basketball player

Chapter 481 479: No Accidents Are Allowed

32 points in the half and 73 points in the game.

The Miami Heat came to Indianapolis with great ambitions, but walked into the tunnel in disgrace.Pat Riley left the arena as early as 5 minutes before the end of the game because he was afraid of running into Bird, who was addicted to pretending.

"100 to 73, the Indiana Pacers defeated the Miami Heat with incredible defense. Only 3 of the Heat scored in double figures, and only James scored 1. Wade and Bosh's shooting percentage fell below 20%, and James' shooting percentage was less than 40%. There is no doubt that Henson's army told the Miami people what is called the league's first defense."

Although the points difference in this game was huge, Reggie Miller didn't feel bored at all.Because this game has been going on incredibly since the first minute.

Incredible defense, incredible fast break, incredible deployment. From beginning to end, this game was so unconventional.

In the context of modern basketball, it is very rare to score less than 80 points in a single game.What's more, the team with a score below 80 is a team with terrible offensive firepower like the Heat.

You know, the Heat faced the Nets in the last game, and the Big Three scored 73 points alone.In this game, everyone in the Heat combined to score 73 points.This shows how terrible it is for a team with four players selected to the best defensive team.

After the game, everyone on the Pacers was in the spotlight.In addition to Henson and the main players, even two assistant coaches, Frank Vogel and Becky Harmon, have become favorites in the eyes of reporters.

"The opponents were very tenacious, and they were also great, but today we persisted to the end. But we all know that the series needs to win four games to decide the outcome. Therefore, we cannot take it lightly now."

Facing the camera, Becky Harmon's remarks were relatively mild.However, Vogel, another assistant coach of the Pacers, is not so humble.

"We got a good win, and we're already heading straight for the championship."

As soon as Vogel said this, the reporters froze for a moment.What's up with this assistant coach who doesn't talk much on weekdays?Was he possessed by Henson Joe?
Facing the astonished expressions of the reporters, Vogel turned and left directly.For the first time ever, the assistant coach experienced the thrill of imitating Henson.

This kind of surprising and irrefutable feeling is really enjoyable!It's no wonder that the Henson before his illness liked this one so much.

In fact, let alone a reporter, even Henson was curious about Vogel's reaction after entering the locker room.

"Your arrogant words have a bit of my demeanor. What gave you such confidence?" Henson jokingly asked in the locker room before going to the press conference.

"Because of confidence, Henson. I bet this game must have taken a huge blow to the confidence of the Miami people. In every playoff game that matters, confidence is very important. Today we not only won the game, but also gained confidence. Now I know why you said we could sweep the Heat."

"You know too late, Frank. That's what I've thought since the beginning of this series." Henson smiled, straightened his Armani suit, and walked out of the locker room.

Since Vogel helped himself pretend to be forced today, then he should treat the reporter a little softer
※※※

The next day, sure enough, the world's media blew up the Pacers' defense.Even the Grizzlies, whose defense ranked first in the league in the past two years, did not have such treatment.

After all, nowadays, the Pacers have a defense that can compete with the Grizzlies, and they also have an offense that the Grizzlies can't learn.Such a team with both offense and defense is indeed more attractive than the Grizzlies.What's more, this team has won two consecutive championships before.

Everyone knows that if the Pacers continue to play like this, they will be greeted by a dynasty!
As Vogel said, media reports will definitely hit the confidence of everyone in the Heat.In turn, the Pacers players will feel confident.

And when he walked into the training hall today, Henson did find that everyone was in good condition.Now, Henson is even considering whether to send Antetokounmpo and Livingston to the court for a walk.After all, it is really not difficult to win the Heat with the current lineup.

In the afternoon, in the confrontation training before the media opening period, everyone was also extremely excited.Henson has always advocated simulating actual combat in training, so the intensity of confrontation training for the Pacers has always been very high.

But today, the players seemed a little too excited.

On the training ground, Paul George was pretending to organize an offense, but without warning, he suddenly accelerated and broke into the basket.

This is a new strategy arranged by Henson. He believes that the Heat will definitely defend George and Leonard in the next game and block their receiving routes.So Henson added some plays that allowed George and Leonard to score on their own.

However, Jimmy Butler's active supplementary defense hit George a little unstable.When George fell to the ground, his right foot accidentally twisted because he didn't step on it firmly, and he let out a scream.

"What's going on!? Jimmy!? Why are you so careless!?" Seeing this situation, Vogel immediately yelled and called to stop the training.

"Team doctor, call the team doctor!" Becky Harmon immediately thought of medical treatment. After all, George was still curled up on the ground in pain.

