While Henson was still chatting happily with Stephenson in the slums of New York, major online media and newspapers praised him as the absolute protagonist of basketball these days without Henson's knowledge.

This young man with a mysterious identity who has only been in the position of assistant coach for just one year, and has only three years of scouting experience before, has undoubtedly become the focus of everyone's heated discussion so quickly to the position of head coach of the Pacers. So much so that Jim. O'Brien was quickly forgotten by everyone because of this.

"Coming from Indiana University, a scout with no basketball experience, he became the head coach of a professional team in just three years, and his actions in the draft were as unprofessional as his resume."

"I understand Larry very well. Bird's change of coach, it can be seen that he must want to completely rebuild and completely mess up, so he chose such a cheap and unrecognizable young man as the head coach. ”

"He's only 31 years old and most of the players in the league are older than him. I don't know how a man of this young age can establish credibility in front of the players, Bird is not all-round and it turns out that he has made mistakes sometimes, such as this change of manager. ”

After Henson flew to Las Vegas with Stephenson to prepare for the summer league, he found out that he was already so "famous".

Back then, Stephen. When Silas became the team's assistant coach at the age of 27, he caused an uproar in the league. And now, Henson has become the team's head coach at the age of 31, which is undoubtedly a depth charge. To be exact, Henson is still 4 months away from turning 31.

The mystery of the draft and his young age made Henson the target of ridicule by all reporters.

"I didn't expect that I would be famous in such a way." Henson closed the newspaper in the cab, but was not very distressed, but only smiled.

Stephenson must have felt the same way. After all, since he was a child, as long as he was in the newspaper, he was destined to have no good news.

"Boss, you know, this year's Las Vegas Summer League has 23 teams, and we're 24. Are you sure you're going to lay me off if I can't win the title? What if we're the runners-up? Stephenson looked at the desert on both sides of the Nevada Highway and wondered how many players had come here with great anticipation, only to end up lost in the desert.

"Runner-up? I've never heard of a runner-up in a basketball game. Have you ever watched the NBA runner-up award ceremony? Anyway, I haven't seen it. If you can't even get me a Summer League title, you're certainly not the guy who fits the Pacers. ”

Henson's tone is unquestionable, the reason why he chose to participate in the Las Vegas Summer League this year is because the Las Vegas Summer League is more competitive! The Orlando Summer League's less than double-digit teams are no longer enough to satisfy Henson's ambitions.

This year's Las Vegas Summer League not only features 23 NBA teams, but also an NBDL team, which is a team of players from across the development league who have a chance to enter the NBA. The team may seem like just "sparring," but in reality, the desire to get into the league is even stronger. If they can beat the NBA players, they will easily win the attention of the NBA teams.

Therefore, this year's Las Vegas Summer League is very interesting, but it is bound to be difficult to win the championship.

But the reason why Henson is so confident is because he thinks that the summer league squad he has assembled this year in Tovogel this year is definitely very luxurious this June.

Instead of taking Stephenson to the hotel, Henson dragged a suitcase into a modest training gym rented by the team on the outskirts of Las Vegas.

When Henson pushed open the door of the training hall, he could already see the familiar figures sweating on the training ground.

Cinnabar. Holiday averaged 8 points and 3.8 assists per game last season, and in the final 14 games and 10 wins, his statistics soared to 12.6 points and 6.6 assists per game. He was the MVP of last year's Orlando Summer League, and even if he comes to Las Vegas this year, he will definitely be able to play well with Holiday now.

Wesley. Matthews, who was drafted last year, signed a two-year guaranteed contract with the Pacers, and this is a contract year. He didn't play much in the NBA last season, but he was named to the All-Star team in the NBDL, averaging 23.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. His defense and three-point shooting are important weapons for the Texas Legends to reach the Finals.

