The Whip of the God of Basketball

In the world of competitive sports, victory is the foundation of all good things. Talking about every character and every game without winning, no matter how gorgeous the whitewashing is, there is always a bitterness in the core. As an old-school strong team that has not tasted consecutive victories for many years, the Celtics won nine consecutive victories after defeating the Mavericks. The last time they got such a start to the season, it has to be traced back to the distant 1972-1973 season Yes, they started the year with ten straight victories and eventually finished the regular season with the best record in team history at 68-14.

If the previous victories made many people feel that there was a certain element of luck, then the defeat of the Mavericks at home not only made the Celtics the only undefeated team in the league so far, but also made the Celtics The youth army attracted the attention of the basketball world in the United States, and Fox Leon's name began to appear on the news pages of major media. Even the local media in Boston, who hadn't dealt with Leon very much before, began to appreciate Leon's well-prepared and well-planned strategies in this game.

But even a 68-win regular-season record did not guarantee the Celtics won the NBA championship that year. For the Celtics 30 years later, they still have a long way to go. So on the second day after the game, Leon got up early as usual, prepared the basic materials for the day's training at home, and then dawdled for more than an hour before driving to the training hall. When he came to the training hall, he felt that it would be the same as usual, seeing a few young guys sweating profusely on the field, he would go up to chat with everyone, give some pointers and exchanges, and wait until the whole team is gathered , to start the day's practice.

But when Leon came to the training hall today, he found that only Michael Reed was practicing three-pointers alone on the court. Joe Johnson was not there, Dalembert was not there, and even Arenas was not there. It is rare for the Celtics' most hardworking young people to come to the training hall to practice early. Leon felt very uncomfortable looking at the empty arena.

"Where are the others?" Leon asked Reed. Reed shook his head first, but then he said again: "After the game yesterday, Antoine invited everyone to the bar for a drink, Sarah Muir, Joe, and I all went. Later, I left first, and I still had a headache when I woke up in the morning, but I still rushed to practice, but I just arrived." Leon looked at Reid, who was only slightly I was sweating a little, and it looked like I had just finished warming up.

"Has Gilbert gone?" Leon continued to ask, and Reid shook his head again, and said, "No, he didn't go. But he seems to have gone to participate in some event, and I don't know the details. The game is over Afterwards, many reporters surrounded him, and then he left."

What Reed said was a bit sour. In the eye-catching battle last night, Reed had no impressive performance except for the three-pointer at the beginning. He only scored 5 points in the game. , 3 rebounds and 1 assist. In the confrontation with Michael Finley, he fell into a disadvantage, not the opponent of the old fox, and the Celtics resorted to a double point guard style of play, allowing Arenas and Cole to shine. Most of the time, I can only sit on the bench and be a spectator.

This may be the reason why Reed came to training early the next morning despite the drunken headache. The competition within the Celtics is still quite fierce, and Reed's starting or main position may not be so He needs to find a better balance between offense and defense.

Leon just nodded after knowing the situation. He has always been open-minded about the life of the players off the court, as long as they do their due diligence in training and games. I think Dennis Rodman loved to play and gamble so much at the beginning, but during the two years in Boston, he hardly delayed his training, and he would do his best every night in the game.

But not everyone is Dennis Rodman. When the time came to 9:30, the Celtics players really got together. Usually, at 9 o'clock, all the players are basically in order. In the pre-training meeting, Leon's face was not very good-looking, but he still arranged today's training plan, and before the official training started, he took all the players to watch the video of yesterday's game, and had a 15-minute tactical lesson. Organize the team to start formal training.

When Dave Cowens took the inside players to practice confrontation, Leon pulled Arenas aside and asked: "I don't care about your private life, but you didn't come to practice early this morning. Last season That hasn't happened once. Tell me what happened, if I can find out."

Arenas hesitated for a moment, Leon never asked about the private life of the players, even for young players who were prone to make mistakes, Leon gave freedom and respect like adults. But when he pressed his voice to ask about the situation, Arenas felt like he was back in college when he was controlled by the coach after school life. He thought for a while and replied: "I accepted interviews with several reporters last night, and then went to I ate something, so I went to eat lobster and drink some wine. Later, the owner of a sweatshirt specialty store in Boston approached me and asked me to take a few photos for a small advertisement for their store..."

"Maybe one day more people will invite you to dinner and parties, and some sneaker companies will give you a big contract for sneakers instead of taking a few photos for a small advertisement. But you have to remember that to achieve all this What is the foundation of the foundation, if you forget, then you have nothing." Leon reminded Arenas.

