The Basketball Court Swordsman

Anthony's assists just now weren't pretty, or even very dangerous. Because you don't know if this guy wanted to pass the ball from the beginning, or if he was temporarily blocked because there was no room.

But this can at least prove one thing: Anthony will not be messed up in order to win today!

After this, the Knicks still played well. Anthony's suitable singles and Jeremy Lin's occasional harassment made the Knicks' offense very efficient. What Henson did not expect most was that Tyson Chandler, a defensive champion, also scored frequently in the Pacers penalty area today.

In order to make up for Jeremy Lin and Anthony, the "boxing champion" is always leaked out. As a powerful big man who used to be around Paul, Chandler is not so skilled, but as long as the ball passes to the basket, his finishing rate is still very high. Horford's defensively gentle inside line does not seem to play a very good limiting role for Chandler.

On the Pacers side, because of the lack of Paul, the master of the field, Hinrich, who is not too creative, can't lead the team to a quick counterattack.

The Pacers' counterattack can only be launched by Horford's direct backcourt. But under the quick retreat emphasized by Mike Woodson, this counterattack mode is obviously not effective.

In this way, after 8 minutes of play in the first quarter, the Knicks led 18 to 12 by 6 points. Henson called a timeout again. It seems that the lack of Paul has a huge impact on the Pacers.

Stephenson looked at Henson with an eager look, the rotation time is up, it's time to let himself go! However, Henson called Jimmy Butler.

"I don't want to see the opponent's goal at the first position anymore, not a single goal!" Henson almost roared at the players, and the Pacers' defense made Henson not satisfied. They did a good job defensively against Anthony, but they were too lax in defense against others.

So after that, the Pacers' lineup has become a very strange Jimmy Butler, Matthews, Leonard, Yi Jianlian and Horford. There is no point guard, just such a high command tower as Horford.

Fortunately, the Knicks’ second team is not too strong. The two most threatening points of JR and Shumpert were watched by Leonard and Matthews respectively. The Pacers stabilized the difference. Did not continue to expand. After the first quarter of the game, the score became 24 to 19. Only 19 points in a single quarter. When the Pacers lacked a superstar-level field commander, the impact on the offensive end was very obvious.

At this time in New York, there must be countless Knicks fans cheering. After all, this is almost the most strenuous game the Pacers have played against the Knicks since Henson took office!

During the inter-junction break, Henson did not sit idle, but tried to change his disadvantages. He first replaced Horford with Anderson to curb the violence and prevent Chandler from scoring too easily inside.

Subsequently, Leonard was used to continue playing, keeping pressure on Anthony. Strengthening the defense, this is Henson's only way now. At least this is the only way before the kid Stephenson wants to understand.

So in the second quarter, the Pacers fans experienced a long defensive battle.

Anderson guarded the penalty area, and the threat of the old boxing champion plummeted. Leonard's appearance also forced Anthony to make two pass errors.

But in turn, the Pacers' scoring ability in this lineup is not strong. Without Paul, Anderson would have no bread to eat. Leonard? His shooting percentage is only guaranteed in the open position. Even if Anthony's defense is poor, he won't let Leonard score crazy from outside lines.

Although the score is slightly low, Henson has achieved his goal. The halftime game was 45 to 42, 3 points difference, and the Knicks' 45 points were not too high.

Fortunately, another "Chris" of the Pacers played well today, which made the Pacers' defense become solid.

"Chris Anderson is undoubtedly the key to the Pacers' ability to stabilize the situation now. His tough defense in the penalty area has held back the Knicks' inside attack. And Anderson is on the court, Horford is also liberated and can move more freely on the outside. In the game, Horford scored 13 points on Stoudemire because he no longer had to fight Chandler, the best defensive player."

"That's right, Mike. Chris Anderson's steady performance will definitely surprise his former teammate Anthony. In fact, since coming to Indianapolis, Anderson has changed like a person. We are almost nothing. I saw the news off the court again, but only saw him appearing passionately again and again and helping the team gain an advantage!" Van Gundy immediately agreed. He didn't know what magic Henson had that could make him abandon the Nuggets. Used Anderson turned waste into treasure.

In fact, Henson thought he had magical powers so that Stephenson wouldn't mess around.

