The rest is just noise

Chapter 110: Attack and Defense (5/46)

Who benefits from the NFL lockout?

There is only one answer, NBA.

In recent years, the players' unions of the four major leagues have been fighting for more revenue. The NHL in previous years, the MLB last year, and the NFL this year have all reached the stage of suspension.

The lockout is not only a loss of income for the players, but also heavy losses for the teams. Even the TV stations that signed broadcast contracts with them will also face problems.

The NFL lockout allowed CBS to allocate more live broadcast quota to the NBA.

Moreover, after several rounds of publicity, the ratings were acceptable.

According to statistics, during the NFL shutdown, CBS added live broadcasts of NBA games, with an average of 5 million viewers per game.

This is an accident and a surprise.

In late November, the NFL came back. After nearly two months of suspension, players lost 72 million in revenue, and teams lost 240 million US dollars in revenue. The two sides did not reach an agreement, but just muddle along due to financial pressure.

But for the owners, the absence of any agreement is success, which means they can still continue the season under the old collective bargaining agreement.

The NFL Players Association's lockout is a complete failure.

Their failure will undoubtedly put a lot of pressure on the NBA, which is also negotiating a collective bargaining agreement.

If the lockout cannot solve the problem, the union really has no other effective weapon to influence the bosses' decision.

Larry Fleischer, who has never played a second on the field but has contributed more to the union and the players than any other player, asserted: "The failure of the NFLPA (NFL Players Association) stems from

They are not united enough or determined enough."

This is Fleischer's response to whether the NBAPA is determined to fight for its rights through a lockout after the NFL returns.

From the summer to the end of November, NBAPA only fully exchanged opinions and demands with the league and owners, and the negotiation process became tense.

Ultimately, Fleischer said that if an agreement cannot be reached before the end of the season, the players union will retain the possibility of a strike during the season.

This is a powerful deterrent to bosses.

If the players union chooses to strike at the end of the season, it will bring a heavy blow to the teams, because that is the highest revenue season.

As a result, communication between the two parties was interrupted starting in November.

Because they don't want to see each other's face again in a short period of time, they can only wait until the anger subsides before restarting negotiations.

The Celtics have the second-best record in the league, second only to the 76ers.

Their strength is surprising, because anyone with a certain knowledge of basketball can see that they have no tacit understanding on the court, and they don't follow the coaching staff's tactics very well. Three of the five starters work on their own, except for Bird and Dan

Nie Angie, John Long, and the others disobeyed orders.

For a while, in order to make Isiah Thomas fear his authority, Fitch punished him by taking him out of the starting lineup and playing as the eighth man.

This simply adds fuel to the fire.

Thomas played for Bob Knight in college. He had already seen the most brutal head coach in the basketball world, and Fitch's methods did not make him submissive.

However, the Celtics' roster is too strong, and even if they play haphazardly, they still win more and lose less.

"Unless Akeem Olajuwon of the University of Houston, Michael Jordan of North Carolina, and Patrick Ewing of Georgetown enter the draft, there should be no newcomers worth focusing on in next year's draft."

Rudy Tomjanovich has never had a comfortable day since he came to work for Louis.

The Celtics require top scouts, including the chief scout, to submit at least 20 scouting reports a month.

Louis basically doesn't run around outside now, leaving all this tiring work to Tomjanovich.

In return, Louis would help him apply for more funds than others every time.

Upon hearing his conclusion, Louis smiled lightly and said, "Are you so sure?"

"If Steve Stipanovich C can regain the dominance he had in high school, he will be the only S stock in this draft." Tomjanovich casually mentioned a Louis stranger.

name.

He saw a long-haired white center on the scouting report.

When he was in high school, he was hailed as the best center in the United States along with two other centers.

If you're interested, the other two centers are Ralph Sampson and Sam Jordan Bowie.

"Whatever, we don't have such high draft picks anyway."

Louis put aside the reports on these popular rookies, and then found a familiar name among the piles of reports submitted by Tomjanovich.

Doc Rivers.

