Eighth in the East

"Damn it, why do we keep losing!" The voice echoed through the empty arena.

After the game ended, Goodwin did not leave the arena. Instead, after everyone else had departed, he took a ball onto the court to vent the anger in his heart.

Goodwin was furious at his own incompetence. He had told himself countless times that he was merely a substitute and that losing had nothing to do with him.

But every time he saw the score displayed on the giant screen hanging from the ceiling, a fire would ignite in his heart against his will.

"If I were just a little stronger, the team wouldn't have lost," Goodwin roared at the air while shooting the ball.

Just then, a figure appeared in the player tunnel—it was Paul Pierce.

Every word Goodwin shouted reached Paul Pierce's ears. Paul Pierce found it grating, and a flame ignited in his heart. He strode over and arrived in front of Goodwin in no time.

"Goodwin, do you really think you're the leader of the Boston Celtics? What the hell does the responsibility for losing have to do with you? It's me, it's my fault. As the leader of this team, I failed to lead us to victory."

"It's my fault!"

Paul Pierce roared like a wounded beast.

Goodwin was startled. Holy crap!

Upon hearing Paul Pierce's words, Goodwin fell silent.

Thump, thump... the only sound left in the arena was the ball hitting the floor, growing quieter and quieter until it stopped altogether.

"It's my fault," Paul Pierce whispered, his voice tinged with a hint of sorrow.

Losing was just as painful for Paul Pierce.

"Goodwin, do you know? In my first season, the team only won 19 games. Back then, I swore I would lead the Boston Celtics to the finals, but so many years have passed, and despite giving it my all, I can still only make it to the first round of the playoffs."

"It's so frustrating. Sometimes I want to give up, to run away, to go to another team. But I'm not willing to. I, Paul Pierce, have never been a deserter. I will fight to the death with the Boston Celtics for the rest of my life."

As Paul Pierce's words reached his ears, one sentence surfaced in Goodwin's mind.

"Senior Paul, restoring the glory of the Celtics is a duty we cannot shirk."

The gears of fate began to turn.

On February 19th, the Boston Celtics arrived in Los Angeles to face the Los Angeles Clippers.

As soon as the game started, Paul Pierce played with great aggression, driving inside and shooting from the outside, forcing the Los Angeles Clippers to retreat step by step.

At this moment, the captain of the Los Angeles Clippers, Elton Brand, stepped up, using mid-range jumper after mid-range jumper to help the team keep the score close.

"Goodwin, get ready to check in."

Doc Rivers decided to add more fuel to the fire; he was determined to win this game.

At this point, they were sitting in 9th place in the Eastern Conference, just one game behind the 8th-place Toronto Raptors. However, the 10th-place Cleveland Cavaliers were also only one game behind them, so they had to win against this "weaker team."

"Yes, sir." Goodwin took off his warm-up jacket and walked to the scorer's table to wait.

The moment Goodwin walked to the scorer's table, his female fans at the arena began cheering wildly once again: "Goodwin!" "Goodwin!" "Goodwin!"... Even on the road, Goodwin had no shortage of female fans.

If not for the large Clippers logo printed in the center of the court, Goodwin would have thought he was still at the TD Garden.

After the ball went dead, Goodwin was subbed in.

Once Goodwin entered the game, the Boston Celtics' offense clearly improved, especially with Goodwin's off-ball movement, which drew a lot of defensive attention and allowed Paul Pierce to play even more ferociously, repeatedly scoring in isolation.

Later, Goodwin would also fire away from the perimeter from time to time.

Captain Elton Brand: I can't hold him!

The lead gradually stretched into double digits.

The Boston Celtics laid the foundation for victory in the first half alone.

During halftime, Doc Rivers reminded his players: "Don't let your guard down in the second half. The opponent isn't some pushover team."

"Yes, sir," the players replied in unison.

In the second half, the Boston Celtics continued to run their offense through Paul Pierce, while on the defensive end, they threw heavy coverage at Captain Elton Brand.

Facing double-teams and help defense, Captain Elton Brand's shooting percentage plummeted.

End of the third quarter.

26:17

The Boston Celtics outscored them by 9 points in the quarter, pushing the lead to over 20 points.

The fourth quarter became garbage time.

In the end, the Boston Celtics crushed the Los Angeles Clippers 102:81, winning by 21 points.

The biggest contributor to this game was undoubtedly Paul Pierce, who shot 14-of-22 for a 63.6% field goal percentage, hit 4-of-9 from three-point range, and made 8-of-9 free throws, racking up a game-high 40 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.

Meanwhile, the substitute Goodwin provided stable production, shooting 6-of-9 and 4-of-7 from three-point range for 16 points and 2 rebounds.

In the post-game interview, Doc Rivers heaped praise on his players: "The players were fantastic. Every possession, every defensive stop, they gave it their all. I am very satisfied with their performance."

