basketball player

Chapter 400 398: Send Express

As Henson expected, the Pacers have had a rough time in San Antonio.

Since there is only one day between the two games, there is little time for both sides to adjust.It can be said that almost just after a good rest, the third game of the finals began.

The Spurs are very clear that in the 2-3-2 competition system, the three consecutive home games in the middle are the key to whether they can win the finals.So in the first game after returning, the Spurs played very hard.

On June 6, at the ATT Center in San Antonio, Spurs fans finally ushered in their long-awaited victory.

"At the end of the game, 96-90, the Spurs successfully pulled back a victory at home! This is the finals. Before winning the O'Brien Cup, no one is safe! After GDP returned to the home court, he performed quite strongly. The three scored 58 points, which accounted for more than half of the Spurs' total points. The banners of the San Antonio Spurs set an example and avoided 3-0."

At the end of the game, Mike Breen chanted his praises to the Spurs.Three players who have passed their ages can still play a dominant performance in the finals, which is indeed worthy of praise.

Duncan had 20 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.Parker has 20 points and 8 assists, which is not inferior to Paul.Ginobili came off the bench, played 32 minutes, scored 18 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds.Most importantly, many of Ginobili's goals directly disrupted Henson's deployment.This "old demon" with not much hair left can always bring vitality that does not match his age to the Spurs.

This time, it didn't rely on the role players to convulse, nor did it rely on the Pacers' poor state.Relying on GDP itself, the San Antonio Spurs finally saved the situation!
But after the game, a very strange scene appeared.Popovich, who won the game, did not appear to be very happy, and Henson, who lost the game, did not seem to be upset.

Such a situation left many journalists scratching their heads.what happened?Could it be that they misread the score?No, the total score was indeed tied at 1 to 2.

The reporters were puzzled, but Popovich and Henson were like mirrors in their hearts.

The reason why the Spurs won this game was because the three GDP players played well at the same time, not because Popovich found any tactical way to contain Henson.

The process of the game between the two sides was similar to the second game. In the beginning, the regular lineup faced each other. In the middle, Henson went to a small lineup to try to open the score. At the end, he sent a "death defense" to close the game.

The difference is that Ginobili, Parker and Duncan were still able to score efficiently in the final stage, which made the result of this game different from the previous one.To put it bluntly, the Spurs still win games with key shots.

"coach?"

"Ah?" Hearing someone calling himself, Popovich suddenly came back to his senses.Only then did he realize that he was already in the media reception room.And underneath, there was a group of reporters who were waiting for him to answer questions.

"Excuse me, can you say it again?" Popovich waved his hand.

"Does the victory in this game mean that you will launch a Jedi counterattack in San Antonio?"

"Well, yes, that's right." Popovich replied very briefly, looking as if he was full of confidence.

But Duncan, who was sitting next to Popovich, knew very well that the old man was nervous!Because he never hesitated to answer such questions before!
On the other side, Henson has returned to the hotel where he is staying with his team.As soon as he returned to the room, Henson turned on the computer and studied the game that just ended.

Since the team is now playing away in San Antonio, Henson did not bring An Jiali along.It's not because An Jiali is inconvenient, but Henson knows that he needs to lead by example.

He asked the players not to mess around and focus on the game during their time in San Antonio.But if Henson spends nights with his girlfriend every night and goes out to eat and drink every day, will the players listen to him?Does Henson still have authority in what he said?
Therefore, Henson needs to set an example himself.So although he really wanted to stay with An Jiali, he still didn't let An Jiali follow him to San Antonio.

"Are you sure you don't need to take a break?" Stevens, who lived in the same room as Henson, saw that Henson was watching the video as soon as he entered the room, and couldn't help but took out his mobile phone to check the time.

Now, it's already 12 o'clock in the morning.

"Look, Brad, what did you find?" Instead of answering Stevens' question, Henson posed a new question about the tape.

"What? Who can see clearly so fast?" Stevens found that Henson watched the game video at an accelerated speed, and he would return to the normal speed unless he encountered a more critical round.

"Boris Diaw, Splitter, Matt Bonner, all the insiders of the Spurs, except for Tim Duncan, the efficiency of the others in the last two games is frighteningly low. The reason is that in the last two games, we have used a lineup of one big and four small. The other inside players of the Spurs obviously cannot cope with this speed. Their performance on the defensive end is a mess, and the offensive end cannot find an advantage through dislocation."