"How about Doc Rivers from Marquette University?" Louis knew that Rivers later became a famous NBA coach, but he didn't know his performance as a player.

When Louis asked about Rivers, Tomjanovich beamed: "A very good player with outstanding basketball IQ and overall perspective. He must be the type you like."

"It doesn't matter if I like him, Reid has to like him." Louis didn't worry about Rivers. Although he was an acquaintance, the Celtics really didn't need to add any more defenders.

What they need is a forward who can exert all his energy in the third position.

Especially the kind of athletic modern forward with strong athletic ability and excellent running.

"Rudy, you have been traveling frequently recently. Isn't it too hard?" Louis expressed concern that made Tomjanovich a little uneasy.

This kid Louis always thinks that everyone is as energetic as him.

"Yeah...running around. I traveled across most of the United States in one month." Trying to say you're not tired is a recipe for death.

"Do you know there is a Chinese saying that uses poison to kill poison?" Louis said inhumanely, "Maybe if you are a little more tired, your body won't feel it."

In Tomjanovich's eyes, hope had been disillusioned: "What are your orders?"

"Help me scout the Los Angeles Lakers. I want to know the integration of Dominique Wilkins. Also, don't use some data to frustrate me. I want something invisible to the data." Louis pointed out a few things.

, "His interactions with other Lakers players, local newspapers in Los Angeles, their interviews after the game, as long as it is news related to them, you have to collect it."

Tomjanovich can't stand still just thinking about this workload.

"Okay!" He gritted his teeth and said.

"By the way," Louis took out a few check-like things from the drawer, "Last month, Florida opened the EPCOT center. This is a free admission ticket. After you finish this work, go and relax with your family.

Bar."

Tomjanovich opened his eyes wide. EPCOT Center is the second theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company after Disney World. It is not very complete at present. After all, it is a new park, but all the children regard it as a new park.

It is my promised land, and it has been hard to get a ticket for two months.

"Thanks."

Tomjanovich was not polite to Louis.

"You're welcome, this is just the compensation I can do." Louis smiled.

On December 10, the Celtics completed their revenge by beating the 76ers at Spectrum Arena.

The difference from before is that Larry Bird's tactical status has been improved.

This may be related to his support for Fitch in the review meeting, and he is one of the few Celtics players who can still execute tactics.

Fitch raises his tactical profile, and others will follow Bird's lead.

Thomas's ball rights continue to decrease. He is now named the starter, but his tactical status is not as good as even Laimbeer's.

As a result, Bird's statistics skyrocketed, and the Celtics won consecutive games.

The collapse that Louis predicted did not happen, and he still underestimated the team's book strength.

Even if five of the seven strongest players on the team are dissatisfied with Fitch (Ainge, Thomas, Sampson, Maxwell, Laimbeer), as long as Bird is willing to obey the arrangement, he can mobilize others to take action seriously.

Contest.

For a superstar like Bird who is entering his prime, his ability to lead a team is unquestionable.

Throughout December, Bird averaged 31 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks per game. If this data can be maintained, it is possible for him to be selected for the first defense.

In Bird's heroic December, the Celtics lost several games they shouldn't have lost.

One was an upset of the Knicks.

The new King of New York, Bernard King, went head-to-head with Bird.

Rookie Slip Floyd becomes a surprise player.

There was also a game involving the Pistons, who had a deep feud with the Celtics.

According to Detroiters, if it weren't for the Celtics, they now have a lineup of Sampson + Thomas + James Worthy, and their talent and immediate ability are not afraid of any team.

But that damn trade killed Detroit's future a few years ago.

This is a game full of anger.

The Pistons bombed wildly and scored 132 points, indirectly exposing the Celtics' biggest shortcoming.

The Celtics' offensive talent may be the best in history, but their defense is also relatively mediocre. Sampson was substituted for a long time, Bird was used as a pure third position, Laimbeer was in a mood, and the Smiling Assassin's

Height was a weakness that he could not control, and John Long was quite average.

Their defense isn't that bad, but compared to their peak offensive potential, it's far behind.