The rest is just noise

No one noticed that the Celtics were on the right track under the leadership of "two coaches".

Off the court, Fitch was praised by the media for his selflessness and willingness to let young men like Louie participate in building the team's offense.

But that's all. Even if the Celtics win all the way and not only regain the first place in the Eastern Conference from the 76ers, but also climb to the first place in the league, not many people will care about them.

If the violence on the court in the late 1970s was hurting the image of the league, and white people were not interested in the NBA, where the "black disease" was becoming more and more serious, then since the 1980s, fans' antipathy towards the league has deepened.

Magic and Bird did not bring about the healing of dead trees.

When they first came, it happened to be the darkest period of the NBA.

The restricted free agency system has caused players' salaries to increase year after year, and then the proliferation of unique products has caused a major blow to the league's image.

"Broken Mirror" Spencer Haywood (PF/C) is also the first player in history to participate in the NBA draft without completing four years of college, but his IQ is not high. He has just entered professional basketball.

At that time, he signed a three-year contract worth 350,000 U.S. dollars. But this contract was very tricky. In the first three years of the contract, he could get 50,000 U.S. dollars per year. The remaining money had to be paid at 1,500 U.S. dollars per year after the age of 40.

give him...

He signed this outrageous contract, and although he won back his rights through a lawsuit, it could not change the fact that he had a bad mind. Including that he was addicted to high school in the Lakers, and during the finals of last season, he was

After being drugged, he suddenly fainted on the training ground and was banned from participating in the remaining games. Out of resentment, he hired a killer to assassinate Lakers coach Paul Westhead, but at the last moment he shouted like a director,

Otherwise, I really can’t imagine what last year’s finals would have turned out like.

Hayward is just a microcosm of the widespread abuse of players.

"Skywalker" Thompson addressed the rumors about his addiction in an interview.

Not only did he not deny it, he also said openly: "What I did is no worse than anyone else in the NBA."

"Sports Illustrated" conducted an anonymous survey and conservatively estimated that the proportion of NBA players involved in unique products reached 75%.

Whether this is true or not, this is almost a fatal blow to the NBA's image.

This is also the origin of the "Premium Black Drug-Taking League".

So it's not surprising that no one except Bostonians care about the Celtics' nirvana-like rebirth.

It's weird that someone is paying attention.

Compared with the NBA, on December 8, when the 1980s was about to end its first year, John Lennon, the founder of the Beatles, was shot and killed by a fan in New York, which detonated the world.

This month, the Celtics won 15 consecutive games.

And ranked first in the league with a record of 31 wins and 6 losses.

For the first time, Larry Bird's MVP call overshadowed Dr. J's.

They lost 2 of the next 9 games, and they were defeated by the Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs, both of which are the top four teams in the Western Conference.

Then, on January 18, 1981, the Celtics challenged the Los Angeles Lakers, the dominant player in the Western Conference, away from home.

The basketball world's attention to this game is second to none this season, but CBS did not broadcast this game live.

That night, Louis saw that there was only one live broadcast truck at the scene for backup of the game video.

Such an important game was not broadcast on television, leaving only the voice of legendary Lakers announcer Chick Hearn.

This is a good memory. For the fans, the commentators are sometimes too noisy.

Louis watched the Lakers warm up, and all the names that were familiar or unfamiliar to him in his era were right in front of him.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamal "Silk" Wilkes, Michael Cooper, Norm Nixon and Jim Chones (PF/C).

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was wearing white goggles, a very unseemly beard and a bald figure, all of which fascinated Louis deeply.

"What are you looking at?" Bird didn't expect Louis to show such a frantic expression to the Lakers players.

Louis smiled and asked: "Don't you find it boring if Moji doesn't fight?"

"Whether he fights or not is none of my business?" Bird said arrogantly.

Louis didn't know whether Bird's words were sincere, but he did look like he was bored with the game.

