Chapter 164: Archer's War

?After experiencing a period of inadaptability at the beginning of the season, Michael Reid has become more and more accustomed to his team positioning-a shooter with a strong defensive ability, so in After a finger contusion, he strongly hopes to continue participating in the game because he is afraid that if he is absent for a while, he will lose the feeling of being on the court. Playing under Fox Leon is not easy. His seemingly simple tactics are behind a lot of rules and training to maintain this simple beauty. This feeling is especially obvious for Reid. Among the five starting players, Reid is considered to be the one with the lowest degree of freedom. His range of motion, running route and even timing of shots have been planned by Leon.
In the first few games, Reid was very uncomfortable. He felt that his hands and feet were constrained. In the offense, he could not control the ball like Arenas and Pierce, nor was he qualified for scheduling like Walker. He is an ambush soldier, lying in an ambush point set by Leon, throwing cold arrows when he has a chance, and opening up space for his teammates when he has no chance. When it comes to defense, he often has to face tremendous pressure. Leon always gives him the most difficult bones on the perimeter, and sometimes even explicitly tells Reid that the opponent’s top scorer is left to you. No one will help you.
So although the Celtics won a wave of victories at the beginning of the season, they were in the limelight for a while, but the spotlight was mostly on Pierce, Arenas, Walker and even Wang Zhizhi, and Reid became the one that was easily overlooked. You know that in last season, Reid was already the Celtics' number three scorer, second only to the Gemini. This season, his scoring has declined and his shots have dropped sharply. In the second quick attack, his ending scenes became less and less, and the occasional piecemeal attack became his offensive normal.
Reid was a little disappointed at one point, because he thought Leon would be more reusable when he became the head coach of the Celtics. In his mind, Leon is his godfather and his mentor in the NBA. But as Leon asked Siegfried to pay more attention to Reid's training, and often gave him a small stove later. Reid began to realize his importance in the team.
Siegfried's role in the Celtics was very similar to Reid now, a tough defensive. A tireless precision shooter, Siegfried often told Reed when he was training Reid that he used to play in the Celtics, saying that he hit his brow bone and bleeds in the game, but he was like a okay person. Sitting on the bench and listening to the coach's tactics, he finished the story of returning to the court after rubbing his blood. So Siegfried also showed Reed the picture. Siegfried in the picture was bleeding, but his expression was as indifferent as if nothing happened.
In Siegfried, Reid felt a once selflessness. The strength of a tough player with a strong heart, and the tremendous help it can bring to the team. At this time, in December of 2002, Reid finally slowly adapted to his role in the team. Through the off-ball simulation training, he became very familiar with his running position, opening up the space to the greatest extent and causing damage to the opponent. Threatened. His defense became more and more alike under Siegfried's training. Although the technique needs to be further improved, he is getting stronger and stronger mentally and has become an outright gate for the Celtics.
In 2003. At the beginning of the new year, Reid can feel that his condition is getting better and better, especially in the games where Walker was injured. He took more responsibility on the offensive end, scoring high points in several consecutive games. In the first two seasons, he also paid great attention to training and using his offensive ability with the ball. He liked to rely on his strength to fight closer to the basket. He learned from Pierce and wanted to be as versatile as him. Now, he started to become a killer wandering beyond the three-point line, quietly, the bottom right corner is his best shot point. He was a little unhappy when Leon asked him to stick to this point, but now he understands. This is Leon's best shot point chosen for him.
But the bad finger contusion forced him to rest, the doctor's report indicated. To be on the safe side, Reid had better rest for a week. This way he will miss at least the next three games. In these three games, Reid didn't want to miss one, because the team's opponents were the Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks. Reid wanted to test his quality as a shooter.
But when Reid found Leon hoping to play after training on the 15th, the answer was "Practice your new technique well before playing."
"This is not an important new technology, but it is... it is a gadget that Sieg came up with. He found it while watching the game. He found it very interesting and thought it could exercise my reaction ability and shooting stability. Come to practice..." Reid wanted to explain to Leon to get a chance to play, but Leon refused.
