Mid-January, Milan, Italy.
Lin Qi sat in his office on the top floor of the Olimpia Club headquarters, holding a cup of espresso.
The Milan Cathedral outside the window looked somewhat gloomy in the winter rain, but across the Atlantic Ocean, the NBA regular season was in full swing.
David Stern's suspension nominally separated Lin Qi from the Boston Celtics physically. However, as the de facto owner of the team, he still received detailed post-game reports and meeting minutes from the Boston coaching staff daily via email from his assistant, Margaret.
Lin Qi opened a twenty-page PDF file that Margaret had just sent him. It was the minutes of a closed-door meeting held last night in the tactics room by the coaching staff led by Rick Carlisle.
Attendees included: Head Coach Rick Carlisle, Lead Assistant Coach Tim Grgurich, Offensive Assistant Coach David Blatt, Lead Video Analyst Frank Vogel, and three scouts and analysts, Darrell Daryl Morey, Masai Jerry, and Sam Presti.
The core issues of the meeting were the out-of-control arms race in the Eastern Conference and the offensive void Boston faced in the "post- Gary Payton era".
Lin Qi swiped the mouse, looking at Presti's Eastern Conference scouting report submitted at the meeting.
"Gentlemen, the landscape of the Eastern Conference has been completely disrupted." Presti's remarks revealed a hint of anxiety. " The Orlando Magic and New Jersey Nets, right behind us, cannot be underestimated."
The report details the current situation of both teams.
The Orlando Magic have witnessed the breakout performance of Gilbert Arenas Gilbert Arenas, nicknamed " The General." In November, he relegated veteran B. J. Armstrong to the bench, completely revitalizing the Orlando Magic with his obsessive scoring drive. With Gilbert Arenas, Michael Redd, and Mike Miller their three outside shooters, plus the Twin Towers of Jermaine O'Neal and Brad Miller in the paint, the Orlando Magic's half-court offense had an incredibly wide open court.
The New Jersey Nets, ranked third, should not be underestimated. With Andrei Miller controlling the tempo, their frontcourt of Joe Johnson, Kirilenko, and Elton Brand provides a meat grinder-like defense.
What's even more of a headache for the Boston coaching staff is the Nets' rookie center who just entered the league this year.
"That China rookie named Yao Ming has adapted to the physicality of the NBA far faster than expected," video analyst Frank Vogel pointed out at the meeting. "At 2.26 meters tall, coupled with an extremely soft hook shot and a mid-range turnaround jumper, New Jersey has an excellent tactical pivot in the paint when Brand helps him hold off the heavy interior players and Kirilenko is always ready to help on the weak side."
Looking at the reports of the teams he had personally helped build up, Lin Qi, far away in Milan, had mixed feelings.
Boston is certainly not weak; they still hold the top spot in the Eastern Conference with a 32-9 record, ranking among the top three in both offensive and defensive efficiency. However, beneath this impressive record, internal problems within the team are like landmines that could explode at any moment.
Lin Qi continued reading, Darrell Daryl Morey pointed out the team's most pressing problems at the meeting.
" Chauncey Billups Billups is an excellent half-court playmaker, but he's sometimes too selfless; he always tries to pass the ball out. When our center, Ben Wallace, poses no offensive threat, Boston only has two offensive initiators left in the starting lineup."
"The opponent saw through this. They shut down Chauncey Billups's passing lanes, left Big Ben open, and then focused all their defensive resources and double-teams on Chris Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. To make matters worse, Ron Artest not only failed to relieve the pressure at this time, but also became an X factor. His three-point shooting was extremely inconsistent, and sometimes he would take random shots from the outside, not only ending the possession but also disrupting the defensive formation."
With their two stars double-teamed and Artest frequently having off nights, Rick Carlisle tried to find a solution in the second unit. He tried using rookie Dwyane Wade, but it didn't work.
" Dwyane isn't a traditional point guard, Rick," Daryl Morey bluntly pointed out Rick Carlisle's personnel missteps at the meeting. "His first-step explosiveness ranks among the top three in the entire league, but his three-point shooting percentage this season is only 16.4%. When you put him at point guard, organizing the offense in the half-court, he completely loses his rhythm."
Offensive assistant coach David Blatt added, "As soon as Dwyane gets the ball, the opponent immediately takes two steps back and goes around the defense from behind the screen. When he drives in, it's like he's crashing into a wall of defense; he either turns the ball over or gets blocked. He hasn't developed the mid-range floater and post-up skills that Gary Payton had in the paint. He's an offensive black hole in half-court sets."
