The Pacers' first offense was particularly easy, and the Celtics' defense didn't feel like a playoff at all.

Henson told his players to be steady on the offensive end, and the players did. After a series of conducts, Paul Inside the basket. George received a pass from Brogdon and dunked easily.

Marcus. Morris has always been a number three or four swingman, and his rim-guarding ability is limited. Seeing George rush in, Morris simply gave up resistance. Anyway, even if he resists, he can only make a senseless foul on his back.

The ease with which the Pacers' offense took Henson by surprise. It stands to reason that Jay. Brown shouldn't be so soft, he should be tougher on the defensive end.

After all, Jay. Brown has always been considered a defensive stalwort, and he even said something like "no matter how much you defend, no one will scare me" in the playoffs last season.

But who knows Jay. What's wrong with Brown today, George shook off the strong No. 7 Green Shirts with just one counterrun.

Maybe it's the bad locker room vibe that makes Jay. Brin upset?

"Focus, concentrate!" Stevens clapped his hands the sidelines, and he didn't care what the Celtics' locker room was like right now. All he knew was that he had come to Indianapolis to win!

Irving naturally came with this purpose in mind, so the Celtics' first attack started with Irving's ball-handling singles.

Thomas Jr. and Irving are not traditional point guards, both are good at scoring, and even in Ange's mouth, Irving is a better and more talented attacker. However, there is still a huge difference between the two, in addition to the height difference, the attack methods of the two are also different.

While both men are point guards who need to hold the ball in their hands, the Celtics are a team that likes to pass the ball when Thomas is the main handler.

After the break, Thomas can score, create fouls, or send the ball to teammates on the perimeter, and find shooting opportunities through fast transmission, and this fast pace is what the Celtics group of players like, and it is also the style of play that Stevens is good at.

But this season's Celtics have mostly scored points through constant singles, and the gap between them can be seen in the passing statistics. Although Irving's assist stats are slightly better, Thomas is much higher than Irving in both the number of passes and the number of passes received by teammates.

As a result, the Celtics' offense has become simpler than before. Moreover, others can no longer get too many opportunities to perform.

The same was true for the Celtics' first offense of the day, Kelly. Irving and Horford played a simple hand-to-hand cover tactic, which "Uncle Drew" used to get into the box.

But the Pacers switched defenses quickly, and Irving had barely taken two steps out when he found Antetokounmpo already lunging at him. Owen tried to pass the ball, but saw that Brogdon had pounced on Marcus. Morris, the Pacers' change of defense was very decisive and there was no hesitation.

In desperation, Irving had to choose a pull-up jump shot under Antetokounmpo's defense. But even so, Irving's shooting was heavily disrupted.

For fans who only watched the highlights, Irving's flashy breakthrough moves that deceived their opponents were impressive. But for every spectator, Irving's almost unbelievably difficult shot choices are really staggering.

With Antetokounmpo on his fingertips, Irving's pull-up jumper stumbled out of the box. Stevens closed his eyes in disappointment for Kelly. Owen's performance, he is even a little used to it.

"Damn it!" Owen gritted his teeth reluctantly, and the offense just now made him miss his time in Cleveland immensely.

No team around James would dare to defend him like that. Because all opponents have to focus their defense on James, Irving himself can get a lot of easy single-ons opportunities.

But now it's different, the Celtics don't have James, and Irving is the James of this team. So, the defenses that should have been on James turned to Irving.

In the face of such tremendous defensive pressure, Irving's offensive efficiency this season has plummeted. And Antetokounmpo's timely defense of Irving just now is just the tip of the iceberg of Irving's dilemma this season.

At the Cleveland Cavaliers, people say that Irving is a strong attack and a good leader. Even Owen himself thinks so.

But when he came to Celtics Irving, he found that the teammate he hated the most seemed to be the best.

In Milwaukee, Budenholzer may not have the players who can contain Irving's offense. But in Indianapolis, there are a lot of such players.

"Go on, you're doing a good job. Keep playing like this and I'm sure we'll win the game in less than 48 minutes. "Henson was on and off the sidelines, but with ease.

Following Henson's tactical arrangement, the Pacers once again dragged the offense into position. Owen tried to push it quickly, but was forcefully intercepted by Brogdon. This once-little-known second-round pick has undoubtedly filled the void left by Paul this season.

