There was a debate within the Celtics before the draft between Danny Ainge and Leon over whether to pick Arenas or Joseph Ford. Angie prefers Ford, who comes from the prestigious North Carolina school, and he thinks that Ford is more like a "Celtic" than Arenas, a pure team-first player. They have never had a single-season scoring title in the history of the Celtics, and team-first is their sticking style.

But Leon doesn't care about any "team-first" philosophy or so-called more Celtic blood, his criteria for selecting players are ability and potential, and he has a hundred ways to prove that Arenas is a better player, and it is completely unacceptable for Leon to choose a much worse player just because he is more "selfish" and "maverick" in his style of play.

In the end, it was Wallace who sided with Leon, although he also leaned towards Ford a little, but in the end he used his reason to overcome his IQ and resolutely stood on Leon's side so as not to cause the Celtics to lose a quality newcomer due to their old ways.

After coming to Boston, Arenas didn't get what he thought he deserved, and he didn't seem to be a priority for the team, and the coaching staff was largely free-range. Leon, in particular, who drafted him, would rather spend time chatting with Michael Reed on the sidelines than help Arenas with shooting drills.

So when Arenas stepped on the floor of the MCI Center, all he thought about was what Leon had said to him, that he was going to prove himself in front of Leon, that he was going to prove how good he was, that it was a hateful, boring joke that he said to himself in a restaurant in Los Angeles that "I'm going to pick you with the 21st pick" was a hateful, boring joke that hurt his pride.

However, you can't win in the NBA by relying on your self-esteem, you need excellent skills and a stable mentality. When Arenas touched the ball for the first time after coming on the court, he looked too frizzy, and in the face of the Wizards' opposing player's defense, he dribbled the ball a few times in three steps from beyond the three-point line, and then suddenly broke through with a stride, followed by a three-point jumper.

Arenas has a wide and muscular arm, which allows for a small range of shots and very fast speeds. And he can often shoot some long-range shots in practice, but he is still too anxious for this ball, the shot is too fast and not strong enough, the ball smashes in the front of the basket, Jordan grabs the backcourt rebound and launches a quick counterattack, Richard Hamilton makes a layup, and the Wizards are close to the score.

"What is this guy doing...... Carroll stood on the sidelines and scratched his head, after just accepting the team, he couldn't make much adjustment in terms of tactics, just hoping that the team's morale and playing attitude could improve, but Arenas's ball really hurt his own people.

However, Arenas's dazed head still didn't seem to go away, and as a point guard, he went it alone again on his next offense, and after a simple block with Barty in the high post, he went straight to the basket from the middle of the line, and he shot from the left side, which he wasn't used to, because Jordan was on that side. Jordan came over to make up for the defense, Arenas faced Jordan and forced into the three-second zone, and then tried to hold the ball for a layup, but he missed the basket with his left hand, and the shot was obviously light, and the rebound was taken by Jordan again. However, this time the Celtics retreated quickly and did not give the Wizards a chance to counterattack quickly.

But two consecutive indiscriminate attacks missed, so that Carol couldn't sit still, he sent Arenas up not to let him make trouble, Carol, who has always been gentle on weekdays, couldn't help but shout at Arenas on the sidelines: "Calm down, boy!" Look at your teammates more, don't just have baskets! 'That's the pressure a manager puts on him, and it can make anybody grumpy and irritable.

There was also a hint of uneasiness in Arenas' eyes, and he squinted his eyes at the team's bench, he must have been substituted if O'Brien was there, and this time he looked at Leon. Leon sat there with a calm expression, and he seemed to notice Arenas' eyes, first making a gesture of encouragement to Arenas, and then pressing his hands down to signal him to steady his mind.

Leon's movements and expressions seem to have a magical power, always calming people down quickly. Of course, this has something to do with getting along with him on weekdays, Leon has always shown a cold face and few words, but his descriptions and predictions are often accurate and scary, and the players respect and fear him behind their backs, and at the same time trust him very much. When Leon says "calm down", it always has a good effect, like a basin of cold water poured on the other person's head.

"Give him some time to adjust, Gilbert is a little too excited, and then he'll play when he's in the second team." Leon also appeased Carol, this old man took office for the first time today, and the pressure was really not small.

