basketball player

Chapter 118 Chapter 116: Almost Overturned (100 Monthly Pass Plus Changes)

Paul George scored two points for the Pacers at the beginning of the game. Although it was only two points, for Thibodeau, who pays great attention to defense, these two points are very heart-wrenching.

All his arrangements were made for the Pacers' old starting lineup. The original starting shooting guard Matthews was not good at holding the ball.Therefore, Thibodeau's instruction to Noah is also to face a breakthrough without changing defenses.

But now, the situation is completely different.Paul George is a player who can break through with the ball, and he has a clear height advantage in the second position.

Bogans' defense is very tough and active, but no matter how active he is, it is impossible for him to suddenly increase his height by 10 centimeters.

The fans in the United Center became more and more excited, and the stands seemed to be rolled by a sea of ​​red.

The Bulls' offense still relies too much on Rose's personal ability. Rose still intends to solve the problem by himself. He just bypassed the screen and entered the penalty area, but found that all the Pacers players wearing dark blue away jerseys were in front of him.

Rose gritted his teeth. It stands to reason that the Pacers' defense cannot be so fast.He wanted to pass the ball, but he couldn't find the passing target in time because his vision was completely blocked.

In this way, Rose forced a layup against the Pacers' tight defense.It's a pity that the foul was not won, but it caused the Bulls' offense to fail again.

"Coach Henson's defensive layout is very targeted. He knows that Rose has a strong ability to break through and score, so he seems to have arranged a 2-3 zone defense to protect the basket as much as possible." Van Gundy began to look at Henson with admiration. Zone defense is not popular in the NBA, but if it is used well, it can also achieve miraculous results.

"Zone defense? Damn it." Thibodeau also saw Henson's strategy. He just wanted to block Rose's attack as much as possible, and the others would let it go temporarily.

To break the zone defense, the most important thing is to shoot open.But Thibodeau doesn't plan to call a timeout so early, he can only pray that Rose can see the opponent's strategy.

The Bulls' offense was unfavorable, and George once again used his big stride to break through Bogans.

Although Noah's supplementary defense was very active, George did not score directly.But George is tall and has long arms, and it is difficult for Noah to directly complete the block.

George successfully drew a defensive foul from Noah, causing Chicago's defensive backbone to foul early.Thibodeau is putting pressure on the referee, but this still cannot change the fact that the Bulls' defense fell again.

Two free throws were made, 4 to 0, and Henson relied on his unexpected changes to eat and drink on the offensive end.

"In terms of offensive variables, Henson Joe is indeed richer than Thibodeau." Van Gundy shook his head. Thibodeau was his assistant coach at the time. In the defensive environment in the 90s, the lack of offensive variables did not seem to be a big problem.

Now, however, the sport of basketball has changed dramatically.Only defensive, it seems that some are not enough.

Rose finally discovered the fact that the Pacers were defending the zone defense after two consecutive offenses hit a wall, so he began to look for his teammates.

But Luol Deng and Boozer didn't seem to have entered the game yet, and both of their mid-range shots went out of the box.

Watching the "red waves" in the stands of the United Center gradually subside, Henson couldn't say how enjoyable he was.

It wasn't until Horford scored a precise three-pointer at the top of the arc that the Pacers started a wave of 9-0 that Thibodeau was finally willing to stop the game.For Thibodeau, who started out as a defensive player, letting others play a 9-0 climax as soon as they come up is simply a humiliation!
"9-0, the United Center was hit hard! The Pacers' tight zone defense successfully limited Rose, and the Bulls lost control of the defense. It seems that Paul George's sudden start disrupted Coach Thibodeau's arrangement. We originally thought this would be a one-sided series, but as far as the current situation is concerned, the Pacers will cause a lot of trouble for the Bulls!"

Before the game, people thought it would be great if the Pacers could play the Bulls evenly.Absolutely no one would have thought that the Pacers would be a killer move as soon as they came up!
亨森的目的已经达到了，乔治3投2中加两次罚球砍下6分1次助攻的表现，帮助步行者奠定了9分的优势。有了9分优势为基础，步行者才能按照自己喜欢的节奏去打球。

The Bulls' offense has always been a weakness, and chasing points is not their strong point.

Of course, Thibodeau is not stupid.Although he is a rookie coach like Henson, Thibodeau was already famous before becoming a head coach.

How to break the zone defense is something that even every fan knows, and Thibodeau cannot be helpless.

