the rest, only noise

Chapter 823 Must Feel Good
3 to 0, the Celtics were out of the game helplessly.

After the game, Ralph Sampson, who averaged 38 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks in this series, expressed his frustration with the team.

"The point is not how we lost, but that we didn't know how to win from the beginning to the end." Sampson said blankly, "I averaged 38 points per game, and Larry averaged 25 points per game. I don't think our performance is bad, but we are not competitive against New York."

“It wasn’t like that four years ago,” Sampson said, puzzled. “How did we get here, what mistakes did we make? What mistakes could have been avoided? What mistakes could have been righted, and when did it all start? That’s a mystery to me.”

Bird was sharper than Sampson, and he said sharply: "In the years before he (Louis) left, we were both at the top, so it seemed good. But after that, New York rose rapidly, and Boston did not bring in new blood. Even Reggie Lewis was used as a bargaining chip in the trade, and New York seemed to be getting better and better under that guy's control. This may or may not be a coincidence, but we should remember that Boston's decline began after Louie left. "

Bird may be the first Celtics player to equate the Celtics' decline with Louie's departure.

When Louis was interviewed by reporters, he did not talk about the future of the Celtics, but only selectively answered some easy-to-answer questions.

Hearing that Bird thought the Celtics were what they are today because they didn't keep him back then, Louie said modestly: "Larry thought too much. If I hadn't left, the Celtics wouldn't have gotten better, because they were already an impeccable team at that time. What can I do to them? Will the management listen to me? In the end, it is very likely that they will encounter the same problems as they do now."

Louie denied it, but not outright.

In this interview, he revealed why he left Boston that year.

There is no right to speak in operation, and the Celtics cannot jump out of Auerbach's dictatorship mode, which is the reason.

Now, Auerbach is ready to delegate power, but Louis has already made achievements in other teams, and his successor is not up to date, so he can only let the foreign Dave Gavitt take advantage of it for nothing.

And this transfer of power was prepared by Auerbach for Louis.

However, Louis was unwilling to stay and wait for so many years.

Bob Ryan, who has always criticized Louis and the Knicks from the standpoint of the Celtics, said in an article published in the "Boston Globe" the next day: "Maybe, someone really should come and take Reed's car keys."

The Celtics were swept away, which was a consensus in the industry for a long time, but the internal turmoil in the Green Army that occurred immediately was unexpected.

But at the same time, the famous riots in Los Angeles attracted the attention of the world, and no one cared what happened to the Celtics.

This is what turned "Black Live Matters" into a mass riot.

The cause of the incident has to be traced back to Los Angeles in March. Everyone is talking about the Iraqi government's acceptance of the ceasefire conditions on this day, and the end of the Gulf War.At the slight cost of 146 people killed in battle, the U.S. military won a major victory in severely injuring the Iraqi army of one million and regaining Kuwait in one fell swoop.

Rodney King, a black young man, often made an appointment with his friends to drink after get off work. Afterwards, the paralysis of alcohol made him drive on California Highway 210, and he didn't realize that there happened to be a police car from the California Highway Patrol in front of him.According to the testimony of Singer, the female patrol officer in the police car, who later appeared in court, Rodney's drunk driving speed had reached 115 mph, while the speed limit on the California highway was only 65 mph.

The police sirens were howling and chasing after him. Rodney was still driving like hell without realizing the seriousness of his actions through the strength of his alcohol.At the same time, the police had already laid a net in the process of chasing, helicopters hovered in the sky, and more than 20 police cars on the ground were on standby to surround him.Rodney, who could not escape, panicked.

However, alcohol gave him the courage to be reckless. Facing the police officer's stern warning, he, who had been dazzled by the alcohol, did not honestly admit his mistake. He sometimes danced on the spot, sometimes waved to the helicopter in the air, and twisted his hips to provoke the police with indecent movements.Because the warning was ineffective, the police in Los Angeles began the iconic physical persuasion. They surrounded De Niro and gave him 56 batons, beating him to the brink of death and begging for mercy.

They didn't expect that the process of beating De Niro would be filmed.After the video was circulated, it aroused public outrage. Although the police involved were prosecuted, they were acquitted by the court.

Then, the day after the Celtics were eliminated by the Knicks, local black people in Los Angeles were outraged and took to the streets to demonstrate and take retaliatory actions, which escalated from protests to violent conflicts.The fire was burning everywhere, the flames were soaring into the sky, and the smoke was billowing. Los Angeles became a "city on fire", falling into paralysis and chaos. The riots spread to 24 states in less than 19 hours.

The riots in Los Angeles caused the Lakers to temporarily change their home court to other places, and the smoke soon spread to other states.

As a time traveler from 2021, Louis couldn't say that this scene looked familiar, it should be said that it was exactly the same.

Angry black people took to the streets to protest, the unscrupulous people at the bottom took the opportunity to buy it for zero yuan, politicians began to make use of it, and everyone's demands were met.

The impact of this incident on the sports world is extremely bad.

Many stars were forced to take a stand.

If you don't express your position, or are indifferent to this matter, you will be accused and DISS.

Louie told his family not to go out as much as possible until the incident subsided.

Meanwhile, other series in the first round are slowly being decided.

The day before the semifinals, Louie sat in his office watching the news from Los Angeles.

All Black Lives Matter stories have a vulgar development (beating, smashing and looting) and a vulgar ending (being suppressed).

The governor of California declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and sent more than 4000 National Guard members into the city to quell the violence.

It's over, no miracles.

Louis was watching the news when the phone in the office rang suddenly.

Generally speaking, no one would call his office during this period, because the trading window has been closed. Since there is no deal to do, why call?It can only be a reminiscence.

Louis picked up the phone: "Hello."

"it's me."

Louie will never forget that voice.

"What day is it today? Why did you call me?" Louis knew exactly what the call was about, but he had to play the fool to the end. "Reed?"

The caller was the Celtics president of basketball operations, Reed Auerbach.

Louie and Auerbach hadn't spoken on the phone for a long time.

"I just wanted to ask you something."

Great, it looks like both sides have quite a few questions about each other.

"If you have doubts, I may have them too." Louis said directly, "I don't know what your doubts are about me?"

Auerbach joked: "How does it feel to knock out the Celtics three times in four years?"

"I believe the Lakers dream of experiencing this, but I don't really feel it. No matter how many times you are eliminated, the pleasure will not be stronger than the first time."

This is the biggest difference between competitive sports and piston sports.

The first time you do piston sports, you will quit early because you are too nervous and inexperienced, but the opposite is true for competitive sports.

"You are indeed qualified to say that, then..." Auerbach suddenly asked in a deep voice, "It must feel good to completely defeat the Celtics on the court, and then kick Boston's professional basketball into the abyss through a trade off the court, right?"

(End of this chapter)