the rest, only noise

Chapter 792 The Celtics Bet the Future

1991/11/1

The opening game of the 1991-92 NBA regular season was held at Madison Square Garden.

The opponents are the two most watched teams in the Eastern Conference.

On one side is the defending champion of last season, the New York Knicks who completed four consecutive championships, and on the other side is the former king of the Knicks, the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics are looking forward to the new season.

This summer, they traded Isiah Thomas and got two talented rookies.

They are No. 11 show Billy Owens and No. [-] show Doug Smith.

Many people expect Owens to become Bird of the new era. He will be stronger than Bird, because Bird can't play like a tragedian, but he can use Bird's skills to play like a tragedian.

Only Louie saw the results early on.

In 1986, because of Louis, the Celtics missed Len Bias, and the dynasty continued for several years.But five years later, still because of Louie, they acquired the No. [-] pick at an unimaginable price, and they expected Owens to usher in a new era.

If Prejudice's death opened up more room for imagination in his future, Celtics executives may wish he was dead when Owens "realized" his potential.

What is crueler than the unattainable "what if" is reality. The reality will tell you that what if is bullshit.

In tonight's opening game, Bird hung up the exemption card.

Affected by the butterfly effect, Bird did not bear the injuries that made him have to retire to relieve in this life.

He still has injuries, but how many 35-year-old athletes are not injured?The Celtics didn't let him play, partly to allow him to recuperate. After all, the intensity of the Knicks' game is too high, which is not conducive to Bird's body.On the one hand, it is also to test Owens' strength.

Not only Bird, but Bill Laimbier is also not in the starting lineup.

The Celtics came up with a lineup that didn't look very competitive.

Their starters today are Cheeks, John Long, Billy Owens, Doug Smith, Sampson.

Cheeks and Long at the end of their careers, two fledgling rookies, and No. 1 in the league last season.

"Poor Ralph." Louis smiled wryly.

Louis lured the Celtics stud Owens's deal, and its adverse effects were far beyond imagination.

You know, they could have added at least one All-Star seedling-Steve Smith, and Reggie Lewis with All-Star potential.

These two were supposed to take over after Bird got old.

Now, they're paying their entire future for Owens, who has a higher ceiling.

If Owens is in trouble, after a few years, Bird will be older, Lambiel may retire, and when Sampson is also old, what competitiveness will he have?

Conversely, the Knicks' starters all have a youthful vigor.

29岁的尤因、29岁的罗德曼、24岁的威尔逊、26岁的米勒和29岁的斯托克顿。

None of the starters are older than 30. Although there are veterans such as Angie, McHale, and Sikma on the bench, they are no longer pivotal roles in the Knicks.

"Many people think that the Knicks, which won four consecutive championships, will go to ruin like the Celtics. These people ignore a problem. The Knicks still look young overall."

"After four years of dominating the league with this team, they're still young."

Being young can be equated with the future. The Knicks were originally positioned as a team in the 90s before reaching the top, but they rose too fast and overthrew the Celtics at their peak in 1988.

Dominating for too long has caused many people to misunderstand their age structure.

Also, Ewing's old-fashioned appearance also affects people's perception of him.

So it's Ewing's fault.

Sampson easily won the ball for the Celtics, and the Celtics' first offense was clearly looking for Owens.

At a 45-degree angle on the left wing, Owens faced Wilson.

"Billy Owens is a great talent, many league professionals think he will be as great as Larry Bird!" NBC commentator Bob Costas shouted.

However, Owens' dribble was difficult to get rid of Wilson, and he chose a jumper after continuous shaking.

Louie didn't think Bird and Tragedy would score this way.

"boom!"

Didn't score, Sampson pointed out the rebound.

The ball came to Doug Smith, another rookie who was favored by the Celtics.

In the NBA, he seemed to have lost his composure in college. He got the ball, didn't look at people, and shot from the first hand, and was blocked by Rodman.

Stockton picked up the ball, and the Knicks counterattacked like a whirlwind.

Stockton hit the ground in the frontcourt and passed the ball to Miller, who followed up with a three-pointer.

