The Basketball Court Swordsman

The Indiana Pacers' raging pace in the West finally came to a halt in the Bay Area. The Golden State Warriors defeated the defending champion Pacers by scoring double figures with six players. In the end, the Warriors saved some face for the Western powers.

In this game, the Warriors played very well. Although the highest scoring Cousins ​​scored only 19 points, although no player scored 20. But the Warriors still used teamwork to stabilize the situation to the end.

As for the Pacers, the biggest reason for the loss is that terrible three-point shooting.

In this game, the Pacers made only 26.1% of their three-pointers, which is undoubtedly below average. Among them, 4 people had a record of three-pointers but failed to hit a goal.

They are Brook Lopez, perhaps the reason for the exhaustion caused by consecutive away games. This man feels bad today and made 0 3-pointers.

George was also not quite right today, and it was also 3-0 outside the three-point line. Bogdanovic is even more exaggerated, making 4 shots today and also missed a goal. As a player who survives by three-pointers, Bogdanovic's performance is indeed a bit bad.

Thanks to these "blacksmiths", the expansion of Thanos ended in the Bay Area. The Golden State Warriors have also become the sixth team to defeat the Pacers this season.

However, Henson didn't care much about the loss of this game. Because he was not suppressed by the opponent in terms of hard power and tactics, but the player's poor touch caused the loss.

This way of losing is acceptable to Henson.

Similarly, the media did not criticize the Pacers for this game. After all, their previous performance has been good enough. And until now that the regular season is almost over, they have lost the sixth game. Moreover, the Pacers and Warriors' record in the regular season is also 1 to 1. Therefore, this defeat is not painful for the Pacers at all.

It's like an excellent student gets 100 points every time, and suddenly one day only gets 99 points, and no one thinks he has become worse.

The Pacers had been unmatched in the West before, and they were about to slaughter the West. Now that the Pacers have finally lost the ball, the reporters are too late to shut up. Where can they dare to criticize.

But for Cousins, the victory in this game was not trivial.

"We won. Facts have proved that we can also win the Indiana Pacers. Don't worry, we will definitely go to the Finals this year. I hope the Pacers will not miss the contract in advance."

Cousins ​​doesn't care about those things. If you win, you win, and if you win, there is capital.

However, this game did allow Henson to see greater possibilities for the Warriors. With five All-Stars, Cole can still make everyone obedient and cooperate with each other. I have to say that such a warrior is the most terrifying.

How to cut off the offense of the Warriors will be the key to whether the Pacers can win the series.

But those are things that need to be considered in June. At least now, Henson can end his series of Western away trips with peace of mind. With a record of 4 wins and 1 loss, he went home happily.

After this, the Pacers have 4 games left to play in March. Fortunately, all 4 games were played at home. This means that Henson will no longer be used to go back and forth, nor does he need to stay away from his family.

From the start of the Thunder on March 14 to the end of the Warriors on March 21 today, Henson has not been home for more than a week.

Because it is a continuous away game in the Western Conference, the Pacers rushed to the next city after playing a game, and there was no time to return to Indianapolis.

This is also the longest period of time Henson has left his family so far this season.

Now finally going home, Henson was naturally very, very happy. And in the same mood, there is Pacers basketball operations chairman Larry Bird.

After waiting for more than a week, he finally had a good chat with Henson.

If you compare the NBA regular season schedule starting on October 18, 2018 to a kilometer race, now is the time to enter the final 200-meter competition, which is the most tense moment of mutual competition.

Currently, among the 30 NBA teams, only the Pacers and the Raptors are confirmed to enter the playoffs. The Suns, Knicks and Cavaliers have officially missed the playoffs. The remaining 25 teams must also fight for the final ranking. Because of their rankings, they will directly determine their opponents in the playoffs.

The opponents encountered in the playoffs will directly determine how far a team can go.

But after five months of long games, most teams gradually showed fatigue, followed by injuries to the players. For example, the Lakers who have withdrawn from the playoffs, had it not been for injuries, they should have had a chance to enter the playoffs.

The Los Angeles Lakers are now full of injured troops. Although James has just returned, a lot of players except James are on the injured list. Tyson Chandler was sidelined with a neck injury, Brandon Ingram was sidelined with an arm injury, and Lonzo Bauer was sidelined with an ankle injury.

The starting point for falling from the fourth in the Western Conference to missing the playoffs was when James was injured in the groin against the Warriors and then missed 17 games.

After that, it seems that a wave of injuries has come to the Lakers. According to the statistics of Lakers fans, in the 66 games that have been played, the entire Lakers played only 5 games. It is estimated that in the next Lonzo Ball and Ingram should never come back in 16 games. Well, in the long 82 games, the Lakers only had 5 games full of personnel.

In addition to the Lakers, many teams during this period are also in very bad conditions. The Houston Rockets lost Faried and Paul, the Spurs lost Rudy Gay and Dejentai Morrie, and the Raptors lost "Van Jordan" Van Fleet.

There is no doubt that at the last critical moment, all teams face a choice. In the end, it is for performance or health.

To achieve results, you must accept the risk of player injury. This risk is likely to appear in the playoffs. To be healthy, you may have to accept performance punishment. And worse results mean that you will encounter stronger opponents in the playoffs.

So today, whether you want health or performance is the topic of discussion between Henson and Bird.

"I know, you want to win 70, or even break the record of 73 wins! But the trip to the West just past told me that every team that meets us will do our best to fight. We play every regular game. It’s like a playoff game! I’m afraid, Henson. If a major player is injured, it may be difficult for us to knock down the Five-Star Warriors."

Bird is sitting in his office, and this is what he wants to talk to Henson today.

Bird promised Henson, and if Henson retire, he will also retire. So in other words, this is also the last season Bird played for the Pacers hometown team. If he loses the championship in the final season, Bird will certainly be quite unwilling.

Therefore, he needs to ensure that the playoffs are foolproof.

Bird's worries are not without reason. Everyone is eager to beat the Pacers. Second, the Pacers will have to meet several strong teams in the last few games. Even if the player is not injured, the Pacers' physical fitness will be greatly consumed.

Hearing Bird’s concerns, Henson smiled relaxedly, "Unexpectedly, the famous Larry Bird was actually thinking about giving up victory. Have you forgotten? When we won 70 for the first time, I just set a record while taking turns. I still regret that I didn't directly win 73 wins. Therefore, I would not choose. I want health and victory."

"This year's situation is different from that time," Bird shook his head. "That time, at the end of the regular season, we met almost all teams with big belly. So, even the rotating lineup can win. But this year, it was This week, you have to run into the Nuggets, Thunder and Celtics!"

"Really?" Henson licked his lips. "Speaking of the Nuggets, do you remember how I won that day? I used a long rotation to kill them. And the Nuggets are not a big team. ."

"This..." Bird was speechless. Indeed, against the Nuggets, Henson could be regarded as winning with a rotating lineup. Because at the critical moment of the fourth quarter, the rotation lineup is stabilizing the situation. Only in the last two minutes did Henson put on the ultimate lineup.

"So, I won't make a choice. For 70 wins and championships, don't worry, Bird, I won a lot. This whole season is destined to belong to us!"

Byrd shook his head. He must admit that Henson was much bolder than himself. However, this may be the reason for his success.

Bird is already looking forward to it, looking forward to the day when Henson won 70 in his third season...