There are only two days left until the first round of the playoffs begins.
As night fell, the players had gradually left the training hall, but the lights in the video recording room remained on.
Lin Qi pushed open the half-closed door and found head coach Rick Carlisle sitting among a pile of videotapes, pressing the pause button on the remote control, his brow furrowed as he stared at the screen.
The game playing on the screen wasn't a replay of the Charlotte Hornets, the Celtics ' first-round opponent, but rather the Los Angeles Lakers ' final regular-season game against the Sacramento Kings.
"I thought you should be researching Byron Davis right now." Lin Qi walked in carrying two cups of coffee and placed one next to Rick Carlisle.
"I know the Hornets ' playbook inside and out; I don't need to watch replays to beat them." Rick Carlisle took his coffee, rubbed his dry eyes, and pointed to the screen at the towering number 34 player in the purple and gold jersey, "Boss, our eyes have to be on the West Coast. That's our real problem."
Lin Qi pulled up a chair and sat down, his gaze falling on the whiteboard behind Rick Carlisle.
The whiteboard was covered with the Los Angeles Lakers' breathtakingly luxurious roster for this season.
Starting lineup: Jason Kidd, Michael Jordan, Sean Marion, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal O'Neal.
Second team: Derrick Fisher, Quentin Richardson, Lamar Odom, Charles Oakley, Patrick Ewing.
Functional rotation: Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, Brian Shaw, Ron Harper, Danny Manning.
Looking at this list, even Lin Qi, a time traveler familiar with the course of history, couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. It was a dream combination of a "Hall of Fame-level retirement home" and "superstars in their prime."
" Phil Jackson has a very strong hand," Rick Carlisle said seriously, pointing to the whiteboard. " Kidd's playmaking and vision, Jordan's clutch play, O'Neal's dominance in the paint, plus Marion's defensive energy and Barkley's isolation plays and rebounding. If we only consider the starting lineup, even with our Gary Payton, Pierce, Hill, Garnett, and Big Ben, our chances in a best-of-seven series are only 50/50."
"So, what are your plans?" Lin Qi looked at Rick Carlisle. He knew that this tactical mastermind was sitting here Late Night not simply to worry about the Lakers ' roster.
"I want to conduct a bold tactical experiment in this year's playoffs." Rick Carlisle turned around, looking intently at Lin Qi. "I want to use a twelve-man rotation."
Lin Qi raised an eyebrow slightly.
In the NBA, it's common knowledge that a 10- or even 11-man rotation is acceptable during the regular season. However, in the playoffs, where the competition is intense and every possession is crucial, all head coaches instinctively shorten the rotation. Usually, it's an eight-man rotation, with a maximum of nine. Holding onto the most key starters for playing time is the traditional survival rule in the playoffs.
Playing with a 12-man rotation in the playoffs? That sounds like using the brutal playoffs as a training ground.
But upon hearing this crazy idea, Lin Qi didn't immediately object; instead, a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes. As a time traveler, he clearly remembered that in the original basketball history, such a deep "playoff rotation" wasn't just a pipe dream. Whether it was the Boston Celtics led by Doc Rivers in 2008 or the Dallas Mavericks coached by Rick Carlisle himself in 2011, both teams had used rotations of more than ten players in the playoffs. That strategy of using abundant energy and bench depth to wear down opponents ultimately became their winning formula for lifting the O'Brien Trophy.
"Tell me your specific reasons." Lin Qi leaned forward slightly.
"Boss, take a close look at the Lakers ' roster." Rick Carlisle circled several names heavily on the whiteboard: Jordan, Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, Hardaway, Richmond, Harper...
"Their star power is so dazzling that many people overlook a fatal problem... age. Jordan and Barkley are 38, Patrick Ewing is 39, Charles Oakley is 37, and all the other veterans on the bench are over 35." Rick Carlisle's speech quickened. "What did we rely on to beat them at Staples Center in the regular season? It was the impact of our young bench players!"
On the other side of the whiteboard, Rick Carlisle wrote down the names of the Celtics' bench players: Billups, Artest, Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace, and Wang Zhizhi.
"If we try to grind out the Lakers in the NBA Finals, relying on star players' isolation plays, we'll get worn down by Jordan and O'Neal. Our only chance of winning is to turn the game into a war of attrition!"
Rick Carlisle slammed his hand on the whiteboard. "I'm going to make Ron ( Artest ), Stephen, and Gerald, those young mad dogs, guard the entire court, switch on every possible defense, fight tooth and nail, and play transition offense during the rotation! I'm going to squeeze every last drop of energy out of those old Lakers before the fourth quarter even starts!"
Lin Qi understood Rick Carlisle's tactical intentions; the logic was very clear and could be said to have hit the Lakers ' Achilles' heel. But he raised a practical question.
"The tactics against the Lakers are fine. But we haven't even made it to the NBA Finals yet, so why are you using a twelve-man rotation in the first round against the Hornets, or even in the second round?" Lin Qi asked. "Aren't you afraid the young players will make mistakes and we'll capsize in the Eastern Conference?"
Rick Carlisle suddenly revealed a cunning smile, like that of an old fox.
"Because we need to cover our tracks."
Rick Carlisle sat back down in his chair, picked up his coffee, and took a sip.
"Boss, a twelve-man rotation requires extremely high chemistry and adaptability. If I suddenly cram a dozen or so players into the rotation in the NBA Finals, our tactical system will collapse on its own. I need to practice this rotation system on the real stage of the playoffs."
"And the Eastern Conference is the best testing ground." Rick Carlisle's tone was filled with strong confidence. "Because the teams in the Eastern Conference are just too weak. Whether it's the Hornets, Pistons, or Raptors, they can't push us to our limits. Even if I use a twelve-man rotation, we can still win easily in the Eastern Conference."
Lin Qi's eyes gradually brightened; he finally understood the most ingenious part of Rick Carlisle's plan.
" Phil Jackson is a very proud man," Rick Carlisle said, pointing to the Lakers' head coach on the screen. "When ' The Zen Master ' looks at our Eastern Conference playoff stats in Los Angeles, he'll see that our Artest, Gerald, and Stephen are playing 15 to 20 minutes per game."
"But he won't think we're practicing tactics." Lin Qi picked up where Rick Carlisle left off, a smile playing on his lips. "He'll just think it's because the Eastern Conference is too weak, causing Boston to blow out their opponents early in every game. He'll think it's just insignificant 'garbage time,' that we're giving our starters a rest."
"Exactly!" Rick Carlisle slapped his thigh. " The Lakers have to go through a lot in the Western Conference, they simply don't have the time or energy to analyze our rotation details in the Eastern Conference. When we actually meet in the NBA Finals, Phil Jackson will be surprised to find that our bench isn't some fringe player who plays garbage time, but a pack of wolves who have honed their stamina-wearing tactics to perfection under the pressure of the playoffs!"
Taking advantage of the weak playoff environment in the Eastern Conference, they openly practiced a tactic specifically designed to crush the Lakers ' veterans.
The most ingenious thing is that this "twelve-player rotation" is perfectly disguised as "the opponent is too weak and the game has entered garbage time early".
"A brilliant plan, Rick." Lin Qi stood up, looked at the two teams' lineups on the whiteboard, and nodded with satisfaction. "I approve your twelve-man long rotation plan."
Lin Qi patted Rick Carlisle on the shoulder and prepared to leave the recording studio.
"Go ahead and train the troops, Rick." As he reached the door, Lin Qi turned back with a smile. "Since our Eastern Conference adversaries think we're arrogant, let them believe we're just arrogant. After all, the best disguise is to let the enemy only see what they want to believe."