The rest is just noise

As a coach, what makes Louis most proud of? Leading the 1984 Celtics to win the championship? There is nothing to be proud of. He humbly believes that whoever leads that team will win the championship with a high probability; within four years, he will be in the long-term position.

The Knicks, who were stuck in the quagmire, have turned into a championship team? They are worthy of pride, but they are not the "most proud", especially since this team has not won the championship yet.

What makes Louis most proud is that he made Sampson, who flashed by like a meteor in the 1980s without leaving anything behind, become a player who, in the eyes of many people, can compete with Russell, Chamberlain, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

An insider on par. What makes Louis most proud is that he made Benjamin Wilson, a genius who disappeared in history and was annihilated by the bullets of young and delinquent youths, shine brightly.

But what makes Louis most proud is that he allowed Alex Stevens, a player who had no chance of establishing himself in the league, to win the respect of many people with his defense.

These things were so proud that Louis once planned to change his name to Jane Pride. What a good name and perfect, but he resisted. Unless the Knicks, who are far from mature under his command, can defeat the Celtics and win the championship this year, he will

Only then will I consider changing my name.

What keeps Stevens in the NBA is his physical condition, which is obvious. The second thing is his perseverance, just like the voice message he left on the answering machine at Louis' house before Louis gave up on him.

.As long as he can stay in the NBA, he is willing to do anything, he has the consciousness; as long as he can establish himself in the league, he can give up statistics, star prospects, and big contracts, just to be a member of the Knicks' murderous pressing team, he has perseverance.

Factors not reflected in these statistics allowed him to stay, and Louis regarded him as one of the nine most important players in the team.

Tonight, Stevens' role is different from before.

Louis gave him the authority to hold the ball, the authority to proactively find opponents to attack in misplaced positions, and the authority to be the protagonist.

It was as if Louis suddenly lost his memory and forgot how crude Stevens' offensive methods were.

How did Stevens repay him?

He made 1 of 3 shots. Every time he took a shot, he found the wrong position. From the data point of view, the efficiency was very poor. However, he also caused a foul by his opponent and made two free throws. So, in fact, he took 4 shots and scored 4 points.

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In addition to finding mismatches, Stevens also demonstrated certain high-position support capabilities.

The Knicks started with an 8-5 score, and the Celtics relied more on the performance of their stars.

Bird stubbornly wanted to prove that his injury was fine, but Stevens' physical confrontation and defensive method of using long arms to block his sight caused a lot of trouble.

Moreover, Wilson suddenly gave up guarding Harper, appeared from the weak side, and double-teamed Bird with Stevens.

Bird's support has been unanimously praised by professionals, but on this shot, he could not find his teammates.

The ball passed directly into Ewing's arms.

Yes, even Bird's passing options were deliberately given to him by Wilson and Stevens.

In that case, no one as powerful as Bird could judge whether the sudden passing line was a trap.

"Larry, don't force yourself when your injury is so serious." Louis stood on the sidelines and said sarcastically, "Do you not trust your teammates so much?"

Bird shouted: "Shut your mouth and watch!"

Bird was intercepted and the Celtics responded in time.

Stockton is still good at counterattacking, and Oakley followed up quickly and received the pass from his teammate.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Oakley's ball was released, Sampson, who was catching up from behind, blocked the ball with a big block.

It's a pity that Sampson can guard against one person, but he can't guard against everyone.

Behind Oakley, there is Ewing following.

Sampson blocked the ball with his front hand, and Ewing took the ball with his back hand, like a gorilla gliding in the air hanging from a tree trunk, and dunked the ball.

10 to 5

"Give us some defensive intensity!" Louis said.

So Stockton, Wilson, Stevens, and Oakley stayed in the frontcourt to press the Celtics.

Ewing himself retreated into the backcourt to avoid their long pass.

The Celtics' rhythm was disrupted by a sudden full-court press.

They rushed the ball to Harper.

Harper has good movement control ability, but in the face of a very oppressive defense, he stopped the ball.

