The Basketball Court Swordsman

Slow pace, positional warfare and high efficiency are undoubtedly the most talkative characteristics of the Spurs. Don't think that in today's faster and faster pace, all teams must follow the rules. At least the San Antonio Spurs are still sticking to their set and successfully reached the finals.

The next day, when Henson drove on the streets of Indianapolis, he found that besides the posters of the stars, the posters of himself and Popovich were hung the most.

Sure enough, as the news said.

This is a war between the two!

While driving on the road, Henson was also thinking about the Spurs. Since the Spurs swept the Grizzlies 4-0 first, they have been resting for a long time. During this time, Popovich was enough to figure out his routine.

But for Henson, the time to prepare for the finals was a bit too tight. Two days ago, he was still at the American Airlines Center fighting the Heat. However, a few hours later, Henson had to face the San Antonio Spurs.

In two days, in the regular season, this was enough for Henson to prepare for the game. But you have to know that what Henson is going to play next is the finals, a series of games involving hard work throughout the season. Such a game, naturally cannot be confused with the regular season. The two days to prepare for the finals were indeed too rushed.

Therefore, even sitting in his retro Jaguar sports car, Henson still thinks about the Spurs players, the Spurs lineup and the Spurs tactics.

The first problem with the Spurs game is that the Pacers' huge inside advantage will completely disappear. In the face of the Heat, David West and Horford's low-post offense is basically unmatched. If Haslem's state in the Eastern Conference finals had not recovered this season, the Heat's internal disadvantage would have become even more exaggerated. But the Spurs are different. Both Duncan and Split have outstanding height and wingspan. The former has played a rare scoring efficiency in recent years this season!

That's right, Tim Duncan, this guy who is almost 37 years old, hasn't even shown a downward trend this season, which shocked Henson. Even in the Western Conference Finals, under the combined efforts of the "black and white bears" that the Grizzlies are proud of, Duncan still played excellent numbers. As long as there is a Tim Duncan, the Pacers can't think of any advantage in the paint.

Thinking of Duncan's various things, Henson thought of the Spurs themselves. 19.2% of the Spurs' offensive rounds in the regular season ended with assists, and the assist rate ranked first in the league! That's right, the Pacers once again ranked second.

Popovich has built a group of highly accurate outside shooters around gDP. They can play an efficient offense when they play the defensive overlord Grizzlies in the Western Conference finals. Therefore, Henson can no longer use defensive methods to defend the Spurs and the Spurs. The teamwork ability is too good. Therefore, the Spurs may not be able to directly cause terrifying damage to the Pacers inside like the Heat, but their ability to use space is also the strongest so far, which is completely the same as the outside groups of the Bucks, Bulls, and Heat that Henson faced before. It's not the same. A while ago, eSPN believed that the most threatening Pacers in the Western Conference was the Spurs, and the reason was that "their transfer and shooting capabilities are reminiscent of the Mavericks in 2011."

Although judging from the current odds of the bookmaker, the Pacers seem to have greater hopes of winning. But Henson will not be complacent because of this. After all, last season and the previous season, the bookmakers thought the Heat had a better chance of winning. The results of it? The Heat lost.

The bookmaker's odds can't explain anything. Henson knows very well that the low-key, restrained, seemingly weak Spurs are actually the Pacers' biggest opponent this season.

While thinking about it, Henson had arrived at the Banker’s Life Arena. It is morning, so there are no fans outside the arena. However, reporters and news cars from major sports channels have created a lively atmosphere for the finals outside the arena.

Henson drove the car into the underground parking lot of the arena. Popovich and the Spurs are much more difficult to deal with than the Oklahoma City Thunder last season!

Popovich and his Spurs only arrived at the arena at noon that day. Because they took a longer rest and prepared for a longer time, Popovich is very confident in the physical condition of the players. Therefore, I simply cancelled the training this morning. Most of these guys on the Spurs have old arms and legs, and they can't bear the toss of the Pacers.

As soon as they got off the bus, the Spurs players were surrounded by reporters. For this formation, the players are not in a hurry. After all, they have played in the finals too many times. Such a scene is naturally not surprising.

"Coach Popovich, what kind of method do you think you will use to contain the Pacers' rapid offense?" In the Spurs, players and Popovich will never be separated. The same is true during the interview, reporters will not ignore Popovich because of the star. It can be said that Popovich, the coach, is also a symbol of the San Antonio Spurs.

