The rest is just noise

Chapter 107 Hidden Danger and Unexpected Moves

"I think the league still wants to promote the implementation of the salary cap by doing this."

Louis believed that this plan was not the work of O'Brien, a politician who cared little about professional leagues.

A typical example of Lu Xun's window-opening theory is to first put forward a bunch of conditions that are impossible for you to accept, and then wait until you are hysterical to negotiate with a slightly milder one.

"How to say?" Angie is not worried about his future.

If you can't play in the NBA, then you can play in the MLB. What's the big deal?

"Keep watching." Louis still had to calm down the players.

Most people don't need his comfort, they need an explanation. It's obvious that the struggle between the unions and the alliance has radiated to everyone.

Anyone in this field will be affected.

At the end of September, all the elite members of the Players Association came out, with current president Bob Lanier, Fleischer, Grantham, Bridgeman and Maurice Lucas all present.

In the NBA, in addition to commissioners O'Brien and Stern, there were also several respected owners, including Amber Pollin, owner of the Washington Bullets, the landowner where the meeting was held.

Pauline worries about the league's growth, as signing players becomes more and more expensive, making it difficult for small players like him to keep up.

He represents all owners desperate for a salary cap to control operating costs.

Pauline spent more than ten minutes complaining.

After he finished speaking, Lanier, as the chairman of the union, immediately jumped out and asked: "If the league's financial problems are really as difficult as you said, why is Philadelphia willing to give Moses Malone an annual salary of US$2 million?"

contract?"

The meeting was nothing like a millionaire's negotiation, but like a group of illiterate hooligans exposing each other's shortcomings.

Players don't believe the league is in dire straits.

And those who are really in a tough spot have to bite the bullet and explain themselves to teams that spend lavishly.

Even if they explain that some owners don't care about money, and some owners really don't have money, they still can't explain why Donald Sterling and Ted Steppy, the two bastards, wanted to do this after destroying their own team.

It's up to the players to take responsibility.

The proposals put forward by the alliance angered the unions, and a meeting between the two sides in September also made no progress.

Media from many places followed the whole process, and they wanted to know whether the NBA would be suspended like the NFL.

But on October 29, 1982, the opening game went on normally.

Taking a closer look at the player rosters of each team, there are many teams that do not have enough players, and some players who are clearly capable of playing in the NBA are not favored.

After the signings of Moses Malone and Bernard King were completed, teams with financial problems insisted not to sign free agents.

Even many rookies selected in the draft cannot participate in training camp because they have not completed signing with the team.

Louis participated in the opening game with the team.

The opponent is the San Antonio Spurs. This team is in a tight situation. In order to save money, it has not yet reached an agreement with Johnny Moore (PG), who led the team in assists last season and averaged 9 assists per game.

This is the least intense game Louis has ever seen. This is also the most uncertain season Louis has ever seen since entering the NBA.

The turmoil off the court affected the passion of the game.

The players played just to complete the task. The Celtics easily won the game, but the off-field problems were not solved.

Fitch was not satisfied with the team's performance, especially Sampson.

There were several times when he failed to hit the penalty area as planned after completing the pick-and-roll.

"Do you like shooting?" Fitch asked. "If you like shooting, why don't you play guard?"

Although Sampson was dissatisfied in his heart, there was no other expression on his face.

Fitch was as furious as ever, even if he won the game, he would scold players who performed poorly.

The strong lineup allowed the Celtics to start the season with four consecutive wins.

But in the fifth game, they met the Philadelphia 76ers, their bitter enemies in the past few years.

Although they lost Dawkins and Caldwell Jones, the addition of Malone can easily make up for the loss of these two players.

When Malone signed with the 76ers, Dr. J was very angry because the team gave Malone a contract that was beyond his imagination. Some media also doubted that the cooperation between Dr. J and Malone would be like what he did with George McKinney a few years ago.

fail.

Dr. J was Dr. J after all, he figured it out quickly.

He is sure that there is no conflict between him and Malone because one of them is a wing and the other is a center, and their functions on the field are different.

Moreover, Doc and Malone are both very rare superstars who can lead the team to the finals, but lack the ability to attack tough situations at critical moments.

This is also a problem that the 76ers still have after Malone arrived.

The ability to attack tough situations is still the 76ers' Achilles' heel.

If Andrew Tony can continue to grow, perhaps he will become the optimal solution to the problem.

The game was so intense that both sides forgot about the rhythm off the court.

Andrew Toney scored on back-to-back singles, and he got an easy shot in Isiah Thomas' face.

And Thomas' offensive ability is somewhat blocked by the team.

