The Whip of the God of Basketball

However, in the face of the sudden strength of the Boston Celtics, Carlisle did not waver in his determination to lead his team to win everything, so two days after the game in Auburn Hills, he led the Detroit Pistons on January 31. No. 1 came to the North Shore Garden Arena in Boston, and the two teams played against each other for the second time in three days. Originally this was considered to be a close battle, but this time the Pistons had a complete upper hand.

The game entered the rhythm of the Detroit people from the beginning. Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups played well on the perimeter. They scored 19 points together in the first quarter to help the Pistons A 12-point lead was established in one fell swoop. In the second quarter, the Pistons' bench group began to show off. Okur, Williams, Tayshaun Prince and other bench players were in amazing condition. They had mid-range shots, three-pointers, and fast breaks. It's like breaking the seal.

In comparison, the Celtics did a terrible job in the first quarter. Antoine Walker was flying around the field like a headless chicken. From his shooting and dribbling, it can be seen that this guy is completely out of shape. He missed all 4 shots in the first quarter, didn't score a point, and also sent two fouls to get himself off the field. Leon had to replace Chris Anderson. Although Anderson had boundless passion and vitality, facing the Pistons' inside gate, Ben Wallace, Anderson was like a piece of white cream, easily defeated by the steely Wallace. The taxi was flattened. He attempted to score a dunk inside twice and was slapped out by Wallace.

The bad touch of the Celtics spread like an infectious disease to every player on the court. Whether it was a quick counterattack or an open shot, they missed a lot of shots that seemed very simple in the past, which made Carlisle walk firmly. The Pistons used the zone defense to deal with the Celtics almost half of the time, but the three-pointer, the best weapon to break the zone defense, has not started in the hands of the Celtics for a long time.

In the third quarter, the biggest point difference between the two sides even opened up to 48 points. This was a disaster for the fans of North Shore Garden. The key is that many fans are unwilling to leave early, but want to watch the team until the end A moment to die.

Leon had to watch helplessly as the team was slaughtered by the Pistons at home. With a huge difference of 118:78 and 40 points, the Celtics unexpectedly lost to the Detroit Pistons at home. The joy of just winning the last game was wiped out in two hours, replaced by a huge sense of frustration and frustration after the loss. Seeing the poor performance of the players, Leon could hardly hold back the anger in his heart, and punched each of them to wake up.

After the game, Carlisle walked up to the opponent like Leon did the day before yesterday, and said to Leon: "I said that it is not the time, at least I will not see it alive." What Carlisle said is not the time, of course refers to Leon said how to replace the low-post offense. The Celtics died tonight because of the lack of efficient and stable offensive methods. When their three-pointers misfired, the situation on the court was indeed a bit ugly. Relying on Paul Pierce’s back It's really a drop in the bucket, after all, he is a small forward and can't cause enough damage like a center, or attract a lot of double teams to create opportunities for his teammates.

To make matters worse, such doubts come not only from opponents, but also from within the Celtics. After the game on the night of the 31st, at noon on the second day, February 1st, at a Celtics charity banquet attended by Leon, Danny Ainge and some famous old guys in Celtics history Everyone was there, and there was no doubt that some basketball-related issues would be discussed at the party. A group of celebrities headed by Tom Heinsohn believe that the Celtics should give up the current style of play that relies on fast offense and three-pointers, but pay more attention to defense and inside attack to deal with the current league. This group of powerful inside players.

Of all the people, only two people stood by Leon and said a few words for him. One was Bill Russell, the first player in Celtics history, who came from Louisiana to attend the banquet. I also wanted to watch the Celtics game, but the Celtics let him down last night. However, he did not deny Leon's tactical thinking, on the contrary he thinks this is the style of the Celtics.

Another person who agrees with Leon is Bob Cousy, who is currently serving in the marketing department of the team. His reason is very simple. You're right, so I think you'll be right too."

The support of the two veterans gave Leon some motivation, but if the Celtics can't continue to win, then the doubts will not stop. The Celtics' record in January was 7 wins and 5 losses. The winning percentage is no longer as dazzling as it was at the beginning of the season. Of course, injuries are one reason, but is the team okay in other aspects?

