Chapter 164

Section four of the game finally began. With a lead, the Pacers’ offense remained fierce. Jim O’Brien’s intentions were clear: to conserve energy, he decided to widen the advantage in the first half of the fourth quarter and secure the win early. After all, the Pacers were far weaker than the Pistons, so both offensively and defensively they needed more energy, and energy issues had long plagued them.

John Kuester could no longer tolerate the Pistons’ performance. After the Pacers hit two consecutive three-pointers, he angrily called a timeout. After scolding all the players on the court mercilessly, he immediately substituted out several players who were not in form.

The current lineup consisted of center Spencer Hawes, power forward Greg Monroe, small forward James Posey, shooting guard Ben Gordon, and point guard Zhou Yi. Aside from Zhou Yi and Greg Monroe, the other three were outright backups, some of whom didn’t even get guaranteed playing time.

Under such circumstances, John Kuester was determined to teach those underperforming players a lesson. This was his second season coaching the Pistons, and to maintain a good team atmosphere, he usually gave the players some face in certain situations. But their performance today was beyond his patience. He could accept them not being in form—after all, no player could guarantee top performance every day. But being out of form was one thing; attitude was another.

When behind in score, at least they should give 100% effort—after all, they couldn’t just give up. That’s why John Kuester substituted in those players. Moreover, this was the Pacers’ home court, so even if they lost this game, it wouldn’t be a major problem for the Pistons. But their performance disappointed him greatly. This was only the first round of the series—only by scolding them could they perform better in future games.

“John Kuester’s coaching experience has led outsiders to doubt his abilities. But judging from his performance with the Pistons this season, his coaching skills are quite good. And his decision to make substitutions this time was truly bold. The Pistons’ lack of scoring isn’t the problem; their on-court performance is the real issue right now,” said Coach Zhang, who also agreed with John Kuester’s substitution choices.