Legendary star

Chapter 521 A Different Match
"Rick, our team is not in a good state right now!" On January 2004, 1, during the Pacers' team training session, assistant coach Lester Conor standing on the sidelines held a The team doctor just sent the physical assessment report of all the players, looking at the ongoing team training match on the field, with a sad expression on his face.

After the Pacers defeated the Heat at home, they also defeated the Supersonics at home, increasing their winning streak to 31 games, only two games away from the longest winning streak in the history of the Lakers, and Meng Xu also relied on With the Pacers' undefeated record in December, and averaging 12 points, 32.5 rebounds, 9.7 assists, and 12.5 steals per game, they won the best player of the month in December.It stands to reason that Lester Conor should be happy at this time, but at this moment not only Lester Conor, but also the head coach of the Pacers, Rick Carlisle, is also sad.

It has been more than two months since the start of the new season. For most players, the energy accumulated during the offseason has long been exhausted, and as the season enters the middle, their state will inevitably appear. Ups and downs, even falling into a trough, if not for the thought of breaking the winning streak record, the Pacers would not be able to survive now. Even in the face of the 33 consecutive victories within reach, the Pacers All the players in this group are full of fighting spirit. After all, this is an opportunity to be remembered in history and to be remembered by the entire NBA history, but their current physical condition is not good. Of the 15 players in the team, except Mutombo who has been injured, at least five of the other 14 players are already at the critical point of injury. If you are not careful, the injury will be found them,
And this is what the Pacers' coaching staff is worried about now, but the 33-game winning streak is in sight, and no one dares to give up lightly. On January 1th and 4th, the Pacers will play back-to-back away games against the Nets and Celtics People, although the current records of the Nets and Celtics are somewhat unsatisfactory, ranking fourth and fifth in the Eastern Conference respectively, these two teams are definitely not soft persimmons, and the Pacers, now More than half of the players are close to running out. Even Reggie Miller, an old ball player, can hardly hold on now. In the home game against the Supersonics, Reggie Miller scored 5 points. He made 16 shots and missed at least 5 open shots that must be made. Reggie Miller, who has always been famous for his inability to run, was also very rare in the fourth quarter of that game!After all, Reggie Miller is now 4 years old, and his average playing time of 39 minutes per game this season is enough for him.

The old players are like this. In the previous games, those young players who didn't know how to allocate their physical strength reasonably and had no reservations on the court, let alone the Pacers' internal and external lines in the game against the Supersonics. If it weren't for the supersonic's poor strength, and Meng Xu's stability as always at the critical moment, the Pacers would have capsized in the gutter, and the supersonics would have ended their winning streak.

Although relying on Meng Xu's 3 points in the last 8 minutes, the Pacers finally defeated the Sonics without any risk, but the thrilling process of this game also sounded the alarm for the Pacers' coaching staff. .

"Rick, for the next two games, we might as well arrange for Reggie and his veteran players to rest first!" Rick Carlisle's several veterans signed during the offseason can be said to be very good, but Veterans also have their shortcomings. For these old guys who are over 37 years old after New Year's Day and are still suffering from injuries, physical strength has become a hurdle for them. Reggie Miller, Kendall Gill, Steve Veterans such as Jeff Smith, who have played a lot of time, are now facing the problem of physical exhaustion.

"In the next two games, we need to change our style of play." After hearing Lester Conor's suggestion, Rick Carlisle nodded after a little consideration.

Recently, because of the Pacers' crazy winning streak after the start, almost the entire American sports world has focused on the NBA and the Pacers. After the Pacers' 25-game winning streak, every game of the Pacers has It was arranged by the ABC TV network to broadcast live across the United States. Not only ABC, but all the TV networks including TNT and ESPN that have the right to broadcast the NBA live have also temporarily adjusted the Pacers game to be broadcast live across the United States. Therefore, during this period, The Pacers' limelight in the American sports world can only be described as horror. Even the upcoming NFL playoffs have been robbed by the Pacers' crazy winning streak.

