basketball player

157 Chapter 155: The difference between avoidance and disdain

"Who the hell broke the news!" Sitting in his office, Henson threw several newspapers on the table to the ground, looking very angry.

Silas, who was sitting across from Henson, was unmoved because he knew that Henson would get angry.Nonsense, a normal person would get angry. The last thing an NBA coach wants to see is that things about his team's locker room are exposed by the media.What's more, it still doesn't exist at all.

"It's inevitable, Henson. The Pacers are in the limelight this season, and the reporters will definitely try their best to make news about us. That's right, it's 'making' news." Silas spread his hand. The Pacers have won consecutive victories recently, getting rid of the haze of their three-game losing streak, and the Magic's "excellent" performance has also attracted the attention of the public.

Seeing that the Pacers are about to fade out of people's sight like this, the reporters who regard the Pacers as a cash cow will naturally not agree.

Since there hasn't been much news about the Pacers lately, let's make some news.And if you don't do it, it's enough. Once you do it, you will definitely do it.

So, on the second day after the Pacers defeated the Timberwolves, Wesley Matthews was dissatisfied with the role of the team, and rumors of turmoil in the Pacers locker room swept the entire basketball circle.

"It's really a group of guys without professional ethics." Henson shook his head, as if he had forgotten that he wanted to win and his favorite players, and he didn't seem to have any professional ethics.
"I talked to Wesley, and he said he didn't mean that at all. But you know, once this kind of news gets out, it doesn't matter what the players really think. Sometimes, even if there is no problem in the locker room, it will breed problems because of the coverage. I've seen this kind of thing that happens out of nothing, Henson. My suggestion, you still have to talk to Wesley and George in person."

As a person who claims that "there is no job in the NBA that I haven't done", Silas has naturally seen many more things than Henson.

And once a team has problems such as discord between generals or turmoil in the locker room, the blow to the team is almost devastating.

Leaving aside, just look at the recent Anthony and George Karl, Jerry Sloan and Deron Williams, and even Howard and Van Gundy.The original three tyrants fell because of the mess in the locker room.

Although Matthews is not the Anthony of the Pacers, such rumors spread in the Pacers locker room, which has always been united, will undoubtedly affect the players.

"I see. Don't worry. George and Wesley are good guys. They won't be affected by the news fabricated by the reporters. Tell everyone on the coaching staff that all training is going according to plan, and just pretend it never happened." Henson waved his hand and gradually calmed down from his anger.

Barkley, Rivers, Van Gundy, and Jalen Rose have countless people waiting to see themselves embarrassing this season, but Henson has "disappointed" them without exception.

Now, a mere reporter wants to bring him down?It's ridiculous!

"By the way, who was the guy who interviewed Matthews yesterday?" Thinking of this, Henson suddenly realized that he didn't even know who the enemy was this time.

"Zach Lowe." Silas said the guy's name without thinking, and seemed to be very familiar with the name.

"Zach Lowe? Is this guy a man or a ghost?" Henson looked confused. It seemed that he still knew too little about the reporter circle.

※※※

In fact, Zach Lowe is not a tabloid reporter.After all, it is impossible for ordinary tabloid reporters to qualify for sideline interviews.Moreover, it is impossible for the tabloid reporter's revelations to attract so much influence.

Zach Lowe is a relatively well-known ESPN basketball reporter and one of the ESPN columnists.However, Zach's popularity is not that high compared to a "great god" reporter like Wojnarowski.

It can be said that this guy is a reporter caught between the quasi-first-line and the second-line, and he is currently in a state of being too high to be low.

Unlike Wojnarowski and others, Zach's reports on player transfers are very average.But this guy seems to be better at reporting people's "household affairs", such as player-player feuds, player-coach feuds, things like that.

Some time ago, the rumors of discord between Cousins ​​and Tyreke Evans of the Kings came from this gentleman.

But very coincidentally, there was no call between Evans and Cousins.The two cores, one inside and one outside, who were given high hopes by the Kings, had little communication on the court, and the relationship was very cold.So no matter whether this revelation is true or not, people are naturally more willing to believe what Zach said.

For such false reports, the players are at a disadvantage.You say the team locker room is fine, people will think you are sophistry.And undoubtedly the way to break the rumors is for two people to work together on the court to win the game.

It's a pity that even if Cousins ​​and Evans really have no conflicts, it is difficult to work together, let alone win the victory. Therefore, Cousins ​​and Evans fell into a state that cannot be washed away by jumping into the Yellow River.

