basketball player

135 Chapter 133: Rotation is also crazy
Only 8 minutes into the first quarter, the Pistons trailed the Pacers by 10 points.From the very beginning, the Pacers showed enough strength to crush their opponents.

Whether it is defense or offense, whether it is positional warfare or quick counterattack, the Pacers seem to be proficient in everything.The Pacers run-in problem that Detroit people have been looking forward to, but it did not appear.Paul and West seemed to be plug-and-play with absolutely no discomfort.

Of course, Henson is very clear that Paul and West have not been perfectly integrated into the team.For example, Paul is not used to the way the center directly launches the offense. Several times he saw Horford grab the rebound and ran back to catch the ball instead of running forward.

For another example, West is not very used to interspersed with running positions like a defender.While he has a mid-range shot, more of his offensive options in the Hornets were in the low post.With the Pacers, however, Henson encouraged big men to get out of the paint on offense.

It's just that these small discomforts don't quite restrict the performance of Paul and West.After all, this change in the system has not exceeded the capabilities of the two, it is just a matter of playing habits.Habits can be formed slowly.

Just as Henson was thinking, there was a burst of cheers behind him, and the Pacers scored again.

Paul made a beautiful breakthrough to attract the defense, and then stuck the ball against two people in the air, and stuffed the ball into Horford's hands.Horford rushed in to grab a rebound, but Paul passed the ball out like magic.

As a result, the center, who spent most of last season floating outside the three-point line, jumped off the spot and dunked easily.Horford has to admit that playing with a point guard like Paul is nothing more than comfortable.

18 to 6, the point difference became 12 points.That's right, with two-thirds of the first quarter played, the Pistons only scored 6 points.Among them, 2 points came from free throws.

Lawrence had to call a timeout, and he had to make some personnel adjustments to try to chase points.No matter how strong the Pacers' starting lineup is, it's impossible to stop for a moment!And on the Pistons bench, there happens to be a surprise player who is worth looking forward to.

That's the reward after the Pistons' poor performance last season, the No. 8 rookie from Kentucky, Brandon Knight!

"Branton, are you ready!? I know the situation is not good for us now, but this is why we need you! Make a bold breakthrough, and I will arrange some pick-and-roll tactics for you! Use your speed and powerful finishing ability to attack the opponent's defense!" Lawrence sat in front of the young Knight, and already regarded this rookie as his capital to come back.

Ben Gordon's poor performance disappointed Lawrence, but he believed that the back line combination of Knight and Stuckey was still very powerful in attack!

After a short break, Lawrence replaced Gordon and Ben Wallace for Monroe, aiming to strengthen the defense.However, in Henson's view, there is a question mark about how much the 37-year-old Ben can play on the defensive end.

On the Pacers side, Henson also made some personnel adjustments.Paul is still on the court, and George continues to play.On the inside, Henson replaced "Birdman" and Yi Jianlian, and at the third position, Henson finally dispatched the silent forward he dreamed of, Kawhi Leonard!

"Coach Henson replaced three people in one go, and all three were new faces of the team. Yi Jianlian and Chris Anderson were the Pacers' first two reinforcements this offseason, while Leonard came from the draft. This little guy was questioned before the draft. People knew he had potential, but they didn't know whether he could successfully develop his potential. But Coach Henson didn't seem to be afraid of this problem, and resolutely included Leonard in the bag."

Since all the players on the court were new players, Reggie Miller couldn't help introducing them for a while.

But for Henson, these three are "old faces".Whether it is Yi Jianlian, Birdman or Leonard, they are all players that Henson began to think about before the end of last season.

Now that they can see them wearing Pacers jerseys one after another, Henson suddenly feels a sense of accomplishment.

Lawrence Frank once coached Yi Jianlian in the Nets. He knew that although the Chinese player could occasionally perform well, his defense was indeed weak.

So Lawrence directed Jerebko to pick and roll Knight in an attempt to force Yi Jianlian to switch positions to defend Knight.

Lawrence's strategy succeeded, because of Jerebko's range, George had to block Jerebko's shooting space for the first time.The dislocation was formed instantly, and Knight used his own speed to break through Yi Jianlian who was not ready.

Lawrence secretly clenched his fists on the sidelines, and finally felt proud of this attack!
Knight broke through, took two big steps, and was about to make a layup.Big Ben stuck Anderson tightly, and Yi Jianlian had already been thrown away. It seemed that the goal this time seemed to be a certainty.

"Boom!" Just as the Pistons players were about to cheer, they heard a loud noise from the backboard.

Lawrence took a closer look, and it wasn't a certainty, it was a certainty!

