basketball player

Chapter 531 Chapter 529: The Tough Battle Before "Travel"

The Pacers slaughtered the 29ers with 76 points. Everything seemed to be the same as a few years ago. The Pacers had no pressure at all when facing the 76ers.

Joel Embiid?This rookie who was very kind a few days ago has now become the laughing stock of the whole world.After all, he neither led the team to victory, nor did he perform well.And the fact that he voluntarily succumbed after the game was frantically reported by the reporters.

This originally high-profile game ended in such a one-sided ending, which surprised most people.It turns out that as long as Henson wants to contain you, you have to die.

"Before that game, Coach Henson said no one could guard Embiid one-on-one. He wasn't lying because he was a double-team."

"Embiid paid the price for his provocation before the game, but as Coach Henson said, this is the tuition he must pay on the way to grow up."

"It will take some time for the 76ers to challenge the top teams. Maybe next year, when Embiid is no longer limited to playing time, and when the 76ers get the top pick Ben Simmons, they will have such strength."

The next day, reporters overwhelmingly began praising Henson.Little did they know that before that, Embiid was their favorite character.

But this is the case with this group of fools, whoever wins the game is the boss.

Henson did not dislike the behavior of the reporters.Because the essence of competitive sports is like this, whoever wins the game is the boss!

At this time, "Boss Joe" has no time to satisfy his vanity in the hype of the media.Although winning the game against the 76ers made Henson feel good, but Henson knew very well that he could not be complacent because of such a small victory.

The Pacers still have a long way to go.And what Henson was busy with was far from over.

After returning to Indianapolis from Philadelphia, Henson made a beeline for Indiana University Hospital.Because his half-year-old daughter Emily had a high fever last night and was sent to the hospital, Henson ran straight to the ward without even returning home after getting off the plane.

"She's fine, Henson, it's just caused by a common cold. Now her condition is stable, so you don't have to worry too much." But when An Jiali saw Henson with messy hair in the ward, she couldn't help but worry about the man's heart.

Don't cause your adult's serious illness because of your daughter's minor illness.

"It's okay, just go home and sleep later. Anyway, today, the team started training in the afternoon. Thank you for your hard work last night, Ann. After I got the news, I wanted to rush over from Philadelphia alone, but it was already too late at that time, and I couldn't stay up late and hurry because..."

"It's okay, Henson, you came in time enough." An Jiali smiled and stroked Henson's heart, "Look, she's already awake. As I said, she's fine. You should go home and have a rest. You still have training in the afternoon."

"I"

"Okay, don't treat me like a child. In a family, everyone should shoulder some responsibilities, shouldn't they? Go, as a wife and mother, I have things within my power."

Henson smiled slightly, walked into the ward, kissed his daughter on the forehead, and left the hospital first.

But Henson's busy day has only just begun.

※※※

"I've heard about Emily, otherwise you wouldn't be on the training ground this afternoon. I'll let McMillan and Becky Harmon handle the training."

On the phone, Larry Bird's voice was a little deep.

"No, I've already arrived at the underground parking lot." Henson's reply was still concise, and the way he talked with Bird on the phone was simply unbearable to others.

"Didn't you just come home from the hospital in the morning? You just rested for a few hours, right? Now you're all in the underground parking lot?" During the phone call, Bird's tone revealed surprise.

"For me, a few hours is enough. Besides, I can sleep comfortably tonight." Henson is very clear that Bird has good intentions, but Henson also said that he likes to control his team from every tiny detail.

So let the assistant coach control the training, Henson will not do it unless it is a last resort.

Walking into the office, just after making a cup of coffee, piles of documents and game videos filled Henson's computer desktop.

"Boss, I have sent you the video of the game between the Bulls and the Celtics. Have a look at it when you have time. Of course, I also attached my analysis of the video."

"The team's training plan for the past few days may need to be changed, because we are going to play back-to-back soon, and I think the intensity can be lowered."

"Regarding Brogdon's offensive training with the ball, it is going well so far. But if we can add some drills with pull-up jumpers."

In the afternoon, Henson met almost the entire coaching staff in his office.Yes, the job of a head coach is not just as simple as standing on the sidelines and yelling a few words and then pretending to be aggressive.These things are what he needs to deal with every day.

When Henson briefly looked at the game videos of the last two opponents and formulated some tactical ideas, it was time for daily confrontational training.

