basketball player

Chapter 473 Chapter 471: Fighting for dignity
"Coach Henson, it's time for you to rest."

The nights in the Carmel area are always very quiet, and this is actually the biggest difference between the wealthy area and the downtown area.

A quiet environment is more suitable for Henson's work, and of course, it is also more suitable for Henson's cultivation.

At 10:30 in the quiet evening, Henson's personal doctor, Mr. Mars, reminded him that it was time to rest.At this time, the Chinese coach was studying the game video of the Wizards.

As always, Henson's arrogance and victory came not from luck, but from his knowledge of his opponents.

After studying the tapes of the Wizards, Henson was surprised to find that the team was actually stronger than people thought.The impact of young players and the stability of veterans, the combination of internal and external can be fast or slow defensive toughness, has already made the Wizards the best potential stock in the East.

Just as Henson was already interested in the Wizards and was about to study in depth, Mr. Mars came.

"Ah, time flies so fast. I feel like we've just finished dinner." Henson didn't resist, but closed the computer obediently, then leaned on the chair and stretched.

"You have been working continuously for three hours, Coach Henson. I should have come to stop you long ago, but seeing that you are working so hard, I am too embarrassed to disturb you. What? You feel that time passes quickly after working for three hours in a row?"

"You know? During the three months without basketball, I always felt that time passed very slowly. Although I was away from the game for only three months, when I came back, I felt as if I had been away for several years. But since I was discharged from the hospital, time has suddenly become very fast. I always feel that there is still more than half a year before my last season. I still have a lot of time to enjoy basketball and enjoy the time of intrigue with the group of bastards, but before I know it"

Henson looked out the window. Carmel's night was sometimes so quiet that people couldn't help but think wildly, "Before we knew it, we had already reached the Eastern Conference semifinals. Time passed too fast, Mars, just like the three hours that just passed. Before I realized it, everything should be over."

"I don't know much about basketball, Coach Henson. But I once heard a saying that is suitable for you." The doctor smiled. As Henson's personal doctor, he was always happy to hear Henson complain.After all, mental health is part of being healthy.

"What?"

"As long as a player is remembered by everyone, he will never disappear or retire. I think this sentence is the same for coaches."

Henson smiled slightly after hearing what Dr. Mars had said.Yes, as long as a person is remembered, he will never disappear and retire.And what I'm doing now is to let people remember it?

When the Pacers broke out of the playoffs with a magical gesture, Henson Joe's name will always be left in the sky above the Bankers Life Arena.

"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Myers. Now, I should really rest."

"Sweet dreams, Coach Henson."

"Good night, Dr. Myers."

Henson spent another peaceful and warm night in his villa in Carmel District, but Mars knew that Henson, who was easy-going off the court, was just preparing for the storm on the court.

※※※

May 2014, 5, Bankers Life Arena.Randy Whitman looked around and returned to his hometown arena again, which made him feel both familiar and strange, warm and scary.

Bankers Life Arena, no, it was also called the Market Square Arena at that time, and it was the starting point of Randy Whitman's coaching career.He broke into the NBA from here, worked step by step, then wandered many places, and finally became an NBA head coach.There is no doubt that his hometown, the place where his career originated, left many deep impressions on him.

But again, the current Indianapolis is the last place that the other 29 teams in the league don't want to come, not one of them.And these 29 teams naturally include the Washington Wizards led by Whitman.

Although on paper, the Pacers are undoubtedly stronger.However, Henson isn't going to take any chances with this series out of arrogance.

Most people think that the Wizards were able to advance because they were lucky and ran into a bull with "hemiplegia".But in fact, the Wizards' lineup is not bad at all.There are four points that prove that Henson's worries are not superfluous.

First of all, the Wizards' style of play this year has become more mature and tacit. Unlike the previous singles tactics formulated for poor performance, Whitman brought his system to the Wizards this year. A team with a system is undoubtedly a team with combat effectiveness.

Secondly, the Wizards can also play fast or slow, shrinking freely.It is not easy for Henson to control the rhythm.

Third, John Wall and Bradley Beal are more mature. Wall ushered in the fourth year of his career. Last summer, the Wizards and Wall's early maximum salary extension was still controversial, but this season he undoubtedly played in line with his salary. At the same time, he played the best statistics of his career.Bradley Beal also grew rapidly. The backcourt duo formed by him and Wall shouldered the burden of offense, which was also the reason why the Bulls' defense was broken.

Fourth, experienced players such as the Brazilian Nei and Ariza are as stable as ever. Perhaps the Wizards' role players are not considered the top players in the league, but in the playoffs, stable and solid role players can still allow them to maintain a strong competitiveness.