3 is better than 0
"3-on-0 shooting for three-pointers is too much, isn't it?" Louie shouted, "What do you think of the game as a shooting game?"

Louie's complaints are complaints, and he will not interfere with the players' decisions unless their decisions will affect the outcome of the game.

The failure of a round will not make people doubt Owens' prospects.

The Celtics continued to give him the ball.

As strong as the No. 1 Sampson in the league, you have to get out of the way and let him play.

In fact, Louis believes that the Celtics already know what they can do against Owens. After all, there will be countless matchups in the preseason training camp.

Does he have that ability? Is it not clear enough in the team competition?
Unless the intensity of the Celtics' intra-team rivalry has been stretched to the point where Owens cannot be tested.

This is Louis's misunderstanding. He thought that all teams' rivalries were as intense as the Knicks, but they were not.

The intensity of most intra-team competitions is like the future NBA Rookie Challenge. Players have their own ideas and will be intense, but the level is not very high.

So whenever a new assistant coach comes to the Knicks and sees the intensity of their matchups, they will feel scared.

Doug Mo was intimidated when he first arrived.

Watching Owens play was like watching someone play career mode on 2K for the first time.

When I get the ball, I want to show off the operation. I don't think about the operability or rationality, I just want to show off.

In front of Wilson, Owens' explosive power is not enough to complete a strong start breakthrough, and he can only rely on his good ball-holding ability and rhythm to disrupt the defense.

The outside world blows Owens into the sky, which directly affects the views of famous superstars like Wilson on him.

Wilson just wanted to know if Owens had the real stuff, so he didn't intend to make the opponent comfortable from offense to defense.

Owens barely made a shot again.

"boom!"

This time, Ewing got stuck.

But Sampson's core strength exceeded his imagination. Even if the position is unfavorable, he can use his core strength to prevent Ewing from jumping up, and then accept the rebound with an unmatched height.

Sampson, who got the rebound, raised his butt to push away Ewing, turned around and made a violent dunk for the Celtics to get their first point of the night.

At the end of the 1985 Finals, Louie asked himself.

Can Ewing reach 80% of Sampson's level in the future?
If you look at Sampson's level in the 1985 Finals, today's Ewing may not only have reached 80% of his performance, but also 90%.

But Sampson is a player who improves every year.

Sampson last season was the strongest player Louie has ever seen. Perhaps someone in history is better than him on the offensive end. It is very likely that there are very few celebrities who defended better than Sampson last season in a certain year, but absolutely no one can contribute that level of offense and defense at the same time in one season.

If you take this Sampson as a benchmark against Ewing, what percentage of Sampson has he reached?
Maybe 60%?

Louis didn't know that Sampson at the center position was invincible in the world.

When critics discuss centers, they will focus on Ewing, Olajuwon, and David Robinson, but they will not include Sampson. He belongs to another level.

In these two rounds today, he made Ewing make ugly appearances frequently by grabbing rebounds.

That dunk was the epitome of what he was at center.

No one is his opponent, no one is not dominated by him, no one can maintain dignity when facing him.

Even a super center like Ewing is the same.

The Knicks' offensive round, Sampson's rim protection, nailed Stockton's layup.

Owens got the ball and Gao Neng came.

Scouts said he could play like a tragedian, and he believed it.

He really doesn't care about Cheeks' position, he dribbles through half court and will attack the basket.

If Owens is really a tragedy, no matter how many Knicks come back, they can't stop the Celtics from counterattacking.

But Owens is no tragedian.

Owens' counterattack was hit by Ewing's blood cap when he shot.

Ewing's block was to block his ball with all his strength. Owens couldn't bear the force, his center of gravity dissipated in the air, and he fell to the ground in embarrassment.

His ball is caught by Miller.

Ewing made a fast break, and the Knicks played five on four in the frontcourt.

No matter how good Sampson's defense is, he has to be walked by the Knicks' pass as a dog.

From the inside to the outside, and then from the outside to the inside.

Sampson left the penalty area. Doug Smith tried to protect the basket in delusion, but was knocked to the ground by Ewing viciously, looking up at the gorilla for a dunk on the basket.

(End of this chapter)