The game against the Chicago Bulls went even more easily than Henson had expected, and although the Bulls had just won two straight games, it was clear that the Bulls were a little discouraged from the start against the defending champions without Rose.

Playing a game that felt unbeatable from the beginning, it would be a miracle that the Bulls could win. Henson looked around the empty Union Center, where he could no longer smell the same smoke as before. Tom. Thibodeau sat sluggishly on the bench, and the loss to the Pacers no longer seemed to be difficult for him to accept......

Injuries, damn injuries.

In this game, George became the brightest star. He hit 14 of those shots on 25 shots and scored a game-high 34 points.

Henson is no longer surprised to see George play this kind of performance again, after all, George's progress this season is obvious to all. 34 points is just a matter of taking a few more shots or playing a few more minutes for him.

On the other hand, on the Bulls' side, the "star" is dim. The team's highest score was actually the "little potato" Nate, who was only 1.75 meters tall. Robinson...... Henson admits Nate. Robinson is a wonder guy, but if a team relies on him to score, then the team is not far from finishing.

"Henson." As Henson was boredly counting the empty seats in the Union Center, Vogel stabbed him with his elbow.

"Huh? Why, don't you say the Bulls still have a chance to pull one back. Henson said, looking up at the big screen. 96-80, with one minute and forty-eight seconds left in the game time. Well, you read that right, the Pacers are a lot ahead.

"I was trying to ask if you were on the plane yesterday to see Mark. What is Jackson's elevator door for? Thibodeau doesn't have such a complicated attacking tactic. ”

"Oh, that's it...... Just take a look, nothing special. ”

Henson waved his hand and didn't continue, and Vogel didn't ask again.

A little over a minute later, with the game over, Henson stood up and went to shake Thibodeau's hand.

Seeing Thibodeaux face to face again, Henson noticed that the guy had suddenly aged a lot. Presumably, the pressure on Thibodeau this season is also very huge. From winning the best coach in his first year as a head coach to the unexpected loss of his star in the first year, Thibodeau's experience has been a rollercoaster ride.

Life is not easy.

Without speaking, Thibodeau just nodded slightly at Henson and hurried back to the players' tunnel. This back reminds Henson of Hawks coach Larry, who was extremely energetic in the first two seasons and is now on the verge of being relegated. Drew. It seems that the job of the head coach really can't be smooth sailing......

Henson didn't know what it would be like to wait for his end.

"Coach Henson, can you take some time?" The reporters' talk and the cameras pulled Henson's thoughts back to the court.

"Well, just ask." Henson smiled again.

No matter what happens in the future, the most important thing is to grasp the present.

※※※

The game against the Bulls was easy to win, but the players' physical fitness was still a torture. The high-load game had just ended, and the players had to board the plane back to Indianapolis.

Luckily, the next race was in Indianapolis, and it didn't even take an hour to fly from Chicago to Indianapolis.

Most of the players fell asleep on the plane, except for Henson's seat, where a faint white light oozed from the computer screen.

"Henson, take a break." Vogel, who sat next to Henson, was covered with a blanket and had apparently slept for a short time.

"Hmm." Henson just nodded slightly

"It's just the Trail Blazers, and it's physically important. Besides, we're 17-1, so you don't have to. ”

"Hmm." The Chinese coach replied absent-mindedly.

Vogel shook his head, don't look at Henson's usual immodest work, but he actually works harder than anyone else.

Vogel couldn't help but squint slightly and look at Henson's computer screen, but surprisingly, Henson was still not looking at the Trail Blazers' game footage.

This guy is still looking at the elevator door......

※※※

When he arrived at the Banker's Life Arena the next day, Henson had two big dark circles under his eyes. Everyone was shocked when they saw Henson's appearance, and after asking, they learned that Henson didn't stay up late to watch the video after returning home yesterday, but directly lost sleep.

"I just felt so sick that I felt sick and wanted to vomit. So, tossing and turning all night without falling asleep. In the team doctor's office, Henson, with dark circles under his eyes, was telling the doctor about his condition.

"Henson, I can only give you one piece of advice."

"What advice?"

"It's time for you to get some rest, man. This symptom occurs when you bury your head all day watching videos and taking notes, causing excessive compression of nerves in your spine. A lot of managers have that problem, but trust me Henson, it's not good for you. ”

"Really? Looks like I'm going to have to apply for another paid vacation from the league. Henson smiled and waved his hand, then left.

