The rest is just noise

Lu Wuxia's "arrogance" did not arouse the fans' resentment, because they all knew that he was trying to create a show effect.

Anthony's responses on Buzz are a continuation of the show.

Moreover, Anthony also needs this kind of program.

It's boring enough in a place like Utah. If you don't find something happy for yourself, won't you be suffocated to death?

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan doesn't appreciate this kind of communication method of bickering with each other on the Internet.

Steve Nash of the Airborne Jazz said: "Mello brings a lot of fun to our lives."

After the start of the new season, the performance of two teams far exceeded expectations.

One team is the Utah Jazz, who have currently won seven games and are ranked first in the Western Conference.

The other team is the Suns. After Penny Hardaway came to Phoenix, he seemed to be five years younger.

The arrival of Pence allowed Milicic to find his thigh.

The 2003 rookie himself was a high-profile silver generation, and Milicic was known as a super talent comparable to James before the draft. The Suns ignored him and made him flawless. As a result, his rookie season could only be regarded as unsatisfactory.

Averaged 11 points, 6 rebounds and 1 block per game, shooting 46% from the field.

It wouldn't be bad to say it was bad, but it wouldn't be great if it was good.

It just gives people an okay look.

Considering that Lu Wuxia was selected to the first team in his rookie season, the "okay" Milicic did not satisfy the fans at all.

You only have to think about the feelings of Kings fans who watched the team miss Doncic to understand how stupid this is.

Secondly, Milicic's performance was not as good as expected. The most important thing is that his heart is not on the basketball court.

After one season, Milicic has caused countless sexy news and nightclub-related gossip.

However, the arrival of Pence allowed Milicic to relax a bit.

Under Pence, Milicic only needs to use his talent to perform well. He is currently averaging 16 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks per game. Suns fans finally don’t dislike their second pick. Although he is not as popular as Wish, he is

There is still progress.

Lu Wuxia gradually became the benchmark for the 2003 rookie class.

This position should belong to James.

It is said that children of poor people become rich early, but James is on a weak team, but he has not yet made his fortune. Instead, Lu Wuxia made his debut on a strong team, leading the team to break the first-round curse that has plagued the team in recent years, advance to the Eastern Conference finals, and

Selected for a while.

Fans believe that James has a promising future.

But no matter how optimistic fans are about James' future, the future they can envision for the latter is only what Lu Wuxia did in his rookie season.

For them, it is enough that James can do this.

And Lu Wuxia did this kind of thing in his rookie season. What is this concept?

The media's hype, critics' praise, and the adulation of legends and celebrities from all walks of life gave way to Lu Wuxia's early arrival in a world that did not belong to him.

The flawless popularity reminded Louis of Jayson Tatum in his rookie season.

In Louis' view, what he did flawlessly was similar to what Tatum did in his rookie season.

He looked very strong, but he also had an obvious immaturity about him, and surprisingly he had a great season.

In terms of difficulty, what Tatum did may be more difficult.

In his rookie year, Tatum led the Celtics, who had lost their best and second-best players, to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost in seven games against the crippled Cleveland James team.

The flawless Celtics lineup is complete.

The flawless selection is a god-making movement composed of many factors.

First of all, in recent years, the league's No. 1 position has withered.

Penny suffered injuries last season, Kidd performed well in the Spurs, but his record and data were not as flawless, Steve Nash was not even the best point guard on his team, Payton was old, and Sam Casse

Er, Baron Davis, Steve Francis, Mike Bibby and others are always a little bit behind. From everyone's perspective, it seems that it is better to vote for anyone and average 18+8 per game in his rookie year.

+8, and improve the team's winning rate by nearly 30%.

Driven by various factors, Lu Wuxia was selected for the first team, but this honor does not mean that his own strength has reached the top five level in the league, but is the result of many reasons.

In the eighth game of the new season, the Celtics challenged the Jazz away from home.

After this game, there will be only one team left in the league that has maintained a complete victory.

The Jazz have successfully assembled a strong starting lineup.

They have Nash as the core, paired with Szczerbiak, Anthony, Bosh, and Troy Murphy.

Since Murphy is a rare multi-faceted development insider who can support and shoot three-pointers, Jerry Sloan abandoned the old UCLA offense in all aspects after recruiting Nash, learned Louis' "beautiful basketball", and created

He creatively designed a five-outside dynamic pick-and-cut offensive system, allowing the rest of the team to perfectly match Nash.

