The Whip of the God of Basketball

According to the schedule, the game between the Boston Celtics and Lakers started at the Staples Center at the scheduled time on March 21. As Fox-Leon announced before the game, the Celtics put all their main players on the bench. The starters he sent were Dalembert, Chris Anderson, and Eric Williams. , Malik Sealy and Courtney Alexander.

This is basically a CBA lineup. Their opponent is the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, and Shaquille O'Neal has returned to the lineup for this game. This is a complete Lakers, this is a Lakers sprinting for the playoffs. Fox-Leon actually used such a confusing lineup to appear in Staples. The moment the players came on the stage, the audience could feel the Celtic players' embarrassment and uneasiness.

"Is this appropriate, coach?" Before taking the field, Dalembert still asked Leon hesitantly. Although Dalembert also started this season, he was always used as a tactical pawn. This time he is the real starter, and he has to face O'Neal.

"Are you scared? Are you afraid to take off your clothes and put them on me?" Leon asked, glaring at Dalembert. Dalembert immediately shrank his head in fear and moved his arms to prepare for the stage. .

This is the second time the Celtics and Lakers are coaching this season. In the last game without O'Neal, Kobe Bryant hit 47 irons and led the Lakers to a disastrous defeat in Boston. Now that more than half the season has passed, in Los Angeles, the Lakers players, especially Kobe, still wanted to teach the feud a lesson at home, but they didn't know that the opponent was too cunning and directly rested the main force.

In this way, if the Lakers win, it will be a weak victory. If the Lakers lose, it goes without saying that it will be a disaster and an embarrassment to grandma's house. This season the Lakers have been relatively ugly in the regular season. O'Neal has been absent in large numbers, and the team's lineup is aging and lacks ambition. It already feels like it is at the end of its tether.

The Celtics' starting five came on the court with a timid feeling. The bright yellow floor, the yellow championship flag flying above their heads, everything was as incompatible with the green jerseys. This is a green forbidden land, this is green. graveyard.

The game just started, O'Neal was like a shark smelling blood, and easily succeeded in jumping the ball. Then in the first attack of the game, he caught the ball under the basket and beat Dalembert.

It was the first time that Dalembert encountered such a strong opponent, with a back as strong as a mountain and power as hidden as an iceberg. O'Neal hit him twice, raised his elbow and turned around. Dalembert fell down like a big tree felled by a chain saw, then sat on the floor and watched O'Neal slam his hands. Then he landed and walked away.

This is Dalembert's second NBA season. In the two games between the Celtics and the Lakers in his rookie season, he did not get a one-on-one opportunity with O'Neal. Today he finally felt and tasted the NBA. The power of the first center monster in history.

He struggled to get up from the floor, and Chris Anderson went up to pull him up. Dalembert felt a little pain in his butt. Leon stood on the sidelines and watched the awkward and embarrassing scene. The fans in the audience were already boiling like boiling water. The Lakers gave the Celtics a disastrous start from the beginning.

Now Leon knows that he has good news and bad news. The bad news is that it seems that Dalembert is completely impossible to limit O'Neal, and O'Neal's fighting spirit is very strong tonight; the good news is that Dalembert You shouldn't feel timid anymore. After feeling the power of the giant shark, if you are embarrassed, there will be nothing to fear.

Without the main players, Eric Williams has become the core player of the current Celtics lineup. He still has a certain ability to play hard. The player Williams plays against is Fox, and the two are somewhat familiar with each other, because Fox started his career with the Celtics and left Boston for Los Angeles in 1997. Williams came to the Celtics in 1995, and the two were teammates for more than a season. Fox can be regarded as Williams' big brother.

Williams has a strong body, average skills but comprehensive skills. Facing Big Brother, he did not hesitate to hold the ball directly at the beginning and caused a foul on Fox. Williams made two free throws and used the most boring way to score. The score was evened.

At this time, David Stern was sitting in the VIP box at Staples Center. He rarely watched games in the box, but this time he had to accompany sponsor guests, so he did not sit on the sidelines. Stern had a serious look on his face and looked very unhappy. Indeed, the Celtics' lineup cannot make people happy. A group of substitutes and bench players were on the court competing against the defending champions, giving the impression that a professional team was sparring with a high school team.

