The Whip of the God of Basketball

"Today, the United States Congress passed a resolution giving the president the authority to use the military if necessary, one year after the start of the war in Afghanistan..."

"Crack!" Leon turned off the TV. Today is October 3rd, at 5:30 in the morning, Fox TV's morning news is broadcasting the old news that happened yesterday. Another piece of news on America's war on terror. One year has passed since the September 11 incident, but the series of waves caused by this incident are far from over.

"A country's power to control the military has been given to a guy who just graduated from high school...how should I evaluate it?" Khomeinis, who was still lying on the bed, said to Leon. Bush’s approval rating reached its peak after the 9/11 incident. However, a year later, the guy who created new grammar in three sentences and invented new words in two sentences became the object of American ridicule again. As a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party, Khomeinis is certainly no exception. It is important to know that Massachusetts, where Boston is located, is a hardcore Democratic party and an important source of votes for the Democratic Party.

"The premise for all this to happen is that you elected him the president." Leon was already dressed when he spoke, and was about to go downstairs to make breakfast for himself. In mid-September, he and Khomeinis bought a single-family house in Waterton, a small town near Waltham outside Boston, and they officially lived together. Because he signed a two-year $1.5 million contract with the team, Leon can finally stop living in a small apartment and drive his four-handed Chevrolet to work in the training hall every day-his The four-handed Chevrolet was sold for the fifth, and he got himself a new car, a brand-new Ford Thunderbird.

Today will be the day when the Celtics training camp officially opens, so Leon will get up very early. After the inspection of the Indianpolis World Championships, Leon and Khomeinis returned to Boston to live a happy and sweet life as a normal couple. This is also Leon's last leisure time before the start of the new season. I can sleep until I wake up naturally every day, and then accompany Khomeinis to watch the stars in the attic on the roof at night.

Leon went downstairs to make two fried eggs for himself, warmed up a glass of milk, and prepared a few slices of bread and some salad for Khomeinis. After eating briefly, Leon sat in the restaurant on the first floor and watched The clock is in a daze. It's just six o'clock, and the hardworking players have started running, while the lazy ones are still sleeping. Leon was wondering if anyone had already arrived at the training hall to start training? He'd love to drive to Waltham right away, to give a small reward to the player who got there first. But he held back and sat in front of the clock, waiting silently.

"Arenas should have arrived long ago, and so has Pierce... It's half past six, Joe Johnson and Michael should be here too, and Batty, Long, Dalembert will also be here... Seven o'clock! I think I think Walker is coming too, it's almost there, there is no Dennis, so there is no need to delay it so late!" When the time reached seven o'clock, Leon finally jumped up from the bench, got dressed, picked up the car key to open the house, and rushed He got into his new car, started it, kicked the accelerator and drove towards Waltham.

At this time, Khomeinis just got up from the bed, and when she opened the door, she saw Leon rushing out like flying, and muttered in her heart: "Why did you leave? Do you have to wait until I get up to leave?"

…………………

Of course, Leon didn't have to wait until Khomeinis got up before leaving, but Auerbach told him that a head coach should never come earlier than your players during training. Although Leon has been the head coach of the Celtics for several months, he was only hired after the season ended. Met the Celtics players.

One summer later, Leon will appear in Waltham's Boston Sports Club in a new capacity. Just yesterday, Auerbach called Leon for an hour in the afternoon, telling Leon like an old lady what to do on the first day of the training camp as a head coach. Auerbach also said alarmistly, "A coach's prestige and dignity in the team are determined the moment he steps into the training hall, so you must not arrive at the training hall before the players, otherwise they will be let down." Think of you as a security guard who opens the door. "

Of course, Leon knew that Auerbach's words were not entirely correct. In the NBA, there are many coaches who arrived at the training hall early in the morning. Leon himself liked to go to the training hall early to prepare for work when he was an assistant coach. Arriving early can not only supervise the training of players, but also free up more time for preparations before formal training, making the working hours of the day more abundant.

Instead of hesitating for one night, Leon still decided to listen to Auerbach and chose to arrive at the training hall later on the first day of the training camp. In his impression, Pierce and Arenas were always the first to arrive at the stadium. The two people in the pavilion, followed by Reid, Joe Johnson, Batty, Long, and Dalembert. The timing of Chris Anderson's arrival is as erratic as Dennis Johnson's, depending on where they've been fooling around last night.

Before going out, Leon put on a black T-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants. Generally, coaches would wear white clothes during training, but Leon thinks black is thicker and more visually impactful. His hair has long been neatly cut short, and this time he took a break on purpose to make himself look more energetic. Leon is not a person who particularly cares about his appearance, but he will not let go of any details that help improve his image.

The NBA team is a very unique organization. The head coach is the leader of everyone in name, directing the team's training and competition, and has the decision-making power to introduce and trade certain players. But in fact, the salary of a coach cannot reach the average level of the players, not to mention the challenge of superstars to the coach in terms of status and voice in the team. In the struggle between coaches and superstars, the one who fails is almost always is the coach.

