the rest, only noise

Chapter 1015 We Are Even

There are no more than three kinds of final results for the dynasty teams in the past.

Like the Celtics in 1969 and the Bulls in 1998, the core exited and disintegrated naturally.

Maybe the first season after the disintegration will suffer because of the gap too much, but at least they had it.

And unseemly meltdowns like the 2004 Lakers.

The other is the most tragic result in theory, where they tried their best and fell for various reasons, such as the Celtics in 1988 and the Warriors in 2019.

Now the Knicks give Louis a very disgusting feeling.

For the first time he was disgusted with this team.

Not to mention the perfect curtain call like the 69 Celtics and 98 Bulls, they look like they don't even have the tough bones of the 19 Warriors.

It does have a strong charm of the 04 Lakers.

Can this team really be saved?
Suspicion arose in Louie's mind, and he called timeouts three times, but that didn't stop the Knicks from playing worse.

"Benjamin Wilson has become a problem for the Knicks, but Coach Road still seems to have illusions about him," Lambiel said.

In the second quarter, Wilson was not replaced for a second.

The better Jordan played, the less reconciled he became, and the more selfish his use of the ball became.

He stopped passing the ball.

Sometimes teammates give him the ball, just hoping to use him as a transition station, but he dribbles hard.

Wilson, whose mentality was completely out of balance, saw a significant drop in his offensive efficiency. After halftime, his overall shooting percentage was less than 40%.

65 to 42 at halftime, the Knicks trailed the Blazers by 23 points.

If it weren't for Ewing's overlord's 8 offensive rebounds in the half, maybe the Knicks would be 30+ behind in the half.

But as far as this battle of life and death is concerned with the continuation of the dynasty, what is the difference between falling behind by 20+ at halftime at home and falling behind by 30+?
Louis stood up with an unspeakable tiredness on his face.

This is the desperate situation he expected, but can this team be saved?
Even if the players wake up, will they be able to bring back the 23-point lead in the hands of the Blazers at their peak?

"Coach Lu, I'm still used to your smiling face."

Riley greeted Louie with smug eyes.

Of course he should be proud. If the Blazers win this game, then this is the first time he has won a complete victory against Louis in nearly a decade.

"Coach Riley," Louis blinked his eyes, and when he opened them again, he looked at Riley with sharp eyes, "If you were me, what would you do in the locker room?"

Riley said naturally: "I will tell the players not to give up. The game is not over, but I know that this game is over, and this season is over. This is the result, Coach Lu."

Louis didn't expect that he would also need coach Anxi's chicken soup to cheer him up one day.

If you give up, the game is really over.

"Coach Riley, I really hope that tonight's result will be as you wish." Louie walked past Riley. "This is your only chance. If the Knicks can win this game, I can assure you, Coach Riley, we will win Game [-]."

Hearing Louie's last words, Riley felt nothing but absurdity.

The Knicks have fallen into a trough, and the Blazers are at their peak whether it is the player's personal ability, chemical reaction, or morale.

How could the Knicks in this state win the game with a 23-point deficit?

How can it be?

Louis left, he did not accept media interviews as required.

Riley glanced at the back of the other party, feeling a little uneasy, but his uneasiness was totally unreasonable.

The Knicks have no chance of winning it back, not even 0.1%.

Louis is not afraid of failure.

There is no eternal winner, you have to enjoy the fun of winning, but also taste the pain of failure, this is the real life.

Since 1988, the Knicks have been burdened with shackles, invisibly trapping Louie, Wilson and Ewing.

Without breaking free from this shackle, the Knicks will not be able to usher in a new life, Louie's coaching career will stop here, Wilson will always live in a false self, and Ewing will never become the contemporary Bill Russell.

Louis likes to draw up blueprints for others, but this kind of blueprint is usually not known to the person involved—except for Sampson—now his group of people has reached the end step by step, and this is the last step.

Louis came to the door of the locker room, even breathing became difficult.

With a bang, Louis pushed open the locker room door.

A cemetery in the wee hours of the morning is no quieter than a dressing room.

"Except for the players and me, everyone else get out and close the door."

Louis said indifferently.

