The last week of April, Boston, the office of the president of basketball operations.
The dust has finally settled from the regular season.
The television on the wall was playing ESPN sports news. On screen, the picky and arrogant commentators were spouting off with almost desperate fervor, declaring that the 72-win Chicago Bulls would sweep the entire playoffs undefeated. In their eyes, the other teams in this year's playoffs were nothing more than cannon fodder to step on Michael Jordan's coronation.
Lin Qi casually pressed the mute button, and the office instantly fell silent.
Lin Qi's gaze lingered on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket that had just been finalized on the table.
Having weathered a losing streak, and relying on Sam Cassell's relentless tenacity and Garnett's explosive growth in the second half of the season, they fought their way out of the giant meat grinder that is the Eastern Conference.
The final standings for the Eastern Conference in the 1995-1996 season are as follows:
First: Chicago Bulls, 72 wins and 10 losses.
Second: Orlando Magic, 60 wins and 22 losses.
Third: Indiana Pacers, 52 wins and 30 losses.
Fourth: Cleveland Cavaliers, 48 wins and 34 losses.
Fifth: Boston Celtics, 47 wins and 35 losses.
Sixth: New York Knicks, 47 wins and 35 losses.
7th: Atlanta Hawks, 46 wins and 36 losses.
8th: Detroit Pistons, 44 wins and 38 losses.
The New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics had the same record, but the Knicks were relegated to sixth place due to a slight disadvantage in their head-to-head matchups. Meanwhile, the Miami Heat were shut out of the playoffs altogether.
Looking at the results sheet, Lin Qi let out a breath.
In that original timeline, without him or any other time traveler involved...
This 1995-1996 Boston Celtics was a terrible team with only 33 wins.
The Eastern Conference is at the bottom, with nothing to show for it.
They couldn't even get close to the playoffs. The head coach was in a terrible state, and the star player couldn't carry the team alone. The entire season was a complete disaster, marked by a devastating losing streak. It was one of the darkest periods in the history of Boston, the holy city of basketball.
The media has completely switched sides.
A year ago, reporters who readily used terms like "madman," "experiment," and "futile effort" have now uniformly adopted a fawning demeanor.
Several newly delivered newspapers were laid out on the desk, each headline more sensational than the last.
Forty-seven wins! Lin Qi's "madness" was actually a genius's foresight.
From a ridiculed rebuild to fifth in the Eastern Conference: The rise of the Boston Youth Army
We owe Lin Qi an apology.
Upon seeing the final headline, Lin Qi finally couldn't help but chuckle.
Apologize?
These opportunists aren't even good weather vanes; they just follow the wind. If the Celtics lose two games and drop to ninth in the Eastern Conference, what they're serving up now is a veritable feast for the losers.
"Snap."
Lin Qi casually tossed the stack of newspapers, so stiff they were too hard to even wipe his bottom, into the trash can, then bent down and opened the final regular season report sent by the data department.
Compared to the opportunistic, shoddy paper outside, these printed numbers are colder, but also more real.
Dino Radja averaged 22.4 points, 10.3 rebounds (3.4 offensive rebounds), 2.3 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game. He shot 50.2% from the field and 76.8% from the free-throw line.
This is the Celtics' most consistent production base throughout the entire season.
Many nights, the young perimeter shooters were ice-cold, and their plays were a complete mess. Sam Cassell was arguing with the referees, and Garnett was gritting his teeth over a defensive rotation that was a fraction too slow. It was Radja who kept the score close in the first three quarters, basket by basket.
Low-post back-to-the-basket moves, mid-range shots, second-chance opportunities after offensive rebounds, and those turnaround jumpers that are used to fill the void when the offense stalls.
He is not the future of Boston, but he is Lin Qi's strongest asset for the summer.
Lin Qi's "window display plan" has been successfully completed.
Sam Cassell averaged 15.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game. His field goal percentage was 44.5%, three-point percentage was 36.1%, and free throw percentage was 83.5%.
