Chapter 165: Revenge and Bloody War
Chamberlain refused to accept Winnie's proposal for only one reason: "I represent the Chinese men's basketball team, not to make much money, nor to prove how great I am, I just want to tell the fans of the world, regardless of your race, your skin color, your gender, anyone can play basketball well, and anyone can win the world championship!" ”
Thurmond and Curry clapped their eyes, with the former shouting in a thick voice: "Well said man, you made me think so much about you!" ”
Winnie was so angry that she grabbed the ball and threw it at Thurmond, screaming, "Don't mess around, you two guys are going to get out of here, I won't allow Z to do such a stupid thing." ”
Chamberlain shrugged his shoulders and said, "Let's leave the nature of this matter aside, little aunt and grandmother, I have to train, because tomorrow I have to deal with the evil Hulk!" ”
The Hulk is naturally the Green Shirts Celtics, and after the combination of these three monsters last summer, they have already shown great power.
In the June 29, 2007 draft, the Boston Celtics sent Green, Szczebiak and others in exchange for the signing rights of Ray Allen and Glenn Davis, and a month later, Garnett also came to Boston through a trade, and a new era began in the league.
At that time, the fans were speculating, and they all expected that if Garnett and Pierce Gentleman Ray were together, there would be a chemical reaction, but they guessed wrong, after these three old guys got together, what happened was not a chemical reaction, but a nuclear reaction!
Whether it's Pierce or Garnett or Ray Allen, all three of them have a characteristic, that is, they are all empty of stunts but frustrated, in the championship race, they are all the same frustrations, they are powerful, and they have passed the age of standing, for them, the fighting spirit is a thing of the past, they want to work together, and then win the championship.
As long as they can win the championship, all three of them are willing to make sacrifices, and this sacrifice does not matter whether it is not only tactical position, salary or even data, so when the three of them get together, it is like a nuclear reaction, and it immediately erupts with great power.
Since the beginning of this season, although the overall record is strong in the West and weak in the East, the team with the best record in the league is in the West, the Celtics! The opening wave of 8 consecutive wins was their declaration, although the Magic team interrupted the streak, but the next 3 consecutive wins, 9 consecutive wins, and another wave of 9 consecutive wins have proven their desire for a championship.
In the first 32 games after the Celtics triumvirate joined forces, they won 29 games and lost only 3 games.
From being a belly team last season to standing at the top of the league, the Celtics did it in just one summer, and this season the team's goal is to hit 60 wins and then, to win a championship.
These are three men who have passed their old age, and they have all experienced unprecedented loneliness in their respective teams. When the three men come together, the fans will inevitably have more doubts in addition to great expectations, will the three leaders coexist? But as the schedule went on, they became the most tacit partners and the best trio.
What makes them so quick to tolerate each other? The only explanation is that they have a common goal – a championship, because they have nothing more to prove than the glittering O'Brien Cup and the championship ring, and the memory of leading the team to a struggle alone makes them extremely indifferent to the desire for data, as long as they can get the team to win, they are willing to do anything.
At the same time, their tolerance and appreciation for each other is another reason for their coexistence, when a reporter asked Pierce who deserves the MVP, he did not hesitate to tell the reporter that Garnett is the real MVP, and Garnett smiled and pointed to Pierce next to him, our MVP is around. Ray Allen, who acted in the most low-key manner, became the least noticed point of the Big Three, and only when the team needed him the most will the style of that sword return to the field.
One person can't lead a team to a championship, and just three people can't do it. At the beginning of the season, Angie used almost the entire Celtics team except Pierce for the Big Three, but weak bench depth and inexperienced role players became the biggest factors in the Celtics' disfavor.
Once again, such doubts were ruthlessly broken, Perkins' defense shared a lot of pressure for Garnett on the inside, and the youngster Rondo became the team's assist king, making the Greenshirts' biggest weakness the best remedy. And the bench gang, led by Percy and House, won more time for the Big Three.
It's worth noting that rookie players on the bench Bowe and big baby Glen Davis became the biggest pillars of the Hulk's interior line, and with the addition of Cassel and PJ Brown at the end of the season, the Celtics had the perfect combination of energy and experience as role players. Great players must have a group of great teammates who are brave enough to solve problems for the Big Three without being favored by the outside world, and they deserve respect.
In addition to having excellent players, the current Green Shirts also have a good manager, and many fans hope that Rivers can win the Coach of the Season award, because he is under much more pressure than other coaches, and leading such a team is not just a test of a coach's ability to use tactics.
Rivers is a very bold man, he has been like this since he was a player, he has a good eloquence, and he has a good sense of the big picture as a playmaker, he knows how to deal with his relationship with players against a team with a big three, and he has won the honor of Coach of the Year at Magic has proven his talent.