Henson has always been unable to miss the Pacers' confrontational training.Because only he knows best how the team needs to simulate to achieve the effect closest to actual combat.

In this way, after a busy lap, the time has come to the evening.The players were sweating and dragged their exhausted bodies back to the locker room.Of course, some players took off their sweat-soaked jerseys and stayed in the training hall to continue training for themselves.

As for Henson, he couldn't go home after training.Because during the day, he hadn't listened to Silas's scouting report yet.

"Fuck, what's the matter with your dark circles? It's so exaggerated!" Silas was attracted by his two big dark circles the first time he saw Henson.

"Emily had a fever last night, so she didn't sleep well all night. She went to the hospital as soon as she got off the plane this morning, and then came to the training after not long after falling asleep in the afternoon. In the end, it ended up like this." Henson spread his hands helplessly. When he decided to take care of his family and career at the same time, he expected the difficult situation now.

Of course, this kind of hard work is happiness for Henson.

"Why don't I report to you tomorrow? You're tired enough today, Henson, it's better to go back and rest early." Naturally, Silas also knew about Henson's physical condition, so he didn't dare to work overtime with him for too long.

"The scouting report can be tomorrow, but regarding Kyle Kuzma, I think it's time to arrange a time to look at it. I asked you to send a scout to the University of Utah, did he send you a scouting report?" Henson said while pausing the Celtics game video, and then rubbed his temples.

"It just so happens that the scout sent me a scouting report today. Do you need me to read it to you, or do you read it yourself?"

"Read it to me, Silas, my eyes get sleepy at those letters."

"Well, as a junior player, he has very comprehensive skills on the court and can score in front of defenders in many ways. On the court, his attitude is very good. No matter how many points he falls behind, he has the confidence to catch up with the score. He is not a player who will give up easily. At the same time, he can open up space for the team. Coupled with his excellent athletic ability, this allowed him to average 16.5 points per game in his junior season. In addition to power forwards, he can also play power centers. Players are better."

Silas read it according to the scout report. After talking about the advantages, it was time to talk about the disadvantages.

"Kuzma's shortcoming is that he is very unstable in shooting, especially on the three-point line. Although he can shoot, his shooting percentage is not very high. At the same time, his shooting ability after dribbling is not very strong. In many games, he has proved that he is not a player with stable shooting. Although he has performed well on the offensive end, he is a black hole on the court defensively and has bad defensive habits."

Hearing the words "bad defensive habits," Silas noticed Henson frown.

Yes, the Pacers have always advocated defense.During the three consecutive championships, the Pacers have good single defense ability from the bench to the starting lineup.So the phrase "bad defensive habits" must have been harsh on Henson.

Not only that, but in Kuzma’s scouting report, the two words that appear the most are "qualified" and "standard"-"Height 2 meters, wingspan 07 meters, which is considered a standard for a power forward. Standing and touching 2 meters high, he is a qualified rebounder. The jumping ability is up to the standard, and the outside shooting ability is qualified..."

The further Silas read, the deeper Henson's frown became.When he finished reading Kuzma's scouting report, he thought Henson was going to give up on the rookie.

Because from the description in the scout report, this guy named Kyle Kuzma is really mediocre.

However, Henson is very clear that a rookie with a low predicted pick must have various shortcomings.When dealing with rookies, you can't just stare at their shortcomings, but look for their bright spots!

The Lakers are willing to observe this little-known guy for two consecutive years, it must be because Kuzma's advantages are worthy of the Lakers' attention.

Therefore, Henson did not give up on Kuzma, but decided to go to Utah to see for himself during this time.After Henson used the data analysis module to see Kuzma, all the problems were solved.

"What's the date of Kuzma's last game?" This was the first sentence Henson said after listening to the scout report.

"November 11, I read it, and the team didn't have a game that day. Are you going?" Silas replied truthfully.

"Go, buy a ticket in advance. November 11th? Tsk tsk tsk, this time." Henson looked at the schedule on the computer, shook his head with a smile.

"Yeah, it's a bad timing. Because you've got a tough battle to fight before we start our trip to Utah."

Henson looked at the Celtics players and Stevens standing on the sidelines on the computer screen, and pouted, "Yeah, this will indeed be a tough battle."

(End of this chapter)