The Whip of the God of Basketball

After the game against the Kings, the Celtics' winning streak remained. Unlike last season, the Celtics' schedule was relatively easy at the beginning of the season, but this year it was just the opposite. In October and November, the Celtics The schedule will be quite difficult. After beating the Kings, the whole team will leave Boston and go to Indiana to prepare for a fierce battle with the Pacers.

Even before the game started, Leon knew that this game would definitely be a bloody storm, not only because of the grievances between the two teams last season, but also because the current head coach of the Pacers was driven out by Leon. Jim O'Brien stepped down, and the assistant coach was Frank Vogel.

As the saying goes, enemies never get together. When O'Brien and Vogel left the Celtics together, they also left the NBA. After that, they returned to the University of Kentucky to work for Smith's coaching staff. However, the NCAA could no longer satisfy them. Finally, after one season away from the NBA, the two returned to the NBA together and were invited by Larry Bird to serve as the head coach and assistant coach of the Indiana Pacers.

On the plane to Indiana, Leon sat in the front row and fell asleep. As an assistant coach, Carlisle couldn't sleep. When the plane was about to arrive at its destination, he saw Leon wake up and asked him how he could still sleep. Can sleep well.

"Why can't you sleep? It's just a trip to Indiana, can they still eat me? If they dare to do anything to me, I will kill them." Leon shook his fist as he spoke, but they immediately laughed awkwardly. He laughed, put his fist back and said it was just a joke. He is currently on bail. If another violent incident occurs, he will really have to stay in the detention center until the official court session.

"The mood is always different. After all, O'Brien and Vogel were both your former colleagues. I still know about the things in Boston. In order to push you to the top, Auerbach sent Pitino to Cleaned out one after another." Carlisle whispered to Leon.

"Rick, I finally understand why you can't stay in Detroit. To be honest, no one in the world except bosses like Mark Cuban can tolerate such a stubborn person like you." Leon shook his head and said Carlisle said. By this time the plane had arrived at the airport and they had arrived in Indianapolis.

Although Carlisle didn't mention it again afterwards, Leon did have a small knot in his heart. Carlisle was right. O'Brien and Vogel were victims of Auerbach's attempt to push himself to the top. The veteran coach first asked O'Brien to squeeze out Pitino, and then asked Ainge to instigate the veterans on the team to rebel, forcing O'Brien and Vogel away. After that, Ainge purged those veterans and used Carroll as his replacement. There was a transition and Leon took over. A clean Celtics team with core players either chosen by or with Leon was born.

This year, after sending away Antoine Walker, even Ainge will have to consider whether his power in the Celtics can match Fox Leon.

But Leon is not proud of this. On the contrary, he feels a little guilty in his heart. O'Brien and Vogel are both very good people, especially Vogel's hard work and love for basketball, which have infected Leon. The scene of the two of them editing videos, watching games, and discussing tactics in the video room is still vivid in my mind. Leon once thought that Vogel would be his assistant coach, but he didn't expect that he would leave in the end, completely. After leaving Boston, he never contacted Leon again.

Nowadays, O'Brien and Vogel are doing quite well in the Pacers. After the start of the season, their record is 6 wins and 1 loss, second only to the Celtics in the league. They are tailor-made for the Pacers. Their simple and efficient tactical system makes them completely different from the team under Thomas last season. With their simple offense and strong defense, the Pacers have shown great potential.

On the day of the game, the public opinion of both sides was extremely heated. The entire Indianapolis sports media participated in reporting on this battle. The grievances and grievances of both sides were revealed. It can be said that this game attracted a lot of attention. The rate was higher than the last game the Celtics played against the Kings. It is even conceivable that in the next games, except against the Spurs and Lakers, the Celtics will never have such a high-profile strong dialogue.

The two teams also started a verbal war. It was Indiana Pacers player Steve Jackson who fired the first shot. After the team's public training in the afternoon, Jackson was interviewed by reporters and was asked what he thought. The Celtics are currently strong. Jackson said that although the Celtics have Kevin Garnett, the Pacers also have Jermaine O'Neal; the Celtics have Pierce, the Pacers have Ron Artest, and the Pacers have Artest. The Celtics have Reed, the Pacers have Jackson, the Celtics have Arenas, and the Pacers have Tinsley.

Moreover, Jackson emphasized at the end: "If I was in the Pacers last year, I would not let that happen, I would control everything. You know, I defeated them in the finals, I have experience." Jackson Of course, what he was talking about was referring to the bad fight. At the same time, Jackson just joined the Pacers this summer. As a member of the Spurs last season, he and the team defeated the Celtics to win the championship. He is proud of it. Capital.

Jackson's remarks were refuted by the Celtics' "official player spokesperson" Paul Pierce. Before the game was about to start in the evening, when being interviewed in the player tunnel and asked how he would deal with Stephen Jackson, Paul Pierce - Pierce said: "I will deal with him like I did in the Finals. I know it's sad that we lost the game, but I also want to say that after the team wins the championship, even the uncle who sweeps the floor will have a ring. .So we can’t judge everything by the ring.”

Pierce was regarded by Jackson as the old man who was sweeping the floor, and in last season's finals, Pierce's performance completely surpassed Jackson's, and they finally lost to Duncan.

The verbal spat between the two reached a climax in the media interview before the game.

Pacers head coach O'Brien accepted an interview with the media before the game. He was inevitably asked about his experience with the Celtics and his current mood when facing the Celtics. O'Brien first said With some polite words, he said that his experience with the Celtics was a valuable asset in life. Then he changed the subject and talked about the current situation of the Celtics: "They are a great team, full of superstars and very talented. And then they also have a great coach who helps this team grow from Starting from scratch, we have accumulated bit by bit until today, and in just two years we have become a strong contender for the championship... We have worked together, we understand each other, and I think we will give a wonderful game."

O'Brien really meant something. On the one hand, he said that the Celtics "slowly accumulated from scratch" and on the other hand, they "became a championship contender in just two years." This contradictory statement is undoubtedly ironic. It's ironic that the current Celtics stand so high based on the accumulation of their predecessors. Undoubtedly, O'Brien is still bitter about that time when he was forced to dismiss get out of class. After all, he had led the team to win before, and he was full of confidence in the summer of 2001. As a result, he was replaced by Carroll, the No. 4 backup. Tire was replaced, and finally watched the Celtics reach the Eastern Conference Finals.

O'Brien was convinced that if he had been coaching that season, the Celtics would have reached the Finals, and Fox-Leon would have just led the team to the Finals.

Although he didn't say it clearly, Leon could see O'Brien's resentment from this interview, so much so that when O'Brien left the media room and met Leon at the door, he didn't even say hello. Vogel on the side nodded to Leon, and Leon smiled. He knew that he might never be able to establish a good relationship with Pitino's group.

"Mr. Leon, the Celtics are currently maintaining a complete victory, have you ever..." A reporter wanted to ask if the team was under pressure, but was interrupted by Leon before he could finish.

"No!" Leon said. He knew what he was going to ask after hearing the reporter's words.

"In Indiana, a place where some unpleasant things have happened, what kind of mentality would you use to deal with it?" Another reporter asked.

"Grave-sweeping." Leon replied succinctly, causing a burst of laughter from below.

"Last question!" Leon reminded.

"You used to be O'Brien's assistant coach, and now you are both the head coach. How do you feel about your time as an assistant coach under him." Finally, a reporter asked this pointed question.

"It was an impressive time and I learned a lot and it allowed me to grow. Of course, things are completely different now and, you know, even my assistant coach was the best coach."