December 16, Boston New Garden, video analysis room.
The air here is so cold it feels like it could freeze.
The room was dark, and a huge screen was repeatedly playing highlights from the Los Angeles Lakers ' previous game against the San Antonio Spurs. The cold light from the screen shone on head coach Rick Carlisle's serious and slightly haggard face.
"Stop. Rewind fifteen seconds and observe Kidd's positioning," Rick Carlisle said in a deep voice.
Frank Vogel, the chief video analyst sitting at the console, immediately started typing on his keyboard, and the image rewound precisely.
"This is it." Rick Carlisle pointed to the frozen image, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.
In the footage, Jason Kidd has the ball at the top of the key. He keenly spots a tiny defensive gap on the baseline. The next second, the ball seems to have eyes, slipping under the defender's arm and landing precisely in the hands of Sean Marion, who is cutting to the basket. Marion takes off and completes a powerful dunk.
Meanwhile, in the upper right corner of the screen, Michael Jordan was leisurely standing on the weak side. As soon as the Spurs ' defensive formation collapsed slightly towards Marion, Jordan would immediately have an extremely comfortable mid-range shooting opportunity.
"That's the problem." Rick Carlisle rubbed his aching temples, picked up his tactical pen, and turned to walk toward the whiteboard.
Beside him, assistant defensive coach Dwane Casey stared at the Los Angeles Lakers ' name on the whiteboard with a serious expression, as if he were looking at an unsolvable math problem.
" Raja Bell did a great job in previous games. But against this Lakers, Bell's size disadvantage will be magnified."
Casey nodded in agreement, a hint of worry in his voice. " Raja has been playing incredibly hard this month; some in the locker room have even started calling him a 'defensive anchor.' But he's only 1.96 meters tall and weighs 89 kilograms—too skinny. Let him guard Michael? Michael doesn't need complicated screens; he just needs to post up in the low post. He can simply lean back with his shoulder to knock Raja aside and then turn over for a jump shot over his head. It's like an adult playing against a child."
Casey paused for a moment, then added, "What's worse is the mental aspect. Raja is an undrafted player, and he's finally established himself on the first team and built up some confidence. If he gets completely dominated by Michael in a nationally televised Christmas Day game, I'm afraid his defensive confidence will completely collapse."
In the 2001 NBA, the name Michael Jordan was a source of psychological pressure. Countless defensive stalwarts suffered irreversible psychological trauma after being repeatedly outplayed and scored on, ultimately fading into obscurity.
"He has no choice." Rick Carlisle's voice was devoid of any sympathy. "If he can't even withstand this level of psychological torment, then he doesn't deserve to stay on this team that's aiming for the championship."
"Not just on the wings." Rick Carlisle emphasized the names of Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal O'Neal with his pen. "If the defense is easily torn apart on the wings, Big Ben or Rasheed in the paint will have to come up to help. If they leave the paint even half a step, the area under the basket will become a slaughterhouse for O'Neal and Barkley. We can't let Ben get into foul trouble early; he's our only interior shield."
Rick Carlisle turned around, his gaze falling once again on the frozen video frame.
That was a team whose strength on paper was utterly hopeless.
"How about we send Gary ( Gary Payton ) to guard Kidd, and Chris Paul to guard Marion?" Casey tentatively suggested a standard rotation plan. "Let Raja wear down Michael first. If Raja really can't handle the post-up game, we'll double-team him in certain areas. Just like the ' Jordan Rules ' the Detroit Pistons used against Michael back then."
"Double-team Michael Jordan?" Rick Carlisle scoffed, as if he'd heard something absurd. " Dwane, times have changed. The Pistons' old tactics don't work anymore. Have you forgotten who's orchestrating the offense on the other side? If we dare double-team Michael, Jason Kidd will immediately pass the ball to an open Marion or Barkley."
At the console, Frank Vogel calmly added a statistic, "According to video statistics, this Lakers has the best scoring conversion rate in the league when facing double teams. Kidd doesn't even need to look at his man to anticipate the weakest point in the opponent's defensive rotation."
Silence fell over the video analysis room. Only the hum of the computer fans echoed in the air.
This starting lineup, within the framework of conventional basketball tactics, is almost a dead end.
Rick Carlisle threw the tactical pen on the table and braced his hands on the edge of the table.
"Forget about tactics," Rick Carlisle's voice was deep and hoarse. "We can't win with our current defensive resources. We need a physically imposing forward. We need someone who weighs over 105 kilograms, whose speed isn't a disadvantage, and who's fearless, willing to go toe-to-toe with Michael, and fight him hand-to-hand."
Rick Carlisle glanced at Casey and Frank Vogel. They both knew Boston had those two "beasts" who met the criteria, but they were suspended indefinitely. Now they were like monsters locked in the lowest level of Arkham Asylum, never seeing the light of day.
" Rick, the Christmas Day game is coming up soon, and it's a must-win game. The whole American media is watching. Should we ask Mr. Lin Qi for permission to win...?" Casey tentatively asked.
"No need." Rick Carlisle suddenly raised his hand, interrupting Casey. "Even if Lin Qi agrees to release them, I don't intend to use them."
Casey and Frank Vogel were both stunned. Not use them? Knowing they couldn't defend, why keep their only defensive resource on the bench?
"If we reveal our hand now, that old fox Phil Jackson will have months to figure out how to break down our wing players before the playoffs. The Christmas Day game is just a regular season game; we're going to have to play this Lakers with our current depleted roster."
"But Rick, if our defense gets completely broken down, we'll lose badly," Casey warned.
"Who said we're going to have to compete with them on the defensive end in terms of talent?"
Rick Carlisle straightened up, walked to the whiteboard, picked up a black tactical pen, and ruthlessly crossed out all the tiles representing the Lakers ' defensive formation. Then he drew a huge circle on Boston's offensive half of the court.
"If the defense is a deadlock, then we'll pass the problem to them." Rick Carlisle turned his head, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "This Lakers is strong, but they have a fatal weakness... They're too old, and O'Neal will never defend beyond the three-point line."
He quickly moved the tiles representing Boston players across the whiteboard.
"On Christmas Day, as long as Big Ben keeps O'Neal in the paint, we can deploy a full-spread lineup and completely clear the paint."
"Speed up. The moment you get the rebound, don't settle for a half-court offense, push the transition relentlessly." Rick Carlisle slammed his pen on the whiteboard. " Jordan and Barkley are almost 80 years old combined. Even if we can't stop Jordan's mid-range jumper, we'll crush them with faster transition offense and defense and three-pointers!"
Casey and Frank Vogel gasped. This was like walking a tightrope. If the Celtics' three-point shooting went cold, it would be a massacre.
"Basketball is unpredictable. Play to our strengths, drag the game into our familiar rhythm, and we'll dominate." Rick Carlisle opened the door to the video room and uttered a cold command, "Go tell Raja Bell to suspend all his regular training before the Christmas Day game. Tell him to watch Michael Jordan's game tapes from this season a few more times and get ready to harass that old man like a mad dog on the court. Harass him for as long as possible, until he throws up."