The Whip of the God of Basketball

Leon knows that Reisert has worked for the Celtics for more than ten years and is an experienced sports injury protector. Although the Celtics have never been able to regain their glory after he came, this is not his fault. The purpose of his coming is to prevent widespread injuries like 1987 from happening again.

Since he came to see Leon so late, it was most likely related to the player's injury. After Reither came in, he sat on the bed, handed several pieces of paper to Leon, and then said: "This is the ball. The first report on the team's current injury situation, yes, is the overall situation. Then, the condition of most young people is still quite good, but the physical condition of the veterans... they all need to be carefully protected anyway, like Walker, Brown…”

"Tell me your opinion, Reisert." Leon interrupted Reisert and asked him. Reisert came to him early in the morning, certainly not to explain the team's health to Leon.

"Okay Leon, I know you are a straightforward person. I suggest that in the last dozen games, reduce the playing time of some players, or simply not let them play in some games." Reisert replied road.

"Players who are paid such a high salary are not just sitting on the sidelines and watching the show. Michael Jordan said that he must try his best to play every game because he doesn't know which fans may have the opportunity to watch him just once in their lifetime. If the players can When they go on the field, they have to stand on the field and play." Leon simply rejected Reisert's idea of ​​resting some players.

However, Reither obviously didn't come to Leon to discuss it with nothing to do. He went on to say: "I understand what you mean Fox, and I also think players should fight for every game, but... but not everyone It's all Michael Jordan. Let me tell you this, I went to Madison last month to attend the National Sports Medicine Summit, where we discussed the current issues of athlete health and physical injuries. The conclusion is that currently, most of Most athletes who appear healthy on the surface have serious injury risks, and will suffer major injuries when fatigue accumulates to a certain extent. Some injuries may even affect their lives in the future, but of course they are not as serious as those of rugby players. ...After I came back, I conducted health checks on most of the players. Most of them seem to be in good condition, but...how should I put it? During the month when Cowens coached, he seriously overdrawn the main players' resources. Physical strength, Pierce's groin strain has something to do with this. Walker's ankle started to have problems this summer, and I guess in another two seasons, he will have a big ankle problem. Arenas also, he looks healthy now It’s great, but it’s really hard to say about the future.”

Leon fell into silence. He understood what Reither meant. He knew it long before his return. During the period when Cowens temporarily replaced him, he severely neglected the main players and allowed the team to maintain a good record. . Judging from the current health status of the players, as long as there are no accidents, there is no problem in surviving this season. As for the future? From now on, Antoine Walker will not be in Leon's plans, and Arenas is still very young.

Looking at Leon who was silent, Reither sighed and said: "I know that as a head coach, you are under a lot of pressure. No coach needs to sacrifice his record to protect the future of his players. Everyone is doing it for work and survival. I I just want to talk to you tonight about player health management. I think in the increasingly fierce NBA, this will be very, very important in the future, and can even change the destiny of a team. You know, Celtics What kind of tragedies have people encountered?"

What Reisert mentioned was, of course, the dead Bias and Lewis.

Leon nodded, and then said: "Thank you, Mr. Reisert, I will consider the issue you mentioned, but this is not my decision alone. The team's owner, general manager and fans all agree That's it. Also, thank Old Man Auerbach for me. If he has any advice next time, he can call me directly instead of beating around the bush like this."

After listening to Leon's words, Reither was a little speechless, with an expression of being seen through. He didn't know that the flaw in his words was exposed and was heard. However, Reisert still smiled and said: "Team building is a long road. I'm glad to see you learn faster than anyone else."

……………………

On March 13, the Celtics challenged the Nets at the Continental Arena in New Jersey, the smallest player in the league. Leon still sent out the established starting lineup. This time Paul Pierce returned to the starting lineup, and Antoine -Walker came to his accustomed power forward position and faced off against Kenyon Martin.

