The rest is just noise

In addition to the magician, there were also other heavyweight guests coming to the scene.

For example, die-hard Lakers fan Jack Nicholson came with Magic. The appearance of Nicholson convinced Louis that Magic just wanted to pass his bad luck to the Celtics.

There are also some local Boston stars that Louis can't name.

The Knicks' cheering team is equally luxurious.

Team legend Dave DeBusschere brought Willis Reed, political Bill Bradley, Kaz Russell and other old Nick to the scene.

As for entertainment stars, many New York stars can't stand the atmosphere of the Garden. Only true fans like Nicholson are willing to tolerate the atmosphere of the Garden.

Therefore, the Knicks' celebrity fan base only has Jennifer Beals, who is not popular.

Jennifer shouted to Louis: "I came to a place like this to watch the game just to cheer you on. If you dare to lose, I will never finish with you!"

Uh...why does it look like Louis begged her to come?

Louis spread his hands helplessly.

In addition, the Celtics management also came to the scene.

Auerbach and Jan Walker are all acquaintances.

No one expected the Knicks to pose such a big threat to the Celtics.

Before the Eastern Conference Finals, Celtics supporters did not regard the Knicks as the biggest obstacle to their fifth consecutive championship.

In terms of strength, they may not be as good as the Lakers of previous years.

This idea was completely changed with McHale's clothesline foul.

Because if it were the Lakers, they wouldn't take such extreme actions.

Only a team that truly regards you as their mortal enemy and wants to defeat you will do whatever it takes. The Lakers are very strong, but they are wrapped in a showtime shell and cannot let go of themselves to fight them to the death.

The Knicks have inherited the tradition of Eastern Conference teams in this area.

The ball can be lost, but people must also lie down.

When the two sides were warming up, Louis looked carefully at Bird on the other court.

His feet move naturally and his shooting posture has not changed. At first glance, he looks like a healthy player.

This pretense of strength could not deceive Louis.

If he was really fine, how could the Celtics rest him in Game 6?

It's better to defeat the Knicks in Game 6 than to wait until Game 7.

On the other side, in the CBS commentary box, the person responsible for explaining this game is Brent Musburger, a well-known commentator in the industry. His partner is another former NBA coach Hubie who hates Louis.

·Brown.

Brown, like Billy Cunningham, had a grudge against Louis a few years ago. At that time, Louis was still with the Celtics and led that team to destroy those weak NBA teams.

Brown was the coach of the Knicks at the time, and was naturally one of the victims. But the reason why Louis caused the team to go on a killing spree at that time was not because he didn't understand the rules, but because some coaches who relied on their veterans thought that he was too junior and not qualified to serve as Kyle.

A special coach.

Too little qualifications is generally synonymous with insufficient ability.

Since he is said to be lacking in ability, let's see the real results on the court.

Therefore, the ones who danced the most fiercely were educated.

Brown was fired in the summer of 1984, and the Knicks hired Louis to take over his job.

Embarrassingly, Louis does his job quite well...

So when Musburger asked Brown his opinion on this game, Brown acted like a more extreme Cunningham: "If Larry didn't play, the Knicks would have a chance to complete a great comeback on the road, but Larry

Worthy of being the GOAT, he chose to come back to defend his honor. As a result, the Knicks have no chance!"

It sounds like the three games the Knicks have won so far were all won without Bird.

Musburger knew that Brown couldn't be objective about the Knicks, and asking questions like this was also the station's explanation. Cunningham was not here, and they needed another person to make the show more effective.

If the Knicks take control of the game later, Brown's words will seem ridiculous.

After the warm-up, the players from both sides gathered around their coaches.

The DJ at the scene began to announce the curtain and informed the fans of the names of both parties.

The Knicks are unexpected.

Stockton, Wilson (No. 2), Alex Stevens, Oakley, Ewing.

Wilson plays the second position, Stevens enters, and McHale continues to substitute.

Just one list conveys a lot of information.

Wilson will take more three-pointers when he plays the second position. Stevens is targeting Bird. McHale continues to come off the bench. It’s not that Oakley plays better than him, but that he can take advantage of his advantages better on the bench.

