The rest is just noise

Chapter 252 Non-violence and non-cooperation

After Magic was replaced, the Lakers replaced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had recovered a little strength, and teamed up with Dennis Johnson, Byron Scott, Cooper and Kurt Rambis to launch a second wave of offensive storm.

For the past few minutes, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had no answer.

His sky hook ignores the boundaries of the paint area and takes action as soon as he gets the ball, without even having time to double attack.

If the Celtics' double attack arrives, he will pass the ball to Cooper.

The tough guy who has the Lakers' biggest three-point threat doesn't want to miss any opportunity.

Playing in the low post and shooting from the outside, the Lakers opened up the situation and took the lead before the end of the first half, 54 to 52.

In the last attack, Louis drew an unconventional L tactic.

The general L tactics have Bird as the core, and teammates in other positions either open up space, cut in, use Bird's body to run, or set up pick-and-rolls for Bird.

It’s ever-changing and impossible to guard against.

This time, Louis made Sampson the core of the L tactic, letting him hold the ball in a high position like a small forward. Bird's pick-and-roll threat was too great for the Lakers' defense to take care of, and he spurred him on.

And passed.

The buzzer-beating offense in the first half was a perfect score.

54 to 54

"Little Lu is Little Lu. Despite his young age, he has more tactics than we imagined."

"Except for the Celtics, it is impossible for us to see any team that can complete tactical attacks so freely."

Dick Stockton asked: "Tom, what do you think is the biggest difference between the Celtics' offense and the Lakers' ShowTime?"

This question is like throwing a bouquet to Heinsohn.

Heinsohn is a guy who brags about the Celtics every chance he gets.

"That's a good question, Dick." Heinsohn said vividly, "The Lakers are a luxury car, but as long as it's a car, it can't run without an engine. Earvin Johnson is their engine."

People of the older generation don't like the fancy names of the younger generation, such as Doctor J, Magician, and Skywalker. They don't buy it and always call them by their first names, which seems formal.

"The Celtics are not like that. This is a whole fleet. Even if the most luxurious one is missing, others can still drive their own cars on the road."

This may be the best metaphor Heinsohn has said this year, and even people who know nothing about basketball understand it.

However, compared with the playing tactics of both sides, what is easier for fans to understand is the confrontation.

Against a weaker team, it will be very embarrassing on the court.

As far as this game is concerned, the Lakers are more daring to fight, while the Celtics are a bit passive. They didn't go all out to wrestle with the Lakers because they haven't reached that point yet.

Generally speaking, a team that competes with all its strength on the field is always the one with nothing to do.

Only when you don't know what to do will you think of ways to fight hand to hand.

As a Western Conference team, the Lakers, the ShowTime that fans have longed for, suddenly did something like this. The fans didn't expect it, and his opponents didn't expect it either.

The Lakers fought hard, which not only limited the Celtics' scoring rate in the penalty area and outside touch, but also gave Thomas cramps.

Although Thomas said he could continue playing, Louis thought about the injuries that the body sent out but were ignored by the body's owner, eventually leading to catastrophic injuries.

Durant in the 2019 Finals;

Space Yi in the 2020 CBA Finals;

Counting further back, Kobe had been injured twice before rupturing his Achilles tendon.

Since the body has given an alarm, its wishes should be respected.

"No, Isiah, you don't need to fight again tonight." Louis said this.

"Fuck bait!" Thomas yelled out uncontrollably, "No one can stop me from playing!"

Louis said indifferently: "I can."

"You won't let me play just because of cramps? I've never heard of such a thing!" Thomas thought of some possibilities sensitively, "Or are you worried that I will perform too well and steal someone's FMVP?

"

When he said these words, the temperature in the humid and stuffy locker room dropped ten degrees in vain.

Just a second after Thomas finished saying that, Louis grabbed his collar and pushed Thomas backwards, slamming him into the closet: "Let me get out of your shit-eating mouth again."

If you hear such nonsense, you won’t be able to play in the next game!”

The thought of resistance only appeared in Thomas's mind for a moment.

Louis' face was as ferocious as if he wanted to eat people, and his facial features were connected like an evil spirit responsible for scaring people to death.

"Understand?"

Thomas' tongue seemed to be tied up. He wanted to reply to Louis, but he was too scared to speak.

"You drafted son of a bitch, answer me!"

Louis shouted angrily.

Thomas has seen this scene before.

Bob Knight did this a lot when he was at Indiana University, but he never did it to him.

When he saw Nate getting angry, he was not afraid at all, because he had never disappointed Nate, so he would not treat him harshly.

