Rajan. Rondo is a new signing who has just joined the Pacers this season. At one time, he was one of the best point guards in the league, and Rondo played an indelible role beside the Celtics Big Three.

Later, the small-ball era came, and guards like Rondo who didn't shoot three-point accurately enough began to be gradually looked down upon. As a result, the defender, who once saw a triple-double as a bag, wandered multiple teams.

He has assisted Dirk with the Dallas Mavericks, tried to bring the team to the playoffs with Cousins with the Sacramento Kings, and worked with Jimmy Cousins with the Chicago Bulls. Butler and Wade have formed the Big Three together, and the New Orleans Pelicans have partnered Cousins again.

One team after a season, and the constant wandering has made Rondo grow old in the drift. And because the fans have no sense of belonging to him, his popularity is also declining rapidly compared to the Celtic period.

This has also led to the fact that today's Rajan. Rondo's strength is greatly underestimated.

As for P.J. Tucker, he is more "civilian" than Rondo.

Back then, Rondo was also a superstar that teams scrambled to buy. But P.J. Tucker, he's always been a conscientious role player. It wasn't until he joined the Pacers nearly two years ago that his name gradually became known.

After coming to the Pacers, Henson often used Tucker, who was less than 2 meters tall, to play as a small lineup center. Because of this, Tucker has left a profound impact on people.

He has been playing with his brilliant defense and occasional explosive scoring performances again and again, which are all reasons why fans love him.

In the playoffs last season, if Tucker's defense wasn't strong enough during rotation time, it is not certain who would have been able to hold on to the last seven tiebreakers in the end.

Both of these guys are important players for the Pacers, but when you think about it, they don't seem to be that important. Because, these two guys are often forgotten by the fans.

After all, they don't shine as much as George and Antetokounmpo, don't play as pleasing as Siakam and Oladipo, and don't shine as Derrick. Rose and Stephenson have sentimental bonuses. Even compared to appearance, they can't compare to Kuzma's little student.

So, when the fans saw Rondo and Tucker in the starting lineup, they were very surprised. Everyone thought that Henson might change the lineup, but they definitely didn't think he would put Rondo and Tucker in the starting lineup.

"Coach Henson has changed the lineup, and this one is very special. Rajan. Rondo has only started twice this season, and P.J. Tucker hasn't even started a start. But in such an important game today, Coach Henson sent such a surprise lineup. To be honest, I don't quite know what Coach Henson is trying to do. ”

Kenny. Smith scratched his head, could it be that Rondo and Tucker were just fake starters to cover people's ears?

Don't forget, the Pacers still have players on the bench such as Oladipo, Brogdon, Kuzma and Bogdanovic.

These guys, it seems, are more qualified to play as starters. Therefore, Henson's unexpected change of formation may just be a false shot.

Steve. Kerr thinks the same way, and he doesn't think that Henson's replacement of Tucker and Rondo on the court will change the fact that the Warriors are already extremely strong.

In front of a lineup like Curry, Thompson, Durant, Green and Cousins, Rondo and Tucker are not worth mentioning at all!

"Go on the field and destroy them. This year, we will definitely win! ”

Before the game began, Kerr said only one thing to his players. Everyone on the Warriors team is on the court one by one, and they are bound to get revenge on the opponent's home court.

However, among these people, Cousins, who was the most excited in the first few games, was doubtful for a year. The one called P.J. Tucker, Cousins didn't know about it, and he didn't want to know about it.

But Rajan. Rondo, as someone who has worked with him for two years, Cousins is well aware that Rondo is by no means a simple player......

"It's about to start and I'm honestly looking forward to it. While Coach Henson's change of formation has caused a lot of controversy, his decision-making ability is unquestionable. Let's stop speculating on the complications and enjoy the game! ”

As soon as Barkley finished speaking, the referee threw the basketball in the air. As always, the Pacers didn't get basketball. Lopez has always been quite Buddhist in the scrum phase, so Henson is also used to "letting the opponent attack first".

The Warriors are aggressive, five people pressed over, and none of the five were easy to mess with. You just have to put one of these five and he can kill the game.

So today, Henson defended with a resolute 1-on-1. It's okay to let the opponent score, but you can't let the opponent score easily. Even if a Warriors player shoots the ball against the defense, Henson admits it.

So, at the beginning of the game, Durant really scored against Tucker's defense.

It was a very simple offense, with Curry and Thompson opening up space, Cousins covering, and Green pulling from beyond the three-point line.

Durant borrowed the cover and went straight to the mid-range to shoot a jumper, and against Tucker, he had a height advantage.

Although Tucker's defense is very tough, and the interference is very timely. But Durant has always been the league's top scorer, and that doesn't bother him at all.

In this way, Durant's dry shot hit steadily. With a simple tactic, the Warriors took the lead by 2 points.

Kevin. Durant, he is definitely the most powerful individual attack among the active stars! Let's see how the Pacers respond! ”

The commentators all expressed their emotions about Durant's goal, but what Henson saw was Tucker's hard defense. As long as Tucker is still working on this, his plan won't fail......

Next, switch to the Pacers offense.

