"Greg, can you explain why you put Tim Duncan on the bench in the second half of the third quarter? If it weren't for Tim Duncan's long rest, the Spurs wouldn't have trailed the Pacers too much in the fourth quarter and caused the Spurs to lose this game, Greg, can you explain what you thought at the time? ”

After the game between the Spurs and the Pacers, Popovich, who attended the post-game press conference, just sat in his seat, and the reporters below swarmed towards him and stretched out the microphone to him. Popovich, who has been pressing the team's best Tim Duncan on the bench since the second half of the third quarter, directly led to the Spurs being overturned by the Pacers.

"We all saw that Thiem made a lot of shots in the first half of the third quarter, and more than half of those shots were made under the opponent's bag, so after going off the court, Thiem's arm was very sore, and if he continued to play, it was likely that there would be discomfort and accidents, so after consulting with the team doctor, we decided to let Thiem rest off the court for a while, well, that's it." Popovich smiled, and believed it or not, that's what it looked like anyway.

After Popovich finished speaking, Tony Parker, who was sitting next to Popovich, glanced at the head coach, and immediately lowered his head in a weak heart, and at the same time said in his heart, the head coach's kung fu of opening his eyes and telling nonsense is really amazing.

Just when Popovich was being troubled by the reporters on the scene at the press conference, in the away team locker room in the SBC center, Meng Xu, who had already taken a shower, gathered all the other players who were packing up their outfits, Meng Xu felt that it was time to have a good talk with these guys, after the dream of four consecutive championships was shattered, the Pacers seemed to have lost their goals and became a little confused, this is not what Meng Xu wants to see, for Meng Xu, four championships are far from enough.

After Meng Xu beckoned them all to sit down, they were still joking and playing, and they immediately sat down in peace, they knew very well that Meng Xu must have something important to say to him, so from the always calm Anfernee Hardaway to the smug James Posey, they all sat quietly in their seats, waiting for Meng Xu to speak.

"We played very poorly in the first few games, so there was a lot of pressure on everyone during this time, and I heard that Rick hadn't had a good night's sleep for days, but now it's okay, we won against Spurs and ended the losing streak, and Rick can finally get a good night's sleep." Looking at these teammates sitting around with dignified faces, Meng Xu first pulled head coach Rick Carlisle out to tease him, so as to adjust the atmosphere of the scene, and then continued: "When I didn't enter the NBA, I made a promise to become the strongest player in this league, to win all the honors I could get, and to win countless championships, and now my promise seems to have become a reality." “

"Jermaine, tell me about the ambitions you made after entering the Alliance!" As soon as the words turned, Meng Xu looked at Jermaine O'Neal who was leaning on the locker, as the second leader of this team, he didn't pull it out at this time, when would he pull it out.

"Me?" Hearing Meng Xu call his name, Jermaine O'Neal, who was originally leaning on the locker, sat up straight, and the entire walker didn't know Jermaine O'Neal's ambition to "punch O'Neal and kick Duncan", so after Meng Xu asked Jermaine O'Neal, everyone looked at each other and looked at Jermaine O'Neal.

"My ambition." Raising his head and looking at the ceiling above his head, Jermaine O'Neal's thoughts went back to when he first entered the league, during that time, Jermaine O'Neal, who entered the league with a talented player and potential inside name, but never got any chance to play, and has been wasting his talent on the bench, but Jermaine O'Neal did not give up on himself, but made a vow in his heart, that is, to become the best interior player in this league, and kick Shaq O'Neal and Tim Duncan all these people out of the tableAfter pondering for a moment, Jermaine O'Neal finally raised his head: "My ambition is to be the best interior player in this league!" “

"Jermaine, did you do it?" After Jermaine O'Neal finished speaking, Meng Xu asked him a rhetorical question.

"I 。。。。。。" Hearing Meng Xu's rhetorical question, Jermaine O'Neill first stared at Meng Xu, and then lowered his head a little embarrassed, yes, did I do it? No, I haven't become the best interior player in this league, Tim Duncan and Shaq O'Neal are still standing in front of me like a mountain, and Jermaine O'Neal himself knows that after winning three championships in a row, entering the All-Star team in a row, being selected as an All-Star, and signing a big contract with the Pacers for 7 years and more than $100 million, he is already a little flustered, and in the face of the temptation of four consecutive championships, Jermaine O'Neal can barely raise his fighting spirit and continue to fight, But after the dream of four consecutive championships was shattered, Jermaine O'Neal completely lost the motivation to move forward, the championship, the big contract, and everything he wanted, so what else is there to fight for?

"Tony, what about you?" After Jermaine O'Neal, Meng Xu chose Tony Allen, who had just come to the Pacers for a year, if Jermaine O'Neal represents those old players who have made a name for themselves with the Pacers, then Tony Allen is the representative of those new players, Tony Allen, Chris Duhon, Salunas Jascovy Hughes all joined the Pacers last season, and of course Anfernee Hardaway, but Anfernee Hardaway has been in the NBA for more than a dozen seasons, The mentality is naturally different from these newcomers, the reason why Anfernee Hardaway accepted the invitation of the Pacers is nothing more than to use a championship to make his career without regrets, and these new players in the league, there is still a long way to go in front of them.