December 27th, Boston, 6:00 AM.
As the first rays of sunlight pierced through the morning mist over the Charles River in Boston, fans in the city discovered that the media, which had been showering praise on "The Truth" just yesterday, had completely changed their tune.
As the defending champions with two consecutive titles, Boston has extremely high expectations for this team.
The Boston Globe's sports section featured a striking black headline.
End of 27-Game Winning Streak: The Poison of Winning Streaks
The accompanying picture shows Big Ben Wallace sitting expressionlessly on the Dallas bench with ice packs strapped to his legs.
The article's core argument is extremely sharp, directly targeting the coaching staff.
"This wasn't a tactical failure; it was an inevitable defeat caused by arrogance and obsession. In order to break that elusive 33-game winning streak record, Rick Carlisle deployed a playoff-level rotation in December. He had Big Ben and Kevin Garnett battle it out for 40 minutes at Staples, and then sent them to Dallas for another high-intensity game?"
" Lin Qi built the most luxurious bench in the entire league... Rasheed Wallace, Brad Miller, Chauncey Billups Billups. But under the huge temptation of the winning streak, these quality resources were marginalized. The 27-game winning streak proved that this team's starting lineup was invincible, but last night's first loss also proved that no one can defy the physiological limits of humanity."
New York, ESPN headquarters, 7:00 AM.
In the SportsCenter studio, hosts Stuart Scott and Rich Eisen are reviewing two data tables.
"Last night, the whole league was celebrating the end of Boston's winning streak," Scott said, pointing to the playing time statistics on the screen. "But look at these numbers; this is the real reason Boston lost."
Christmas Day game against the Lakers.
Ben Wallace: 41 minutes, 11 rebounds.
Kevin Garnett: 40 minutes, sweeping and assisting throughout the game.
Next up is the Mavericks.
Ben Wallace: 20 minutes (leg fatigue), 5 rebounds.
"Did you see that?" Scott tapped the table. " Big Ben single-handedly took on O'Neal for 41 minutes on Christmas Eve. The result was that by the time they got to Dallas, his knees were so sore he couldn't even jump properly. Boston not only lost the rebounding, but they also lost their most prized possession: their rim protection."
"The core of the problem is overexertion," Eisen added. "When you're a team aiming for a three-peat, your biggest enemy is fatigue. But Boston, in order to maintain a respectable winning streak, prematurely exhausted the health of their core players. Dikembe Mutombo delivered six blocks in the paint last night, punishing their rigid rotation in the way he knows this team best."
TNT Studios, Atlanta, 9:00 AM.
Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Elnie Johnson sat at the studio table.
Barkley seemed to be in a great mood.
"I've said it before: overusing our starters just to go on a winning streak is the dumbest decision!" Barkley bluntly fired at the camera. "A 27-game winning streak is impressive, but that's just a bunch of regular season stats. What's Boston's goal now? To build a dynasty! To win three consecutive championships!"
" Charles, Dallas has a good roster and they're playing well. You can't blame Boston for being tired. Why can't you just admit you're not as good? Basketball is unpredictable, man!" Smith tried to balance the argument.
" Dallas played well, but Boston is self-destructing," Barkley interrupted him. "Look who's sitting on Boston's bench? Rasheed Wallace! Any team with a backup center like that would be laughing all the way to the bank. And how did Rick Carlisle use him? He actually had Big Ben battling Shaq, who weighs over 300 pounds, for an entire night!"
Barkley picked up a marker and drew a big X on the whiteboard. " Boston's system relies too much on KG and Big Ben's defense to clean up the mess. As soon as either of them gets tired, the whole system collapses instantly. If I were Lin Qi, I would immediately ask the coaching staff to expand the rotation. Because by April, those tough teams like the Lakers and Spurs will be relentlessly targeting your most tired areas!"
Los Angeles, Lakers training facility, noon.
O'Neal sat in the locker room, watching the endless reports on TV about the Celtics ' first defeat.
When the screen displayed the message, " Big Ben only played 20 minutes in Dallas due to leg exhaustion," O'Neal grinned.