Henson stayed on the side of the training ground all afternoon. It seems that for the Trail Blazers' game, Henson really attaches great importance to it and is very vigilant.

Ten minutes before the end of training, Henson gathered everyone and practiced a set of tactics that had never been practiced before.

And Henson believes that these ten minutes are an insurance for him to the game.

※※※

At six o'clock in the afternoon, the team moved from the training ground to the official playing field, and Henson also appeared in front of everyone with two black circles under his eyes.

"Oh my God, look at what the back-to-back schedule has tormented our Coach Henson?" Reggie. Miller was dumbfounded the moment he saw Henson, his mental state was almost the same as yesterday's glazed Thibodeau.

"God knows how many Trail Blazers game footage Coach Henson watched yesterday, but if I were Terry. Stotts, I'll be extra careful. "Miller's side, Jeff. Van Gundy wasn't surprised by Henson's form.

After all, Jeff. When Van Gundy himself was a coach, he was a typical representative of "workaholism". At that time, he often appeared on the court with big dark circles under his eyes. What's worse than Henson is that Van Gundy's hair fell out badly due to staying up late...... Thankfully, Henson doesn't have any troubles with that.

After a while, the Trail Blazers players also entered the warm-up. Unlike the other teams, the Pacers fans in the stadium gave the Trail Blazers a fierce cheer.

All of this is because of the No. 2 quarterback on the Portland Trail Blazers, Wesley. Matthews!

Matthews waved to the fans with his arms held high, and he was thrilled to be back playing at the Bankers' Life Arena. Subsequently, Matthews ran directly to the Pacers' half court and hugged his teammates who had fought side by side.

"Boss, I'm back!" When he saw Henson, Matthews looked grateful.

"Go and go, warm up. I'm not going to let you play comfortably in today's game. Henson patted Matthews on the shoulder.

Although he is vicious, Henson is still somewhat relieved that a draft loser got a good contract because of his own discovery. Of course, he doesn't put these emotions into words.

"Don't worry, I won't let you down!"

"You should say this to Stotts. Tell me what you're going to do with me today. ”

"I can't tell you that, I can only warn you," Matthews said, looking around mysteriously before leaning closer to Henson's ear, "Be sure to keep an eye out for that Portland 2!" ”

"Get out!" Matthews' "precious" information was rewarded with Henson's kick in the ass with a leather shoe.

At the end of the old time, Matthews also returned to his own half to start the warm-up. Henson, on the other hand, believes that Matthews does deserve his own attention. After the Trail Blazers became the main player, that guy's scoring average this season has risen to 15.2 points per game, which is not a small number.

Of course, Trail Blazers coach Terry Brown. Stotts deserves more attention than Matthews Henson. Stotts isn't a big name in coaching circles, but Henson knows very well that he's the kind of manager whose strength is greater than his fame.

Stotts, who was born in '57, had a background as a professional player, and although he was in the lower leagues of Europe back then, he was better than Henson.

Beginning in '98, Stotts was involved in George. Karl's coaching staff. In '05, as an interim coach, he took the Bucks for one season. Of course, the most important thing is that in '08-12, Stotts assisted Carlisle for four seasons with the Mavericks and won a championship with the team. The experience and knowledge he gained in Dallas allowed him to finally establish himself in Portland.

Stotts has one big characteristic of coaching – competitiveness.

Most coaches have already decided on a rotation at the start of the season and want players to adapt to that rotation. Unless there is force majeure, the coach rarely changes the rotation plan.

But Stotts doesn't mind the frequent rotation changes, and with the Trail Blazers, only players who are good enough can have consistent playing time. As a result, the Trail Blazers' rotation often changes. You may have been an important substitute for the previous week, but as long as someone else performs better, you will immediately become a "water cooler manager".

Stotts wants his players to stay hungry and then rely on their performances to buy playing time. This is also the reason why the Trail Blazers can always hold on to the end no matter how strong the opponent is. Because every game, the Trail Blazers players work very hard. Don't give up until the end of the game

They know very well that the manager has been watching from the sidelines! If you don't work hard, he will let someone who is willing to work hard replace you in the next game!

Stotts looks bookish on the surface, but in fact his coaching philosophy is quite iron-fisted.

Although the Trail Blazers' 8-10 record is not comparable to the Pacers' 17-1. But Henson never expected the Pacers to win this game easily, if they did fight this Portland team until the last minute......

The last ten minutes of the drill just now were very important.