The Basketball Court Swordsman

Since O'Brien gave Henson a disarm in front of all the coaching staff, Henson no longer had any conflict with O'Brien. At the beginning, Henson only hoped to do his best to assist O'Brien, to live up to Bird's expectations, to make the team better, at least to catch the last train of the playoffs.

But after Henson entered the coaching staff, he found that things were not as good as he thought. O'Brien is already crazy, in order to consolidate his handsome position and reputation, this guy has become maverick, even Frank Vogel can't even listen to what he said.

His consistent defensive style of play allowed the Pacers to reduce their offensive efficiency to the third lowest in the league without Daniel Granger! The team atmosphere has become messy because of the continuous losses, and the players' training state has become more and more lazy.

Henson simply did his own "job" at this time. He asked Stephen Silas to observe Paul George's every game and regularly sent himself video of George's game. In addition, Henson also paid special attention to the status of Wesley Matthews and Danny Green in the development alliance, closely monitoring their progress.

According to O'Brien's method of doing this, he will definitely be swept out by Bird next season. At that time, whether it is Frank Vogel taking office, or Bird finds someone to replace him, Henson will do it himself. But facing Jim O'Brien? Even if he was given the best coaching staff in the league, he was not saved. It's just a pity that the Pacers wasted another season that could have been a breakthrough...

Before Christmas, on December 22, the Pacers left for Boston and will play a game with the "Big Three" Celtics. At this time, the team's record is 9 wins and 17 losses. The regular season played until the end of December, but O'Brien's team won but has not yet made double figures. Needless to say, we also know how sad this result is.

Except for Granger's four-game winning streak when he was still healthy, the Pacers basically lived in a vortex of failure and failure every day.

Before this game, the Pacers had just experienced their fifth three-game losing streak this season. The whole team was distracted, and everyone discussed in the locker room how to spend the Christmas holiday, not how to win the game.

Before today's game, Henson was observing the team's training as always. He always heard complaints from time to time, which Henson was used to.

Zhu Holledi wants to enhance his off-ball ability, and Hibbert wants to practice mid-range shooting. But so far, they haven't even touched the ball. Throughout the morning, the Pacers were conducting defensive drills. The boring stance and lateral movement soaked the vests of the players and extinguished their enthusiasm.

Henson didn't know how a team without passion would win on the court.

O'Brien is not completely unreasonable in doing so. For one thing, he hopes to emphasize discipline through such training and rectify the recent lazy style. Secondly, he also hopes to forcefully implant the game thinking of "defense first" into the players' minds.

But can the Pacers really play defensive tactics? In Henson's view, no one on this team can be called a defensive champion. Even, can't find a tougher player than Matthews.

O'Brien is the kind of typical "tactical maniac", he only knows to put his favorite tactics on top, but he doesn't care if the players are suitable for such a system.

Henson stood on the sidelines and watched for a while, then O'Brien walked out of the office with two big dark circles under his eyes. When he saw that the players were still lazy, the guy went violently.

"I said, can we work harder!? Do you still think your results are good!? 9 wins and 17 losses, gentlemen! This is a shame, to you, to me, and to everyone present! "O'Brien's roar made the training hall become silent, and the atmosphere was exactly the same as when O'Brien rejected Henson's training plan half a month ago.

"Zhu. Holiday, you tell me what you practice! Defense, do you know what defense is? At this time last year, I heard our scouts say that you are a hardworking player, but now look at it, It seems like a big mistake!" Then O'Brien pointed the finger at Holledi. Of course, this is equivalent to pointing the finger at Henson. After all, he is "the scout".

In the past days, O'Brien has been gentle with the players and rarely had conflicts with the players. But this kind of relatively "weak" coach usually has a drawback, that is, it is difficult to establish their own prestige. A gentle coach will be loved by everyone, but it is difficult to get the players' conviction. The lazy training state of the Pacers is not developed in one or two days. The players are even more lawless when Granger is absent.

If a coach can't even make the players obedient, what achievements can he talk about?

So this season, driven by tremendous pressure, O'Brien has changed. He became irritable, stopped being close to the players, and yelled casually. The reason is simple. O'Brien found that he needed to build prestige, and he wanted to be tougher.

And today, O'Brien undoubtedly wants to take the rookie of Holledi.

"Coach, I..." Holledi couldn't tell. He was the one who came first and walked the latest almost every day. But even so, after two months, his playing time is still not guaranteed.

O'Brien has changed several formations this season. After Holiday’s starting lineup for a period of time, O’Brien believes Holiday’s offensive desire is too strong, and he also uses Dengtai Jones to play the number one position. , And started with the 30-year-old Earl Watson.

Earl Watson is now a mediocre player who can no longer be mediocre. He may be able to eat in the NBA, but only to the point where he can eat. And what about O'Brien? He would rather let a mediocre player start, rather than let Holiday stay in the starting position, even as a fake starter.

Needless to say, you also know how frustrated Holledi is. Henson made him shine in the summer league at the time, and made him full of expectations for his career. Who knows that it is not Henson who will coach him behind, but Jim O'Brien, who doesn't trust the newcomer at all.

"Before the start of the game this afternoon, we will conduct offensive training. But Holiday, you continue to practice lateral movement and return run! Now, continue to practice for me!"

After O'Brien finished scolding, the people in the coaching staff winked at Henson, hoping that he, who was good at rhetoric, could come forward and resolve the embarrassment. But Henson was unmoved, and looked on with his arms around his chest and cold eyes.

Henson doesn't want to clean up O'Brien's mess!

As soon as the fire broke out, the players really became nervous. But how many days can such tension last? Three days or a week? O'Brien was afraid that Henson squeezed himself out, and he was not willing to be just a transition coach. But now, it is O'Brien who is dismantling his own station. Since O'Brien doesn't want to do it, Henson will fulfill him.

After O'Brien left, Henson walked over and patted Holiday on the shoulder. Lovely little guy, he looked very depressed.

"Cheer up, Juul, I believe you are stronger than people think."

"Mr. Henson, aren't you making the team's training plan? But why..."

"I made it, and I did my best. But Jim, he didn't adopt my plan." Henson spread his hand helplessly.

Holiday smiled bitterly, "I guess so, he is the head coach, everything depends on him."

"No, Juul, in the Pacers, everything will only listen to Larry Bird!"

Holledi suddenly raised his head and stared at Henson, wondering what his words meant. Of course he understood every word and knew who Larry Bird was. But Holledi didn't know the deeper meaning of Henson's words.

"Hold on, at least end this season. Do your job and try not to annoy Mr. Jim. Then trust me, everything will change. At most next season, everything will be better. Do you believe me? You believe me, right? Juul."

"I believe in you, Mr. Henson." Holiday nodded. If anyone in this team is the most trusted by Holiday, it is undoubtedly the one who once allowed him to win the MVP and put him on the basketball court. It’s a Chinese coach who can show himself.

"That's good, now train well and be obedient." Henson touched Holledi's head, then left with his hands on his back.

As for how O'Brien will get along with the players in the future, it's not Henson's business.

It seems that it is not O'Brien who is in charge of this team, but the mysterious Henson Joe.