basketball player

Chapter 644: Chapter 642: The Cold War

Tom Thibodeau sat on the bench with a blank face, frowning.Beside him is Jimmy Butler who scored 22 points today but still was of no avail.At this moment, Jimmy propped his chin with one hand, you don't know what he is thinking.

Maybe he was thinking about whether to leave Minneapolis?
Next to Jimmy Butler were the two young rookies of the Timberwolves, Wiggins and Towns. The two looked serious, because their performance was far from outstanding.

Towns was okay, with 17 points and 10 rebounds in the game.Although his shooting percentage is only 50% as an insider, it is not too bad overall.

Wiggins was a little embarrassed, 11 of 1 in the game, and only 2 points were accounted for.And on the defensive end, whoever meets him can score.Without a doubt, he's the second-biggest reason why the Timberwolves are the way they are today.

The first reason is Henson's strategy of letting Antetokounmpo play the first position.

With 35 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists, Antetokounmpo played a "James-style" data.His impact caused the Timberwolves' defense to collapse for a while, and once Thibodeau double-teamed, Antetokounmpo was always able to find teammates in the open.

Today, Croatian striker Bogdanovic, who came off the bench, scored 20 points in one fell swoop, precisely because he made 5 of 4 shots with ease from beyond the arc.

Those elements combined to leave the Timberwolves trailing by 1 points with 38:20 left in the game.And this is why Butler, Towns and Wiggins are sitting off the court.

They don't have to fight anymore, garbage time has already arrived.
"The game has lost its suspense. The Timberwolves have no resistance in front of the Pacers. I think Adam Silver must regret arranging this game as the opening game. Because at this time, the ratings of this game must be terrible."

Barkley looked at the data of both sides. The Timberwolves team's three-point shooting rate was only 21.2%. If the Timberwolves were more accurate, they might be able to catch up.But when they can only play to the basket, it is undoubtedly a wise choice for Thibodeau to give up the game.

"Actually, we can't blame Stern. The Timberwolves are not weak. Coupled with Jimmy Butler's history with the Pacers, this game is indeed very topical. There is nothing wrong with using it as the opening game. If you want me to say, Coach Henson's tactical arrangement destroyed the suspense of this game." Kenny Smith spread his hands. Who made Henson make the Pacers so strong?
"The state of the Pacers is completely different from the preseason game. Many reporters said that the Pacers will fail after losing Paul. Well, they will be humiliated by Henson after the game." O'Neal smiled gloatingly.

The TNT trio were already talking about other things. After all, there was nothing worthy of attention in the game itself.

Henson sat on the bench and kept his eyes on the big screen.He couldn't wait and wanted to embrace his first "last lap" victory.

Without victory, he will not let it go.

In the end, the referee's whistle freed the Timberwolves players.Jimmy Butler was the first to stand up and walk back to the player tunnel, refusing to be interviewed by all reporters.

Once again, he collapsed in the Bankers Life Arena.Jimmy Butler hasn't had a good win here since Henson's return.

In the 16-17 season, Jimmy Butler, who was still in the Bulls, was swept by the Pacers 4-0 in the regular season and playoffs.After moving to the Timberwolves last season, Butler came to the Bankers Life Arena twice, but only took one victory.

And this year, Jimmy Butler lost the first time he came here.In three years, he and Henson's team played 11 times, but Butler only won one game.
Such a result naturally made Jimmy Butler feel ashamed.Little did he know that before the game, he also justly said "I will not be soft".

From the current point of view, Henson doesn't need him to be soft at all.

Jimmy Butler "fleeed in a panic", Tom Thibodeau was not so lucky.

Just after shaking hands with Henson, Thibodeau was surrounded by reporters.The questions from the reporters made the former defensive master even more embarrassed.

"How do you evaluate this 17-point defeat?"

"Coach Thibodeau, why is your defensive system useless in front of the Pacers!?"

"What do you think of Andrew Wiggins' performance today? Will you keep him in the starting lineup!?"

"About the conflict between Jimmy Butler and Towns and Wiggins, is it true?"

As long as you lose, all kinds of bad things will come to you.Poor Thibodeau, he must wipe his ass for this miserable loss.

In the end, Thibodeau summed up the game in just one sentence: "Don't underestimate Henson Joe, even if he doesn't have Chris Paul."

