basketball player

Chapter 579 Chapter 577: The Great War Is Coming

The 82 regular season games have all ended. Henson did not start training immediately after the game with the Celtics, but gave the players a day off.

The NBA regular season ends on April 4, and the Pacers, as the No. 12 in the Eastern Conference, will not start the first game of the playoffs until April 4.

So, they have plenty of time.Wouldn't it be nice to take a day off to let the players relax physically and mentally without delaying their preparations.

Henson remembers taking players fishing before the playoffs.But this time, Henson just stayed at home with his wife and children.

By the way, I also analyzed the situation of this year's playoffs.

The situation in the Eastern Conference this year is very clear. The Pacers, Celtics and Cavaliers rank among the top three in the Eastern Conference, and they are also the first team in the Eastern Conference.

The Raptors, Wizards and Eagles fell into the second gear.They might be able to pose some threats to the top three, but they will be hard to beat.

Finally, the Bucks without big-name stars and the Bulls without Rose are considered third tiers.For these two teams, making the playoffs is already a victory.Neither the promotion nor the championship has their share.

Henson and the Pacers' opponents in the first round of this year's playoffs are the eighth-ranked Bulls in the Eastern Conference.

At the beginning of the season, after the introduction of Wade and Rondo, people had high hopes for the Bulls.As everyone knows, the Bulls just stepped into the threshold of the playoffs.

There is no doubt that the Bulls' performance this season has been disappointing.After the fight in the regular season, Henson also believes that the Bulls will not bring him any trouble.

The only thing to note is that the Bulls have always been a tough team.Even if the strength is not dominant, they will try their best to bite off a piece of your meat.Therefore, the Pacers must not take it lightly in the first round of the series.

As for the second round, the Pacers' opponent will be the winner between the Wizards and the Raptors.

For the Wizards, John Wall was finally recognized this year.This season, Wall ranks second in the league in assists with an average of 10.7 assists per game.And his average of 2 steals per game is also tied for first in the league with Paul.

However, this is actually the third consecutive season that Wall has averaged a double-double per game.It's just that in people's impression, the Wizards were very weak, so everyone ignored Wall's growth.

But the shortcomings of the Wizards are also obvious, that is, they have no experience and have not fought tough battles.Henson believes that as long as Wall is restricted, the Wizards will not pose any threat to the Pacers.

As for the Raptors, the prestige of "Trash Brothers" has already shocked the Quartet during the regular season.But it's unclear what these two guys, especially Lowry, can do in the playoffs.

It wasn't once or twice that Lowry performed abnormally in the playoffs.In terms of stability, the Raptors and Pacers are not comparable at all.As long as you seize the opportunity of one or two games, it is not a problem to defeat the Raptors.

Thinking of this, Henson's thoughts came to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Henson very much hopes that the Celtics can advance, but if it is James who eventually advances, Henson also has a way to deal with it.

As long as Korver and Deron Williams don't "jerk" in the playoffs, the Pacers should take the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games.It's not that Henson is arrogant, but that the knights are far less powerful than everyone imagined.

The Cavaliers' offense and defense are very unbalanced this season. The offensive end can score 113.8 points per 3 rounds, ranking third in the league.However, the defensive end has declined significantly compared to last year, with points conceded as high as 110.3 points per 21 rounds, and the defensive efficiency is only ranked [-]st in the league!
Except for James, the defense of the Cavaliers is not reassuring.In the playoffs, the importance of defense is unmatched in the regular season.

If the Celtics advance, Henson will be even more troubled.Because the Celtics, like his Pacers, are a team team.Henson believes that team teams are more difficult to deal with than star-led teams.

However, although Thomas Jr. played an MVP-level performance in the regular season this season, Henson believes that the Celtics are still worse than himself in terms of lineup depth.Thomas and Horford alone can't win the championship.

