The Basketball Court Swordsman

A Jimmy Butler disrupted Scott Brooks' plan. I thought I could rely on Kevin Martin to open a few points, but in the end the Pacers pulled the difference away.

At the end of the game, the Thunder were 6 points behind. Of course, this gap is not too big. At this point in time when the game has 24 minutes to end, the 6-point gap is even negligible. But what worries Brooks most is not the 6 points on the surface, but the broken balance.

At the beginning of the game, the Thunder and the Pacers have been playing back and forth, neither of them can take advantage of each other. But now, in the rotation time, the Thunder cannot keep up with the Pacers. The 6 points behind was only because of the short time given to Jimmy Butler, not how well the Thunder did.

After returning to the locker room, Brooks made a lot of changes on the defensive end, the purpose of which is to prevent Horford's organization from continuing to work. He knows very well that the Thunder has no problem with their offense. The problem is that every time the score is opened, the Pacers will always be chased back.

Therefore, defense is the top priority for the Thunder in the second half of the game.

However, in the second half of the game, Brooks found that Horford held the ball to organize the number of times is gradually decreasing. Paul George has played more and more singles with the ball.

The picture of George scoring again and again undoubtedly reminds the Thunder fans of last season's finals, when Paul George and Durant scored each other. Now, that Paul George is back.

In the past, the Pacers gave people the impression of a team dominated by team offense. This is actually a bit like George Karl, there is no superstar, but everyone may suddenly become the superstar tonight. Last season's Miami Heat was defeated by the Pacers' team with the ultimate team offense, which created 45% of their three-pointers.

But today, Henson changed his previous style and put more emphasis on individual singles. In the past, that was because Henson didn't have a sure and efficient singles to score points except Paul. But now... the players are great and they can really do whatever they want.

Paul George's large and efficient singles with the ball, coupled with Al Horford's brilliant pass or score, make the Pacers' offense very interesting.

The picture of the two sides "giving" each other offensive climax never appeared again, and some were just alternate increases in scores.

So just like that, the Pacers and Thunder once again entered the rotation time with similar points difference, and this is exactly what Scott Brooks didn't want to see.

At the end of the third quarter, Brooks first let the "Swiss Army Knife" play to contain Jimmy Butler, but they also lacked Martin, a second-team scorer.

Seeing the scoring stagnated, Brooks replaced Martin again. Then Jimmy Butler once again became the focus of much attention.

Finally, Butler's big heart mid-range buzzer jumper gave the Pacers a double-digit lead at the end of the three quarters. 10 points difference, this is not so easy to fill the gap for this close match.

So throughout the fourth quarter, the Thunder struggled in chasing points. On the Pacers side, they are defending firmly. The wing formed by Leonard and Paul George made the Thunder's offense difficult. Serge Ibaka graduated with 6 fouls early because of Stephenson's desperate impact.

What did Henson say? The most effective way to solve trouble is to keep trouble away from the game.

After Ibaka came off the field, the Thunder lacked a protective frame. At this point, Brooks's team became passive. The real collapse of the Thunder begins three minutes before the end of the game.

"Defense?" Vogel gave Henson a surprised look. He always thought that Henson's purpose today was to fight the opponent.

"Yes, we have to rely on defense to close the game. Durant and Westbrook are already very tired, and now the defensive strength is just enough to make them misfire."

"How to prevent?"

Henson did not answer, but waited for Brooks to stop the game. Plan A that allowed Horford to organize the offense went well. Jimmy Butler's state today also paved the way for Henson's plan. Now, it’s time to officially move Plan B out of the water!

So, three minutes before the end of the game, when the timeout came back, Henson sent in an outside group consisting of Jimmy Butler, Paul George and Leonard.

This is a lineup that Henson has never used in a formal game before, but Brooks, as the first witness, is certainly not happy.

This lineup looks very strange at first glance, because the three perimeters are not point guards, and they seem to be too similar in function. Neither Jimmy Butler nor Leonard can maximize the space. But in fact, Henson did not send this lineup for offense at all, so he doesn't care whether he can open up the space.

With Horford's reasonable distribution, the offense of this lineup is actually not as bad as people think. Of course, the most terrifying thing about this lineup is that no matter how you switch defenses on these three outside lines, no matter how Durant finds the screen and finds the wrong position, they can't find weaknesses!

"Kevin, face Jimmy Butler after taking the screen. No, Butler's defensive nerves are too sensitive. He didn't leave Kevin any shooting space. The Thunder missed the offense!"

"This is a pick-and-roll cooperation between Westbrook and KD. Russell accelerates directly! Oh! Leonard rewarded Westbrook for a big risk!"

On the court, Durant and Westbrook became extremely embarrassed. They scored a good 45 minutes, but in the last 3 minutes they collapsed because of Henson's formation.

"This is simply the lineup that Coach Henson sent out to close the game." Looking at the three outside lines on the field, Kenny Smith couldn't help swallowing. There may be no second team in the league that can rank such a luxurious defensive lineup.

In this way, in the last three minutes of the game, Durant and Westbrook were completely lost in Henson's dream of the strongest defensive lineup. This lineup only lasted three minutes, but it allowed the Pacers to play a wave of 10 to 2 offensive, relying on the defensive and offensive personal abilities to end this extremely difficult tug of war.

106 to 98, before the start of the game, the Chesapeake Energy Arena was shaken. After the game, there was only a dead silence for Scott Brooks.

Curling's Scott Brooks, he became the first victim of this set of deaths in the league in the future.

"Did you see it? Charles." At the end of the game, Kenny Smith sat in his commentary stand. It wasn't that he couldn't get excited, he was frightened.

"I saw it, the Pacers... still won the game without Chris Paul."

"No, this is not the point. Did you see the lineup that Coach Henson sent in the last three minutes? Paul George, Jimmy Butler and Leonard. This lineup only appeared for three minutes, and then The game ended. This lineup made Durant the scoring king and the impactful Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles exhausted. This is a set...a set of'Death Defense' lineup!"

Kenny Smith didn't know it yet, and the name he created casually became one of the Pacers' business cards in the future.

"This lineup does not actually have to be on the court for too long, but as long as it is moved up, it can achieve miraculous effects! Many coaches have a lineup that ends the game, and for Coach Henson, as long as he puts on the death defense lineup, It means that the opponent is going to be unlucky. There is no doubt that the Pacers have another powerful murder weapon!"

In the last three minutes, the defense was to the extreme, and then individual singles were used to replace the offensive organization... I have to say that Henson Joe's idea was really bold and jumpy.

At the end of the game, the reporter from the sidelines of T.NT TV also informed Henson about Kenny Smith's evaluation of the lineup.

"Death defensive lineup? Well, you can really name it, but I like it very much. Thank you Kenny Smith for naming it, and of course, thank you Scott Brooks for the victory."

Henson seemed to be in a good mood, and both plans were successfully executed. In Henson's arsenal, there are undoubtedly two more weapons that can kill people.