Tomjanovich was the first to react. He walked straight to the door and patted Louis on the back as he passed by.

He didn't think as much as Zhao Yuanzheng, and he didn't know the Zhenlong chess game in Louis' heart. He only knew that this man, who was much younger than him, was a trustworthy guy.

There is no other meaning in that one shot. If there is any meaning to be conveyed, it is probably "I am with you".

The Knicks' assistants came to the locker room one after another.

Tom Thibodeau asked puzzled: "What does Coach Road want to do?"

"Shh!"

Zhao Yuanzheng interrupted his question.

"I turned on the camera inside, everything that happened there will be recorded, we don't have to worry." Zhao Yuanzheng paused, "Coach Lu will take care of it."

After the assistant coaches and trainers left, the locker room was much bigger.

Louie faced his players, Ewing, Miller, Kemp, Ainge, Salley, Rodman, Rauf, Wilson, McHale, Stevens, Williams, Stockton, Christie, Yu Tiancan, Wang Mukong.

"I've been in the business since 1978. I've seen a lot of teams fall apart. I know what's going on with this team," Louie said. "Over the past 15 years, I've discovered an underlying trend—all teams that go to the top will go through these three trends. We're weak—we're strong—we're fragile strong. Now, the vulnerability in our hearts has no place to hide. The Portlanders cornered us. What matters is you, and if you can't do it, then I can't do it."

"Whatever happens in the second half, I don't care anymore. I just hope that you can take this opportunity to speak your mind, whatever you think about this team, what you think about other people, say it."

There is no tactical arrangement, no enemy situation analysis, no berating players, no big explosion like the halftime break of Game 1988 of the [-] Eastern Conference Finals.

Louie was calmer than the players expected.

Doing so completely handed over the initiative, because if the players were unable to give positive feedback, then Louie's speech would have an effect that was extremely inappropriate at this time-the air would freeze and the atmosphere would be embarrassing.

"You really have nothing to say?" Stevens asked.

"Okay, let me say it!" Stevens broke the silence in the locker room. "It's completely unacceptable to play like this in the first half! The Blazers are very strong, but we are not so bad. I don't think we have enough crisis awareness, especially in the second quarter. Everyone is one-on-one. When did we become such a selfish team?"

It's not enough for Stevens alone to talk.

But soon, Miller dispelled Louis' doubts.

"Why have we become so selfish? Alex, you asked a good question! The Celtics couldn't have won a [-]-peat if Larry Bird was just staring at the fucking rim and ignoring his teammates every time! If Michael Jordan was as self-centered as he used to be, the Blazers couldn't play such a good offense! The reason why we became so selfish is simply because our core players are selfish!"

Ewing turned to look at Miller: "Reggie, what do you mean?"

Miller faced Ewing straight up without giving in: "You know who I'm talking about!"

"Is the game only offensive? What about our defense? That's our strength, but our defense tonight was a mess!" Rodman pointed his gun directly at the back line, "John, you are like a fucking watch and let Isiah Thomas poke me around, let alone MAR's defense, but their defense is poor. Why are we in such a mess this time? Because we are no longer defending like in the past! We can't attack, we can't defend, we don't grab rebounds, so we will lose so much!"

"I don't think if someone is messing around on the offensive end, I'm not going to put all my energy into the defensive end, because I don't know how much my defense will bring."

Miller was only insinuating, and Kemp directly named him.

"What did you say?" Wilson didn't expect Kemp to dare to accuse him like that.

Kemp also knows that Wilson has helped him a lot over the years, but if he doesn't say these words now, he won't have the chance to say them in the future.

"This is what I think. You are no longer the same you in the past. You are selfish on the court, only caring about your duel with Jordan, but you never think that this is our game against the Trail Blazers. You treat the game as a stage for one person, which is irresponsible to all of us!"

Wilson's emotions almost exploded. He lost everything on the court, and now even his teammates who have played side by side with him for many years have to abandon him. He seems to have become the kind of player he hates the most.

"I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do!"

Even if you know it is wrong, when you have no way out, you can only make mistakes again and again.

Wilson's rebuttal to Kemp made him a target.

