basketball player

Chapter 181 179: Who doesn't have a superstar?
Leonard scored 4 points in the first quarter and made two mid-range shots.If someone told you that this guy's offense helped open up the Pacers, it would definitely make people laugh.

4 points, two mid-range shots, how to open up the situation?I can do it too.

However, it is true.Among the tactics planned by Thibodeau, Leonard can be relieved of this point.And those who short Leonard can naturally focus on other people.

But when Leonard was able to hit those open shots, the Bulls' defense had to change.Once there is a discrepancy between the plan and the actual game, there will be loopholes!
And this small loophole was enough for the Pacers to take the lead after the first quarter.

As a result, Leonard, who only made two mid-range shots and scored only 4 points, became a stone in Thibodeau's heart.How to defend Leonard?Is it to continue to play or not to give him shooting space?
At this moment, Henson remembered a metaphor used by the media.

In front of you are two bottles of poison, it depends on how you choose.

After the start of the second quarter, both sides switched back to the main lineup.Although Loel Deng had played for 10 minutes in the first quarter, he still reappeared at the beginning of the second quarter.

In the past two seasons, since Thibodeau coached the Bulls, Luol Deng has played more than 39 minutes!I have to say that Thibodeau is really more ruthless than anyone else when he plays the main force.But what is even more ruthless is that "British Jordan" not only did not cause injury problems due to this terrible playing time, Loel Deng almost never missed a game in two seasons.

This is really a typical wish to fuck and another wish to suffer.

The battle between the starters of the two teams, it was another defensive battle.Derrick Rose continued his "performance" of not scoring. It can be seen that last season's MVP has a bad touch today. He couldn't even put the ball in for a layup against a tough defense.It seems that Rose's offensive state today is not as good as John Lucas III on the bench.

As for the Pacers, although Paul's strong court vision allows him to easily find teammates who have opportunities, the Bulls' defense is too fast.They are always able to kill the opportunity before the Pacers players seize the opportunity.

Therefore, after experiencing a slightly smooth offense at the end of the first quarter, the two sides once again fell into a defensive situation.Henson and Thibodeau didn't think there was anything wrong with it, but the slow pace and the frequent interruptions due to fouls and turnovers made the fans feel lethargic.

Finally, in the 7th minute of the first quarter, Thibodeau took the lead in making a substitution.He won Rose, who only made one goal in the first half of the game, and sent John Lucas to the field ahead of schedule.

The purpose of the substitution this time is very clear: even the defensive idiot Thibodeau wants to score!
The fans instantly became excited, the dull defensive battle was finally over!

John Lucas's performance today was indeed miraculous. He hit a three-pointer as soon as he came on the court, which made Thibodeau's substitution effect immediate.

But in the same way, after Paul is freed from the defensive end, he can also focus more on offense.So at the end of the second quarter, Paul scored consecutively. His smart breakthrough and unpredictable rhythm made the Bulls' proud defense full of holes.

At the beginning of the game, Paul expressed his determination with a flying save.So in today's game, "Queen Bee" played very hard.

The reason why he only scored 4 points before this is because Paul used this determination on defense.Looking at Rose's shooting percentage, you can see how hard Paul is working.

At this time, Rose is off the court, and Paul can finally let go of his hands and feet to attack.Thibodeau fretted back and forth off the court, and all his worries were fulfilled.

Rose's state, Paul's defense. The No. [-] position that the Bulls were most proud of, is now suppressed instead!

So, after halftime, Rose made 9 of 1 shots and only scored 2 points!Since the shot, Rose has experienced the embarrassment of not scoring for a full 22 minutes. This is not the performance that an MVP-level player should show.

The Chicago Bulls also fell behind 43 to 50. The 7-point difference is also the biggest difference in this game so far!
"After Rose left the field, Chris Paul was completely liberated. His performance of scoring 7 points in a row at the last moment is the main reason why the Pacers are now leading. Fortunately, the Bulls' substitute players played well today, otherwise, the point difference may have been widened!" Mike Breen looked at the statistics of the first half of the game, and the Bulls now have the most points. John Lucas III!
Don't think that Thibodeau will be happy because of this, because such data can only represent a huge problem with the Bulls' offense!

Ross himself was very angry about this.That's right, anger.Not angry with Chris Paul, but angry with himself.

After returning to the locker room, Thibodeau found that Rose had sharp eyes, gritted his teeth, and was gearing up, as if eager to return to the court to compete with Paul now.