The Jazz started the new season with seven consecutive victories, averaging a league-high 122 points per game as evidenced by this.

Nash has performed as the number one point guard for the Jazz, currently averaging 21 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists per game, with a three-point field goal percentage of 190.

In the game against the Celtics, Nash also relied on his soft long-range shooting to score 32 points and 14 assists in a single game.

However, Nash's performance failed to bring the Jazz a victory.

Because while Nash's personal offense is eye-catching, he is also the defensive vulnerability that Parker and Wade focus on.

In this case, the Jazz need a second breakthrough point if they want to win.

This burden fell on Anthony.

However, Anthony was like a man possessed that night. He only did one thing throughout the game, which was to break into the basket and give Yao Yueban a shot.

Anthony's unremitting blocking behavior allowed Yao Yueban to record a career-high 9 blocks in a single game.

In the battle between the Cavaliers, Anthony made 2 of 17 shots in a single game.

Bosh acted more like the breaking point. He defeated Gasol in one-on-one level, but he didn't have enough ball. He scored 17 points and 11 rebounds. The Jazz lost to the Celtics by a big score of 22 points.

.

Lu Wuxia, who won the game without much effort throughout the whole process, joked about Anthony to the media: "I have been encouraging Melo to break through, but I am very disappointed. He gave up doing so starting from the fourth quarter. Our

The big man missed a good opportunity to block shots in double figures."

The Celtics began to enter devil form.

While Lu Wuxia's share of holding the ball has decreased compared to his rookie season, his average assists per game have not decreased.

This data shows that Lu Wuxia's ideas for handling the ball and organizing offense have become clearer.

Yao Yueban began to become a top insider above the All-Star level. He relied on three-pointers from the pick-and-roll and a small amount of low-post offense to average 24 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2.4 blocks per game.

He is the most efficient finishing machine at the fifth position in the league, and he is also the inside man who interferes most with opponents' shots in the three-second zone. He also has weaknesses, such as fear of double-teaming (but he rarely plays in isolation) and poor physical strength (however, he averages only one shot per game).

30 minutes), rebounding is slightly worse (the team only needs him to block)... However, these weaknesses of his can be made up for by the Celtics' amazing lineup depth.

The most practical problem facing the Celtics is how to prevent their increasingly improving young players from becoming anxious about too little ball possession and playing time.

Parker complained about ball possession issues.

Bird blocked his mouth with the fact that Lu Wuxia had less possession of the ball than him.

Boozer complained about playing time.

Bird said, if you can compete with Gasol, I will let you start.

The battle for the sixth man between Ginobili and Wade is almost overcrowding the bench.

This overflow of talent and bloated depth of the main rotation made Bird tired.

At the end of November, the Celtics' winning streak was ended by the Spurs.

Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for the Spurs to beat the Celtics.

However, when Allen Iverson scored a career-high 65 points in a single game, made 30 free throws, and knocked both Yao Yueban and Kirilenko off the court, how could the Celtics win?

"I have full respect for the AI ​​tonight." Lu Wuxia said, "However, if I can get free throws every time I break through the paint, I will also make the Spurs respect me."

The league said: That's a good point, but the fine will be fined.

Lu Wuxia was fined 10,000 US dollars because he was not restrained enough in his anger.

For this reason, Wu Xia called his father. He wanted to know how to punish the referee who blatantly blew the whistle.

"Have I ever told you the story about how I knocked out the referee with one punch on the court?" Dad Zhonghou said, "You were not born at that time, but the referee dared to speak rudely to me in front of your mother. You know, I

Although he is a loyal and honest person, he also has a bottom line that cannot be trampled, and that bastard crossed the line, so I knocked him down with one punch."

Lu Wuxia: "So I should punch the referee? The consequences will be serious, right?"

"If you do this, your future will be ruined, but I am different. Everyone knows that I am loyal. Even if I punch the referee into the ICU, there must be reasons for it, so I did not receive any punishment in the end."

Lu Wuxia: "So powerful? What should I do?"

"It's very simple, just be as loyal as me." Louis taught, "Son, you have to know that even if loyal people like us are given a black whistle by the referee, we should not ridicule them at the press conference. If I

If it were you, I would say, 'AI's free throw gesture is so cool, I can't get enough of it'."