"Benj, are you fucking crazy?" Rodman, who had been on Wilson's side, also turned around, "We never want you to do this!"

Wilson completely lost his mind: "All the core players have the right to decide the trend of the game, why can't I?"

"Because you're neither Larry Bird nor Michael Jordan," Stockton said mercilessly. "You're no match for those two!"

"It's far worse!" Miller exclaimed, "These two have never been the team's problem, but you have become our number one problem!"

Reggie Williams also said: "The responsibility of a leader is to lead by example, and Benj has been demonstrating selfishness lately."

Dissatisfaction with Benjamin Wilson broke out in the Knicks team, and it was the old people in the team who spoke.

Newcomers like Yu Tiancan dare not speak at all.

His teammates overwhelmed him with accusations, piercing through Wilson's defense. His self-esteem twisted, and he no longer cared about his teammates: "So the responsibility for us playing like a piece of shit is on me? I let Isiah Thomas break through our perimeter at will, let him rush to the paint to finish the offense again and again? I let Charles Barkley dominate again and again on the left and right wings? I made Sabonis behave like Bill Walton? I made Portland's offense become like this Unstoppable? I am the scoring leader in the finals, and I rank among the best in rebounds and assists per game. No matter how I perform tonight, it is not the reason for you to play the game like this. You want me to be a scapegoat. I don’t fucking do it. If you have any objections, go to the court and face MJ for 40 minutes!"

"So you think we got into this situation, down 2-3 in the series, lost 23 points to Portland in the MSG half, because we didn't play well?"

Ewing, who kept silent and listened silently to his teammates, couldn't stand it anymore.

Seeing Ewing speak, Wilson's pupils shrank: "I didn't mean that."

"Aren't you even responsible now, Benjamin?"

Ewing shouted suddenly.

"I said I didn't mean it!"

"I know I've never been a good leader!" Ewing said emotionally, "I know I've always been willful and lack empathy, I know I've always made things difficult for you, I know our relationship will never go back to the past, it's my fault, and I'm responsible, but now, we don't have time to worry about those shitty things!"

"I said I was the leader of the team, but that was just my vanity! You are the leader of this team! The media thinks you are, the fans think you are, and even more than half of the people in this locker room think you are the leader of the team!"

"If you're a leader, then you can't just think about yourself! Every time you make a shot, you have to think about the consequences. You have to look at the position of your teammates. These are always Louis reminding me. When did you need us to call you to pass the ball?"

Ewing's emotions were like a glacier crumbling, and the waves roared: "I will always oppose other people comparing you and MJ with Larry, because you are greater than them. You are a selfless ultimate player. Only you can tolerate me for so many years. You have never been a problem for the team. You will always be the most trusted person by the coach. You are always the one who makes teammates feel at ease. But since the finals, you are no longer the same you you used to be!"

"You can't see me, you can't see Reggie, you can't see anyone else, you only have yourself in your eyes, you only want to win the duel with Michael, you see the finals as a stage for show, just like Wilt Chamberlain's pathetic loser—" Ewing said more and more excitedly, and he was unconsciously approaching Wilson.

Every time he got closer, Wilson backed away a little.

Before he knew it, Ewing cornered Wilson.

"We've got nowhere to go and you're thinking about going it alone and they're just pointing out the mistakes you've made these days and you're like a fucking dog retorting, you're not admitting your ugliness, you're not being selfish in your play, you don't even have the guts to take responsibility for your failures, you've turned into a jerk that turns my stomach, the best fucking thing you can do is convince your coaches that you can do anything, but in the end you're still a fucking bitch who gets fucked around by women , you don't fucking even"

Shame, pain and anger are pounding Wilson's nerves. He is still the fiery boy, and his arrogant self-esteem makes him unable to bear Ewing's questioning. He responds in shame and guilt.

Wilson shook his fist at Ewing in front of him.

"shut up!"

Ewing was punched to the ground, and his teammates rushed forward to prevent the situation from escalating.

But Ewing waved his hand to signal them not to be nervous.

A little blood spilled from the corner of Ewing's mouth. He wiped it with his hand and said softly, "If you don't feel relieved enough, you can punch me again."

(End of this chapter)