The rest is just noise

The Celtics' first defeat of the season came sooner than expected.

In the second game of the new season, they suffered a defeat.

Laimbeer was injured and left the game in the second quarter, Bird felt poor throughout the game, and Sampson's 26 minutes as a substitute was the only highlight of the Celtics game.

The young man once again showed a variety of skills, shooting from the high post, driving from the free throw line, making alley-oops in every game and scoring multiple offensive rebounds.

Fitch was dissatisfied with him because he didn't seem to know how to use his strengths to create damage in the paint.

Despite being dissatisfied by his head coach, Sampson still became the center of attention with his performance of 18 points and 7 rebounds.

After the game, Laimbeer was diagnosed with a calf strain.

Fitch tactfully expressed the hope that Laimbeer could carry forward his style and play through injury.

He said: "Working here is a difficulty you have to face. You can't say no to your job just because of a little trouble."

Louis objected to Fitch's point of view. Laimbeer was not a fool and would not make fun of his future. Therefore, it was a truce. Until the doctor said he could come back, even if his biological father came, he would not be allowed to touch a basketball.

Laimbeer can't play, and Fitch wants to put Sampson into the starting lineup.

This move prompted Auerbach's intervention.

This was a sharp confrontation between Fitch and Auerbach. Fitch asked Auerbach not to affect his work, while Auerbach insisted that Sampson come on the bench.

"His current body is not strong enough to cope with the pressure of starting!" Auerbach said sternly, "If you do this, you will kill his future!"

Even if Fitch has millions of dissatisfactions, he cannot ignore Auerbach's threat and let Sampson start.

This incident will naturally increase the conflict between Fitch and Auerbach.

But long before that, Fitch and Auerbach had deep conflicts. Fitch did not agree with some of Auerbach's ideas and was not proud to coach the Celtics. He also hated Auerbach.

Being behind the scenes but taking away all the praise.

As long as the team's record improves, Auerbach must be recruiting well.

Even when Fitch's contribution to signings was attributed to Auerbach by the media, the differences between them became even greater. After Andrew Toney was selected by the 76ers, the Celtics launched Plan B

The plan to trade Randy Smith was provided by Fitch, and he was also contacted by the Clippers. The only thing Auerbach did was to send a fax of the transaction to the league office⑴.

But everyone will only say that Auerbach has great methods.

Fitch is going through what Tom Heinsohn went through. Even though the Celtics won two championships in the 1970s, Heinsohn still lived in the shadow of the Cardinals. The applause does not belong to him, the praise

If it doesn't belong to him, if something goes wrong, he will be the one to take the blame.

Next, the Celtics met the Bucks, who, like the Bulls, were classified in the Eastern Conference for the new season.

The Bucks also have strong soldiers and horses, with strong players in every position.

Bucks star forward Marques Johnson (SF) and Bird developed a mutual explosive dynamic.

Moreover, Bucks coach Don Nelson has a deep connection with the Celtics. Under his leadership, the Bucks have become a steel division with both offense and defense. They played the league's best defense last season and this season.

Playing a top-three offense in the league and a top-six defense in the league.

Tonight against the Celtics, I obviously put in a lot of effort.

A surprising defensive player, Sidney Moncrief SG/PG, disrupted Bird to a certain extent.

Moreover, Nelson also creatively encouraged his players to use switching defenses, a method that was not tolerated by conservatives, to deal with the Celtics' passing.

Once entering a man-to-man situation, the athletic ability and long arms of the Bucks players are enough to limit the Celtics' offense.

Fitch was always a step behind Nelson in responding.

The score gap was widened by 12 points in the third quarter, and Fitch became furious when he called a timeout.

Louis waited for him to finish his anger and said to Bird: "Larry, don't be so rigid. Tactics are very important, but you can't be hindered by tactics. Sidney Moncrief is good at guarding your bottom line, but he can't."

Threat to your height, kill him with shooting!"

"Ralph!" Louis had already passed Fitch to make a timeout deployment, "Marquis Johnson was very active in local running tonight. Larry has a lot on his shoulders. You should share his pressure on the defensive end. You must

Limit the opponent’s movement near the paint area!”

Louis knew he couldn't steal all the limelight, so he left a scoring question to Fitch: "Bill, we need to increase the defensive intensity on the back line."

Fitch named Randy Smith.

In addition to Smith, there was also M.L. Carr, who told the two men: "I don't want to hear excuses, please protect me from these bastards!"

At the end of the third quarter, the Celtics put up a lineup without a pure point guard.

With Carr, Smith, Bird, Maxwell and Sampson as the team.

Just as Louis expected, Bird was no longer obsessed with executing tactics, but used his height to shoot, ignoring Moncrief's defense.

