The Atlanta Hawks, Henson, had already drawn a big red circle on the date of Nov. 16 when he played against the Rockets.

The Hawks missed the playoffs for eight years, worse than the Pacers. But after the draft, Horford was drafted and traded to get veteran point guard Mike. After Bibby, the Atlanta Hawks began to attack the playoffs, and they did reach the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second year in a row.

But even so, the Atlanta Hawks are not satisfied. Especially after they spent $120 million to re-sign Joe Johnson this summer, Hawks management didn't want $120 million to just get a second-round result.

So the Hawks fired Mike this summer. Woodson, Woodson's assistant coach Larry. Drew took office. It seems that this script and Henson really have some similarities.

In fact, Larry. Drew's road to head coaching is much more bumpy than Henson's. Since 1992, Drew has served as an assistant coach with five teams: the Lakers, Wizards, Nets, Pistons and Hawks. After 18 years as an assistant coach, Drew finally sat in the position of head coach!

And you know, before Drew became an assistant coach, he also played in the NBA as a player for 10 years, and he played point guard. Even for such a person with a professional football background, it took a full 18 years to go from assistant coach to head coach! And Henson, a bachelor of statistics, went from scout to head coach in just three years!

Therefore, in Drew's heart, he looked down on Henson. Drew has spent his entire life in basketball, but what about Henson? He's just an "outsider" who wants a piece of the pie. Drew believes that his clever tactical planning and pre-match preparation will definitely be able to knock Henson's opportunist back into shape!

This summer, after learning that Giron had traded Horford to the Pacers, Drew publicly expressed his displeasure with the deal. But surprisingly, Roy. Hibbert has certainly shown good quality this season. The 2.18-meter-tall Blacktower has helped the Eagles on the defensive end, and on the offensive end, he has also been able to score frequently with his mature low-post skills.

As Bird said to Giron at the time of the trade, Hibbert has grown into an All-Star-caliber center.

This summer, the Hawks chased the failure of "Big Shark" O'Neal and renewed Joe. Johnson's premium contract has caused them to be criticized by many experts. But only Horford's deal is rarely talked about now. The reason is simple, Hibbert is the perfect substitute for Horford, and the Hawks have freed up their extremely tight salary space.

Drew doesn't think the deal is a bad deal right now. Hibbert sent it to Atlanta, and the self-proclaimed clever Henson. Joe, maybe you'll suffer the consequences!

Meanwhile, in the tactical conference room at the Consec Arena, Henson was working with the members of the coaching staff to make plans for the next game. The Eagles though have Joe. Johnson and Josh. Smith is often seen in the top five, but in fact, the Hawks' greatest strength is not their offense, but their defense.

In terms of offense, the Hawks can't even find a player in the roster who can average more than 20 points per game. But defensively, the Eagles' starting five are very tough defensively.

Mike. Bibby, Johnson, Josh, Marvin. Williams and Hibbert, these guys are the kind of lords who are not afraid of physical confrontation. What's more, on the Hawks bench, there are still Pachulia and Morris. Evans such a meat grinder.

The Eagles have a 6-4 record this season thanks to their tough defense and clear division of players. So Henson believes that the most important thing to do against a team like the Hawks is to break down their defense!

To break down the defense, you must first start from the inside. After all, interior defense is the core of every team's defense. And Henson knows Hibbert very well, and if Hibbert is put in the restricted area like this, the impact on the Pacers will undoubtedly be huge.

Get Hebotra out...... It seems that Horford will play a key role in this game against his old club......

In the afternoon, while leading the team to a confrontational practice, Henson noticed that Horford preferred to finish offense in the mid-range and three-second zone. After all, the three-point shot was a new skill that Horford developed at the behest of Henson this summer, and before that, Horford had hardly played outside the three-point line. After all, not all coaches are like Henson, a madman, who wants their center to run out and shoot threes.