Henson watched the video and looked at the data at the same time. Stevens sometimes admired Henson's mind that can be used at one time.

"so what?"

"So, I guess, I'm just speculating. In the next game, Popovich may take the initiative to downsize the lineup to keep up with our offensive and defensive rhythm. If that's the case, we may be able to control the initiative of the game! Think about it, take over the tempo control from Popovich's Spurs. As long as we can turn the total score into 3-1 in the next game, maybe, we can really go home with the O'Brien Cup!"

"Boom, boom, boom, Coach Henson, are you asleep?"

Just as Henson and Stevens were explaining excitedly, there was a knock on the door of their room.

Henson walked to the door and looked at the cat's eyes, then opened the door with confidence.It wasn't a stranger who knocked on the door, but John Mox, the Pacers' equipment manager.

In any NBA team, in any game, maybe they can lack a player, but they must not lack an equipment manager.Without him, the game must not be played.

In fact, this position is like a team steward.Things like washing underwear and socks are just the tip of the iceberg of what an NBA equipment manager does on a daily basis.

It is the job of the equipment manager to purchase and prepare pre-match related food and items, and prepare shoes, jerseys, protective gear, socks, towels and other game supplies for the players.

If it is an away game, the equipment manager is also responsible for the players' luggage.Why do players always travel light when they get off the plane, often with only a small carry-on bag?Because their luggage was properly handled by the equipment manager early on.

The equipment manager also often does some extra work, such as fueling the players' cars, sending children, and so on.Of course, these active players will also give some appropriate cash compensation.Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that the team's equipment experience is the steward of the players.

In addition to those, one of the things that the equipment manager does from time to time is to help the players and coaches who play on the road to collect packages.

"Henson, there is your courier. When you were playing, the courier company put the package on the front desk, and I just picked it up for you." The equipment manager outside the door handed a small box to Henson.

"Thank you so much, Mox! I'll treat you to dinner when I get back."

"That's no need for Henson, this is what I should do. Let's go to bed early and let's take the O'Brien Cup home."

Mox waved goodbye kindly, while Henson happily sat down at the desk and eagerly opened the package.

"What did you buy?" Stevens was curious, because he had never seen Henson so excited about anything other than the game.

"This is the diamond ring that I asked Mr. Giorgio Armani to recommend to me." Henson said, and took out a shining ring.

Although exaggerated, Stevens must admit that when Henson took out the ring, his eyes flickered.

"Mr. Armani and I discussed this diamond ring together for more than a month, and Bulgari Jewelry Company finally designed it for us. Of course, this 8.5-carat ring cost me nearly 100 million US dollars. I have to admit that these things...are scary expensive. But now it seems that it is worth the money."

"Why are you buying a diamond ring? Is it possible?"

"I'm going to propose to Anjiali, Brad." Henson smiled, and Stevens promised that it was the softest he'd ever seen Henson smile.

"I think it's too hasty to get married so suddenly. So, I plan to start with the proposal and engagement this summer. Hey, you can't tell anyone about this, keep it a secret, okay?" Henson finished speaking, put the diamond ring back, and put it away carefully.

After all, it was $100 million!This kind of number, Henson didn't even dare to think about it before!Just this small ring is enough to buy a few sets of Henson's current small house.

Stevens tilted his head and made a zip motion over his mouth, indicating that he would keep his mouth shut.

"The premise of the marriage proposal is that we have to win the championship first. So let's focus on the game first. Where did you just say? Yes, Popovich is likely to lower his height to keep up with our rhythm. So in the next game, we have to play fast-paced offense vigorously. Maybe, we can send a few more shooters to play."

Henson rubbed his chin. He had already used up two of the three words he had hoarded for the playoffs, which were applied to Leonard and Horford respectively.In return, Leonard played a superstar performance in the Eastern Conference finals, while Horford contributed a lore for Henson and an excellent defense against Duncan.

Now there is the last phrase "become a superstar", the effect is to release a player's peak state and last for one game.

Only this game is needed, and the total score of the series will become 3 to 1.In the history of the NBA Finals, no one has ever been able to reverse from a 1-3 deficit!In other words, as long as he wins the next game, Henson is basically equivalent to winning the finals!
So which player should this rhetoric be used on?This kind of happy trouble, Henson really hopes to have some more.
(End of this chapter)