basketball player

Chapter 464 Chapter 462: Serious Provocative Behavior

What is the impression of Dwight Howard during the Magic period?Sunshine, handsome, amiable, funny, and of course, that explosive style of play that makes all basketball fans obsessed.After playing Superman and winning the slam dunk contest, his popularity exploded.

It is precisely because of these qualities that Howard, who was not the closest to the championship at that time, nor the most dominant in the league, became the most popular player in the league.He has become the All-Star vote king many times, which is the best proof of this.

Henson admitted that he once liked Howard in the Magic era very much.Even when the Pacers and Magic met in the playoffs before, Henson didn't dislike the guy too much, but since moving to Los Angeles, Howard's temperament has changed drastically.

He is no longer the "happy beast", but has become a utilitarian who only wants to win quickly, a usurper who wants to occupy Kobe's position, and a gloomy destroyer who is not loved by his teammates and opponents.

After leaving that warm "nest" in Orlando, Howard's emotional intelligence seemed to plummet.When I was in the Lakers, I didn't get along well with the Lakers teammates. After I came to the Rockets, I also made some remarks that damaged the unity of the team.

But now, Howard's emotional intelligence problem seems to be not only reflected in the team, but also began to "expand outward."For example, his attack on Henson.

Before the start of this back-to-back game in Houston, Howard will undoubtedly become the focus of attention.After all, the last iconic center in Houston was Yao Ming, so the city is very popular with Chinese fans, and there are also many Asian fans who settle here.

As soon as Howard's remarks came out, countless Asian fans took to the streets to protest, and the major media also criticized Howard's behavior.

But facing the camera, Howard just said lightly, "I'm just joking. If you let Asians ask for a secret misunderstanding, then I'm here to say sorry."

When Howard said this, he still had the iconic "happy beast" smile on his face. In the past, Howard's smile was indeed very charming.But on such a serious matter, Howard's smile has a somewhat "joking" taste in it.

To put it bluntly, Howard's apology was not sincere.

And when Henson and his Pacers stepped into the Toyota Center to start warming up, the Chinese coach's face was very serious.Seeing this situation, Jeff Van Gundy, who had coached the Rockets for a long time, issued a warning.

"It seems that Coach Henson is not very happy today. It is not difficult to imagine that this must be related to Howard's inappropriate remarks. I think today, the Rockets must deal with it carefully. After all, Coach Henson's anger is very difficult to appease."

Henson was indeed not very happy. In the player channel just now, he also heard the reporters talking about Howard's apology.However, Henson doesn't think Howard's apology is useful. Some things are useful to apologize, but some things can't be solved by just apologizing.

Since Howard wants to start a war at the Toyota Center, give him a war!

During the warm-up of the game, T.NT TV gave Henson and Howard split-screen shots many times.Howard was still smiling, while Henson kept his face straight the whole time.

Finally, the referee began to urge the players on both sides to return to the bench to prepare for the upcoming official match.

"Coach! Don't worry, we will definitely make that guy look good!"

"Tell me, how do we deal with him!?"

"I'll send that guy to hell!"

One by one, the Pacers' starters huddled in front of their coach before Henson made his final deployment.

In the past, they couldn't control how Howard insulted Asians.But since getting along with Henson, an Asian coach, the Pacers players have also become very sensitive to such things.

The players thought that Henson would cheer everyone up before the game, but Henson just looked at everyone coldly, and you couldn't see the slightest bit of anger from his face.

"When did I tell you to deal with him? Your opponent is the Houston Rockets, not Dwight Howard! Don't hate your enemies, because that will blind your eyes!"

Henson quoted a very classic line from the "Godfather" movie to remind his players.

"I will naturally deal with Howard's matter, and now what you have to do is to calm down and defeat the opponent with the most calm performance! If the Rockets win this game, guys, then I will lose the right to speak! So in order to solve Howard's matter, you must deal with this game calmly, understand!?"

The players looked at each other in blank dismay. Since the three-month hospital stay, Henson has really become much calmer than before.

"We got it, boss. Don't worry, at the Toyota Center, we will never be soft!" Chris Paul stood up and responded to Henson on behalf of the players, while others nodded in agreement.

"Coach Henson, time is running out!" On the court, the referee was already urging Henson.In the other half, the Rockets' players were already in place.