Louis' impression of Thomas was based on the latter's stupidity in taking charge of a team in New York, which was exacerbated by the misfortune of his playing days.

He knew Thomas was very powerful, but he still had no idea.

At the Celtics, he had the opportunity to get to know the man seriously.

Tonight, he was pinned to the ground by Tony and rubbed against him, and his offense was uncomfortably controlled by Cheeks.

He didn't release his emotions in an emotional way because of these problems, but was actually willing to sacrifice his own data to let his teammates participate.

He never passes for assist statistics.

He will pass the ball to a teammate in order to create an opening in the short corner, and then expect that teammate to pass the ball to the short corner as he wants.

If his teammates didn't do that, he would yell.

He wants everyone to participate, and he knows very well that he can't win if he plays happily. If he is unhappy and everyone else is happy, the game will be easy.

Thomas had a sweet smile on his face, and hidden deep in his dimples was a vicious murderous intention that longed to drain his opponent's blood.

Laimbeer struggled very much when facing Malone.

Because Malone is not an offensive superstar, you will not feel a sense of accomplishment if you defend him from attacking once or twice.

What really needs to be guarded against is his rebounding. There are 100 blocking techniques in basketball, and Malone knows 101. He is more obsessed with rebounding than Rodman, and he likes to fight in the paint more than a bodyguard. What do you do to him?

It's not difficult for him to make small moves, he will only redouble his response to your challenge.

Once you back down, he will humiliate you.

Apart from getting rid of him, Laimbeer has no way to fight against Malone. But even if he has to get rid of him, it is not that easy, because playing against Malone already makes his whole body sore.

The 76ers are like the Celtics' nemesis, especially when the Celtics can't utilize their roster.

In the first quarter, the two sides fought hard, with the 76ers leading 24 to 23.

K.C. Jones asked Louis: "If you were to coach, how would you arrange the matchups?"

"Me?" Louis smiled, "First of all, I will let Ralph into the starting lineup."

In the third season, Sampson still did not enter the starting lineup.

In the past two seasons, Fitch wanted Sampson to enter the starting lineup. This time, Sampson was mature enough to enter the starting lineup, but Fitch forced him to the bench.

Because Sampson's increasingly unorthodox playing style challenges his bottom line every second.

Fitch called Sampson "Son", which does not mean "boy". According to the tone he used every time he called Sampson, the correct translation of this title should be "little bastard".

K.C heard Louis' words and smiled bitterly.

"Actually, I also feel that the atmosphere in the team is wrong." K.C said lightly, "Many people are dissatisfied with Bill."

It would be abnormal if there weren't many people dissatisfied with Fitch.

The game entered the fourth quarter, and Bird's buzzer-beater failed to hit, and the two sides entered overtime.

The Celtics only have one problem: how to defend against Malone's offensive rebounds, and how to defend against Tony's one-on-ones.

Both of these are impossible to guard against.

Is it difficult to guard against offensive rebounds that are coming at you? Just position yourself well. But the guy who is rushing you on the rebound is Moses Malone. It doesn't matter how good you are, he can just grab it.

It's even worse in a one-on-one fight. Tony would fall into the traps set for him by Louis before, but now he only shoots from positions he is comfortable with, even if the opportunity is not good.

This guy really doesn't take any defender seriously, and he just pulls it out if he has a good touch.

In Louis' eyes, Tony is infinitely close to Kobe, who is 5 centimeters shorter and has a better personality.

Hey, isn't this Wade?

After the first overtime, the two sides were still tied.

"We need to increase the vitality on the defensive end!" Michael Matthew, who specializes in defensive training, said loudly.

Louis laughed out loud.

"why are you laughing?"

"Nothing, I appreciate your suggestion very much." Louis was like an outsider, not making any suggestions.

In the second overtime, Fitch adopted Matthew's suggestion to strengthen the defense, so he replaced Maxwell and replaced him with Sampson to play in the twin towers.

"Lu, do you have any other opinions?" K.C asked.

"Do you think our problem is on the defensive end?" As soon as Louis finished speaking, Dr. J missed a strong attack and Malone grabbed the offensive rebound.

K.C seemed to understand, but not completely.

"Their offensive efficiency is indeed very high, but our offensive efficiency is too low." Louis looked at the statistics table, "We only hit 45%, while Philadelphia is close to 50%."

Louis only said this to K.C.

"Forcing defensive intensity will only lead to a quagmire of inefficiency. After all, defending with all your strength is also very energy-consuming." Louis was amused by the arrangement of Fitch and the assistant coach. "If it were me, I would open up the position and let others

Larry and Isiah give them a good bayonet fight!"