On the second day of 2002, Boston fans welcomed the Celtics' first game of the new year at North Shore Garden, the Orlando Magic, who were also young and in the midst of a rebuild. Since foolishly letting Shaquille O'Neal go, the Magic have never been able to get out of the quagmire. Injuries to Hardaway and Grant Hill, the failure to pursue Tim Duncan, and a less-than-ideal selection in the draft have left the once-brilliant team struggling in the East.

The Celtics are in much better shape, having picked up since O'Brien's dismissal, and despite a bad road trip to the West before the New Year, the relaxed faces of the players before the game showed confidence on their faces. Paul Pearce even played a game of Horse with Arenas and Michael Reed, Rodman took Anderson to sit on the sideline floor and didn't know what to say, Eric Williams, Joe Johnson and others did passing drills, and centers like Durham Porter and Barty had to dribble and chat on the sidelines.

Leon, of course, will not be so idle, he sat on the sidelines to prepare tactical notes for Carroll, these are based on the Magic team's game video, filtered out some tactical cards for the Magic's tactical system and player characteristics. Because yesterday and today during the day were busy with the team's new training, León simply didn't have time to do these little cards and had to put his work on the pre-match warm-up.

Carol looked at Leon, who was still seriously drawing tactical maps, and couldn't help but say: "Don't be so busy with Fox, you're tired enough, let yourself rest when you play later." Although Carroll is now the head coach of the team, many times he does not have the consciousness of a head coach, and he is always too generous and caring for the players and his assistants, so that sometimes Leon himself has to be angry to shock the group of young lads under him who occasionally have convulsions.

'I'm a little bit worried about how the players feel during the game and hopefully the daytime training today doesn't affect their normal feeling because you know a lot of habits don't happen overnight. The tactics I've given are some of the simplest ones that I used to practice a lot, which will make it easier for them to get into the game. Leon voiced his concerns.

Today's daytime training effect of the team is quite good, 95 minutes of passing practice in the morning, Leon's demonstration is concise and vivid, the explanation is in-depth and thorough, and in the actual training process to give extremely precise and even strict guidance, so that the Celtic players have all the previous training experience. After that, the team conducted another hour of fast break practice, this time Leon especially emphasized the concept of the second fast attack, strengthened the training of the second fast break in the case of the team did not have a pass master, and integrated the characteristics of the triangle offensive pass and position, modified the previous tactical concept of overemphasizing space opening and large-scale transfer of the ball, and made a general adjustment to the team's fast offensive strategy.

Even with such an efficient two-and-a-half-hour training session, Leon knew none of that would be useful in tonight's game. The players' playing habits and tactical literacy are the result of countless hours of repeated practice, from a small technical detail to the tactical style of the whole team, all of which are inseparable from long-term repeated and boring practice.

Carroll understood Leon's concern, he took the tactical card handed by Leon and stuffed it into the inner pocket of his suit, and said: "Don't worry, I believe in your training level and the players' ability to learn." Also, you have to believe in the strength of the Orlando Magic. ”

Hearing Carroll's words, Leon also grinned, the Orlando Magic's record so far this season is 15-17, which is not good but not too bad, and this is the first meeting between the two sides this season. Carroll, of course, knows that you can't underestimate any team in the NBA, not to mention that the Magic are not bad, they have Tracy McGrady, the current swingman in the league, Mike Miller, the best rookie in 2000, and the experienced point guard Armstrong, the Bulls' former three-time champion forward Hollis Grant, and the former super center, Patrick Ewing, all have a lot of experience, new force and being a star.

However, as a collector of information about the team's East, Leon still knows more about Magic, and in terms of the team's technical and tactical style, the Celtics are not afraid of Magic's outside offense, which is seriously aging inside, and has more experience in the No. 1 position but lacks vitality. And teams like this, everywhere in the East, have to admit that this is an era when the West is extremely strong and the East is weak.

Because of this, in the pre-match preparations, both Leon and Carroll have a certain confidence in the game, believing that the team can play a beautiful first game of the new year.

'I know, hopefully I'll give Anderson or Durham Porter more playing today, and I think they should learn something from training during the day, and I want to see what they learn.' Leon suggested to Carol.

