February 19, Boston, New Garden.
The Celtics will host the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference.
Following the All-Star Game, Rick Carlisle's rotation experiment entered a more extreme and refined phase. Tonight, his experiment focused on the starting shooting guard.
Rick Carlisle blew the whistle to make a substitution just four minutes into the first quarter.
" Doc ( Doug Christie ), come down. Bruce ( Bowen ), come up."
Doug Christie paused for a moment, but without any complaint, he obediently ran back to the bench and gave Bowen a high-five.
For the next three and a half quarters, Doug Christie was almost entirely on the bench. Bruce Bowen, who replaced him, had the longest playing time of his career to date.
Rick Carlisle's tactical intentions are extremely clear: he is testing the compatibility of a "3-and-D perimeter player who doesn't need the ball" with the starting lineup.
While Doug Christie was an excellent defender, he had a certain habit of holding the ball and orchestrating the offense, occasionally needing to hold onto it for a few seconds. Bowen Bowen, on the other hand, was like an invisible man on offense.
He never received the ball before the halfway line, and once he reached the halfway line, he would head straight for the bottom corner, standing there like a wooden stake. But this stake was not a rigid decoration; what pleased Rick Carlisle most was his quick decision-making ability.
Once the ball is in Bowen's hands, there will be absolutely no pause. He doesn't need to dribble to find his rhythm; he can always make the most decisive decision in an instant. If the defender helps out, he will immediately pass the ball to a teammate who has run into an open position. If the defender is not in position, he will jump and shoot the moment he receives the ball.
But on the defensive end, Bowen was an extremely difficult opponent.
Facing the Pacers ' leading outside scorer, Jalen Rose, Bowen displayed extremely tough, even somewhat dirty, defensive aggression. He constantly used subtle moves to disrupt Rose's lower body, continuously obscuring his shooting vision. When defending Reggie Miller's relentless off-ball movement, he spared no effort, relentlessly harassing him like a mad dog.
Throughout the second half, Jalen Rose was extremely uncomfortable being harassed by Bowen, which greatly depleted his stamina. He even suffered two rare instances of dropping the ball after catching it in the fourth quarter.
On the offensive end, his corner three-pointers became the most accurate weapon to punish opponents. When the Pacers were forced to collapse and double-team Garnett or Pierce, Bowen, who was completely left open, showed no mercy. He caught the ball, jumped, and shot, with no hesitation, and steadily made three open three-pointers.
The final buzzer sounded, Celtics defeated the Pacers 102-91.
Bruce Bowen played 38 minutes, making all three of his three-point attempts, scoring 9 points and making 3 steals, with a plus-minus of +15.
Starting shooting guard Doc Doug Christie only played 12 minutes tonight, delivering a dismal performance of 2 points and 1 rebound.
After the game, in the underground parking lot of the New Garden.
At 11 p. m., a chilly draft wafted through the underground parking garage in Boston.
Lin Qi and Rick Carlisle walked side by side to the parking space, reviewing the game they had just played.
Rick Carlisle held the statistics sheet between his fingers, his tone carrying a hint of surprised approval. " Bruce's ability to control space in the corner is even better than I expected. What's even more remarkable is that his football intelligence far exceeds expectations; his passing decisions are quick, and his ball handling is clean and decisive, without any hesitation."
"This minimalist offensive approach actually allows him to focus all his energy on the defensive end." He paused, tapping the statistics sheet twice with his fingertips. "In the playoffs, against perimeter scorers of Kobe, Iverson, or Jalen Rose's caliber, sending him out to guard and wear them down might be even more effective than sending Doc."
"This proves that increasing tactical testing is absolutely necessary." Lin Qi nodded. " Doc's defense is cleaner and his playmaking is also good, while Bruce is purely a one-on-one fighter. Our perimeter defensive reserves are now sufficient to handle any situation."
As the two were talking, they walked up to Rick Carlisle's car.
"Mr. Lin Qi! You've come at the perfect time!"
A sharp, intensely emotional female voice suddenly rang out in the empty parking lot.
Lin Qi stopped and frowned slightly.
Not far away, Jackie Doug Christie strode over aggressively in her high heels beside a black Mercedes-Benz SUV. Two steps behind this famously fierce wife, Doc Doug Christie stood silently with his head down, like a child who had done something wrong.
" Jackie." Lin Qi's expression instantly returned to the cold and composed demeanor of a general manager. "The game is over; now is the players' private time."
"Private time? My husband doesn't even have time for the game anymore!" Jackie wasn't buying Lin Qi's act. She bypassed Rick Carlisle and glared at Lin Qi. "I'll make you judge today! Rick Carlisle is targeting Doc! He's settling a personal score!"
Rick Carlisle's face darkened. " Jackie, watch your words. Tonight's move is just a routine tactical rotation."
