The Basketball Court Swordsman

Tom Thibodeau sat on the bench without looking down, frowning. Next to him is Jimmy Butler, who scored 22 points today but is still to no avail. Jimmy is holding his chin with one hand at this time, you don't know what he is thinking.

Maybe, is he thinking about leaving Minneapolis?

Next to Jimmy Butler, there are two young rookies of the Timberwolves, Wiggins and Towns, who are serious because their performance is far from outstanding.

Fortunately, Downs had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Although as an insider, the hit rate is only 50%, but overall it is not too bad.

Wiggins was a little embarrassed. He scored 1 of 11 and only 2 points. And on the defensive end, whoever meets him can score. There is no doubt that he is the second biggest reason why the Timberwolves are beaten this way today.

The first reason is Henson's strategy of letting Antetokounmpo play the first position.

With 35 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists, Antetokounmpo played a "James-like" stat. His impact caused the Timberwolves' defense to collapse for a while, and once Thibodeau doubled, Antetokounmpo could always find his teammates in the open.

Today, Croatian striker Bogdanovic, who came off the bench, scored 20 points in one fell swoop, precisely because he easily made 4 of 5 shots from beyond the three-point line.

Together, these elements make the Timberwolves still 20 points behind when the game is about 1 minute and 38 seconds away. And this is why Butler, Towns and Wiggins are sitting off the court.

They don't have to fight anymore, the garbage time has already come...

"The game has lost the suspense. The Timberwolves have no resistance in front of the Pacers. I think Adam Xiao Hua must regret arranging this game as the opener. Because at this time, the ratings of this game must be terrible. ."

Barkley looked at the data on both sides, and the Timberwolves' team made only 21.2% of their three-pointers...If the Timberwolves were more accurate, they might be able to chase them. But when they can only play to the basket, Thibodeau is undoubtedly a wise choice to give up the game.

"Actually, I can't blame Stern. The Timberwolves are not weak. Coupled with Jimmy Butler's relationship with the Pacers, this ball is indeed very topical. It is not a problem to use it as an opener. Let me say, yes. Coach Henson’s tactical arrangement undermined the suspense of this game." Kenny Smith spread his hands, who made Henson make the Pacers so strong?

"The state of the Pacers is completely two concepts compared to the preseason. Many reporters said that the Pacers would not work after the loss of Paul. Um... they waited to be humiliated by Henson after the game. ." O'Neill smiled gleefully.

The TNT trio are already talking about other things. After all, the game itself has nothing to pay attention to.

Henson sat on the bench, his eyes fixed on the big screen. He can't wait and wants to embrace his first victory in the "last lap".

Without victory, he would not give up.

In the end, the referee's whistle freed the Timberwolves players. Jimmy Butler was the first to stand up and walk back to the player tunnel, rejecting all reporters' interviews.

Once again, he fell into the bankers' life arena again. Since Henson's return, Jimmy Butler has not won the ball here.

In the 16-17 season, Jimmy Butler, who was still in the Bulls, was swept 4-0 by the Pacers during the regular season and playoffs. Transferring to the Timberwolves last season, Butler came to the Banker's Life Arena twice, but only took away one victory.

And this year, Jimmy Butler lost the game the first time he came here. In three years, he played against Henson's team 11 times, but Butler only won 1 game...

This kind of achievement naturally made Jimmy Butler's face dull. As everyone knows, before the game, he still rightly said "I will not be soft."

For now, Henson does not need him to be soft.

Jimmy Butler "ran away in panic," Tom Thibodok was not so lucky.

Just after shaking hands with Henson, Thibodeau was surrounded by reporters. The reporters' questions made this former defensive master even more embarrassed.

"How do you rate this 17-point defeat?"

"Coach Thibodeau, why does your defensive system become useless in front of the Pacers!?"

"What do you think of Andrew Wiggins' performance today? Will you keep it in the starting lineup!?"

"Is the contradiction between Jimmy Butler and Downs and Wiggins true?"

As long as you lose, all kinds of mischief will come to your door. The darling Thibodeau, he must wipe his **** for this tragic defeat.

In the end, Thibodeau summed up the game in just one sentence: "Don't look down on Henson Joe, even if he doesn't have Chris Paul."