Last night, Stern called Adam Silva, who is familiar with Fox Leon. He asked Silva to find Leon in person, hoping that Leon would change his mind and re-send the main players to participate in the game on the night of the 21st. Contest.

As a result, Silva discussed with Leon for more than an hour, and the answer he finally got when he came back was: Even if they were fined, the Celtics would not change their rest strategy because their players were really injured.

Stern was angry. He had decided to issue a big fine to the Celtics after this game. Since Leon didn't care about the league's advice, he would let his boss suffer the loss and then discipline them. Head coach.

But this is what happened after the game. Now Stern has to hold back his anger and sit in a private room to watch the game with the sponsors in charge. From time to time, he has to introduce the historical origins of the two teams to those in charge. After all, those Not all sponsors are basketball fans.

The game was as Stern expected. The Lakers established their lead early in the opening. Except for the opening dunk, O'Neal was simply unstoppable at the basket. In the first quarter, he made 7 of 8 shots and scored 14 points. . The Celtics' lineup is really terrible. These substitute players may be able to play a role at certain times, but it is difficult for them to stand alone. Players like Alexander haven't had many opportunities to play this season.

At 29:15, the Lakers established a 14-point lead in the first quarter, and it seemed that this would inevitably be a massacre. If Stern was watching TV now, he would have smashed it long ago, but unfortunately he wasn't. He had to nail his butt to the stool to endure the 48 minutes.

………………

Fox-Leon stood calmly on the sidelines at this time, but his heart was not as calm as it seemed on the surface. Resting all the main players is not as simple as it seems on the surface. It requires great courage and patience to convince the players to accept their ideas.

It's obvious that he is thinking about the longer term, but that doesn't mean he can give up casually right now. What Leon said before the game to "train young people" is not empty talk. Playing under huge pressure is of great benefit to the growth of young players. A high-pressure game is more effective than a hundred garbage time games to gain points. .

The 14-point gap is big enough. This is still the first quarter, and the Celtics only got points when the Lakers relaxed a little. For Leon, resting does not mean giving up. He can feel the main players on the sidelines. They are ready to make a move. They must be thinking, why should they sit on the bench and watch the team being ravaged when they can obviously go on the field and have a battle with their old enemy?

If the team loses miserably, then the next time he wants the players to rest, everyone will not be so easily persuaded, and his authority will not be able to convince the players to do something unreasonable.

"OK, the first quarter has passed. Have you adapted to the environment here? Have you adapted to the bright yellow floor? This is Staples. This is the home court of the Lakers. There are a total of 23,245 here. Individuals, there are only 20 of them who want us to win the game, that is ourselves. Do you think this is impossible? Do you feel powerless and hopeless? Then I tell you, from now on, forget everything, forget the embarrassing first quarter, that is just a warm-up . Our score is still 0:0, calm down, let’s start from the beginning!” Leon used the short five minutes between the first and second quarters to give a small speech, which made the players calm and peaceful. Relaxed. This is very, very important. Leon knows that young people are very nervous. Competing as a starter against the defending champion instead of standing next to the main force as an assistant would make anyone else's teeth chatter.

After stabilizing everyone's emotions, Leon re-adjusted the lineup. He replaced Malik Siry, moved Eric Williams to the shooting guard position, and then replaced Grant Long at the small forward position. Then he replaced Dalembert and replaced him with Mark Blount, so the entire Celtics lineup was very tall.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Celtics served to attack. Alexander stumbled and dribbled the ball across half court. Then Blount moved to the high post and made a single block for Williams. Alexander handed the ball to the bottom corner. Long, Chris Anderson and Williams, who were originally on the weak side, made a cross-change and suddenly ran to the basket. Long passed the ball to Anderson in the corner, and Anderson easily made a layup.

A classic backdoor tactic is to have the center pull out in a pick-and-roll to clear the inside, and then use the cover to attract the defense on the weak side. Another player ambushing on the weak side suddenly cuts into the inside and scores at the open goal.

It seemed that the Lakers' defense was a little careless, but the fans at the scene didn't care. They still held a 14-point advantage, and although O'Neal was resting off the court, they still had Kobe on the court.