First Defeat

92:80

The score was displayed on the giant screen hanging from the ceiling of the Scotiabank Arena.

In this third preseason game, the Boston Celtics traveled to face the Toronto Raptors. As soon as the game began, the Toronto Raptors entered their rhythm first and quickly took the lead.

Even with the active adjustments made by head coach John Carroll, he still couldn't stop the team's decline. Just like that, the Toronto Raptors maintained their lead throughout, ultimately securing the victory in this preseason matchup and dealing a heavy blow to the Boston Celtics.

However, this had nothing to do with Goodwin. As usual, Goodwin sat by the water cooler, not receiving a single second of playing time. As soon as the game ended, Goodwin headed straight for the player tunnel without looking back.

Rather than listening to John Carroll's "nonsense" after the game, he would rather hurry off to train.

After these few preseason games, Goodwin understood exactly what he needed to do!

He shouldn't dwell on playing time; even if he didn't get any, he had to persist with his grueling daily training.

Gold will shine one day, and the gold he was referring to was himself—Goodwin!

Over the next few days, Goodwin continued to travel with the team for games. Although he didn't get any playing time, he was still a member of the Boston Celtics.

The preseason concluded with the Boston Celtics finishing with a record of 2 wins and 6 losses. This record left interim head coach John Carroll stunned; he hadn't expected that after winning two straight, the team would seem like a completely different group, losing 6 games in a row.

No matter how he adjusted, he was unable to save the situation.

But he was very fortunate that it was only the preseason. If it had been the regular season, he likely would have lost his position. So, on the day before the regular season opener, he gathered all the players and poured a large bucket of "chicken soup" for the soul into his team.

After hearing it, everyone except Paul Pierce and Goodwin was fired up, hoping to achieve something in the new season.

At 7:00 PM on November 1, 2003, the TD Garden in Boston was packed, and the atmosphere reached its peak.

This was the TD Garden, known as a hostile home court!

Goodwin, who was warming up, couldn't help but sigh to himself.

The atmosphere of the regular season was completely different from the previous preseason games. In the preseason, fans didn't care about wins or losses, but this was the regular season, which concerned the playoffs months later, so the fans naturally expected the home team to win.

For the first game of the new season, the Boston Celtics' opponent was the New Orleans Hornets.

Last season, the team moved from Charlotte to New Orleans, but they kept the Hornets name. After moving away from Charlotte, the team had a legendary start in New Orleans. In their first game against the Utah Jazz, the Hornets won 100-75, and they started the season with an 11-game home winning streak. However, the team was later affected by injuries, and their record became mediocre. They eventually entered the playoffs as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference but lost 2-4 to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, leading to the dismissal of head coach Paul Silas.

But after strengthening their roster during the offseason, their strength could not be underestimated, making them a formidable opponent for the current Boston Celtics.

Before the game, coach John kept emphasizing that they must defend against their star player—Baron Davis.

"Beep!" But as soon as the game started, Baron Davis dealt the Boston Celtics a heavy blow, scoring repeatedly with drives and jump shots.

Starting point guard Mike James was completely outplayed.

"Timeout." Coach John immediately called a timeout, attempting to use double-teams to stop Baron Davis.

Baron Davis wasn't flustered at all; he utilized the Boston Celtics' double-teams to dish out assists repeatedly.

John Carroll: "..." He sprang up from his chair, walked to the sideline, and kept shouting at the players on the court.

At this moment, the Boston Celtics' leader, Paul Pierce, stepped up in time. First, on the defensive end, he disrupted George Lynch, and immediately after, he completed a turnaround jump shot on the offensive end.

"Swish." With a sound, the ball fell steadily into the embrace of the hoop.

After scoring, Paul Pierce shouted to his teammates while running back on defense: "Don't rush, play every defensive possession well!"

Paul Pierce's voice reached the ears of the other 4 Boston Celtics players on the court, and their anxious emotions were instantly calmed.

"Yes." They responded one after another.

Under the leadership of Paul Pierce, the Boston Celtics gradually tied the score and even took the lead in the final moments of the first quarter.

33:31

The Boston Celtics entered the second quarter with a 2-point lead.

"Great job, keep playing like this, maintain it, and the victory will be ours!" Coach John shouted to the players.

Hearing this, Goodwin didn't think so, because the next part was the key—Paul Pierce's rest time.

Could the Boston Celtics maintain this situation while Paul Pierce was resting?

The answer would be known soon.

"Beep." As the whistle blew, the second quarter began immediately.

Both sides entered their rotation lineups. Without the core players of either team, the lineups were exposed; the Boston Celtics were retreating on both offense and defense.

Soon, the New Orleans Hornets overtook the score and even led by a significant margin.

"Paul, get ready to go in." Regarding this, Coach John had to quickly sub Paul Pierce back in, but the effect was mediocre.

The New Orleans Hornets outscored them 25:15 in the second quarter, winning the quarter by 10 points and laying the foundation for victory.

In the second half, the New Orleans Hornets, led by Baron Davis, stubbornly resisted the Boston Celtics' counterattacks.

"Beep." The game ended, and the New Orleans Hornets defeated the Boston Celtics 97:90 by 7 points, securing a season-opening win.

Baron Davis was firing on all cylinders, shooting 13-of-21 from the field and 6-of-7 from three-point range, racking up 37 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists to lead the team to victory.

Paul Pierce shot only 9-of-25, finishing with a double-double of 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. After the first quarter, Paul Pierce was heavily targeted, causing his shooting percentage to gradually decline, and no other Boston Celtics players were able to step up.

The Boston Celtics had no choice but to swallow their first defeat.

"Fuck!" Paul Pierce was so angry he punched the chair he was sitting on.

Goodwin, who had been planning to head to the player tunnel, couldn't help but stop his steps. He turned around, walked over to Paul Pierce, reached out his left hand to pat Paul Pierce on the shoulder, and said with a tone of unwillingness: "Senior Paul, we'll win it back next time!"

Even if he didn't play, he didn't want his team to lose.

Goodwin then turned and walked toward the player tunnel; he wanted to go train and vent the frustration in his heart.

Paul Pierce watched Goodwin's back in silence, and the anger in his heart inexplicably diminished quite a bit.