The Basketball Court Swordsman

Chapter 198: : Rocket Going Crazy

Since the 08-09 season with the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals in seven games, the Houston Rockets, who lost Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, have been in a very awkward position.

Morey doesn't seem to be willing to put it straight, so the team did not drastically overthrow and rebuild. After all, no one knew at the time that the injury would cause Yao Ming to retire. Therefore, the Rockets still take the playoffs as their first goal, waiting for Yao Ming to come back and lead them to the sky.

Who knows, the "Great Wall of China" finally fell overwhelmed, so the Rockets also ranked ninth in the awkward position in the West for two consecutive seasons.

There is no superstar, but the configuration is barely good, and the lineup is very embarrassing. Ninth in the West, this result is only one step away from the playoffs. Although it is in the lottery area, but there is no too high order to use, the results are also very embarrassing.

So this season, the Rockets don't want to be so embarrassed anymore. They are eager for the playoffs, eager to show their strength. Then try to attract superstars to join this summer.

Currently, the Rockets temporarily rank seventh in the West. But the Jazz is only 0.5 wins away from the eighth in the West, and only one win is ahead of the ninth Suns in the West.

Therefore, with the regular season still nearly a month away, the Rockets’ playoff spots are still not safe. There is no doubt that they are now the kind of team that doesn't need to think about anything, just play their lives!

Although Henson's Pacers now ranks second in the East, they are not confident.

After losing to the Spurs, the Pacers' current record is 38 wins and 11 losses. The Chicago Bulls played three more games than the Pacers, and the record was an impressive 41 wins and 11 losses.

Therefore, if Henson wants to be No. 1 in the East, he must continue to catch up! The results of the Bulls in the regular season are so explosive, this group of guys can even rush to 50 wins in the shrinking season, it is really incredible! If Rose is as healthy as the previous three seasons, God knows how awesome the Bulls can play.

Therefore, the Pacers will not play "healthy basketball" in the last month because of self-satisfaction. Although they have secured a place in the playoffs, they will also be very desperate. Because Thibodeau and Rose’s bulls will not be caught up so easily.

"Get up and forget about the loss last night! The Houston Rockets are not easy to provoke. If you take it lightly, you will go home from Texas with a two-game losing streak! Does anyone want a two-game losing streak?"

"No!" Henson asked from the sidelines, and the players answered on the court.

The Rockets' seventh place in the Western Conference and a record of 28 wins and 24 losses make them seem not very strong. Therefore, Henson must alert his players before the start of the game.

The Rockets' recent performance is not bad. In the last game they even killed the Grizzlies, who even Henson feared for three points.

Among them, the Slovenian defender Goran Dragic, known as "Little Nash", performed particularly well.

Last season, Dragic was just an ordinary substitute who averaged 7 points and 2 assists per game. But in the second half of the season, Dragic undoubtedly played his own worth.

In the past week, Dragic has averaged 18.9 points and 7.6 assists per game! There is no doubt that this is the data of a top point guard in the league.

Of course, Dragic is not the only one who broke out for the Rockets. Courtney Lee, who averaged only 11.2 points per game this season, has averaged 20.2 points per game in the last week. The Rockets' first-year rookie and the white forward Chandler Parsons, who was selected with the eighth overall pick in the second round of 2011, averaged 13.7 points per game in the past week. For a second-round show, such statistics are simply incredible. After all, in the final year of Parsons University, the NCAA averaged only 11.4 points per game.

And Marcus, Camby and Scola's two insiders, even played back-to-back performance.

As Henson said, the Rockets are now in a situation where they will play the playoffs if they die, so their full potential has been stimulated.

Faced with such a team that dares to fight and fight and is in great shape, Henson naturally does not allow players to take it lightly.

At the Toyota Center at night, Henson did not dare to relax for a moment. Even when interviewing reporters on the sidelines, he didn't play as usual.

Seriously, this is all the impression Henson gives today.

"It seems that the Pacers don't want to leave Texas with a two-game losing streak. The game hasn't even started, and Coach Henson just kept his face close. It's like this is a playoff game that decides survival." Former Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy smiled on the commentary stage.

Outsiders don't know that Henson's goal is to be No. 1 in the East, so naturally they will feel puzzled. The Pacers' results are so good, why is Henson not satisfied?

Henson also doesn't need others to understand. When the Pacers stand on the stage of the Eastern Conference Finals or even the Finals in two months, they will naturally understand.

After the game began, the performance of the Pacers players did not disappoint Henson.

