The Whip of the God of Basketball

Larry Bird felt his palms were slightly sweaty.

The high-temperature battle at the Boston Garden in 1984 was still fresh in his mind. The old arena was like a big steamer, and he had to run faster to let the wind blow cooler.

Twenty years have passed, and the Boston Garden Plaza has been replaced by the North Shore Garden. Although the parquet floor is still there, the floor here no longer has holes, it no longer warps, and the racket no longer fails to bounce when it is put up. The air conditioning here will not be damaged "casually". No matter how hot the summer sun is, fans can watch the game coolly and comfortably in the venue.

However, Bird could feel the sweat on his palms getting more and more. First, because the fanatical fans had raised the temperature of the venue by at least five degrees Celsius. Second, the Indiana Pacers started from the sixth minute of the third quarter to the ninth minute. Minute O'Brien called timeout and did not score a point. That’s right, not a penny.

Before the start of the Eastern Conference Finals, the battle between the Celtics and the Detroit Pistons had caught Bird's attention. The Celtics' defense was amazing, but Bird thought it was just a coincidence. Jordan scored 6 consecutive three-pointers in the Finals, which was an unduplicate state explosion.

In the subsequent playoffs, the Celtics did not show such a terrifying defensive level again. Indeed, it is not impossible to completely lock down the opponent's offense in three to five minutes, but this requires the cooperation of the opponent. A long period of not scoring is often not because the defense is too good, but because the offense is too poor.

But tonight, in the gradually steaming white mist of the North Shore Garden, Larry Bird once again witnessed the terrible defense of the Bostonians. The death defensive lineup raised the defensive intensity and defensive attention to the peak in a short period of time. The Celtics All defensive actions and actions were in front of the Pacers' offense, blocking, interfering, blocking, and stealing. The Pacers' players could not find any tactical routine except one-on-one singles. They were completely separated.

"Cheer up, guys, cheer up!" Bird stood up from his position and shouted at the Pacers players. He was sitting not far from the Pacers' bench.

However, Bird's shouts were immediately drowned out by the almost fanatical cheers in North Shore Garden. The fans around him noticed that Bird was shouting and immediately increased the decibel level to interfere with him. Now, Bird isn't the hero here, he's the enemy.

The timeout ended and O'Brien replaced Reggie Miller again, but at this time the score difference between the two sides had widened to 22 points. In these few minutes, the Celtics did not score many points without Ali. Nurse and Pierce, the Celtics' ability to attack with the ball is too poor. The fundamental reason for them to widen the gap is to prevent their opponents from scoring.

Of course, this is not all without cost. Leon replaced Garnett early, and Posey also sat on the bench to rest and gasp for air. This kind of defense is a huge consumption and test of physical strength and energy. Kevin Garnett As the core of the defense, Nate is the CPU on the court. He must make advance predictions based on the opponent's offensive situation and direct his teammates to fill positions in time.

Before the start of the game, Fox-Leon ordered a forty-five-page tactical manual and fifteen videotapes about the Pacers' offensive routine. He took Garnett to see it together and analyzed all the offensive backhands. Variations and habitual tactical choices.

After another three days of simulated training, coupled with the foundation of previous continuous practice, it is possible to easily completely block the Pacers' offense in a game like the Eastern Conference Finals, directly lowering the opponent's offensive level by two levels, just like an NBA team versus an NCAA team. ordinary team.

Returning to the court after the timeout, the Celtics put on their bench, with Strickland replacing Bell, Anderson replacing Garnett, and Pierce also reappeared. It can be said that the Celtics' substitutions are very irregular and unpredictable, but everyone with a discerning eye knows that Leon has clear ideas and reasonable arrangements, establishing a 22-point lead in one quarter.

For a defensive team like the Pacers, the 22-point gap is a huge gap. Even if the Celtics don't score in the entire fourth quarter, whether the Pacers can score 22 points is a question. In the 2004 season, when the three-point shot was not fully developed and the outside handcheck still had influence, falling behind by more than 20 points in the third quarter of the playoffs was already a death sentence, with a 12-minute reprieve.

However, Leon still seemed uneasy. He didn't want to give the Pacers the slightest chance, and he didn't want them to have any thoughts of "we can still be saved."

Therefore, the Celtics' firepower has never stopped, and their defensive intensity remains the same. After Anderson comes on the court, it is impossible to perform that kind of ultimate defense again. Leon safely defended a 4-1-mark, allowing Reid to take care of Reggie throughout the process. -Miller, don't give this veteran a chance to stage a magical play again.

But the game continued, and in the middle of the fourth quarter, the two sides still had a 25-point gap, which was longer than at the end of the third quarter. The Pacers finally gave up their efforts, and O'Brien replaced O'Neal Jr., Artest and Stephen. Jackson, no matter how tough a team is, they will feel desperate when faced with such an unbridgeable gap.

In just one quarter, the Celtics used their explosive defense and offense in the third quarter to completely destroy the Pacers. The Pacers, who had a back-and-forth game with the Celtics in the first half, acted like a team on the verge of the playoffs in the second half, full of enthusiasm but playing disorganized.

When the game ended, Leon breathed a sigh of relief. He adjusted his tie and suit, walked onto the court and hugged O'Brien and Vogel. The three exchanged a few words and then separated. Tonight, Leon's pressure was by no means as easy as the score seemed. 97:74, a 23-point advantage defeated a strong enemy. Behind the Celtics' overwhelming advantage is full preparation and a season of accumulation.

Leon was interviewed by reporters on the sidelines. He simply made some perfunctory remarks, saying that the Celtics won because of their three-point shooting and defense in the third quarter. Anyway, on the surface, that's how the Celtics looked. Winning. Then he left the court and returned to the locker room to celebrate a little with the players. The locker room was filled with a cheerful atmosphere, but there was no excessive ecstasy. After all, this was only a small step.

"We've taken a small step on the road to a championship, but I think it's a big step toward the Eastern Conference finals." Rick Carlisle said in the locker room, taking off his coat and wearing his shirt.

"Your arrogant words are somewhat like mine. What gives you such confidence?" Leon teased Carlisle. He didn't change clothes because he had to attend the post-match press conference later.

"Because of confidence, I bet the Pacers' confidence took a hit. Confidence is very important in the playoffs where every game counts, and we not only won the game, we won the confidence battle. I have never been an arrogant guy, but today I also want to say that we are going to sweep them!" Carlisle said loudly in a rare voice, and his face turned red because of this.

The players in the locker room burst into laughter, as if Carlisle's passionate words had no impact on them at all. Garnett stood up from his position, walked towards the door and said to Carlisle: "Coach Rick, let me tell you, this is what we thought from the beginning of the playoffs. You thought too late."

"I thought your fo, fo, fo, fo was a joke."

"No one is going to joke about this, we all think so, Coach Rick." Arenas said, his expression was very serious.

Carlisle nodded, and now this belief is extremely firm in his heart, and he will win the championship in the most perfect way!