His nickname is "Doctor", of course, in the face of such a special team, he needs to use the mind of a doctor to deploy, he can be inconspicuous, but when a player is "taken care of" by the referee on the field, he will definitely want the referee to shout, and sometimes even risk eating T. Because of the offense of the Big Three, he doesn't have to worry too much, but defense can win the true meaning of the championship, Rivers made the Celtics one of the best defensive teams in the league, able to beat the Suns and Hornets by 20 points, and the horror Texas division turned around and killed the top three in a row by terrifying defense.
Some people may think that he is not the top coach in the league, but he can bring the Celtics to the heights they are today, relying not only on the famous tactical system, but also on constantly rotating between the three giants to give full play to their strength.
Objectively speaking, the Celtics have an unavoidable fact, that is, the Celtics have invisibly helped the team through the grinding period in the first three months of the relaxed schedule.
Having only lost three games in the first two months, all against the top three teams in the East, and not meeting the top teams in the West in the first three months, the Big Three got to know each other well, and the Big Three and the rest of their teammates knew each other well, which made the Celtics well prepared for a tough March.
Yes, the Celtics' March is known as the March of Death, and they will be facing the Warriors' revenge at the beginning of the month.
Chamberlain waited too long for this revenge, and his first defeat was against the Celtics, in that game he was dominated by a weak heart and a strong body, and he was abused by Garnett so that the old Nelson had to change him to the bench in advance to avoid being completely destroyed by Garnett.
Just on the bench, Chamberlain watched his team be defeated step by step, watching his beloved team fall behind by one point, the pain was tantamount to Ling Chi's heavy punishment.
Rarely, Chamberlain didn't squeak and say anything before the game, on the afternoon of February 20, Chamberlain was silent, old Nelson was a little worried about his state, he was not afraid of the strength of the Green Shirts, but he was afraid that Chamberlain would not be able to withstand the pressure.
Now in the mouth of the outside media, this game has become a shameful battle for Chamberlain, and if he is still as weak as he was last time against Garnett, then he will be a softie, a pseudo-strongman.
The starting lineup for the Celtics is Garnett + Parsons + Pierce + Ray Allen + Rondo, while the Warriors have Chamberlain + Evans + Jackson + Ellis + Billups.
Nelson Sr. temporarily changed the starting lineup, Reggie Evans, the only remaining pure interior player in the team, was sent on the court, he shouldered the responsibility of helping Chamberlain share the rebounding pressure, in addition to guarding Garnett, Nelson Sr. still didn't want Chamberlain and Garnett to face each other directly, even if Garnett Chamberlain's performance was good enough in the All-Star Game.
At the recently concluded All-Star Game, Chamberlain and the Green Shirts played against each other, with him facing off against the Big Three in the main game and Rondo in the Rookie Challenge.
As the two sides warmed up before the game began, almost everyone in the Oracle Arena knew about the pressure on Chamberlain, with a large number of fans shouting slogans to encourage him to relieve his pressure, and a few fans holding up elaborate banners or cards with words on them to encourage him.
Li Qun didn't go directly to the press gallery to wait, but found Chamberlain and said: "You are great, Z, you will be the best, those old guys on the other side are about to lose their walk, so you have to let them a little later, don't fall into the bad reputation of bullying the elderly." ”
"Sister, can you stop talking nonsense with your eyes open? The wolf king is the pinnacle, can my future brother-in-law do it, it seems that he was miserable by the wolf king last time? A mouthful of pure Beijing film sounded beside the two, and a handsome young man chewed gum and said nonchalantly.
This is Li Qun's cousin who greeted Chamberlain before, and Cao Hong's younger brother Cao Nan, this kid came to the United States to study, he is a die-hard fan of Garnett, and the destination of this study abroad is also Boston, where the Green Shirts are based, and the school he wants to attend is naturally Harvard University, the first school in Boston.
Chamberlain didn't understand why Cao Nan, this kid, picked his nose at himself when he saw him for the first time, he and his brother Cao Hong were almost two extremes, the latter was obedient to Chamberlain, so he almost knelt down and added, and Chamberlain was embarrassed every time he faced him, that was the eldest brother.
But this brother-in-law is quite hostile to him, and he opposes Chamberlain everywhere, but treats others, whether it is Chamberlain's teammates or Chamberlain's family, it is definitely a humble and polite good child, and Zhang's father and mother have always praised him.
Cao Nan is wearing the Hulk's classic green No. 5 jersey, which is now Garnett's jersey, and in the overall blue and white Oracle Arena, his green is extra eye-catching, and it is clear that he is here to smash the field.
Seeing Chamberlain paying attention to himself, Cao Nan hung his eyes and asked, "Hey, where is my position?" Didn't you say I don't have to buy a ticket? It's better for me to move forward, I want to take a good look at my idol Garnett. ”
Chamberlain turned a blind eye to his attitude and said with a meaningful smile on his face: "That position is good, close to Garnett, just behind your idol's bench, satisfied?" ”
Cao Nan sneered, revealing an expression of 'count you know', Li Qun wanted to hit him angrily, but considering that it was a public place, he didn't do it, just gritted his silver teeth and said: "Go back, I'll let your brother beat you to death!" ”