Turn on the stereo and play '70s pop music, Larry. Bird started his day.

He first prepared himself two points of toast and, of course, cheese was his favorite. He doesn't like to go to the hotel's restaurant to eat, preferring to settle it himself in the room. Because, when he is reading the newspaper, he doesn't want to be disturbed by outsiders.

Although it is now the age of the Internet, Larry. Bird is still used to reading the newspaper while eating breakfast. It seems that people of their time preferred to use newspapers rather than mobile phones.

The front-page headlines in the Indianapolis Post, as always, were news from the local NBA team, the Pacers.

The headline of the news has been bolded and blacked to make it very eye-catching.

"3-0, Henson's Army beat San Antonio and got match point!"

Underneath the heading, is Paul. George leans on Tim. Picture of Duncan making a layup. The small picture below shows Henson directing the game on the sidelines.

Looking at the front-page headline, Bird smiled with relief. Henson. Joe Bird believes this is the most perfect signing of his career as chairman of basketball operations.

That's right, for other levels of management, bringing in stars is where their "achievements" lie. But in Bird's view, his most successful signing came with the manager.

Bird has always believed in the "three-year theory", that is, if a head coach can't produce results in three years, then it will be difficult to change the status quo even if he works hard. Therefore, he decisively laid off Jim that year. O'Brien, straighten that flamboyant scout.

As it turned out, his much-questioned maneuver at the time was the right thing to do.

Bird, who has been a manager himself, knows how difficult it can be to be a manager.

On May 12, 1997, Bird officially assumed the role of head coach of the Indiana Pacers, and was named the best coach in the NBA in the same year. It's fair to say that Bird's coaching career started off perfectly. For Bird, however, any accolades other than championships are not worth mentioning.

In the 1997-1998 season, the Pacers, with Reggie Miller as the main firepower, fought seven games against the defending champion Chicago Bulls led by Jordan in the Eastern Conference Finals, but ultimately lost.

In the 1998-1999 season, the Pacers reached the Eastern Conference Finals again, but were still held out of the Finals, losing to the New York Knicks.

In the 1999-2000 season, Bird led the Pacers back to defeat the Knicks in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the finals, facing the invincible Los Angeles Lakers, they missed the championship after six games and witnessed the opponent achieve three consecutive championships.

Two years for the Eastern Conference Finals, one year for the Finals. It stands to reason that Bird's results are very good. But he knew that his ceiling might be like this, and that he might never win a championship as a coach, so he decided to retire in a hurry. It wasn't until three years later that he returned to Pacers management.

And what does Henson bring to the Pacers? In the first year of the Eastern Conference semifinals, he won the championship in the second year and successfully defended his title in the third year. In the fourth year, he was already able to establish a dynasty!

What is the concept of a triple crown? When he watched Kobe and O'Neal build a dynasty, Bird had only jealousy in his eyes. Because even when he was a player, he never completed the great feat of three consecutive championships. No, Bird doesn't even know what it's like to successfully defend his title. Not to mention three consecutive championships. And now, he's almost there. And, in his own home team, he did it all.

There is no doubt that Henson is the kind of manager Bird wants. It's just a pity that this guy's career is going to end here......

So today, Bird got up very early. He picked out the most expensive suit and combed his hair meticulously. Because tonight, it's the day of Game 4 between the Pacers and the Spurs. Today is the day when the Pacers have the potential to build a three-game winning dynasty. Today, and most likely, Henson's final career game will end on the show.

All in all, today is a big day!

After finishing himself, Bird wanted to go to the training gym to watch the team practice. But on second thought, with Henson here, it's useless to go or not to supervise the war. So, he simply called Henson. It took a long time for the phone to ring, so Henson must not have kept the phone with him on the training ground.

"Don't worry, Bird, tonight, it's going to be the day the Pacers will go down in history, I promise!" As always, Henson went straight to the point as soon as he answered the phone, without even saying "hello".