The Celtics and Nets had met twice before, with one win and one loss. In the first game of the season between the two teams on November 20, the Celtics relied on Joe Johnson's outstanding performance in the second half to successfully defeat the Nets at home. . In December, at the Continental Airlines Arena, although the Celtics lost to the Nets, Joe Johnson was still the one who performed most brilliantly. He scored 28 points in the game and gave his best performance in the Celtics. A swan song.

After that, Joe Johnson was traded. Public opinion at the time was that without Joe Johnson, how would the Celtics fight against the Nets. Indeed, Joe Johnson is Leon's magic weapon against the Nets. Without this magic weapon, Leon himself feels that it will be very difficult for them to face the Nets.

Because in terms of lineup and style of play, the Nets are too restrained by the Celtics. The Celtics' offense mainly relies on the outside, while the Nets have the best outside defense in the East. Walker, the pivot point near the free throw line, was completely suppressed by Kenyon Martin. Martin's extremely aggressive defense made it almost impossible for Walker to organize near the free throw line.

Arenas will encounter the old monster Jason Kidd on both the offensive and defensive ends. Although Kidd was affected by a knee injury and his personal offensive power declined, his defensive skills are still the same. He faced the Nets twice and faced Kidd's Following the defense, Arenas had almost no way to launch a decent quick counterattack.

The Nets' main weaknesses are still at shooting guard and center. Fortunately for the Celtics, after the Nets acquired Mutombo, this old tree began to decline rapidly, with constant injuries and completely unable to integrate into the team. Therefore, PJ Brown will be a point where Leon can make a fuss, if he can feel it on the offensive end.

As for the shooting guard, without Joe Johnson, relying solely on Michael Reed will definitely not be as stable as before. Kittles will not be so easy to dispatch. At the same time, Reed's role on the defensive end has also been weakened. Erles is just a functional player on the offensive end.

Such troubles have been plaguing Leon. Although he didn't sleep much all night, it was difficult for Leon to find a solution immediately. Some things don't work just by thinking about them in your head. They must be verified in training and actual combat.

……………………

At 7:30 pm on the 13th, at the Continental Airlines Arena, the game entered the fourth quarter, and the Celtics trailed the Nets by 5 points. From the beginning of the game, the Celtics were always trailing by 5 to 6 points and were being beaten, which was very uncomfortable.

The fatigue of the journey and the hustle and bustle of the away game made the Celtics players very out of shape. Because of this, Leon still boldly used Grant Long in the game, allowing him to face Kenyon Martin many times in the game. , grabbed a career record 5 offensive rebounds and scored 12 points.

Even so, it cannot make up for the loopholes created by Antoine Walker's 3-for-15 shooting rate tonight. Facing Martin tonight, his state was extremely bad. Breakthroughs couldn't be escaped and shots couldn't be made. At the same time, without Walker's support at the corner, the Celtics' offensive formation was in a mess. Leon had to adjust his tactics and even let Brown take the ball in the low post and play Inside-out.

With 1 minute left before the end of the game, Jason Kidd hit his only three-pointer of the game from the outside, but it opened the score between the two sides to 8 points, which was almost the final goal. Leon called a timeout. These were the last two timeouts on his hands, a long timeout and a short timeout.

"Are you kidding me, Antoine? Do something, boy, do something!" Before Kidd hit the three-pointer, Walker was intercepted by Martin in the offense, and a turnover almost ruled the Celtics. Death penalty for people.

"My ankle is a little uncomfortable, it's uncomfortable!" Walker defended while wiping his sweat. His right ankle was covered with a thick strap, hidden under his socks.

"If your foot hurts, then don't play in the first place!" Leon rarely speaks to players like this, but he was indeed a little angry tonight. As he spoke, he glanced at the bench and said to Wang Zhizhi: "Wang, come here and get ready to play."

Since Walker can't do it, and Anderson can't do it on the offensive end, Leon has no choice but to try Wang Zhizhi.