The rest is just noise

The much-anticipated 2003 NCAA National Finals did not go as fans expected. The pair of young geniuses, Lu Wuxia and Carmelo Anthony, had a legendary showdown that would go down in college basketball history.

On the night of the game, the University of Memphis adopted a double-teaming tactic against Anthony, because Anthony did not seem to be a player who could find open teammates. As a result, Anthony proved that he did not want to, but was just unwilling. He scored 20 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists, which was enough.

Comprehensive, but unable to step up when the team needs a boost.

Lu Wuxia was limited by his touch and Syracuse University's physical combat tactics. He couldn't find the offensive feeling all night, but he gave a perfect answer in terms of organization and connection, scoring 16 points, 8 rebounds and 14 assists.

There were 2 mistakes.

Strictly speaking, Anthony's performance in the finals may be better because he turned his weaknesses into strengths, while Wuxia just maintained his basic set. The problem is that the University of Memphis has a stronger lineup. If Anthony does not perform beyond his level

, Syracuse University will be difficult to win.

In the end, although Xuecheng used all his tricks and successfully limited Lu Wuxia's personal attack, he was unable to guard against Lin Ziye.

Lin Ziye became a surprise player for the Tigers. He was always out of position when he hit anyone. He was sure to attack with the ball or eat the cake. He scored a game-high 29 points and 7 rebounds, helping the University of Memphis win the first championship in team history.

Although his performance in the final was not as impressive as the semi-final, Lu Wuxia still won the MOP trophy.

After the game, reporters asked Lu Wuxia if he would participate in this year's NBA draft.

"Why not?" Lu Wuxia answered all discussions about his future in one sentence.

Seeing Anthony sitting off the field with wet eyes, Louis still felt something in his heart.

In his previous life, the 2003 NCAA championship may have been Anthony's best achievement as a basketball player leading a team alone. Now, this achievement has been taken away by his son.

Just like that, Louis' time as a college basketball fan is over. Wu Xia is determined to participate in this year's draft. For the Celtics who lack absolute core players, he seems to be the most suitable candidate.

What Louis will focus on next is this year's lottery draw, followed by next season's head coach candidate.

Louis has considered coming back, but he doesn't know if his current state is suitable for coaching.

He doesn't have that desire to coach.

Even if Wu Xia is selected, Louis will not change his mind immediately. Because coaching Wu Xia is a very difficult thing in itself, he cannot be a good father and a good coach at the same time.

In late April, the NBA regular season comes to an end.

The Boston Celtics are ranked fifth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 48 wins and 34 losses. They will meet the Knicks in the first round.

"This is why Yinthiah Thomas needs to get out of the car!"

Fans do not expect the Celtics to win the championship at this stage, they just hope that the team can go further, but if they have to play against teams in the championship group every first round, then naturally they have no chance of winning.

Thomas, who has actually approved his resignation application, can finally ignore the criticism from the outside world and concentrate on preparing for the playoffs.

This was his final time with the Celtics.

Louis spent a lot of energy selecting new coaches, but no one was satisfactory.

Before the start of the playoffs, Louis attended the GM Summit in New York.

Louis met Rudy Tomjanovich at the meeting.

According to normal development, Rudy should be affected by cancer at this time, leave the coaching position, and then gradually step out of the field. Although Louis no longer partners with him, he still comes to New York often. He knows that Rudy's health is a hidden danger.

So I have been checking up with Rudy regularly since the year before last.

At the end of last year, Rudy was indeed diagnosed with cancer. Fortunately, it was discovered in time and the situation was completely controllable. He himself recovered quickly after receiving treatment.

Now that Rudy is full of energy and in good health, there will be no problem in continuing to work on the front line for more than ten years.

"You look more like a cancer patient than I do," Rudy joked about Louis.

"Bah, don't talk nonsense, I'm in good health!" Louis said gloomily, "Yin Saiya quits. Now I'm worried about the choice of coach. Do you have any recommendations?"

Rudy smiled and said: "I think you are quite suitable."

"Humph, I want to go to bed in the morning." Louis said yawningly, "Rudy, when you start to feel irritable about the long season, you can try to switch to management work. As long as you have sat in an office for a period of time, you will know

Being a coach is really no fun at all."

What could Rudy say to this scumbag?

Coaching may not be interesting to him anymore, which is no wonder. Ya made his debut at the age of 18, picked up the coaching staff in 23 years, and then coached for ten consecutive years (only counting the period from Boston to New York), not to mention his achievements.

It makes sense that he would be tired of coaching.

Rudy has been coaching for ten years, but he doesn't find coaching boring at all.

If you think about it carefully, maybe it's because he didn't win enough.

Louis won't be able to wear the ring on either hand, so of course he will get tired of it.

