basketball player

Chapter 451 449: Then go knock down God

The current Indiana Pacers basketball operations chairman will never forget that night in the second game of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs in 1986. At that time, a rookie guard who was only in the second grade made 53 of 41 shots and 22 of 21 free throws in 19 minutes.

Although the Celtics led by Bird won the game in the end, the young guard named Michael Jordan still left a deep impression on Bird.So, he said a classic sentence that is often mentioned today.

"God played in jersey number 23 tonight."

At this time, on February 2014, 2, ESPN's top commentator Mike Breen quoted Bird's words and modified them.Just when Kevin Love hit a three-pointer against David West's defense and scored his 19th in the fourth quarter, Mike Breen yelled excitedly.

"God wore number 42 tonight!"

"My God, can you believe it!? 40 points, Kevin Love scored 40 points tonight! Under the impenetrable defense of the Pacers, he scored 40 points! His shooting percentage is frighteningly high, and he has repeatedly made shots even when he was interfered! Unless he is blessed by God, it is impossible for Kevin to hit such a high shooting percentage!"

In the noisy target center, Mike Breen had to yell to make sure the fans could hear him.

40 points, plus 16 rebounds and 5 assists.Kevin Love once again scored an exaggerated oversized double-double. His determination to win the best player in the Western Conference in February is extremely strong!

As for Mike Brin's statement, Henson also had no objection.Indeed, the white striker's performance today made Henson completely lose his temper.

He changed a lot of people to defend Love, West, Yi Jianlian, Anderson, Horford and even Antetokounmpo. It can be said that Henson pulled all the players in the Pacers who can play the fourth position one by one.But in the end, no one can really contain Love's powerful firepower!

In Pacers games, Henson was always able to find a player who could contain the opposing team.But today, Henson didn't find a player who could guard Love.

"Kevin Love's miraculous three-pointer made the Timberwolves only lead by two points in the last 35 seconds of the game. The Timberwolves still have a chance! But the next time they defend, the Timberwolves must defend the defending champion to have any hope of winning! We saw that Love was directing his teammates to position on the court. He didn't want his miraculous expression to turn into an empty cut again!"

Love has shown his leadership qualities. The way this seemingly elegant white forward yells on the court really subverts people's perception of him.

All-Star starter, best of the week, winning streak. Love has already received too many honors, but now, he really needs the best player of the month to prove himself.Although the stumbling block of the Pacers is very hard, Love still wants to kick this obstacle aside!
Since the wave of 11-0 at the beginning of the second quarter, the Timberwolves have been suppressed by the Pacers.If it weren't for Love's frequent miraculous goals, the game would have lost its suspense.Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that Love saved the game.

This time, when Love hit another magical three-pointer, Henson called a stoppage of the game and also used up the penultimate timeout in his hand.

Henson doesn't care how good Love performed today, and he doesn't care how important the victory of this game is to Love.All he knew was that about 95 percent of the people in the stadium wanted to see themselves lose, and Henson wasn't going to let them do so.

If God really wears the No. 42 jersey today, then he will beat God too!

"The next attack is very important for us! George, they will definitely guard against you. After all, you have scored 35 points in the target center today! So I need you to attract the defense with the ball, Paul runs without the ball, and he executes the final blow!"

Henson took the tactical board and drew it, and Adelman in the other half was trying to figure out what Henson might do.The silver-haired old man's hands were shaking slightly, and he cursed himself for being weak in his heart.He didn't expect that he would feel nervous because of Henson's timeout!
"The Timberwolves only have one timeout left. In the next round, no matter whether we score goals, Adelman will stop the game! So, now we attack with all our strength! Wait for the next timeout, and I will tell you about defense! Remember, George attracts the defense, and Paul ends the offense! You have left a deep shadow on Rubio today, so let's stop torturing that poor kid and give him a good time!"

After Henson shouted, the timeout just ended.

35 seconds, 2 points difference.Whether it is the Timberwolves or the Pacers, this is a life-and-death round.

Adelman watched the players walk onto the court while he sat back on the bench.The old handsome is not out of peace of mind, nor is he trying to pretend to be calm.He sat back because Adelman felt dizzy when he was standing on the sidelines.

This guy's blood pressure has already started to soar!

"The Timberwolves' strategy is very obvious. From their positions, it can be seen that Adelman puts the focus of defense on George. George has scored 35 points and 11 rebounds today. Although it is not as good as Love's 40 points and 16 rebounds, it is still a very beautiful statistic. There is no doubt that George is the biggest threat to the Timberwolves now!"

Everything went according to plan, George held the ball to attract the defense, and then sent the opportunity to Paul with a driving pass.

Seeing Paul holding the ball, Rubio immediately became nervous.After all, today, he has been tortured to death by Paul.And once this critical moment is tense, the player's body is prone to stiffness.

Therefore, Paul easily accelerated, changed direction, broke through, and passed Rubio.Then, in the desperate eyes of the Timberwolves fans and Adelman, he made an emergency stop and hit a jumper, scoring two points!
"Brilliant! Coach Henson's strategy succeeded again! George was just a feint, and the real end point was at CP3! Adelman guessed wrong, he didn't predict what he thought about Henson!"