The Pacers' schedule in January is slightly better than in December, but in all 1 games, 12 games are back-to-back games, and four of them are gathered at the beginning of the month, on the 13th and 6th. After the Nets and the Celtics, the Pacers will play back-to-back games against the Mavericks and the Spurs at home on the 4th and 5th. After these two games, the Pacers will go to Detroit to play against the Pistons. Five consecutive games, None of the Pacers' opponents is a soft persimmon, and the Pacers' current state has also experienced obvious ups and downs. Therefore, many outside media are not very optimistic that the Pacers can continue to win, and even whether the Pacers can break the Lakers' 9 consecutive games The winning record is skeptical, because in their view, even if the Pacers can beat the Nets and Celtics, they will not be able to pass the Mavericks. The Walters may not be able to pass this level.

"What is our goal?"

"victory!"

| "Victory!"

"victory!"

"Yes, victory! We have only one goal today, and that is victory! Victory!"

When the starting players of the Pacers all appeared on the field and began to warm up, Meng Xu called them together and shouted slogans loudly around him. Before the game, the head coach Rick Carlisle specially asked Meng Xu We talked once, and told Meng Xu the team's current situation and worries, hoping that Meng Xu can take more responsibility for the victory. After all, the current Pacers belong to Meng Xu who is in the best condition, and Rick -Carlisle is also very clear that since he switched to point guard this season, Meng Xu has been playing back. It has been more than two months since the new season, but as one of the league's most capable super scorers Meng Xu didn't even have a 50+ score, so in today's game, Rick Carlisle told Meng Xu bluntly that he hoped that Meng Xu could increase the number of shots he made, the number of points Meng Xu scored, and the quality of his touch. , is the key to whether the Pacers can beat the Nets today.

In today's game, Rick Carlisle rested several veterans, and Jermaine O'Neal, who was in poor form, was also put on the bench. Therefore, the Pacers' starting lineup today has changed a lot. Center Jeff - Foster, power forward NN Hilario, small forward James Posey, shooting guard Meng Xu, point guard Kenny Anderson.

After Mutombo's injury and Jermaine O'Neal's rest, Jeff Foster ushered in the first start of the season. Jeff Foster's ability is there, especially his rebounding The sense of smell is absolutely top-notch, otherwise Larry Bird would not have kept him in the Pacers with a long-term contract, but because the Pacers' inside competition is too fierce, Jeff Foster is here. The playing time in the two seasons has never exceeded 10 minutes, but in this less than 10 minutes of playing time, Jeff Foster can contribute 2.1 points and 3.6 rebounds.Rick Carlisle has only one requirement for Jeff Foster today, and that is to strengthen the protection of rebounds. You can not attack or score, but you must do your best to grab rebounds.After all, Mutombo and Jermaine O'Neal are not on the court, and after Meng Xu has to focus on the offensive end, the Pacers will definitely have problems in rebound protection.

Today's opening jump ball was also very dramatic. NN-Hilario, who was jumping for the Pacers for the first time, was obviously a little nervous. Before the referee whistled, NN-Hilario jumped up, annoyed the audience There was a burst of laughter, but luckily the referee hadn’t blown the whistle, otherwise NN-Hilario would definitely be called a jump ball violation, but in the subsequent official jump ball, NN-Hilario crushed the representative of the Nets without any suspense. Kenyon Martin, who jumped the ball, won the ball for the Pacers' first offense.

After grabbing the ball, Kenny Anderson, the veteran who started today, dribbled the ball through the half court and faced Jason Kidd's defense. The ball was passed to Meng Xu who had reached the top of the three-point arc.

After receiving the ball, Meng Xu feinted, and then under the defense of Richard Jefferson, he stepped back and shot a jumper.

"Beautiful three-pointer, Richard Jefferson's defense is useless!"

"It's been a long time since I saw Meng Xu shoot a three-pointer in the opening game. It seems that today's game will definitely be a different game!"

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(End of this chapter)