In early December, Boston faced the Toronto Raptors, led by Vince Carter, in a back-to-back away game.
The game was extremely dull and full of tension. Midway through the third quarter, Rasheed Wallace was ejected after receiving two technical fouls for arguing with the referees. To make matters worse, Artest and Jackson were out of sorts due to the "locker room brawl" a few days ago, their movements seemingly sleepwalking.
Coach Rick Carlisle was furious on the sidelines. Helpless, he glanced at the Russia rookie sitting upright at the end of the bench, as thin as a telephone pole.
" Andrei! Enter the field!"
Andrei Kirilenko took a deep breath, took off his jacket, and ran onto the field.
This is the first time in more than a month since the start of the regular season that he has been entrusted with such an important task at such a tense and crucial moment.
In the month leading up to this, Kirilenko had a difficult time in the "mental hospital." He was too thin, weighing less than 200 pounds, and was often knocked off his feet by the big, strong interior players when defending inside. What the veterans found even more unbearable was his " Eastern Europe manners."
One play that Rick Carlisle remembers vividly: during a game against the Heat, Kirilenko accidentally bumped into the opposing point guard while driving to the basket. The young Russia immediately stopped his attack, bent down, and reached out to help him up.
At that moment, Kevin Garnett, standing beyond the three-point line, was furious, his veins bulging, and he roared at him, "Don't help him up! Andrei! Don't help him up! If you dare to pull an opponent up on the court, I'll beat you up!"
From then on, Kirilenko never dared to show kindness on the field again.
Back at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
The Raptors have the ball. Vince Carter uses a screen on the perimeter to get past Stephen Jackson and drive into the paint.
Vince Carter leaped into the air like a spring, his body fully extended in mid-air, ready to ignite the home crowd with his signature dunk.
The Raptors fans in the arena had already stood up, ready to cheer.
But just as Vince Carter raised the ball above his head, ready to slam it into the basket, a slender white figure flew out like a ghost from the blind spot in the left corner.
Kirilenko's takeoff involved almost no running start, but his astonishingly long wingspan created a terrifying barrier in the air.
"Smack!"
A very crisp sound.
It was a huge block from the side and behind. The basketball in Vince Carter's hands was swatted away by an irresistible force, crashing directly onto the backboard and bouncing out of bounds!
The entire Air Canada Centre Arena fell silent instantly. Even the seasoned Vince Carter, after landing, turned back incredulously to look at the expressionless Russia rookie.
But this is just the beginning.
For the next ten minutes, Kirilenko displayed remarkable dominance on the defensive end, covering the entire weak side of the field.
Raptors power forward Davis attempted a mismatch to overpower Pierce, Kirilenko abandoned his defender, silently slipped across the baseline, and snatched the ball from Davis's hands.
Raptors point guard Ervin Williams attempted a bounce pass in the midst of a scramble, Kirilenko slid three meters to the ground before flicking the ball to Garnett, who was making a run down the court.
In the second half, Kirilenko contributed 4 blocks and 3 steals, 3 of which came from weak-side help defense. His disruptive play helped the Celtics win the game.
After the game, Kirilenko, covered in sweat, walked off the court. Garnett came over and, instead of yelling at him as usual, unusually raised his fist and bumped it hard with Kirilenko's.
"Well done, Russia boy."
The next day, Boston, General Manager's office.
Coach Rick Carlisle sat across from Lin Qi's desk, holding a video analysis report of last night's game.
" Andrei's help defense is really good." Rick Carlisle's tone revealed barely concealed excitement. "His spatial awareness and anticipation of the ball handler's route are the best I've ever seen in a rookie since I started coaching. If you put him at the three, use his long arms to lock down the opponent's wing, be ready to double-team and help at any time..."
Rick Carlisle paused, looking at Lin Qi: "Boss, I'd like to try him out as the starting small forward."
Lin Qi leaned back in his chair, twirling the pen in his hand.
This is a very bold suggestion. In a luxurious wing lineup with Pierce, Artest, and Jackson, starting a skinny rookie at the small forward position would definitely cause a major earthquake in the locker room.
" Ron ( Artest ) and Stephen ( Jackson ) will tear the locker room apart," Lin Qi calmly pointed out the problem.
"I know. But right now, one of them is like a powder keg, the other like a mad dog. Their battles for possession and defensive positions are affecting the team's chemistry," Rick Carlisle, sounding a bit of a headache. "They need to cool down."
Lin Qi smiled. He stood up, walked to the tactics board, picked up a pen, and tapped it.
"Not only do they need to cool things down, they also need a wake-up call. Ron and Stephen haven't received any official citations from the team for their fight yet, right?"
"Yes, you said you wanted to observe it first."
"Now is the perfect time." Lin Qi turned to Rick Carlisle. "Tomorrow, announce to the entire team that, due to Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson's serious violations of team discipline and disruption of team unity, the team has decided to strip them of their starting and core rotation eligibility and impose an indefinite suspension."
"At the same time," Lin Qi emphasized, "We're announcing that Andrei Kirilenko will be promoted to the starting small forward position. Officially, this is 'punishment' for those two troublemakers. But actually, we want to use this opportunity to see just how well Andrei can perform in the starting lineup."
Rick Carlisle's eyes lit up. Using "punishment" as a cover to promote newcomers would not only allow him to legitimately test the new lineup, but also effectively curb the arrogance of those two thugs.
"I understand, boss."
When Rick Carlisle announced the lineup change during the afternoon training session, the atmosphere in the locker room instantly plummeted.
Artest and Jackson, with dark faces, walked silently to the sidelines to undergo the tedious shuttle run punishment.
Kirilenko, amidst the complex gazes of the veterans, donned the vest symbolizing his starting position.
Half-court positional warfare drill.
Kirilenko stood outside the three-point line, guarded by Artest, who had just finished running laps and was seething with anger.
As soon as Rick Carlisle's whistle blew, Kirilenko prepared to cut inside and run down the court.
But as soon as he started moving, Artest, like an enraged rhinoceros, ignored where the ball was and slammed his shoulder into Kirilenko's chest.
"Bang!"
Kirilenko was thrown off balance by the enormous force and crashed heavily to the floor.
This wasn't a basketball move; it was pure venting. Artest looked down at Kirilenko lying on the ground, his eyes fierce.
Garnett frowned, ready to charge, but Rick Carlisle blew his whistle, preventing the conflict from escalating.
Everyone was watching the Russia rookie on the ground.
Kirilenko silently got up from the floor, wiped the blood from his chin with the back of his hand, and then dusted off his jersey.
He didn't look at Artest, but walked up to Rick Carlisle and said something very calmly in his still heavily accented English.
"Coach, should we run that tactic again?"
Standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows of his second-floor office, Lin Qi watched the Russia man, who had returned to his original position with a cold look in his eyes, and smiled with satisfaction.
The boy who always tried to be a gentleman on the field is gone.