Basketball Legends: Strikers Are King

"The cavalry team is awesome!"

“Letts Dog Indiana!”

“Solidarity!”

The moment the final whistle sounded, Bankers Lifestyle Arena was immediately filled with cheers from Pacers fans.

Leading their opponents by a big score and another hearty victory, their self-confidence was completely exploded. They jumped up from their seats and celebrated the team's victory with the fans next to them.

Hibbert, who scored an astonishing 19 points, 18 rebounds and 5 blocks in a single game, George Hill, who scored a team-high 20 points with a very high shooting percentage, and Qi Tian, ​​who came off the bench and contributed 14 points, all won fans.

Their cheers.

"Roy, Roy!"

"George!"

"seven!"

Bird stood up from his seat, glanced at the excited Pacers bench, and showed a satisfied look.

Today's game was very fruitful. Although the team has achieved its set goal by reaching the second round, the opportunity to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals after three games with their opponents really made him, and perhaps the management, overjoyed.

The second gain is to see the explosion of potential new players in the team, which gives the president who was originally dissatisfied with Granger an alternative plan. It is not a bad thing to be more prepared.

Bird has a hunch that this offseason's operations may be the key to the Pacers' revival.asxs..

"Before that, let's finish the playoffs first."

He left with a clear conscience.

Bird's exit did not escape Vogel's eyes. In fact, after discovering that the team president was actually watching the game, he intentionally or unintentionally pretended to ignore the eyes coming from that direction and took the opportunity to show off to the team management.

own abilities.

A big win, Vogel believes, is enough to secure his head coaching position.

but……

Vogel turned to look at Granger who was surrounding Hill and Qi Tian, ​​feeling a little worried.

George's 9 points was a little better. After all, he relied on defense to make a living on the court. However, the team leader did not score in double digits. Isn't it a little lacking?

Vogel knew that Bird didn't have a good impression of Granger.

In other words, players who cannot lead the team to good results will not be loved by these capitalists.

"Next game, at least let Danny get good numbers."

Vogel made up his mind, looked down at the statistics, and got an idea.

George Hill made 6 of 8 shots and 5 of 5 free throws. He scored 20 points with a very high shooting percentage. The most outstanding one was his 3 of 4 three-pointers, field goal percentage and field goal percentage.

The rate is 75%;

Qi Tian also made 3 of 6 three-pointers, with a very high shooting percentage.

"It is indeed a way to let Danny take more three-pointers. Shooting from outside will not affect his physical strength too much."

"Coach, it's time to go for an interview."

Brian Shaw's reminder interrupted Vogel's thoughts. Vogel nodded, went to the players' locker room and named Granger, Hibbert and Hill to be interviewed together.

"...We strengthened our protection of rebounds, and Roy and David successfully completed their tasks, allowing us to gain more second-chance offensive opportunities."

"...Hill's outbreak really caught us by surprise. This is also the reward of his own efforts. He is one of the hardest-trained players on our team..."

"Danny did his best. He encouraged his teammates, took the lead on the defensive end, and controlled the fouls very well. No opponent went to the free throw line too many times. All in all, I am proud of the victory the players achieved."

"...This series comes down to which of the two teams wants to win more. We won the game tonight, but no one thought it was going to be easy...We accept the challenge. No matter what the pundits say.

, none of us lost confidence. We were ready to fight and played with our ambition on the court. We will never give up."

Vogel spoke eloquently under reporters' questions and praised all the players who contributed to the victory of today's game.

"this……"

The staff member asked another reporter to ask questions, and the person next to him handed over the microphone.

"I'm Kevin from the Indianapolis Star, and I want to ask about coach Frank Vogel,"

Kevin pushed up his glasses and said,

"In today's game, the turning point occurred in the third quarter. The Pacers launched a 26-12 attack wave and opened the score in one fell swoop. Did you make any adjustments in the third quarter?"

"That's a good question."

Vogel began to answer like a student taking an exam.

"Our outsiders performed very well on the defensive end and cooperated with the inside line to successfully interrupt the opponent's scoring rhythm. On the offensive end, we also believed in our teammates and the whole team performed well."

Kevin obviously would not be satisfied with this answer and continued to ask:

"I found that today's substitute Qi Tian performed very well in the third quarter. Why did he have no chance to play in the first half?"

"Qitian has always believed in himself, and his efforts have been rewarded. In fact, the defensive support provided to him by other teammates is the basis for his full performance."

Vogel said word for word,

"As for Qi Tian not playing in the first half, it was due to team strategic considerations."

Naturally, this question will not continue. The Pacers' journey in the playoffs is not over yet. If the team's tactics are exposed under reporters' questioning, wouldn't it give their opponents a chance?

Vogel naturally would not do this, and he answered this way because he did not want Kevin to continue to ask questions.

"Okay, thank you coach for your answer."

Kevin nodded and sat down on his own.

Vogel's expression did not change. He waited until the staff named the next reporter to ask and continued to answer questions, but his heart was not as calm as his face.

It is the consensus of all fans that if a player performs well, he will get more playing time or become an important part of the team's tactics.

But for the current Pacers, it is not that simple to increase offensive play for Qi Tian.

The two small forwards Granger and George are still in their prime. Should their playing time be reduced to make way for a rookie small forward with the 59th overall pick?

Of course, appropriately increasing Qi Tian's status in tactics is what Vogel will definitely do.

After all, compared to George, who has poor shooting, Qi Tian, ​​who is more accurate from outside, can obviously play a role in opening up space.

Just do what you think of. After returning from the post-game interview, Vogel convened a meeting with the coaching team to prepare to fine-tune the team's tactics for the fourth game.

When he heard that Vogel was planning to let Granger take more outside shots and let Qi Tian appear in the main lineup as a space point, assistant coach Dan Bok was the first to object.

"Coach, we are the team leading the score, there is no need to change the formation, right?"

Brian Shaw looked at him but said nothing.

If it is just for victory, then there is really no need to change the formation.

but……

After all, it is the right of the team boss to get good data. In other words, the better the data, the more stable the team boss's position will be.

Brian Shaw looked at Vogel who had made up his mind and sighed in his heart.

"History does always repeat itself."