Chapter 211: Rested

Leon directly witnessed the scene of McGrady being reversed after putting down the big talk. The same situation, the same words, but a completely different ending. Leon did not feel gloating because of this. On the contrary, he saw the cruelty of competitive sports and the cruelty of the media and fans from McGrady. Perhaps many people will look at winning and losing with peace and respect, but when the desire for victory and the enthusiasm for the team overwhelms everything, the resentment and anger brought about by attacking and criticizing each other will The gentle and beautiful side of competitive sports is completely overwhelmed.
Leon can already meet. For a long time in the future, if Tracy McGrady cannot prove himself through victory, then the passage he said in the 2003 playoffs will be repeatedly mentioned and cited in mockery. . This may not reduce the love of some fans for him, but it will also become a stinger that cannot be removed in his life. Such a stinger was almost inserted into Leon's flesh.
Leon was afraid of this, but he was excited. He has indeed changed a lot in the past half of the season, including Auerbach and Angie's struggling and facilitating, and Fox-Lyon's inner changes. His spirit is not only completely dominated by the soul of Fan Chen in the past, but also integrated into the personality of the original owner of this body, who is good at gambling, seeking excitement, and showing mania and huge emotional changes from time to time.
At the moment when Staples lit his cigar that night, Leon realized that he got a huge pleasure from this behavior. In fact, it was an unconscious behavior at the time. He just happened to throw the cigar and matches on. In the inner pocket of that jacket. When the Celtics were holding the victory, his hand touched the cigar and match, and he took it out naturally like Auerbach and lit it.
Of course, in Leon's mind, the voice of reason still occupies most of it. Even so, reason did not swallow passion, but deliberately left a place for passion. He calmly thought about the consequences of every rant and open provocation of his own, and he also enjoyed the sense of accomplishment when he was pretending to be successful. He even, like Auerbach, used this behavior to motivate and drive the Celtics' players and let them fall into a state of excitement.
In the fifth game with the 76ers, Leon hardly made any special tactical arrangements. He just kept telling the players to do their best to win the game. Leon's provocative language and fanatical atmosphere supported the Celtics gritted their teeth and withstood the 76ers' counterattack, and finally won the game. And such a victory is a great encouragement to the player's spirit and a release of pressure.
In the days after winning the game, Leon was waiting for the results of the Pistons and Magic series. After a week, the Pistons tied the game and eliminated the Magic, and the Celtics booked a flight to Detroit.
On the flight to Detroit, the atmosphere within the Celtics was relaxed and pleasant. They unexpectedly passed the 76ers in the first round, and slapped the faces of the experts and fans who were not optimistic about them. They feel very confident and extremely powerful. They have experienced insides, a top star in a wonderful state, well-rested main players and a deep bench.
In contrast, the Detroit Pistons, which unexpectedly experienced seven battles, have advanced to the next round, but they have been questioned by many people. The number one in the East, they were driven to a desperate situation by the Magic in the first round, and they were almost hacked. If this is not 2003 but the 2002 playoffs, then the Pistons would have gone home to go fishing with the shame of being hacked.
The reversal of the public opinion situation did not make Leon happy, on the contrary he was worried. For more than half a season, Leon has been using various means to create public opinion pressure for the Celtics, including letting Andy Miller write articles to attack the Celtics, in order to make the team in The extraordinary power burst out under the environment of public opinion. Not only the Celtics, but even the whole of Boston is having a feeling of going back to the evil empire in the past and fighting against the entire alliance.
But the feeling is just the feeling. When they have not yet become the real big devil, public opinion can flip and lift you to the sky at any time, and then watch you fall down.
Leon watched the young people bet on the scores of tomorrow’s game, Arenas said: "I have to score 20 points, sure, watch it." In the first round against the 76ers, Arenas played Both scored only 15.5 points, a bit less than the regular season. The main reason is that Leon has always arranged for him to defend Iverson alone, which puts him under tremendous defensive pressure and cannot let go of his hands and feet on the offensive end.