After finishing speaking, Thibodeau squeezed away the reporters and walked into the player tunnel.He secretly rejoiced in his heart, but fortunately he was a western team, so he didn't meet Henson a few times a season
The best way to meet a powerful enemy is not to fight him, but to avoid him.

As miserable as the Timberwolves are, the Pacers are as glorious.

Once the game was over, Antetokounmpo was greeted by reporters.One of the questions people ask him the most is: "Have you ever thought about competing for the regular season MVP this season?"

There is no doubt that in the eyes of reporters and fans, Antetokounmpo's performance in the first game was completely MVP level.

"I will work hard, but my first consideration is how to help the team win." Antetokounmpo was in a good mood. When Henson first let him play the No. [-] position, he was actually a little worried.After all, the number one position is the most special position on the basketball court.

But because of his trust in Henson, Antetokounmpo chose to accept it.As a result, he showed impressive prowess in his first game.There is no doubt that this time greatly boosted Antetokounmpo's confidence when playing the No. [-] position.

In addition to Antetokounmpo, Bogdanovic who scored 20 points, George who scored 18 points and Oladipo who scored 17 points are also the darlings of reporters.

Of course, the most popular is Henson Joe, the godfather of basketball in Indianapolis.

Here, after all, is his home field.

"I lost on purpose in the preseason. We don't want others to know my style of play too early."

"The Timberwolves' defense wasn't good enough because their players weren't as focused as the Bulls were at that time."

"Break with Chris Paul? He just made a decision that is beneficial to his career. How do you see that we broke up? We won five championships together. Can you give me a reason for breaking up?"

"The goal of this season is of course the championship. I know that the Warriors are very strong this season, and I also know that there are strong players in the Eastern Conference this year. But it doesn't matter, I will slowly prove in a season that the Pacers are also extremely strong."

Henson answered the reporters' questions throughout today and did not leave rudely.He just wants to let the world know that the goal of the Pacers has not changed!
How did you say that sentence?You can take what I don't want, but you can't grab what I want!

I haven't retired yet, so no one can grab the championship!
111 to 94, the Pacers completed a perfect opening performance.But it's clear to most that this is just the beginning of Henson's finale.
※※※

This year, the NBA officially arranged only two performances for the opening game.One was a one-sided slaughter between the Pacers and the Timberwolves, while the other was the terrifying Golden State Warriors who beat the Oklahoma City Thunder led by Westbrook to nothing.

It should come as no surprise that the two favorites won the first game of the new season.

And the victories of these two games seem to have allowed the Pacers and Warriors to compete from the beginning of the season.

On October 10 after the opening game, the Pacers beat the Bucks in Milwaukee and won two consecutive victories.The Warriors relied on Jerebko's lore to overwhelm the Jazz in Salt Lake City, and also won two consecutive victories without any risk.

On October 10, the Pacers beat the Nets in back-to-back games.The Golden State Warriors, on the other hand, humiliated the Washington Wizards with a season-high 20 points at home.

There was no overtime in this game, but because Curry made a terrible 16 of 11 three-pointers, the game blasted 51 points!Let the Wizards fall completely.

The Golden State Warriors are showing their energy unscrupulously. Although the Wizards lost, Henson is very clear that the Warriors are provoking him!
Subsequently, the Warriors and Timberwolves defeated the Knicks and Grizzlies respectively, winning four consecutive victories.The Warriors and Thunder have also become the only two teams in the league that have never lost.

It's a pity that the Warriors' undefeated golden stature broke on October 10.Facing the Denver Nuggets who have made great progress this season, the Warriors fought each other to the last moment, but they still lost by two points.

Among them, the Nuggets star Jokic scored 27 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists in this game. He used his actions to prove that the center still has dominance in this league.

At this point, the Warriors lost their first game of the season.As opponents who are fighting openly and secretly with the Warriors, people want to see if the Pacers can continue to win, so as to take the lead in throwing off the Warriors by a win.

However, in the eyes of most experts, it is not easy for the Pacers to win five consecutive victories and throw off the Warriors.

Because on October 10, the Pacers' opponent will be the San Antonio Spurs!
Although the Spurs lost Leonard this summer, everyone knows it.Popovich's team will never be a persimmon.

The "cold war" between the Pacers and Warriors is about to enter its first turning point.

(End of this chapter)