"I know, I never doubt it. Three consecutive championships, 16-0 in the playoffs, and four sweeps...... You're right, Henson, this will be the day the Pacers will go down in history. But if that all comes to fruition, it will be the last game of your NBA career. Are you ready? There's no escape for you, Henson. ”

"yes, I have no escape. Maybe after today's game, the whole world will know about Henson. It's time for Joe to retire. But perhaps, I'll save that for the championship parade to say those words. Everything depends on my mood, I'm the head of the dynasty, Bird! I'm a fucking dynasty leader, how many dynasty heads are there in the history of the Alliance? Henson's voice on the phone became excited.

"Yes, you are the head of the dynasty, you can do whatever you want. I'm just reminding you, Henson. Go, tonight, it's your night. ”

Hanging up, Bird had mixed feelings. He didn't know if he should laugh or cry today. Bird led the team to the finals and then retreated. But compared to Henson, Bird was not a rapids at all.

Henson. Joe, leave your name and legend in the Alliance!

※※※

Sparke. Lee's team was deployed early this morning in Training Hall 2 at the ATT Center for a 360° shot of the day of the Henson Finals.

This is one of the most important parts of the year-long documentary. Lee decided to use this part as the main perspective of the documentary to present the audience. The title of this section is "Henson. Joe's last day. 》

And at this time, Spike. Li Zheng meticulously photographed Henson's demeanor on the training ground. Spike. Lee was one of the few people who knew that Henson was going to retire after the season, but he didn't notice anything unusual on Henson's face.

The players still train in a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere, with Henson occasionally joking and occasionally being very serious. He was no different from usual, not at all like a man who was about to retire. Perhaps, Henson's ability to hide his emotions is so powerful.

Spike. Lee rubbed his eyes, he felt extremely lucky to be able to record this legendary season in person. To be one of Henson's underdogs, he even felt it was an honour. At least later, people talked about Henson. Joe, he's definitely one point in that bastard's career that can't be ignored.

At this moment, Henson, who was on the training ground, clapped his hands and motioned for everyone to take a break. There are not a few hours left until the official match starts in the evening......

※※※

Chris. Paul was in the locker room, his hands shaking slightly. When he was in the West, his only hope was to play in the Western Conference Finals. Now, however, he is on the verge of becoming the leading point guard for the dynasty team.

He's glad he chose the Pacers over the Clippers that summer. That summer, I believed in what the Chinese coach called "a plan for a championship".

Although he has won two championships, this time, Paul is still excited. Just imagine, how many superstars in this world are capable of building a dynasty? Not to mention the dynasty, many stars have not even won the championship! So even the well-informed Paul was extremely emotional at this time.

But soon, he tried to calm himself down. Because he's the big brother in the dressing room, he can't be too nervous in front of the youngsters. The second reason is that Henson. Joe finally showed up in the dressing room, which made him feel incredibly reassured.

Henson didn't speak when he came in, but drew a few tactics on the big whiteboard first. Needless to say, Paul knew how to execute them just by looking at the tactics board. He knows the Chinese coach too well, and the Chinese coach knows too well the abilities of everyone in the team.

"Okay guys, listen to me." Henson clapped his hands, and as usual, the locker room fell silent in an instant.

"I know it's our big day. But until you win the championship, it's not a day, it's just an ordinary game day. Whether it's a big day or not depends on how you behave on the field. ”

"Don't worry, we're not going to give the Spurs any chance."

Paul agreed, and the others nodded and rubbed their heads together.

"Very well, that's what I want to hear. Before emphasizing tactics, I'll talk one more nonsense today. As you know, I missed three months this season due to physical reasons. My body is no longer able to work as a basketball coach. So I decided a long time ago that I was going to retire after this season. So, tonight is also likely to be the last game of my career. So guys, work hard and let me get out of the way in style. ”

After Henson finished speaking, the air in the entire locker room seemed to freeze. Everyone froze in their seats, as if they had been frozen into ice.

But Henson felt relaxed, and a big stone in his heart finally fell.

After a few seconds of silence, the players jerked to their feet, leaned towards Henson one by one, and hugged him one by one.

Vogel and Becky. Harmon couldn't make out what the players were talking to Henson, they only heard Henson yelling.

"It's a shame to go out and play this game with red eyes, bastards!"