In November, with Scottie Pippen sidelined due to injury and Michael Jordan carrying the team on his own, the Chicago Bulls managed only an 8-7 record.
For the first time in his life, the God of Basketball, in the mire of the season's start, showed a disheveled and struggling appearance that caught the attention of the entire league.
The Celtics, with their relentless drive, started the season with a crazy 11-game winning streak, achieving a 13-2 record.
Lin Qi's Boston Celtics reached the top of the league.
Boston is completely ablaze, with media and fans alike chanting for a revival.
But the management and the locker room both knew that this record was not achieved through the coach's system, but through the individual efforts of the star players on the court.
In the opening game against the Washington Bullets, just two minutes into the first quarter, the tactical differences between head coach Rick Pitino and star point guard Gary Payton became public.
Pitino stood on the sidelines, cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting, "Speed up! Stick to the pre-match plan!"
Gary Payton, who had just crossed halfway with the ball, didn't even turn his head. He simply gestured for everyone to stop, ignoring Pitino's instructions. He stared intently at the defender, controlling the ball with his left hand while giving Kevin Garnett a wink with his right.
Garnett immediately stepped up to set a screen. It was a very basic high pick and roll, without any complicated movement. But Gary Payton wanted simple, disruptive power. Before the screen was even set properly, he had already driven with his shoulder down, and before the defenders could close in, he slipped the ball between the defenders' knees with his right hand.
Garnett, following up in the middle, received the ball, jumped, and slammed it home with both hands for a score.
The entire stadium erupted in chaos.
Pitino was halfway through his tactical call from the sidelines, his hand still raised in the air, when he could only awkwardly lower it.
The ball went in, and the entire stadium was chanting Gary Payton and Garnett's names; nobody cared what the coach had just instructed them to do.
As Gary Payton retreated on defense, he passed Garnett and patted him on the shoulder. "Kid, if you get into position, I'll feed you the ball."
Garnett laughed and chased after him.
Right before everyone's eyes, Gary Payton snatched the tactical control of the game from the head coach with a single pass.
In December, they played the Indiana Pacers on the road and trailed by eleven points after three quarters.
Reggie Miller used frequent screens to catch and shoot on the perimeter, while Mark Jackson used his body to back down the ball, effectively dismantling the Celtics ' full-court press.
Pitino, his face grim, called a timeout. Holding his tactical board, he rapidly pressured the players. "Keep pushing forward! Their stamina is dropping, we need to maintain discipline! Trust the system!"
"Stop talking nonsense, Coach."
Gary Payton ripped the towel off his neck, interrupting the head coach's speech. The bench fell silent instantly.
Gary Payton tapped his finger on the whiteboard. " Mark Jackson isn't afraid of this at all; he can find Reggie with just one pass. We run more than them, and we're the ones who suffer."
Pitino's fingers paused on the tactical board, his face darkening completely. " Gary, so how do you plan to play?"
"Defend your half," Gary Payton said bluntly. "Have Dikembe hold his position in the box, and have Kevin cover Reggie. As for that fat defender, leave him to me."
Pitino stared at Gary Payton, his eyes filled with cold scrutiny.
No one on the entire bench dared to speak.
Garnett, sitting to the side, was drinking water with his head down and didn't say anything, but he silently moved his body five centimeters closer to Gary Payton.
Meanwhile, rookies Ron Mercer and Tony Delk stared intently at their shoelaces, speechless... They were Pitino's protégés, but even they weren't used to this kind of scene.
Pitino gritted his teeth, then coldly flipped the tactical board over. "Play according to what Gary Payton and I agreed on."
He spoke in a very forceful tone, trying to create the illusion that this adjustment was part of his plan all along.
Gary Payton didn't call him out, but turned around and slapped Garnett in the chest.
In the next six minutes, the Celtics, relying on the veterans' instincts, managed to regain control of the game. Horry hit a game-winning three-pointer from the corner.
With a record of 14 wins and 3 losses, Boston won on the road.
But on his way back to the locker room, Pitino showed no joy whatsoever at the victory.
Because he clearly saw that the first person the players crowded around after winning the game was Gary Payton.
The Spurs arrived in Boston, where rookies Tim Duncan and Garnett faced off.
That night, Garnett scored 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists, and blocked Tim Duncan's shot with 40 seconds left. He then finished with a fast break alley-oop dunk after receiving a pass from Gary Payton, winning the game.
The next morning, General Manager Lin Qi slammed a contract estimate sheet onto Boss Chris Paul Gaston's desk.
Gaston had just turned to the last page when he nearly jumped out of his chair. "It's gone up again? 110 million?!"
" Chris Paul," Lin Qi leaned back on the opposite sofa, his tone calm, "Once he wins the MVP, his price won't be this high. Salaries across the league are going up; we can't expect to retain players using outdated standards."
"This will completely disrupt the team's salary structure!" Gaston paced anxiously back and forth in his office. " Mutombo and Gary Payton already have huge contracts, and then there's Eddie Jones..."
" Gary Payton is 29, Mutombo is 31, five years from now... do you think they'll still be the mainstays?" Lin Qi pointed to the newspaper clipping on the table of Garnett's alley-oop dunk from last night. "But Kevin Garnett is the cornerstone of this team's future. You think he's expensive now... his agent, Fleisher, sat in my office yesterday and made it clear that this is just the beginning, and he'll raise the price later."
Gaston laughed in exasperation, "What if I don't give it to you?"
"Then you'll have to be prepared to face the media frenzy, and explain to the Boston fans whose jerseys are selling like hotcakes and who can't get season tickets why a team aiming for the championship isn't willing to write checks to their future core." Lin Qi stood up and straightened his suit jacket. "And Gary Payton. Gary Payton isn't stupid. If the team seems weak and incompetent in re-signing Garnett, he'll immediately conclude that the team's management has no intention of competing for a championship. At that point, this locker room will completely fall apart."
Gaston slumped back in his chair, his face ashen, rubbing his temples. "Are you threatening me?"
"No, I'm just stating the facts." Lin Qi took back the documents, walked to the office door, and glanced back at his boss one last time. "You can be stingy, Chris Paul. But don't let Kevin see it, and definitely don't let Gary Payton see it."
Gaston closed his eyes briefly, his voice slightly hoarse. "How much do you really think he's worth now?"
Lin Qi's mind flashed back to the image of Garnett's thunderous roar after blocking Tim Duncan's shot last night. He said softly, "I don't know."
The door closed, shutting out the boss's curses.
As Lin Qi walked out of the office, the large television screen in the corridor was still playing the footage of last night's airdrop on a loop.
Garnett was celebrating wildly on screen; this contract extension was an unavoidable issue for Boston.