basketball player

Chapter 64 063: Positions affecting the overall situation

"Good evening, viewers. Welcome to ESPN's 2010-11 NBA regular season live broadcast. My name is Mike Breen. Sitting next to me is my old friend Bill Walton. Hello, Bill."

A familiar opening line, when those Pacers fans who couldn't make it to the game turned on the TV, they immediately heard Mike Breen's intoxicating Yonkers accent.As ESPN's leading commentator, Mike Breen usually only appears in more important or high-profile games.

And there is no doubt that the Pacers and Eagles, who have just traded players to each other in the summer, will undoubtedly attract most people's attention.

The Hawks released Al Horford, which caused great controversy.The Pacers' Hibbert performed well after leaving, and has become a topic that people talk about.Today, fans will have to see it.In this transaction, who is the real winner.

"Hi everyone, this game can be described as the focus of the Eastern Conference. The Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers have also experienced the turmoil of changing coaches and main players, and they have both achieved good results so far. The Hawks currently have 10 wins in 6 games, and the Indiana Pacers have a proud record of 7 wins and 1 loss. I think Larry Bird must be relieved now, because Henson Joe is undoubtedly under a lot of pressure."

Bill Walton is a very successful example of a professional player turning into a professional commentator. His humorous but professional comments are loved by fans.No, just at the beginning, Wharton very accurately brought the topic to the most controversial point - Henson Joe.

"Speaking of Coach Henson, he has appeared in the headlines more and more recently. Bill, do you think Coach Henson is really capable of bringing the Pacers back to the playoffs?" Mike Breen asked a very appropriate question.

"It's hard," said Walton, who didn't give Henson any face. "Although the Pacers' record is 7 wins and 1 loss, at the beginning of each season, there will always be some teams that appear in positions that they shouldn't be. But there are 82 games in the regular season, and these 82 games will explain everything. Coach Henson's employment is, to be honest, unpredictable. Take Al Horford as a center, but Coach Henson rarely lets him appear in the three-second zone. This approach may allow him to win a few games, but he cannot win the entire season. As coach Larry Drew commented, Coach Henson Joe is very smart, but he is always just a layman.” Walton opened his hands. As a professional player who came from the 80s, he certainly could not accept Henson’s anti-traditional approach.

In Bill Walton's cognition, the big man should rule the penalty area, not avoid shooting from the outside.

"I think Coach Henson's arrangement is very thoughtful. His tactics are very creative, and he is good at discovering what players are good at. He will not give players fixed roles, but let them do what they are good at as much as possible."

"And that's why I don't think they can make the playoffs!" Bill Walton interrupted Mike Breen roughly. Of course, they were just arguing for work, without any personal emotions mixed in.After the game, Brin and Walton are still very good friends.

"That was more than ten years ago, Bill. The current NBA," Mike Breen was not angry, but looked at Henson who was making the final arrangements for the players. "The current NBA is not the same."

Unbeknownst to Henson, he became the subject of discussion between two famous commentators before the game even started.Now he is still explaining the precautions to the players as much as possible. Whether he can pull Hibbert out and find space in the Eagles' tough defense will be the key to winning this game.

"Remember, Al, play pick-and-rolls with your teammates in the high post more, and get the ball in the high post more! Be confident, you can hit those damn open spots!"

Henson patted Horford hard on the shoulder and pushed him onto the court.At the same time, the Eagles' starting five are already ready.

Roy Hibbert, who is 2 meters tall, stands in the middle circle. He never thought that he would appear in the Conseco Arena wearing the Eagles jersey.Hibbert didn't look very friendly at Horford. He wanted to prove himself in front of that "short" today and let Henson know that exchanging himself for Horford was the biggest mistake he ever made!

There is no doubt that Hibbert easily won the first ball for the Eagles.From the very first second of the game, Larry Drew stood on the sidelines with his arms folded, saying that Henson should know how powerful he is, but he can't just talk about it.

The Hawks played a typical floor game, not going for speed, but using complex runs and screens to create shots.

Wesley Matthews followed Joe Johnson closely, and he was undoubtedly the most threatening offensive point for the Eagles.With Mike Bibby raising his hand on the perimeter, the Eagles' tactics looked really good.

Suddenly, Joe Johnson ran back to the outside line.Matthews was just about to keep up, but bumped into his former teammate Hibbert.

"Beautiful backrunning, Joe caught the basketball, and he made a shot! No, it wasn't a shot, it was a pass!"

Under the roar of Bill Walton, Joe Johnson jumped up after receiving the basketball and sent the ball to Hibbert, who was cutting inside the basket.Facing Al Horford's defense, Hibbert held high and hit lightly, and the basketball went into the net!

"Nice cooperation, Roy Hibbert has an obvious height advantage! To be honest, Breen, in today's league, there are not many outstanding traditional centers like Hibbert!"

Once up, Drew hit the Pacers in his traditional way, with a traditional big man.Hibbert also waved his arms excitedly. Facing the players who exchanged clubs with him, Hibbert seemed very excited.

Subsequently, Holiday began to advance with the ball.But the Pacers' offense hadn't even played halftime before Bill Walton's eyes widened.

I saw that all the players of the Pacers were standing outside the three-point line, and even Horford, the fifth position, was standing on the right flank.

"What does Coach Henson want to do? Do you shoot crazy three-pointers as soon as you come up?" Walton has played basketball all his life and has never seen such an offensive position!

After halftime, Holiday played a pick-and-roll with Horford.After the pick-and-roll, Holiday took the opportunity to send the ball to Horford, who popped out of the three-point line.

