The Basketball Court Swordsman

Rajon Rondo is a new player who just joined the Pacers this season. Once, he was one of the best point guards in the league, and Rondo played an indelible role alongside the Celtics.

Later, when the small ball era came, guards like Rondo who were not precise enough to shoot the three-pointers began to be looked down upon. As a result, this defender, who once regarded triple-doubles as his pocket, has wandered into many teams.

He assisted Dirk with the Dallas Mavericks, tried to bring the team to the playoffs with Cousins ​​in the Sacramento Kings, formed the Big Three with Jimmy Butler and Wade in the Chicago Bulls, and played in the New Orleans Pelicans. Partner with Cousins ​​again.

One team a season, the constant wandering makes Rondo grow old while drifting. And because the fans have no sense of where he belongs, his popularity is also rapidly declining compared to the Celtics.

This has also led to the fact that Rajon Rondo's strength is greatly underestimated.

As for P.J. Tucker, he is more "civilized" than Long Duo.

At that time, Rondo was also the superstar that teams rushed to buy. But P.J. Tucker, he has always been a dedicated role player. It was not until joining the Pacers in the past two years that his name gradually became known.

After coming to the Pacers, Henson often made Tucker, who was less than 2 meters tall, play a small lineup center. Because of this, Tucker has left a profound influence on people.

His brilliant defense and occasional scoring performances with Xiaobo Da again and again are reasons why fans like him.

In the playoffs of last season, if Tucker hadn't been strong enough in the rotation time, who would be able to hold on to the final tie-break, it would be impossible.

These two guys are important strengths for the Pacers, but if you think about it carefully, it doesn't seem to be that important. Because these two guys are often forgotten by the fans.

After all, they are not as shining as George and Antetokounmpo, not like Siakam and Oladipo playing as pleasing to the eye, not like Derrick Rose and Stephenson with emotional bonuses. Even compared to their looks, they are no match for Kuzma.

So, when the fans saw Rondo and Tucker appear in the starting lineup, they were very surprised. Everyone thought that Henson might change, but never thought he would start Rondo and Tucker.

"Coach Henson has changed, and this one is very special. Rajon Rondo has only played two starts this season, and PJ Tucker has not even had a starter experience. But in such an important game today, Coach Henson sent such an unexpected lineup. To be honest, I don’t know exactly what Coach Henson wants to do."

Kenny Smith scratched his head. Could it be that Rondo and Tucker were just fake starters?

Don't forget, the Pacers are still sitting on the bench with players such as Oladipo, Brogdon, Kuzma and Bogdanovic.

These guys, it seems that no one is more qualified to start. Therefore, Henson's unexpected changes may be just a flicker.

Steve Kerr thinks so too. He doesn't think that Henson's replacement of Tucker and Rondo will change the fact that the Warriors have grown tremendously.

In front of a lineup like Curry, Thompson, Durant, Green and Cousins, Rondo and Tucker are not worth mentioning!

"Go on the field and destroy them. This year, we will definitely win!"

Before the game started, Kerr only said this to the players. Everyone in the Warriors went on the court one by one, and they were bound to take revenge on the opponent's home court.

However, among these people, Cousins, who was the most excited in the previous games, had doubts for a year. The one called P.J. Tucker, Cousins ​​didn't understand and didn't want to understand.

But Rajon Rondo, as someone who has worked with him for two years, Cousins ​​knows very well that Rondo is by no means a simple player...

"The game is about to start. To be honest, I am looking forward to it. Although Coach Henson's changes have caused a lot of controversy, his decision-making ability is unquestionable. Let's not speculate about those complicated things, and enjoy it. Let's play!"

As soon as Barkley's voice fell, the referee threw the basketball high. As always, the Pacers did not compete for basketball. Lopez has always been quite Buddhist in the faceoff phase, so Henson has become accustomed to "letting the opponent first attack."

The Warriors had a pressing momentum, and five people came over, but none of them were easy to provoke. As long as you put one of these five, he can kill the game.

So today, Henson used a firm 1-on-1 defense. It's okay to let the opponent score, but you can't let the opponent score easily. Even if the Warriors put the ball in defense, Henson recognized it.

So, at the beginning of the game, Durant really scored against Tucker's defense.

This was a very simple offense. Curry and Thompson opened up the space, Cousins ​​screened, and Green pulled outside the three-point line.

Durant took advantage of the screen and went to the mid-range to shoot a jumper. Against Tucker, he has a height advantage.

Although Tucker's defense is very tough, and the interference is very timely. But Durant has always been the league's top scorer, and this difficulty doesn't stop him.

In this way, Durant made a steady hit in his dry shot. A simple tactic, the Warriors took the lead to score 2 points.

"Kevin Durant, he is definitely the strongest personal attacker among active players! Let's see how the Pacers will respond!"

The commentators all expressed emotion at Durant's goal, but what Henson saw was Tucker's hard defense. As long as Tucker is still working **** this point, his plan will not fail...

Next, change the Pacers offense.