This statistic might not be the most dazzling among the league's top point guards. But Lin Qi knew that the team's inherent ruthlessness and unscrupulousness stemmed from Sam Cassell.
Eddie Jones averaged 14.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game. His field goal percentage was 46.8%, three-point percentage was 38.9%, and free throw percentage was 81.0%.
Eddie is the most reliable insurance on the perimeter. He can guard the opponent's most dangerous wing, be the first to rush out on the fast break, and when the weak side is left open, he can use those punishing three-pointers to silently dismantle the opponent's defense, one after another.
Willie Anderson averages 12.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. His field goal percentage is 46.5%, three-point percentage is 30.4%, and free throw percentage is 76.7%.
At 28, Anderson is the most solid tactical glue in this team with an astonishingly young average age. Statistically, he may not stand out on this team, but he possesses the most valuable basketball IQ and defensive experience for his age.
Kevin Garnett averaged 12.1 points, 7.4 rebounds (2.1 offensive rebounds), 2.4 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game. His field goal percentage was 48.1%, three-point percentage was 29.4%, and free throw percentage was 70.5%.
Lin Qi lingered on this page the longest with his fingertips.
Averaging 12.1 points per game might have been enough to contend for Rookie of the Year in other years, but in the Eastern Conference in 1996, that was unremarkable.
But Lin Qi wasn't looking at the overall average. He knew better than anyone how much tuition this 19-year-old kid, who jumped straight from high school to the NBA, had paid in the first half of his career. Back then, Garnett was battered and bruised in the jungle of adult players, getting repeatedly taught a lesson by legendary centers like Malone, Olajuwon, and David Robinson, often failing to even reach ten points in a single game.
What Lin Qi truly valued was the monthly breakdown of the data in the latter half of the process.
Starting in January, Garnett's monthly average points, rebounds, and blocks steadily increased. After being repeatedly beaten by top centers, the kid didn't get discouraged; instead, he learned survival skills.
As for that crude three-pointer that he only made one per game with a success rate of less than 30%, it even seems somewhat out of place in the 1990s.
That was a seed that had been planted in advance.
Michael Finley averaged 10.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game, with a field goal percentage of 45.2% and a three-point percentage of 35.5%.
For a rookie, on a team where the ball is being played piecemeal by Radja, Sam Cassell, and Eddie Jones, this number speaks volumes.
With Finley's scoring ability, he could easily score 15 points per game if he were the core player on any weak team.
But in Boston, with players like Radja, Sam Cassell, Jones, and Garnett, his shot attempts were significantly reduced.
The score of 10.8 was diluted under the team's extremely extravagant offensive firepower.
But that's precisely what Lin Qi admires most about him. Finley's stats weren't racked up during garbage time; he steadily contained the Celtics ' second-phase offense with drives and corner threes during transitional periods, when the game was most likely to fall apart.
Lin Qi turned to the next page, his gaze quickly sweeping over a list:
Wesley Person (8.2 points per game, 41.2% from three-point range), P.J. Brown (5.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 offensive rebounds per game), Ervin Johnson (4.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.2 blocks per game), David Wesley (4.9 points, 2.6 assists per game).
None of these figures, taken individually, would warrant a second glance at the headlines of the sports section.
But when put together, they form a team.
Lin Qi slowly closed the report, his fingertips lightly tapping the final battle results on the cover.
47 wins and 35 losses.
Outside, those pundits are still proclaiming that the Chicago Bulls will dominate everything, and still debating who will be Jordan's stepping stone to the throne.
But Lin Qi knew very well that before meeting that god, he had to tear the 48-win Cleveland Cavaliers to shreds in the first round.
Lin Qi stood up, opened the office door, and bumped into the head coach who was walking towards him.
"Notify everyone that the recorded lesson will be held half an hour earlier."
Lin Qi unbuttoned his suit jacket, his eyes cold and calm.
We're heading to the playoffs.