Time flies and we come to 2005.

Louis is 45 years old this year, and although he claims that men are forever young, he does feel that his energy is not as good as before.

Moreover, as the dull days pass by for a long time, you will find that time flies very quickly.

When he was coaching before, he felt that time passed very slowly.

Because I was very busy every day at that time, work had a kind of magic that could slow down the passage of time.

On the contrary, when people are free, even if they just stay at home, time passes very quickly.

Louis took his time off and still did a good job in running the team.

The Celtics, who have completely changed their marketing strategy, have also become a gold-swallowing beast. Although their ability to attract money cannot be compared with the Lakers, Knicks and other teams, compared with other small-market teams that rely on league dividends to survive, it can be said that it is

Very successful.

After the New Year arrived, Louis began negotiations with the owners of the Fleet Center.

The lease between the Celtics and Fleet Center will expire in the summer of 2005. If it were replaced by Louis' predecessor, he might make peace and renew the contract with the other party.

But Louis is very aware that the live experience of home games will greatly affect fans' desire to spend money.

Last year, Louis negotiated with the owner to improve the facilities at the Fleet Center, but when he heard that additional money would be spent for this purpose, the other party refused.

Now, the two sides are entering a contract year. The Celtics, who have achieved the second-best record in the league through Youth Storm, are a popular team and their home games are full.

You know, the owners of Fleet Center also participate in the share of the tickets.

Because the Celtics were not making money at the time, the Gaston family, in order to save some rent, proposed to use part of the home ticket sales dividends to offset part of the funds. Considering that Bostonians were quite loyal to the Celtics, they agreed.

Already.

Due to the team's good record and Louis' efforts to improve the fans' game experience as much as possible, the Celtics' average ticket prices continued to increase, allowing the owners of Fleet Center to make a fortune.

Therefore, they are very willing to continue to cooperate with the Celtics.

But Louis was unwilling, because there was more than just this sports complex in Boston, and he couldn't afford to cooperate with these short-sighted guys who were allowed in but not allowed out.

As a result, the two sides of the negotiation shifted their offensive and defensive positions.

Now is the time for the other party to show sincerity.

However, since the season has only reached a quarter, there is still some dispute between the two sides.

Louis was not in a hurry. While letting the public know about the possibility of changing the home stadium, he contacted local builders to discuss the possibility of building a large comprehensive stadium in the center of Boston in the future.

This matter is very complicated and involves multiple documents and certificates that need to be reviewed and approved by the government. Let’s not talk about professional issues such as the design of the stadium. The approval of zoning and land use alone requires review and approval by many agencies.

However, Louis was in no hurry to get it done.

Because the construction of a new arena is a long-term plan, it is estimated that it will take one or two years to wait for the government process to be completed, and then the construction team will design, plan, calculate costs, and start construction... It will take at least five or six years.

Finish.

In other words, regardless of whether he wants to renew his contract with the Fleet Center or not, Louis needs to sign another home lease contract for more than five years.

At the end of January, the league announced this year's All-Star Game selections.

Three Celtics players were selected to the All-Stars, namely Lu Wuxia, Yao Yueban and Wade.

Lu Wuxia is not the only second-year player to be selected as an All-Star.

In addition to Lu Wuxia, there are also James from the Cavaliers, Anthony from the Jazz and Milicic from the Suns.

Milicic's selection is a major controversy in this All-Star roster.

Once upon a time, center was the most competitive position in the NBA. However, the new generation of players has not reproduced the prosperous interior of the previous generation.

Due to the emergence of a large number of parallel import centers like Michael Olowokande, Marcus Camby, and Eddie Curry who wasted their talents, the new generation of insiders are more and more stretched. Looking at the Western Conference, Milicic

There are not many strong centers, but not many, such as Jamal Magloire and Brad Miller. They both have good immediate combat ability and considerable statistics, but Milicic is one of the top four teams in the Western Conference.

Played for the team and averaged 16 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks per game.

It's a shame, but apart from him, there is no good candidate.

"Imagine Kwame Brown and Tyson Chandler being the best American centers under the age of 24."

Louis also joked about the dwindling talent pool at lunch this week.

However, today besides making fun of the declining center, the most important topic comes from a senior agent.

His name was Ted Jarvis, and he was not a regular at the luncheon, but Louis remembered that he had come a few times.

