basketball player

Chapter 204: Chapter 202: The Battle of Life and Death

Tom Thibodeau appeared on the training field with big dark circles under his eyes. The "veteran rookie" who won the best coach award for the first time as a head coach last season was not in a good mood at this time.

In the past two years, two amazing coaches have been born in the basketball circle.One is Thibodeau, and the other is undoubtedly Henson Joe, whom Bird found somewhere.

If last season, the Pacers' 55-win record wasn't impressive enough.So this season, when Henson led the Pacers to still have a chance to win 66 games in only 50 games, people no longer dare to ignore the achievements of that Asian coach.

Therefore, in the votes for the best coach so far this year, Tom Thibodeau, who has been criticized as the main force, only ranks third, and the highly respected Popovich ranks second.And Henson, with a slight advantage, temporarily ranked first!

Since Thibodeau and Henson are both rookie head coaches, and both have the opportunity to win the best coach award, they happen to be in the Eastern Conference, and they are still mortal enemies!Therefore, Henson and Thibodeau are undoubtedly the two most hyped coaches by the media now!

As for the last game of the regular season between the two teams, it has been dubbed the "Battle of the Best Coaches", "Battle of the First in the Eastern Conference" and so on.

Before the start of the playoffs, this is undoubtedly an "appetizer" that fans are looking forward to, and it is the most perfect summary of this shrinking regular season.

But for Thibodeau, the game definitely loathes him.

After finally achieving 50 wins, they have already secured the No. [-] position in the East, but in the end they had to play against the Pacers in the last game.Now, Thibodeau just wants to save the players' physical fitness.Because he knows very well that Henson, who has been on a rotation for the past month, is still eyeing the No. [-] position in the Eastern Conference.

If the Bulls win the last game, they will win 51 and enter the playoffs as the number one in the Eastern Conference.

But if the Bulls lose, the records of both sides will become 50 wins and 16 losses.According to the rules of the league, when the two teams are the first in the division, the team with a better record against each other will become the first in the Eastern Conference.

At present, the battle record between the Pacers and the Bulls this season is 1 win and 1 loss.Therefore, the victory or defeat of the next game will directly determine the number one in the Eastern Conference!
In the final game of the regular season between the two teams, the second-to-last game day in the league, the top spot in the Eastern Conference might change. This kind of situation is really rare, and it is really exciting.

In other words, in order to go further in the playoffs, in order not to run into the Miami Heat in advance.The first round of the playoffs between the Pacers and Bulls has actually begun!

"Wow, are you okay?" Ron Adams, Thibodeau's confidant and also the assistant coach of the Bulls, was taken aback when he saw Thibodeau's two big dark circles on the sidelines of the training field.

Ron Adams entered the industry earlier than Thibodeau, and has coaching experience in many teams.Of course, Adams is usually in a behind-the-scenes role, such as an assistant coach or defensive analyst or something.

Adams was already older than Thibodeau, with thinning hair, a thin face, and wearing big black-rimmed glasses, just like an old professor who walked out of a high-level institution.

But looking at it now, the fat Thibodeau seems to be more haggard than the thin and wrinkled Ron Adams.

"I can't sleep, my mind is full of tomorrow's game." Thibodeau waved his hand, unwilling to mention more.

It's not that Thibodeau stays up late at night to watch the Pacers game tapes. He already knows the Pacers too well, even if he doesn't need to watch the game tapes, he knows enough about the opponents.

Thibodeau was simply unable to sleep due to too much pressure. As soon as he closed his eyes, the Chinese coach who seemed to be smiling but not smiling would appear in front of him.

Henson didn't want to work hard for a year and then encountered big trouble in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and Thibodeau didn't want to either!The failure of the Eastern Conference finals against the Heat last season put the Bulls one step away from the finals, and even the championship.

So there is no doubt that the goal of the Bulls this season is the championship!Having won the first place in the regular season for two consecutive seasons, it is time to go home with a substantial honor.

So unless you get the first place in the Eastern Conference, you will definitely meet the Heat in advance.And neither Thibodeau nor Henson can pat their chests and promise to say, "I can definitely knock out the Miami Heat."

Therefore, in order to maximize your own safety, the best thing to do is to avoid the Heat.Until the Eastern Conference finals, everyone will fight to the death.

If the Bulls, who are aiming for a championship this season, are eliminated in the Eastern Conference semifinals because they met the Heat early, how should Thibodeau explain?Even if they beat the Heat, they would lose eight hundred by killing the enemy. As a result, they met the Pacers who easily passed the test in the Eastern Conference finals. The Bulls still had little chance of winning.

Therefore, the position of No. [-] in the East directly determines whether the Bulls' plan for this year's playoffs can be implemented.If they lose tomorrow, it will undoubtedly be a lot harder for the Bulls in the playoffs.

When there are suddenly more things that can be decided in an ordinary game, no matter who it is, it will feel great pressure, even Henson is no exception.

It's just that Henson didn't lose sleep because of the stress, because he would exercise crazily before going to bed every night until he was too tired to sleep in bed.

Don't get me wrong, An Jiali is still in the Bay Area at this time, so she can't come to accompany Henson.Christine What's the matter with Christine? The exercise that Henson does is simply exercise.Like push-ups, stuff like that.

Therefore, Thibodeau looks sluggish.But Henson went to bed early and got up early every day, but he became more and more energetic.

"After nearly a month's rest, the fateful moment has finally come!" Seeing the players running on the training ground with full physical strength, Henson was already looking forward to tomorrow night's game coming soon.

"It's unbelievable that we can win while resting. Now we actually have a chance to become the No. [-] in the East." Vogel looked at the group of players on the court and the Chinese coach beside him. The performance of these guys this season can only be described as miraculous.

Even with Paul, Vogel never thought that the Pacers would become No. [-] in the Eastern Conference this season.However, accidentally, he also became one of the creators of this miracle.

"We were lucky. We fought against weaker teams in the last month. What did I say before? Even God favored us, Frank."

"Are we getting too nervous? Do you think it is possible for the Bulls to give up tomorrow's game?" Vogel asked again. Since this season is a shrinking season, there is only one day of respite between the regular season and the playoffs.The Bulls and Pacers were lucky, because they were able to end the regular season battle one day earlier, so they could get two days.

However, with such a dense regular season schedule, two days of rest are undoubtedly not enough.The Bulls are not like the Pacers. They haven't had a chance to take a rest throughout the season. The players are still facing Thibodeau, the main maniac, so they are even more exhausted.Therefore, for the sake of the playoffs, it is not ruled out that the Bulls will directly give up this possibility.

"No, no. Look at the Eastern Conference rankings, Frank. Except for us and the Bulls, the order of the others has basically been fixed. If the Eastern Conference is first, the playoffs will face the 76ers, Hawks or Celtics. But if the Eastern Conference is second, the opponent becomes the Knicks, the Heat or the Magic. Which group of opponents is safer. This is a clear thing. And it only takes one game to decide all this! Therefore, the Bulls cannot give up, and we must be prepared."

With only one difference, the playoffs are a completely different situation, which is why Thibodeau and Henson fought for a regular season.

"So, tomorrow is destined to be a life-and-death battle?" Vogel shook his head. The playoffs haven't started yet, but the playoffs have already begun.

"Building team confidence, fighting for the Eastern Conference. I'm afraid it is, Frank. Tomorrow is a battle of life and death for us and the Bulls this season!"

Henson gritted his teeth. After a year of hard work from selecting Leonard to trading Paul, it's time to verify the results.

(End of this chapter)