The fifth stop on our Western Conference road trip: San Antonio.
Four games in five days. With the shortened season's distorted schedule, tonight's game is the second of a back-to-back series.
When the entire Celtics team stepped into the Alamodome, their faces betrayed their exhaustion.
Before the game, when Boston's latest roster was handed to the scorer's table, a murmur of laughter erupted from the Texas media section.
The official injury report was absurdly detailed.
Dikembe Mutombo... [Left knee muscle soreness, daily monitoring].
Gary Payton... [Minor right groin strain, monitored daily].
Ron Harper... [Back spasms, daily observation].
Dominique Wilkins... [Flu, Daily Watch].
Four identical reports were packed into the technical table an hour before the competition began.
Gregg Popovich glanced at the list, and his lips twitched involuntarily.
He understood that Boston wanted to rest players, but he couldn't figure out Boston intentions. Popovich couldn't tell whether the opposing team thought this game didn't matter and were simply throwing their team to their deaths, or whether they believed they could take a victory from the Alamodome with their remaining depleted squad.
This feeling of not being able to figure out his situation annoyed Popovich for no apparent reason.
He casually handed the list back to the assistant coach and glanced up at the away team's bench.
Lin Qi sat there, resting with his eyes closed.
"It seems the Boston aren't planning on putting their veterans on the court tonight," San Antonio columnist quipped in a quick commentary. "But that's smart, since who wants to face a back-to-back showdown between Tim Duncan and David Robinson Late Night?"
Local media believe the Celtics are scared, but this does indeed highlight the Celtics' veteran players' physical limitations.
Head coach Doc Rivers was so anxious on the phone last night that he was scratching his head, clutching the new matchup chart tightly in his hand, and confirming it with Lin Qi three times.
"Lin, that's San Antonio, that's the Spurs ' Twin Towers." Doc Rivers ' voice was filled with anxiety. "Resting four players at once is equivalent to taking away our defensive mainstays on both the inside and outside. Chauncey Billups and Eddie can fill in on the perimeter, but who's going to go to the paint to battle those two All-Stars? Ben Wallace and P.J. Brown are indeed tough on defense, but their height disadvantage is too obvious. In half-court sets, how are you going to let Kevin face the repeated double-teams from the Twin Towers by himself?"
"I have my plans, Doc." On the other end of the phone, Lin Qi flipped through the scouting reports on his desk, his tone calm. "Let Kevin lead the team. Enough talk, start according to this roster."
"But that's practically handing over a victory! San Antonio won't play easy on us at home!" Doc Rivers exclaimed.
"Even losing a regular season game won't significantly affect our ranking," Lin Qi said, tapping his fingertips lightly on the table, his voice low and calm. "But Kevin will have to experience firsthand the pressure of top-tier half-court offense in this Jordan era. He'll have to face it sooner or later. Some pressure can't be felt by sitting in the video room and watching a hundred times."
Doc Rivers opened his mouth, then completely choked on the other end of the phone.
After hanging up the phone, Lin Qi leaned back in his chair and looked at the detailed analysis report of the Spurs on the table.
What he didn't tell Doc Rivers was that, as a hypothetical rival, the Spurs were the most important obstacle on the Celtics' path to the championship this year. With limited regular-season matchups in a shortened season, there was no need to reveal all their cards and tactical strategies to Popovich in San Antonio beforehand. On the contrary, fielding a depleted roster for a head-to-head battle would not only conceal the team's true tactical completeness but also force the Spurs to expose some of their trump cards.
Most importantly, he needed to find the best whetstone for young Garnett.
The Alamodome was packed with more than 30,000 Texas fans.
When Boston's revamped starting lineup stepped onto the court, the San Antonio found the situation less than optimistic.
Despite losing four veterans, the Celtics ' roster depth remains solid.
Chauncey Billups Billups took over at point guard, Eddie Jones was the shooting guard, Chris Paul Pierce played small forward, and Kevin Garnett partnered with Ben Wallace in the frontcourt.
Even without two All-Stars and two key veterans, this is still a young lineup with long arms and a tough defense.
Meanwhile, the Spurs on the other side of the court were equally prepared. Spurs head coach Popovich fielded their strongest defensive lineup: point guard Avery Johnson, shooting guard Mario Elie, small forward Sean Elliott, and the Twin Towers of Tim Duncan and David Robinson in the paint.
Before the game started, Garnett walked to the Spurs' half of the court and patted Elliott on the shoulder.
"Hey, Sean, long time no see." Garnett tugged at his jersey, a smile spreading across his face. "I'm not holding back on the court tonight. You'd better tell that sophomore on your team to watch out."
At the opening tip-off, Garnett faced off against Tim Duncan at center court.
Garnett bounced twice on the spot, deliberately bumped his shoulder lightly against Tim Duncan, and chuckled mischievously in a low voice, "Hey, Tim, Sean just told me all his secrets on how to defend you. You're not going to have a good night."
Standing beside him, Tim Duncan, expressionless, turned his head and looked at him with an extremely calm, even serious, clear gaze, and replied.
Okay, keep it up.
Garnett swallowed the next trash talk that was on the tip of his tongue.
The whistle blows, the basketball soars into the air, and the game officially begins.
Soon, Boston's interior players experienced firsthand the power of the Spurs' Twin Towers.
Tim Duncan called for the ball in the low post on the left and caught it with one hand. Garnett immediately closed in, pressing his chest against Tim Duncan's back and spreading his arms to contest the shot.
But Tim Duncan's rhythm was too steady. He used his shoulder to push back twice, testing Garnett's weight shift, and then simply turned left to face the basket. Without any extra feints, he simply used his balance to lock half his body position and jumped.
The basketball bounced off the top right corner of the backboard and swished cleanly into the net.
2 to 0.
He didn't lose his position while defending Garnett, and his hand was even on Garnett's face, but Tim Duncan was still able to use this most basic rhythm to put the ball in over Garnett's head.
Returning to the offensive end, the Celtics responded in kind.
Garnett had the ball at the high post. Facing Tim Duncan, he first made a face-up jab step. Tim Duncan's center of gravity didn't move, he only moved back half a step. But that half step of space was enough for Garnett.
He smoothly gathered the ball and jumped, Tim Duncan had no time to block it.
Swish!
A swirl into the net, 2-2.
Turning back, the young Ben Wallace relentlessly battled " The Admiral " David Robinson on the defensive end. Big Ben was at a disadvantage in terms of height, and Robinson repeatedly grabbed offensive rebounds for second-chance points.
But Big Ben's core strength came into play. He gritted his teeth and held the Admiral's lower body, managing to withstand the Admiral's powerful attacks several times.
After a few rounds, the battle in the paint between the two teams intensified once again.
Garnett received the ball on the right high post, once again posing as if to drive. This move successfully drew Tim Duncan's defensive focus, causing the Admiral to step out to the perimeter as well. Just as the Spurs ' Twin Towers ' defensive formation was stretched open, Garnett flicked his right wrist and delivered a pass straight to the basket.
Big Ben Wallace, positioned under the basket, understood perfectly, leaped to catch the ball, and effortlessly slammed it into the hoop.
The score was neck and neck from the first quarter onwards, with the dull thuds of physical collisions echoing throughout the court.