"Damn! Pause, pause!" Adelman cursed, he stood up suddenly, but almost fell back.

High blood pressure is tormenting Adelman's nerves, it seems that he is no longer suitable for fighting on the front line of the basketball court.

This is why Henson is now trying to control his emotions. His heart is many times more dangerous than high blood pressure.

"Great job. Next, the Timberwolves will definitely let Kevin Love take a shot. Idiots can guess what they want to do. Don't give Love a chance to shoot a three-pointer, and don't let him make a free throw. If Love scores, I want you to play a quick counterattack and keep the point difference! After that, the whole court presses the defense and tries to prevent the Timberwolves from passing the ball!" Henson said, and gave Paul, who had just scored a key goal, a look.

Paul nodded understandingly, poor Ricky Rubio, he is really going to be completely destroyed.

Vogel on the side had to express admiration in his heart. During his time as the acting head coach, the Pacers also faced critical moments.But he believes that he and Henson are not at the same level in terms of the ability to control critical moments.

If it is Henson, maybe the Pacers really have a chance to win 70 wins!

After the timeout ended, live cameras gave Love a close-up.There is no doubt that Love is the only hope for the Timberwolves and the only variable in this game.

As soon as West went up, he stuck close to Love. Henson said not to give Love any chance to shoot a three-pointer, and West didn't give Love any space.

Faced with this situation, Love's approach is to set up a cover for his teammates.Then cut inward at the moment of disassembly, throwing West away in one fell swoop!

Rubio passes the ball behind his back, and Love catches and shoots!A preoccupied West has been sealed to Love's fingertips, and it's like never before.Kevin Love made another key shot in the face of serious interference!At the same time, this is Love's 42nd point in this game!
"In, in, in! Kevin Love, he almost saved the Timberwolves."

However, before Mike Breen in the stands finished shouting, Horford suddenly sent a fast baseline ball!The Timberwolves fans are still cheering, but the Pacers have already scored halftime!

Henson's plan was once again executed perfectly by the players!

By the time Mike Breen and the live cameras reacted, Jimmy Butler had already made a layup!Love's miraculous goal has not made the Timberwolves happy for a long time, and the point difference has become 4 points again!
At this time, Adelman has no timeout, only the last 6.8 seconds left in the game!No matter how good Love is, as a power forward, it is impossible for him to personally control the ball across half court and then shoot.

As a result, the Pacers resorted to a full-court press defense according to Henson's arrangement.Now, it is very difficult for the Timberwolves to safely send the baseline ball and pass halftime!Not to mention, send the ball to Love!
Adelman's head became more and more dizzy, because the defeat he least wanted to see seemed to be getting closer and closer to him.Thinking of Henson's arrogant appearance after the game, Adelman was extremely unwilling!
"The Pacers' full-court press was so tight that Turiaf couldn't even hit the baseline!"

In the end, Turiaf lobbed the ball to Rubio.But the ball was almost directly intercepted by Paul, which shocked everyone at the scene into a cold sweat.

While there were no turnovers, Rubio found himself tangled up by Paul as soon as he caught the ball.The numbers on the calculator began to jump, which made Rubio a little confused.

He intends to speed up and rush past Paul's defense, but he is forced to stop by Paul's rough collisions again and again.

Seeing that there was not much time left in the game, Rubio had no choice but to take the risk and pass the ball with a long pass.And the target of the pass is Love!

Just when Le Fu was about to reach out to catch the ball, a black shadow suddenly appeared!It was Jimmy Butler, who got to the passing lane in time and intercepted the ball with ease.Rubio's fatal mistake completely ruined the game!

At that moment, Le Fu seemed to lose all his strength.His spirit was no longer high, and the rest of the Timberwolves did not go for the ball.Jimmy Butler threw the ball into the air excitedly, and the red light on the backboard sounded.

104 to 100, Adelman buried his head in his hands, and Love walked directly back to the player channel.

Everything is over, and Henson also disappointed 95% of the people in the Target Center!

Want to watch the Pacers deflate at Target Center?Go dreaming!
"It's over, it's over! Kevin Love's 42 points turned into empty scoring, and the Pacers won this back-to-back game! After Coach Henson returned, he won two consecutive victories with a high profile!"

Henson raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and hugged every player who walked off the court.

In the second game of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs in 86, Jordan scored 63 points. Larry Bird said after the game, "God is playing in jersey No. 23 tonight."

But in fact, there is another sentence after Bird's praise that is often overlooked by people, "If Jordan can score 20 points in the next game, I will become a truck driver after I retire."

As a result, in the third game of the series, Jordan made 18 of 8 shots under the strict defense of the Celtics and scored only 19 points. Even the team's center Duff Kersin had 3 points more than Jordan.

Indianapolisians are never afraid of God in jerseys!
There is no doubt that Coach Henson has perfectly inherited this fine tradition.

What if God puts on the No. 42 Timberwolves jersey?It's simple, go and knock down God!

After the game, Henson was still that arrogant face.He spread his hands facing the camera. If Adelman heard what Henson said, his blood pressure would probably soar to 200.

"Not to mention Adelman's experience, even God, can't stop us from winning 70 games!"

Crazy, still so crazy.

(End of this chapter)