"Don't care about a two-game opportunity. You have a lot of opportunities. In this league, many people do not seize the opportunity, not because they did not get the time to play, but when they played, they found that they had lost the catch. The ability to live up to opportunities. Pay attention to your injury, it will make you lose that ability, listen to the team doctor, and heal your injury."
Leon's serious advice dispelled Reid's plan to make an early comeback, but for this, the Celtics also had to come back at a certain price.
On January 16, the Celtics played against the well-organized Indiana Pacers at home. This is the first time the two sides have met this season. The Pacers' head coach is Jim O'Brien, and the assistant coach is Vogel. Coupled with the fact that the general manager of the Pacers is Celtics' passing superstar Larry Bird, the love and hatred of the two teams can be said to have just begun. The game on the night of the 16th was as intricate as their relationship. Without Walker and Reed, the Celtics entangled in two overtime games with their opponents at home. Until the last minute, the Pacers relied on Jermaine O’Neal. With a tip-off and Reggie Miller's only three-pointer in the game, the Pacers defeated the Celtics with a 99:94, five-point advantage.
Leon and his Celtics had to accept a painful defeat. Then in Milwaukee, facing this already depraved strong man, he was penetrated by the new three shots composed of Ray Allen, Tim Thomas and Kassel. The three teamed up to score 65 points. After losing Reid, the Celtics’ defense on the perimeter was like opening a hole. After the game, Leon, who was angry, dropped the tactical board in the locker room for the first time, and then deflated the board with a punch. A pit scared the whole team into a chill.
Of course, if getting angry is useful, then the NBA coach is the most tempered group in the world. And for damaging the public property of the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Leon was fined by the league and fined $25. Leon understands that the current Celtics' bench depth is still lacking, and the preparations for injuries are not adequate, and they have repeatedly lost the opponent's perimeter outbreak. Leon can't help but miss Joe Johnson.
On the 20th, the Celtics finally ushered in good news. Antoine Walker returned to the stadium after two weeks of truce. Although he has not been in Leon’s future team building plan, he is also lazy. Dazed and out of tune with Leon, but the current Celtics really have this fat head. As soon as Walker returned, the Celtics defeated the no longer prestigious Philadelphia 76ers in Philadelphia. Walker's all-around performance with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists allowed his comedic dance steps to be staged again in North Shore Gardens.
On the 21st, Reid's finger contusion was finally healed. He eagerly removed the gauze on his finger, participated in the team's joint training, and told reporters in an interview after the training that he would participate. The next Celtics game, the opponent is the Milwaukee Bucks.
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On the day of the 22nd game, Leon was invited by a local TV station in Boston to participate in a small talk show to talk about some of the current NBA views. This is the first time Leon has been invited by the local media in Boston to participate in a TV show. For this reason, he took the 40 minutes before warm-up in the afternoon to record the show. The show will also be used as a warm-up show before the game tonight. Broadcast.
The famous journalist and host Jessica Kerriott interviewed Leon ~EbookFREE.me~ As a female reporter, she is very good at observing words and expressions and insight into the psychological state of interviewees. At the same time, it is able to raise questions in combination with current hot topics. So in the interview, Jessica was very "appropriate" to ask Leon his question-who is the best shooter in the league. In a series of central teams like the Pacers and Bucks, the Celtics without Reid have suffered a lot of losses from Miller and Ray Allen. This also makes Boston’s critics think that if you Germany returns, the Celtics will never lose to the Pacers and Bucks.
But Leon replied: "In my opinion, Ray Allen is still the best scorer in the league, and Reggie Miller is the best scorer in the NBA. Both of them are very good, but Ray Comprehensive, while Miller is more pure."
Jessica flashed her big eyes, looking at Leon expecting him to say more, but Leon, who had a lot of words before, closed her mouth and didn't mention Michael Reid. Even if the beauty is currently, Leon has an expression of "don't want to talk to me anymore", which can't help making the host a little bit embarrassed.
But before the start of the night’s game, Leon was in the locker room and put his arms around Reid’s lowered head and said to him: "In my heart you will be the best shooter in the league, the best, with me. When I picked you in the year, I thought so, Michael." (To be continued.)