But it is obvious that the king, whose record is not outstanding, has received too little attention.So this time, Zach turned his attention to the Pacers.

Wesley Matthews and Paul George are the kind of players who are not good at talking. Their faltering performance when facing reporters is likely to deepen their doubts.

Zach's calculations were very loud, and it seemed that this was another deadlock where he said what he said.

But he seems to have overlooked one point: the head coach of the Pacers, Henson Joe, pays great attention to the stability of the locker room.

On February 2, during the media opening period during the Pacers' training, many reporters rushed into the training ground to ask Henson this question.

"Do you have anything to say about the rumors that Matthews is dissatisfied with the role of the team and the outside world that George is not worthy of playing the starting two position?"

"It's nothing, don't talk nonsense." Henson didn't explain much, and dismissed the group of curious reporters with a simple sentence.

However, according to Henson's previous speaking style, if this matter is false, then he will definitely not let go of the opportunity to take Zach Lowe in front of everyone.

Henson said a few words today, but his hasty style of speaking made the reporters think about it.

So, after Henson refuted the rumors in person, the incident intensified.

"Matthews was still the Pacers' starting No. [-] last season. He has been performing well, but this season he suddenly returned to the bench. Can you accept it?"

"I admit that George has made great progress this season, but Coach Henson cannot ignore Matthews' efforts because of this. Henson Joe's preference for Paul George has never been a secret, but this preference is likely to ruin the good locker room atmosphere of the Pacers."

"About this rumor, I have nothing to comment on. When we watch the Pacers and the defending champion Mavericks game, we will know the truth of the matter."

The night before the start of the game, Matthews was dissatisfied with the role of the team and questioned whether George was qualified to play in the starting lineup, which was brought to a climax by the unanimous "efforts" of many reporters.

But in fact, Matthews and George's two hard-working "arena mice" also practiced three-pointers that night.The two were also extremely puzzled by this kind of rumor that was created out of nothing.

What about Henson?He still hadn't talked to Matthews and George.Throughout the day, Henson showed disdain for the rumor.

Maybe the weak group like the king and the cold individuals like Cousins ​​and Evans are easily broken by rumors.But trying to break the Indiana Pacers with rumors?Henson can only say that Zach Lowe found the wrong cash cow.

Until February 2rd, before the game between the Pacers and the Mavericks, people were still talking about this topic.As for Henson, he just focused on preparing for the battle.The Mavericks, a strong opponent, were not ignored because of the rumors.

Henson's inaction on the rumors made the players focus on the game itself.Henson is very clear that if he keeps emphasizing the rumors that are raging outside and deepening the impression of this incident on the players, it will be counterproductive.

But if it is assumed that this incident has never happened from the beginning to the end, then the players will naturally not care too much.Even the head coach is indifferent to this matter, and the players are still worrying about it.

It wasn't until an hour before the start of the game, when the players were about to go out to warm up, that Henson took the initiative to bring up this topic in the locker room for the first time in three days.

"I know, there have been a lot of rumors about us recently. Why am I not paying attention? Because I know very well that this is a way for reporters to try to mess us up. I have nothing to explain. Go on the field, beat up the defending champion, and then all problems will disappear with the victory. I'm done, let's warm up."

With an understatement, Henson reassured the entire locker room.Among them, the two "clients" Matthews and George were extremely excited.

The last sentence Henson said obviously stimulated the nerves of the two of them—all problems will disappear with the victory.

The problem of getting darker and darker, I simply won't explain it further.Use the performance on the court to dispel the rumors. This is the message Henson conveyed to Matthews and George.

When Henson took the players on the field, a sideline reporter immediately found him.This reporter is none other than the instigator of the whole thing, Zach Lowe.

From afar, Henson recognized the face.This guy seems to be conscientious, but he didn't expect to be a villain who likes to make troubles.

"Coach Henson, the recent rumors about Matthews' dissatisfaction with the team's positioning and playing time have been heated up. Although you have been avoiding this question, the rumors are real. Can you talk about the impact of the rumors on the team's preparations?" Zach looked smug, ready to see Henson's dilemma.

Henson also looked at Zach, looked him straight in the eyes, and patted him on the shoulder, "Avoid? No, I just disdain. After all, who cares about something that is revealed by an unknown reporter? Oh. Sorry, what. Mr. Jack, I didn't realize it was you."

Henson deliberately mispronounced Zach's name to express his disdain for him.

"Unknown little reporter." Zach felt that he had been hit violently.

Seeing the ESPN reporter with black lines all over his face, Henson turned and left contentedly.The most important thing now is to direct the game.

(End of this chapter)