With Hamilton catching the ball and missing a jumper, Walker picked up the rebound, and the Celtics had another offensive opportunity, at which point Walker threw the ball to Pierce and let him control the ball through half court, and it seemed that Arenas had just been uncool twice and his teammates also distrusted him. But after halftime, Pierce still passed the ball back to Arenas, Arenas had a few pounds and a few taels, and the whole team except Leon knew Pierce best, because the two participated in training camps together in Los Angeles in the summer, and they were deeply impressed by this stubborn little teammate Pierce.

This time Arenas was in possession again, and instead of rushing to attack, he was watching from the front dribble. The noisy environment of the MCI Center and the thoughts that had just been swirling in his mind were emptied at this time, and he calmed down. The Wizards' defense isn't tight, and they don't have a good perimeter defender. Michael Jordan used to be the best outside defender in the world, but he is 39 years old, and he can rely on experience to help stop Arenas, but when Arenas relies on Antoine Walker's pick-and-roll to go straight to the interior from the right side, it is too late for him to make up for the defense.

"It's really fast, and the blocking and dismantling is really bad." Leon sat on the sidelines and watched Arenas go inside, once again sighing. Back in his time at Arenas University, Leon had carefully observed his first steps, very quickly. Now in the NBA, the hard training of the summer has given him a stronger first step, the kind of explosive start, although slightly reckless due to lack of skill, but unstoppable.

He scored a layup directly on the opponent's head under the basket, and Jordan could only look at his back and be helpless. The Celtics' three consecutive attacks were completed by Arenas, two failures and one success, and Arenas's bold and solitary style was on full display, and his wildness seemed to be unleashed after O'Brien's dismissal. Luckily, he didn't get carried away by this, and instead he was more active defensively after he got the shots, and even though it certainly didn't look like he practiced his defensive fundamentals during his years in Arizona, as Dick Hart believes, defense is more important than skill.

In the first two quarters, Arenas got enough opportunities to play, and he enjoyed playing on the court, and after three solo plays, he began to cooperate with his teammates and began to try to create opportunities for his teammates, like a real point guard. However, if there is a chance to challenge Jordan directly, he will definitely not let it go. At halftime, he actually scored 14 points, 3 assists and 1 steal, although he did not complete the idea of pulling a three-point on Jordan's head, but he definitely stole the limelight from the team's twin stars. In front of his breakaway, the Wizards' defense was rotten like rags, and Kwame Brown came on the court to give Arenas a backdrop.

On the way back to the locker room at halftime, Leon patted Arenas on the back and asked, "How does it feel?" Did you have a hard time? Arenas gave a rare smile on his face, his brow furled like Santa Claus, and he nodded, apparently the best first half he'd played since entering the NBA.

"Do you have anything else to gain besides data? What do you think of our offense? What about defense? How does Wizards make you feel? Did you find a hole in their defense? How do you think Michael Jordan is and what did you learn from playing on the court, boy? Leon's ensuing barrage of questions made the smile on Arenas' face disappear without a trace. Any NBA player has a unique understanding of basketball, but it's much harder to get a rookie to answer those questions after halftime than it is to have him hit a three-pointer in the halftime.

Looking at Arenas, who didn't speak, Leon said, "You're a point guard, and if you only have the basket, the defender in front of you, and your closest teammates, you're not going to be a great player." Even if you shoot a three-point on Jordan's head, it's not like no one in this world has hit a three-point on Jordan's head. So, forget what I said to you when I came on the court, put in the game in the second half, learn more from Kerr and Brown, and you'll get something out of it. After saying that, Leon and Arenas returned to the locker room together, and the Celtics only had a five-point lead at this time. Arenas' outburst didn't really drive the rest of his teammates to play, on the contrary, some unreasonable shots exposed the shortcomings of the Celtics' lack of rebounding ability in the frontcourt. Dennis Rodman still didn't get a chance to play in the first half, but Leon has convinced Carroll to try to bring Rodman on the court in the second half to make up for the Celtics' shortcomings in rebounding, defense and other details.

Antoine Walker had a bad hand tonight, but his contribution in other aspects was not outstanding except for the offense, Leon's first quarter evaluation of "the block is really bad" said Walker, he wanted to cut outside after the block, and it seemed that the farther away from the basket, the stronger his desire to attack. Although the Celtics have been suppressing the Wizards in the first half, they have not been able to really pull away the score, because they have lost too many rebounds, and the loss of points that hurt morale like being scored by the second offense often occurred in the first half.

This is the most important reason why the Celtics have been criticized for their operation in the summer, their interior line is too weak, and now they have to pin their hopes on a 40-year-old 6-foot-7 power forward.

And Leon, still waiting.