The Basketball Court Swordsman

Nearly half of the first quarter played, the Raptors have been suppressing the Pacers. One of the main reasons for this is that Leonard makes it difficult for George to play defensively.

I have to admit that Leonard is definitely the strongest perimeter defender in the active league, and Henson doesn't even need to add the word "one". In just five or six minutes, Leonard has caused George to make 2 turnovers and only scored 4 points.

At this point, it was the Raptors' offensive round. I can see that the home fans are very enthusiastic, and they can't wait to see how their home team topped the Eastern Conference.

Although the Pacers lacked Antetokounmpo's main strength in today's game, who cares? If you win, you win.

Leonard used his breakthrough to attract Lopez and George's double double team, Henson used Leonard's defensive strategy of top and back cover.

But Leonard did not stupidly hit the basket, but gave the basketball to Ibaka who was lying in the right corner.

In order to adapt to this small ball era, Ibaka, who once bombed the basket with athletic ability, has now developed a long shot.

This season, Ibaka's three-pointers shot only 29.0%, which is obviously unqualified. But that's because everyone knows that Ibaka will shoot three-pointers, so Ibaka has made more and more three-pointers in interference.

But if it is an open shot, Ibaka's three-pointers are still very impressive.

The basketball fell straight to the net, Henson's double-teaming did limit Leonard, but it also liberated other Raptors players.

"After three points, Ibaka's goal gave the Raptors a 7-point lead over the Pacers! The Pacers are in a tough battle without Antetokounmpo. So far, the Pacers have not had any control over the Raptors. The way. Coach Henson paused, I hope he can turn corruption into magic this time."

Kevin Harlan could see that Henson was also upset today. The Chinese coach wrote all his emotions on his face.

Henson is really upset today, because the Raptors are stronger than he expected. It seems that this year, the Raptors are indeed a major threat to the East.

But Henson was not confused, and Henson had encountered much greater difficulties. It's just 7 points behind, which is not enough.

His head is very clear at this time, and he knows exactly what to do next.

"It's a terrible day, but today is not over, we can make this day a better day." After the game, Henson first stabilized the morale of the players.

Yes, this is indeed a bad day. Henson has not rested since he was awakened by the team doctor at four in the morning. He was in the hospital during the day, in the training hall in the afternoon, and encountered such a tricky game at night.

It is not an exaggeration to say that this is Henson's worst day so far this season.

But as he told the players, they still have time to make this **** day "sunny".

"George, today you lack Antetokounmpo's restraint, so the offense will be very difficult. So later, I need to let you attract the defense and create scoring opportunities for my teammates. Wait until our scoring points are scattered enough. At that time, you can naturally get a bigger gap."

"I'm fine, boss." George knew what Henson meant by saying that, meaning that his shot would be divided among other teammates later.

Although George is the star of the Pacers, he is not a ball master. He is not Kobe, and he does not care about sharing shots with his teammates.

"Very well, then in the next game, I need you to attack." Henson pointed to Siakam. The young man in the No. 43 jersey was a little surprised, but the look of surprise only flashed past.

As a member of the Pacers, Siakam is very clear that you must always be prepared. Because you don't know if this Chinese coach will suddenly let you go up and make key shots, or suddenly let you act as the core of the offense just like just now.

"Go grab the Raptors' defensive attention and use everything you have learned. Come on, I'll give you some tactics."

Hearing Henson's arrangement, both Becky Harmon and McMillan were a little surprised. The timeout is over and the players come out. Becky Harmon immediately got to Henson's ear. As an assistant coach, she could not ignore Henson's decision just now.

"Are you crazy!? o.g. Anunobi is one of the Raptors' best defensive players! Do you want Pascal to die?"

Becky Harmon's worries are not superfluous. Anunobi, the forward who once played at Indiana University, has already gained a foothold in the league this season by relying on defense.

Statistics show that Anunobi may be one of the best one-on-one defensive players in the NBA today. Under his defense, the opponent can only score 0.85 points per round.

For the first time as a starter, Anunobi was responsible for guarding James Harden. Although Harden scored a game-high 38 points, 11 assists and 6 rebounds in that game, his shooting and three-pointers were only 8 of 25 and 3 of 11 respectively, and he had a season-high 9 turnovers. .

This shows how strong Anunobi's defense is. The Raptors often ask Anunobi to guard the opponent's top star, but instead of evading Henson, Siakam heads into it!

Of course Henson knew how many catties Anunobi had, and when that guy was playing at Indiana University, Henson started paying attention to him.

But he still insisted on his decision, so the Chinese coach smiled at Becky Harmon, "Anunobi is really strong, but you also don't underestimate the kid Pascal."

Yes, Pascal Siakam, it's not easy to mess with either! Only by defeating the opponent's strongest defensive point, the Raptors will change their defensive strategy and Siakam will attract Leonard's attention.

Once he succeeded, Paul George was completely liberated! At that time, the entire Toronto will be bombarded by George's fire!

Just as Becky Harmon was talking to Henson, there was a boos on the court. The first and only female official assistant coach in NBA history looked up and found that the point difference had become 5 points.

Siakam scored.

"Pascal Siakam, beautiful air relay. His athleticism is simply breathtaking. Brogdon passed the ball directly from the three-point line. Siakam cut inside and caught it beautifully in the air. He won the basketball and finished dunks. I have to say that Anubino was a little too careless just now."

Kevin Harlan yelled, Siakam's off-the-ball position was indeed beautiful.

But he believes that this kind of ball will only appear this time today. Because after this time, Anunobi will focus all his attention on Siakam.

At the beginning of the game, use an air relay to complete the offense. This is Henson's arrangement. His purpose is also very simple, to give Siakam sufficient confidence.

That kid now has no problem with his ability, the problem is only psychological. Once full of confidence, Siakam is a superstar-like player!

Siakam's beautiful dunk boosted the Pacers' morale. Generally speaking, if the first attack after a timeout is successful, the morale of the players will rise a lot.

So next on the defensive end, everyone is fighting with the Raptors. Kyle Lowry took advantage of the screen to break through to prepare for a layup, but Oladipo was struggling to make a splash.

Originally, Lowry had no advantage in athletic ability. In terms of height, Lowry is also 10 cm shorter than Oladipo. The double point guard lineup, not every coach can use it well.

At least in Henson's view, the rookie coach Nas did not master the essence of the double point guard lineup.

The blocked basketball hit the backboard hard and then rebounded vigorously. Lopez could do nothing about the ball, but he stuck Ibaka and did not make the Congolese jump.

The basketball then flew to the outside, and Paul George made a leap to grab the basketball before Leonard. But because the confrontation with Leonard was too fierce, George felt that his center of gravity was unstable in the air.

So, before landing, he directly handed the ball to Siakam, who had already begun to run forward.

After passing the ball, George fell. But before he could get up, he heard a loud noise from the other basket. This number 13 smiled, he knew his teammate had succeeded!

"Pascal Siakam, a beautiful two-handed dunk! Two consecutive dunks scored, Siakam reduced the difference to only 3 points! The Raptors must be vigilant, they can no longer give Siakam like this A chance to dunk easily! Positional battle, Raptors need to drag the game into positional battle!"

Nick Nas naturally knew the truth, so when Siakam made his second dunk, he yelled from the sidelines to remind the players not to give the Pacers a chance to counterattack easily.

However, Henson did not panic. Siakam's two conversion points were just warm-ups. If the Raptors thought that they couldn't score by dragging the game into position and fighting Siakam, it would be a big mistake!

A head coach can be an All-Star, Henson believes that his own strategy will definitely change the situation of the game.

Pascal Siakam is about to start his performance.