But Thibodeau also knows very well that just having a passion is not enough.Whether Thibodeau wants to admit it or not, it's a fact that the Pacers' defense is holding Rose back.

If you want Rose to score like an MVP, Thibodeau must spend more time on the offense that he is not good at.The current Pacers are no longer something Rose can beat with his personal ability.

Although the intermission was only 15 minutes, all the fans who followed the game were obviously impatient.Therefore, when Henson first appeared on the basketball court, courtside reporters immediately found him.

"The Pacers played very well in the first half. May I ask how you can keep your advantage in the second half?" The reporter impatiently put the microphone to Henson's mouth.

"There's no way to keep the advantage. This is bound to be a tough fight, man. No one can say he can keep the advantage until the end of 48 minutes." Henson didn't taunt his opponent like he used to, nor did he put on that arrogant stance.

Henson knew very well that the Bulls who eliminated him last season could not be defeated so easily! It's only a 7-point difference, and the Pacers are still far from the standard of "safe landing".

Before the start of the second half, Henson deliberately pulled Paul to whisper a few words.No one knows what the Pacers said to the two brains on and off the court, but just seeing these two guys plotting secretly, Thibodeau might be shocked into a cold sweat.

Finally, the much-anticipated match continued in the second half.The Bulls obviously made adjustments. Thibodeau used Brewer as the starter in the second half of the game, replacing Hamilton who had little performance today.It seems that the Bulls are planning to strengthen their offense, and Thibodeau has brought up everyone who can score.

Sure enough, in the first round, Rose used his coquettish breakthrough to attract the defense, and then stuffed the ball into Noah's hands amidst the siege of several people.

Noah, who looks like a tramp, is really simple and rude. After receiving the ball, he directly smashed the dunk and scored the first point of the second half for the Bulls!
"Well, Rose really doesn't play singles by himself anymore. In the second half of the game, the Bulls will definitely increase the number of times they pass the ball." Seeing this dunk, Henson was not surprised.Even if Thibodeau is obsessed with defense, the Bulls must now work hard on the offensive end.

However, before the Bulls players were happy, Paul immediately responded with a mid-range pull-up jumper after a screen.

Paul's pull-up jump shot is what Henson believes the team is most stable. This guy's shot is very comfortable, as if as long as he throws the ball out, he will definitely score.

Thibodeau's emphasis in the second half of the game was to allow players to block Paul's passing route as much as possible, so as to prevent the Pacers from continuing to play more blooming performances.As everyone knows, Paul didn't pass the ball at all, but continued his state at the end of the second quarter and chose to attack by himself.

This is a coincidence?Or a tactical arrangement?Why is Henson always able to predict his arrangement?Thibodeau found that the "half guy" he once looked down on has become more and more difficult to deal with.

On the next goal, Rose first made a sudden point and gave the ball to Brewer, and Brewer made another sudden point and passed the ball back to Rose.The latter jumped up and shot from outside the three-point line, and the basketball hit again.It seems that Rose's offensive feeling returned in the second half of the game.

But Henson is very clear that this is not the transformation of Rose alone, but the transformation of the Bulls' entire offense.They no longer rely on the personal abilities of the stars to fight alone, but use some more complex conduction balls.Take the two goals at the beginning as an example, they were all goals caused by assists.

In this way, Paul's defensive pressure will be reduced instead, because the offensive points are also distributed.

So in the next round, Paul broke through the pick-and-roll again.Brewer immediately switched to Paul, and Rose went to block George's catch.

But Paul still didn't make a pass. He passed Brewer with a very beautiful change in front of his body, which caused a burst of exclamation from the audience.

Just when Brewer was exhausted and turned around to pursue, the cunning Paul retreated again.The continuous change of center of gravity caused Breuer to stagger and almost fell to the ground!

So, in the exclamation of the audience, Paul stepped back and shot a jumper.Another solid middle distance, the basketball hits the net!

"Continuing to stabilize the advantage, Chris Paul continued his excellent scoring state in the final period of the second quarter! If the first half of the game was a defensive battle, then the second half was a wonderful match!"

Watching Paul score again, Henson nodded with satisfaction and stood on the sidelines to applaud the players.

"Ross won't be obsessed with single-on-one with you later, so you can focus more on the offensive end. Destroy them with your score like just now!"

Before halftime, Henson whispered in Paul's ear.

In the past, once Rose started to score wildly, the Pacers were very difficult to deal with.But this season, I also have superstars who can dominate the game!
(End of this chapter)