When pride still matters

Chapter 414 When the game is war

On the night of the first game of the finals, ABC interviewed Yu Fei before the game.

They wanted to know what Yu Fei thought about playing against the Celtics in the finals.

"Do you believe in cause and effect cycles?" Yu Fei said, "I do. There are problems between me and Boston that need to be solved, but they have looked like a mediocre team in the past few years, and until now, we have not had a chance to win. Compete on the same stage.”

In fact, Yu Fei said it very implicitly.

But the media behind him had already finished speaking those unpleasant words for him.

Before Yu Fei entered the NBA, he came to Boston for a tryout, during which he had a huge fight with the late Eddie Griffin. The Celtics believed that it would be difficult to select Yu Fei with their draft picks, so they spread negative news about Yu Fei and shifted the responsibility for the fight to him.

But in the end, the Celtics still failed to select Yu Fei.

Even the consolation prize of Joe Johnson was traded to them.

Looking back now, all the decisions the Celtics made that year were wrong.

On this night, North Shore Garden was the noisiest arena in the world.

But even so, they still made it to the finals.

When the Celtics entered the playoffs and were struggling to win on the road, Simmons broke the defense.

So what else is there to say? Isn’t that what home field advantage is for? As long as the Celtics can keep all their home games, even if they become the first championship team in history to play every round, that's acceptable.

Then, the Celtics really haven't won an away game so far (since the start of the playoffs).

In terms of temperament alone, Allen is undoubtedly a top MIFL. She was 36 years old when she played Grey, but she still did not show obvious aging like other white actresses. However, she lacked talent, so Dafei had no interest in the words on the banner.

This is because people discovered that most of Yu Fei's ex-girlfriends and some of the women he had brief relationships with whom paparazzi photographed were older than him.

And he did.

Behind "Grey's Anatomy" actress Ellen Pompeo, a group of fans held a banner: Fry, if you let us win, Ellen will give you a kiss!

Although seven years have passed, he still remembers everything.

It also has Allen's autograph on it.

"Fry, wake up, this year belongs to us!"

Celebrities from Boston came to the scene.

Among the series of celebrities on the sidelines in Boston, the only ones Yu Fei cares about are Bill Simmons and his father.

But these idiots just didn't realize that age is not the key. The key is that a prominent, obvious part that symbolizes female characteristics must have an innate talent that is pure and natural without impurities. Only Da Fei will like it.

"I do," Simmons said, "and I've done it!"

"If you lose tonight, will you write a long article overnight to criticize Doc (Rivers)?" Yu Feixiao asked.

This should have been an old conversation, but Yu Fei talked about him in a very serious way to express his thoughts.

Local dignitaries, businessmen, Hollywood celebrities.

At this time, Simmons was no different from an ordinary fan. He stood up and shouted in the front row.

He asked Rivers if he wanted the Celtics to become the first championship team in history that couldn't win on the road.

Soon after, the game begins.

What is surprising is that the Celtics, who are mature and stable, and whose average age is the oldest team in the league in the playoffs, have shown discomfort.

However, experts say they fully understand.

"This is the Celtics' first finals in 21 years, and they need time to adapt to the environment they are in."

Throughout the first half, the Celtics showed nervousness and timidity, and their desire to win and fear of losing was very obvious.

Then, as a precocious point guard, Rajon Rondo quickly found the only core in the starting lineup that was not shy-Michael Reed.

Reid followed Yu Fei to defeat the Spurs in the Finals, and now represents the Celtics in the Finals. This is a proving game for him.

Reid's three-pointer stabilized the situation in the first half for the Celtics.

However, the Sonics, with a more stable mentality, turned away and led the Celtics 58 to 51 in the first half.

This is not a good sign.

Bill Simmons on the sidelines said to his father: "If Doug can't respond effectively at the beginning of the second half, we will be in trouble tonight."

Simmons has watched Coach Pighead's games for several years. Before this season, he was a firm believer in "Fire Pighead". He wrote more articles criticizing Rivers than Pitino. Of course, this is not to say that Rivers is worse than Pitino, but that Pitino did not catch up with the "good times."

Simmons was not recruited by ESPN until the beginning of the century. With his stable and considerable income, he reached his peak creative period, and Pitino happened to leave the Celtics during that time.

Rivers was not favored by Simmons when he took office because he replaced Jim O'Brien, who was hailed as the "Celtics savior" by Simmons. Rivers' ascension is also a symbol of the Celtics entering the Ainge era. Ainge wants to rebuild, and Rivers is a major part of that rebuild. But in the opinion of Simmons, who didn't know the inside story, it was Rivers' incompetence that led to the Celtics' misery in those years.