In the end, Henson's attention fell to the Warriors.The Golden State Warriors are a combination of a team and a star-led franchise.They can use the personal abilities of the stars to solve problems, and they can also use the strength of the team to play exquisite tactics.With this, the Warriors have widened the gap with other teams.

"Henson? Why are you in a daze?"

"Ah!? No." Hearing An Jiali's cry, Henson immediately shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking about work while spending time with his family.

"Are you thinking about the playoffs?"

Hearing what An Jiali said, Henson lowered his head in embarrassment.Sure enough, my little thoughts couldn't be hidden from my wife's eyes.

"Let me tell you, in the first game of this year's playoffs, I will sing the national anthem live." An Jiali moved closer to Henson's ear and smiled mysteriously.

"what!?"

"I have already promised my father, I hope my singing can bring good luck to your team. Work hard, Henson, I believe you will be able to bring back the championship trophy."

"Well, it seems that I have another reason to win?"

Holding An Jiali in his arms, Hansen looked at the sunset outside the balcony.

Summer is here, the craziest summer is here again.
※※※

Jimmy Butler shuttles through the player tunnel with ease, after all, he has played countless playoff games at the Bankers Life Arena.And as a result, most of them end in victory.

But this time, walking in the player tunnel in the Bankers Life Arena, Jimmy Butler felt more anxiety in his heart.

In the regular season this season, the Bulls and Pacers have met four times, and the Bulls have 4 losses and 0 wins.Jimmy Butler hasn't won a game with the Pacers since Henson's return.

In the regular season, the Pacers have already cornered the Bulls.In the playoffs, will the Pacers perform worse?
Jimmy Butler doesn't want to lose, he doesn't want to be said: "It was a mistake for that guy to leave the Pacers for status and money."

He is eager to prove with his actions that even if he leaves the Pacers and Henson, he can create his own world.

But the strength of the Pacers made Jimmy Butler feel desperate.

After walking into the locker room, Jimmy Butler found that Rondo and Wade were already putting on their equipment.These two guys looked very serious, as if this round of the series still had to be played.

"Jimmy, why are you so slow. Get ready, and I will go to the court earlier to warm up. Today's game, we will try our best to win." Wade glanced at Butler, and then continued to bury his head in his own business.

"Oh." Jimmy Butler scratched his head, wanting to win?Who gave Wade such courage?

"Listen, everyone should be more precise when running tactics today! Just run as you did during training, and run as you play during games! This is the playoffs, and the error tolerance rate in the playoffs is very low! Keep your spirits up and show some color to the bastards in Indianapolis!"

On the other side, Rajon Rondo also commanded in the locker room.Rondo has always been a smart player and has been more than willing to put himself in the leadership position.This is why many coaches have a bad relationship with Rondo.Because, Rondo sometimes doesn't blame the head coach at all. In his opinion, the things the head coach arranges may not be as thoughtful as he thinks.

"Jimmy, why are you still standing there? Could it be that you want to give up the game?" Seeing that Butler was still standing there, Rondo's burning eyes fell on him.

"No, how is it possible!" Butler hurriedly waved his hands.

"That's good. In the history of the NBA, there has never been a team that came back from a 0-3 deficit, and there has never been a No.8 team that won a championship. But there are many examples of the miracle of the Black Eight. So, we haven't lost yet. Don't be fooled by the outside reports, the reporters will just fart. The game is played by ourselves!"

After Rondo finished speaking, Jimmy Butler sat back in front of his locker silently and began to change clothes.

When he came to Chicago, one reason was higher wages.Secondly, it is because Jimmy Butler wants to be the boss, and he is not satisfied with only playing a sixth man in the Pacers.

But today, the performance of Rondo and Wade in the face of a strong enemy let Jimmy Butler know what a real leader should be like.

There is still a long way to go to be alone.
Just when the outside world believed that the Bulls would definitely lose, the Chicagoans were already preparing for their Black Eight tragedy.

There are no underdogs in the playoffs, before challenging the Warriors.The path of the Pacers is not easy at all.

(End of this chapter)