"Switch on George's pick-and-roll to delay his breakthrough! Derek, pass the ball more and use your teammates' shooting ability to break through the zone defense." Thibodeau's arrangement seemed perfect, but after the timeout ended and all the players went back, Thibodeau discovered that Henson had replaced George with Matthews.

Paul George, the future superstar, is just a fake starter today.

As soon as George was off the field, Thibodeau's so-called shrinking defense strategy was all abolished.And when Luol Deng and Bogans were about to hit the Pacers' zone defense with shots, they found that the Pacers' strategy had become half-court man-to-man again!
Henson is always able to adjust ahead of others!
He likes to figure out the opponent's thinking, likes to think about problems from the perspective of the opponent's coach, and then responds in advance.

Van Gundy couldn't help but applaud Henson as the Pacers switched to man-to-man defense in time, and Rose was confusedly looking for a passing target from beyond the three-point line.

Sometimes, the confrontation between coaches may be more exciting than the confrontation between players!
At this time, Rose could clearly break through and score, but he obviously didn't see that the Pacers' defensive strategy had changed.

Fortunately, Luol Deng regained his touch and scored two consecutive mid-range shots to help the Bulls stop the bleeding in time.

But compared to Rose's breakthrough, Henson is obviously more willing to see Luol Deng shooting from the outside.The reason is simple, Loel Deng can't kill people, but Rose can.

The game continued, and Rose didn't wake up until halfway through the first quarter.But at this time, the point difference of about 10 points is already firmly on the Bulls.

After entering the rotation time, Thibodeau hopes that Korver, Brewer and Gibson can join forces to change the situation.However, George, who played out early, did not let this happen.

While Korver and others were still looking for a touch, George had already started scoring consecutive goals.

He played like a duck to water in the second unit, and Yan Ran was a rotation superstar.

28 to 18, the Bulls fans couldn't believe it. 62 wins over the Bulls, trailing by 10 points in the United Center after the first quarter!
In the second quarter, the Bulls launched a crazy counterattack.Henson's defensive strategy of shrinking to the basket was hit hard by the opponent's three-point rain. Korver, Brewer, and Luol Deng all shot away.

This made Henson very angry. Why can the Pacers easily defeat the Magic?In addition to the Pacers' own strength problems, the Magic's weak performance outside the three-point line was the catalyst that led to their death.

But it's clear that the Bulls' shooters haven't lost sight of it.

In the last 2 minutes and 55 seconds of the second quarter, even Rose started to score three-pointers.His long shot hit once narrowed the point difference to 4 points!
Fortunately, Hinrich, who came off the bench at the end of the second quarter, used tough defense to force Rose to make two turnovers. He made a big splash in front of his old team, and the Pacers made two counterattacks. In the end, the score was 60 to 51 and the 9-point difference was saved.

The Bulls' desperate counterattack in the second quarter made Henson aware of the strength gap between the two sides.

In terms of three-point shooting, the current Bulls are not much inferior to the Pacers.In terms of defense, the system brought by Thibodeau makes the Bulls' defense equally tough.

Under the circumstances that these two conditions are similar, the Bulls have one more Derrick Rose than the Pacers, which is undoubtedly very fatal.

In the second half of the game, the competition between the two sides entered a fierce stage.With the Bulls' three-point shooting soaring, Henson had to keep players off the basket and block three-pointers.

This allows young Windy City roses to bloom.

In the third quarter of the game, Rose scored 10 points in a single quarter, helping the team narrow the point difference to only 1 point.

Fortunately, in the fourth quarter, the Pacers' three-point shooting rate was somewhat higher than that of the regular season. In the end, Henson won the first game of the series at the United Center with a 5-point advantage without any risk.

But Rose and Luol Deng scored 26 points and 24 points respectively, representing Henson's defensive end.If there was no surprise 9-0 in the opening game, the Pacers would be in danger.

The game of basketball is like this, no tactic is absolutely perfect.This is also the first time that after Henson won the game, he found that his tactics did not completely suppress the opponent.

The team's magical three-point performance in the fourth quarter can only prove how well the players prepared before the game, but it cannot prove that Henson completely overwhelmed Thibodeau.

Henson needs a Rose of his own if he wants to crush the Bulls in a close game.

Too bad he didn't.

1 to 0, the Eastern Conference semifinals had an "upset" as soon as they came up.For a time, public opinion was exclaimed.But Henson, who won the victory, didn't seem happy.

(End of this chapter)