The rest is just noise

"Cedric Maxwell dribbling down the middle!"

"He scored and completed the layup!"

In the eyes of Bill Shawnee, this was a demonstration of Maxwell's personal ability.

Ramsey knew, however, that the secret to Maxwell's ability to storm the Trail Blazers' L-S-K defense lay in John Long in the corner and Bird at a 45-degree angle on the right.

The positions of these two people created a gap for him.

The L-S-K defense line, which was originally supposed to defend the penalty area to the death, was forced to divide its defensive resources to guard these two dangerous outside cannons.

28 to 24

At the end of the first quarter, Maxwell's active performance proved that Louis' substitution was correct.

The Trail Blazers responded in their own way, but unfortunately it wasn't enough.

In order to maintain the intensity of the game, Ramsey only used six rotations in the first quarter, and made no other adjustments except for Drexler to play.

This was not the case for Louis. Except for Bird and Long, who played the entire first quarter, there were substitutions in several other positions, and there was an eight-man rotation in the first quarter.

At this time, Gerald Henderson, John Long, M.L. Carr, Maxwell and Bird were standing on the court.

Compared with the starting lineup, this lineup is more defensively resilient and aggressive, and relies heavily on Bird's drive on the offensive end.

On both offense and defense, Bird was placed in the fourth position by Louis.

Maxwell reluctantly played the fifth position. If he refused, Louis could only let Laimbeer play. In order to gain a higher tactical status, Maxwell accepted the arrangement.

With Bird in the fourth position, athleticism is no longer a problem. His defensive position selection is very smart. Pressure, double-teaming, help defense, rotation, and all kinds of small actions can make the opponent frown.

"Rookie, do you really want to hit me? I will get angry. If you do this again, I will really get angry. Stop it now! I will eat you! No, I will kill you! I promise I will kill you.

!" Karl's foul mouth uttered a barrage of non-nutritive trash talk to Drexler that could pollute the spirit.

In the Trail Blazers' last offense of the first quarter, Darnell Valentine broke through with great difficulty, only to be enveloped by Bird.

He had no choice but to pass the ball to Thompson at the free throw line.

At this point, Thompson could only choose to shoot.

Maxwell's speed in assisting defense was just enough to interfere with his shooting. Moreover, Maxwell, who jumped first, fell first. He believed that Bird would get the defensive rebound, so his first choice was to jump down quickly.

"boom!"

The moment Bird grabbed the rebound, his eyes were locked on Maxwell's position, and his signature one-handed long pass flew forward from the basket.

Maxwell dunked and scored.

30 to 24

"Press!" Louie shouted, "Press them all!"

With only a few seconds left in the first quarter, a full-court press can effectively waste their time.

The Celtics, who were stronger than their opponents on both offense and defense, successfully consumed the few seconds left by the Trail Blazers and entered the second quarter with a 6-point advantage.

"This 'cornbread' is so delicious, I can't believe he would stir up trade rumors." The Blazers' home announcer seemed to want to use sideways to influence the progress of the game. "I think I would suggest that the Trail Blazers try to trade.

to him."

If the Trail Blazers want Maxwell, Louis' asking price is simple: send Drexler, otherwise there is no need to negotiate.

Ramsey doesn't like Drexler anyway.

If things go well, the Trail Blazers might be able to hand over Drexler and a first-round pick.

It is a pity that even if such a good thing is true, Auerbach does not agree to trade Maxwell.

The only possibility to trade Maxwell is to make another Billy King-style trade similar to the one that exchanged Bob McAdoo from the Pistons for three first-rounders.

In Auerbach's eyes, Maxwell deserves such an offer.

This can be seen as Auerbach's unwillingness to trade Maxwell. Unless the opponent really makes an offer that cannot be refused, Maxwell will be a green-blooded person.

Auerbach wanted to preserve the Celtic tradition, but created a big problem for Louis.

"Larry, John, you guys come down and take a rest." Louis changed people smoothly.

In the second quarter, he will use another lineup to attack the Blazers' defense.

"Isiah, I don't think anyone in Portland can hold you back." Louis decided to give Thomas a big stage, "Can I break the L-S-K defense?"

Thomas had his trademark sweet smirk on his face: "What do I do, coach?"

"Well, since your reaction is so slow, I can only put food into your mouth." Louis picked up the tactical board and said in detail, "The core of the L-S-K defense line is to defend the penalty area. Now, we have to let them

Back to basics. The second unit you are about to lead has no outside shooters, so you will face the original L-S-K defense. Interestingly, the L-S-K defense has the same problem as the zone defense. They are afraid of killers at the free throw line, and

It's one of your favorite offenses."