At first, Steve Kerr thought Antetokounmpo would act as a point guard. So, he let Green smash Antetokounmpo today. When necessary, Cole also allowed Green to use some small movements.

However, surprisingly, Antetokounmpo did not catch the ball at all. Rondo steadily took the ball through the half-court, and then began to organize the attack in a decent way!

"Rajan Rondo is organizing the offense, he seems to be back to the Celtics."

After the teammates started to run, Rondo beckoned and he also needed a cover.

Brook Lopez did his part and made the pick and roll. Cousins ​​was a little nervous, because he didn't know what Rondo would do next.

Rondo bypassed Curry with cover, Cousins ​​did not change defense, but continued to guard Lopez from the outside. No one wants to be shot into a sponge full of holes by this big white man.

Rondo's breakthrough speed is not fast, but he has been fighting against Curry behind him to keep the basketball within his cylinder from being disturbed. Seeing Rondo hit the penalty zone like this, the rest of the Warriors didn't respond. Because in their opinion, Rondo will pass it anyway.

But until the end, Rondo did not pass the ball. After opening Curry, he used a beautiful low layup to score the ball steadily.

2 to 2, no one thought that the Pacers would be the first to start with Rajon Rondo.

Cousins ​​shook his head. He had already reminded everyone not to underestimate that grotesque point guard!

Rondo looked at Henson after scoring and found that Henson was applauding for himself. That number 9 smiled in his heart, and Henson did what he said!

As we all know, Rondo had an unpleasant relationship with the coach in the Celtics, Mavericks and Pelicans. Because this guy thinks that sometimes the tactics arranged by the coach are not as smart as him. Therefore, Rondo often looks down on his coach. And those coaches were also angry because Rondo changed tactics and commanded without authorization.

After all, this can be regarded as challenging the authority of the head coach.

However, in the Pacers, Henson and Rondo never quarreled. This is because Henson's arrangement can basically be recognized by Rondo. And Henson also said to Rondo that as long as he can win, Rondo has a certain degree of freedom to play.

The ball just now was the result of Rondo's sudden free play. If he had just been in the Celtics, Rivers would definitely scold him bloody. If it's in the Mavericks, come on, Rick Carlisle is a coach who has to personally direct the point guard every halftime.

Only Henson will applaud his free actions. There is no doubt that this allows Henson to gain the trust of Rondo.

After the goal, Rondo's morale rose, so he entangled Curry on the defensive end. Like Paul, Rondo also likes to use some rough little moves when defending. Of course, unlike Pachulia, Rondo does not intentionally hurt people.

"Come on, why did you lose here last year? You have to lose this year!"

On the side of the confrontation, Rondo still did not forget to spray trash talk at Curry. Rondo's mouth had caused Kobe, who has always been a general, to explode. Because of this mouth, Rondo did not fight with Paul less.

Curry ignored Rondo on the surface, but still wanted to give the old guard a little bit of color.

As a result, Curry received Durant's pointer and then shot directly outside the three-point line!

Unfortunately, Rondo's blockade was very timely. Although Curry can make a shot without looking at the basket, he can't make a shot back.

"Hey!" With a crisp sound from the basketball hoop, Stephen Curry shot the ball!

"Rondo's defense is still quite sophisticated, he hasn't lost his position. If Curry wants to score on this guy, he might have to think of a way."

Rondo defended Curry, which strengthened Cousins' worries. This guy, I was not sent to make up today!

After Curry shot and hit the iron, Antetokounmpo scored a rebound. In this regard, Kerr has been prepared for a long time, he allows the players to quickly retreat to the position, does not give you the conditions to fight back.

But Antetokounmpo did not hold the ball and quickly pushed, but handed the ball to Rondo. Once again, Rondo slowly took possession of the ball for halftime.

Since Paul left, the Pacers' offense has always been as fast as possible, and it is best to break the opponent's defense in three or two.

But today, the Pacers are playing a traditional offensive model with a point guard as the starting point. Cole frowned. He couldn't figure out what Henson was going to do.

Rondo was organizing the offense again, calling for cover again. But just when everyone thought he would break through, Rondo suddenly passed the ball!

The basketball went through Curry's crotch, then passed through the crowd, hit the ground and bounced back into George's hands. Rondo is equivalent to giving the ball to George from the seam. His vision and passing accuracy are really breathtaking.

George just got rid of Durant's entanglement and cut in, but he didn't expect Rondo to actually deliver the ball.

Then, what George has to do is very simple. He raised his hand lightly and flicked at random, and the basketball was obediently promoted by him.

An easy chance to score, George wants to score and Durant wants to score, the difficulty is completely different. Let teammates score easy, this is the value of Rajon Rondo.

4 to 0, both goals were related to Rondo, and the Pacers' scoring was understated.

After the Warriors followed, Tucker immediately posted the number 35, known as "Reaper."

Seeing Rondo and Tucker working so hard, Henson smiled triumphantly.

His changes may not be effective at once, but after the game, everyone will see the results.

Five-star warriors are not invincible!