It can be seen from the first-round game against the Bulls that although Thibodeau's team has shown amazing willpower and toughness as always, the Wizards can still rely on stable performance to eliminate them in the playoffs.

Therefore, in an interview before the game, Henson said bluntly, "This round of the series will not be as easy as everyone imagined, and the teams that can reach the semifinals of the division are not easy to mess with."

And Whitman did not let his players give up their pursuit of victory from the very beginning. After seeing what happened to the Eagles in the first round, Whitman's goal is very clear-to keep their dignity!

Even if the defending champion wants to climb over the corpse of the Wizards, he must go through a hard fight!
But because of this, Henson urged his players before the game: "Do your best and chase me from the beginning of the game! A really strong team will not play with their opponents, but must do their best to kill them! This is respect for the opponent and respect for yourself. So after playing, everyone cheers me up! This is the playoffs, and there is no lamb waiting to be slaughtered here!"

At 07:30 in the evening, the first matchup of the Eastern Conference semifinals officially began.The sudden rise of the Wizards brought a surprise to the East.But it's clear that the excited young people don't want the surprise to end there.

On the first goal of the opening game, John Wall used his quick breakthrough to break through Paul's defense, and then made an emergency stop jump shot before Horford's interference came up, giving the Wizards the first point in the Eastern Conference Finals!
In away games, a good start is extremely important.Wall's emergency stop jumper undoubtedly gave the Wizards the whole team confidence.They were a little nervous at first, but soon relaxed.

On defense, Randy Whitman decided to strike first.He didn't want to be led by the nose by Henson, but wanted to take the initiative to control the situation of the game.

So he used a full-court press at the beginning of the game, and Wall actively entangled around Paul, almost causing a mistake in serving the baseline.

After the Pacers staggered through halftime with George holding the ball, Leonard, who returned to the starting lineup, missed a mid-range jumper, allowing the Wizards to get a backcourt rebound and launch a counterattack.

Counterattack speed, which is also one of the skills the Wizards rely on for survival.After all, with Wall, one of the fastest defenders in the league, the Wizards' counterattack will never be slow.

Wall galloped across the half, and Nei made a beautiful long pass to the champion.Wall caught the ball and scored a one-handed dunk, 4 to 0!In the opening game, the Wizards beat the Pacers 4-0!And one of the offenses, the Wizards still used a quick counterattack to complete it.

Immediately afterwards, George missed a three-pointer from outside the three-point line. It can be seen that Whitman has done a lot of special things against the Pacers at the three-point line and the three-second zone, as if trying to drive the Pacers' offense to the mid-range.

Reporter George's shot hit the iron, and the Wizards got another chance to counterattack!

This time Wall failed to get up to speed, because he was very uncomfortable restricted by Paul's tough post defense.Although he failed to directly launch a fast break, he seized the opportunity after dribbling the ball halfway through the court, and quickly sent the "ammunition" to Bradley Beal, who was also following up.

Bill's three-point shooting percentage this season is as high as a terrifying 40.2%. It is no exaggeration to say that he is one of the players with the most accurate three-point shooting in the league.

And this kind of opportunity to make a three-pointer in the counterattack is Bill's favorite!He catches the ball, pulls up with both feet, takes aim at the hoop, and jumps to shoot!His arms are like a compact instrument, always able to calculate the most perfect parabola.

"brush!"

Bill's chasing three-pointer exploded into a "white wave", 7-0, Wall and Bill's "double guns in the backcourt" undoubtedly gave the defending champion a blow.

"Don't relax! Let's keep working so hard, it's just the beginning! Believe in yourself, believe in yourself!" Seeing the players successfully scoring goals, Randy Whitman couldn't help shouting into the field.

He knows that just a little advantage in the opening game is not enough, and it is easy for the Pacers to recover 7 points.But he just wants to tell his players that no matter how strong the Pacers are, they will not give up the idea of ​​winning.

This series is a series of fighting for dignity!Whether win or lose, Whitman must show the strength of the Wizards.

"It seems that Washingtonians are not as easy to surrender as Budenholzer." Vogel said, turning his head to look at Henson.

At this time, Henson also stood up from the bench.He could see that the Whitman guy was trying his best to block the three-point line and the three-second zone, and then use the vitality of the "two guns in the backcourt" to fight back.

After serious consideration, Henson decided to stop the game in the next round.Whitman trying to give me a mid-range shot?Ok, then I'll kill the game with the mid-range!
The defending champion never feels pity because of the toughness of his opponent.

(End of this chapter)