"Damn it, why are we still losing!" His voice echoed through the empty arena.
After the game, Goodwin didn't leave. He waited until everyone else had gone, then took a ball onto the court to vent his anger.
Goodwin was furious with himself for being useless. He had told himself countless times that he was just a substitute, and that losing wasn't his responsibility.
But every time he saw the score displayed on the big screen overhead, anger welled up inside him of its own accord.
"If I were just a little stronger, the team wouldn't lose." Goodwin shouted at the air as he shot.
A figure appeared in the players' tunnel. It was Paul Pierce.
Goodwin's words reached Pierce one after another, grating on his ears. A flame flared in his heart, and he strode over, reaching Goodwin in moments.
"Goodwin, do you really think you're the Celtics' leader? What the hell does losing have to do with you? It's me. I'm the reason. As the team's leader, I couldn't lead us to victory."
"It's my fault!"
Paul Pierce roared like a wounded beast.
Goodwin jumped in fright. What the hell!
Hearing Pierce's words, Goodwin fell silent.
Thump, thump... The only sound in the arena was the ball hitting the floor. It grew fainter and fainter, then stopped.
"It's my fault," Paul Pierce said softly, his voice tinged with sorrow.
Losing was just as hard on Paul Pierce.
"Goodwin, you know, in my first season, the team won just 19 games. I swore then that I'd take the Boston Celtics to the NBA Finals. But all these years later, after giving it everything I've got, I still can't get past the first round of the playoffs."
"It's so frustrating. Sometimes I want to give up, to run away and join another team. But I can't bring myself to do it. I, Paul Pierce, have never been a coward, and I'll fight alongside the Boston Celtics for the rest of my life."
As Paul Pierce's words reached his ears one by one, a line came to Goodwin's mind.
"Paul, restoring the Celtics to their former glory is our generation's duty."
The wheels of fate began to turn.
On February 19, the Boston Celtics arrived in Los Angeles to face the Los Angeles Clippers.
From the opening tip, Paul Pierce played aggressively, driving inside and shooting from outside as he pushed the Los Angeles Clippers back.
Then the Clippers' captain, Elton Brand, stepped up, keeping his team in the game with one midrange jumper after another.
"Goodwin, get ready to go in."
Doc Rivers decided to add another spark. He was determined to win this game.
The Celtics were in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, just one game behind the Toronto Raptors in eighth. But the tenth-place Cleveland Cavaliers were also only one game behind them. They had to beat "weaker" teams like this.
"Yes." Goodwin took off his jacket and headed to the scorer's table to wait for his turn.
The moment Goodwin reached the scorer's table, his female fans in the stands erupted in cheers again. "Goodwin!" "Goodwin!" "Goodwin!"... Even on the road, he had plenty of female fans.
If he hadn't seen the huge Clippers logo at center court, Goodwin might have thought he was still at TD Garden.
At the next dead ball, Goodwin was subbed in.
Once he took the floor, the Boston Celtics' offense clearly improved. Goodwin's off-ball movement drew plenty of defensive attention, giving Paul Pierce room to attack even more fiercely and score repeatedly in one-on-one situations.
Goodwin also launched the occasional shot from the perimeter.
The Clippers' captain, Elton Brand, couldn't hold them back!
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. They're no pushover."
"Yes," the players answered in unison.
In the second half, the Boston Celtics continued to run their offense through Paul Pierce, while on defense they focused their attention on the Clippers' captain, Elton Brand.
With the defense collapsing on him and help defenders closing in, Elton Brand's shooting percentage plummeted.
The third quarter ended.
26:17
The Boston Celtics outscored them by another nine points in the quarter, pushing the lead past 20.
The fourth quarter became garbage time.
In the end, the Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Clippers 102–81, winning by 21 points.
There was no doubt that Paul Pierce was the game's MVP. He went 14-for-22 from the field, shooting an outstanding 63.6%, made four of his nine three-point attempts, and sank eight of nine free throws. He finished with a game-high 40 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block.
Goodwin also continued to produce steadily off the bench, shooting 6-for-9 overall and 4-for-7 from three to finish with 16 points and two rebounds.
In the postgame interview, Doc Rivers praised his players lavishly. "The players were fantastic. They gave it everything they had on every possession, on both ends of the floor. I'm very satisfied with their performance."