Horford did take some [-]-pointers this season, but mostly in flashes of inspiration.No one thought that Henson would use the center's shooting from outside the three-point line as a regular tactic!
Hibbert raised his arms high and pressed forward. With his height and wingspan, as long as he pressed forward, Horford would have difficulty even shooting the ball, let alone shooting.

It is difficult for most centers to handle the ball well when they encounter tight pressure in the high post.

Facing Hibbert who was gradually approaching like a high wall, Horford was not nervous. He used his arms to pass the basketball into the inside at a very fast speed!

The eyes of the fans moved quickly following the orange-red afterimage. Daniel Granger, who was cutting into the basket along the baseline, caught the basketball firmly and directly attacked the basket!

Marvin Williams couldn't run Granger, and the athletic Josh Smith rushed back to defend from the middle.After Granger took off, he attracted the defense of Marvin Williams and Josh.But in this tight block, Granger did not panic and distributed the ball to Dunleavy who was emptied in the middle distance.

Since the game with the Nuggets, Dunleavy has returned to the starting lineup.There are two reasons. First, Dunleavy does have a good scoring ability. His shortcomings are mainly in defense, but fortunately, the Pacers have the capital of unlimited defenses, which can cover up Dunleavy's shortcomings on the defensive end.Second, Henson discovered that allowing Paul George, who has the best potential, to hone in the second team first, can get more shots and better training opportunities.After all, only in the second team can George play a central role.

It would be tantamount to suicide for Dunleavy to be left unattended at midrange.The white shooter didn't hesitate, didn't even jump, and made a "free throw" worth two points.

"Bang!" Mike Breen yelled iconically, "Still emphasizing speed and shooting space, the Pacers have implemented Coach Henson's requirements from the very beginning! Although the Pacers are a young team now, their ability to execute tactics is amazing. And, have you seen Bill? Coach Henson actually let Horford distribute the ball in the high position like a guard! In this way, the Eagles' inside defense instantly became empty!"

Although Horford's pass did not directly form an assist, Mike Breen knew very well that without Horford's accurate and timely first-hand pass, there would be no wonderful cooperation between Dunleavy and Granger.

"Hmph, do you really think you can win this way?" Larry Drew didn't think much of the Pacers' goal. After all, Granger couldn't pass such a wonderful pass every time. He is not a passer.

In the next round, Hibbert continued to sit inside, intending to use his height advantage to overpower Horford.Mike Bibby hoisted the ball firmly into Hibbert's hands after Hibbert was in position.

Hibbert leaned back suddenly, but to his surprise, Horford was not pushed away!Don't look at Horford's short stature, but his defense is also very good!

Just as Hibbert was about to find another way, Dunleavy, who was 2 meters tall, double-teamed him.The interior space was completely squeezed out, and Hibbert had no choice but to pass the ball.

Who is the pass to?Naturally, it was Josh Smith, the "beautiful CIC" who was emptied by Dunleavy.

Josh didn't even think about it, he pulled up from outside the three-point line and shot!After all, this is an empty seat.But in fact, this vacancy was deliberately left for Josh by Henson.

Seeing Josh shoot open, Larry Drew's heart tightened instead.Josh Smith's shooting is notoriously unreliable, but Josh doesn't seem to care about his appalling shooting percentage, but is very happy to be loyal to shooting.

Why did Henson let Dunleavy double-team instead of someone else?Here's why!

Sure enough, Josh's shot was crooked as soon as he took the shot.Al Horford immediately turned around and blocked Hibbert's high point. The impatient Hibbert squeezed in hard, his hands were not clean, pushed Horford directly to the baseline, and then scored an offensive rebound on Granger's head.

However, the referee mercilessly gave Hibbert a foul, and the ball still belongs to the Pacers!
Josh Smith averaged one three-pointer per game, so Henson boldly let him shoot from the outside.If he was shot to death by Josh, Henson would accept his fate.

The Pacers' offensive formation is still wonderful. As a fifth position, Horford did not step into the penalty area for the second consecutive round.He and Holiday continued to pick and roll. This time, Bibby was firmly blocked, and Hibbert couldn't keep up. Holiday was like a sharp knife, straight into the Eagles penalty area.

Marvin Williams had no choice but to defend the basket.Holiday kept his eyes on the basket, but passed behind his hands and threw the ball to Granger who was leaked.

Seeing this situation, Joe Johnson immediately defended Granger. Granger didn't hold the shot, but passed the ball quickly and sent the ball to Matthews.

In the face of the Pacers' rapid conduction, once the Eagles miss someone, they can't make up for it at all!

Matthews' decisive shots, three-pointers and defense are the reasons why he can gain a foothold in the NBA.Shooting [-]s is his job, and he doesn't want to screw it up.

There was no surprise, Matthews practiced in this position for a long time before the start of the game, and he had already felt the shot.The basketball crashed into the net, and the Eagles' tough defense collapsed again!

Larry Drew gritted his teeth, Hibbert was pulled to the high position, and the others were destined to defend the basket.Others defend the basket, and the outside line is bound to have loopholes.The Pacers are precisely a team with accurate three-point shooting.

It seems that it is just a change in Horford's position, but the impact it brings affects the entire situation.Horford's threat on the perimeter allows the Pacers to do whatever they want offensively!This is why Henson needed an all-around center like Horford in the first place!
With the right players and the right system, even if it looks weird, it can always achieve miraculous results.

Henson gave Matthews a thumbs-up and nodded approvingly at Horford.It seems that the opening plan has been implemented quite smoothly. When Larry Drew reacts and adjusts his defense, start the second plan.

It feels so cool to be in control.

(End of this chapter)