the rest, only noise

Chapter 714

While many people were speculating whether the Celtics would be swept by the Knicks, the day after Game [-] of the Eastern Conference Finals, a piece of news shook the league: Celtics coach Jimmy Rogers ended his coaching work in Boston due to personal reasons!
Ralph Sampson, who has been in the league for ten years, has been diligent and has hardly any negative news, has been stigmatized for the first time in his life.

coach killer

The New York media, which is a good thing, excitedly discovered another piece of evidence that can prove that Sampson is the contemporary Chamberlain.

He, like Chamberlain, has the same tendency to murder his own head coach.

All kinds of news, gossip, and gossip continue. The New York media thinks that what they have done will disturb the Celtics' morale. When the Knicks cross the Celtics, they will also have their share of credit.

However, Louis did not think that Sampson was such a strange individual as Chamberlain.

Sampson is very pure. He has an opinion on Rodgers, but he has not made it public.Now that Rogers has suddenly dismissed get out of class, there is a high probability that the top Celtics are dissatisfied with the record.

After all, losing to the Knicks last year could still use lack of personnel as an excuse.

This year, the Big Three are all there, and they were beaten 3-0, just one step away from being swept.

But if they have a little idea about their grades, can they not be in a hurry?

It just so happened that Sampson and Rogers had previously disclosed their differences. Now that Rogers suddenly dismissed get out of class, it was normal to suspect Sampson.

Louie knew what was going on without calling his friends in Boston.

The New York media thought they could play with the Celtics' mentality, but they didn't know that Sampson was a person who didn't pay attention to the news media.

If he cared what the media said, he would have been as sick as Isiah Thomas.

Now that Rodgers is out of class, although he doesn't know who the new head coach is, no matter who will inherit the coaching position, he should not make the big mistake of "making Sampson a toolman only to be happy for Thomas".

That afternoon, Reed Auerbach and Jane Walker held a press conference with the Celtics' acting coach.

Louis watched the live broadcast on the TV in the hotel.

The new coach of the Celtics is also an acquaintance of Louis - Chris Ford.

Louis remembers this soft-touch white man. In the Eastern Conference Finals in 1981, the Celtics first fell behind the 1ers 3-76, and then with the help of Louis, they won 3 consecutive games to complete a major reversal.

In the legendary tie-break, the Celtics and the 76ers hit the last goal, and Ford's arc-top three-pointer killed the game.

That was the starting point of the Celtics' revival in the 80s, and it was also the first battle for Louis to prove his coaching ability.

Since then, all roads have been paved.

In 1982, Ford retired and chose to stay with the Celtics to work. After four head coaches, Fitch, Louie, KC Jones, and Rodgers, he finally ushered in an opportunity similar to that of Louie in the 1983 playoffs.

The team collapsed, the coach fired, and he took over temporarily. In a series that was impossible to win, he needed to keep the Celtics decent and dignified.

"Xiao Zhao, if you were the head coach of the Celtics, what would you do to beat us?"

Louis asked.

After thinking carefully, Zhao Yuanzheng replied: "Actually, the Celtics have been going astray for the past two years. They have had brilliant victories and a mature system. Moreover, they lost to us in 1988 not because we broke their system. As a result, when KC Jones stepped down, they stupidly replaced the system they had played for many years and struggled for two years. Now it seems that if they want to win, they have no other way but to turn around."

Louis asked with a smile, "You mean, Dr. C will return to KC Jones' system?"

Zhao Yuanzheng said; "It's the system you left behind, coach."

The reason Louie called Ford Dr. C came from an anecdote from the opposing player's era.He once dunked in front of Dr. J, and even though that dunk ended up getting stuck in the neck of the basket, it was still a dunk.He thought so himself, so his teammates at the time would occasionally call him Dr. C.This is because there were not many interesting people in that Celtic team. If Louis could have taken power early, the nickname of Dr. C would have spread by now.

"The system I left behind has no room for Ralph to play." Louie said modestly.

"Yes, letting Larry and Isiah pass the ball to Ralph, so that Ralph will become the core of the Celtics' offense and defense is the most correct decision made by KC Jones." Zhao Yuanzheng paused, "But this is still carried out under the framework you left behind. If there is no coach to polish the most suitable system for the Celtics, there will be no room for these three people to play at the same time."

Louis didn't want to forcefully occupy achievements that didn't belong to him.

In the 1985 Finals, Sampson turned the tide in Bird's slump and won the FMVP of that Finals. Only then did Bird give up part of the ball to Sampson.