Although Jarvis is a sports agent, Louis is not familiar with him because his main clients are coaches.

Except for coaches like Larry Brown who look at the bowl and the pot, generally speaking, negotiations and contract extensions for coaches are not as troublesome as for players.

Jarvis' clients are primarily college coaches.

Originally, his affairs would not have been the focus of the luncheon, but didn't the NBA usher in a new team this year?

It's the Bobcats team that gets a lot of media attention.

The Bobcats themselves are not interesting, but their front office is.

Michael Jordan, who holds 15% of the shares, is the Bobcats' president, and Benjamin Wilson, who also holds 15% of the shares, is the Bobcats' vice president.

Although Wilson and Jordan are both positive and negative, their authority in the management is basically the same.

They are not typical CEOs and vice presidents.

Wilson is not Jordan's subordinate.

Moreover, Wilson and Jordan have completely different attitudes towards the team.

Jordan believes that the management's work is mainly offseason operations, while Wilson has followed Louis for many years, and he knows that a good management should pay attention to the team's trends all the time.

Therefore, during the season, Jordan could leave his post without authorization for his own personal matters, and Wilson became the team's de facto GM.

When he heard that Wilson was the current head coach of the Bobcats, Auerbach said calmly: "Benj will mess it up."

Louis naturally supported Benj unconditionally: "I don't think so?"

"Definitely." Auerbach affirmed, "I don't have a negative opinion of Benj. I believe he is a smart man and a good man, but is he really willing to put in the effort to build the team? Is he really willing to work for a long time?

Working in an office, going to games to scout players, making phone calls about deals, and making decisions that go against your heart when necessary?”

Based on Louis' knowledge of Wilson, he might do these things.

"I think...he's going to do that," Louis said uncertainly.

"This is just the most basic job of a GM." Auerbach said sharply. "Maybe he is willing, but I think for him, this will be a job that is different from playing football. It is very difficult. He is in life.

There are already plenty of distractions in the game. Plus, he's always been a go-to guy, and a stellar career doesn't do a GM any favors."

Auerbach's words made Louis think for a while.

Jarvis recounted the process of his negotiations with Wilson.

What Louis didn't expect was that although Wilson was like a good boy when he was playing under him, he turned out to be very aggressive and stingy after becoming a GM.

Jarvis' employer is a well-known college coach who is very willing to challenge the NBA.

His annual salary at the university is $1 million.

Wilson prepared a five-year salary of US$3 million for this person, and the first negotiation between the two parties broke up unhappily.

In the second meeting, Wilson "happily" offered a five-year salary of US$5 million. He thought it was enough to pay such a college coach who had not proven himself in professional basketball. However, this salary was actually not even included in the NBA.

The average salary of coaches is not even reached.

Louis not only raised the status of coaches, but also raised their salaries. Moreover, it is impossible for a college coach to leave his comfort zone to coach a team that looks like it will be bad for a long time without a salary increase.

Then, Jarvis reported the employer's psychological price: an annual salary of 4 million, not even a penny less.

According to Jarvis's dictation, Wilson said something like this with a cold face: "I won't give you a cent more."

Jarvis told this story in the hope that Louis could forgive him.

He attaches great importance to the luncheon, and he does not want to offend Wilson and indirectly offend Louis, thereby expelling him from the luncheon.

Louis was silent for more than ten seconds, and finally said helplessly under Auerbach's teasing gaze: "It sounds like Benj is indeed a bit of an amateur... What happened next?"

Jarvis told the truth: "Although Benj will later increase his annual salary to 1.8 million US dollars, it is still far from our psychological price..."

Louis sighed: "I believe you have tried your best..."

Jarvis felt much relieved when Louis expressed his understanding.

For luncheon regulars, sitting here is not only a status symbol, but also hides many rare social opportunities.

Because the luncheon was attended by not only professionals in the sports world, but also politicians, military personnel, lawyers and doctors. Everyone who attended the luncheon expanded their social circle in an all-round way.

Just when Louis was thinking about finding an opportunity to chat with Benj about his experience as GM, Auerbach said: "Have I ever told you the story of Adolph Rupp? He is much stingier than Benj.

Already..."

PS: Today's two chapters are transitional chapters. The main plot has not been promoted, so I simply combined them together. The two chapters combined means that there will be no second update today.