basketball player

Chapter 188 Chapter 186
Anthony's assist just now is not so beautiful, it can even be said to be very dangerous.Because you don't know if this guy wanted to pass the ball from the beginning, or because he was blocked and there was no space.

But this can at least prove one thing: Anthony will not mess around again in order to win today!

After that, the Knicks still played well.Anthony's suitable singles and Jeremy Lin's occasional harassment made the Knicks' offense very efficient.What surprised Henson the most was that Tyson Chandler, a defensive champion, also scored frequently in the Pacers penalty area today.

In order to make up for Jeremy Lin and Anthony, the "king of boxing" is always leaked.As a powerful big man who used to be next to Paul, although Chandler's skills are not so superb, as long as the ball is passed to the basket, his finishing rate is still very high.Horford's defensive inside line doesn't seem to play a very good role in restricting Chandler.

On the Pacers side, due to the lack of Paul, the master of field control, Hinrich, who was not very creative, could not lead the team to a quick counterattack.

The Pacers' counterattack can only be launched by Horford's direct backcourt pass.But under the rapid retreat emphasized by Mike Woodson, this counterattack mode is obviously not effective.

In this way, after playing 8 minutes in the first quarter, the Knicks led 18-12 by 6 points.Henson called a timeout again. It seems that the lack of Paul still has a huge impact on the Pacers.

Stephenson looked at Henson eagerly, the rotation time was up, it was time for him to play!However, Henson called Jimmy Butler.

"I don't want to see the opponent's No. [-] goal anymore, not even one goal!" Henson said to the players almost roaring. Henson was not satisfied with the Pacers' defense.They did a good job of defending Anthony, but they were a little too lax against others.

After that, the Pacers' lineup became a very weird Jimmy Butler, Matthews, Leonard, Yi Jianlian and Horford.There is no point guard, leaving only Horford as a high command tower.

Fortunately, the Knicks' second lineup is not too strong. The two most threatening points of JR and Shumpert were watched dead by Leonard and Matthews respectively. Only then did the Pacers stabilize the point difference and not continue to widen.After the first quarter, the score became 24-19.Only 19 points were scored in a single quarter. When the Pacers lacked a superstar-level field commander, the impact on their offense was very obvious.

At this time in New York, there must be countless Knicks fans cheering.After all, this is almost the most difficult quarter for the Pacers to play against the Knicks since Henson took office!

During the break, Henson did not sit idle, but tried to change the disadvantage.He first replaced Horford with Anderson, used violence to control violence, and curbed Chandler from scoring too easily inside.

Afterwards, Leonard continued to play and kept putting pressure on Anthony.Strengthening the defense is the only way for Henson now.At least until Stephenson figured it out, this was the only way.

So in the second quarter, the Pacers fans experienced a long defensive battle.

Anderson guarded the penalty area, and the threat of the old boxing champion plummeted.Leonard's appearance also forced Anthony to make two pass errors.

But conversely, the Pacers' lineup is not very capable of scoring.Without Paul, a "jumping man" like Anderson would have nothing to eat.Leonard?His shooting percentage is only guaranteed when he is open. No matter how bad Anthony's defense is, he will not let Leonard's defensive perimeter score crazy.

Although the score was slightly lower, Henson had achieved his goal.The halftime game was 45 to 42, with a 3-point difference, and the Knicks' 45 points were not too high.

Fortunately, another "Chris" of the Pacers played well today, which made the Pacers' defense impregnable.

"Chris Anderson is undoubtedly the key to the Pacers' ability to stabilize the situation now. His tough defense in the penalty area restrained the Knicks' inside offense. And with Anderson on the court, Horford was also liberated and able to move more freely on the outside. In half the game, Horford scored 13 points on Stoudemire, because he no longer had to fight with Chandler, the best defensive player."

"That's right, Mike. Chris Anderson's stable performance will definitely surprise his former teammate Anthony. In fact, since he came to Indianapolis, Anderson seems to be a different person. We hardly see him off the court. We just see him appearing with enthusiasm and helping the team gain an advantage!" Van Gundy immediately echoed.

Henson actually wished he had magic powers, so Stephenson wouldn't mess around again.