The reason why the Celtics' Big Three can guarantee harmonious coexistence is that Bird is willing to give up, Sampson knows how to be satisfied, and fame and fortune are ultimately inferior to honor in Thomas' heart.

KC has balanced the needs of multiple parties. This invisible achievement is often the most easily overlooked.

Now that he's out of that post, the Celtics, like convulsions, are bent on erasing the traces he left behind.

As it turns out, this doesn't work.

KC spent four years polishing the system Louis built based on the characteristics of the Big Three, enriching the details and perfecting the framework.

The Celtics wasted two years just to prove they've been running around like headless chickens for the past two years.

In Louie's impression, Ford is a very clever person. If he is smart enough, he should bring back KC's style of play.

That's when the Knicks will face the test.

It is not difficult to beat the Celtics led by Rodgers 3-0, the difficulty is how to complete the sweep of them.

April 5

Game4
Just as Louis and Zhao Yuanzheng thought, Ford brought back KC's style of play.

System No. [-], System No. [-], System No. [-] and System No. [-].

Watching the Celtics play a familiar offense, Louis knew that this Celtics team would explode to their full potential in this game.

Because they have no next game, either win or fish.

In the Rogers era, the Celtics' frontcourt players, such as Sampson, Lambiel and Bird, often hesitated to shoot three-pointers.

Because Rodgers doesn't like players shooting three-pointers.

After Ford took over, he not only changed back to KC's style of play, but also accepted the concept of Louis' era.He wants players to emancipate their minds and make decisive shots when there is an open space.

So Lambiel came back to life.

He scored the Celtics' first two three-pointers today.

Moreover, the routines are still different. One goal is Sampson's high breakthrough to attract three people to attack, and Lambiel has an open three-pointer at the top of the arc;

Now, fans can't help but think of the era of KC Jones and the era of Louis.

Celtics on-site commentator Tom Heinsohn said reminiscently: "When Little Lu and KC coached the Celtics, we often saw this kind of free-spirited offense. Now, Coach Ford has brought it back!"

The knock-on effect of Lambiel's ability to hit [-]s from the perimeter is that the Knicks will have the paint get pulled out of the paint because of his range.From then on, as long as Lambiel stood on the outside and aimed at his two three-pointers, the Knicks must respect them inside and follow them decisively. Sampson and Thomas thus got a comfortable breakthrough space.

Moreover, Ford also unrestrainedly took out the Celtics' bottom-line tactics in the 80s-Bird's low-back play and flying the team.

In the halftime, Bird had 11 points and 6 assists. He played the [-]rd position on the offensive end and the [-]th position on the defensive end. Finally, he no longer needed to forcefully play the [-]rd position to compete with Wilson every game.

Even if I haven't played the old system for two years, playing it again now looks very smooth.

Sampson played the most "mediocre" first half since the start of the Eastern Conference Finals.

He only scored 4 points in the first quarter, all of which were obtained in transition. Counting the team's starters, his score was the lowest in the entire first half.

Although there are not many scenes on the offensive end, on the defensive end, Ford has absorbed all kinds of things from the Louis era.He boldly let Sampson take the initiative to change positions on the defensive end. Against Ewing, the Gorilla only scored 6 points in the half.

Louis looked at the set, and there was something in his mind that he didn't know whether to say it or not.

Just fucking copy it?

These tricks that Ford used were all shown by him in the Celtics, and now he is just learning and using them on Louis.

And, it worked.

The Knicks are obviously not ready to end the series tonight. The Celtics suddenly changed their style of play, and their opponents were surprised by the momentum of 0-3 but playing like 3-0.

1 is better than 3
Celtic pulled one back at home to avoid a sweep, with Chris Ford completing a copy of what Louie had done in 1983.

Louis could only smile wryly, the Celtics did all the right things tonight, the players were in good shape, and the Knicks were not used to it, they had all the necessary factors to lose.

"Chris, I hope you can show me some new tricks when we meet at MSG." Louis said heartily, "You know, I want you to become the official head coach of the Celtics. I believe this game can win you a contract. That's why I didn't let the players press on you all the time."

"I'm very grateful, Coach Lu." I don't know if Ford believed his words.

In fact, after watching the first half, Louis didn't intend to make a strategic press, because neither the Celtics nor the Knicks were in the right state.

Louis turned back to his teaching assistant, scratching his head helplessly, "It seems that we have to plan again."

(End of this chapter)