The rest is just noise

April 22, 1981

Boston, Massachusetts, Boston Garden

This is a weird era, so there will be a weird playoff schedule.

The Eastern Conference Finals series is back-to-back.

This is why Louis insists on taking a nap, because he cannot drag his body that has not slept for more than 24 hours to the Garden to watch the second game. There will only be three results, either, he will be distracted throughout the whole process and dissociated from the game;

He fell asleep at the scene; or died suddenly.

The 76ers' starting lineup has changed compared to Game 1.

They replaced Caldwell Jones with super sixth man Bobby Jones as the starter.

Both Joneses are players that the 76ers rely on on the defensive end, but the black Jones protects the basket better and his offensive range is limited to the paint area. The white Jones is similar to a sweeper like Garnett and can protect the basket, but his value

It's definitely not about protecting the basket, and he can make mid-range jump shots.

His entry into the starting lineup will not only cause trouble for the Celtics' offense, but he can also become a nightmare for the Celtics with Dr. J in attacking the basket.

The Celtics stuck to the pocket formation that Fitch believed in.

Fitch has his reasons for insisting on this approach. Dr. J is not good at shooting, and he is the core player of the 76ers.

As long as there is a pocket formation on the field, Dr. J's offense will have difficulty. This series may not see a highlight moment of Dr. J, which will be a major blow to the morale of the 76ers.

However, the addition of Andrew Toney has freed the 76ers from their dependence on Dr. J.

In the opening game, Dr. J still stumbled, his shooting was not precise, which was particularly dazzling under the influence of the pocket formation, and his efficiency in attacking the basket was not good enough to cause damage.

This is another discovery made by Louis. In the same attack on the basket, Dr. J's belief, or the courage to throw himself into a desperate fight with his opponent, is far less firm than Tony. This is related to his experience.

In terms of honors, he cannot make it into the top ten in history, but he is undoubtedly one of the most important players since the birth of the NBA. He left his peak in the ABA. This league wanted to merge with the NBA in 1972, and they are struggling every day.

Support, it is Dr. J who provides commercial value, allowing most people in the league to make a living. Therefore, ABA has an unspoken rule for Dr. - no one is allowed to do anything to him, knock him down, or hit him with an elbow.

, hurt him.

In this environment, how much energy does he have left? He is still elegant, but the NBA playoffs do not do this. No matter you are a doctor, Jordan, Magic, or whoever, they will stop at nothing to prevent you from scoring.

cost.

Although Dr. J struggled, he was able to make clever passes to activate his teammates' mid-range shots.

What Louis was most worried about began to happen.

Bobby Jones fired continuously from the free throw line. He was the 76ers' leading scorer in the first half of the quarter. He only relied on one shot to bully Maxwell and Laimbeer.

The 76ers took the lead, and Fitch called a timeout and replaced Sampson.

This time without Louis' reminder, Fitch directly asked Sampson to pay attention to Bobby Jones's position and stop giving him shots. But at the same time, the 76ers replaced Andrew Toney, who had been sharpening his skills for a long time.

The killer who is destined to leave a shadow in the hearts of a generation of Boston fans has the momentum to engulf the entire field from the moment he appears on the stage.

30 to 22

36 to 25

This is the scoring ratio in a single quarter in the first half, and the 76ers are the leader.

Andrew Toney is still a fighter who likes to get into the paint and give the Celtics trouble.

A typical Tony round goes like this.

He'll pass Karl/Henderson/Randy Smith or any Celtics player in front of him without blinking an eye.

He obviously has the ability to make a pull-up jump shot, but he doesn't use it. His subjective will drives him to the penalty area and makes pull-up jump shots face to face in front of Laimbeer/Maxwell/Rick Roby/Sampson. He every time

Every time, he had to deliberately adjust the shooting arc to avoid being blocked. Occasionally, he would play with fire and get blocked by Sampson, but he succeeded more often.

With 20 points in the half and a shooting percentage of 50%, Tony was burning like a fire.

Louis once suggested giving up the integrity of the pocket formation and double-teaming Tony in advance.

Fitch refused. He firmly believed that Tony alone could not handle the entire Celtics team. His belief stemmed from his first victory.

But the current situation is completely different from the first game.

Tony drove himself crazy and led others with him.

Bobby Jones, Dawkins, Lightning Cheeks and Dr. J.

In Fitch's philosophy, and in everyone's perception, Dr. J should be the player who leads the 76ers forward.

But the fact is, it was Andrew Toney who played the role.