It's a pity that Magic suffered a knee injury and had to sit out for most of the season. Otherwise, the Lakers' record would have been better, and Bird's MVP might not have been so stable.

Today, the Celtics' lineup is different from before.

Ralph Sampson, who has been a substitute for more than 40 consecutive games, starts tonight.

Moreover, he is still the starting five.

The Celtics sent a clear signal to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, "We have a young man who wants to compete with you in the ring!"

Letting Sampson go one-on-one with the top two centers in the world sounds risky, but in fact, Louis thought it through.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar does not like games with too intense physical contact, so he will not take the initiative to fight if necessary. His lack of confrontation may allow Sampson to play more freely. However, it is difficult for Sampson to limit his performance.

That's right.

Before the game started, Sampson came to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Lakers fans screamed.

It may be the first time they've seen a big man who looks longer than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

What surprised them even more was that the moment the referee threw the ball into the air, Sampson's jump height was far higher than that of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

"Snapped!"

Directly speaking, Sampson won the ball for the team.

Directly set up a 1-4 low formation on the court.

Sampson was so excited when he saw Kareem Abdul-Jabbar that he just wanted to take the ball and fight him to the death.

"Young people are so angry." Louis smiled bitterly.

Unexpectedly, Sampson made too many moves with the ball, and was actually taken advantage of by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. This old guy didn't respect his identity at all, and he was unambiguous in his diving. He sat back, and the referee blew the whistle.

Sampson said unhappily: "This is not a method that people like you should use."

"The world of victory and defeat is very cruel, understand little Nico!" Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said coldly.

The current rules are almost designed to allow Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to dominate the game with his back inside.

Without having to back up for five seconds, he could withstand Sampson's position from the moment he landed.

Even though the Celtics' pass-interfering arm was numb, he was still able to withstand Sampson on one side and slip into the low post on the other side, always creating a good passing angle for his teammates.

His hand was on Sampson for about six or seven seconds before the ball was passed from the outside.

It is true that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar does not like confrontation. If he wants to confront, his power is undoubtedly superior to Sampson.

This ball is a typical example.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was too deep and got the ball, leaving Sampson unable to resist.

He didn't even need a skyhook. He half-turned around, suppressed Sampson with his weight, and easily put the layup over his head to score.

"Blooows!" Chick Hearn yelled excitedly, "Kareem made a layup!"

Louis stood far away with his hands on his hips and asked Sampson: "Ralph, you can't really beat him, can you?"

Not being able to beat Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is not a shame in itself.

It was embarrassing to be asked like this by Louis in public.

Louis is very aware of the psychology of players. They are all so strong and proud that even if their opponents are better than themselves, they will never openly admit it on the court.

When they were at a disadvantage, Louis suddenly asked, which was really embarrassing and annoying.

"Give it to me!" Sampson yelled.

"Take it easy!" As soon as Gerald Henderson's ball was passed, Sampson was double-teamed by Kareem Abdul-Jones.

If you change to an ordinary center, now you can only receive the ball in your arms and wait for the response.

Sampson, however, does not have the bad habit of being caught without restraint. He shows a different side from traditional centers.

"Incredible! Ralph dribbles like a guard!"

This scene shocked even the well-informed Hearn.

Sampson steadily dribbled the ball out of the three-point line, and Jones actually followed him all the way. Bird quickly cut into the basket with his hands raised.

At this moment, Sampson remembered how he usually cooperated with Bird. The passing movement was almost instinctive.

He threw the ball with a lob pass. Bird touched the ball with both hands and pushed harder. In such a quick and short moment, he used his fingers to pass the ball to Maxwell behind him.

As elegant as poetry, as beautiful as the sound of nature, through Bird's magical hand, Maxwell dunked and scored.

In these few seconds, Bill Fitch wanted to fuck but stopped.

When Maxwell scored, his face turned the color of pig liver with anger, and he could only shout: "Damn, what a beautiful game!"