, and Oakley's entry will give the Knicks a reliable hitter in a game that may break out at any time.

"It seems that the Knicks are going to implement their strategy to the end!"

"This is a real test for Larry, and if he's the greatest player of all time, he should win this game."

The Celtics look pretty normal: Thomas, Harper, Bird, Sampson, Laimbeer. It’s always these five.

After the opening kickoff, Ewing won a jump ball in front of Sampson.

The Celtics retreated quickly enough, and the Knicks' first offense was at the basket.

Stockton's pass was directed at Oakley.

Oakley stood in front of Laimbeer, and he underestimated the latter's defense.

He didn't make any fake moves, he just had to be strong when he got the ball.

Putting aside those insidious tricks, if you look at Laimbeer purely as a defender, he is not bad either.

Split, who was known as the best defensive player in the world in 2014, is Laimbeer's normal defensive end. He is very good at guarding offensive players on the ground.

Oakley failed to get up, so Laimbeer blocked the shot while standing.

Bird got the ball and threw it to Thomas.

Thomas centered and Sampson followed up on the right.

Ewing retreated extremely quickly and blocked Thomas' breakthrough route, but the latter cleverly hit the ball and passed it to Sampson.

The league's No. 1 center jumped up outside the paint area as if he had wings. Ewing turned around and could no longer jump up to defend. All he could do was raise his hands and let Sampson fall.

Sampson stood up straight through Ewing's body and hit the basket with a split dunk.

Corner referee Hugh Hollins blows the whistle.

"I admit there was a foul just now, but did your whistle sound too late?" Louis complained.

Hollins ignored him. This kind of pressure happened every game, and he was used to it.

Sampson stood at the free throw line full of motivation.

3 to 0

This is a positive effect of Bird's return from injury.

Even if Sampson is elected the regular season MVP, the Celtics' backbone is still Bird.

He would feel uncomfortable playing without Bird there.

If Bird were there, he would transform into Mr. One and Only.

"Ralph is too tricky, Larry is injured, Isiah can't fire from a long distance, and this guy can attack from any position." Zhao Yuanzheng has never seen someone like Sampson, from a purely technical point of view

A center who cannot be restricted.

Because of his offensive methods, he can shoot from the basket, half basket, mid-range, long two-pointer and even three-pointer in the front triangle area. He can switch freely from low post to high-level breakthrough to the basket.

It was too hard for Ewing to defend this monster.

Louis couldn't let him spend too much time with Sampson on the defensive end, so the task of defending Sampson was basically given to Oakley. Just now, it was a misplacement to prevent a fast break, which was an accident.

The Celtics' defense has changed from the original man-to-man position to a full-court defense and a press. There are differences in details. One is to put pressure, and the other is simply to steal the ball.

Stockton was given some space as always.

He broke through generously.

Before the Eastern Conference Finals, even Louis didn't expect Stockton's breakthrough to be of this level.

But based on his physical fitness alone, breakthroughs can only solve temporary emergencies. Without stable finishing ability in the penalty area, and without challenging inside throws, he can only pass the ball.

This was part of Louie's pregame plan and one of the reasons why Stevens was put in.

The chaos caused by Stockton's breakthrough caused Stevens to face Thomas in a misplaced position. Stockton passed the ball back, and from the high post, Stevens got a chance to overtake the opponent.

Nowadays, Stevens has been regarded as the number one mad dog in the Knicks' pressing team. Yes, he has only one label, which is defense. But before he specialized in defense in the Knicks, his selling point was his versatility.

He can do everything, but he is not good at anything. The reason why he can stay in the Knicks is because he understands how to play defense under Louis.

Letting him go today is not just to torture Bird.

In the high post, Stevens hit Thomas with his back. Within four seconds, he pushed Thomas' defense into the paint like a bulldozer. Then he stepped back and turned around, and a not-so-beautiful jump shot flew over Thomas' head.

That was another plan by Louis to let him play.

Stockton's offense is just a bait, the specific purpose is to create a high-post attack.

2 to 3

Stevens, who was extremely rough with his hands, had an absolute physical advantage over Thomas, so the offense found its feel and scored the Knicks' first goal of the night.