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On March 24, 1999, in the pregame interview area of the Minnesota Timberwolves Target Center, Zhuang Fei was surrounded by media. Zhuang Fei is not surprised at all by this formation, the contest between Pitino and Zhuang Fei has created the highest ratings in American basketball, this reunion, it is strange that it does not attract attention, compared to the current battle, the NCAA's several battles are really big, but what surprised Zhuang Fei a little is that the Boston media actually came a lot, which can also be seen about their understanding of this game

attitude, they are eager to know the gap between Pitino and Zhuang Fei.

"Mr. Zhuang, what is it like to meet Mr. Pitino again in the competition, do you know that Mr. Pitino's current situation is not very good, will you encourage each other?" A Boston-based media outlet was the first to ask.

After the Boston reporter finished asking, everyone else seemed to be waiting for Zhuang Fei's answer, and the scene was extremely quiet.

"It's very kind, it's very kind to meet Coach Pitino again in the NBA, I haven't felt this kind of intimacy for a long time, not only Coach Pitino but also Coach K, I haven't met them for a long time, I can't wait to start this game now"

"I know the difficulties in the NBA, I also understand the difficulties of Mr. Pitino now, I also encountered difficulties at the beginning, the difference is that I have come out, now he needs time, you should also give him time" Zhuang Fei smiled and said: "He is a very great coach and a great opponent, I believe he does not need my encouragement"

"So do you have the confidence to beat Piertino's Celtic again in this game, as you have done before," another reporter asked.

"Of course, we can win against anyone, including Mr. Pitino"

"You don't have to be nervous, this is just an ordinary NBA regular season, although this game is very magical by the outside world, but I don't care, the Celtics are not the Celtics of Larry Bird before, they are not the same level opponent as us, so, everyone, just play your strength normally, you can easily beat them"

"Paul, your opponent today Anthony Walker, pay attention to his breakthrough when defending, you can let him shoot three points outside, everyone else is casual, this Celtics except Anthony Walker no one else has to be afraid"

Zhuang Fei is not a big player, but he is telling the truth, this Celtics really has nothing to fear, center Vitaly Potapenko, big forward Anthony Walker, small forward Ron Mercer, scoring guard Santietta Anderson, organization guard White Chocolate, it can be said that this lineup has no height on the inside, no basket on the outside, the only thing that makes Zhuang Fei care a little about Bruce Bowen is still sitting on the bench now, it is difficult to say whether he can play in this game.

In the face of such a Celtic, let alone Pitino, even if Zhuang Fei goes, he may not be able to achieve any good results, on the contrary, Zhuang Fei also admires that Pitino can lead such a Celtic to the twelfth in the East, and it is not surprising that this Celtic is at the bottom in Zhuang Fei's opinion.

"Rick, we're meeting again" Before the game, Zhuang Fei went to the Celtics bench and shook hands with the old rival.

"Yes, meet again" Pitino was gloomy for a while, and today's game is estimated to be more auspicious than lucky. It made him depressed.

At the start of the game, the Timberwolves won the ball, and the 2.08-meter white center Vitaly Portapenko was no match for Garnett.

"The Timberwolves attacked quickly, Paul Pierce received a pass from Steve Nash at 45 degrees on the left side, pretended to shoot and deceived Ron Mercer, who defended him, and then burst into the basket, facing Anthony Walker's supplemental defense, Pierce forced a layup, beautiful, 2-point shot, the Timberwolves scored the first two points of the game, Pierce also caused Anthony Walker's foul"

"Garnett cut in from the free throw line, he jumped, Steve Nash's pass was already in the air, and Vitaly Potapanko could only watch under the basket as Garnett and Nash pull off this beautiful aerial relay"