Knight turned his head in surprise, because the huge palm covering the ball at this time was really scary!
The black forward wearing the Pacers' No. 2 jersey landed, expressionless and silent.He didn't make a long pass from the backcourt, but handed the ball to Paul according to the rules.

Then, under the astonished gazes of everyone and Knight's eyes as if looking at a monster, he ran towards the front field and silently participated in the attack.

"Kawhi Leonard, big hat! Did you see that!? His wingspan, his palms, his athletic ability! This should have been a goal for Brandon Knight, but it was abruptly wiped out by Leonard!" Reggie Miller was dumbfounded. No wonder Henson liked this taciturn guy so much.

Lawrence Frank thought his Knight would be the X factor, but in fact, the Pacers' bench is also Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon!

Leonard's block allowed Paul to quickly counterattack. He made a seemingly casual high-throw pass and assisted the "feathered" Chris Anderson to take off for a dunk. At this time, the 37-year-old Ben had just struggled to the outside of the three-point line.

After returning from the timeout, Henson poured cold water on the Pistons for the offense and defense.

"Birdman" landed a dunk, stuck his tongue out at the camera, and showed off his tattoos.Since being pardoned by the Nuggets, Anderson actually knows that he should grow up.

So he has never had trouble in Indianapolis for so long, but put more thoughts on basketball.

Moreover, compared to the Nuggets, the Pacers' team atmosphere is really much better.Even a thorn like Anderson couldn't bear to break it.

"Play the fourth position, continue to play the fourth position!" Lawrence was not convinced, he didn't believe that he couldn't even grasp Yi Jianlian.So, he asked Jereb Koduo to look for opportunities to shoot.

However, this Yi Jianlian is no longer the Yi Jianlian who played on and off when he was with the Nets.

What he joined was not a big team, but a truly competitive team.His coaches trust him, give him minutes, and don't care about the color of his skin.Therefore, Yi Jianlian only wanted to repay Henson with his best performance.

Therefore, no matter how Jerebko runs or jumps up, Yi Jianlian always presses and sticks to the defense.In the end, it directly led to Jerebko's three-point shot.

Henson still recognizes Yi Jianlian's ability. This guy may not be able to become the next Yao Ming or another Chinese star, but his strength is not a problem in the NBA rotation.It's just that the poor performance in the previous few seasons probably made Yi Jianlian himself doubt it.All Henson had to do was to give Yi Jianlian time and confidence.

In this way, until Paul and George were also replaced, the Pistons still did not get a good chance to comeback.After the first quarter, the Pistons trailed by 14 points.And, as Henson said, ratings for the game have already plummeted.

On Christmas, people prefer to watch fierce battles rather than brutal massacres!

In the second quarter, in addition to controlling the team, Paul also started to score by himself.His steady mid-range jumper allowed the point difference to continue to widen.Henson leaned back on the chair enjoying himself. It was a different feeling to have a superstar in charge.

At halftime, the Pacers were 60 to 42, leading by 18 points.

In the third quarter, Henson changed his formation again, using Leonard to play the fourth position, showing a wave of small lineups.Paul, Stephenson, George, and Leonard, the crazy running and bombing of these four people made the Pistons defense unable to find their way.

After three quarters, the Pistons trailed by 27 points.The cheers of the fans at the scene were much smaller, not because they were unhappy, but because the game became boring.

In the end, Henson got everyone out on the pitch for a bit.Because the entire fourth quarter is completely garbage time.The pitiful Detroit Pistons seem to be preparing for Henson to introduce his new players.

Seeing this, Sage couldn't help grinning.Henson had already said before the start of the game that what he considered was not whether he could win, but how many points he would win!

In the end, in Indianapolis, at the Conseco Arena, the Pacers, which had been labeled as a weak team for several years, completely dismembered the Pistons with a cold-blooded score of 107 to 76 at home.

克里斯.保罗加入步行者首战既拿下22分11次助攻的两双数据，保罗.乔治轻描淡写地砍下18分，进步肉眼可见。霍福德17分8个篮板6次助攻，依然全面。韦斯特15分7个篮板，水准依旧。

Yi Jianlian made 2 three-pointers plus a block, "Birdman" dunks, Leonard's big cap, Stephenson's increasingly stable shooting, Matthews and Green's all-round progress.
In just 48 minutes, Henson let the fans see too many gratifying changes.

After the game, Henson limped over to shake Lawrence's hand.

Lawrence thought Henson was laughing at himself, shook hands and walked away.In fact, Lawrence really misunderstood Henson.Henson isn't laughing at him, it's just that the ass hurts too much.
(End of this chapter)