In the second half, that is, the third quarter, Dr. J was like a fish in water. The 76ers' offensive and defensive intensity rose to the top at the same time, and they launched 12 counterattacks in a single quarter.

Irving, who only scored 4 points in the first half, took off countless times in the second half and delivered elegant dunks, scoring 14 points in a single quarter.

Every basketball fan knows how unstoppable the 76ers and Dr. J are when they play in transition, and that's exactly what the 76ers want to see: they want to see Dr. J rush to play, not in the half court.

The position was trapped in the Celtics' pocket.

Therefore, when Dr. J runs all over the court and plays vigorously, it is often the time when the 76ers widen the point difference.

In the third quarter of this game, the 76ers established the victory.

In the fourth quarter, the 76ers slacked off a little and the Celtics recovered a little point difference, but it had no impact on the overall situation.

it's over.

119 to 99

In a 20-point victory, the Phillies broke through the Garden and won the Celtics' home court advantage.

In response to Fitch, Cunningham told a Boston reporter: "Is the Liberty Bell still ringing beautifully? I seem to hear the cry of all New England."

"Boston Globe" reporter Bob Ryan fiercely criticized the Celtics' performance, especially coach Bill Fitch: "Almost every timeout, Fitch was lagging behind!"

As a result, Fitch vented his anger on Maxwell, whom he had praised highly before.

"He didn't produce any energy!"

"Andrew Toney gets everything he wants from him!"

This approach of his successfully alienated himself from the players, especially when the team failed at a strategic level. As the head coach, he did not shoulder the responsibility, but instead immediately held the players accountable.

"He's not going to get anyone's respect." K.C. Jones was a former player, and he knew the consequences.

Louis didn't react or express anything.

He told Fitch the way to restrict Tony, but Fitch didn't adopt it. He also had some suggestions for improving the offense. Even if the defense couldn't guard it, there was still a chance of winning against the 76ers. But Fitch suddenly became stubborn.

He could only wait for Fitch to calm down or the situation became irreversible before speaking out.

Game2 was a complete defeat for the Celtics.

The next day, Louis went to Auerbach's office to make a summary.

"Andrew Toney scored 38 points, and we didn't have any specific defense against him."

"The 76ers got more rebounds than us and greatly increased the tempo of the game."

"When they compete in fighting spirit, they are also more tenacious."

Louis said seriously: "We have no chance of winning this game from beginning to end."

"How is Captain Video doing now?" Auerbach looked indifferent to the series.

Louis smiled coldly and said, "He is leading everyone to watch the video."

"Do you think it's useful?" Auerbach asked sarcastically.

Louis smiled lightly and said: "There is nothing wrong with watching the game video review, but the key lies in whether the problem can be found. If not, it is a waste of time."

"There is something in your words." Auerbach smiled.

"I don't mean anything else, but Coach Fitch seems to be limited by shortcuts." Louis said, "He hopes to use monotonous tactics to establish an advantage, but the Phillies will not let us slaughter them."

Auerbach learned from K.C. Jones what Louie was doing with the team, and he was surprised.

The defensive formations and offensive tactics currently used by Fitch are almost all based on Louis's ideas. With these fresh offensive and defensive tactics, he led the team to the league's best record and won everyone's praise.

What about Louie? Aside from Fitch's statement that "we have two coaches," little is known about his contribution.

"Do you have a better idea about the current situation?" Auerbach asked softly.

"It can't be considered a good idea, it can only be regarded as a compromise." Louis had already told Fitch about this method. "Andrew's threat with the ball exceeded our expectations. He cannot be defeated by one person. There must be someone who can defeat him."

Players who keep up with him can match him, and then double-team him in time when he attacks."

Auerbach frowned and said: "Isn't this too risky? They scored countless mid-range shots last night."

"Because of Coach Fitch's man-to-man strategy, Tony scored 68 points against us in the two games in the Garden." Louis laughed at himself, "I always knew he was good, but I really didn't expect him to be so good.

Now I feel even more regretful, why didn’t we get him in the first place?”

Auerbach's face turned red.

"Don't mention the past." Auerbach cleared his throat, "Do you have a plan on how to attack from a flank?"

Louis said helplessly: "I have given my plan to Bill."

"How did he say?"

"He didn't think Andrew Toney was worth the trouble.

The ridicule on Louis' face was clearly visible. He was dissatisfied with Fitch for not adopting his suggestions, and was even more worried that Fitch would continue to indulge Tony's performance.

Auerbach could only appease him.

"Since Bill is going to continue hitting the wall, don't stop him. When the time comes, he will think of you." Auerbach said lightly, "All you have to do is wait."

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