In mid-April, Boston's New Garden was already buzzing with excitement.
In Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs, the Boston Celtics hosted the Orlando Magic, who were ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference.
Inside the VIP box, Lin Qi held a glass of iced water, looking down at the stadium. At that moment, the starting lineups for both teams were being displayed on the huge circular screen at the top of the arena.
Boston Celtics: Gary Payton, Bruce Bowen, Chris Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ben Wallace.
Orlando Magic: Darrell B. J. Armstrong, Ron Mercer, Mike Miller, Bo Outlaw, Ervin Johnson.
Looking at the Orlando Magic's starting lineup, Lin Qi's expression became somewhat strange.
Ron Mercer, Bo Outlaw, Ervin Johnson...
Of these five starting players, three were traded away by him.
" Doc Rivers, you..." Lin Qi leaned back on the leather sofa, looking at the Orlando Magic's head coach in a suit on the sidelines, and silently complained to himself, "Why do you like former Celtics players so much?"
This wasn't just a joke; it foreshadowed the tone of tonight's game. Since Lin Qi personally sent these three players away, Rick Carlisle's coaching staff must be intimately familiar with their technical weaknesses.
As expected, from the very first second of the jump ball, the game was dominated by a suffocating one-sided pressure.
The Orlando Magic's point guard was Darrell B. J. Armstrong, a highly motivated guard limited by his height. Facing the larger and more aggressive Gary Payton, B. J. Armstrong's drives to the basket became extremely difficult. The continuous physical contact made his dribbling falter, and Gary Payton, with his long arms, made a precise steal, followed by an easy coast-to-coast layup.
Doc Rivers was giving loud instructions from the sidelines, trying to get the ball to shooting Ron Mercer.
Mercer received the ball with difficulty at the right 45-degree angle. As a scorer that former Celtics coach Rick Pitino had focused on developing, he has good one-on-one skills, but he relies heavily on the mid-range shot and has a narrow passing vision. Facing Bruce Bowen's tenacious defense, Mercer took a series of jab steps and forced a pull-up jumper, but the ball bounced off the rim.
If the setbacks on the perimeter were within Doc Rivers ' expectations, then the Orlando Magic's lack of spacing in the paint completely brought their offense to a standstill.
Bo Outlaw and Ervin Johnson, two former players traded by Lin Qi, were both well-known blue-collar workers in the league. They were tenacious on defense and aggressive on rebounds, but they had one fatal flaw in common—they had no shooting ability and their offensive range was limited to around one meter around the basket.
Rick Carlisle's defensive setup was ruthless in response to this.
Ben Wallace completely ignored Ervin Johnson, who had moved to the mid-range, and firmly positioned himself in the paint, like an iron gate, blocking any possible driving routes for the Orlando Magic to attack the basket.
Kevin Garnett showcased his defensive talent to the fullest. Without needing to fear Bo Outlaw's long-range shooting, Garnett left his defender wide open, transforming into the most terrifying "free-roaming sweeper" on the court. With his incredible wingspan and speed, he frequently double-teamed the Orlando Magic's ball handlers, dismantling the Magic's already clumsy ball movement.
"Beep--"
Doc Rivers was forced to call a timeout just halfway through the game. The scoreboard showed a score of 16-4.
" Chris Paul, keep attacking that young guy inside, use your body to take him down." During the timeout, Rick Carlisle didn't even touch the clipboard, simply giving Pierce this instruction.
Back on the court, Pierce called for the ball in the low post. He was guarded by the Orlando Magic's young forward Mike Miller. Although Miller was an excellent shooter, he looked too frail against Pierce at that moment.
"Bang!" Pierce turned around and dropped his shoulder, pushing Mike Miller half a body length away, then jumped steadily and made a signature mid-range fadeaway jumper that swished through the net.
By halftime, the point difference had widened to 22 points. The Orlando Magic's offense was stuck in a hopeless cycle, and their defense couldn't contain the Celtics ' multi-pronged attack.
Towards the end of the third quarter, when Rick Carlisle substituted in Chauncey Billups Billups, Michael Redd, Ron Artest, Rasheed Wallace, and Wang Zhizhi, a deathly silence fell over the Orlando Magic's bench.
With one minute left in the third quarter, Wang Zhizhi received the ball at the top of the arc beyond the three-point line. The Orlando Magic's center, with heavy footwork, couldn't close the gap at all. Wang Zhizhi calmly adjusted and flicked his wrist.
"Swish." The basketball swished through the net, and a deafening roar erupted from the TD Garden.
Lin Qi stared at the score of 112-85 on the big screen and finished the last sip of water in his glass. Throughout the game, the Orlando Magic's shooting percentage was held to a meager 36%.
The Celtics' easy victory in the first game perfectly validated Rick Carlisle's earlier assessment. Facing a team with serious flaws in its starting lineup, the Celtics didn't need to spend much effort studying them.
Lin Qi put down his water glass, turned around, and glanced at a television in the corner of the private room. The screen was playing highlights of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
The San Antonio Spurs engaged in a high-intensity physical battle with their opponents in the quagmire, with Tim Duncan facing relentless double-teams in the low post; the Kings ' Princeton offense struggled under pressure in the fourth quarter, resulting in frequent turnovers. Meanwhile, the Lakers, featuring O'Neal and Kidd, displayed devastating dominance in the paint.
In the Western Conference, the wolves are tearing each other apart, fiercely battling for a single spot to break through. Meanwhile, in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics sit on their thrones, coldly watching the bloodshed unfold along the Pacific Ocean coast.
"Go ahead and fight." Lin Qi looked at the TV screen, a slight smile playing on his lips.
When that team finally crawled out of the Western Conference Conference's carnage, covered in wounds, and pushed open the door to the NBA Finals, they would realize that Boston's inferno had only just begun to open for them.