Although the game started, "Little Nash" Dragic kicked off the curtain with a precise three-pointer under the cheers of the Rockets fans. But soon, the Pacers immediately responded with a wave of 5-0 under the guidance of "True Paul".

After this wave of 5-0, the game completely fell into the pace of the Pacers. Paul even shot and passed, allowing the Pacers to score again and again on the offensive end. On the defensive end, the Pacers' strong perimeter defensive lineup also made Dragic and Kontney Lee dumb.

Within a few minutes, the Pacers had a perfect start of 13 to 4! Van Gundy couldn't help shaking his head: "The strength gap between the two sides is obvious. Coach McHale must find a way!"

After speaking, the scene was aimed at McHale, the former green shirt star "Refrigerator" who replaced Adelman in Houston.

The Rockets fired Adelman because Adelman allowed the Rockets to experience two consecutive embarrassing seasons. McHale's goal is undoubtedly the same as Henson when he first took office, that is, to do everything possible to get the Rockets back into the playoffs.

It's only the first quarter, and the Rockets have been hit 13-4. If this game loses, the Rockets may even fall out of the top eight in the West!

As a result, McHale stopped the game, and the cheers in the Toyota Center were much smaller than before. As soon as he came up, he was beaten 13 to 4. The Pacers undoubtedly poured cold water on the Houstonians.

"Everyone did a good job, keep it up!" Henson was not idle either. For him, this game hasn't been won. But for the players, they are undoubtedly thinking: "The Houston Rockets are not as good as the boss said."

However, in the game, the players have this kind of thinking, it is often a problem...

After returning from the timeout, the Rockets began to "go crazy".

Dragic shot a three-pointer against Paul's interference, Konteny Lee easily shook off the absent-minded George and made a mid-range shot. Even Marcus Camby, who is nearly 40 years old, also staged a tip-up on Horford!

In an instant, the advantages of the Pacers disappeared. Henson was so angry that his nostrils smoked, and his screaming while standing on the sidelines became the most beautiful scenery in the first quarter.

In the end, the Rockets successfully stabilized the situation. 23 to 27, they are only 4 points behind!

"How did you agree to me during the day!? What the **** are you playing now!? It's only 4 points away, gentlemen! Houston Rockets, chased the difference to only 4 points! Don't just say nothing, we To control the game, control the game!" During the break, Henson's roar made his throat hoarse.

I have to say that Henson's roar has played some role, but the effect is limited.

In the second quarter, the Pacers' defense improved slightly, and the Rockets made more mistakes. Dragic passed the ball out of bounds, Parsons walked, Camby was intercepted... Ordinarily, these errors were enough to kill the Rockets ten times.

But today, the Pacers did not take advantage of the opponent's mistakes to open the score. Because the Pacers themselves have fallen into a vicious circle of frequent mistakes.

There are several types of turnovers, those caused by oppression by the opponent's defense, and the mistakes caused by no tacit understanding between players. Of course, there is one of Henson's most intolerable mistakes caused by players' inattention.

"What are you doing!? Concentrate and stare at the basketball! Are the stands at the Toyota Center nice? I want to sit down and see!" When Stephenson did not receive a long pass from Paul for the second time in this game, Henson broke out completely.

This was obviously a good opportunity to fight back, but because of his own reasons, he couldn't grasp it, which made Henson feel unacceptable.

He dropped the tactical board in his hand, left the bench, and sat down on the auditorium next to the technical stage.

"What is Coach Henson doing?" The on-site camera naturally wouldn't let go of this detail, and the scene of Henson leaving the bench and sitting in the audience also caught Van Gundy's attention.

"Uh... Coach Henson, this is my position..." When a fan who bought popcorn came back, he found that the Pacers coach was sitting in his position. He was With a dazed look.

"Let's change positions, it's more comfortable to sit here and watch the ball!" Henson replied indifferently, but he stood up helplessly and walked back.

The Pacers players also seemed to know that their head coach was angry, so they became slightly alert. But even so, after half the game, the Rockets still chased the game by only 2 points.

2 points difference, the Pacers still lead. But how bad the team played, Henson knew best. If we continue to play in this state, they will be overturned in the second half.

Seeing Henson walk into the player tunnel with anger, Vogel shook his head. It seems that during this intermission, a volcano erupted in the locker room.

Well, yes. Henson was at the Toyota Center last season. He broke a locker just because of his anger...

Destiny is really amazing sometimes. I hope that today, Henson will stop damaging the property of the Toyota Center.

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