After it ended, Doc Rivers received even more exciting news: just moments ago, the Toronto Raptors had lost at home to the Chicago Bulls, 73:75, by 2 points.

This meant that the records of the Boston Celtics and the Toronto Raptors were now tied.

However, because the Boston Celtics were 1-2 in their three matchups against the Toronto Raptors this season, the Toronto Raptors remained ranked ahead of the Boston Celtics.

Doc Rivers, however, expressed that it didn't matter.

The main event was yet to come.

After defeating the Los Angeles Clippers, the Boston Celtics headed straight to their next away game, which was against the "Rip City" Portland Trail Blazers.

The origin of "Rip City" dates back to one year after the Trail Blazers were founded. As newcomers to the NBA, they hosted the Los Angeles Lakers on February 18th. The Los Angeles Lakers at that time were an absolute powerhouse. Although the gap in strength between the two sides was massive, the Trail Blazers players had no intention of giving up, embodying the spirit of "Forget their elite status, I'm here to beat the elite!" Although the outcome of the game was already decided, after Trail Blazers guard Barnett hit a long-range shot, the team's commentator shouted, "Rip City!" In truth, his original intention was simply to encourage the players, wanting to express the idea of tearing through the opponent's defense.

From then on, whenever the Trail Blazers' players put on a brilliant performance, the commentator would shout "Rip City" to cheer them on. But at the time, no one expected that this would not only tear through the opponents' defenses but also tear the Trail Blazers franchise apart. Four years after the team's founding, they used the first overall pick to select the greatest center in team history, Bill Walton, who brought them two championships. Unfortunately, Bill Walton was plagued by injuries until his retirement.

The draft ten years later was also the most heartbreaking one for Trail Blazers fans. That year, they held the second overall pick but missed out on the greatest player in history—Michael Jordan. Because they hoped to find another "Bill Walton" to lead them to glory, they selected the 2.16-meter-tall Sam Bowie.

Sam Bowie had never suffered any athletic injuries during his college years, but after arriving at the Trail Blazers, he first dealt with leg bone realignment, followed by a fractured tibia, his body as fragile as "Lin Daiyu" from Dream of the Red Chamber. Consequently, five years later, the Trail Blazers traded him to the Brooklyn Nets, after which he faded into obscurity and announced his retirement six years later.

The Portland Trail Blazers' performance this season has been mediocre, and they are nowhere near the playoffs. Even if they reached a 50% winning percentage, they are in the wild Western Conference, where a 50% win rate still wouldn't earn them a playoff spot.

Boston Celtics locker room:

"We must win tonight's game, understand?" Doc Rivers issued a direct order for victory.

Not long ago, the Toronto Raptors had just finished their game and lost again, dropping directly to 9th in the Eastern Conference. However, if the Boston Celtics were to lose as well, the Toronto Raptors would be able to return to the 8th position in the East.

"Understood, Coach," the Celtics players replied with full confidence.

Doc Rivers then began to set up the tactics: collapse the defense. The Portland Trail Blazers' offense was almost entirely in the paint, and their perimeter shooting was very average, especially their three-pointers; the three perimeter starters had a three-point shooting percentage of only about 30%.

At the same time, Doc Rivers instructed his players to focus their defense on Zach Randolph.

Third-year player Zach Randolph had begun to show his performance as a top-tier interior player, averaging 20.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2 assists per game.

Under Doc Rivers' setup, the Boston Celtics took the lead as soon as the game started, especially on the defensive end, making things very difficult for the Portland Trail Blazers.

FUCK! I'm not the Big Shark.

Zach Randolph couldn't help but curse; as soon as he got the ball, he was swarmed by double-teams.

Even the veteran Vin Baker would occasionally draw offensive fouls on Zach Randolph.

This made things incredibly frustrating for Zach Randolph.

Without stable production from Zach Randolph, the Portland Trail Blazers' offense was extremely weak.

Only 4 minutes had passed in the game, and the Portland Trail Blazers had only scored 4 points.

But Doc Rivers was very dissatisfied with this result because the team was only leading by 4 points.

8:4

Substitution, substitution.

Release the Goodwin.

Goodwin: "..."

As soon as Goodwin stepped onto the court, he was like a microwave—no adjustment needed; the moment he entered, he turned the opponent's rim into a target riddled with holes.

"Swish." "Swish." "Swish."... Three for three from beyond the arc, piercing the Portland Trail Blazers' rim.

That's more like it!

Doc Rivers nodded with satisfaction.

The Boston Celtics established a double-digit lead in the first quarter and maintained that double-digit advantage until the end of the game.

In the end, relying on Doc Rivers' pre-game setup and the players' execution on the court, the Boston Celtics won this crucial game 97:84, with a 13-point lead.

With this victory, the Boston Celtics secured their position as the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference.