182: Difficult task
"Lin is crazy", the Americans even did not hesitate to create such a word for the performance of the Chinese player. At this time, Henson was looking at Jeremy. Lin, or a more palatable name — Jeremy Lin, related news.
In February, when the affair was at its highest, Henson was busy playing back-to-back. After back-to-back games, Henson was busy with All-Star Weekend. So this legendary story that shook the basketball circle all over the world had no impact on Henson.
But looking back at Jeremy Lin's performance now, Henson does find it a little incredible.
As a Chinese-American, yellow-skinned, Henson knows very well what their situation is in the American basketball circle. Thinking about how Posey and O'Brien treated themselves at the beginning, Henson didn't dare to think about what the Knicks' teammates would do to Jeremy Lin. Because the competition between the players is much tougher than the competition between the coaches.
However, it was such a Harvard graduate, a draft failure, a dismissal by multiple teams, and a nobody who sat on the Knicks' bench for most of the season, but seized an opportunity to make himself famous in history.
Henson didn't have time to study Lin's magical seven-game performance, after all, the Pacers were against more than just the Knicks. But it only took one interview with Kobe Bryant to know how amazing Jeremy Lin's kid was.
Before the game began, the reporter asked Kobe: "What do you think of Jeremy. Forest? ”
Kobe Bryant: "Jeremy. Forest? I don't know who he is. ”
After the game, the reporter asked Kobe Bryant again: "What do you think of Jeremy. Forest? ”
That night, Jeremy Lin scored 38 points in Staples. Kobe Bryant faced the camera and was a little angry: "He almost scored 40 points on my head, you ask me what to say about him?" ”
What a competitive guy Kobe Bryant is, Henson knows very well. To get Kobe Bryant to say something like that after the game, Jeremy Lin has actually succeeded.
A small bench led the Knicks without Anthony to a wave of 7-0 records. Henson couldn't help but shake his head, if it weren't for the 7-0 loss, the Knicks estimated that it would be dangerous to even make the playoffs this year.
What happened to Jeremy Lin is indeed magical, and if Henson is still a fan, with such a scarcity of yellow-skinned players in the NBA, it is estimated that he will also have a climax.
But at this time, as the head coach of an NBA team, Henson really didn't feel anything about watching the opposing players perform well.
What does it matter to me that the players are doing well? Even if it's my business, I'm trying to find a way to contain him, not to praise him.
As for the relationship between Henson and Jeremy Lin's skin color...... If that's all about it, most players in the NBA don't have to play against each other.
To put it bluntly, the enemy is the enemy. Sooner or later, Henson will study Jeremy Lin, but that is also to beat the Knicks. So when a reporter asked Henson yesterday what he thought of Jeremy Lin, Henson's answer was very brief.
"I don't have any opinion, I haven't even seen him, what can I think?"
Well, a typical "Hensonian" answer.
Before struggling with back-to-back battles with the Knicks, Henson must lead the team through three games safely.
A win over the Bulls doesn't mean the Pacers have achieved all of their goals this season. This only proves that the Pacers are no longer afraid of this Eastern Conference champion, but it doesn't mean that they are running rampant in the East.
Hawks, Heat, Magic...... Henson was almost throwing up playing these teams, but this time, the three opponents still took turns.
However, after three games, the Pacers' 1-2 record, although it certainly will not satisfy Henson, it actually did not disappoint him much.
Playing the Hawks, 101-96, although the Pacers lost at the Phillips Center, it was not the Pacers' lack of strength, but several controversial decisions from the referees and the opponent's magic goal when the Pacers did a good job defending, which led to this result.
After the game, Henson didn't have much to do but spray the referee and the still rough Pachuria. There are always a few games that will be lost like this in a season, and Henson is even a little used to it. More attention is paid to whether the Hawks will also go to the visiting locker room to trouble the Pacers than the game itself.
