Chapter 25: heaven and hell

"I don't think we have luck in winning. Many people have looked down upon us along the way, but now we have proved to them that we are qualified to win." In an interview after the second game, Antoine Walker Facing reporters' questions, he showed strong confidence. Indeed, they can win two consecutive away games in the opposing team, and then they will return to home. Once the Celtics win the third game, 3:0, they will almost certainly reach the finals.
In two games, Antoine Walker swept away last year’s haze, averaging 21.5 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists per game. Although Leon’s tactical arrangement was part of the effect, Walker’s own efforts were hard to play. Played a greater role. Although he is a hippie smiling guy most of the time, as a top basketball player, he also has the desire to win and strong willpower.
"After gaining such an advantage, do you think the Celtics will end the series in a few games?" Another reporter asked. This is really an extremely sensitive question. Tracy McGrady, the last person who directly answered this question, has already Was eliminated in the first round.
"I don't know, but I think at least seven games." Walker played haha, did not say that the Celtics will sweep away, but also revealed the confidence that will eliminate opponents.
Compared with the players’ self-confidence, Leon is much more calm. He no longer arrogantly said "consider the next round of opponents" as he did in the first round, but said that the Celtics' two victories carried a certain amount of luck. ingredient.
"Also, there is no essential difference between home and away in the playoffs. Maybe home will bring some benefits, but it will also bring pressure." Talking about the next Celtics will return to home, and Kai Leon said this when the Alters were unbeaten in the playoffs at home.
On the plane from New Jersey back to Boston, the team atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable. Only experienced coaches like Siegfried and Cowens remind players to be vigilant. The Nets will not be defeated so easily. . But people are always like this, even if rationality tells oneself that one should not relax, but lack of personal experience and enough lessons, it is easy to make players fall into overconfidence.
Leon also has some worries about this, but as a head coach, he can't criticize them when the team has a 2:0 lead. He can only hope that the players will not be dazzled by the two victories. Forget how hard they prepared and worked hard in order to win the away game.
After returning to Boston, Leon gave the players a day off. Then on the day of the game, the whole team had a collective training. Compared with the training in New York, the atmosphere was much more relaxed. After the training, assistant coach Siegfried Reid found Leon and said to him: "Fox, don't you think the players are a little too relaxed? In the playoffs, even if it is a 3:0 lead, you can never relax, let alone we are only 2:0, even if How about back home?"
Siegfried's career with the Celtics began in the 1963-1964 season and ended in 1970. It happened to experience the end of the Celtic dynasty, with the end of eight consecutive championships in 1967 and the last one in 1969. In the tiebreaker in Los Angeles, it can be said that he has gone through the hard work of returning to protect the championship in the end of the dynasty. He knows that to win the championship in the playoffs, he must step on thin ice.
Leon understood Siegfried's thoughts. He packed his things and said, "I know Larry, but you only understand these principles after experiencing so much. We are just on the road. You can't count on it. A group of drivers who have just obtained their driver’s license know every pit on the road like an old driver. Moreover, they did a good job Larry."
"Last year's lesson is still vivid..." Siegfried mentioned that the Celtics also achieved a 2:1 lead last year, but the latter did not win.
Leon nodded, he also has a hint of worry in his heart. How a team treats an unexpected victory is also a sign of maturity. For those mature teams, whether away or home, whether they are leading or lagging behind, they can maintain a peaceful and stable mentality until the end of the series.
On the day of the third game, the North Shore Garden Arena was full. Leon arrived here two hours early. He heard that Auerbach would be there to watch the game, but until the start of the game, he had no spectators on the sidelines. I saw the figure of the old man wearing sunglasses and walking on crutches.
The 2:0 lead not only made the Celtics players full of confidence, but also made Boston fans full of expectations for the game. Many sideline fans even carried the slogan "swap", which meant that the Celtics could be Two consecutive home games, directly swept the Nets out.
However, the progress of the game never happened according to the expectations of the fans. The Nets, which had experienced two defeats at home, exploded with tremendous energy. They used airtight defense at the beginning of the game to completely lock the Celtics offense. Dead, Walker made 1 of 6 shots and Pierce made 1 of 5 shots. The Celtics only scored 11 points in the first quarter, setting a record for the lowest scoring in a single quarter in the playoffs this season.
Although the Nets only scored 21 points, the rhythm of the game has been controlled by the Nets.
As the saying goes, Leon is good at fighting tactics, but the Nets have not made too many tactical changes. They purely rely on a strong momentum and extraordinary defensive focus to get ahead. This is a kind of The suppression of attitude, a bottoming rebound, unless the Celtics can occupy an absolute advantage in strength and can overwhelm the Nets in the game, turning their belief in a counterattack into despair of death in the Jedi. Otherwise, no matter how Leon tactics adjust, there will be no way to reverse the situation.
Of course Leon will not give up easily. He tried to increase the playing time of the substitute players in order to improve the situation with passion and hard work. However, this time Leon failed. Wang Zhizhi, Anderson and others did not improve the situation. , But let the team's offense into a greater stagnation, halftime, the Celtics even trailed the Nets by 18 points. You know, the Nets are not good at offense, leading so much, only shows that the Celtics offense is too poor.
When the time passed by, the fans holding the "swap" slogan quickly disappeared. The Celtics struggled to fill the hole in the second half, but fell behind too much in the first half. As long as the Nets make no mistakes, Kyle The special person did not even have the opportunity to narrow the difference to within ten. 86:72. In the end, the Celtics lost a big score at home, and the dream of sweeping the media and fans before the game was shattered.
Naturally, the fans set their sights on the fourth game. As long as they win the fourth game, the Celtics will get a 3-1 lead. This is also a huge advantage, which means that one of their feet has entered the total The door to the final.
A loss also taught the Celtics players a lesson. In the training after the third game, the overly lively and relaxed atmosphere disappeared~EbookFREE.me~ It is condensed on the players' faces. The anxiety and tension before the war are a bit abnormal compared to the previous excessive relaxation.
In terms of how to regulate the emotions of players, Leon still has a lot to learn. Those tactics and theories are nothing but a piece of cake for his unforgettable mind, but the human heart, the most difficult thing to control and understand, is the fundamental test of the ability of a head coach.
Sure enough, in the fourth game, the scene fell into an unprecedented state of anxiety, and the two sides entered a terrible defensive battle. The total score of the two teams in the half was just over 50 points. They fought for the last ten seconds and still split, 61:61.
But Arenas made a fatal mistake in defense. He lost his position while defending Kidd, causing Kidd to easily enter the post. Brown had to foul, Kidd made a free throw, although only two free throws were made, but this one The points are enough to kill the Celtics.
Leon arranged two plans A and B in the last attack. A was Pierce's shot and B was Cole's shot, but neither of these two plans were successful. In the run, the ball was finally shot by PJ- Brown, Brown turned over and missed a jumper. The game ended and the Nets made another move in Boston to tie the big score.
Heaven and hell, but in a flash. (To be continued.)