In the beginning, Steve. Kerr also thought Antetoquint would act as a point guard. So, he let Green smash Antetokounmpo today. When necessary, Kerr also allowed Green to make small moves.

Surprisingly, however, Antetokounmpo didn't catch the ball at all. Rondo took the ball steadily across the half-court and then began to organize the attack in style!

"Rajan. Rondo was organizing the attack, and he felt like he was back at Celtic. ”

Once his teammates are running, Rondo beckons, and he also needs a cover.

Brooke. Lopez took the lead and lifted the pick-and-roll. Cousins was a little jealous because he didn't know what Rondo was going to do next.

Rondo bypassed Curry with cover, and Cousins did not switch guards, but continued to guard Lopez on the outside. No one wants to be into a sponge full of holes by this big white man.

Rondo's breakthrough speed is not fast, but he has been fighting against Curry behind him, keeping the basketball in his cylinder range undisturbed. Seeing Rondo just go into the restricted area, the rest of the Warriors didn't react. Because in their opinion, Rondo will pass on anyway in the end.

But until the end, Rondo did not pass the ball. He carried Curry away and made a nice low-handed layup to score the ball steadily.

2 to 2, no one thought that the Pacers would be the first to open it would be Rajan. Rondo.

Cousins shook his head, he had already reminded everyone not to underestimate that eccentric point guard!

Rondo glanced at Henson after scoring and saw that Henson was applauding himself. The 9 smiled in his heart, and Henson did what he said!

It's no secret that Rondo has had a bad time with head coaches with the Celtics, Mavericks and Pelicans before. Because this guy thinks that sometimes the tactics arranged by the coach are not as smart as his. So, Rondo often looks down on his coach. And those coaches were also angry because Rondo changed tactics and commanded without authorization.

After all, this can already be regarded as a challenge to the authority of the manager.

On the Pacers, however, Henson and Rondo never had an argument. This is because Henson's arrangement can basically be approved by Rondo. And Henson also told Rondo that as long as he can win, he will allow Rondo to have some room to play freely.

That goal just now was the result of Rondo's sudden free play. If he had just been with the Celtics, Rivers would have scolded him to the fullest. If it's in the Mavericks, come on, Rick. Carlisle is a point guard and a coach who has to direct every half.

Henson, the only one, would applaud his freedom of movement. Undoubtedly, this earned Henson the trust of Rondo.

Rondo's morale was boosted after the goal, so he tangled Curry on the defensive end. Like Paul, Rondo likes to use rough little moves when defending. Of course, unlike Pachuria, Rondo doesn't hurt people on purpose.

"Come on, how did you lose here last year, and you have to lose this year!"

On the side of the confrontation, Rondo did not forget to spray trash talk at Curry. Rondo's mouth, at the beginning, Kobe, who has always had the wind of a general, broke out. Because of this mouth, Rondo didn't fight with Paul at the beginning.

Curry ignored Rondo on the surface, but inwardly he still wanted to give the old guard a little color.

So, Curry received Durant's ball, and then shot directly outside the three-point line!

It's a pity that Rondo's blockade is very timely. Although Curry can shoot even without looking at the basket, it is not a return shot.

"Bang!" The basketball hoop made a crisp sound, and Stephen. Curry shoots the basket!

'Rondo is still quite experienced defensively, he doesn't lose his position. If Curry wants to score on this guy's head, he'll probably have to figure it out. ”

Rondo defended Curry, which strengthened Cousins' concerns. This guy wasn't sent to make up the numbers today!

After Curry hit the basket, Antetokounmpo grabbed the rebound. Kerr was on guard against this, and he let the players quickly retreat into position, not giving you the conditions to fight back at all.

But Antetokounmpo didn't make a quick push with the ball and handed the ball to Rondo. Again, Rondo slowly controlled the ball through the half.

Since Paul's departure, the Pacers' offense has been as fast as they can, preferably with three or two strikes to break down the opposing defense.

But today, the Pacers are playing the traditional offensive mode of using the point guard as the starting point. Cole frowned, he couldn't figure out what Henson was going to do.

Once again, Rondo was organizing an attack, and again calling for cover. But just when everyone thought he would break through, Rondo suddenly passed the ball!

The basketball went through Curry's crotch, then through the crowd, hit the ground and bounced back into George's hand. Rondo is equivalent to giving the ball to George from the human slit. His vision and passing accuracy are truly breathtaking.

George had just gotten rid of Durant's entanglement and cut in, but he didn't expect Rondo to actually get the ball away.

Then the next thing for George is simple. He raised his hand slightly, flicked it casually, and the basketball was obediently advanced by him.

An easy chance to score, George wants to score and Durant wants to score, the difficulty is completely different. Make it easy for teammates to score, that's Rajan. The value of Rondo.

4-0, both goals were related to Rondo, and the Pacers' scoring was understated.

And after the Warriors followed, Tucker immediately killed the No. 35, known as the "Grim Reaper".

Seeing Rondo and Tucker working so hard, Henson smirked.

His change may not be effective all at once, but after the game, everyone will see the results.

Five-star warriors are not invincible!