There is no doubt that the Pacers and Bulls can rank in the top two places in the East, not because of offense, but because of the tough defense of both teams.

Whether it's a single defense or a defensive system, the Pacers and Bulls' defensive ability is quite luxurious in the East. And the process of the game undoubtedly reflected the defensive ability of the two teams to the fullest.

The Pacers' offense has been choppy since the beginning with Paul's frantic scramble to hit a fast break. On the Bulls' side, Rose was the first target to be targeted by Henson. In the final moments of last season's playoffs, if it weren't for the crazy explosion of Rose, who won the MVP, the Pacers might have really reached the Eastern Conference Finals.

So this season, even if Rose's form isn't as amazing as last year's, Henson doesn't dare to let the youngest MVP feel like it.

As a result, Rose experienced an embarrassing period of eight minutes without scoring after the Bulls scored a goal in the second round of the offense.

Eight minutes later, the score was tied at 15. The score was not high, as Thibodeau and Henson both defended to the extreme.

The Bulls' quick defense allowed the Pacers to rely on a large space style of play to be squeezed to the maximum. The Pacers relied on Paul's super single defense ability and Horford's almost league-top help defense to limit Rose, which undoubtedly turned the Bulls' offense into a pool of backwater.

As a result, eight minutes passed and the score was just 15-15. As soon as this game came up, it was a defensive battle.

Although they didn't take the lead, the situation was very much in line with Henson's expectations. From the start, he thought that the second team was the key to opening the score, because the first team of both sides was too strong defensively. Rotation time is the focus of the competition between the two sides!

The game was suspended for eight minutes and it was undoubtedly a very sensitive moment. Because there is no doubt that after this timeout, a large number of rotation players will take to the court to continue to write the final result of this game.

Henson was prepared, so he didn't struggle with the choice of hiring. Stephenson, Matthews, Leonard, Yi Jianlian and Anderson, these five will pick up points for Henson in the rotation. Among them, Leonard is particularly important.

"Don't panic, just shoot like you did in training. Pay attention to the movement of your elbows and at the same time pay attention to the position of the defending player. Come on, you'll be able to complete the mission! Before the timeout ended, Fraser gave Leonard a few more words of guidance.

As the team's head shooting coach, Fraser undoubtedly knows Kawhi Leonard's shooting drills better than Henson. This is also the reason why Henson needs so many assistants, and the quality of work can only be achieved if everyone focuses on what they are good at.

As soon as the electronic beep sounded, Henson's heart quickened. Most of the season has passed, and whether Leonard can take on more important tasks depends on tonight!

"The game restarted, and the defensive battle between the two sides must have seen the neutral fans dozing off. But to be honest, there are still some things about him in this game. For today's more offensive league, this kind of tough defensive battle is very rare. "Mike. Brin watched with relish, although the defensive intensity of this game was nowhere near as strong as it was in the 90s. But looking at it now, it is also a rare scene.

As soon as the game began, everyone noticed that both coaches had replaced almost all of their main players. On the Bulls' side, there's only one Lore left. Deng still insisted on the field, after all, Thibodeau is a notoriously loving workhorse, and if Rose hadn't been targeted to death today, he would not have been able to replace him so early.

Henson, on the other hand, directly put on a full bench lineup, and did not leave starters to lead the team on the field.

Thibodeau waved his big hand, he thought the opportunity to gain an advantage had come!

The Bulls took the lead in attacking, holding the ball past half of the court. Although Lucas III is not well-known in the NBA, many Chinese fans are very familiar with it. After all, this gentleman has played in the CBA for two seasons, and his scoring ability in the CBA is also remarkable.

Today, John. Lucas was able to play early because Thibodeau wanted him to fill the scoring gap left by Rose's poor hand and being targeted defensively.

So after the timeout came back and the first attack, Lucas scored. This guy's hand today seems to be the opposite of Rose's.

"Beautiful shot, John. Lucas and Lore. Deng played a cover, and the Pacers' defensive focus fell on the British. As everyone knows, Lucas III suddenly scored a mid-range pull-up jump shot, which caught the Pacers off guard. This kind of low-level defensive mistake will certainly not satisfy Coach Henson. ”

Accompanied by Mike. Bryn's comment, the camera is given to Henson's face. However, Henson did not show disappointment or irritability at this point. Because he believes there won't be a second chance of such defensive mistakes. The most important thing now is, how about the offense of the Pacers' second team!

Thibodeau naturally studied the Pacers very thoroughly, so even against Henson's second lineup, the Bulls' defense was a clear priority

First, focus on Stephenson and Matthews, two strong scoring guards. Subsequently, Paithai. Gibson keeps an eye on Yi Jianlian. As long as he doesn't give that Chinese forward space to shoot, he can't play any decent offense.

As for Anderson and Leonard? Thibodeau doesn't care how these two guys toss, anyway, these two guys have almost no ability to score on their own.

In such a big situation, Leonard gave Stephenson a cover. Stephenson, of course, bravely plunged headlong into the interior, and the Bulls defended half-contracted.