"There is no way to contain it. If there is a way, they will not be able to win 72." Popovich's answer was an understatement. He obviously didn't want to entangle the reporters more.

"What do you think of the outside world's evaluation of this game? They said that this is a war between you and Henson Joe. Do you think that is appropriate?" The reporters are still reluctant, they know Popovich This is the style of Qi Facing the media. And the audience just happened to be this one.

"Of course I don't agree. This statement makes me look like I'm leaning on the old to sell the old. I won't play against Henson alone. The entire coaching staff of the Pacers is playing against me."

Popovich's answer was very clever, not only affirmed the other people in the opposing coaching staff, but also pretended to be forced. Look, the opposing coaching staff can all join forces to fight against themselves.

With a smirk, Popovich walked into the player tunnel. Although he has been addicted to the media, Popovich is not arrogant. I really don't know how intense the competition will be later.

He is still very confident in Henson Joe's ability. The San Antonio Spurs cannot easily pass.

Today in the locker room, Henson did not emphasize too much to the players. He just said a few points. First, pay attention to controlling the rhythm. Don't be too fast or too slow to fall into the rhythm of the Spurs. Second, be cautious about the offense and avoid mistakes. Fighting against a team like the Spurs makes fewer mistakes. Third, we must pay attention to Duncan's double-teaming!

Yes, Henson hopes to double-team against Duncan. He doesn't care how old Duncan is this year or whether his style of play is outdated. He only knows that due to the relief of plantar fasciitis that has plagued him for many years, Duncan has played his best personal performance in nearly four years this season! The average number of blocked shots per game is the second-highest record of his career. At 37 years old, he has rejuvenated his second youth. Duncan's performance is simply a miracle.

Such a player, who does not double-team him?

But Henson knew very well that his three precautions were definitely not enough. There is so little time left for him to prepare for the game, and he has no chance to study the Spurs thoroughly. So the most important thing in this game is to test his and his two assistants' on-the-spot adaptability!

Fighting wits and courage with Popovich in on-the-spot command... At first, when the media hyped up himself and Popovich, Henson hadn't felt it yet. But now that the game is approaching, Henson admitted that he was a little looking forward to this game.

After explaining the tactics, as usual, Henson needs to smoke a cigar to calm himself down. The players have Henson to help decompress, but Henson can't cry to Bird. Cigar smoking is Henson's only way of decompression.

This time he chose to go to the lower parking lot outside the player’s aisle, because Henson found that every time he hid in the toilet and smoked a cigar, there was always a feeling of smoking in the school toilet when he was in middle school...now The boss is no longer young, so he can't hide in the toilet all his life.

After a few mouthfuls, Henson looked at his watch, put away his cigar, and walked back to the locker room. But in the long and narrow player channel, Henson met an "uninvited guest."

"What are you doing here? Are you planning to overhear our deployment?" Seeing Popovich walking face to face with him, Henson greeted the old man.

"I said, if you have to do this, I will send Tim over. How about Henson, how is the preparation for the game?" Popovich laughed, as if to meet an old friend.

"Not very good, you know, I was still fighting LeBron two days ago."

Henson tilted his head, not intending to hide anything. Because for Popovich, any concealment is futile.

"Hahaha, I like your sincerity, Coach Henson. I don't understand, why would such a good person call you an **** every day?"

"Perhaps because we are both bastards."

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha."

The conversation between the two is very simple, but it seems that both of them are enjoying it again.

After laughing, Popovich also looked at his watch. Outside, the cheers of the fans and the winner faintly poured into the player channel.

"The game is about to begin." This time, it was Popovich who spoke first.

"Then Mr. Popovich, I don't wish your team a good result." Henson put a smile away. He can accept a drink with Popovich after the game, but he will never be soft to the old man. .

???? Popovich smiled and responded: "Similarly, Mr. Henson."

???? "Then, see you after the game."

???? "After the game, goodbye as winners and losers."

The two head coaches simply greeted and separated. Although the personal relationship between the two is good, it is now before the game and before the finals! He is the worst enemy. If he is too close, it will affect the morale of the players.

He opened the locker room door again and found that more than a dozen stars were staring at him. Henson took a deep breath.

?NBA Finals...Finally!

"Let's go guys, it's time to kick each other's ass!"