basketball player

471 Chapter 469: Tell the truth

Paul George, this all-around genius is like Cheng Yaojin who came out halfway. No one knows how he popped out of nowhere and was selected in the lottery.Fans have seen this kind of story a lot, and it usually goes on like this: a short "flare of talent" until it ends with "the potential was never realized".

But look at George, his passion and sweat will ensure that he does not step into this cycle of fate.

Born in Palmdale, Calif., the athletic, glue-like youngster spent a year at his alma mater and led the team in scoring, rebounding and steals in his sophomore season.

He pushes himself, learns to improve his game like a studious student, and spends countless hours a day training in the gym and watching game film.

Naturally, these efforts will not be in vain.He was athletic and skilled, and while most looked down on him, Indianapolis coach Henson Joe spotted the talent.Paul George rocketed up the mock draft list.

In the draft, John Wall is naturally the most popular, while George is unknown.Until the Pacers unexpectedly selected him with the [-]th overall pick in the first round, so he became the player with the highest draft pick in the history of his alma mater.

It would be ironic for a lottery pick to have no confidence at all.He speaks clearly, and his firm eyes reveal confidence.

Extroverted and active is his nature, and humility and logic are his upbringing.He worked tirelessly in the gym to improve his already excellent strength and explosiveness, and honed his already superb offensive skills.

As a result, the thing that rewards those who work hard happened again.Paul George grew from a small substitute to a starter.From an ordinary starter, he has grown into the team's second scorer after Paul.And until last season, George was already the Pacers' leading scorer.And in the finals of last season, this young guy also won his first FMVP trophy.

But it's clear that George is not one to be easily complacent.In the playoffs this season, two sentences have been lingering in George's mind.

The first sentence is what he just told reporters, "We want to continue the magic in the playoffs."

The second sentence comes from a conversation between him and his teacher Henson Joe, "You will be a legendary coach, and I will be your legendary player!"

From Paul George's growth experience, it is not difficult to see that he is a person who is willing to put his dreams and goals into practice, not just lip service.So in the first round of the series, people realized the horror of Paul George.

Budenholzer still remembers what Henson said in an interview with the media before the start of the playoffs.

Facing the camera, Henson Joe is extremely confident, and you can even find a slight smile on his face.

"I don't think the Hawks have a chance," Henson said at the time.The next day, the bastard took the players to the Baihe River for fishing.On the third day, reporters discovered that Henson had ended training early, saying it was to preserve his strength.

And on the fourth day, April 4, the day the NBA playoffs began, Budenholzer found desperately that Henson Joe really wasn't bragging.

Henson himself is a lunatic, and he has a bunch of players who are as crazy as him.Especially the thin No. 24 who has been able to score points with Anthony this season, and the tall guard who is a bit like McGrady.

"Paul George stretched out his long arm to steal Korver, and the Eagles shooter had nothing to do with George's defense! He strode forward, and no Eagles player could catch up with him. Come on, Paul George made a one-handed dunk. He is like an eagle hovering over the Bankers Life Arena. If you are not careful, you will become his prey!"

After George's dunk landed, he threw his head back into the sky and screamed, and the fans in the entire Bankers Life Arena were so excited that they yelled with him.As I said before, humility and logic are just his self-cultivation, while extroversion and activeness are his nature.

The referee blew his whistle and Budenholzer had to stop the game again.At this time, the game has progressed to the last 2 minutes of the fourth quarter. After that dunk, George has also scored 24 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks.

It is precisely because of George's outstanding performance that the defending champion Pacers are now 20 points ahead of the Eagles.It is almost impossible for the Eagles without a strong offensive point to chase 2 points in the last 20 minutes.

It is a good thing to disperse the offensive points in regular time, but it is a very bad thing if there is no strong offensive end and no offensive center of gravity at the critical moment.And there is no doubt that Budenholzer now faces such a disadvantage.

In the end, the Eagles really failed to reverse the situation. 108 to 92, George was named the best player of the game.He led the Pacers to take a solid step in the playoffs, and also took the goal of a legendary player to a higher level.

After the game, Budenholzer said: "George's performance is indeed very good, but with the experience of this game, we will not sit still. This is the playoffs, and a victory in a game cannot explain any problems."

However, in the second game two days later, George once again used the data of 26 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals to tell Budenholzer what it means to lose less than 10 points and you win. 101 to 85, in Indianapolis, the Eagles, the eighth in the East, have no chance of winning.

Just before the series headed to Atlanta, the league announced the names of this year's Coach of the Year award winners.

Although he has been absent from the game for three months, although Frank Vogel is in command of half of the regular season games this season.But Henson won the award once again in a landslide, thanks to his undefeated 30-game winning streak since his return and the Pacers' incredible 73 wins.

It stands to reason that the best coach award will not be awarded to the same person for two consecutive years.But for the third year in a row, Henson won the award without pressure.This is precisely because there is no coach in the league who can compete with Henson in terms of performance and achievements.It would be very unconvincing if the award were awarded to someone else without Henson.

In the words of Reggie Miller, a famous Pacers player and now a well-known commentator on T.NT: "As a coach, Henson Joe has completely dominated this era!"

And George was also very excited about Henson winning the award. He told reporters: "Coach Henson is now a legendary coach, and I need to continue to work hard on the road to becoming a legendary player."

In this way, on April 4, the third game of the series, the two sides came to Atlanta.This time Henson and his Pacers were attacked by the Atlanta media. In such a playoff matchup, no matter whether the Atlanta media recognizes Henson's excellence, it is impossible to cheer for him.But at this time, Henson doesn't need these media to say good things for him. He knows that if the media's ability to speak out can represent the strength of a city team, the Atlanta Hawks probably won the O'Brien Cup long ago.

In the third game, the Eagles seemed to have made some resistance in the first half because of their home court advantage.Jeff Teague and Korver felt hot and hit three-pointers frequently, helping the Eagles take the lead in the first quarter and only trailing the Pacers by 2 points at the end of the half.

However, in the second half, the Pacers did not give Atlanta the slightest chance to resist.First, "Funny Biffenson" stood up and helped George share a lot of scoring pressure.Subsequently, Henson resorted to the "death defense" lineup. The Pacers used a wave of super defense for 5 minutes, allowing the Eagles to score 5 points in 2 minutes only by free throws.

Under this wave of strong defense, the defending champion successfully widened the point difference, and finally shot down the Eagles three times with a 100-85, 15-point advantage.

After this game, no one thinks that the Hawks can cause any trouble to the Pacers. Even the media who don't like Henson, just hope that the Hawks and Budenholzer can save a little face for themselves and Atlanta in the fourth game.

Even if you don't lose too badly, it can be regarded as an arm wrestling with the defending champion.

Faced with this hopeless situation, Budenholzer couldn't help but think of what Henson said before the series started.

"I don't think the Eagles have a chance."

Now it seems that Henson is not arrogant, but just telling the truth.
(End of this chapter)