Seeing that the game was so anxious that he could not help, Stephenson felt very uncomfortable. During the intermission, Henson specifically praised Anderson's performance in the locker room, which also made Stephenson think a lot.

Chris Anderson, what kind of character is this? At first, this guy was much noisy than himself! Participating in the draft, but didn't even understand the rules, and finally had to go to China to play.

Returning to the United States from China, I finally got an NBA contract, but because I was obsessed with the "drugs" that were banned by the league, I was directly banned for two years!

Ordinary players have been suspended for two years, and most of them have also been abandoned. However, Anderson did not. In order to regain his dream and not to make his mother sad, he trained hard for two years to keep his body and not waste. The return two years later also staged the most classic "prodigal son" story in NBA history.

"I know it won't be like this forever. I can't always come back to life from stupid mistakes, but I haven't changed, I am who I am. I just don't do the things I did wrong before, and now I'm smarter." It was the first day of joining the Pacers, what Anderson said in an interview with reporters in the training ground. At that time, Stephenson was standing next to "Birdman", so what this tattooed buddy said, Stephenson still remembers.

As a result, in Indianapolis this season, people once again saw the "Birdman" passionate hot pot, and just now, he brought the qualitative change for the Pacers defense.

Stephenson's "little jockeys" are nothing compared to Anderson at the time. But now, Anderson has become an indispensable member of the team, he can only watch the play silently on the bench.

A person who is worse than himself can achieve success. Why can't he?

From boy to man, from childish to mature... Stephenson looked at Anderson as if he saw a living example, an example right before his eyes.

How do you treat the basketball court, how the basketball court will give you back!

"Okay, don't be afraid! In the second half, we will continue to fight with the Knicks on defense! You don't want Chris Paul to be by your side at all times like a babysitter, right? Let him handle the housework with peace of mind and let him I know that even if this team lacks a star, it is still an easy team!"

"Roar!" After Henson finished speaking, West took the lead and led the players to roar, which made Stephenson break away from his own thinking.

Then, one after another, passionate players rushed out of the locker room, ready to go to the field to rub the proud New Yorker on the wooden floor.

What about Anthony? What about Jeremy Lin? In the first half of the game, you guys only led by 3 points!

Henson took a deep breath. Since Paul joined the team, he has rarely boosted morale as much as before. But now that Paul is not there, he must "return to his old career." Don't tell me, it's been a long time since I yelled so much, my breath still can't keep up.

When Henson and his coaching staff were also preparing to go out, they found that Stephenson was still sitting in front of his locker.

"What's the matter with you?" Vogel went up and patted Finsen on the shoulder with concern. In this team, Henson usually plays the role of black face, and Vogel naturally plays white face.

"I...I figured it out clearly, boss." Stephenson stood up and looked at Henson very firmly.

"Think about it? Think about how to beat the Knicks? Stop talking nonsense, Lance, because even I didn't really figure out how to beat them."

"I want to make it clear how to be a player who makes decisions with his head. Let me play, boss. I also want to contribute to the team, just like Chris did. I think... .. Play basketball seriously."

When Stephenson finished speaking, the locker room suddenly became quiet. Henson waved his hand and motioned to the coaching staff to go out first.

Henson has actually improved a lot when the coach has spent so much time. Now he is not only the down-to-earth scout who only used his "special advantage" to look at the players' abilities at the beginning. He also gets along with so many players with different personalities and backgrounds, but also allows Henson to develop a calm thinking and unique look. Human vision.

Is Stephenson really that bad? Henson didn't think so, he just had a simple mind. His heart was also struggling and confused.

However, Henson is very happy to hear the simple-minded Stephenson say the sentence: "I want to play basketball seriously."

Not only now, it means that in the future, the probability that Stephenson will provoke a moth is also very small. It's like the "Birdman" Anderson today.

People like Stephenson and Anderson are often vanguards who are willing to spare their lives. If he is your brother, you will love him, even if occasionally he will get rid of trouble. But more often you know in your heart that you need such a role in the team.

As long as Stephenson is willing to focus on basketball, as long as he no longer has brain cramps, then he is such a role that the team needs.

Henson didn’t answer Stephenson’s answer to whether he would let him play, but grabbed his jersey, “think clearly who you are and what you can do.”

Subsequently, Henson left, leaving Stephenson alone in the empty dressing room.