After speaking, Thibodeau squeezed the reporter to the player channel. He secretly rejoiced in his heart. Fortunately, he is a Western Conference team and can't run into Henson several times in a season...

The best way to meet a powerful enemy is not to fight with him, but to avoid it.

How miserable the Timberwolves is, how honorable the Pacers are.

Once the game ended, Antetokounmpo was sought after by reporters. One of the questions most people ask him is: "Have you ever thought about competing for the regular season MVP of this season."

There is no doubt that in the eyes of reporters and fans, Antetokounmpo's performance in the first game is completely MVP-level.

"I will work hard, but the first thing I think about is how to help the team win." Antetokounmpo was in a good mood. When Henson let him play the first position, he was actually a little worried. After all, the number one is the most special position on the basketball court.

But because of his trust in Henson, Antetokounmpo chose to accept it. As a result, he showed great power in the first game. There is no doubt that this time, Antetokounmpo's confidence in playing the first position has been greatly improved.

In addition to Antetokounmpo, Bogdanovic who scored 20 points, George who scored 18 points and Oladipo who scored 17 points are also the darlings of reporters.

Of course, the most popular is Indianapolis' basketball godfather Henson Joe.

Here, after all, is his home court.

"I lost the preseason deliberately. We don't want others to know how I play too early."

"The Timberwolves' defense is not good enough because their players are not as focused as the Bulls at that time."

"Break with Chris Paul? He just made a decision that is beneficial to his career. How do you see that we broke? We won five championships together. You give me a reason to break?"

"The goal for this season is, of course, the championship. I know the Warriors are strong this season, and I also know that this year the East is strong. But it doesn't matter. I will slowly prove in a season that the Pacers are also extremely strong. of."

Henson answered the reporters' questions throughout today and did not leave roughly. He just wants the world to know that the goals of the Pacers have not changed!

What does that sentence say? You can take what I don't want, but you can't grab what I want!

I haven't retired yet, so don't want to grab the championship!

111 to 94, the Pacers completed a perfect opener performance. But most people know that this is just the beginning of Henson's curtain call...

This year, the NBA officially only arranged for the opening game of the 2 games. One was a one-sided slaughter between the Pacers and the Timberwolves, and the other, the terrifying Golden State Warriors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder led by Westbrook.

In the first game of the new season, the two major titles won, which did not surprise people at all.

The victory of these two games seems to have allowed the Pacers and Warriors to compete from the beginning of the season.

On October 19th after the opening game, the Pacers took the Bucks lightly in Milwaukee, winning two consecutive victories. The Warriors relied on Jerebko's lore to suppress the Jazz in Salt Lake City, and also achieved two consecutive victories without any risk.

On October 20, the Pacers took the Nets in a back-to-back match. The Golden State Warriors humiliated the Washington Wizards with 144 points in a single game at home.

There was no overtime in the game, but because Curry shot a terrible 11-for-16 three-pointer, the whole game blasted 51 points! Let the Wizards fall completely.

The Golden State Warriors are showing their energy unscrupulously. Although it is the Wizards who lose, Henson is very clear that the Warriors are provoking themselves!

Subsequently, the Warriors and Timberwolves defeated the Knicks and Grizzlies respectively, winning four consecutive victories. The Warriors and Thunder have also become the only two teams in the league that have not lost.

Unfortunately, the Warriors' undefeated golden body was broken on October 23. In the face of the Denver Nuggets, who have improved tremendously this season, the Warriors fought the opponent to the last minute, but they still lost by two points.

Among them, the Nuggets star Jokic scored 27 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists in this game. He used his actions to prove that the center still has the dominant power in this league.

So far, the Warriors have lost their first game of the season. As an opponent in a secret fight with the Warriors, people want to see if the Pacers can continue to win, so as to take the lead in leaving behind the Warriors.

However, in the opinion of most experts, it is not easy for the Pacers to win five consecutive victories and leave the Warriors.

Because on October 24, the Pacers' opponent will be the San Antonio Spurs!

Although the Spurs lost Leonard this summer, everyone knows. Popovich's team is never a persimmon.

The "Cold War" between the Pacers and the Warriors is about to enter its first turning point.