Henson looked past the referee and landed on Howard's still smiling face.

He's not going to attack Howard directly, because that doesn't solve anything.On the basketball court, whoever wins has the right to speak.

When Yao Ming first entered the NBA, he was also treated with racial discrimination. O'Neal even made jokes about Yao Ming's skin color.But later, such voices became less and less until they disappeared.The reason is that Yao Ming proved himself in the NBA, and he convinced everyone.

What Henson has to do now is actually the same as Yao Ming, win the game and then make the opponent speechless!Yao Ming was able to make O'Neal apologize willingly. Henson believes that a mere Dwight Howard is not a problem!
"Go ahead, don't keep the opponents waiting. Remember, I want calm and victory. If anyone makes an outrageous move on the court, I guarantee he will watch the entire game from the bench."

After Henson finished speaking, the players walked onto the court obediently, and they all gave up the idea of ​​assassinating Howard.Because everyone knows that Henson always walks the talk.If he says he won't let you play, he really won't let you play.

"In this game at the Toyota Center, most reporters are more optimistic that the defending champion Pacers can win. After all, after Coach Henson came back, they have not lost a single game, and they have won 9 consecutive victories. Some people say that the Rockets just defeated the Heat in the previous game. I don't think this is convincing. After all, the Pacers have eliminated the Heat for two consecutive seasons."

As soon as Reggie Miller finished speaking, the referee threw the ball high.Howard scrambled the ball to Rockets starting point guard Patrick Beverley at half a palm's height above Horford's.

It can be seen that Howard is very excited today.In fact, he didn't say that about Henson in the interview because he wasn't looking for trouble. "Warcraft" has not forgotten that if he hadn't been blocked by the Pacers many times, he might not have the idea of ​​leaving the Magic.

After transferring to the Lakers, the Pacers have repeatedly embarrassed the Lakers.In short, Howard and Henson can be regarded as old rivals, but the conflict between the two before did not superficial.

Beverly handed the ball to Harden after halftime. I'm afraid even Rockets coach McHale himself doesn't know how Harden is.The state of this "little prince of nightclubs" is related to how much he drank yesterday and how late he played.

Harden's performance this season is the same as before. You can see that he has quality, but his state has been up and down.It is possible to play a super god expression one day, and have a hit rate of less than 30% the next day.

So in this game, Henson did not set up special arrangements for Harden, but only let George defend the bearded man alone.

In the first round of the game, neither McHale nor Henson could see how Henson was.Because the bearded defender did not attack by himself, but chose to pass the ball.

People found that Howard was very active in the interior position when he came up today. Harden didn't play his temper, but obediently hoisted the ball into the interior for Howard to play singles.

"James Harden handed the ball to Howard, and it seems that a tacit understanding has begun to form between the two."

Howard didn't hesitate after receiving the ball, and directly crushed it back with his strong body.Horford is indeed at a disadvantage in terms of strength, which has been exposed in the playoffs in previous years.

After two pushes, Howard did not continue to use brute force, but suddenly turned around and broke through to the basket!

Al's footsteps were very fast, but Howard had no choice but to put Al on his shoulder and forcefully killed him to the basket.Although he experienced a back injury last season, it has to be admitted that Howard is still one of the league's best centers who can force the basket.Especially in this era when centers are becoming more and more blue-collar.

After clearing Al, Howard dunked with both hands and ignited the Toyota Center with a powerful attack.

After scoring the goal, Howard showed his iconic "Happy Beast" smile.Of course, this time Howard's smile was not friendly.Because he laughed and raised his eyebrows at Henson on the bench.

"This is a serious act of provocation!" As a former head coach, Jeff Van Gundy knew how inappropriate Howard's behavior was.

The camera was also shown on Henson immediately, but Henson just smiled and applauded, as if it was his own player who scored the goal.

"Don't be angry with Henson, it's not worth it." Vogel patted Henson's leg for fear that his heart would beat faster.

"Angry? Don't be funny. I don't care about Howard at all. The real threat to the Rockets is James Harden. As for Howard, don't worry, that may be the smoothest goal he scored in this game just now. Of course, it was also the last one."

Vogel found that Henson was not trying to force his smile.This guy is really laughing at that self-confident monster.

(End of this chapter)