David West and Ray Allen were both injured, which left Henson's squad with a relatively large vacancy. Fortunately, neither man's injuries were serious, and with the help of Henson's accelerated recovery badge, West's knee and Ray Allen's ankle were both healed in two weeks.

In other words, they could be back in action as early as early April without delaying the playoffs.

"It's a blessing in misfortune, Henson. Neither Ray nor David's injuries are serious, and as long as they can make it to the playoffs, thank goodness. To be honest, we've had a lot of luck this year and haven't had any injuries all season. As long as there is a smooth transition during this time, there will be no surprises. In the hospital, Larry Bird holds his chin with one hand and one hand around his chest.

"Rest assured, Bird, a similar tragedy will not happen again. I'm going to balance the minutes of the starters and the main players. In other words, for the rest of the season, my team no longer has a difference between starting and subs. Each player's playing time will be very even, and everything is for the sake of health. ”

"Well, I heard Brad say it yesterday. What do you mean?"

"Try to win 72 while keeping the players healthy and well-rested. I looked at the schedule and if we're lucky, we'll even be able to rest the main players in the last few games. ”

Bird looked at Henson in disbelief, even he, the Indianapolis king, had never heard of such crazy things.

In 96, the Bulls achieved 72 wins, and even the Bulls who were in full swing at the beginning fought until the last game of the regular season to get 72 wins. What Henson means is that the Pacers still have hope of winning 72 in the final few games! There is no doubt that this will be even more terrifying than that 72 wins of the Bulls!

"Don't be so surprised, Bird. As I said, I've taken a closer look at the rest of our regular season. I know which games I can lose and which ones I can't lose. That's right. How is Shaun Livingston recovering? ”

"It's okay, the injury he sustained when he was a wizard has actually healed, but he still needs some conditioning. You can always get him back if you want. Speaking of which, the Wizards' uniform team is really cold-blooded. As soon as Livingston was injured, the Wizards cut people."

"That's the way this league is, and as for Livingston's comeback, we can wait a little longer and don't have to rush. After all, there is still a distance between being discharged from the hospital and playing for the team. There's no need to let Livingston hurt again. ”

'You're the manager, you're in charge, Henson. Can we have a great season," Bird turned his head and patted Henson on the shoulder, "It's up to you." ”

Henson curled the corners of his mouth slightly, but did not answer. Everyone likes to pat him on the shoulder to try to make him relax, because there are so many things on his shoulders.

※※※

With an in-form West injured and unable to play, the first question for Henson is who will play in the starting four?

Is it to put Leonard on top of the number four and play one big and four small like before? Or let "Birdman" Anderson strike and form a twin tower with Horford?

After weighing the disadvantages of the situation, Henson decided that everyone could play the starting No. 4 position.

According to Henson's philosophy, the Pacers don't have a division between starters and benches right now. The so-called "starter" is just someone else playing first. Therefore, who plays the starting No. 4 position is completely decided according to the opponent's condition.

In this way, Henson and the Pacers continued their journey to 72 wins after missing two big men.

Playing the Orlando Magic on March 8, Henson put Leonard on the top of the starting No. 4 position. Because the Magic team's big forward Morris Harris is only 2.03 meters tall, and his style of play is actually more outside. So it doesn't hurt to let Leonard sit with him.

After 48 minutes, the Pacers won 115-86 at the Amway Center in Orlando. One big and four small, this is what Henson is best at. As soon as the rhythm was up and the three-point shot was opened, the Pacers' offense was almost unmatched.

As a result, the Pacers scored 115 points. And their defense, which is second in the league, has kept the Magic from even scoring 90 points.

On March 10, against the Miami Heat. In the absence of West and Ray Allen, the Pacers lost by 14 points. In this game, Henson did not break his "egalitarian" rotation thinking because the opponent was the Heat. The Pacers have beaten the Heat twice during this year's regular season, and they've proven what they're capable of. So this time, there is no need to fight with the heat who is in good shape.

After all, Henson doesn't want to repeat the tragedy he suffered against the Celtics.

The Heat haven't lost since the last loss to the Pacers, and now counting today's game, has achieved an 18-game winning streak! Everyone is speculating whether the Pacers' 25-game winning streak will be broken by the Heat before they can warm up.

But Henson has been indifferent to this. In the face of 72 wins, any winning streak is not worth mentioning!

With 57 wins and 6 losses, the Pacers only have 4 games left!

"Coach Henson, is it still possible for the Pacers to break the 72-win record this season?" After the game against the Heat, Henson, as a loser, was surrounded by more than twice as many reporters as Spoelstra.

"You'll know by the end, and you'll think I'm bragging, anyway, whatever I say."

Henson didn't dwell on reporters too much, and despite today's loss, the Pacers are still on track so far. In Henson's plan, this game was planned to be lost. And with the same plan, there are two more this month

In this way, Henson took the crippled Pacers all the way to March 23. In the meantime, the Pacers defeated the Timberwolves, 76ers, Cavaliers, Magic and Bucks, but lost to the Lakers on March 15, and today, March 23, at the Union Center, Henson finally lost to the Chicago Bulls in front of the previous 72-win record.

It was the Bulls' first win over the Pacers this season, and Coach Tom Thibodeau prevented Henson from being completely blocked. Otherwise, it would be Thibodeau's most embarrassing season. 89-84, the scores of both sides were not high, and the excellent play of Bulls backup forward Tygibson made Leonard unable to defend. For the Bulls, this game is something to be happy about. They used their practical actions to defend the super record of 72 wins belonging to Chicago! But that doesn't seem like a good sign for Pacers. Bill Wharton sat on the commentary stand at the United Center and looked at the materials at hand.

After losing to the Bulls, the Pacers' record changed to 61-8. Is this a good record? Without a doubt, it couldn't be better! The regular season is drawing to a close, but the Pacers have lost less than 10 games. No team can do better than the Pacers.

But if the Pacers are aiming for 72 wins, I'm afraid it's a bit dangerous.

"Admit it, Henson, there's no way you're going to break our record. There's almost a month left in the regular season, and you've lost eight games. After the game, when he shook hands with Thibodeau, the penguin-looking coach finally raised his eyebrows in front of Henson.

But Henson was not angry, and he still had a smile on his face in the face of Thibodeau's provocation, "First, the 72-win record of the Bulls in the 90s has nothing to do with your half a dime, so don't bite 'us us'." Second, losing no more than two games a month is trivial for the Pacers. After all, I'm not like you, who lose half of my games every month on average. ”

When Henson laughs and curses, he is the most lethal. Thibodeau was so angry that he gritted his teeth, but he couldn't do anything. It's impossible, let's beat Henson on the spot. In the battle of words, even Spike Lee lost to Henson, and Tom Thibodeau, why bother?

With 61 wins and 8 losses, the Pacers' record and lost games so far are the same as Henson's plan. So Henson wasn't too angry about this loss. Of course, while enjoying the thrill of being in control, the danger of overturning also accompanies Henson.

For example, in the next game, Henson, who has an uneven lineup and can't rely too much on the main players, will meet the Atlanta Hawks, who are currently fifth in the East. And whether this game will roll over, Henson is not so spectacle in his heart.

Sure enough, there may not be many professions in this world that can be more exciting than being a head coach of a basketball team.

But no matter how many crises lurk in the future, there is still good news in Henson's favor.

"Sean is recovering well and he's doing well in confrontational training. I think he's up to the right guy to play. ”

Fraser's report to Henson undoubtedly gave Henson another confidence in the next game.

After all, who wouldn't love one more player who could use it?