December 27, Boston, Celtics training facility.
At 2:30 a. m., the team bus had just arrived at the training facility, and the players were allowed to go home to rest.
But the coaching staff did not.
Lin Qi pushed open the door to the coach's office. He took off his coat and threw it forcefully onto the back of the chair.
Rick Carlisle, Tim Grgurich, Dwane Casey, and David Blatt filed in.
No one spoke; the atmosphere in the office was so tense it was suffocating.
Lin Qi didn't sit down. He walked to the tactical whiteboard, picked up Mark, and wrote a number heavily on it.
27.
Then he wrote another number next to it.
33.
He turned around, looked at the four coaches in front of him, and spoke in a tone as cold as the Boston winter wind.
"Six games. We're just six games away from the Los Angeles Lakers ' supposedly unbreakable 33-game winning streak."
Lin Qi slammed Mark marker on the table with a sharp "thud": "Before we went to Dallas, all the media outlets in the country were calculating our schedule, wondering if we could make history. And what happened? We didn't even keep the suspense going until January."
The conference room was eerily quiet. Blatt subconsciously touched his nose, while Casey looked down at the technical statistics in his hand.
"Don't try to fob me off with excuses like 'back-to-back away games.'" Lin Qi slammed his hands on the table, his gaze sweeping over everyone with obvious anger. "We're a team aiming for the championship! In the playoffs, we'll inevitably face more extreme challenges than back-to-back games. I paid for the most expensive coaching staff in the league, not for you to brag to each other while you're on a winning streak. I need you to tell me..."
Lin Qi pointed to the videotape on the table.
Why was Big Ben so thoroughly slaughtered against Shaq? Why did our defense crumble like paper against Dallas? What damn flaws did these two games expose?!
No one dared to speak immediately. They rarely saw Lin Qi in this state. The Lin Qi of the past was always calm and composed, but tonight, he unusually displayed the authority and imposing presence of the team's top decision-maker.
Finally, it was lead assistant coach Grgurich, an old-school coach who had seen it all, who broke the silence.
" Lin Qi, you're right. We lacked a contingency plan for the variable of 'extreme inside scoring'."
Grgurich pulled out a chair and sat down, his tone frank and direct. "Our defensive system is built on high-speed switching and large-scale coordinated sweeps. But this approach has a fatal logical flaw... it relies heavily on KG and the Big Ben."
The veteran coach placed his hands on the table, his tone serious. " Big Ben's height is a disadvantage. When defending Shaq in the low post, he has to rely on his core strength to tough it out every second. If it were last season, KG could freely collapse into the paint to help. But not now."
" The Lakers ' Triangle Offense has matured a lot this season. Shaq's vision and passing decisions in the low post are extremely quick. As long as KG dares to leave the perimeter threat open to double-team, Shaq can immediately pass the ball out to punish us. This led to the cruelest result... For most of the game against the Lakers, it was Big Ben Wallace carrying that 300-plus pounds of weight alone in the paint."
"He did grit his teeth and win that game in Los Angeles, but his tank was completely drained. That's why he didn't jump as high in Dallas."
Defensive assistant coach Casey chimed in, pulling up a replay of the Mavericks ' game. "It's not just about Big Ben. That game in Dallas exposed the chain reaction we experience when facing 'stretch power forwards'."
The video footage freezes on the moment Nowitzki receives the ball outside the three-point line.
"KG is one of the few players in the league whose footwork and wingspan can match up against Nowitzki, but once he closes the distance, we've fallen into Don Nelson's trap." Casey drew a long red line on the whiteboard, moving the dunk representing KG directly beyond the three-point line. " Nowitzki is constantly hovering on the perimeter, which effectively draws KG away from the paint."
"As everyone knows, KG is the free agent in our defensive system, the core of our half-court help defense and sweeping." Casey pointed heavily to the empty paint area on the whiteboard. "Once KG is forced to guard the high-post shooters on the perimeter, the paint loses its most crucial barrier. Big Ben used to be able to cover for us, but last night Big Ben was exhausted by Shaq. With KG gone, our defensive system has problems."
"What's even more dangerous is Mutombo." Casey pulled up Dallas's replay, fast-forwarding to a half-court set play. "Look here. Dikembe knows our tactics all too well. He always manages to block Gary Payton and Chris Paul's drives. On defense, it's like he's coaching the Mavericks on how to play us."
Lin Qi watched Mutombo block Gary Payton on the screen, and his anger subsided slightly. He knew the coaching staff had hit the nail on the head.
"And what about the offense?" Lin Qi looked at David Blatt. "In Dallas, besides Chris Paul, we don't have anyone who can score?"
Blatt cleared his throat. "This is a sign of a weak system. When Big Ben and Kevin Garnett are completely worn down on defense and unable to provide high-quality screens and pick-and-rolls on offense, our passing and cutting system comes to a standstill. Once it stops, we're forced to just throw the ball to Chris Paul and let him try to get through it."
" Chris Paul succeeded against the Lakers," Blatt said, pointing to the stat sheet. "Against the Mavericks, Chris Paul scored 34 points, but he was tired, and his shooting percentage dropped. We didn't have a second set of plays to consistently score. That's my responsibility; I didn't devise any off-ball plays that allowed us to break free from screens on the perimeter."