"Let's just say a few words, winning is the most important thing... I have scored 20 points, so I don't bother to compare with you." Michael Reid disdainful of Arenas. In the playoffs, Reid became the Celtics' third scoring point again, and his role seems to be more important than Walker. His three-pointers on the wing and the emergency stop jumper in the counterattack, the entire series. Le Brown couldn't solve his defense problem.
"Gilbert, I guess you will get 20 points, but Billups on the opposite side will probably get 30 points." Leon suddenly interjected and said to Arenas.
Leon's words made Arenas a big red face, and everyone in the cabin laughed. Arenas was completely defeated by Iverson in the first round of the game. Fortunately, his unwillingness to admit defeat made him psychologically not collapsed. On the contrary, the more vigorous the war, the more energy was invested in defense. Even so, Iverson averaged 33.8 points per game in his first round, leading the series in scoring.
"Don't want to score easily on my head, I have to prove that I am better than him!" Arenas was anxious and shouted at Leon, who had already closed his eyes and slumbered and ignored Arenas. Up.
Arenas became more and more angry and ignored other teammates around him joking, just thinking about arriving in Detroit as soon as possible and shooting three hundred three-pointers on the training ground to hone himself.
Arenas knows that this season, comparing him to Billups in Boston has never stopped. As a former Boston flower show, Billups did not find his own destination here. After tossing around the Timberwolves and Pistons, he finally found his value in Detroit. In the offseason, Angie was also one of Billups' many suitors, but in the end, for a variety of reasons, the Detroiters took away their previous explorations.
One of the reasons is that Leon insists that Arenas will not be worse than Billups. From the performance of this season, the immature Arenas and the gradually mature Billups still have a lot of gap. Especially in the first round of the playoffs, Billups shined in the last two games, scored frantically, and completely shot through the outside of the Magic.
On the contrary, Arenas was blown by Iverson. He felt ridicule and hostility from all sides, so he wanted to prove himself in the dialogue with Billups.
Leon smelled a hint of danger and anxiety. Once a player starts to think about his performance, or even deliberately competes with a certain player of the opposing team, it will damage the team in all likelihood.
But Leon was not in a hurry to stop or comfort Arenas, he asked him to obey the team spirit from the overall situation. You must know that the Celtics are a young team, and it is impossible for young people to give up the idea of ​​being popular. This is not like those veterans who gather together for the championship, who can sacrifice their data and future contracts. Young people will try their best to express themselves while winning the game.
Since it can't be blocked, it's better to loosen it, Leon thought, maybe Arenas can break out in the next game.
But Leon was wrong this time.
After arriving in Detroit for a day off, on May 6, the first game of the Eastern Conference semifinals started at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Celtics have been resting for nearly a week, and the Pistons only took a day off before continuing their next round.
Resting is a good thing most of the time, but sometimes it can become a bad thing, especially in the fierce playoffs. The rest time is too long and it is easy to rest, and there is no way to integrate into the rhythm of the game as soon as possible.
The Celtics have just stopped, and Leon also felt that from the locker room to the opening ceremony, the Celtics players have not gathered a winning spirit~EbookFREE.me~ but loose. , This is very dangerous on the road. Sure enough, they were hit by the Pistons with a 13:3 attack wave at the beginning of the game, and the whole team was a bit dumb in the deafening voice of Auburn Hills.
Leon tried his best to adjust the player's mentality, but the pace of the game is always in the hands of the Pistons. Billups is like a master of field control, and Arenas is a frizzy high school boy in front of Blooms. In the third quarter, when the Celtics relied on Pierce's force to chase the score to just a three-pointer, Arenas was cheated by Billups in defense and a three-point foul.
The annoyed Arenas yelled at the referee and directly ate the technical foul. Afterwards, Arenas, who couldn't control his emotions, kicked the ball out of the field angrily. As a result, he received the second technical foul and went directly to the locker room. .
The Celtics lost hope of a comeback and were suppressed by the Pistons until the end of the game. Billups walked to the Celtics bench at the end of the game, stared for three seconds, and then walked away slowly to accept the cheers of the fans. In this battle, he scored 29 points and sent 11 assists and 3 steals.
It seems that Billups has completed the first step of his revenge against the Celtics. And Fox Leon was thinking about how to get the black guy on the opposite side of No. 3 to work. (To be continued.)