I Am Goodwin

"Coach John, I want to play the entire game in our next match!"

The new season had already seen 12 games played, and the Boston Celtics had only managed a record of 4 wins and 8 losses, a situation that left Paul Pierce extremely dissatisfied.

This was especially true for the last two games against the weaker New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers; these were games the Boston Celtics absolutely had to win, as their goal was to return to the stage of the playoffs.

However, every time Paul Pierce led the starters to build a lead, the advantage would immediately turn into a deficit the moment the rotation players came in, leading to frequent points surrendered. By the time Paul Pierce checked back in, he would be facing opponents who had built up full momentum, making the games incredibly difficult to play.

In the end, the Boston Celtics were forced to lose by narrow margins.

They fell 83:86 to the New York Knicks and 90:91 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Furious, Paul Pierce rushed to Coach John's office to demand to play the full game; he wanted to play every single minute in the next match.

If there had been any other way, he wouldn't have wanted to do this, but... at this moment, Paul Pierce missed Antoine Walker, who had averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game last season, more than anything.

But shortly before the season started, Antoine Walker was traded to the Dallas Mavericks.

Danny Ainge did not like Antoine Walker's style of play at all, believing his three-pointers were inaccurate and that he lacked hustle on the boards, so he traded him away without hesitation.

This trade only benefited the Boston Celtics financially, saving them 6 million in salary cap space, which allowed them to sign another free agent; however, almost everyone felt that with only a week left before the start of the new season, this was the worst possible time to trade players.

Even Paul Pierce didn't think highly of the trade, but there was nothing he could do. He was still just a player, and even if he was the team leader, if he didn't bring glory to the team, he was still just a tradeable asset!

"Fine!" Coach John agreed to Paul Pierce's request without hesitation, as he also needed a win to stabilize his position as head coach.

Right after the loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Danny Ainge had already issued an ultimatum: if they kept losing, Coach John would be fired.

The Boston Celtics' next opponent was the Orlando Magic, the team at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

On November 26th at 7:00 PM, the Boston Celtics vs. Orlando Magic game was set to take place at the TD Garden in Boston.

During warm-ups, Goodwin kept turning his head to look at the other side of the court, toward the man who scored 13 points in 35 seconds—Tracy McGrady.

At this time, McGrady was still with the Orlando Magic, averaging a monstrous 28.1 points, 6 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game this season. His individual stats were incredible, but his ability to lead the team was merely average.

He and Paul Pierce could be considered "brothers in misfortune," and it remained to be seen which of these two struggling stars would lead their team to victory.

"Beep." As the whistle blew, the game officially began.

Once the game started, both teams' core players, Paul Pierce and McGrady, immediately entered attack mode, scoring frequently.

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 28:26, with the Boston Celtics holding a slight 2-point lead.

The Orlando Magic head coach looked at Paul Pierce, who was still on the floor, and a question mark appeared on his face!

Doesn't he need to rest?

The answer was no!

Led by Paul Pierce, the Boston Celtics were in high spirits, looking to pull away, but just then, Orlando Magic reserve Donnell Harvey stepped up.

He went 5-for-5 from the field, exploding for 10 points to help the team withstand the Boston Celtics' surge!

Paul Pierce: "..."

Once McGrady returned, the Orlando Magic took control of the game and began to chip away at the lead.

In just a few minutes, the Orlando Magic tied the score and even took the lead.

NO!

Paul Pierce stepped up once again, and under his influence, the Boston Celtics managed to keep the deficit at just 2 points.

49:51

The Orlando Magic took a 2-point lead into the second half.

"Everyone, get your heads in the game! Believe in me, we are the ones who will win this game for the Boston Celtics!"

Back in the locker room, Paul Pierce shouted to the group, his intense desire to win spreading to the hearts of the Boston Celtics players, even infecting Goodwin on the bench.

"Yes!" everyone replied in unison.

In the second half, the Boston Celtics' defensive intensity increased significantly, causing the Orlando Magic to commit frequent turnovers. Unfortunately, the Boston Celtics failed to capitalize, missing shot after shot, and the stalemate continued.

The deadlock lasted until the final 5 minutes, at which point Paul Pierce stepped up again. He first grabbed a defensive rebound and then quickly dribbled the ball toward the heart of the Orlando Magic's defense.

"Stop him! Stop him!"

The Orlando Magic players had no choice but to foul, stopping Paul Pierce in his tracks.

Paul Pierce was sent to the free-throw line.

"Swish." "Swish." He made both free throws, adding two points.

Immediately after, Paul Pierce received a pass from a teammate and, despite the defender in his face, rose up for a mid-range jumper without hesitation.

The ball sailed over the defender and toward the rim.

With a "swish," the ball settled firmly into the net.

Score!

Paul Pierce scored 4 consecutive points, helping the team build a 4-point lead, and the Boston Celtics ultimately maintained that 4-point advantage until the end of the game.

94:90

The Boston Celtics won by 4 points, ending their losing streak.

The MVP of this game was undoubtedly Paul Pierce, who played 48 minutes, shot 12-of-22, and racked up 30 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals to lead the team to victory.

The time for victory was always short-lived; on the 28th, they lost 82-89 to the Chicago Bulls, and on the 30th, they fell 85-91 to the Detroit Pistons.

Even though Paul Pierce increased his own playing time, it still failed to solve the team's lack of rotation depth.

On the first day of December, Goodwin woke up early as usual, washed up, brushed his teeth, and got dressed for his morning workout.

After finishing his morning workout, Goodwin's phone rang.

Goodwin couldn't help but stop his path toward the bathroom and immediately picked up the phone, hearing a familiar voice on the other end.

"Goodwin, how have you been lately!"

"Coach Roy!" Goodwin shouted excitedly.

"Coach, I'm doing great, I've been training hard every single day."

Hearing Goodwin's words, Coach Roy's worry eased by a fraction.

This offseason had been a very happy time for Coach Roy, as he had produced three NBA players.

But a month into the new season, Hinrich and Collison were both performing well on their respective teams, while Goodwin hadn't even seen any playing time, which couldn't help but make Coach Roy worry.

"That's good, I was starting to think you weren't going to make it!"

"How could that be, Coach, don't worry, I'm Goodwin!" Goodwin said, full of confidence.