"Routine adjustment?" Jackie let out a harsh, cold laugh, turning to glare at Rick Carlisle. "Just the other day I asked you to increase Doc's tactical role, and today you only let him play 12 minutes! You gave all his playing time to a minimum-salary substitute ( Bowen ) who can't even dribble properly! Isn't this retaliation?"
"That minimum-salary reserve made three corner threes tonight and held Jalen Rose to ten percentage points off the field," Rick Carlisle said, barely containing his anger. "I'm doing roster testing for the playoffs, this isn't targeting anyone!"
"Stop using the playoffs as an excuse!" Jackie took a step forward, her high heels clicking on the floor. " Doc is a starter! He's the best defensive guard in the league! He should be averaging 20 points, he should be an All-Star, not just playing a damn 12 minutes! You're destroying his commercial value!"
After saying that, she turned to Lin Qi again, her tone carrying an undisguised threat.
" Lin Qi, I don't care what kind of crazy experiments your coaching staff is doing. I'll just reiterate what I said the day before yesterday: if Doc doesn't get the playing time and tactical role he deserves, we absolutely will not sign a new contract when it expires this summer. You want him here as Bruce Bowen's backup? Dream on!"
A deathly silence fell over the underground parking lot.
Rick Carlisle gripped the tactical board tightly. Doc Doug Christie kept his head down, not even glancing up at his head coach and general manager.
Lin Qi quietly looked at the woman in front of him.
There was no anger, no explanation, and not even a change in the frequency of his breathing.
Lin Qi turned his head and glanced at Doc Doug Christie, who had remained silent.
" Doc," Lin Qi's voice was flat, "Is this also what you meant?"
Doug Christie stiffened slightly. He looked up, glancing evasively at Lin Qi, then at his wife who was standing in front of him. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but Jackie immediately turned and glared at him fiercely.
Doug Christie ultimately swallowed her words and lowered her head again.
Seeing this, Lin Qi finally the Answer.
Lin Qi shifted his gaze back to Jackie's face, his hands in his coat pockets, his tone as cold as ice water on Boston winter night:
"Ms. Jackie, first of all, playing time is earned through sweat and hard work on the court, not by yelling at the top of your lungs in the parking lot. Tactics are the head coach's responsibility. In Boston, no one can interfere with who plays, even before Rick Carlisle. I won't, and you certainly don't deserve to."
Jackie's expression changed instantly. She was about to retort when Lin Qi silenced her with an even louder voice.
"Second, don't threaten me with contract extensions. The Celtics are a two-time defending champion team, and we've never lacked players who want to play here. If Doc feels Boston is beneath him, if you think averaging 15 points a game on a bad team is more important than winning a championship ring here..."
Lin Qi paused for a moment, his gaze piercingly sharp as he looked at Jackie.
"Then you can go find a real estate agent now and list your Boston house for sale."
Jackie was stunned by the imposing aura emanating from Lin Qi, and for a moment she was speechless. She had originally thought that by using the threat of not renewing her contract as leverage, this shrewd president would definitely try to smooth things over with the coach in order to protect the team's defensive resources.
She completely underestimated Lin Qi's ruthlessness in upholding the bottom line of management.
" Rick, the video analysis meeting tomorrow morning will proceed as scheduled." Lin Qi ignored Jackie, turned to Rick Carlisle and said this before heading straight to his car.
"You... you'll regret this!" Jackie shouted sharply from behind.
Lin Qi opened the car door without turning around.
After Lin Qi and Rick Carlisle's cars drove out of the underground garage, the empty parking lot was left with only Jackie's heavy breathing and Doc Doug Christie, who remained silent.
The car drove onto the highway along the Charles River, and the neon lights outside the window rushed past in the rearview mirror.
Lin Qi dialed Rick Carlisle's number.
"Lin, I'm sorry," Rick Carlisle's weary voice came through the car phone. "It's my fault for getting the team management involved in this family drama."
"This isn't your problem, Rick. There are some people you can never reason with." Lin Qi looked at the road ahead, his tone calm. "Today's experiment results were ideal. Bruce's off-ball movement and one-on-one defense are indeed more effective than Doc's in certain matchups. Continue with your rotation plan, and don't let tonight's events cause any concern."
"But Doc's contract..." Rick Carlisle hesitated. Doug Christie's perimeter defense and experience are still extremely valuable assets to this team. If they really force him out, it will be a blow to the team's depth.
"A tough guy who can stop Jalen Rose on the court, yet he stood silently by while his wife yelled at the head coach in the parking lot."
Lin Qi looked at the night outside the windshield, his eyes cold and clear.
" Rick, if a player doesn't even have control over his own career, would you really dare to entrust your back to him in the do-or-die moment of Game 7 of the playoffs?"
Rick Carlisle remained silent on the other end of the phone.