After the banquet was hastily ended, Leon rejected Angie's invitation to play golf together, and drove home directly. For a person whose body grew up in a boxing ring and a broken bar, a place like a golf course is a bit far away from him. He followed Auerbach in that, and while Auerbach liked to drive around in this golf cart, he couldn't play golf at all.

Back home, because it was Saturday, Khomeinis was practicing aerobics at home. She looked very good. Compared with when she just met Leon two years ago, Khomeinis was more mature and charming. Originally The fiery red hair was dyed a more stable chestnut color by herself, and she also permed a big wave. Seeing Leon's tired and depressed expression, Khomeinis turned off the music, poured Leon a glass of whiskey and handed it to him, asking, "What's the matter Fox, is there anything that makes you sad today? Is it because of the Challenger? This is not something that can be controlled by an individual.”

On February 1st, the US space shuttle Challenger exploded and disintegrated during its return. This is one of the biggest news in the world today, but Leon didn’t know it at all. He was stunned when he heard Khomeinis say that. , took a sip of wine and said: "The earth is still spinning, the damned people are still dying, and the damned are still alive."

Khomeinis put her slender and soft arms around Leon from behind, and said: "You were not such a sentimental person before, I think your personality has changed a lot since you became the coach of the team, your troubles seem to be That’s more than half of my lifetime combined.”

Leon also felt that with the continuous immersion on the basketball court, his calm and calm side has not diminished. In many cases, he is still the most calm person; but at the same time, his irritable and gloomy side is also Increase, the conflict with Anthony Mason in the Bucks game some time ago is one of the examples. In retrospect, Leon can be sure that if someone hadn't stopped him, he would definitely go up and go directly Fight Anthony Mason.

This may not be a particularly bad thing. Basketball coaches also need passion, but it will not be a good thing. As a head coach who lacks foundation and qualifications, Leon is actually facing a much worse situation than any rookie coach. . In the most complicated basketball city and team in the league, with almost zero resume in the basketball circle, the only reliance is Auerbach, and several assistant coaches that Auerbach recruited for him, and his team He has nothing but some contacts accumulated by Tanshi.

Of course, his girlfriend's father is the owner of the team, but he is only one of the owners. Other owners have always had reservations about Leon, especially the big boss Cross Parker. In order to find someone to replace Leon's thoughts. Now Leon is almost certain that Dave Cowens was recruited by Angie, and the condition for persuading Cowens to be an assistant coach is that Cowens can replace him after Leon gets out of class!

The only thing Leon can do is to keep winning, and deal hard with the open and dark arrows from all sides to recruit whoever he wants. In this case, only victory is the best partner, but Leon also understands that in the NBA for more than half of the season, as a team sport, victory is not something you can have if you want it.

"I feel a little tired." Leon let go of Khomeinis' hand and lay down on the sofa. Seeing Khomeinis with a distressed expression on his face, Leon, who has never talked about work matters, couldn't help but tell Khomeinis some of his problems. Sometimes talking is also a good way to release pressure. Method.

Khomeinis rested her chin and listened carefully to what Leon had to say. If there are levels for complaining about troubles, Leon must be a senior complainer. He analyzed his problems from shallow to deep, from far to near. Khomeinis analyzed it from the surface to the deep layer.

"I've thought about these problems in my mind for a long time, and there is only one solution, which is to win and win again. There is no other way." After talking about the big deal, Leon made a conclusion for himself. Khomeinis frowned and thought for a while and said, "Fox, are you free tonight? I think I should hold a party at home and invite all the Celtics players to attend!"

"Party?" Leon couldn't help being taken aback. This kind of party was what he hated the most in his life. Khomeinis used to like to attend various parties, and since she was with Leon, she hardly went to those parties anymore, because She thought it would be more interesting to stay with Leon. Now that Khomeinis wants to hold a party again, she still invites the Celtics players to join him. Leon thought about it and wanted to shake his head, but then he thought, Khomeinis might be able to see some of them. He scratched his head and said, "Okay, but don't make too much noise."