In the past two years, Leon has witnessed the ups and downs of three coaches in the Celtics. It can be said that he stepped on the bodies of the three people to the current head coach of the Celtics. If the team forms its own leadership and eventually brings a considerable record, then he will be the fourth corpse. Even his death will come sooner than several other coaches. In yesterday's conversation, Auerbach said with worry that letting Leon be the head coach is one of the biggest gambles in his life. A gamble that decides winners and losers. If a "usurper" like him who does not have enough background and foundation and relies on the power of the boss cannot achieve results in a short period of time, what awaits him will only be a miserable dismissal from get out of class. At that time, dozens of Auerbach will be broken together. Years of reputation and prestige.

Thinking of this, Leon's nervousness is understandable. He drove the car up to 120 kilometers per hour, and soon arrived at the Boston Sports Club Center in Waltham.

…………………

The training hall is still the same, located in the western suburbs of Waltham, the entrance of the training hall is already full of cars, all of which are Celtic players' cars. Leon found a place to park his car. When he walked out of the car door and saw the training hall where he often came to work, his nervous heart calmed down. After all, he has been working here for two years. He is not a person who knows nothing about this place. On the contrary, he is familiar with everything here. The only thing he is not familiar with is himself.

Leon walked into the training hall, and the sound of shoes rubbing against the floor kept coming from inside. Obviously, many players had already arrived at the arena to start training. Leon didn't go to the locker room, and walked directly into the training ground. Sure enough, the players who arrived earlier The players are doing various individual exercises, either practicing shooting, practicing equipment, or conducting defensive training.

Compared with Leon, several new assistant coaches of the Celtics arrived at the training hall early, Dave Cowens was chatting with Danny Angie on the sidelines, and Siegfried was on the field with Pierce, Reid discussed shooting skills, Hess entered the state in the gym, and began to guide Dalembert and Wang Zhizhi to practice strength, and Sealy, who had just joined from the Timberwolves, was doing simple post-injury recovery training. Everyone is working on their respective projects in full swing, as if the head coach has been forgotten.

Leon was not in a hurry to greet everyone, he quietly walked to the side of the field, with his hands on his hips, and looked up at everything on the field. Leon's height of just over six feet can be said to be a very short guy on the basketball team. Fortunately, he is not fat at all, otherwise he would be a short and fat guy like Auerbach. But Leon standing on the sidelines at this time, there are some shadows of Auerbach standing on the field with his hips akimbo. They all hold their heads high, scanning his training ground and players, watching everything.

Paul Pierce, who was doing shooting practice, was the first to notice Leon. He stopped practice and greeted Leon, and Leon nodded toward Pierce. Following Pierce's greeting, everyone slowly noticed Leon's arrival. They all stopped training and looked towards Leon. Leon looked at his watch and knew that the time was up. He stepped towards the center of the venue, clapped his hands vigorously, waved to everyone, and shouted: "Everyone is here!"

As soon as the words fell, everyone, including Dave Cowens and other assistant coaches, gathered in the center of the field where Leon was standing and formed a circle. After two years of work experience, Leon has gained not only skills and experience, but also the awe and respect of the players.

At this time, Leon was surrounded by a group of giants, feeling the surrounding light dimmed, he glanced around, and then said: "13 players, 4 assistant coaches, two trainers, and two team doctors. It looks like Antoine and Chris haven't come yet, when they come I will give them a lesson they will never forget. Of course, I will be your new head coach today. I am glad that our squad has not changed much this summer , but I believe everyone is different from last season. Paul, your offensive skills should be better. I heard that you trained with Kobe in Los Angeles. Dalembert, your arms are thicker. Is the sunshine in Haiti good? Michael, I heard that you are training your defense and C\u0026S, and Siegfried will be your good teacher; Batty, did you practice mid-range with Anderson in the summer? Where is Anderson now? Joe , it seems that you still need to exercise your waist and abdomen strength, although the special training in the summer has achieved results; Gilbert, your arms are thicker and your shoulders are wider, do you think this will affect your shooting? Harder, I hope the sunshine in Paris doesn't dampen your fighting spirit in the NBA; Wang Zhizhi, the record of your national team is not ideal, you need to become stronger..."

Leon is like a know-it-all, standing in the center of the circle and talking to each player. At this time, the players realized that all the basketball-related activities they did throughout the summer did not escape the eyes of the head coach. Whether it was through news reports or scouting reports, he cared about his players. every move.

"Right away, I'm going to have a training session, and you guys can continue your practice. Here, I want to remind every player, if your purpose of playing basketball is to make money, then I want to say that your purpose has been achieved, all of you here Every player, your salary is higher than mine. If you want to achieve something on the field, remember the words posted on the wall!" Leon pointed to the wall that has been hanging on the training hall slogan.

It read: "What-hurts-more, the-pain-of-hard-work, or-the-pain-of-regret?" (Which hurts more, hard work or regret?)