the rest, only noise

Chapter 119: A Test Site for the New System

1983/5/2

Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

More than 11000 fans entered this ancient stadium, and Milwaukee fans hoped to see the team sweep the mighty Celtics.

CBS broadcast the game live.

Moreover, it is a real-time broadcast. Starting from this season's playoffs, delayed broadcasts of videotapes have become less and less common.

When the Celtics came to the home court of the Bucks, Louie's attire caused many people's attention.

He didn't dress up like other head coaches.

"Boston's acting coach 'Little Lu' came on like a high school coach," CBS commentator Gary Bender said bitterly.

His partner is the famous Celtics Bill Russell.

Even Russell didn't know how to explain Louie's look.

"He's really too young," was all Russell could say.

Louis exchanged greetings with Celtics legend and current Bucks coach Don Nelson in midfield.

"Reed must be crazy." Nelson shook his head.

"Yeah, he's been going crazy lately, talking about the Three Character Classic (son of a bitch) every day." Louis was also troubled.

Hearing Louis tease Auerbach like this, Nelson believed that their relationship was unusual, and Auerbach should not be so stupid as to be coached by someone who lacked knowledge of professional basketball.

Nelson has no expectations for Louis' coaching ability, but he doesn't dare to underestimate him.

Louis returned to his bench area, held the tactical board and said: "According to our original arrangement, after the opening game, forcefully rush into their penalty area, and take out the aggressiveness lost in the previous few games!"

What is different from before is that the forced rush into the penalty area arranged by Louis on the offensive end is by no means the kind of forced rush in the literal sense.

The Bucks have two giants inside, Bigfoot Lanier, and Alton Lister C, a first-class inside basketball leader in the early 80s.

The Bucks are playing a twin-tower lineup, and the existence of Liszt is undoubtedly the key reason why the opponent's scoring ability is so significantly restricted.

This person is a fake starter who averaged only 23 minutes per game, but averaged 1.7 blocks per game.

Converted to 36 minutes, this guy averaged 3.4 blocks per game.

If this kind of basket protection ability is used to force him, it will send a lot of blocks, and Louis does not do such stupid things.

After the opening jump ball, Sampson was full of energy after starting.

Isiah Thomas figured out Sampson's speed and gave a lob.

Before the Bucks' defense was finished, Sampson had strode towards the penalty area. Liszt was not fast enough, and Lanier was old. In the first attack of the game, the Bucks, known for their defense, caught fire at the gate.

2 is better than 0
Sampson's dunk gave the Celtics a good start.

On the defensive end, Louie designed a man-to-man with the free throw line as the boundary point based on the Bucks' 2.1 three-pointers per game and hit 0.5 goals.

It seems to be man-to-man, but it is not much different from zone defense, because the Celtics are completely immune to opponents' three-pointers and long two-pointers.

Marquese Johnson dribbles in.

He will be flanked by two or three people.

As a representative offensive small forward in the 80s, this person was regarded by Nelson as a tool for innovative tactics.

Nelson was interested in making Marquese Johnson a point forward, building on Havlicek and Rick Barry's success as playmakers in the 70s.

Instilled with the concept of organization, when Johnson saw a flank attack, his first thought was naturally to find someone.

Liszt was in his sights at the right time and he passed the ball, but Sampson's agility was too good.

While using height to influence Johnson's decision-making, he can also influence Liszt's offense.

Liszt was afraid of Sampson's height, so he moved a beat slower and was blocked on the spot.

"Ralph's athletic ability is amazing for his height!" KC Jones said in surprise.

The effect of the defensive end is not valued by Louis.

Because one person's defense is strong, it does not mean that the whole team is strong in defense.

Compared with Howard and Mutombo's self-contained system and a group of monsters who can bring the team's defense to the top six in the league as long as they defend against three-pointers, teams that lack such monsters pay more attention to the response and linkage of players on the field on the defensive end.

When to switch defenses, when to make up, how to rotate in time, and how to get in position to protect defensive rebounds.

This tacit understanding cannot be practiced in the playoffs.

Louis has no time now, so he can only let Sampson use his talents as a barrier in the penalty area. The real tough battle is how to break the Bucks, the league's number one steel defense.

The offensive end is where Louie has done a lot of preparation.

Where his means are, the people on the field will know immediately.

Bird is on the right waist, Sampson pulls away, Lambiel pulls away, and Isiah Thomas pulls away.

What's more interesting is that the two insiders and one guard are all pulled to the strong side, while John Long and Bird are on the weak side.

Long stood outside his newly developed top-of-the-arc arc, and Bird singled Sidney Moncrief from the waist.

Moncrief is one of the greatest defensive backs of all time and the most underrated figure of the '80s.His Bucks are outside of Dr. J's Philadelphia, Larry Bird's biggest pain in the East.Louie studied the videos of the previous few games, and it was obvious that Fitch and the entire coaching staff had problems with Bird's use.

They used Bird as Durant and asked him to run and catch the ball.

Due to Bird's unsolvable shooting ability and omnipotence that he doesn't know how to develop his value, Fitch and his assistants chose the method that least embodies Bird's value and affects Bird's performance the most.

Make him an off-the-ball finisher.

This allowed Moncrieff to successfully incarnate as Tony Allen, using his muscles and bones to strangle Bird's touch in infinite running and off-ball hand-to-hand combat.

Louis gave up this strategy when he came up, and directly designed a grand offensive system for Bird.

Although this offensive system currently has only two corresponding tactics, his prototype has already appeared on the court as it is.

"Larry, I want you to catch the ball in this position. If they use one person to deal with you, I don't care what you do. I will kill his defense!"

Coming to the low post, Bird's physical advantage has room to play. He fiercely pushed Moncrieff's body away, turned around and shot, and hit the board.

"Larry, why didn't they put anyone up against you?"

Louie's greeting seriously offended Moncrief, who fought desperately behind Byrd's back.

He looked unhappy.

Is it his fault for being short?Is it his fault that Bird's post-up results in being overwhelmed by the opponent's size and making Bird look like he is facing the air?
Louie's words seriously offended the star player whose defense is his life, and he was determined to find ways to prevent Bird from scoring in the low post for the next few minutes.

This is what Louis wants to see, let Bird beat the Bucks' defensive pillars one-on-one, and when they realize that Bird can't be defended alone, this simple offensive system will really work.

(End of this chapter)