Jimmy Butler felt very sorry. He just trained too much and never thought of hurting his teammates.

Seeing Jimmy Butler's frightened expression, George immediately comforted him and said, "It's okay, it happens often. Don't blame yourself, just do what you do on the court!"

After finishing speaking, George was limped into the locker room by the team doctors.

Even so, Jimmy Butler still fell into deep self-blame.You know, George is an extremely tough player, and he is definitely the type who can't get out of the line of fire with minor injuries.If he's in so much pain that the team doctor needs to take him off the field, it must be because of a severe sprain!

"Okay Jimmy, if you feel sorry, just listen to George. Now, let's reduce the intensity of confrontation and just run tactics. Don't be distracted, Frank, you take them to continue training, and I'll go and see George's situation." Henson patted Jimmy Butler on the shoulder, and then walked towards the examination room.

It wasn't until Henson stood up that Jimmy Butler calmed down a little.

"Oh." Vogel nodded slightly. He felt that Henson seemed a little strange today.

Although the Pacers won the first game beautifully, it was after all with a neat lineup.At this juncture of the Eastern Conference finals, losing the team's top scorer, the blow is needless to say, but also how big it is.

However, in Vogel's view, Henson's expression just now seemed a little too relaxed.

During the opening hours of the media not long after, the news of Paul George's injury in training was spread throughout the league under the keen sense of smell and pressing questions of the reporters.

It was different from Chris Paul's sudden comeback in the finals of the previous year.This time, the reporters not only got an explanation from the team doctors, but even interviewed George himself who sprained his ankle!
It can be said that this is a real training accident, not a fake injury!In an interview, Henson also appeared dejected, "Basketball games are like this. Sometimes, God just makes some inappropriate jokes."

As soon as Henson's words came out, the whole league exploded.Although a bit unkind, but for the members of the Miami Heat, this is undoubtedly good news!

But Vogel looked at Henson's dejected expression. It seemed a little fake.

The Heat players who had been lifeless suddenly regained some confidence.LeBron James even thinks that this is a chance for him to win the championship left by God!He will never let go of such an opportunity!
"I feel sorry for Paul George's injury, but in the game, we will certainly not be soft."

"I hope George will get well soon, but I have to say, this is our chance!" Even Wade said.

This time George's injury was different from Chris Paul's the previous year, because everyone got evidence that George did sprain his ankle.Barring a miracle, George's recovery is unlikely to happen overnight.Although a sprained ankle is not a serious injury in basketball, it is enough for George to rest for several days.

God knows what the total score of the series will be changed by the Heat when George returns!

So on May 5, the day of the second game of the Eastern Conference Finals, countless reporters gathered at the door of the Pacers' locker room, wanting to inquire about George's injury.

However, the Pacers refused all requests to enter the locker room.Because even Vogel and George themselves haven't figured out what the situation is now.

"This is impossible. I have been an assistant coach for so many years, and I have never seen an ankle sprain recover so quickly!" Vogel looked at the doctor's report and couldn't help but think of Henson's indifferent expression yesterday afternoon.

Could it be that Henson had already predicted everything! ?

"But I really don't hurt at all today, and my ankle is as healthy as usual." George said, moving his ankle.The ankle that was swollen and red yesterday looks normal now.However, after the doctor's re-examination, everyone learned that George's ankle not only looked normal on the outside, but also returned to normal on the inside.

"Henson, what do you think?" In the end, people turned their attention to the Chinese coach, after all, he was the one who made the final decision.

Henson smiled slightly, and pulled off the cap of the marker pen.So half an hour later, people discovered that Paul George, who just sprained his ankle yesterday, still appeared in the starting position!And, he seems to move freely!

Looking at the astonished eyes of the Heat players on the opposite side, Henson jokingly smiled.At the end of the regular season this season, Henson received two awards, insurance for this year's trip to the playoffs.

One of the effects of the "Reinforced Iron Bones" badge is to allow players to quickly recover from minor injuries to a fully healthy state.

At first, Henson didn't know how fast this "quick recovery" would be.Therefore, he is actually ready to make George miss a game.

Unexpectedly, today, George told everyone that he was in no pain. In less than 24 hours, the injury healed.The effect of this badge was more terrifying than Henson had imagined.Unfortunately, this badge can only be used once.But this time, it was enough!

It's a pity for the members of the Miami Heat, they just climbed into the clouds, and then fell down hard again.
Henson said that he will not allow any accidents to happen!

Vogel was still thinking yesterday that unless a miracle happens, George will definitely not be able to keep up with today's game.So, a miracle happened.

(End of this chapter)