The long summer was finally coming to an end, and in mid-September, the league was back up and running in preparation for the start of the 2003-2004 season. In October, the pre-season season kicks off, before teams kick off their training camps and lay a solid foundation for the new season.

The Celtics' rookie training camp has been going on for two weeks, and the five rookies have just put together a lineup, and Leon has found that all five have potential and have something to explore. In this regard, he also admires Anji's vision, and the players he has signed are all cost-effective.

Of course, because of that night talk show, Angie was still sulking with Leon, and his name as the number one contributor to the formation of the Boston Legion had been unknowingly taken away by Leon.

Leon certainly didn't mind that, and now he was thinking about one thing - to give the rookies a slap in the face to the starting team once training camp started.

Leon had such an idea, and the Boston Celtics were too successful this summer, especially in the weak East, when everyone was still an ironclad steamer, and they built an aircraft carrier overnight. Even for the foreseeable five years, the Celtics on paper will have no rivals in the East, just as the show-time battleship Los Angeles Lakers in the '80s were expected to rule the division for a decade like the Lakers at that time.

But Leon knows that in optimism there is danger and in tranquility there is always storm, and that the 2003-2004 season will be a crucial year for the Celtics, and if they can't win a championship, the edifice will collapse overnight.

First of all, Kevin Garnett's contract is in the final year, and he can become a full free agent next year. Second, Arenas, Durham Porter, and Anderson are all nearing their contract years, and Reed is already in contract years, and they can all choose not to stay in Boston next year.

Once the edifice collapses, the Celtics will face a situation where the trees will fall apart, and Leon's more than three years of hard work will be ruined.

Now, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and other key players of the Celtics frequently appear in the media, talking about friendship, basketball, and championships, and they don't have the low-key and quiet feeling of last summer.

It's a worrying state, and maybe after the start of the regular season, relying on the cooperation of Leon and Carlisle can completely adjust the team's form, but this is not what Leon wants. He has always been cautious and calm, pursuing a 120 percent success rate, and he cannot tolerate being a puppet of a star, as a Celtic manager, no star can rise above him.

To that end, he trained the five-man group to give the rest of the smug Celtics a look at once training camp began.

On September 18th, the Boston Celtics kicked off their 2003-2004 season at the renovated Boston Sports Training Center in Waltham. In the summer, a large hydrotherapy pool, a sports rehabilitation center, a multimedia HD video studio, and updated strength training equipment have been added.

Everything is just like this Celtic team, with a fresh smell. The only constant was the parquet floor in the gym and the sign on the wall, "What's-hurt-more, the-pain-of-hard-work, or-the-pain-of-regret." (What makes you more miserable, the sweat of training, or the tears of regret.) ）

Leon arrived at the gym around nine o'clock as usual, and he saw Reed, Arenas, Garnett, Pierce, Anderson, Wang Zhizhi, Brown, Daleham Porter, Malik Seary......

And, of course, coaches, Sigfried, Cowens, Hess, and a new addition, Rick Carlisle. No matter what worries and doubts he had in his heart before, he was thinking about how to govern the army in his mind, but in a summer time, he was able to see them again in this field, see these familiar faces, and see their atmosphere relaxed here to train, chat, and play, Leon's mood suddenly improved.

The previous pressures and worries in his heart, with the basic alignment of the team, have also been put behind him, everything has just begun, and he is confident that he will lead this new and more powerful Celtic to the championship!

……………………

On the first day of training, Leon did not give the players intensity, but carried out recovery training and shooting exercises, and in one morning, Siegfried took the players to shoot the video, and recorded the shooting while practicing in order to analyze the shooting posture of the players.

Kevin Garnett seemed very relaxed in practice, always talking and laughing with Pierce, and he was also praised by Sigfred in shooting practice, although his shooting posture was not standard - because he was too tall, his arms were too long, and his shots were a little crooked, but his accuracy, strength, and posture were very good, and the rhythm was first-class, no matter how much Siegfried interfered with the foam stick next to him, Garnett was able to keep his hands in good shape and throw the ball into the basket, like a programmed machine.

The other players also maintained a relaxed state, especially the main players, it was originally the first day of training, the Celtics' training was a week earlier than other teams, and now there are superstars in the team, who can enter the finals last season, not to mention the championship this season, the finals are also a certainty.

That sentiment permeated the Celtics until the end of afternoon practice, when Leon suddenly proposed a matchup, saying that the players hadn't played a good game in the summer and that they should have a matchup before the start of the preseason. And there are a lot of new players in the team, and he wants to see the level of the players in the actual battle.

The proposal was immediately approved by the players, and a group of people thought about dividing themselves into groups and pulling out teams to fight. León proposed that the grouping be carried out by him, and he divided the team into two groups, one for the main group and one for the substitutes.

The main group consists of Kevin Garnett, PJ Brown, Pierce, Reed and Arenas, which should be the starting lineup for the Celtics next season. The bench is made up of several newcomers from the Celtics, the same as the rookie training camp last week, Dior, Bale, Posey, Alston and Daniels.

The others were randomly assigned to the two groups, which made the main group shake their heads, and the upright Arenas bluntly said that even if he didn't make a move, they could win the match.

Arenas' rhetoric has undoubtedly aroused the competitive spirit of the rookie players, who have just joined the team, are not big names, and are very eager to prove themselves in training and games, with the likes of Alstom, Gareth Bale and Posey all wanting a long contract, while the likes of Dio and Daniels are fighting to establish themselves in the team and get a place in the rotation.

Before the start of the match, Leon set the last rule, telling both sides that in order to ensure fairness to a certain extent, the main team will not have the guidance of the head coach, and how to play will be up to the players to discuss. The substitute group will be guided by Leon himself, and the main team is no longer so confident.

"Don't worry, even if there is no coach, a few of us can beat the other side together!" Kevin Garnett is full of fighting spirit, there is not even a decent center on the opposite side, he doesn't think that he will not be able to beat the opposite side with Pierce, even if the opposite side is coached by Leon himself, the main group of bolt dogs as coaches can completely win.

"I don't think so, be careful, haven't you seen the machinations of our coach?" Pierce was not so optimistic at all, he knew that Leon had more ghosts and ideas in his stomach than his offensive moves. (To be continued.) )