Louis is different.

Thomas was so nervous that he couldn't breathe through his nose. He gasped through his mouth. Finally, the pressure that prevented him from speaking subsided.

"I got it coach."

"What a bastard, you insist on making me angry!"

Louis snorted coldly, and when he looked back at the others, the stern expression that made Thomas's insides shiver had disappeared.

"Isiah can't play in the second half. Others must take responsibility and bear his share."

Louis calmly planned his play in the second half, mainly targeting Wilkins and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Everyone has almost forgotten what it was like the last time Louis went berserk.

What happened to Thomas just now reminded them of it.

This is how Louis got angry after losing to the Bucks last season.

That time, his anger was directed at all Celtic players.

Today, just as Thomas was about to make a gesture of resistance, he was burned to ashes by his overwhelming anger.

This kind of Louis is the most authoritative person in the locker room. No one will say no to his instructions. Even the assistant coaches who usually like to be peacemakers dare not say a word.

"The Lakers' intention today is very clear, which is to use intensity to defeat us. I also know that you are not prepared for such an intensity of physical confrontation."

"So, I don't ask you to fight them with the same intensity. This is unwise. Only by preparing in advance can you cope with such intensity."

Louis hung up the tactical board and said loudly: "In the second half, I will prepare five offensive waves for the Lakers."

The most shocked person was Tomjanovich.

It turns out that without even realizing it, the Celtics have developed so many offensive routines.

These routines were so rich that Louis could attack the Lakers in five phases in the second half.

The Lakers wanted to use the intensity of the game to suppress the Celtics and bring them into submission.

Louis didn't go head-to-head with the Lakers, and he didn't choose to retreat. Instead, he used a higher-level offense to neutralize their intensity.

In order to lay out the offensive routine for the second half in detail, the Celtics did not even have time to return to the scene to shoot and warm up.

After Louis finished the arrangement, he asked them to run back to the competition site.

The walk from the locker room to the court is considered to be a warm-up.

Everyone ran out except Thomas, who would not play in the second half.

Louis didn't look at him, didn't speak to anyone, and just walked out of the dressing room.

K.C Jones was responsible for comforting Thomas: "Don't mind, Isiah, Louis does this to everyone."

This is a fact that Thomas cannot refute, nor can he hate Louis for it.

Louis really doesn't treat anyone differently, he has the same temper with everyone.

I talk to you nicely one second, but once you have objections, I will turn my back on you.

"I should have gotten used to it, shouldn't I?" Thomas asked sarcastically.

K.C said: "If you mean disobeying his orders and then getting scolded, I don't think you should get used to it. I mean, you shouldn't refuse his orders."

Thomas finally had someone to talk to for his grievances: "Who am I doing this for? K.C, am I doing it for myself? I just have a cramp, not a fracture. Why can't I continue to play the game? Can't I get out of the firing line with a minor injury?

Isn’t that a Celtic tradition?”

"If it were me, I wouldn't stop you, but Louis will. You are playing for him, not for the Celtic tradition." K.C said, "You have to listen to him."

What aggrieved Thomas the most was that not a day went by that he didn't listen to Louis.

However, whenever he makes any mistakes, Louis will immediately find trouble with him.

With Louis, he has no room for error at all.

At this time, Thomas did not expect that Bird had no room for error in Louis.

Things like fault tolerance belong to role players, and the core must complete their duties flawlessly.

This is Louis' philosophy. If there is any principle in his coaching, it is zero tolerance for stars to make mistakes.

In this regard, he is very similar to Coach Du Feng and Du after 2019. The team leads by a big score, but if you make a mistake, he will scold you and then continue to let you play.

The only difference is that Du Feng will only greet young people such as Ah Ri, Hu Mingxuan, Xu Jie, etc., while Louis will greet core players such as Bird and Thomas.

On the contrary, he was a substitute player, so he didn't care how many mistakes they made on the field.

"Were you really angry just now?"

Coming outside, Tomjanovich asked Louis.

"I've already done it, do you think I'm angry?" Louis was naturally angry.

He was angry with Thomas, that bastard, for taking his good intentions for granted, and he was even more angry with that bastard for saying those words that might cause problems in the locker room.

So he had to use extreme measures to silence Thomas.

Facts have proved that this is very effective. Some people are just mean and non-violent and non-cooperative.

"I'm okay with others, but you, I really don't know." Tomjanovich has known Louis for so long, and he still can't tell whether Louis was really angry or fake.

After wearing the mask for so long, even my closest colleagues can't see through it.