Sampson is like a mutated strange species on the court. At 2.24 meters tall, he is more agile than any forward on the court.

He can help defend the paint area within two seconds.

For five minutes after that, Sampson looked like a taller version of Kevin Garnett.

His defense, Bird's offense, plus Karl and Smith's crazy outside pressure.

The Bucks' lead evaporated in the fourth quarter.

"Run when you get the chance!" Louie shouted, "Be bold and speed up!"

In the fourth quarter, Bird seemed to want to prove that he was far superior to Marquis Johnson, and his touch exploded during that period.

The Bucks double-teamed him many times and were extremely oppressive, but he was always calm and calm, putting the ball into the basket with ease, or assisting an offensive player in a very good position.

Sampson took advantage of the opportunity many times.

Bird's powerful offensive ability can always attract the defensive attention of two or more Bucks. He can break through and distribute the ball with the ball. Coupled with the support of Karl, Smith and others, the Celtics get open scoring opportunities one after another.

The Celtics, who once seemed very stiff on the scene, played more reasonable and smooth offensively in the final quarter, and it was easier to score.

When Sampson encountered Moncrief's defense switch, he boldly broke through with the ball. Under Louis' usual instructions, he deliberately had a lot of physical contact with the opponent, and sure enough, the referee blew the whistle.

The Bucks were the anchor on the defensive end, and from then on they could only sit on the sidelines and watch the team lose.

This was the game where Sampson's talent shone on the court, and it was the statement game where Bird established himself as a top-five player in the league.

112 to 106

The Celtics achieved a comeback. Bird scored a career-high 45 points, and Sampson scored an eye-catching 22 points, 16 rebounds and 7 blocks in 34 minutes of play.

Louis decisively asked Bird to change his offensive options and use Sampson as Garnett, which turned the Bucks into victory.

Fitch completely changed his view of Louis.

He discovered that this kid could not only formulate game plans, read rookies, become the team's atmosphere adjuster, but was also quite talented in coaching.

"No wonder Reed likes you."

Fitch smiled.

"Does he like me?" Louis got an advantage but acted obediently. "If he liked me, he wouldn't have withheld Soso when approving the funds."

What Louis didn't know was that many members of the team's staff complained about Auerbach's favoritism. Louis always got more money.

Auerbach is a pure pragmatist. He will save all unnecessary expenses, but if you are really talented, he doesn't mind spending money on you. Louis's achievements allow Auerbach to allow him to spend money outside.

, at most it’s just a few words of complaint.

Hearing Louis' disinterested rebuttal, Fitch smiled even more happily.

"However, you are still young and need to be patient for a while." Louis understood what Fitch meant.

What Louis needs to "endure" is that in addition to not being able to make the decision in the short term, he also has to be willing to stand outside the spotlight.

That night, Fitch received many compliments.

Bob Ryan, the famous sharp tongue in the Boston Globe, wrote in the game report: "Those who say Bill Fitch doesn't know how to adapt should shut up. Look at last night's game. He turned Ralph into

Russell; turned Larry into Jerry West!"

Louis had no time to worry about such things.

As he always said to Sampson - your time hasn't come yet.

He has a clearer understanding of himself, and his time has not yet come.

Now he can make some adjustments on the spot using game concepts that are ahead of his time, but if he really wants to lead a team, what he has in his stomach is still not enough.

Although many of Fitch's ideas were different from his, he recognized Fitch's ability.

The pressure he puts on the players can bring out their potential. Although it may not last long, it can unleash the team's potential, which is the coach's ability in itself.

He found some of Fitch's strengths, such as his emphasis on tactical discipline and his accurate grasp of player psychology.

Some of his vulgar words always appear at the right time.

Almost every player will be irritated by him, and then go on the court with anger, fighting their opponents desperately in order not to be scolded again, or to prove Fitch's mistake.

Every night, Louis has to sort out the information he has received and study tactics suitable for the team.

Currently, 8 L-series tactics have been used in actual combat, while Louis has 8 more tactics that need to be polished.

He is also preparing to delve into several other tactical systems.

Such as a foul ball;

Local coordination on the weak side;

Defensive trap;

...Too many, this will take time, Louis yawned and thought, let's go to the bar and relax.

⑴ The trade of trading the No. 1 pick for Parish + McHale in 1980 was designed and actively contacted by Fitch. As I said in the article, the Celtics had Plan A, which was to persuade Sampson to run for the draft.

Plan B was to trade with the Warriors. After Auerbach’s Plan A failed, Fitch’s Plan B was launched. But today, many years later, as we have learned, this transaction became the most important event in Auerbach’s career.

The famous robbery that no one knew about Fitch.