After the game, Doc Rivers received even better news. The Toronto Raptors had just lost at home to the Chicago Bulls, 75–73.
That meant the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors now had identical records.
But because the Boston Celtics had gone 1–2 against the Toronto Raptors in their three matchups this season, the Raptors still sat ahead of them in the standings.
Doc Rivers didn't think it mattered.
The real tests were still to come.
After beating the Los Angeles Clippers, the Boston Celtics wasted no time heading to their next road game, against the Portland Trail Blazers in "Rip City."
The story behind the name "Rip City" went back to the Trail Blazers' first year. As newcomers to the NBA, they hosted the Los Angeles Lakers on February 18. At the time, the Lakers were an undisputed powerhouse. Though the two teams were far from evenly matched, the Trail Blazers never gave up. They lived by the motto, "Who cares if they're elite? The elite are exactly who we're here to beat!" Though the game was already out of reach, Trail Blazers guard Barnett sank a deep shot, and the team's announcer shouted, "Rip City!" He had only meant to encourage the players—to say they were tearing through the opponent's defense.
From then on, whenever a Trail Blazers player made a great play, the announcer shouted "Rip City!" to fire up the team. But no one could have imagined that the phrase would tear apart the Trail Blazers themselves along with their opponents' defenses. Four years after the team was founded, they used the first overall pick to select the greatest center in franchise history, Bill Walton. He brought them two championships, but unfortunately, injuries plagued him until his retirement.
Ten years later came the draft that would break Trail Blazers fans' hearts the most. They held the second pick, but passed on the greatest player in history, Michael Jordan. Hoping to find another "Bill Walton" to lead them to glory, they selected the 7-foot-1 Sam Bowie instead.
Sam Bowie had never suffered a sports injury in college. But after joining the Trail Blazers, he first underwent surgery to correct his tibia, then broke his shinbone. His body was as fragile as Lin Daiyu from Dream of the Red Chamber. Five years later, the Trail Blazers traded him to the Brooklyn Nets. He then faded from the public eye, announcing his retirement six years later.
This season, the Portland Trail Blazers had been middling at best, with the playoffs still far out of reach. Even with a winning percentage of 50%, playing in the brutal Western Conference meant they still couldn't secure a playoff spot.
Boston Celtics locker room:
"We have to win tonight. Understood?" Doc Rivers issued a direct order.
The Toronto Raptors had just played another game and lost again, dropping to ninth in the Eastern Conference. But if the Boston Celtics also lost, the Raptors would move back up to eighth.
"Got it, Coach," the Celtics players replied confidently.
Doc Rivers then began laying out the game plan: pack the paint. Nearly all the Portland Trail Blazers' offense came from inside, while their perimeter shooting was mediocre, especially from three. The three starting perimeter players were hitting only around 30% of their three-pointers.
Doc Rivers also told his players to focus on defending Zach Randolph.
In his third year, Zach Randolph was emerging as an elite big man, averaging 20.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, and two assists per game.
Under Doc Rivers's game plan, the Boston Celtics took control early, especially on defense, making life miserable for the Portland Trail Blazers.
"Fuck! I'm not The Diesel."
Zach Randolph couldn't help cursing. Every time he got the ball, the Celtics swarmed him.
Even the veteran Vin Baker occasionally drew offensive fouls from Zach Randolph.
It was driving Randolph crazy.
Without Zach Randolph producing consistently on offense, the Portland Trail Blazers had very little going for them.
Only four minutes had passed, and the Portland Trail Blazers had scored just four points.
But Doc Rivers was still unhappy with the result. His team was ahead by only four.
8:4
Substitution! Substitution!
Send in Goodwin.
Goodwin: "..."
As soon as Goodwin took the floor, he was like a microwave: no time to warm up, just straight to turning the other team's basket into a riddled target.
Swish. Swish. Swish.... He hit all three of his three-point attempts, drilling the Portland Trail Blazers' basket.
That's more like it!
Doc Rivers nodded in satisfaction.
The Boston Celtics built a double-digit lead in the first quarter and held onto it until the final buzzer.
In the end, thanks to Doc Rivers's pregame game plan and his players' execution on the court, the Boston Celtics won this crucial game 97–84, by 13 points.
With this victory, the Boston Celtics secured eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
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