"Okay, I'll give them a chance, they're all working hard." Carol nodded in response, and now Carol has basically obeyed Leon's opinion. Whether it's reusing Arenas or bringing in Joe Johnson, it has brought fresh air and a lot of energy to the Celtics, and now there's no one in Boston who doesn't admire the team's draft quality.

When the game officially started at 7 p.m., it didn't seem to be going as smoothly as Leon and Carroll had hoped.

The first quarter was evenly matched, with Paul Pearce returning to the court after a week-long absence with a white tape on his chin. On the court, he was in charge of facing McGrady, and it seemed that he was not comfortable without a game in a week, and Maddy faced Pierce's defense three times in a row, tearing apart the Celtics' defense with a breakaway, two dunks and a breakaway assist. With Maddie dominating, the Magic's offense appeared to be quite smooth.

This made Dick Hart, who was sitting on the field, a little angry, Antoine Walker's defense on the field was really worrying, and after Pierce was passed, his speed of making up the defense was basically the same as crawling, or he didn't make up the defense at all, and stretched out his hand to symbolically interfere, and the task was completed.

"If I were the head coach, I'd pack him up and throw him in the Development League......" Hart couldn't help but mutter, the core of the two teams, Walker doesn't care about defense at all, compared to Pierce is much better, although limited by the pressure on the offensive end and his own lateral speed and weight, he can't be a super defender, but he is by no means a colander.

"Take it easy, Dick, there are always some exceptions for every team." Leon said to him when he heard Hart's words.

"It's not like what you say, but Antoine is a good guy."

Leon was noncommittal to Hart's words, pouting and continuing to watch the game. The first quarter was tied at 28:27, with the Celtics still trailing by one point, and Walker did nothing on the defensive end, but contributed 8 points on offense, which was considered to make up for defensive mistakes. Mike Miller, the best rookie in '00, was stared at by Michael Reed, and before the game, Leon told Reed that he must watch Miller to death, telling him "For the sake of him stealing your best rookie, let him take a few points." ”

Overall, the Celtics and Magic are somewhat similar teams in terms of configuration and style, and Leon felt that from the first quarter. But if there's any difference between the two sides, it's the second quarter of the game.

At the start of the second quarter, Carroll brought on Dennis Rodman and Chris Anderson for the first time that the master and apprentice appeared at the same time, and there was a cheer from the sidelines when the two came on the court. In the past month, Anderson followed Rodman to a banquet dressed as a woman, and the two rode topless motorcycles on the Boston highway for a while.

But this pair of living treasure masters and apprentices are the hardest working people in training, Leon has long been with the two of them for three chapters, as long as they work the training ground and the playing field, they can play as they want off the court, and even play with them when Leon is not busy. Leon knows that players like this will never become superstars, but their unique talent and unnoticed effort are enough to make them a standout player in a class of their own.

In the second quarter, the game changed because of their appearance, and Carroll put Rodman at small forward, put Anderson at power forward, replaced Antoine Walker, and then put Pierce at shooting guard. The Celtics' defense was instantly strengthened, Rodman's entanglement with Maddy hindered the Magic's number one offensive starting point, and Anderson fully showed his talent for defense and blocking, interfering with the Magic's offense twice in a row.

When Magic coach Reaves brought in Patrick Ewing in an attempt to make a difference, Carroll replaced Durham Porter and humiliated the aging superstar with a hat. And in the second quarter, the Celtics' offense proved that Leon's training during the day still had a certain effect on them, their counterattack advancement became more orderly, and the passing and shooting were quite simple, because Leon reminded the players that if the second fast break could not be completed in two passes, then their fast break would also fail.

Not only that, but the short, high-quality training during the day also allowed the players to maintain a good hand, and after getting through the discomfort of the first quarter, the Celtics' shooting percentage increased in the second quarter, and they used defensive counterattacks to keep scoring some easy-balls, and the Magic, who were also weak in defense, quickly collapsed.

The Celtics played a 42-21 super offensive shockwave in the second quarter to crush the Magic team in one fell swoop, and in the second half, the Magic could not turn over again. In a rookie game, the Celtics won with their skill and better talent on the defensive end. To be honest, such a game can't test the strength of a team at all.

After the game, Leon didn't seem particularly excited, just high-fived the players, and he could see that there was still a long way to go to change the players' habits.