When it comes to Matthews, we have to say Danny. Green, also a rookie drafted by Henson last year, also signed a guaranteed contract with the Pacers, and also worked out a year in the NBDL and put in a good performance. He averaged 20.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, and was named to the NBDL All-Defensive Team along with Wesley Matthews. The flank combination of him and Matthews has made the Texas Legends the most terrifying team in the entire development league for outside defense!

In addition to this, Paul. George is also working hard in the strength room. If that slightly emaciated guy wants to adapt to NBA-level confrontations, proper weight gain and strength training are definitely essential. After all, basketball is a confrontational sport, and if the confrontation is not at the same level, no matter how good the skill is, it is useless. George has been practicing hard these days, and he is very grateful to Henson for selecting him in the lottery, and the only way he can repay Henson is to play the results!

In the end, Henson got his wish and saw the second-year tower, 2.18 meters tall, Roy Henson got his wish at the training ground. Hibbert!

Since Henson moved into the coaching staff last season, he has helped Hibbert get plenty of playing time. Last season, Hibbert averaged 25 minutes per game and played all 82 games, starting 49 of them, averaging 12 points and five rebounds per game. These stats look mediocre, as if they don't quite match his playing time. But if you look at the rest of the game, when Hibbert is on the floor, the Pacers have conceded just 0.69 points per game, which is the best on the team. And in Hibbert's absence, the Pacers are conceding 2.01 points per game. Even if Henson wasn't a math genius, he could see the huge gap.

Hibbert may not be the kind of super center that spans the era, he can't blow up the opposition's interior and completely dominate the three-second zone. But at least his defense is deterrent enough. And most importantly, Henson needs Hibbert to play in Summer League because he has the potential to play a bigger role this summer......

Now, Henson has brought in the mad dog Stephenson again. Frank. Vogel didn't know how Henson could pack up Stephenson, a "problem boy", and Stephenson even helped him carry his suitcase. But he knows that with Stephenson joining the Summer League team, Henson's desire to win the championship in Las Vegas is no longer just a fantasy.

"Welcome to the Indiana Pacers, Lance." Henson spread his hands, this kind of self can control everything, without listening to Jim. The feeling of O'Brien being at the mercy of it is really refreshing!

Stephenson was quick to join the practice, and while he was a jerk in life, he was a real player on the basketball court.

Standing on the sidelines, Vogel smiled. Holiday , George, Matthews, Green, Hibbert plus Stephenson, their roster is definitely luxurious in the summer league.

Although there are no high-profile talent stars in the lineup, each position is relatively balanced and there are no major weaknesses. Don't underestimate Matthews and Green's one-year NBDL experience, the NBDL is also a professional league, and its confrontation and level are not necessarily what those little devils who have just come out of college can bear. Not to mention Holiday and Hibbert, two players with NBA resumes.

"We have the advantage in almost everything except the number four."

"No, Frank. In fact, I'm going to put four outside players up. ”

After hearing what Henson said, Vogel turned his head in surprise, "You mean, don't have a power forward?" ”

"It's enough to have a Hibbert in the three-second zone, put Stephenson on the bench and he'll be able to put in a performance like a mad dog as soon as he gets on the pitch. Let George play in the number four position and let him know that he still has a physical disadvantage so he knows to work harder. But what we need him to do is not to defend, but to attack. ”

Vogel's mouth opened wide, four outside lines and a tower, Henson's platoon is really strange.

"Don't be surprised, our fast-paced transition offense and more three-point shooting are enough to devour most teams' defenses. On the defensive end, all four of them are excellent perimeter defenders, as is Lance on the bench. As for the inside, if anyone thinks our insiders are easy to bully, then let him go, but Hibbert will let him take the consequences. It's an experiment, Frank. Actually, it's not just the Summer League setup, I think in the official game," Henson said, with his trademark confident smile, "and we'll probably play with a similar setup." ”

Vogel knew that Henson was crazy, but he didn't expect that he might be even crazier than the "mad scientist" Nelson Sr.

But Vogel didn't raise any doubts, because from the first day he met Henson, the Chinese never missed it.