And against the Magic, the Pacers won, 107-94, winning to put it mildly. Van Gundy should be thankful that at least this time, the Pacers didn't let him record a humiliating score.
Henson really didn't feel any pressure in this game, and even if Henson didn't set it up specifically to play the Magic, the Pacers players knew what to do. Since beating the Magic 4-1 in the playoffs last season, the Orlando Blues have never been able to pose a threat to the Pacers.
And more attention has been paid to the tearing face between Howard and Big Van Gundy than to the game itself, and the big ethics series coming this summer: Where Warcraft Goes.
Therefore, this win, one loss and two games did not give Henson a very special feeling. After all, even the media and fans who love to watch the excitement do not pay attention to the game itself, which shows how unremarkable these two games were.
What Henson cares about the most is the game between the Hawks and the Magic, where the Pacers lost to the Heat.
Ever since Thibodeau left the Consec Arena in disgrace, Henson was immediately aware. The Pacers' biggest enemy in the East is no longer the Bulls, but the Miami Heat, who have been developing steadily this season!
In the previous games of the season, the Heat and Pacers won one game each. Henson wanted to have the advantage today, but instead he fell behind.
The reason why Henson cared about this game was not just because he lost, but because the game was not played as flat as the previous two.
On the contrary, it was a very intense game, arguably the most intense of the season between the two sides. How intense is it? It was so intense that 48 minutes was not enough time for both sides to decide the winner!
In the final 23 seconds of the game, the Heat led by three points 95-92, and all Miamins thought they had a chance to win. But at this moment, Paul stepped up again and used a three-pointer to drag the game into overtime.
After overtime, the two teams still couldn't close the difference. There really isn't much Henson can do about the Heat, because Spoelstra's tactics are not subtle, and he just relies on the Big Three to take turns to exert power. And those three guys are not good stubbles that can be easily contained by relying on a few defensive tactics.
So in overtime, there were three points at the whistle again. Only this time, it was the walker who was killed.
In the final 22 seconds of the game, the Heat had the ball. Wade, who had not made a three-point shot before, went into the net with a three-point shot at the last moment, piercing Henson's heart.
In this way, the Pacers and the Heat finally separated the winners through overtime and a stunner.
This kind of ups and downs has not been encountered by Henson for a long time. He and his players made a lot of effort in this game, but they were never able to achieve a substantial advantage. Nonsense, if you get the advantage, you won't be killed by a three-point shot.
He persevered throughout the game, but finally lost to a three-point shot from "The Flash", which is what Henson will not forget for a long time.
Miami Heat, unexpectedly, Henson's Pacers and this super team will also become mortal enemies one day.
Fortunately, the Pacers won the Magic immediately after that, so the morale of the players was not affected too much.
At this point, Henson has to think about a very important issue: how to avoid an early encounter with the Heat in the playoffs.
According to the current situation, if nothing else, the top three teams in the East will most likely be the Bulls, Heat and Pacers. After all, the Celtics did not play well in the regular season, and the Magic ...... They really haven't been able to compete for a top-three finish this season. The Eagles still play the role of "-stirring stick", and the chances of breaking into the top three are not very high.
It can be said that by now, the situation in the east has become relatively clear. But no matter who is second in the Pacers and the Heat, they will inevitably be in the bottom half of the playoffs, and they will inevitably meet early.
It's not that Henson is afraid of the Heat, but if you want to go far in the playoffs, you have to have that basic avoidance. You can't stop in the Eastern Conference semifinals last year, and you can't stop in the Eastern Conference semifinals after this year's lineup overhaul.
Not to mention the finals and championships, Henson has to take Paul to the division finals for a walk.
And the only way to avoid the Heat is to win the first place in the East in the regular season!
Henson pouted, first in the East, that sounds crazy. It seems that this season, the task is very heavy.
If you want to take the first place in the East...... Then the two games that followed the Knicks back-to-back games were not to be missed.
Whether it's Lin Crazy or Melon Crazy, Henson's task is to make none of them crazy.