On the morning of May 22, Bird woke up a little late, only to find that the Pacers players had followed O'Brien to the training gym for pregame shooting practice. Bird www.biquge.info went downstairs for breakfast, a little fruit salad and cereal with milk, and he continued to eat a healthy diet after retiring.

In the restaurant, Bird met the owner of the hotel, a middle-aged white man with a blushing face, sitting across from Bird with a smile and reverence on his face, and handed him his business card.

"Camille Lauren, the owner of this hotel, a Boston Celtics fan, a die-hard fan, very hardcore!" The owner introduced himself, and from his tone and eyes, it was clear that he was indeed an unbeatable avid Celtics fan.

"Camille, are you French?" Bird asked, licking his lips as he drank the milk.

"Yes, yes, the ancestors are French. So my family loved basketball, and my dad took me to the arena when I was a kid, when Russell was retired and Havlicek and Cowens were in charge. Then came the golden 80s! Oh my...... One time you signed me, I think it was in 1984, the time you won the championship, next to the players' tunnel! And ......"Looking back, this owner is obviously a little excited, such old Celtics fans can be seen everywhere in Boston, nostalgic for those golden years.

"Sorry, I don't remember exactly...... I'm leading the team to beat Celtic right now. Bird drank the milk from the bowl and said lightly as he finished the fruit on the plate with a fork. Bird is a little different from the Magic, he has always been a little bit of a fan fan fan, and he is not good at reaching out to them. Bird may have loved them in his heart, but his personality meant that he couldn't be as comfortable as a magician.

Apparently, the middle-aged hotel owner's chatter made Bird a little unbearable, and after eating, he decided to take a taxi to the training gym to train with the players.

Hearing Bird say this, the smile on the boss's face disappeared suddenly, his expression became serious, and he said to Bird very seriously: "No, it is impossible for you to defeat the current Celtics. ”

The boss's words made Bird a little angry, Auerbach said something similar to him last night, and today someone said it to himself with such a serious face, as if he was not arguing with himself, but stating a fact to himself.

It's normal for the two camps to support each other's teams, but Celtics fans seem to be completely sure that the Celtics can beat the Pacers, without the slightest worry, hesitation or even excitement, as if the series is over and everything has happened.

Bird put down his fork, wiped his mouth and said, "The Celts I led were invincible and suffered painful defeats, and I think I know better than you who will win the victory." ”

Seeing that Bird was a little angry, Boss Camille regained the smile on his face, stood up and cleaned up the things on the table, and said to Bird with a smile: "I have lived in Boston for more than 40 years, and I have been a Celtics fan for 30 years, and I tell you Larry, there has never been a year in which Boston fans are so sure that the Celtics will finally win the championship, and there was no 1986. The only thing we have to worry about is how many games we're going to lose, because the most we're going to win is 16. ”

After saying that, the boss packed up his plates and forks and walked away, Bird sat on the stool and the fire in his heart was boiling out, he had never wanted to put the Celtics to death so much, in Boston, at the North Shore Garden Arena to defeat them completely.

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In the afternoon, a few hours before the start of the game, Bird was stopped by a large number of reporters as he entered the North Shore Garden Arena with the team. In the morning, he went to the training hall to personally supervise the players' training, and in the afternoon he took the players to a mobilization meeting in the hotel, and then went to the competition venue to prepare for the warm-up.

"What's so special about coming to Boston? Although he is no longer the manager, it will not affect the players to play. A reporter asked.

"It's not a special feeling, I just want to tear the team apart in this city, because I've done a lot of bad things here and killed a lot of other people in the past. I'm not going to influence the players, they're great and they're going to win. Bird replied with a grim look on his face, not wanting to show any affection for the Celts.

This answer undoubtedly surprised the reporters a little, but they didn't expect Bird's answer to be so impersonal, and it didn't smell too much of a joke from it, because he made it clear at the end that the Pacers would win.

"What do you think of your opponents, they have been resting for a week, and you have just finished a seven-game fight, will physical strength be a problem?" Another person asked, this is also a regular question. Indeed, physical advantage and home-court advantage will make the situation even more sinister for the Pacers.

"It's nothing, resting doesn't mean anything, I've been resting for almost 20 years, and I guess I can't beat them when I play. So, it's nothing, it's okay with our lads. Yes...... Sometimes, it's not a good thing to rest too much. This time, Bird had a little humor and made the reporters laugh.

"The Celtics vowed to sweep all the way to the championship before the playoffs began, and they said 'fo, fo, fo, fo,' what do you think?" A journalist asks a pointed question.

Bird lowered his head and smiled, first said: "Bragging...... and then the reporters laughed, Bird also shook his head, and then continued: "When I was a player, I pretended to be a lot of force, set a lot of flags, some were successful, I could brag about it, some failed to do it, and the smile was over, and few people will remember." But I want to say that once a big cowhide like 'fo, fo, fo, fo' is blown out, people will remember him for the rest of their lives. All I can say is, good luck to them. Alright, let's get it done. ”

With that, Bird walked towards the arena, ignoring the people who were trying to get something out of his mouth.

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At five o'clock, two hours before the start of the game, the coaches and players of both sides began to attend the pre-game interview activities, which was also an important position for the two sides to compete. Before the series ends, interviews before the game, after the game, and during training will be an important part of the public opinion war, which often has a non-negligible impact on the psychology of players and coaches.

Leon was a bit late tonight because he had been struggling with the team's lineup, as he tried to make some lineup changes before the game to better deal with the Pacers.

After arriving at the media room, Leon said directly: "I'm sorry, the preparations for the game are a bit busy, I hope you will ask questions as soon as possible, I will try to answer them briefly but completely." ”

"Do you think Kevin Garnett's sweeping vow before the playoffs will come true? As far as I know, the Pacers are not quite the same as the first two opponents. A reporter brought up a similar problem, which has been haunting the Celtics since the start of the playoffs, both as a worry and a motivation.

"I know in your eyes they are not the same as the first two, but in our eyes, they are the same, the next one." Leon replied without any hesitation.

"The head coach of the Pacers used to be the head coach of the Celtics, and so was the assistant coach, and their general manager was still the legendary Celtics superstar Bird, so will that affect the series between the two sides?" This is also the biggest gimmick of the Pacers-Celtics battle right now, a reporter asked.

Leon groaned for a moment and said, "If Larry Bird was 20 years younger, I would be a little worried, and nothing else would matter. ”

Finally, a reporter asked, "Are the Pacers the toughest opponent you've faced in the East, or are you more likely to play against the Detroit Pistons?" ”

Leon spread his hands directly and said; "I think our strongest opponent in the East is your newspapers, nothing else...... Well, I'm sorry I have to end this interview, thank you. ”

After saying that, Leon left in a puff of smoke. Leaving a group of reporters to silently sort out the quotations of the two forced kings, no matter what the result of tonight's game is, tomorrow's headlines are worth writing about, and the jokes are flying. (To be continued.) )