The Whip of the God of Basketball

On the evening of May 18, 2003, it was a clear and beautiful summer night in New Jersey. New York and New Jersey, two of the most densely populated places in the United States, lit up the entire night sky. People who have worked hard all day long can finally sit in front of the TV and watch the NBA Eastern Conference finals game that they are still looking forward to. Of course, the more fortunate ones will be able to watch the opening game of the finals series live.

Leon and the Celtics took a bus and arrived at the arena half an hour before the game started. The staff on the scene was already in a panic. If the players could not arrive in time to participate in the game, it would be very difficult for the NBA staff. It's a major mistake. Leon seemed to be neither impatient nor impatient, and all the Celtics players were calm and collected. Paul Pierce was wearing a white T-shirt and khaki trousers, with huge headphones on his head listening to music. Entering the passage, Antoine Walker was wearing gray and black loose casual clothes, holding a CD player in his hand.

Facing some reporters who came up, Leon avoided answering all interviews. He would not tell them that the Celtics were late on purpose. They delayed training in a rented gym in New York until one and a half hours before the start of the game. They left the gym only after repeated urging from the team leader and arrived at the Continental Airlines Arena on time.

In the locker room, the players hurriedly changed their jerseys. There was no time to talk, no time to listen to Leon's tactics, no time to give exciting speeches, no time to encourage each other. They were about to go back to where they were last year. place, facing the same opponents again, and starting another impact on the finals.

"I've told you all you need to do, forget about the regular season, forget about last year's game, focus on tonight, more than two hours starting at seven o'clock, this is not the end, it's the beginning, but A good start will determine how we will end." In the tunnel, Leon gave his final instructions to the players.

In subsequent games, Leon will continue to adjust the team's tactics through timeouts and substitutions to remind the players how to respond to the situation on the field. However, he will no longer emphasize the importance of this series. What exciting speech will he make again? He has already done all this before the game. Leon believes that facing a team that eliminated him last year and ruined his dream of the finals, and meets again in the finals, if the players' emotions still need to be ignited and encouraged, then they are not worthy of winning this series. victory.

"This is the last time I will explain to you the importance of this series and this game. I hope that when you feel that you are about to lose, about to be unable to hold on, about to give up, I will ask you about it. The thirst for victory and the desire for revenge, then everything will go naturally. Well, do what you should do."

After Leon finished speaking, the Celtics players were already on the stage. The Nets had been warming up for a long time. There was not much time left for the Celtics to warm up, but Leon knew that the players no longer needed to warm up. What they need is competition.

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Byron Scott looked at the belated arrival of the Celtics, wondering what kind of medicine the guys on the opposite side were selling, especially the head coach Fox Leon, who was in the regular season. Kurt also suffered several losses. At home, the Celtics relied on Wang Zhizhi's three-pointer to reverse the situation. This guy Leon always seems to have some clever tricks.

But Scott knew in his heart that Fox-Leon's strange move was by no means a sudden whim, but a tactical change supported by a solid theoretical and data foundation. Leon is constantly studying others, and others are constantly studying him. Now his abnormal calculation and observation abilities have long been known, and his tactical micro-manipulation ability in local areas and in a short period of time is unparalleled. If there is any weakness, it is probably that he is just a coach after all. He cannot play for the players, nor can he prevent the players from making mistakes. And his experience is indeed not rich enough. When facing more complex situations, he does not have a special feeling for the game situation like those coaches who have player experience.

However, this weakness is almost difficult to see in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Scott carefully watched the Celtics game videos in the first two rounds and felt that Fox-Leon made almost no mistakes and played well. The Celtics had advantages and avoided weaknesses, and more importantly, he began to gradually capture that special feeling, as evidenced by the three-pointer that inspired the team in the semifinals against the Detroit Pistons.

"He is learning to grow with the team in the playoffs. Even if this growth is only short-term, I don't know if he realizes how important this is for a team to go far." Scott thought in his mind. He couldn't help but think of the days when he was with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s, following Magic and Riley to the Finals again and again.

