The Whip of the God of Basketball

Isiah Thomas has been doing well in the Pacers recently. This is his third year in Indiana. According to the three-year theory of his immediate boss and former opponent Larry Bird, this is very likely. It's his last year with the Pacers -- if he doesn't lead the team to something. However, judging from the current situation of the team, he is doing pretty well. The Pacers have been very strong since the beginning of the season, second only to the Boston Celtics.

In December and January, when the Celtics fell into small fluctuations, the Pacers maintained a stable state, especially in January, they achieved a wave of exciting 12 consecutive victories and stepped on the Nets , the Pistons and the Celtics leapt to the top of the Eastern Conference, and many people praised it for a while. In just three years, the Pacers have returned to the ranks of the top teams. Among them are Bird's credit and Thomas' ability. Also got affirmation.

Especially the close relationship between him and the team's head star, Jermaine O'Neal, who has blossomed after coming to the Pacers, made him full of confidence in his ability to stay in the Pacers. So in the first quarter, when Jermaine O'Neal was forced to sit on the bench and watch the Celtics overtake the score, Thomas still believed that the Pacers could gain the advantage in the next game. Beat the Celtics away.

It’s just that in that game, Michael Reid was absent due to injury, and the Pacers’ best player was O’Neal, who was the outsider Reggie Miller. Dividing the ball completely extinguished the Celtics' hope of counterattack. Tonight, in the first quarter after Redd's return, at least so far, Reggie Miller has not made a three-pointer. Although his inseparable coverage on the perimeter led to Tinsley scoring several points on Arenas , but not letting Miller open his hand is one of Leon's basic strategies in this game.

Isiah Thomas is a very smart coach. His background in the streets of Chicago and his glory in the Detroit Bad Boys made him very, very good at getting along with those players with unruly personalities. The reason why everyone called him "coach" on the phone. But Thomas' coaching style was a far cry from his upbringing and basketball experience.

The Pacers have averaged 97.9 points per game so far. Although there is a gap with their opponent Boston Celtics' 104 points, they are already in the top eight in the league in the 2003 season. Thomas is undoubtedly an offensive coach, and He loves those complicated and delicate tactics very much. As a point guard, he is proficient in various offensive tactics and knows them by heart. He hopes that his players can apply these tactics to the game just like him.

So far, he has done pretty well after nearly three seasons. The Pacers players have very good tactical qualities. They can often play pleasing offenses, but Thomas has not been very satisfied, especially their starting point guards. Wei Tinsley, a point guard who was born on the street like Thomas, has never been able to meet Thomas' requirements.

This may be a common problem shared by superstar coaches. They all think that their players should spot every opportunity and seize them well like themselves, but in fact there is only one Isiah Thomas on the basketball court.

When Jermaine O'Neal had to sit on the bench to continue watching the game at the beginning of the second quarter, and Reggie Miller couldn't get rid of Michael Reed, the Pacers began to fall into a disadvantage, a comprehensive disadvantage.

The Boston Celtics have been almost unstoppable this season when their shooters have good touch -- it may seem like a crapshoot, but in reality, the Celtics have a system that maximizes touch Their concise and fast offense, when the players have a good shooting feeling, will snowball the scores continuously.

Arenas abided by Leon's short-line and fast passing guidelines, and with great confidence, he continued to make forced shots from beyond the three-point line, and then made hits-Jamal Tinsley's defense was in vain, Let Arenas shoot as easily as a shooting drill.

"Stick it up, stick it up, defend like a man! How can you watch him shoot over your head like this!" Seeing Arenas scoring consecutive goals over Tinsley's head, Thomas finally couldn't bear it. Lila stepped aside and cursed. And Tinsley was trained silently with his head down and his hips on his hips. He also wanted to defend Arenas, but he was born on the street and his defensive steps were not good enough. Once he stuck to the defense, the consequences would be even worse. net.

With the outbreak of Arenas, the point difference between the two sides widened again in the second quarter. At this time, Thomas called a timeout and replaced O'Neal again, and immediately stabilized the situation. O'Neal faced the Celtics He was not tough enough inside, and scored consecutively again. He grabbed two offensive rebounds and made a tip-up, which stopped the Pacers' decline.

The competition became more and more intense, and the Conseco Arena began to emit steaming heat, which was formed by the sweat of the players, the heat emitted by tens of thousands of fans, and the heating and air conditioning of the arena. A cloud formed in the sky, and Leon stood on the sidelines wearing a formal suit, and began to feel that he was sweating continuously. The loud noise at the scene undoubtedly made people irritated, and the hot and dry air affected not only the coaches, but also the players.

