"I heard you gave him that old Jaguar of yours?" Pritchard stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the president's office with a cup of coffee. After the time entered April, the weather is getting better and better, and people are getting more and more energetic.

It seems that for the Pacers, that four-year-long cold winter is about to end.

"If every vintage Jaguar could get 55 wins for the Pacers, I'd give ten." Bird waved his hand, not paying much attention.

That Jaguar didn't cost Bird much money, and there were more treasures in his collection. On top of that, Bird was willing to let his car be driven away. This is his reward for Henson, and if Henson doesn't accept it, Bird will not be happy.

"55 wins, I couldn't have thought about it before the season started! How many games did we win last season? 32 games! Henson has only been in the team for a year, and just bringing in an All-Star from Horford has improved our record by 23 games! He's an incredible guy, isn't he? ”

In the beginning, Pritchard didn't really trust Henson much, after all, his previous resume was a blank slate. But now, Pritchard loves their Chinese-American manager just as much as Bird.

"Even I didn't expect him to be so successful, and I thought at first that if he could get us to eighth place in the East, thank goodness. So, no one knows what life will become. Bird said as he turned on his computer and looked up the latest NBA news.

"By the way, Bird, last time Vivek said about Chris. Paul's Affair ......"

"We'd like to have a chance to get involved in this deal, but my idea is that we're going to have to get Henson in for a meeting. But let's wait until the end of the season. Now, it's up to him to put his heart and soul into the playoffs. ”

It stands to reason that for such a thing as trading players, Bird, the president, can make the decision. A lot of coaches don't help even if they're unhappy with the team's trade.

But Henson's situation is different, and his success this season has forced management to ask for his opinion, which shows how much Bird values Henson.

Meanwhile, on the training ground at the Consec Arena, Henson has already led everyone to start preparing for the playoffs.

"The Magic won at home in the last game, and they probably thought they could easily take us out in the playoffs! Fuck the fart! ”

Henson was excited, and the last sentence was said in Chinese. However, the players are actually used to Henson's love of scolding "tomatoes" when he is angry.

"Uh...... I mean, we didn't even play half of our strength in the last game, and here two days later, in Indianapolis, at Conseco Arena, I want all of you to cheer up and teach the Magic a good lesson! Do you get it!? ”

"Understood, Chief!" The players responded in unison, like an army about to go out.

Even though they were slaughtered by the Magic in the last game, the morale of the players was not hit, they held their breath and were ready to vent.

All the players know that the last game was lost to the Magic because of the rotation. But the media didn't see it that way, believing that the mighty Howard would completely destroy the Pacers' three-second zone. As a result, in the previews of the playoffs in the major media outlets, almost everyone is very tacitly optimistic about the Magic.

"4 to 0, maybe 4 to 1. But there's no doubt that it's the Orlando Magic who will advance. The Pacers' regular season performance may be impressive enough, but the regular season and the playoffs are not the same. The Pacers have little playoff experience from coach to player, and I believe that the final game of the regular season will be a microcosm of the entire series to come. ”

"The Pacers were extremely impressed with us during the regular season, but the playoffs were a completely different battleground. I'm expecting Coach Henson to lead the team to a great performance, but I have to admit that the Magic have a better chance of qualifying. ”

"Dwight. Howard, who is third on ESPN's MVP list, behind LeBron and Rose. Such a powerful interior superstar will break through the Pacers' defense! ”

The overwhelming rhetoric in the media is not only visible to Henson, but also to the players.

It's just that being despised like this because they didn't show their strength is naturally unbearable for young people. So even if Henson doesn't have to boost morale, the media has helped him to motivate all the players.

Look at Stephenson, even this guy who doesn't do his job is unusually committed to training today, not to mention the others.

Now, the players don't care about the regular season awards, they don't care who wins the championship. They only care about one thing, take out the Orlando Magic!

In the afternoon, after the players had gone home from practice, Henson and Vogel stayed behind to study the Magic's game footage.

The playoffs are not the same as the regular season, and you have to win the same opponent four times to count as a true victory. Therefore, the study of the enemy must also be four times as much as in the regular season.

"Honestly, Henson. I don't think it's much easier against the Magic than against the Celtics or the Bulls. Looking at Howard as he raged across the screen again and again, Vogel couldn't help but sigh.

Henson didn't refute, he knew that Vogel wasn't pouring cold water on himself, but just stating the facts.

The Magic just played the Finals two years ago, and they even crushed the mighty Green Shirts and the LeBron-led Cavaliers. And Howard, the core who led the Magic team to do all this, was still in the Magic array at this time.

A team that has just played the Finals and the core is still there, no one will find them easy to deal with.

"That's right, I never said this series would be easy. I just think we're more likely to qualify from the Magic than the Celtics, the Bulls and the Heat. Howard, the core of the Magic team, is hard to stop, even if Al tries his best. After Yao Ming and O'Neal stepped up the throne, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Howard was the league's No. 1 center. Since the core of the Magic team is so strong, then we will find a breakthrough from other players. ”

Henson watched the video, a smiling expression on his face again.

"Other players?" Vogel didn't know what Henson was going to do.

"Yes, the other players, as it happens, the role players of the Magic team are full of holes!"

"The first thing to say is that the Magic have lost two important big men this season, Rashad . Lewis and "Polish Hammer" Gortat," Henson began to explain his thoughts to Vogel as he watched the video.

"Lewis, a tall shooter who is nearly 2.10 meters tall, is the most important part of the team that can provide Howard with enough space, and is also the second scoring point for the Magic. And Gortat, the center trained by the Magic himself, although not eye-catching in terms of statistics, his excellent rim protection ability can also buy Howard a lot of rest. But now, the Magic team doesn't have these two points, and the impact on them is actually huge! ”

Gortat's departure left the Magic without even a proper interior bench. Once Howard needed to rest, they could only use Brandon at 2.03m. Bass plays the position of a central striker. If the Magic want to dominate the interior, Howard will have to play more than 40 minutes per game! And without Lewis, Howard would have to take on more scoring pressure. Even if his physical fitness is as strong as Howard, I'm afraid that such a high intensity will make him unbearable. ”

"You mean that?" Vogel seems to have some eyebrows.

"Yes, we can't slap Howard to death, but we can consume him! When Howard breaks down, believe me, the whole magic will collapse! Although the Magic team retains Howard as the core, they don't actually have the strength of the Finals anymore after letting go of other important players! Role players, but they're also very important. ”

After Henson finished speaking, he rubbed his hands in anticipation, "And don't forget, the Magic team can't get the care of the league whistle every time." ”