While Brogdon's playmaking and defensive abilities weren't as good as Paul's, at least he didn't let the Pacers' No. 1 defense completely collapse.

Irving was delayed for only a few seconds before it became clear that the Pacers' defense was completely out of position. Stevens couldn't help but applaud off the court, and Henson's team's tactical execution ability was truly extraordinary.

A team with excellent individual defense ability and very disciplined team, the defense is naturally very tight.

The Celtics are still the same, and Henson's favorite center, Al Horford, has stepped up to the top of the pitch. It can be seen that Stevens is also using Horford as a point guard.

Originally, Stevens wanted to use Hayward, his college protégé, as a point forward. But unexpectedly, Hayward's form after returning from injury was disappointing.

Henson knows Horford well, this guy has a good ability to read the game and his passing ability is also top among the center. But he's always been a centre-forward and he's not very good at making those ghostly passes.

So, Henson's strategy was simple – block the passing lane.

Horford held the basketball high, only to find himself with no target to pass the ball to. In front of Owen was Brogdon's long arms. Jason. Tatum has been obsessed with singles this season, and his off-ball runs have never been a chance under Oladipo's aggressive defense. George Defense Jay. Brown simply doesn't have to be too easy, Marcus. Morris couldn't get rid of Antetokounmpo's "spider arm".

The most taboo on the offensive end is not smooth, and the unfluent transmission will affect the rhythm of the entire offense.

Horford pinned the ball from the outside for a long time, which undoubtedly greatly affected the Celtics' offensive rhythm.

In the end, Horford could only bite the bullet and break through with the ball on his own. If you don't have a chance, create chances, use the breakthrough ball to find gaps, these are what Henson taught him.

Horford pushed Lopez to the penalty area, and Horford did have the advantage in footwork.

Sure enough, Horford's breakthrough worked. Seeing that Lopez was about to be passed, George came to make up for it. So, Jay. Bryn was leaked out.

Horford didn't hesitate, and with a nimble flick of his arm, he sent the basketball to Jalen. Brown in his hands.

Jay. Brown shot 35 percent from three-point range in the playoffs this season, which isn't too bad. But Brown's biggest problem is that his shooting consistency from beyond the three-point line isn't as consistent as last season. After all, in the playoffs last season, he shot 39% from three-point range. That's why the Celtics were able to reach the Eastern Conference Finals last year without Irving and Hayward.

When it's on time, Brown can be said to be very accurate. But when it's not right, Brown's three-pointer can be better than nothing.

Henson confessed that the first few offenses could put Jalen. Brown threw a few shots to see how he felt. And so, George just did it.

Brown received the basketball and shot decisively in the face of a big open opportunity!

The basketball has a high arc and looks like it's about to score a goal.

But shooting outside the three-point line, and then a small deviation, will have a big impact on the final target.

Brown's three-pointer slammed into the right side of the basket and bounced off the basket hard. Three points missed, and it was a very morale-breaking empty three-point miss!

Horford stuck in position, but at this point, no one on the Celtics team could rush back to grab the offensive rebound.

Just like that, Horford watched Antetokounmpo take the basketball away, and then quickly launched a fast break!

The Celtics were quick to step back, especially Jalen. Brown, who wants to make up for his missed three-point shot in the open position with a successful defense.

Last season, Jalen. Brown also played two games against the Pacers that were very defensive. In those two games, Jalen. Brown embarrassed Antetokounmpo's offense.

But now, the gap between the two has widened. Antetokounmpo faces Jalen. Brown, with just an elegant European step dunk, got rid of the defense.

Antetokounmpo is no longer the stunned guy who can only go on a rampage, and he is the MVP favorite this season.

"What are you doing? Seriously! Owen yelled at Jalen in dissatisfaction. Brown yelled.

Brown looked at Owen and said nothing. He's a newcomer, and Irving has been in the league for a long time, and he knows he doesn't have a voice.

But does not refute it mean that you don't care? I'm afraid not. Sometimes, this is how the tensions in the locker room slowly accumulate and then suddenly erupt.

Looking at the Celtics, who were worried about internal and external troubles, Henson couldn't help but sigh regretfully. He was worried that Celtic would be reminded of who they are and what their goals are when they face strong opponents, but now the team is even more lost.

Case...... Henson gestured to the players, and then all five on the field understood.

Henson is about to pull away. In this kind of competition, there is no need to drag on until the end to decide the winner.