The anger on both sides began to grow. From the collision foul between Pierce and O'Neal in the first quarter, the actions on both sides were not small. In the second half of the second quarter, Artest entangled Pierce, and PJ-Brown became more and more He talked directly with O'Neal in many places, and Tinsley also began to show a fierce side in the face of Arenas, who wanted anything and everything. Celtics players began to be brought down, fouled, and overturned more and more.

Leon paced anxiously on the sidelines and yelled at the referee.

In the last attack near the end of the first half, Paul Pierce broke through again with the ball. In the first half, he was the Celtics with the worst shooting touch, but he knew how to adjust and constantly used the breakthrough to cause damage. In the case of Jermaine O'Neal's two fouls and did not dare to defend with all his strength, he succeeded in many breakthroughs. In the first half, the Celtics maintained a double-digit lead against the Pacers through the performance of him and Arenas.

Facing Pierce's breakthrough, Artest chased after him, but this time it was not O'Neal who defended, but Brad Miller. He didn't jump, but raised his arms high and pressed his whole body stiffly. Go up, an obvious blocking foul, but Pierce fell heavily to the ground. This isn't the first time Pierce has fallen like this in the first half, or even the second.

The referee's whistle blew, but the scene didn't calm down. Paul Pierce jumped up from the ground and gave Miller the same push that Miller had just done to him.

The two sides suddenly exploded. Artest, who was behind Pierce, immediately rushed between the two. Brad Miller looked greasy, and Reggie Miller had stepped forward to persuade him loudly. . Antoine Walker held Paul Pierce, but Arenas stepped forward and glared at him without fear of Artest, but Tinsley was not to be outdone, and stood next to Artest.

The fans at the scene booed the Celtics players like crazy, and the referee whistled non-stop, trying to separate the players on both sides. At this time, PJ-Brown came out. He pulled Paul Pierce away, walked to the front, stared at everyone in the Pacers, and the momentum of the Celtics immediately overwhelmed them.

It was Reggie Miller, who was qualified enough to go forward to appease PJ Brown. The two discussed a few words before they dispersed.

Of course, Pierce ate a technical foul, Reggie Miller made a free throw, and Pierce immediately made two free throws. The Celtics ended the first half with a 62:52 advantage.

The skirmish at halftime foreshadowed a more intense second half 15 minutes later.

…………………

During the half-time break, the dressing rooms on both sides showed completely different scenes. In the away dressing room, Fox Leon tried to calm the players down. After all, this is an away game, and there are nine out of ten conflicts with the home team. of.

"This is their strategy to disrupt us with more intense physical confrontation. We will not be afraid of confrontation. We must be brave to fight, but we must also pay attention to protecting ourselves. Paul, you can no longer have technical fouls... and Gilber Special, focus on maintaining your shooting touch. In the first half, our goals were concentrated in the area, which is not a good thing..." Leon analyzed the situation in the first half while comforting the players.

The Celtics players have long been used to Leon's own computer brain. Things like shooting distribution that can't be seen without video support can form a shooting distribution map in his mind as long as he stares at the sidelines. , but also draw pictures on the tactical board.

In the first half, the Celtics' scoring was excessively concentrated on the three-point line and the three-second zone. Once the second half feels bad and the Pacers shrink their defense, they may fall into a scoring shortage.

On the other side, in the locker room of the home team, Isiah Thomas is yelling at the players. He rarely treats the players like this, but today he feels that it is necessary for the Pacers players to understand how to deal with the game tougher.

"Down their drive to the rim, block their drives, stick to their 3-pointers, and if they dare to drive in, make them look good! It's important to give them a hard time at all costs A little bit, let them be afraid, let them be afraid, let them lose the confidence to win!" Thomas took out what he did in the Bad Boys back then, he has already regarded the Celtics as a competitor in the playoffs, Determined to build a psychological advantage over the Celtics from the start of this game.

From his point of view, although there is PJ-Brown on the opposite side, Arenas is still too young, Walker has never had a big temper, Pierce is not easy to deal with, and there is nothing else.

As for the Pacers, Brad Miller has beaten O'Neal. O'Neal Jr. is an upright kid who dares to fight and punch. Not to mention Artest, who broke Jordan's ribs with his head, and Fox. Tinsley and Tinsley are not easy to mess with. Coupled with the home court advantage, Thomas decided to let the Celtics have another taste of the Pistons in the second half.

As for their coach? A rookie coach with no qualifications, no background, and no experience may be a genius in coaching skills, but the circle of basketball coaches never wins with skills.

Of course he didn't know that although Leon was in the locker room advising the players to be calm and explain the tactics carefully, but in the first half of the game, Leon had already broken two signature pens for drawing tactics.

He didn't want to see his players being hit and knocked to the ground, but because of his status as a coach, he couldn't step forward to argue with the opponent's players, so he had to blow the wind to the referee.

But human patience always has a limit.