Seeing that the game was played so anxiously and he couldn't help, Stephenson felt very uncomfortable.During the intermission, Henson specially praised Anderson's performance in the locker room, which also made Stephenson think a lot.

Chris Anderson, what kind of character is this?Back then, this guy was much more noisy than me!Participated in the draft, but didn't even understand the rules, so he had to go to China to play in the end.

After returning to the United States from China, he managed to secure an NBA contract, but was directly banned for two years because of his obsession with those "drugs" that were banned by the league!
Ordinary players are suspended for two years, and most of them are also abolished.However, Anderson did not. In order to regain his dream and not make his mother sad, he trained hard for two years to maintain his body without wasting.The return two years later also staged the most classic "Prodigal Son Turns Back" story in NBA history.

"I know it won't be like this forever, I can't always come back from stupid mistakes, but I've never changed, I'm who I am. I just don't do the things I did wrong before, and now I'm smarter." This is the first day of joining the Pacers, Anderson said in an interview with reporters in the training ground.At that time, Stephenson was standing next to "Birdman", so what the tattooed buddy said, Stephenson still remembers to this day.

So, in Indianapolis this season, people once again saw the passionate hot pot of "Birdman" again and again, and just now, the qualitative change he brought to the Pacers' defense.

Stephenson's "small fights" are nothing compared to Anderson back then.But now, Anderson has become an indispensable member of the team, and he can only watch the show silently on the bench.

A person who is worse than myself can succeed, why can't I?
From boy to man, from childish to mature. Stephenson looked at Anderson, as if he saw a living example, an example right in front of his eyes.

How you treat the basketball court, how the basketball court will give you back!
"Okay, don't be afraid! In the second half, we will continue to use our defense to fight the Knicks! You don't want Chris Paul to be by your side all the time like a nanny, do you? Let him handle housework with peace of mind, and let him know that even if this team lacks a head star, it is still a team that is not easy to mess with!"

"Roar!" After Henson finished speaking, West led the players to yell, which made Stephenson break away from his own thinking.

Afterwards, the players rushed out of the locker room one by one, ready to go on the court to rub the proud New Yorker on the wooden floor.

What about Anthony?So what if there is Jeremy Lin?In the first half of the game, didn't you only lead by 3 points!

Henson took a deep breath. Since Paul joined the team, he has seldom boosted morale like just now.But now that Paul is away, he must "get back to his old ways."Don't say it, it's been a long time since I yelled so loudly, and I can't keep up with my breath.

Just as Henson and his coaching staff were about to go out, they found that Stephenson was still sitting in front of his locker.

"What's the matter with you?" Vogel went up and patted Finson's shoulder with concern. In this team, Henson usually played the role of black face, and Vogel naturally played the white face.

"I've figured it out, boss." Stephenson stood up and looked at Henson very firmly.

"Have figured out what? Figured out how to beat the Knicks? Come on, Lance, because even I haven't really figured out how to beat them."

"I want to figure out how to be a player who makes decisions with his head. Let me play, boss. I also want to contribute to the team, just like Chris did. I want to ... seriously play basketball."

After Stephenson finished speaking, the locker room was suddenly quiet.Henson waved his hand, signaling the coaching staff to go out first.

Henson has actually improved a lot after being a coach for so long.Now he is not just the down-and-out scout who only used his "special advantage" to judge the player's ability. Getting along with so many players with different personalities and different backgrounds also allowed Henson to develop calm thinking and unique vision.

Is Stephenson really that bad?Henson didn't think so, he was just too simple-minded.His heart was also struggling and confused.

Still, Henson was more than happy to hear the simple-minded Stephenson say, "I want to get serious about basketball."

Not only now, but this means that in the future, the probability of Stephenson causing trouble again is very small.Just like the current "Birdman" Anderson.

People like Stephenson and Anderson are often the vanguard who are willing to risk their lives.If he was your brother, you'd love him, even if every now and then he gets into trouble and gets burned.But most of the time, you actually know in your heart that such a role is needed in the team.

As long as Stephenson is willing to focus on basketball, as long as he doesn't have a cramp in his head, then he is a role that the team needs.

Henson didn't answer Stephenson whether he would play, but just grabbed his jersey and said, "Think about who you are and what you can do."

Henson then left, leaving Stephenson alone in the empty locker room.

(End of this chapter)