Rick Carlisle's tone was somewhat stubborn, but also tinged with helplessness. "But we don't have any backup point guards besides the aging Mark Jackson! If Dwyane doesn't handle the ball, who will initiate the second unit's offense?"
Lin Qi frowned slightly. This was indeed the growing pain of selecting Wade ahead of time. This future " Dwyane Wade " was currently just a rough gem with excellent dynamic talent but no shooting threat whatsoever.
He scrolled through the replays of a key match.
On January 15th, at KeyArena in Seattle, Boston faced the third-ranked Western Conference Seattle SuperSonics on the road. This was Gary Payton's first game against his former team since being traded.
The current Seattle SuperSonics, led by Gary Payton and Ray Allen, and supported by Stephen Jackson and the newly crowned beast Amar'e Stoudamire, are a formidable force.
The meeting minutes detailed the disastrous state of the first quarter of that game.
Less than seven minutes into the game, the Seattle SuperSonics led Boston 18-9, forcing a timeout. What forced Rick Carlisle to call a timeout was the Seattle SuperSonics ' relentless double-teaming of Boston's two stars, and Gary Payton's one-sided "education" of Chauncey Billups Billups.
Gary Payton used his chest to challenge Chauncey Billups while spewing vicious trash talk. Faced with the Lao Liumang's post-up moves and pull-up jumpers, the usually composed Chauncey Billups struggled on both ends of the court. Wade, who came in later, was even more problematic, getting blocked twice in a row when facing Gary Payton's defense, and was even unable to dribble the ball properly.
Seeing this, Lin Qi put down his coffee cup, a puzzled look on his face.
"Something's not right..." Lin Qi muttered to himself, looking at Gary Payton's stats of 24 points and 11 assists in this game.
In his past life's memories, Gary Payton at this age should have already begun to show visible signs of decline. In the original history, Gary Payton was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks midway through this season. Although he could still score 19 points, his defense and stamina had declined significantly. After joining the Lakers, he became a mole.
But why is Gary Payton, at 34 years old, still like a tireless demon, able to devour Chauncey Billups and Wade in back-to-back games?
Soon, Lin Qi found the Answer himself.
Because of those five years in Boston.
During his five seasons in Boston, Gary Payton didn't have to play 40-plus minutes every night to carry the team like he did with the Seattle SuperSonics. Boston had a top-notch medical team, the most scientific load management, and strong teammates like Garnett and Pierce to share the pressure. In these four years, Gary Payton's physical exertion was reduced to a very low level.
In order to maintain the team's competitiveness, Lin Qi used Boston's resources and system, which may have prolonged Gary Payton's "peak tail" by two to three years, which should have been a sharp decline this season!
Lin Qi shook his head, somewhat amused and exasperated. But this still wasn't enough to completely crush Boston. What truly allowed the team to weather the grueling stretch of games was the self-evolution of their two core players.
Lin Qi flipped to the core data table that Margaret had attached at the end of the email.
Kevin Garnett: 25.4 points, 13.2 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game. 39% three-point shooting percentage.
Chris Paul Pierce: 26.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game. 41% three-point shooting percentage.
"To fill the void left by Gary Payton's departure on the perimeter, Kevin has taken on more playmaking and facilitation roles over the past two months, sometimes playing more like a point guard than Chauncey Billups," offensive assistant coach David Blatt exclaimed at the meeting. "When Chauncey Billups is under pressure at the top of the key, Kevin will initiate the attack directly from above the free-throw line or even beyond the three-point line. His three-point shot has become incredibly effective, and opposing big men simply don't dare leave him open."
"The same goes for Chris Paul. When double- or even triple-teamed, he increased the speed of his passes, averaging a career-high 6 assists per game."
Lin Qi picked up his espresso and drank it all in one gulp.
The minutes of this closed-door meeting gave him a complete picture of the current state of affairs in Boston.
Boston is not weak, but it is plagued with problems. The pain of losing Gary Payton, Artest's inconsistency, and the inexperienced rookie Wade hitting the "rookie wall" again and again.
But under such extreme external pressure and internal hidden dangers, Garnett and Pierce did not collapse. Instead, they completed an all-around evolution from "super scorers" to "tactical pivots." The two averaged nearly 14 assists per game, and Garnett's three-point shooting range kept Boston at a minimum level.
This is the test Rick Carlisle now faces: the dual-core system has pushed individual abilities to their limits; how should he adjust the rotation to revitalize Chauncey Billups? Or, does he need to find the right user manual for Wade?
Lin Qi closed his laptop and looked out the window at the gray Milan sky.
Only the head coach can find the Answer.