basketball player

Chapter 581 579: Trust me, everything is OK
April 4, Chicago, United Center Arena.

In the stands, Bulls fans all wore bright red T-shirts.This formation, just for the players of the visiting team to see will be nervous.

But today, the situation has just turned around.Bulls fans in red T-shirts were dead, while Pacers players in corn-yellow away jerseys played vigorously on the court.

This is Chicago, and this is Sager's resting place.So, Henson didn't allow himself to fail in Chicago.The agreement between him and Sager is still valid.

At this time, the total score of the series has become 2 to 0, and the Pacers have won two home victories cleanly.Today is the first time the series has come to the Bulls' home court.

In the first two games, although the Bulls fought very fiercely, the strength gap between the two sides was too huge.This gap is not a gap in a certain position or a certain round, but an all-round gap from starter to substitute, from guard to center.

And the injury of Rondo's broken finger in the last game cast a shadow over the Bulls' black dreams.With Rondo, the Bulls can't beat the Pacers.What's more, they don't have this All-Star point guard yet.

So today, the game in Chicago set the tone early.The Pacers took a 20-point lead over the Bulls in the third quarter and then kept the tempo in check.

The Bulls directly gave up the use of point guards, and Hoiberg was forced to use Wade to play the first position and let the 2015 No. 19 rookie Jerian Grant play the second position.In this way, a back line was formed.

The result is that Wade can't get cheap on Paul.Paul George, on the other hand, blew up Grant's little transparency.

Without Rondo, Jimmy Butler and Wade also lack a lot of easy shots.Although Rondo can't score, the gap between the team with him and the team without him is indeed very obvious.

In the absence of Rondo, both Wade and Jimmy Butler's shooting percentages fell below 40%.And Paul George taught Hoiberg a good lesson with his 45-point performance.

In the playoffs, don't play players you're not sure about.

After 48 minutes of fighting, the Pacers scored 104 points.For the Chicago Bulls, only 87 points were recorded.

Wade 18 points, Jimmy. Butler 14 points.The Chicago Bulls' offense was powerless against the Pacers' defense. Conversely, the Bulls' defense was as fragile as paper to the Pacers.

"Coach Henson rewritten the total score of the series to 3-0 in Chicago. It seems that even at home, the Bulls still can't compete with the Pacers. There is no doubt that the Chicagoans can already plan their vacation. In the fourth game of the series, Coach Henson will not be soft. Because there is no need to extend the first round."

Jeff Van Gundy sighed on the commentary stand. This is probably the most boring round of competition except for the Cavaliers and Eagles series.

The Bulls are no match for the Pacers, and now they still hurt Rondo. I have to say that An Jiali's singing voice may have really brought good luck to the Pacers and Henson.

At this moment, I believe Chicagoans must miss Thibodeau and Rose very much.After all, only these two guys, the leader of the Bulls, have ever eliminated the Pacers.
※※※

After the game, Henson wanted to visit Sager's grave.But after much deliberation, he gave up on this plan.

He decided that when he got the ticket to the finals, he would visit Sager again and offer him the tickets to the finals by the way.

Now, you don't need permission from ESPN, as long as Henson wants, you can appear in the finals!
So, after the press conference, Henson followed the team back to the hotel by bus.

Since they had just won a big victory, the players on the bus were all in high spirits.Everyone was playing and making noise, and Henson felt as if he was on a bus for elementary school students going on a spring outing.

Even Siakam, a relatively silent and introverted guy, is smiling all the time today.

However, Henson, who has a keen sense of smell, still found that not everyone was smiling at this time.For example, Henson's assistant McMillan, that guy had a bad meal before the start of today's game, and was warned by the referee for frequently running to the toilet during the game.Now that he is suffering from illness, he must not be able to laugh.

In addition to McMillan, Chris Paul also pulled his face together, looking at the street scene outside the window.

If Henson could understand that McMillan was depressed because of illness, Henson couldn't figure out why Paul was also depressed.

In today's game, Paul scored 16 points, 8 assists and 3 steals, a very typical "Paul-style" data.Moreover, he also limited Wade's shooting percentage to only 33%.

He's not bad, maybe even great, so there's no reason to be depressed.And as the leader of the team's locker room, Paul has always been the benchmark and spiritual pillar for others.It stands to reason that he rarely sulks after winning a game.

As far as Henson knows, Paul should have no family affairs recently.So Paul's emotions made Henson feel a little strange.

So Henson stood up and signaled Green, who was next to Paul, to switch places with him.Paul was not surprised by Henson's behavior, because he knew that anything wrong with the team could not escape Henson's eyes.

"Chris, what happened?" Henson cut to the chase, he and Paul were already very familiar.

It was Henson who turned Paul into a legendary point guard when he was down because of injuries.

Without Henson, Paul wouldn't be the player with the most rings in The Four.And without Paul, Henson would not have been able to start the championship mode so quickly.

Therefore, the two people who have made each other a success don't need to exchange pleasantries at all when talking about things.They all know how to get along with each other.

"Nothing, really nothing, I just."

Paul's eyes traveled from Henson to the window again, and Henson didn't interrupt, but waited for the "just" behind Paul.

"I just suddenly remembered the Eastern Conference semifinals in the past two years. Now, we are going to the Eastern Conference semifinals again."

Hearing this, Henson immediately understood the reason for Paul's gloom.

In the past two years, the Pacers have stopped in the Eastern Conference semifinals.One of the very important reasons for this is that Paul was injured in the Eastern Conference semifinals for two consecutive years.

Today, after seeing his old opponent Rondo can only sit on the sidelines and watch the team lose, Paul must also think of what he has experienced in the past two years.

After all, he is 32 years old, and he is no longer the young "Queen Paul".Now he is a veteran with a history of major injuries.He is afraid that his ambitions this season will be shattered by injuries again.

This kind of anxiety may only be felt by Paul, who has experienced major injuries.

"Well, we're going to the conference semifinals again. I know what you're worried about, Chris. I'm not God, and I can't predict everything. But I can at least guarantee that you will play healthy and healthy this season until we win the championship. Don't worry, I can monitor your physical condition at any time. You are as strong as the summer we just met, Chris."

Henson smiled confidently. Of course, he would not say that his self-confidence came from the role of those badges.

Henson is very thankful that he once hoarded a bunch of badges for injury prevention. If it weren't for the Pacers' good injury control, it might be very difficult to win three consecutive championships.

"The summer we just met, I almost kicked you out. An unknown and beautiful coach, as soon as he walked in, he said that he had a plan for a championship, hahahahaha!"

In just a few words, Henson made the anxious Paul laugh.

"It turned out we did, didn't we?"

"Yeah, we really became thank you, boss. I feel better, and I can't even wait to play in the conference semifinals."

Paul clenched his fists. Since winning the championship for the first time, Paul has 100% trust in Henson.He said that nothing will happen, so Paul also believes that nothing will happen this year.

Two days later, at the United Center, the Pacers defeated the Bulls 105 to 95, successfully swept their opponents, and advanced to the conference semifinals.

Henson left Sager's native land with praise and victory, and Paul, at 32 years old, once again had his heart ablaze.

They're going to play in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

(End of this chapter)