With an annual salary of 3.38 million, Brooke. Lopez stayed with the Pacers.

When the contract was signed, people said the Pacers were making a lot of money. The media have said that they don't know what method Henson used to leave Lopez behind.

However, Henson did nothing. Brooke. The reason why Lopez is willing to re-sign the Pacers with a base salary is because he has not received offers from other teams at all.

Yes, in this small-ball era, traditional big centers are indeed not so popular, and they often do not become the first choice for team reinforcements. In this era, teams like the kind of big man who is versatile, athletic, and can run as fast as a defender.

But it's clear that Brooke. Lopez doesn't fall into that category of centers.

Therefore, it was not Henson who took advantage, but Henson continued to play the starting line with a center who was disliked by almost the whole league, and he also played well.

Especially today, Brooke. Lopez's role is vividly executed.

At this point, three minutes into the fourth quarter, Henson called a timeout.

The Raptors' offense caused the Pacers huge problems, and while Henson didn't put all of his defensive focus on Leonard today, the Raptors bench stepped up again to help the team get through the storm.

Fred. Van Vliet, Henson will not forget the name. This guy's previous performance was not to mention the media, even Henson thought it was a joke.

In the first game of the series, Henson looked at some of the Raptors' high-level stats. Leonard, the Raptors' top scorer, has 31 points, but his plus/minus is -4.

That is, in the 42 minutes that Leonard was on the court, the team ended up losing by 4 points.

The plus/minus is high, yes, VanVleet, who has been unable to find a three-point goal for many games, has a plus/minus of +5.

But what about Van Vleet's real performance? He made 1 of 6 shots and scored only 6 points including free throws.

So does a plus/minus mean that Van Vleet must be performing better than Leonard? Not necessarily. So, Henson is not superstitious about these high-level data at all. Whether a player is good or bad, data is just a reference, performance is king.

And what Van Vleet is most praised by the media is precisely his high-level data!

When it comes to Nas, why not Jeremy Lin? Because of his high-order data. Why was VanVleet fully trained by the Raptors? Because of his high-order data. How can this guy get a chance to play if he plays so badly? High-order data.

High-level data seems to be a lifesaver for Van Vleet, and his high-level data is always very beautiful. That's why Henson thinks Van Vleet is a joke.

What's the use of a player's high-level stats, no matter how beautiful they are, but they can't help the team win?

But in the last two games, Henson has admitted that VanVleet has slapped himself hard in the face. He scored 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the last game, leaving the Pacers out of a game. And today, when the Raptors were in crisis, it was VanVleet who came out to stir up the situation and let Leonard's team recover.

His efficient scoring and clear-thinking passing revitalized the Raptors' offense, and most importantly, his three-pointers always pulled the Raptors back from the cliff in crunch time.

Without VanVleet, the Pacers might have a double-digit lead by now. But unfortunately, because of that guy's presence, Henson had to call a timeout after playing three minutes in the fourth quarter. Because if you sit back and watch any longer, the Raptors will have to pull the score back.

"Well done, well done, you're strong." Henson beckoned the players to sit down on the sidelines and pulled out the tactics board.

At this point, the Raptors trailed the Pacers by just six points. For Henson, this is a very dangerous point margin. And at this moment, he does not allow any danger and accident to happen. If the Raptors win two games in a row at home, the consequences are unimaginable.

The playoffs are not only about strength and stars, but also about momentum. The Clippers were able to knock out the Warriors twice with their unyielding momentum, and the Nuggets were able to play four overtimes with the Trail Blazers with their unyielding momentum. Naturally, if the Raptors win one more game, they will also use their momentum to win the next games.

Henson can't let the opposition play with momentum, and it's a must-win game for him. So the six-point gap made Henson feel uneasy.

In the third quarter just past, the Raptors once again played a beautiful defense against George and Antetokounmpo. Nas resolutely used Leonard to defend George, and then used a group of strong men led by Ibaka to block Antetokounmpo in the penalty area.

At first, George and Antetokounmpo were able to continue to score in this situation. But by the time the game was played, when the two had begun to get tired, their scoring efficiency naturally began to decline.

As a result, Henson needs a consistent third man to step up. Lopez looked at Henson expectantly, and sure enough, Henson looked at him too!

Oladipo should have been the best option, but his three-point shooting percentage today really didn't reassure Henson. If Oladipo hits with the ball, the interior is already overcrowded, and he can only end up with the same ending as Antetokounmpo.

Therefore, Henson chose to continue to trust Lopez and trust this white center with an annual salary of only 3.38 million at this critical moment.

Brooke. Lopez had a great performance today, scoring 16 points and seven rebounds in the third quarter.

You must know that in this game, Lopez averaged only 8.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in the playoffs, and his performance can only be described as average. In the last round of the Pacers-Celtics series, Lopez scored just 22 points in four games combined.

Since Henson spoke with Lopez yesterday, Lopez has been great today. He was hell-bent on crushing Gasol Jr. and bent on helping Henson win.

But Lopez has been immersed in it for too long, and Nurse doesn't believe the white center can kill the game. It's as if Henson wouldn't believe that Gasol Jr. could kill the game right now.

That being the case, Henson showed him the match with Lopez's kill.

"Brooke, you played really well in the first three quarters and I'm very proud of you. It's the crucial fourth quarter, and whether we can win or not depends on the last 12 minutes...... No, it's the last nine minutes. In the last few minutes, I need you to be the main attacker. Do you think you can do it? ”

When Henson chose to let Lopez be the main attacker in the final quarter, the rest of the Pacers weren't surprised. Something like that, does Henson do less? The more players the opponent can't think of, the more Henson likes to use them. And it always works.

Henson wants to see if it is VanVleet who can kill the game, or Lopez, who has been on the battlefield for many years, can kill the game. In the final six minutes, let the former All-Star center regain his glory.

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"Stick to your defensive strategy and block Paul. George and Antetokounmpo. I know the Pacers probably have a lot of players to play. But here's the playoffs, this is the stage for the stars! I'm sure we'll be able to win the game after keeping the two Pacers stars at bay. No matter who the Pacers score, they can't be attracted to him. Plug George and Antetokounmpo, plug them! ”

On the other side, Nick. Nurse is still emphasizing the defense against George and Antetokounmpo. He firmly believes that the Pacers can kill the two of them today.

Oladipo didn't feel good, and players like Kuzma, Tucker, and Bogdalocchi were also in average form today. As for Brooke, who did well today. Lopez? Nas never bothered.

He believes that Henson is completely modeled after his own tactics, allowing the big man to lay the advantage by surprise, just like he asked Gasol Jr. to do in the last game.

But laying the edge is not the same as killing the game. There's no way Lopez can kill the game, and there's no way Henson can let a guy with a who's only $3.38 million a year kill the game.

Maybe in the regular season, Henson will do that, and Henson will finish the game with some usually inconspicuous players. For example, he once allowed Rose to score 50 points in a single game, made Siakam the hero who finished the game, and even made Kyle . A newcomer like Kuzma went to shoot a lethal shot.

But it was the regular season, and even if he lost the regular season, Henson didn't have to worry. It's the playoffs, it's the Eastern Conference Finals, it's the fourth game of the game!

If the Pacers lose, the Raptors can tie the overall score. So, Nas concluded that Henson didn't dare to take the risk, he didn't have that guts!

Barefoot people aren't afraid to wear shoes, and Nas knows exactly how much pressure Henson is carrying. For Henson, the final year of his career was a failure as long as he didn't win the title. Therefore, Henson does not joke with his honor.

Come to think of it, Nick. Nas confidently pushed his players onto the pitch.

The land of the north is inviolable!