The office fell silent again.
Lin Qi took a deep breath. He had been angry to intimidate. Now that the problem had been identified, he needed a solution.
He walked to the tactics board and erased "27" and "33".
"A record is a record, it's gone." Lin Qi's voice regained its calm. "Treat these two games as a full-body checkup, Rick Carlisle."
"Yes." Head coach Rick Carlisle immediately looked up.
"Starting tomorrow, I want to see changes." Lin Qi, pen in hand, listed key points on the whiteboard as he spoke. "First, defense. Against a heavy center like Casey, you need to think more about how to deal with him. Don't always rely on Big Ben; we have several reliable interior players! Find ways to practice low-post double-teams and rotation help defense tactics more."
"Understood." Casey nodded.
"Secondly, on offense." Lin Qi looked at David Blatt, "When the inside game can't provide high-quality high screens, we need more off-ball movement on the perimeter. Utilize Doug Christie's corner presence and Michael Redd's off-ball movement and shooting. Even have Chauncey Billups ( Billups ) and Gary ( Gary Payton ) play dual point guard to speed up the ball movement! We can't rely solely on Chris Paul's tough drives to score once the offense stalls."
"No problem." Blatt quickly made notes on the tactics board.
"Third, and most importantly," Lin Qi turned his head, his gaze sharply fixed on head coach Rick Carlisle, "Rotation. Rick, this is your responsibility."
Rick Carlisle remained silent, not avoiding Lin Qi's gaze.
"I understand your desire to maintain the winning streak. All of Boston, all of America, is watching that number, so you're pushing your starters to the limit to ensure victory in every game," Lin Qi said sternly, pinpointing the problem directly. "But this is a fucking stupid mistake!"
Lin Qi slammed his hand on the roster on the table. "Open your eyes and look at this team's roster! We have Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups Billups, Ron Artest, and Brad Miller on our bench! This is a roster that could go straight to the starting lineup on any other team, or even make the playoffs!"
"But what about you? In the last ten games, for those damn wins, Big Ben and Kevin Garnett have averaged over 38 minutes of playing time! You're practically trading their careers for regular season wins!" Lin Qi's voice rose eight octaves, echoing in the empty office.
"There are 82 games in the regular season! Why are we stockpiling such a deep roster? It's so that our starters can still be at full strength in the fourth quarter during the games at the end of February and March! It's so that Rasheed and Miller can go up and take the elbows from those heavy centers for Big Ben!"
Lin Qi took a deep breath, his tone softening slightly, but his attitude becoming even more resolute.
"The winning streak is over, and the pressure is gone. Starting tomorrow, I want to see extremely strict playing time control. Increase the mixed playing time of the second unit. Losing a few games in the regular season doesn't matter, but when the playoffs start in April, I need to see Big Ben, KG, and Chris Paul at 100% capacity. Can you do that, Rick?"
Rick Carlisle looked at Lin Qi and nodded seriously. "I understand. I will adjust the rotation plan immediately."
Lin Qi put down his pen.
"Edit the video footage from these two games. For the next week's training, focus on analyzing the video, practicing tactics, and cancel high-intensity intra-squad scrimmages." Lin Qi looked at them. "The whole team should watch the video. Show them every single mistake."
"Tell them the 27-game winning streak is over, and put away that vanity of making history." Lin Qi picked up his jacket. "Now, we're single-mindedly fighting for the championship."
3:30 a. m.
The coaching staff stayed in the office and began editing video footage and revising the rotation manual overnight.
Lin Qi pushed open the training facility door, and the biting December wind of Boston hit him in the face. He tightened the collar of his coat and walked alone toward the parking lot.
The cold wind gradually calmed his previously boiling emotions. Walking under the dim streetlights, Lin Qi recalled his stern words in the meeting room, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
Isn't this making a mountain out of a molehill?
After all, this team had just achieved a record-breaking 27-game winning streak that shook the entire league. To ask a coaching staff who had just ended their long winning streak and were physically and mentally exhausted to do a post-match analysis overnight, or even to harshly reprimand the head coach without any mercy, seemed somewhat inhumane, even overly harsh.
But when he reached the car door, Lin Qi stopped and shook his head.
No, this is absolutely necessary.
A winning streak is a highly deceptive trap, especially for a team that has already won two consecutive championships.
Throughout the long history of the NBA, countless great teams have fallen short in the final step of their quest for a "three-peat." By the third year of establishing a dynasty, the team's biggest enemy is no longer a specific opponent, but rather the hidden injuries and fatigue accumulated over the years, as well as the vanity that arises in order to maintain the glory of "invincibility."
If Rick Carlisle doesn't take advantage of tonight's crushing first defeat to eliminate the hidden danger of "overusing the main players to maintain the record," he will never dare to boldly use that luxurious second lineup when the score is close.
The health of Big Ben and Kevin Garnett is the bottom line for this team to pursue a three-peat and establish a dynasty; there is no room for complacency. He must completely nip this bad habit of overworking the main players in the bud during the regular season.
Someone has to play the villain.
Lin Qi opened the car door and got in.
The pain of the first defeat was indeed intense, but only this bucket of cold water could completely shatter the coaching staff's obsession.
Having shed the heavy burden of their 27-game winning streak, this team can now truly be on the right track to their quest for a three-peat.