basketball player

Chapter 582 Chapter 580: Two Excited People

It is generally believed that Chris Paul really began to mature after experiencing a serious injury in the 09-10 season.

From then on, Paul began to assist his teammates with the deadliest pass, and hit the opponent with the easiest score.

After the Pacers won three championships, people feel that Paul is already the most dominant point guard in the league.It wasn't until the first two years that Paul's reign at the No. [-] position in the league finally came to an end.

For two consecutive years, Paul's injuries in the playoffs made the outside world agree that the point guard of this dynasty team is over.The bane planted before began to break out, and Paul's status in people's hearts became lower and lower.

This can be seen from this year's All-Star starters.In the past, in the Eastern Conference, Paul's starting point guard position must be unshakable.Henson even believes that Paul can still become an All-Star starter even if he is placed in the West where there are many strong players.

But this year, Paul was only selected to the All-Star bench.Even if fans don't want to admit it, Paul's influence is gradually declining, which is a fact.

Although Henson knows, Paul is still one of the best point guards in the league.His decline in popularity is not due to lack of strength, but due to injuries.

But other people don't think so.

For example, Kyle Lowry in the "Trash Brothers" of the Raptors.

April 4, the sixth day after the Pacers had swept the Bulls.In Washington, D.C., the Toronto Raptors finally won Game 29 of the series thanks to the outstanding performances of DeRozan and Lowry.

At this time, the total score of the series has also become 4 to 2.The Toronto people broke through the first round of the playoffs and became the Pacers' next opponent.

The goal of the Raptors this year is not to say that it is a championship, but they definitely want to win the Eastern Conference championship.So meeting the Pacers in the second round ahead of time made the Raptors feel that they were particularly unlucky.

Although he won the first round, most reporters knew it.Their steps are likely to stop here.

But Lowry didn't think so. When interviewed by the media after the game, Lowry said, "In the next round of the series, I will watch Chris die. DeMar will cause a lot of trouble for George. Kevon Rooney and Ibaka will contain Antetokounmpo. In the end, we will win."

Lowry smiled confidently as he faced the camera.

See, everyone thought that Paul was now ready to be slaughtered.They seem to have forgotten how terrifying a healthy "queen bee" is.

And Henson's mission is to help them retrieve their memories.

On April 4, the last day of April, Henson and his players began to officially prepare for the game against the Raptors.

And tomorrow, that is, May 5, the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Pacers and the Raptors will officially start.

For this Eastern Conference semifinals, the Pacers have had more than a week off, while the Raptors have only one day off.In this regard, Henson already has a huge advantage.

After arriving at the training ground on the 30th, Henson also found that the players were very excited, as if they had been waiting for the Eastern Conference semifinals for a long time.

Chris Paul showed up in the training hall early in the morning to warm up. Although Paul didn't respond to Kyle Lowry's words, it didn't mean Paul wasn't angry.

In tomorrow's game, Paul will let Lowry see who is going to die.

As we all know, Lowry's performance in the playoffs is often not as good as the regular season.And Paul has always believed that a player who can only play in the regular season is not a good player.

Kyle Lowry will be beaten back to his original form tomorrow.

Paul is in excellent form, as expected by Henson.Falling in the Eastern Conference semifinals for two consecutive years, Paul definitely wants to work hard to get over this hurdle.

But in the confrontational training in the afternoon, Henson discovered another new surprise besides Paul.

On the court, Paul held the ball steadily and advanced.In the face of Brogdon's marking, Paul has been pushing and shoving his little brother with small movements.

Many new players have to adapt to the confrontation training of the Pacers for a period of time, because everyone plays very seriously during training.

After dispelling Brogdon's attempt to steal, Paul waved his hand and signaled Siakam to step forward to cover.

Henson now likes to use a mix-and-match lineup of substitutes and starters for confrontational training. In this way, no matter how Henson changes in the game, there will be no lack of tacit understanding.

Paul used Siakam's cover to break through, and he was very aggressive during the breakthrough.But halfway through, Paul gave the ball to Siakam who was standing on the outside.

