all the experts exclaim that he would also be the next Leonard, the next Paul. George is even the next Draymond. Green.

But Siakam said it well in an interview: "I am who I am, and I am not a shadow of anyone." ”

On the 26th, the Pacers finally welcomed Antetokounmpo's last game before his return. Today, the team will travel to Atalanta to face the Hawks.

The Hawks have been a true swing team this season, and the goal of the team is to develop Trey Brown while acquiring a high draft pick. Poplar.

As a result, the game was played without suspense. At 128-111, Phillips Arena in Atlanta had less than half of the fans left before the third quarter of the game was played.

Siakam continued to be on the hot track, scoring another double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds, and shooting 64.5 percent overall today. This guy made back-to-back singles again and again under the basket, so that the Hawks could only watch Babaka.

Henson came as a surprise to most people on a three-game winning streak after losing Antetokounmpo. Of course, a three-game winning streak isn't Henson's ultimate goal, but just one of the means by which he gets there.

At two p.m. the day after the game against the Hawks, the NBA officially announced the results of the best players in the East and West this week.

On the western side, the Trail Blazers' C.J. McCollum was elected. On the eastern side, however, a name has been found that does not appear very often.

"Pascal. For the first time in his career, Siakam is the Eastern Conference Player of the Week! The bench can also win the best of the week, how strong are the Pacers!? ”

After seeing the results, Henson smiled with satisfaction. The bench players also have the best level of the week, and this kind of strength should be enough to challenge the five-star Warriors......

Crazy experiment, big success!