The rest is just noise

No matter how you look at it, the gap between the Celtics and the 76ers is very small.

In the first game, the final gap between the two sides was only 2 points.

In the second game, Bill Fitch decided to implement his "high offensive system" to the end.

This system relies heavily on high pick-and-rolls inside, but unfortunately, neither Cowens nor Maxwell are good pick-and-rollers. Laimbeer, the Celtics' best pick-and-roll player, was left off the court by Fitch.

What makes Louis most helpless is that the "high offensive system" can theoretically maximize Bird's ability, but in fact Bird's ability has not been fully released.

Because Fitch never regarded Bird as a "point forward."

In Fitch's view, Bird's speed is a bit slow. He can hold the ball but slowly, which is not conducive to the spread of the offensive rhythm. It is better to use his diversity to embellish the tactical system. After all, he can grab rebounds and transition the ball.

, he can dominate the ball, he can provide support, he can run and shoot, he can also defend the opponent's inside... He has too many uses.

Bird can do it all like James, while Fitch only needs him to focus on offense and rebounding.

Moreover, he has been given a position in the system similar to that of Jordan and Kobe. As a finisher rather than the controller of the basketball.

Today Louis is much more honest than before. He listened to Fitch's instructions and recorded data off the court without participating in the game.

Bird did his best. As a rookie, he was assigned to the third position and faced off against Dr. J, the hottest superstar in the league. He played 47 minutes and scored 22 points, 21 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.

Considering Fitch didn't give him the tactical status he deserved, could more be asked of him?

His value on the court has clearly surpassed that of Dr. J.

In an anxious, slow-paced game, the 76ers were at ease.

Their inside line played a huge advantage, and this game was more alarming than Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Celtics, who were weak inside, grabbed 21 rebounds with Bird's hands that seemed to have been kissed by God, allowing the team to outrebound the 76ers by 11.

However, "L Train" and Cheeks scored 40 points together, which was an unbearable burden for the Celtics.

The high-efficiency inside offense of Dawkins and Caldwell Jones once again allowed the 76ers to use higher offensive efficiency, winning 99-97 at the end of the game, another two-point victory.

Dr. J, who had won two games in a row at Boston Garden and was about to return to his home court, proudly announced: "This is a 'people's victory'!"

The elegant doctors combined their victory with the people as far away as Philadelphia, fully embodying the beautiful relationship between the team and the fans as a family.

Philadelphia's momentum is unparalleled, and their goal is obviously not just to defeat the Celtics.

"I can develop good tactics to make our offense more efficient, but I can't let my players learn to defend."

In professional sports, it is a sensitive matter to publicly criticize one's players to the media.

Most coaches believe in trapping secrets in the locker room and digesting them by themselves.

Fitch likes to deal with the media and prefers to further pressure his players by blaming them in front of the media.

It was difficult for Louis to approve of such a move to make the conflicts within the team public, but he had nothing to say, who asked him to be the head coach?

But this defeat should have made Fitch realize that they must adjust their starting lineup.

Since he knows that the Celtics' defensive quality is not good, he should follow his advice and put people who can defend into the starting lineup.

"You look bloodless!"

Before Fitch, Auerbach had already rushed into the team's locker room and yelled at the players.

This kind of overstepping was common in the Tom Sanders era, but Fitch didn't want to see anyone take his job.

"This is a game that insults everyone. You must go to Philadelphia to win back our dignity!"

"That's enough Reid, now is not the time to talk about this." Fitch regained his right to speak in the locker room, "I am very dissatisfied with the defense of some of you. Some of you are lively when attacking, and defensively

Sometimes he looks like a dead person."

When he said this harshly, his eyes drifted to Pete Maravich: "Pete, what do you think?"

Maravich got 21 minutes of playing time today, but his offensive efficiency was not high, making 5 of 12 shots.

Fitch suddenly accused him, which was very meant to scare the monkeys. Everyone knows that Maravich is a great attacker, and defense is always his weakness. Fitch also wanted to make full use of his strengths by letting him play, but he didn't find it today.

It's just a feel.

Now they accuse him of deficiencies on the defensive end, just like a lot of 76ers fans in the future will be unhappy with Embiid's inconsistent shooting, which hurts Simmons and not getting good space in the penalty area. It is a direct question mark.

It's not that Fitch doesn't know enough about Maravich's ability, he's just looking for trouble. Because Auerbach interfered with his work, he had to find a way to get his job back.

Maravich was just the unfortunate scapegoat.

Maravich, who was taken out as a typical villain, had a face full of dissatisfaction, and the anger in his eyes almost set Fitch's suit on fire.

"Bill, if you need people to defend, you should give more playing time to players who are good at defending." Auerbach has long been accustomed to "pointing" others and never thinks that his doing so undermines Fitch's authority.

Fitch said with a straight face: "I will find the answer to this at tomorrow's review meeting. Thank you for your suggestion."

The atmosphere in the locker room was very strange, with only a few coaches talking. Especially after Maravich was set as a negative example, there were even fewer people talking, for fear that if he said something wrong, he would get burned.

When Auerbach and Fitch both walked out of the locker room, Louis found Laimbeer smiling and crossing his legs, seemingly very happy.

"What's so fun?" Louis asked.

"I always thought that Bill didn't let me play because he didn't like me. Now I know that he loves and protects me, so he doesn't let me play." Laimbeer said harshly, "I don't want to take the blame for someone else for no reason!"

Cowens cursed vulgarly: "He is a dirty piece of shit!"

"Stop moaning like a bitch." Bird said sarcastically, "If your performance is impeccable, he will naturally find fault with others. You gave him the opportunity."

When several strong personalities output negative energy at the same time, the chemistry in the locker room is ruined.

Maravich, who was most injured, could not find any solace here.

He was the first to leave the locker room.

Louis also packed up his things and left. He didn't want to get in trouble with them at this time.

The next day, at the Greek Academy, a group of people gathered in front of a VCD that was very old-fashioned in the future but is now the latest technology to watch the video of yesterday's game.

In Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, damn CBS finally delayed the broadcast of the game between the Celtics and the 76ers.

From their decision to delay the live broadcast, we can see how short-sighted the senior management is.

Because this is definitely a series worth promoting.

Bird and Dr. J, two famous names.

Although Bill Fitch is an old-school die-hard, he is very obsessed with using video tapes to review game replays to find deficiencies. This coincides with Louis, but Auerbach is very disgusted with their approach.

Such a reliance on tools challenges Red Auerbach's old-fashioned instinct to read and understand the game on the fly.

For this reason, Auerbach called Fitch and Louis "Captain Video" and "Captain Little Video" respectively.

Louis greatly respects Auerbach's achievements in the professional field, but when the league becomes highly professional and the process of commercialization is advancing slowly and correctly, the old man seems to be still living in the 1950s and 1960s, and the man he has

It was a primitive era when one person held the general manager, coach, scout, trainer, and all other positions.

Fitch's replays are not as interesting as Louis thought. He always makes the replays very long and repeatedly emphasizes the mistakes made by the players.

This is tiring.

Finally, he announced his Game 3 strategy amidst the frustration of the players.

"In order to improve the quality of our defense, we will change our starting lineup!"

Louis breathed out, and finally Fitch accepted his suggestion.