The rest is just noise

3-0, the Celtics were out of the game helplessly.

After the game, Ralph Sampson, who averaged 38 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks in this series, expressed his frustration with the team.

"The point is not how we lost, but that we didn't know how to win from beginning to end." Sampson said blankly, "I averaged 38 points per game, Larry averaged 25 points per game, I don't

I thought our performance was terrible, but we were not competitive against New York."

"This was not like this four years ago." Sampson said confusedly, "How did we get to this point, and what mistakes did we make? What mistakes can be avoided? What mistakes can be turned into correctness?

When did this all start? It's a mystery to me."

Bird was sharper than Sampson, and he hit the nail on the head: "In the years before he (Louis) left, we were all at the top, so it looked good. But, after that, New York rose rapidly, and Boston did not introduce

New blood, even Reggie Lewis as a trade chip, and New York seems to be getting better and better with that guy under control. It may or may not be a coincidence, but we should remember that

Boston's decline began after Louis left."

Bird may be the first Celtics player to equate the Celtics' decline with Louis' departure.

When Louis was interviewed by reporters, he did not talk about the future of the Celtics and only selectively answered some questions that were convenient to answer.

I heard that Bird believed that the reason why the Celtics are where they are today is because they didn't keep him back then. Louis said modestly: "Larry thinks too much. If I hadn't left back then, the Celtics wouldn't have become better."

, because they were already a flawless team at that time. What can I do to them? Will the management listen to me? In the end, it is very likely that we will encounter the same problems as now."

Louis denied it, but not completely.

In this interview, he revealed the reasons why he left Boston that year.

Without a say in operations, the Celtics can't break out of Auerbach's autocratic mode, and this is why.

Now, Auerbach is ready to delegate power, but Louis has already made great achievements in other teams. His successor is not up to par, so he can only let the outsider Dave Gavitt get the advantage.

This transfer of power was originally prepared by Auerbach for Louis.

However, Louis was not willing to stay and wait for so many years.

Bob Ryan, who has always criticized Louis and the Knicks from the Celtics' standpoint, said in an article in the "Boston Globe" the next day: "Perhaps, someone should really take down Reid.

The car keys were taken away."

The Celtics were swept, which was a long-standing consensus in the industry, but the turmoil within the Green Army that followed was unexpected.

But at the same time, the famous Los Angeles riots attracted worldwide attention, and no one cared what happened to the Celtics.

This was a "blaklivematte" that turned into a large-scale riot.

The cause of the matter can be traced back to March in Los Angeles. Everyone was talking about the day when the Iraqi government announced that it would accept the ceasefire conditions, and the Gulf War came to an end. The US military achieved a heavy blow to the million-strong Iraqi army at the slight cost of killing 146 people.

, a major victory in regaining Kuwait in one fell swoop.

Rodney King, a black young man, often made appointments with friends to drink together after get off work. Later, the numbness of alcohol caused him to drive quickly on California Highway 210, and he did not realize that there happened to be a California Highway Patrol police car in front of him. According to the testimony of the female patrol officer Singer who was in the police car later in court, Rodney was driving drunk at a speed of up to 115 miles per hour, while the speed limit on California highways was only 65 miles per hour.

The police sirens were blaring and they were chasing after them. Rodney, under the influence of alcohol, did not realize the seriousness of his actions and was still driving desperately. At the same time, the police had already set up a dragnet during the pursuit, and helicopters were hovering in the sky.

More than 20 police cars were on standby to block the situation. Rodney, who was unable to escape, started to panic.

However, the alcohol gave him reckless courage. Facing the police officer's stern warning, he did not honestly admit his mistake. He sometimes danced on the spot, sometimes waved to the helicopter in the sky, and twisted his hips.

Provoking the police with indecent actions. Since the warnings were ineffective, the Los Angeles police began their signature physical persuasion. They surrounded De Niro and gave him 56 blows with batons, beating him until he was dying and begging for mercy.

They did not expect that the beating of De Niro would be filmed. After the video spread, it triggered public outrage. Although the police officers involved were prosecuted, they were acquitted by the court.

Then the day after the Celtics were eliminated by the Knicks, the local black people in Los Angeles were furious and took to the streets to demonstrate and took retaliatory actions. The protests escalated into violent conflicts. Fires burned everywhere, flames shot into the sky, and thick smoke billowed.

, Los Angeles became a "city on fire" and fell into paralysis and chaos. The riot spread to 19 states in less than 24 hours.

The riots in Los Angeles forced the Lakers to temporarily change their home court, and the smoke quickly spread to other states.

As a time traveler from 2021, Louis cannot say that this scene looks familiar. It should be said that it is exactly the same.

The big black brothers suffered unjust injustice, angry black people took to the streets to protest, and the immoral people at the bottom took the opportunity to buy for zero dollars, and everyone's demands were met.

This incident had an extremely negative impact on the sports world.

Many stars were forced to take a stand.

If you don't take a stand or are indifferent to this matter, you will be criticized and dissed.

Louis asked his family not to go out until the incident subsided.

At the same time, other series in the first round are slowly deciding their results.

The Knicks' opponent in the semifinals is the winner of the Pacers or Pistons.

Louis thought that the Pistons, whose lineup looked stronger, would win, but he underestimated Danny Manning's strength.

As the successor to Sampson, Manning has embarked on a similar path to the former. He has an omnipotent offense and has an advantage against anyone.

But he doesn't have Sampson's height, nor did he start on defense like Sampson did in the first few years of his career.

Manning didn't know that defense would be the key to whether he reached Sampson's level.

When they played the Pacers in the semifinals, Louis was very relieved. Manning was enthusiastic when playing against other teams, but he lost his temper when he met the Knicks.

Their reserves at the fourth position are enough to keep Manning from firing.

The day before the semifinals started, Louis was sitting in his office watching the news in Los Angeles.

All Black Lives Matter stories have a vulgar development (beating, smashing, looting) and a vulgar ending (suppression).

The governor of California declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and sent more than 4,000 National Guard troops into the city to quell the violence.

It's over, no more miracles.

Louis was watching the news when the phone in the office suddenly rang.

Generally speaking, no one would call his office during this period, because the trading window has been closed. Since there is no transaction to be done, why call him? It can only be to catch up with old times.

Louis picked up the phone: "Hello."

"it's me."

Louis will never forget that voice.

"What day is it today? Why did you call me?" Louis knew clearly what the call was about, but he had to keep pretending to be stupid. "Reed?"

The caller was none other than Celtics President of Basketball Operations Reed Auerbach.

Louis and Auerbach haven't spoken on the phone for a long time.

"I just want to ask you something."

Great, it seems like both sides have a lot of questions about each other.

"If you have questions, I probably do too." Louis said directly, "I wonder what your questions about me are?"

Auerbach joked: "How does it feel to knock out the Celtics three times in four years?"

"I believe the Lakers dream of experiencing this, but I actually don't feel anything. No matter how many times I eliminate you, the pleasure will not be stronger than the first time."

This is the biggest difference between competitive sports and piston sports.

The first time you do piston exercises you will quit early because you are too nervous and inexperienced, but the opposite is true for competitive sports.

"You are indeed qualified to say that, then..." Auerbach suddenly asked in a deep voice, "To completely defeat the Celtics on the court, and to kick Boston's professional basketball into the abyss through trades off the court, it feels certain.

Very good?"