"If you really want to find a coach, I have a candidate." Rudy said, "Tom Thibodeau, do you remember him?"

Thibodeau was the general that Louis personally prepared for Rudy. How could he not remember that?

"certainly."

"Tom is definitely capable of being the head coach. He has been with me for so many years, but he has actually lost his talent. His contract expires this summer. If you are interested, you can contact him." Rudy said, "After all, he is also yours.

What he has brought out over the years has been obvious to all, both in terms of ability and reputation, and there are many teams who want to poach him."

Putting aside the fact that he likes tough main players, Thibodeau is indeed a good coach.

But his coaching philosophy is incompatible with the Celtics.

"I believe Tom is capable, but he is not suitable for us." Louis said directly, "I do not intend to turn the Celtics into a Knicks-style defensive team."

"There is nothing wrong with defense. You see, you have been gone for so many years, and the players who have built the dynasty with you are getting old and gone, but we are still standing. This is the reason for defense. You won the dynasty more than ten years ago.

With this foundation, it is now the Knicks team culture, and every Knicks player is proud of it."

Louis smiled, and Rudy was complimenting him in a very subtle way.

"Stop talking about defense. How can any of you defend now?"

What Louis said is also true.

The Knicks' defense has quietly changed. After Ewing retired, the Knicks' core team did not have a commendable defensive player except Hill. Their ability to stay in the championship group depends on their offensive talent.

Tracy McGrady + Webb + Miller are enough to destroy most teams' defenses.

Louis and Rudy chatted, and the GM summit hosted by Vice President Garcia Lynn also ended successfully.

The content of the meeting mainly focused on two points, the legalization of zone defense and whether the restrictions on HC defense should be further improved.

The former will significantly affect the low-post offensive interior core and the breakthrough ball-handler who lacks shooting ability, while the latter further liberates the breakthrough ball-handler and the agile defender who are most affected by HC.

This contradictory proposal left Louis at a loss as to what to say.

Because of the Lakers dynasty, their playing style has caused problems in the direction of the league's rule changes.

They hope that all teams will play like the Lakers, with both offense and defense. A balanced offense and defense game is the best game to watch.

But since ancient times, there have been no rules to balance the game.

Either focus on the inside and focus on the outside, or focus on the inside but not on the outside, or focus on offense, or focus on defense. After all, the Lakers can play like that because they have an unsolvable lineup. Other teams do not have the corresponding conditions and configurations.

After the summit, Louis invited half of the management personnel of each team who attended the summit to have a dinner.

This group of people are either Louis' allies, have cooperated with Louis, or have received help from Louis. They occupy half of the alliance, and this power is enough to have a decisive impact on any plan of the alliance.

Louis had nothing to do with them except to keep in touch. He just wanted to have a meal.

But this kind of thing is unusual in the eyes of the alliance.

In Stern's view, this is the energy that Louis possesses.

As long as Louis is still there, any new policy introduced by the alliance will be difficult to pass without greeting Louis. This is unacceptable to the alliance, but they have nothing to do because this is the result of Louis' 25 years of operation.

"Coach Lu, I heard that you are looking for a successor for Yin Saiya?"

Suns head coach Frank Johnson asked.

Johnson is a former NBA player. After retiring, he worked as an assistant coach for Billy Donovan for many years. Although he did not have much contact with Louis, he was also a member of the team.

"Any recommendations?" Louis asked with a smile.

"It's not a recommendation, because I'm not sure if this is a suitable candidate."

"But it doesn't matter."

"I heard Pat Riley has been recuperating in New York since his retirement..."

76ers general manager Brad Lohouse was stunned, "Pat Riley? I heard he's crazy. Frank, how can you recommend this guy?"

Louis looked at Rudy Tomjanovich.

Rudy nodded and said: "There are indeed rumors that Coach Laili has gone crazy, but as far as I know, he is not crazy, just a little depressed. He has been receiving treatment from a psychiatrist for a long time. His condition is okay, but..."

Depression? Lohouse thought, isn’t that crazy?

Louis asked: "What is it?"

"I also heard what people said..." Rudy said, "I heard that Coach Lai often saw himself leading the Lakers to defeat the Celtics and Knicks in the 1980s and win four games when he closed his eyes.

Championship...but when he opened his eyes, he became the biggest loser in the history of sports. This gap made him on the verge of emotional collapse."

Not really crazy, right?

Louis suddenly felt a little guilty.

Pat Riley was a man of great glory at the time, but Louis will never forget his demeanor after he was called upon to lead the Lakers to win the championship in 1982 and break doubts.

For both emotional and logical reasons, he had to pay a visit.

"You don't really want to ask him to be the head coach, do you?" Rudy asked with wide eyes.

"No, I just think Coach Lai's situation is quite similar to Jerry West's." Louis said, "They should communicate about the condition."