The reason why it is called semi-contraction is because Brewer, who defends Matthews, and Gibson, who defends Yi Jianlian, are still horizontal in front of the two shooters. Now the only one who has been leaked out of the outside line is Leonard.

"As soon as you break through, you shrink and then block the shooter at the same time. It seems that today, Coach Thibodeau came prepared. "Mike. Brin nodded approvingly, Thibodeau was a defensive idiot.

However, just when everyone thought that Stephenson was cornered and had no choice but to be strong. Instead, he was in the crowd and threw the ball to Leonard in a mid-to-long range position with his trademark coquettish back pass.

"The Bulls players just didn't go back to defense, and Leonard's shooting percentage outside the three-second zone this season is really not high, and it seems that the Bulls have completely let him go."

Mike. As soon as Brin's words fell, the sound of the Nets tumbling came out. This was followed by a flood of cheers from Pacers fans!

"The ball went in, and Leonard hit it from long range! The Bulls' strategy wasn't wrong, but unfortunately they were unlucky. Experienced Brin commented on Leonard's score.

Bad luck, it's not that Brin looks down on Leonard, it's that most people think so, including Thibodeau. He had no intention of changing the team's defensive plan, because Leonard couldn't have shot all the open positions! Scoring one or two once in a while, the Bulls are still okay with this loss.

"It's just a short number four, could it be that Henson asked him to play the number three position, and he could have the ability to play the number three position? Thibodeau muttered to himself.

Henson, on the other hand, smiled quietly, and was able to shoot the open mid-to-long range, which was enough!

Subsequently, Lore. Deng suffered Leonard's "death entanglement" on the offensive end again! The term was originally coined by the Grizzlies Tony. Allen's defense, but now Mike. Brin used it to describe Leonard, who was a little unapproachable on the defensive end.

Lohr, who is 2.06 meters tall. Deng has long been considered a tall No. 3, and he has often been able to use his height and arm length to shoot in the heads of defenders.

This time, however, when he jumped and shot, he was obscured by a large hand. Shooting without seeing the basket is not such a perverted anti-interference ability.

"Bang!" With a crisp sound, Thibodeau shook his head in annoyance. He put Lore. Deng was on the field to lead the team to attack, but he didn't expect to come to an iron.

However, fortunately, the Bulls' retreat was very quick and did not give the Pacers the opportunity to counterattack in the first place.

Henson smiled, the current Pacers are not the Pacers who only relied on quick counterattacks to win last year!

Stephenson repeats his old trick, and as the Pacers' only point of possession on the current lineup, it is not difficult for the Bulls to find the center of gravity defensively.

As always, Stephenson stepped on his "drunken eight immortals" pace to break through, seemingly stumbling, but always managed to successfully break into the inside.

At this time, when the Bulls only have one Asik on the inside, it is inevitable to help defend.

But as long as there is a defense, there will definitely be a vacancy!

This time, Stephenson gave the ball to Matthews. Matthews jumped up when he received the ball, and Brewer hurried to block it. Just when everyone thought that Matthews was going to shoot directly, he suddenly changed his action to take the ball in the air, changed his shot to a pass, a jumping pass!

The basketball dragged the afterimage over Brewer's head and towards the baseline on the right. Leonard just arrived on the spot, received the basketball, and shot a steady jumper!

When Leonard shoots, he still doesn't have a defender around him. One is because everyone thinks Matthews is going to shoot himself, so they are thinking about rebounding and counterattacking. The second is because the Bulls players didn't expect the ball to find Leonard for the second time in a row, and Leonard would end the offense.

This mid-range jumper at a zero degree angle is in the frame again, Thibodeau must wake up even if he doesn't believe in evil, it's not a matter of luck, it's Henson. Joe's arranged tactics!

Attack with the least anticipated point of others...... Thibodeau slapped his head and fooled again!

"Don't give him space, block shots!" Thibodeau shouted in frustration from the sidelines, and Henson sat back on the bench for the first time in the game.

After that, Leonard may not be able to score again. After all, this guy's current shooting and dribbling level is still far from being an offensive core. Henson also doesn't daydream about a rookie who will become Jordan overnight. But those two goals are enough!

Sure enough, after that, due to Leonard's containment, the Bulls' shrinking defense was not so resolute. Stephenson first challenged Asik with the ball and scored easily.

After that, Thai. Gibson had to return to the box to make up for it. So Stephenson jumped up and didn't look at the back pass, but fortunately there was no mistake in this deliberately sassy pass, otherwise Henson promised to rush to the court immediately to frame the Harlem guy.

This pass happened to be sent to Yi Jianlian, so Yi Jianlian calmly shot three points on the right side. Under the guidance of Fraser, Yi Jianlian's three-point shooting has also stabilized a lot this season. Although it can't be compared to the top high battery like Dirk, it is still up to the league average.

Basketball again! The Bulls' defense was shattered! The score has also gone from 15-15 to 19-24 now!

"Damn it!" At the end of the first quarter, Thibodouma had a face on his face, and his mood was all written on his face.

The second lineup battle plan is initially successful! The balance of victory is a quarter more tilted on Henson's side!