basketball player

Chapter 708: Chapter 706

Indiana Pacers, Bankers Life Arena, corn jersey, Henson Joe.
These things are lingering nightmares for Kelly Irving.In the Cleveland Cavaliers before, he was defeated by the Pacers.And at that time, there was such a reliable and good teammate as LeBron James beside him.

And this year, it was the first time that Kelly Irving faced the Pacers alone in the playoffs.Although the Celtics and Pacers met in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, Irving didn't even play a game due to injuries.

Therefore, this is the first time he has truly faced the threat of the defending champion on his own.

Will he be able to lead the Celtics to victory?Owen didn't know.The only thing he knows is that the second round of the series will definitely cost him a piece of meat.Irving has had enough of games without James.
"Kelly, pay attention to pass the ball more today and don't fall into the opponent's defensive trap. The Pacers must have made a lot of special defensive arrangements for you. Your task is to let their arrangements be wasted!"

It wasn't until he heard Stevens yelling that Owen came back to his senses.He's not here to miss LeBron, he's here to beat the Pacers.

"I see, I will pay more attention."

Stevens could see that Owen was absent-minded, but it was difficult to express it in front of so many people.So he could only nod his head and pray that his leading star can play well in the game later.

Whether it's the Butler Bulldogs, the Pacers or the Celtics under Thomas Jr., Stevens' teams have always been united.This is why the Celtics led by Thomas Jr. were able to make a name for themselves in the East.

But this year, Stevens' Celtics haven't been particularly united.Although the locker room of this team is far from the point where conflicts erupt, it has already greatly affected the combat effectiveness.

As for how to adjust this complex locker room atmosphere, Stevens' ability in this aspect really needs to be improved.

Both Stevens and Henson knew that the Celtics were in danger, but the media didn't think so.In their view, the team that can sweep the Milwaukee Bucks is definitely not just for nothing.

So before the start of the game, most media believed that the Celtics were at least evenly matched with the Pacers.This point, when Henson was interviewed on the sidelines before the start of the game, he felt strange.

"Coach Henson, how do you defend against the Celtics' offense today? As we all know, the Celtics have a lot of offensive firepower. Will you double-team Kyrie Irving?"

"Why don't you ask the Celtics how to defend against our offense? And it seems to me that the fact that the Celtics have a lot of firepower is not well-known, at least I don't know."

"Well, you should know, the Celtics just swept the Milwaukee Bucks."

"Neither the Milwaukee Bucks nor the Celtics have 50 wins, and my team has 74 wins. So, what does the Celtics sweep the Bucks say?"

Henson is still the same, he doesn't like flattery, especially to the media.

Henson said he would beat the Celtics 4-0, and he will definitely do it.Even so, it would embarrass his old friend Stevens.

"The game is about to start, and Coach Henson is as confident as ever. In his opinion, it is not a big move for the Celtics to sweep the Bucks to advance. We hope that Coach Henson is not just a vicious mouth, but that he can show the strength that matches his pride. The Celtics' starting lineup has appeared, and Coach Stevens has not changed."

Henson looked up at the court, Horford, Jaylen Brown, Tatum, Marcus Morris and Irving, Stevens sent his strongest lineup.

Judging from the lineup on paper, the Celtics' starting lineup is indeed very strong.

"Ball Blindness Detector" Al Horford Needless to say, this guy even restricted Antetokounmpo during the regular season.

Marcus Morris has always been a superb role player. As an auxiliary player, he can contribute nearly 14 points per game and can also output three-pointers stably, which is really remarkable.

Tatum and Jaylen Brown both averaged 18 points per game in the playoffs last season, and Kelly Irving's reputation doesn't need to be explained too much.

Henson admitted that even the Pacers would be hard-pressed to defend against the Celtics' lineup if it's at full strength.Not to mention that in Stevens' 7-player rotation in the playoffs, there are two powerful players in Hayward and Rochelle.

But the basketball game is not just talking on paper. The Celtics have had too many changes this year, so they are not as scary as they seem.

This season, Jaylen Brown has lost himself very seriously, and he didn't show a little resurgence until the end of the season.Brown misguidedly focused on singles skills during the summer vacation. As a result, he could not be allocated singles time after the start of the season.

This year, his three-point shooting percentage plummeted to 34.4%, which led to his overall performance not advancing but retreating.And his ability to read the game is below the level, and he spends more time on the court like a headless chicken.

The same problem actually appeared with Jayson Tatum. It seems that training with Kobe Bryant is not the best choice for Tatum.

For two consecutive years in the playoffs, Tatum's three-point shooting percentage has fallen between 32.3 and 32.4%. This season, even two-pointers are relatively sluggish when shooting is completely out of discipline.Many players want to emulate Kobe, but in fact there is only one Kobe in this world.

The current appearance of these two guys is naturally not comparable to last season.So in fact, these two young people are not as powerful as they seem.

Of course, when young players in a team have the same problem, the problem probably shouldn't be solely on the young players.

Kelly Irving and Hayward's car accident-like season performance is the biggest reason why the Celtics are not favored by Henson.

Irving's shooting percentage and three-point shooting percentage in the playoffs this year are career lows, and Irving seems to lack some leadership qualities on the court.

It's a pity for Hayward, maybe he will get better in the future, but at least this guy can't recover from the shadow of injury this season.In the series against the Bucks, Hayward scored 20 points in the fourth game and was widely reported by the media.

But scoring 20 points per game shouldn't be the norm for Hayward, right?The fact is cruel, Hayward's scoring average in the playoffs this season is only 9.4 points
The young point guard Rochelle was the Celtics' surprise soldier last season. His averages of 16.5 points and 5.7 assists in the playoffs seemed to make him a candidate for the next No. [-] point guard in the league.

But this season, due to the unpleasant quarrel with the Celtics over the renewal issue, his investment in the game is far less than last season.This guy averaged 6.4 points and 1.9 assists per game in the playoffs this year, which can be said to be a complete "reverse growth".

The only two players in the entire Celtics team with a fairly stable performance are Horford and Morris.These two guys are lubricating players who can make the team better.But Henson still said that if the engine itself is not good enough, the lubricant is useless.

The data comparison of these guys is all clearly displayed in front of Henson.Henson also watched a lot of Celtics game videos.Although it is not said that 82 games are not lost, there must be 40 games.

He knows very well that the Celtics are already strong outside.

"After playing, I have only one request, be steady! Don't worry, try to drag the Celtics into the position on the defensive end, and be patient on the offensive end. Sooner or later, their defense will show flaws. Last year in the Eastern Conference Finals, we swept the Celtics 4-0. This year, I need the same ending."

After Henson finished speaking, he sat back directly on the bench.Resolving the battle as soon as possible is the best way to free Stevens.
(End of this chapter)