Siakam made a feint shot and sent Frye flying.Seeing this situation, Siakam broke through with the ball.Although Brook Lopez has defended to the basket, Siakam has no intention of slowing down.

His momentum finally made Lopez give up the block. The white center could only watch helplessly as the young No. 43 forward scored with one hand.

"Great job, Pascal!" Paul yelled joyfully, before high-fiving Siakam.

Lopez shook his head. Both guys played too aggressively today.Not to mention training, even in official competitions, no one can stop those two guys from cooperating.

"Pascal seems very excited today." Seeing that Siakam completed another dunk in training, McMillan next to Henson became emotional.

"Yeah, he and Paul completely blew up the audience today." Henson smiled. He almost forgot that Siakam was traded by the Raptors.

Any player who is traded by his home team will definitely want to re-embody himself on the court to prove how wrong the team that traded him was.

Siakam used to be dissatisfied with the Raptors for not giving him a chance. Now, a good opportunity for "revenge" is in front of him, and there is Paul, a powerful "accomplice". Can Siakam not be excited?
Kyle Lowry also believes that he and the Raptors can pass the test smoothly and can commit the next offense.But Henson thinks that the Raptors better pray that the Pacers don't win now, because that's the only way they can fight themselves!
※※※

In the early morning of May 5, countless fans rushed to the streets and headed for the Bankers Life Arena.

Today is the start of the Eastern Conference semifinals.The Pacers have fallen in the Eastern Conference semifinals for two consecutive years.

Therefore, Indianapolis fans are looking forward to this game.They expect Henson to lead the team out of the haze as before.

Siakam drove his second-hand SUV to the entrance of the arena. The crowded scene outside the arena made Siakam's scalp tingle.

It is really hard for him to imagine that just a few months ago, he was even playing in the NBDL where the average number of visitors was only 2000.And now, he is about to play his greatest game in front of thousands of fans!
Siakam looked up at the arena, then smiled with relief.There was already a huge poster of him hanging on it.

At the same time, Chris Paul has already started today's shooting practice with Fraser's company.Paul's expression was very serious, and the terrible scenes of the past two years flashed before Paul's eyes.But Paul wasn't thinking too much, he knew it was time to throw the damn thing away.

In the afternoon, the Raptors team bus arrived at the Bankers Life Arena.Kyle Lowry made a face at DeRozan in the car, hoping that the depressed guy would be happy.

"Don't make a fuss, DeMar. This is the playoffs. Unless you save all four games in your hands, everything will not be over. Just watch, I will pass the ball to you today!" After finishing speaking, Lowry was the first to get out of the car.As soon as he got out of the car, he was surrounded by reporters.

There is no doubt that Lowry's remarks two days ago have made him the most watched player of the Raptors.

"You heard me right, I will watch Chris to death today. This is what I have to do, and only in this way can we win the game." Even though the army was on the verge of attacking the city, Lowry still did not give in.

On the other side, Raptors coach Devin Casey also became the object of frantic siege by reporters.Regarding him, the reporter's question was simple, "Do you regret that the team traded Siakam?"

To this, Casey replied very disdainfully, "We have Serge Ibaka and Kevin Rooney, and our fourth position is very strong. So, why should I regret it?"

I don't know if Devon Casey really doesn't regret it, or if he's a dead duck.After all, at the beginning, he strongly suggested that Ujiri trade Siakam.

Before the game started, the reporters had already heated up the atmosphere of the battle.After interviewing the Raptors, the reporters naturally turned their attention to the Pacers.As for the pre-match interview, how could Henson be missing?
Before the game started, a T.NT reporter found Henson. The question was simple, "Do you think the Pacers can get past the Eastern Conference semifinals? Will the Raptors cause you trouble?"

Facing this simple question, Henson just smiled slightly.

"Have you ever seen a cartoon called "How to Train Your Dragon"? Today, at the Banker Life Arena, there will be a live-action version of "How to Train Your Dragon"."

(End of this chapter)