"The Timberwolves' offensive and defensive conversion is very fast, slow, slow, the Celtics are slow to retreat, Lewis, Nash and Pierce formed a three-on-three situation, Nash split the ball, Lewis pulled up directly outside the 45-degree three-point line on the right side, hit, it seems that the Celtics forgot that the Timberwolves' fast break is mainly three-pointed, and they actually shrank under the basket when they returned to defense, and did not create a little interference for Lewis"

Zhuang Fei watched the situation on the field from the sidelines, and he didn't have the slightest worry. This game is almost impossible for the Timberwolves to lose, the Celtics' decline in recent years has a lot to do with their own selection and trade, it is difficult for Pitino to change anything in just one year, Zhuang Fei remembers that the Celtics began to be on the right path in the draft and trade, or after Danny Angie became the general manager of the team.

"It seems that Celtic head coach Pitino has not said anything, did he also give up this game" D'Antoni next to Zhuang Fei looked at the Celtic bench and found that Pitino was quite calm and did not have a trace of emotional fluctuations.

This is a very abnormal thing, D'Antoni doesn't really understand Pitino's thoughts, but Zhuang Fei knows that there is an idiom in China called mourning is greater than heart death, for such a Celtic, Pitino is a bit of a heart death.

"Celtic are playing in a disorganized manner right now, almost a mess, except for individual attacks and individual attacks" D'Antoni kept shaking his head.

"They can't play tactics, can a team with no speed and no height play tactics" Zhuang Fei looked at the Celtics on the field and asked rhetorically. Pitino is a good head coach, this is his first opponent in college, the two have contributed a lot of jīng lottery games to basketball fans in college for the United States, he knows very well the strength and ability of this head coach, what he lacks now is opportunity and luck, or chance and luck have been far away from him, if it weren't for Zhuang Fei, Pitino is likely to reach the NCAA finals for three consecutive years, and then win two of them, but because of Zhuang Fei's appearance, he can only lose to Zhuang Fei three times and then win the runner-up twice.

Now he is coming to the Celtics, this is a black hole team, the team's player base is too poor, and the most ridiculous thing is that the Celtics are the greatest team in the NBA, the fans can't tolerate the team continuing to sink, even if the team's strength is really bad, they will ask the team to achieve a certain result, just like the Boston media is now collectively blowing about the Pietino Pietino.

Sympathy, Zhuang Fei is full of sympathy for this old enemy who was born at the wrong time.

Soon, the Timberwolves pulled the score away to the cheers of the home fans, Pierce was scoring, Jackson was scoring, Garnett was scoring, Nash was scoring, Lewis was scoring, and none of the Celtics could step up and turn the tide.

The game was only in the middle of the third quarter, and the game completely lost its suspense, and at the end of the game, the live scoreboard showed a score of 118-80, and the Timberwolves won by 38 points at home, which was the difference played by the Timberwolves in the fourth quarter when they replaced all the main players.

"Your player is great" After the game, Pitino said lightly to Zhuang Fei, there were some complaints in his tone, some helplessness, and some helplessness, this is the fourth time he said the same sentence to Zhuang Fei, he is not a person who can't afford to lose, and he doesn't think that his strength is inferior to Zhuang Fei, but every time he fights with Zhuang Fei, he will leave this sentence.

Zhuang Fei looked at the lost Pitino and didn't know how to comfort him, he could only watch his back gradually fade away, maybe this was fate.

"He looks really pathetic," D'Antoni thought to himself, and if he accepted the Nuggets' invitation to head coach, he would probably turn into a pathetic creature too.

"He's not pitiful, he won't think he's pitiful, I know his xìng character, he's just hibernating, don't worry, soon he'll get up and start over, I understand him, since he can choose to follow me to the NBA again after losing three times, it means that he has the courage to face failure, if he doesn't follow me into the NBA, this year's NCAA championship will definitely be his, do you say that such a person who would rather give up the NCAA championship and come to me for revenge will be a poor worm? You're underestimating him too much."

This is a coach with great endurance and forbearance. He is also a coach who deserves to be respected.