Arenas just nodded perfunctorily, ran back to the field to continue training without any response, it seemed that he didn't care about Leon's warning.

Arenas has not really tasted the taste of money and fame. Although he has already received a contract worth millions, he still uses the money to improve the lives of himself and his father, and also to see to his biological mother. In addition, he is just a relatively ordinary player. There are fans of him in Boston, but his jersey sales are far less than those of Walker and Pierce. Occasionally someone can recognize him on the street—not many. .

Now, after a good start to the season, he's starting to get some attention, with the celtics, and last night's game really put him on the map with 17 points in the final quarter and that game-killing 3-pointer After the game, reporters swarmed for interviews and scrambled to hand over their business cards, which made Arenas a little elated.

Of course, Arenas is not the kind of person who is easy to be proud and complacent. His self-discipline and tenacity are not inferior to any player in the Celtics, but he is still young after all. After all, he has only been in the NBA for more than a year. The frivolous years. Leon recalled the scene after he selected Arenas in the draft, and thought that perhaps this kid would not be able to advance with all his strength if he did not give him pressure and persecution.

However, Leon soon discovered that the real problem with the team was not Arenas, but someone else.

A day later, Boston ushered in another opponent, and it was also their bitter hand in recent seasons, the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers completed a deal in the summer, sending away the hero Mutombo who reached the finals in 2001, and getting the Nets center Todd McCarloch and power forward Van Horn to strengthen the team The offensive power of the team can get rid of the team's weak attack and over-reliance on Allen Iverson in recent seasons.

It's just that the team's state after the start of the season is still average, with a record of five wins and four losses barely in the middle of the Eastern Conference. Before the game, everyone was optimistic that the Celtics could make another victory at home and win a record of ten consecutive victories. It would also tie the Celtics for their best start to a season since 1973. But Larry Brown's team is not willing to be a wedding dress easily. Arenas, who showed off his might in the last game, got lost in Eric Snow's defense and Allen Iverson's offense. He stubbornly shot 15 shots in the field, but only hit 4 goals, including 0 of 3 three-pointers.

Even without Mutombo guarding the inside, the defense designed by Larry Brown can still strangle the Celtics who have no inside attack points. It is a fatal obstacle for the Celtics, who have a fast offense. The Celtics' offensive line, which has no inside attack point, is too flat and has no three-dimensional effect at all. The only one who played well was Paul Pierce. He used breakthroughs and mid-ranges to help the team bite the score again and again.

But Iverson in 2003 was still unstoppable when necessary. The Celtics died in the fourth quarter because of Iverson's three-pointer and a mid-range jumper in the counterattack. 91:88, Pierce The three-pointer hit at the last moment did not save the home team. Leon and his team finally suffered their first defeat of the season.

The locker room after the game was no longer the joy of last night. Leon looked at the defeated atmosphere in the locker room and didn't know what to say. Only then did he realize that how to overcome defeat is a more important task than defeating opponents. Serious and important subject. He is as sad as the players, but he still has to pull himself together, explain to the players the lack of the team in the game, and ask everyone to arrive at the airport on time tomorrow, they will fly to Milwaukee in the morning, and the Bucks are waiting for them challenge.

When he left the arena, it was close to ten o'clock in the evening. Leon went to the garage to drive his car home as usual, but he saw Joe Johnson at the exit of the garage passage, together with Antoine Walker, A few of Walker's friends, too, boarded a stretch white Lincoln for another night of sensuality.

Walker has not been like this for a day or two. After he got the big contract of tens of millions of dollars, he brought more than 30 relatives and friends to Boston and started a luxurious life. Anyway, in his opinion, he spent all his money not finished. Unlike some brats who only know how to squander, Walker still understands where his wealth comes from, so he is still very serious and hardworking in training and competition.

For some reason, Johnson has gotten very close to Walker recently, and Leon feels a little puzzled. This young man from Little Rock has always been obedient and hardworking, but his performance on the field has been really mediocre recently. Leon found Johnson on the plane the next day, sat down beside him and asked: "Recently, your life seems to be richer. How do you feel about nightclubs in Boston? Have you ever been to a casino? Next time you go, you can Say my name and maybe the casino will send you some money."

Leon tried his best to make his tone look more relaxed, but Johnson's expression was very dignified. He was silent for a while before saying: "After all, I'm leaving here soon, and I have to learn more about this city before I leave."