Thomas listened carefully.

"Use the No. 3 system and play more four-corner offenses. Ralph and Cedric are both good at cutting inside and have obvious advantages in talent and athletic ability. Portland is worried about us speeding up, so your first task is

The first is to bring up the speed, and the second is to defeat the L-S-K defense line in positional warfare."

"Little Lu!" the referee came to remind Lui again.

Louis pretended not to hear: "Let them know that the days when you can block Dr. J with a bunch of people blocking the penalty area and win the championship are gone forever."

"Little Lu?"

In an instant, Louis changed from a gentle coach to an angry demon: "What are you bastards doing on the sidelines? Go up and play. Didn't you hear the referee calling you?"

Thomas smiled kindly and was the first to appear.

Sampson walked halfway and reminded Louis: "The referee is urging you, coach."

"Excuse me?" Louis asked fiercely, "Ralph, I didn't hear what you just said clearly."

Sampson didn't have the cheekiness of Thomas and Laimbeer, and he couldn't exchange greetings with Louis about their family's well-being like Bird did, so he didn't stick to his statement: "It's nothing."

Bird was wearing his coat, and when he saw Louis' performance, he sneered on his face and didn't care. When K.C. Jones walked up to him, he couldn't help but share his opinion with others: "Is that bastard really not schizophrenic?"

"Sometimes I really hope that he has schizophrenia, so that I can accept his unpredictable emotions." K.C said with lingering fear, "The really scary thing is that he does not have schizophrenia."

"Humph, you pretentious bastard!"

"Hillbilly," Louis shouted, "are there any sissies like you in your hometown who like to talk ill about people behind their backs?"

"Don't stare at me."

"I told you not to stare at me. If you stare at me again, you won't be allowed to appear tonight." Louis threatened with a smile on his face.

Bird said unhappily: "Who rarely comes out?"

"Really? No wonder that rookie isn't afraid of you at all. He just said in front of me that he could beat you up." Louis has always been able to spread rumors.

At first, Bird didn't believe it.

Because he thought his performance in the first quarter was enough to scare Drexler.

However, when the Trail Blazers used a perfect tactic and asked Drexler to run into the penalty area and take off for an alley-oop, and after that, he ran to the Celtics bench to celebrate arrogantly, he was sensitive and arrogant.

Larry, who is proud, fragile and has low self-esteem, unconsciously recalls the rumors about Louis.

Is it true?

How dare that rookie?

Who gave his dog courage?

When we make preconceived inferences about someone's guilt, all of his actions will become motives in your eyes.

I show my energy so arrogantly. Are you mocking me for not being able to run fast or jump high?

You get so excited just by shooting a free throw line jumper. Do you think I will look at you?

Dunk? Silly guy with well-developed limbs, CNMD!

In the second quarter when Drexler's talent blossomed, every wonderful moment he played would be evaluated in Bird's heart.

Drexler was still thinking about Bird's trash talk in the first quarter. He wanted to confront Bird, but that didn't mean he wanted to humiliate Bird. He just wanted to win Bird's approval, so he would deliberately look at him.

Byrd's location.

This idiot actually dares to look me in the eyes. I won't kick your ass into 58 pieces when I come on stage...

"Larry, why do I feel like that kid has been provoking you?" Louis couldn't help but have some green tea.

Bird's anger level has been fully charged: "Let me play!"

"No, because you just hurt me and you don't respect my authority as a coach, so I'm going to use my authority and not let you play unless you apologize." Louis said embarrassedly, "I also want to see you teach me a lesson.

That kid, but who told you not to give me face? I can usually tolerate your arrogance on the training ground, but today we are in an away game, and you make it difficult for me to stand up in front of everyone."

"Damn it, you provoked me first!"

"Who spoke ill of me first?"

Bird was speechless.

"Your silence is the truth. Since you don't give me face, why should I give you face?" Louis asked unforgivingly.

Halfway through the second quarter, the Trail Blazers noticed Drexler's state and deliberately created opportunities for him when playing tactics.

Karl's mad-dog defense is useful against players with average athletic ability, but Drexler's physical fitness is too outstanding.

When both Sampson and Maxwell were pulled out of the paint, Drexler cut in so fast that many people didn't expect it.

Drexler received a pass from his teammate and launched a Liberty dunk that would appear countless times in Memorial Coliseum in the future.

"!%@￥#……"

In desperation, Drexler grabbed his jersey and celebrated wildly.

"If I offended you, I apologize." The desire to blast Drexler exceeded his inner reserve. Bird gritted his teeth and said, "I'm sorry."

Louis smiled and said: "That's right."