After ten minutes of confrontational training, Henson called it off. With Hibbert's enormous defensive range, Horfdella wasn't enough to go mid-range. Because even in the mid-range position, Hibbert can quickly return to the basket. To completely empty the inside, Henson's only way to do it is to raise Horford's position higher and mention beyond the three-point line!

"Al, you can try more three-point shots. Be confident, your three-point shooting percentage was good in the first few games. In the next game, I need you to open up space for the others. If Hibbert doesn't make a save, your three-pointer will lead us to victory. ”

"I'm ......," Horford scratched his head, "I'm afraid I won't be able to shoot." "Horfol is still a center after all, and if Henson says to let Stephenson shoot three points like crazy, Stephenson will definitely be so excited that he will take off his pants on the spot.

This is also due to his personality, although Horford is already an All-Star player, he is still a little unconfident, and he is usually more introverted in the locker room.

"It's okay, three-point shots aren't as consistent as mid-range shots and offense under the basket, so you don't think you're shooting accurately. But the truth is, your three-point shooting rate in these games has been as high as 38%. Do you know what the concept of 38% is? Your ex for Joe. Johnson, who is shooting only 29% from three-point range this season. Even so, he still has to shoot more than five three-pointers per game. I'm not asking you to shoot from beyond the three-point line all the time, it's just a tactical need. Once Hibbert is pulled out, it's easier for you to break through or cut into the air. Henson patted Horford on the shoulder, and at the same time used a 30 percent boost to the player's morale.

Some players, like Stephenson, you have to suppress him. And some players, like Al Horford, you have to encourage him to do something crazy.

Horford nodded, "I'll try more when I train later, boss." ”

Henson smiled too, and it seemed that the words had worked.

Before the confrontational training began, Henson gathered everyone and laid out the tactics that would be used against the Hawks. The general idea of the team is still to play fast, play space, and shoot, and the general idea must not change, after all, it is impossible for the players to adapt to the new tactical system at once.

But while keeping the general idea unchanged, Henson made some bold changes. He doesn't just want Horford to shoot threes, he even needs Horford to shoot offense in the high post. In other words, Holiday is a scorer in his next game. And standing in the high position to distribute the ball, it is Horford, the No. 5 position!

If Hibbert is pulled out, the other four will have to run into the box. In this way, Horford stands high and is the best passing point for vision.

Training continued until 6 p.m., and to Henson's chagrin, the Pacers had two days to prepare for the game. Two days was enough time for him to pry open the Eagles' defense with some new tricks.

After returning home from work, Henson lay on the couch watching TV and other takeouts, and by the way, he talked to Angeli on the phone. Since Henson's sudden confession on dinner day, the two have spoken on the phone more and more frequently, and each call has become longer and longer. After dinner, he will continue to watch the footage of the Eagles' recent games.

At this time, ESPN was airing a talk show. Henson unexpectedly discovers that the person being interviewed is none other than his next opponent, Larry. Drew.

"What do you think of the new head coach of the Pacers, Henson. What kind of coach is Joe, and do you recognize his coaching skills? On TV, the reporter asked Drew Sr. this question.

"He's a coach with a unique style, but he's doing a dangerous thing, and that's blurring the lines of the five positions on the basketball court. A lot of people don't notice this, but I've been doing some research on Coach Henson lately. Can you say Horford is the center of the Pacers? No, he sometimes shoots from the outside like a guard. Can you say Daniel. Does Granger play inside or outside? ”

Hearing this, Henson couldn't help but admire Drew a little. Blurring the boundaries of the five positions, this summary is very beautiful, worthy of a lifetime of basketball.

"But the five positions on the basketball court cannot be blurred, which is what basketball has been destined since Professor Naismith invented it. I'll show Coach Henson that the power of each of the five positions is much more clever than his amateurish fuzzing. ”

Drew, who has been an assistant coach for 18 years, shows no mercy, and in fact it's not just Drew, most of the academy coaches actually have preconceptions about Henson as a "layman".

Henson turned off the TV, not because he was angry, but because his takeaway arrived......