⑴This man cleaned up Pitino's mess within one year and brought the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals. When the Big Three arrived, Simmons still wasn't optimistic about Rivers. It wasn't until Coach Pighead poured "heavenly chicken soup" into the Big Three and created an exclusive team culture "UBUNTU" for the Celtics in the Big Three era. He has changed.

However, Simmons still knows that there is something wrong with Rivers. His response is very bad, very bad, very bad. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is the worst coach among all the coaches in the playoffs.

Therefore, Celtic's changes at the start of the second half will be decisive.

Rivers is the kind of coach who sticks to the rules. He knows what his team's strengths are. Once their strengths fail to bring results, he will be at his wits' end. But at home, Celtic's advantage is always effective.

He was knocked unconscious in the first half, and the players couldn't get into the state for a long time? It doesn't matter, there is still a way.

At the beginning of the second half, the Celtics led the SuperSonics to experience the Eastern Conference's classic "If you don't understand how to play, I can hit someone."

The Celtics increased physical confrontation, increased defensive intensity, and fought extremely fiercely for rebounds, which indirectly activated Garnett.

Excellent defense and airtight help defense made it impossible for the Sonics to use their tactics and were forced to rely on star players in isolation.

Roy's singles had little effect in the second half, and the Sonics began to rely too much on Fei's personal ability.

On the one hand, Yu Fei used his own strength to control the situation, and on the other hand, he wanted to pass the ball to wake up his teammates' offense. However, the Celtics' great rotation defense caused him to make several mistakes.

The intensity of the Celtics' inside line was fully demonstrated in the second half.

Especially when Rivers replaced David Lee and let Garnett, Perkins and PJ Brown rotate, the Celtics' inside line was unshakable.

The strong defense brought a lot of iron and countless floor balls, which became the time for the Celtics to promote iron blood and show the glory and spirit of the Celtics.

Every time they fell to the ground to save the ball, every time they threw themselves on the floor, the fans in North Shore Garden let out a nostalgic roar. In those moments, Dennis Johnson came back, Kevin McHale seemed to be still there, Larry Bird's The spirit is shining, and John Havlicek, those legends who played like a blue collar and shined in the history of the Celtics, seem to be back on the court.

Then something dramatic happened.

The Celtics, who seemed to be about to go berserk, had an accident at a critical moment. Pierce's knee collided with teammate Perkins. He screamed, fell to the ground, and was carried off the court by two teammates.

There was a loud roar at the scene.

You only hear it in particularly important games, when the unthinkable happens to a good player on the home team.

But when it looks like something tragic is happening, that crackling, piercing sound fades away within a few seconds, like someone slowly turning the knob that controls the audience volume from 8 to 7 to 6 and finally to 1 , and everyone in the entire venue was stunned.

"No, no. You don't want this kind of thing."

Even if Bill Simmons' biological father had a heart attack next to him, he would not react like this.

Pierce was carried out, and Celtics fans fell into fear and despair. They believed that they were finished and that this season was just a dream that was about to be shattered.

A few minutes passed like this, and at the end of the third quarter, an astonishing voice sounded from the sidelines, and the audience began to cheer in disbelief.

"Pierce is back!!!"

Bostonians roared with excitement.

Things happened too suddenly and too quickly. It only took a few minutes for the Celtics to go from despair to renewed hope. Then, the North Shore Garden became a slaughterhouse of hell.

"Beat Sonics!"

"Let's go to Boston!"

Such slogans were everywhere, the Sonics began to be suppressed, and the terrible home atmosphere symbolized the Celtics' expected victory.

Yu Fei's daunting 45 points in a single game kept the game suspense until the last second.

However, Garnett's offensive rebound, Reid's three-pointer, and Pierce's heroic return single defeated the SuperSonics in the last minute.

"That's it!" Simmons shouted uncontrollably, "Come on, Boston!"

103 is better than 97
The Celtics defeated the SuperSonics at home.

The Green Army's home myth continues, but tonight, their finals opponents have a more intuitive understanding of the horror of North Shore Garden.

There's an atmosphere here that injects an energy into the Celtic players in the Garden.

You have to admit that the historical background exists, and those who fight for the Green Army truly believe that they are defending the glory of the Celtics.

But the drama about Pierce’s so-called “Homecoming”?

"It's just a bad imitation of the great Willis Reed moment," Seattle's Josh Childress said. "No one really believes it, right?"

Yes, some people actually believe it.

Childress angered Bostonians.

That night, Childress received multiple threatening phone calls to her hotel room.

When the game is a war, nothing can be decided by common sense.

PS: I kept reading the information last night and saw that it was five o'clock. I wanted to start writing at six o'clock and write until twelve o'clock. In this way, I should be able to return to the normal time for updating. Guess what, I fell asleep at half past five

(End of this chapter)