A "Grand Gift" for Former Teammate Goran Dragić

"What did that mean? You lost, so you weren't playing anymore?"

"Is the guy upstairs an idiot? This was obviously planned."

"Hahaha, I get it now. They deliberately rested players, deliberately lost the game, and used it to end this farce!"

"It really was time to end it. They couldn't stay wound so tight forever. Our ultimate goal has always been the championship. There's no need to chase too much in the regular season—just finish first in the league and secure home-court advantage."

After Goodwin posted the news on social media, it immediately caused an uproar online. However, many seasoned fans were not particularly surprised, because they had already connected the information the Boston Celtics released at noon with what Goodwin had now revealed.

By sorting through and analyzing these clues, fans were able to roughly deduce that the Boston Celtics had intended to rotate rest among four core players, including Goodwin. Their purpose was clearly to lose this game, thereby bringing the month-long "victim" act to an end and returning to their usual rhythm of play.

As it turned out, the fans' guesses were completely correct.

The Boston Celtics' move indeed carried deeper meaning. They wanted to decisively bid farewell to that long and winding "victim" experience and restore the intense yet orderly atmosphere of their usual games.

This change was especially obvious for Goodwin—since the start of December, his average shot attempts per game had risen by a full 6.3 compared to the same period before. At the same time, his minutes on the court had increased by eight whole minutes!

Such abnormal numbers were truly baffling. After all, basketball had always emphasized teamwork rather than individual heroics. If this situation were allowed to continue for too long, it would inevitably seriously damage the harmonious, stable chemistry