Stopping the ball is very dangerous.

Wilson put pressure on the ball, and Stockton sneaked behind him like a wild ghost. The target was the ball, but it hit the blood bird.

Harper twitched on the spot and removed his ball-protecting hand.

Wilson rudely intercepted the ball and passed it directly to Oakley under the basket.

Oakley gave Sampson an elbow and forced a slam dunk.

12 to 5

"I don't know what the Celtics are doing! I don't see any blood in them!"

Celtics home announcer Johnny Most blamed his team.

"As long as you look at how the Knicks defend, you will know that they are not here to play, they are here to fight. Facing this kind of opponent, you have to show the same attitude, otherwise only failure is waiting for you!"

Once again, the Celtics' frontcourt featured four Knicks players.

Now that they have tasted the sweetness, they want to take a few more bites.

But this time, the Celtics gave the ball to Isiah Thomas.

Since the start of the Eastern Conference Finals, Bird has won the most respect, and Sampson has won the most applause. What about Thomas? He has become invisible. It's not that he performed poorly, but he is not dazzling enough compared to the other two.

This is also the embarrassment Thomas has encountered since 1984.

Louis thought that Thomas didn't use all his energy because he didn't need it, but later he found out that he was wrong. Thomas didn't use all his energy, not because he didn't need it, but because he didn't know how to do it.

In the past four years, the Celtics have never been forced into a desperate situation, and Bird and Sampson alone have defeated the Lakers.

Thomas doesn't need to push himself. Now, he has reason to unleash his potential.

Therefore, seeing the Knicks trying to expand their lead with a sudden full-court press, Thomas' desire to hold the ball skyrocketed. After getting the ball, he used his speed and flexibility to move from the backcourt to the frontcourt in just one move.

Four seconds later, he hit a high-post jump shot.

The whole process takes less than six seconds.

7 to 12

Thomas' face was unusually gloomy, and Louis believed he would take over the offense more.

Bird is the GOAT, Sampson is Mr. Only and one of the top three centers in history, and only Thomas has never become a hero in Boston.

Louis' approach of letting Stevens move up the offensive end and making Stockton a tool man has been increasingly proven to be the right decision.

Especially under the cover of the N.UCLA system and the selfless help of the two core players Ewing and Wilson, what Stevens can do has greatly increased.

Stevens was used by his own core in the high post to get rid of the defense with a cross screen.

The Celtics deployed other players to defend, which inevitably caused chaos in the defense line.

Wilson seized the opportunity, turned around and cut in, and Stevens then sent a lob pass.

After Wilson got the ball, only Laimbeer was left in front of him. It was dangerous to challenge Laimbeer's defense, but he no longer had any fear in his heart.

Things happened so suddenly that Laimbeer didn't have time to think about how to defend himself. Not to mention useless, he could make a basic defensive move even if his consciousness was strong enough.

Lambir raised his hands in the air, as if in a gesture of surrender, which made Louis suspect that he was of French descent, which was too authentic.

And Wilson is still unstoppable.

Laimbeer seemed to be trying his best, but in fact, the extra help in defense had no other effect except giving away a foul.

Wilson dunked and scored, and when he landed, he clenched his hands and roared loudly.

The Knicks were on full strength on the road, and the chain reaction caused by Stevens put the Celtics in a passive position.

Before Wilson's free throw, K.C. Jones requested a timeout.

It is now 14 to 7. Wilson will have to add a free throw later. If the free throw is made, the lead will be 8 points.

Brent Musburger laughed and asked Hubie Brown: "Hubby, you just said that the Celtics have no chance at all. Do you still think that way now?"

At this point, Brown has no other way out except to be stubborn, stick to his name, and continue to talk nonsense. He insists on his statement, even if it is wrong, he cannot let go.

"Yes, the Knicks played well at the beginning, but this is just because the Celtics haven't found their form yet. When the timeout is over, I believe they will adopt another way to play." Brown said with an unclear smile, "

This is Celtic's home ground, they can do anything, and in the garden, anything is possible."