"Did you hear that, guys?" O'Neal yelled at his teammates who were changing their shoes, "Even though we lost that damn point on Christmas Eve, I completely destroyed their interior star!"
Kidd shook his head. " Shaq, but we're still behind them in terms of wins."
"It's just the regular season." O'Neal casually tossed the towel into the basket. "That kid carried me for 40 minutes, and two days later he couldn't even stand up straight. That's the price of going up against me in the paint. Let's see how many games his physique can hold up against me in June."
Not far away, Phil Jackson leaned against the doorframe and overheard the conversation.
He didn't refute O'Neal. As a coach who had led the Chicago Bulls to two three-peats, Zen Master knew better than anyone how terrible the physical fatigue of a "three-peat" season could be. That grueling battle in Los Angeles was indeed like a slow poison, precisely triggering the long-accumulated fatigue in Boston.
San Antonio, Spurs training facility, 3 p. m.
Popovich stood expressionless in front of the video room, showing the whole team frame by frame the clips of the Celtics ' loss to the Mavericks.
"Look closely." Popovich pointed at Garnett on the screen with a laser pointer. "He's the linchpin of the Celtics' defensive system. But what happened when Nowitzki pulled him to the three-point line, and Big Ben was too exhausted to protect the rim alone?"
On screen, the Mavericks ' guard easily broke through and scored a layup.
"Their rim protection system isn't working anymore," Popovich said coldly. " Boston's defense is indeed historic, but only if their two big men maintain absolute mobility and stamina. Once they get bogged down in a prolonged half-court game, or are displaced by their perimeter shooters, this system has weaknesses."
Tim Duncan sat in the front row, quietly watching the video.
" Tim ( Tim Duncan ), David ( Robinson )." Popovich looked at his Twin Towers in the paint. "If we meet them in the NBA Finals, don't chase them. Slow down the pace, drag it into the mire. Use pure interior height and physicality to wear down Big Ben and Garnett. As long as we exhaust their stamina, we'll have a chance to beat them."
"Understood." Tim Duncan nodded in a deep voice.
New York, the New York Times editorial office, 4 p. m.
Veteran basketball reporter Jack McCallum is writing an in-depth column about the Celtics' first loss.
Article title. "The Cracks in the Dynasty: The Curse of Three Consecutive Titles".
The core argument is incisive and to the point.
" The Boston Celtics proved they were the best team of the past three years with a 27-game winning streak, but this collapse in Dallas also exposed the early signs of the 'three-peat syndrome' they are experiencing."
"When a team aims to build a dynasty, their biggest concern isn't the end of their winning streak, but rather the excessive exploitation of their core assets. In their pursuit of a vain winning streak, Boston subjected Garnett and Ben Wallace to playoff-level exertion in December."
" Lin Qi has built an extremely deep roster, but he couldn't stop the head coach from being conservative under the pressure of a winning streak. If the Celtics want to complete a great three-peat in June, they must learn to let go of the burden of their regular season record and start trusting their second unit again."
Boston, Celtics training facility, 10 p. m.
Lin Qi stood alone by the empty training field, holding a stack of neatly arranged newspapers from that day.
It was a headline in the Boston Globe, the New York Times, and major sports websites.
Every report analyzes the Celtics ' first defeat, and every commentator discusses the fatigue and hidden dangers exposed by this two-time champion team. The outside voices are extremely noisy, ranging from sarcastic remarks to expert tactical analyses.
But that's exactly what Lin Qi wanted to see.
The city, and even the team itself, had become accustomed to victory over the past two years, riding high on a 27-game winning streak, and lost their sense of danger.
Now, this storm of public opinion is like a bucket of ice water poured directly onto the face of the entire team in the early morning meeting room.
Lin Qi slammed the newspaper down on the tactics table in the coach's bench.
The whole team will have a meeting at 8:00 AM tomorrow.
He will let the players see for themselves what the outside world is saying and what their opponents are thinking.
Having shed the aura of a 27-game winning streak and having their defensive system exploited by their opponents, the true purgatory of a three-peat has only just begun.