When the game was about to officially start, Scott took back his mind. Psychologically, he still had confidence in the Nets. The first two rounds of chopping melons and vegetables made the players quite strong both physically and mentally. good. He also made sufficient tactical preparations before the game. He wanted Leon to understand that the Nets are a completely different team from the 76ers and Pistons. If you want to rely on Pierce Garvok or three-pointers to defeat the Nets, that is impossible.

Since there is no super insider in the Eastern Conference, Scott is confident that he will win the Eastern Conference again and aim for the championship!

Thinking of this, Scott couldn't help but straighten his back. The game had already begun. Brown of the Celtics won the ball. Amidst the noise of the fans at the Continental Airlines Arena, the Celtics began their campaign in the Eastern Conference finals. First attack.

Contrary to Scott's expectation, Arenas did not organize the Celtics' offense. He handed the ball to Michael Reid after halftime, which is very rare in the Celtics' offense. Reed will always be the killer hiding in the dark, stabbing you through the heart when you are unprepared. But now, he came to the top of the arc, held the ball, and organized the offense in a decent manner. Arenas sank to the baseline, where Reed used to be.

"Damn it, Kidd's defensive position has been moved. That place is not suitable for him..." Scott almost immediately saw the key point of the situation, which was Kidd's matchup. He wanted to follow Arenas. , had to go near the bottom line.

But what exactly such a change can bring to the game, Scott only has some vague feelings in his heart. He believes that Kidd can solve the problem on the court. After all, he is the best number one position in the league.

Looking back at the Celtics, Reid's organization at the top of the arc was ineffective. He directed the ball for a long time and finally handed the ball to Antoine Walker near the free throw line. Arenas failed to cut inside and Pierce did not let go. Without Jefferson, Walker made two fake moves and then made a step-back jumper, but missed. Walker still seemed a little helpless when facing Kenyon Martin.

The Celtics team seemed to have expected this. No one in the team fought for offensive rebounds, but retreated at full speed. The ball was grabbed by Kenyon Martin. When it was handed over to Kidd, the Celtics were already in position, and Kidd had no chance to launch a fast break!

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In the first five minutes of the game, both sides scored very low. For the Celtics, Reid became the main point guard. As a result, he knew nothing about sorting out the offense. Instead, he relied on Brown's two screens and hit two shots from the outside. A dry three-pointer made Byron Scott's head full of wrinkles for a while. In his expectation, Pierce, Walker and Arenas were the key prevention targets. Unexpectedly, it was Michael Reed who took the lead. .

The Nets' offense was even worse, because in five minutes, although the Celtics missed many attacks, the Nets only successfully counterattacked once, relying on Jefferson's fast break layup to score two points. In addition, Kenyon Martin got an offensive rebound and scored two points. After that, they were helpless in the position battle!

When Michael Reed set a screen with Brown outside the three-point line and hit his third three-pointer in the first quarter, Byron Scott could no longer straighten his back. He called a timeout. Five minutes were enough for him to see through Leon's trick - he asked Reed to organize the offense, not for offensive considerations at all, nor for any special offensive tactics, but entirely for defensive reasons. consider.

He asked Arenas to move without the ball in order to involve Kidd's defensive energy, and constantly used reverse runs and air cuts to lead Kidd to a deeper position and prevent Kidd from launching a quick counterattack!

Kidd is a famous triple-double machine. As a point guard, he can get so many rebounds. In addition to his height and wingspan, it is also his positioning awareness. The top line of the free throw line is his favorite rebounding position. Here he can avoid competition with long players inside and grab some long rebounds that are far away from the ground. Then he can quickly launch a counterattack and use his first pass, which is the best in the world. Create a good offensive space for the Nets' forwards who are physically gifted but not technically gifted.

But when Kidd faced Arenas, who was like a water rat and followed him around, he could no longer return to the position he was familiar with and liked.

At 11:6, the Celtics got off to a good start. Leon also gave Byron Scott a warning, I understand your routine very well.